Articles filed under Constable, Burt

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  Climate debate heats up as local gardeners change plants May 24, 2012 12:00 AM
  Political debates about global warming are heating up, but local folks who scheduled outdoor weddings to correspond with the blooming of pretty plants have been left in the cold. However, the federal government officially moved us into a warmer plant zone, and that opens all kinds of new possibilities for suburban gardeners.
  

   
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  NATO, Cubs stressful? Try soccer in Mexican murder capital May 22, 2012 12:00 AM
  NATO clashes and a Cubs losing streak create stress for some of us, but it's nothing like the season Mundelein native Robert Andrew Powell spent covering the worst Mexican soccer team in the most murderous city. “We were not very good,” remembers Powell, who spoke Spanish to communicate with his high school teammates who emigrated from Mexico.
  

   
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  Libertyville native a military strategist at NATO summit May 20, 2012 12:00 AM
  Dubbed the "Little General" for the way he used to dig fox holes and play soldier as a boy growing up in Libertyville, Scott Davis is back in town as a high-ranking officer, decorated Iraq War veteran and military strategist for the NATO summit. “I never stopped being a kid,” says Davis, now 38 and a Belgium resident.
  

   
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  Mother's Day only adds to this mom's burdens May 17, 2012 12:00 AM
  Still grieving after the shocking death of her college honor student daughter, a 50-year-old DuPage County mother of seven and grandmother of eight knew going into Mother's Day that her special day was never going to be wonderful. “She's been through so much and she just keeps on taking beatings,” says Chana Bernstein, president of the Saret Charitable Fund in Glen Ellyn, which is trying to raise the funds to help her.
  

   
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  Medical corpsman still trying to heal Vietnam warriors' scars May 15, 2012 12:00 AM
  Virtually blind in one eye and barely topping 100 pounds, suburban teenager Bob Adams never thought he'd be shipped off to combat in Vietnam with the unenviable task of trying to save the lives of wounded warriors. Forty-five years later, the 64-year-old Adams, a playwright and a counselor, is still doing the same job, only this time from his cramped office in the Midwest Shelter For Homeless Veterans that he founded in Wheaton.
  

   
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  Tragedy transforms Willowbrook mom from 188 pounds to triathleteMay 13, 2012 12:00 AM
  A varsity athlete while growing up in Westmont, Patti Saltiel slowly lost her physical fitness and saw her weight climb to 188 pounds during the years as a mom with four kids. On New Year's Day of 2011, Saltiel knew she should resolve to get back in shape when she got the news that sister had dropped dead. Using that as her motivation, Saltiel now is a 120-pound triathlete.
  

   
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  U.S. ranks 25th as place for moms, but Sunday they’re all No. 1 May 10, 2012 12:00 AM
  There is something about Mother's Day and moms that can't be denied, even when a mom falls far short of the sentiment on that "World's Greatest Mom" mylar balloon. In a 2012 world ranking of the best place to be a mom, the United States doesn't merit a gold medal, a silver or even a bronze. We limp home just behind Belarus in 25th place.
  

   
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  Dancing just a memory, but couple whirl in Hospice Dream May 8, 2012 12:00 AM
  Former Bloomingdale residents Dick and Millie Milano used to light up the dance floor doing the jitterbug. The couple doesn't dance anymore. The ravages of age and illness have taken a toll on their bodies. But the years seem to melt away on a special night organized by Hospice Dreams.
  

   
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  Once homeless, man is on his own with the right help May 6, 2012 12:00 AM
  Near the end of 2010, former Gurnee and Lake Villa resident Chris Hradisky weighed barely 80 pounds and was waiting to die. With the help of his sister, the Lake County Center for Independent Living and a state program designed to save money by getting people with disabilities to live in their homes, the 49-year-old man is living in a Waukegan apartment with help far cheaper than a nursing home.
  

   
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  Ecologists keep tiny Buffalo Grove prairie from becoming historyMay 3, 2012 12:00 AM
  The little hunk of Buffalo Grove grassland that volunteers saved from developers in the late 1980s is now a protected prairie and a pristine example of how preservation should be done. “It's a 10 acres that deserves to be there. It you look down, it is beautiful. It does make a difference in people's lives,” says Bev Hansen, leader of the volunteer Buffalo Grove Prairie Guardians.
  

   
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  Offensive names, like Bloomington man’s birthplace, vanish from mapMay 2, 2012 12:00 AM
  Geographic names change with the time. I think that's good news for the Bloomingdale resident who was born in Swastica, N.M.
  

   
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  Lincolnshire MS patient aims to walk again Apr 29, 2012 12:00 AM
  Having cracked the 4-hour marathon barrier and doing well in his triathalons, Lincolnshire's Bob Gregory went downhill quickly after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Stable, but in a wheelchair since 1995, the 55-year-old Gregory now has confidence that he'll be walking again, and maybe even running.
  

   
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  Nature's red army flies into suburbs on gossamer wingsApr 26, 2012 12:00 AM
  Most of the time, an unusual invasion of six-legged creatures in the suburbs will make a homeowner freak out. Not this time. The suburbs are awash in a sea of pretty Red Admiral butterflies. “We've been flooded with questions about that,” says butterfly expert Doug Taron, of Chicago's Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and a steward for the Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin.
  

   
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  Former Secret Service agent talks about his career Apr 22, 2012 12:00 AM
  As today's Secret Service grapples with reports of prostitutes and misconduct, retired agent Ken Giannoules of Arlington Heights (who guarded JFK on the night before his assassination) looks forward to his reunion at the Wood Dale Library with his former coworker, Clint Hill, author of "Mrs. Kennedy and Me."
  

   
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  A new appreciation of momApr 16, 2012 12:00 AM
  Like most 85-year-old widows who are used to living on their own when a broken wrist upsets the routine, my mom's main concern is not being a "burden." Monday, as my youngest son turns 13 and transforms me into a father of three teenage boys, I have a whole new concept of "burden."
  

   
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  Study says jasmine could keep Cubs and Sox from stinking Apr 15, 2012 12:00 AM
  If our baseball teams stink this year, maybe it's just because the players aren't smelling the right stuff. A new study by a suburban doctor and researcher suggests a hint of jasmine might help our Cubs and Sox win.
  

   
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  Sox opener has lifelong appeal for Libertyville man Apr 13, 2012 12:00 AM
  From the scrumptious pre-game tailgate to the well-crafted insights on the team, Howard Jaffe of Libertyville does his White Sox Opening Day ritual right. Of course, he's no rookie. This is his 50th consecutive Opening Day on the South Side.
  

   
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  Tattoo inks way to new career, life and autism advocacy Apr 12, 2012 12:00 AM
  As a teenager in Hoffman Estates, Sara Allgire was sure she knew why her older sister's young son acted out, threw tantrums and refused to speak or even look at folks. “He is spoiled,” Sara remembers telling loved ones. “There's nothing wrong with him.” Stop coddling the kid, who lived in Bartlett, and he'd shape up fast, Sara figured. Then she learned there was a reason young Alex acted the way he did.
  

   
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  You've got mail, and it's from your dead loved one Apr 8, 2012 12:00 AM
  A pharmacist who grew up in Schaumburg launches a free website, zarpz.com, that allows dying people to record messages that can be sent years after their deaths. "We're not looking to commercialize this," says Diptesh Patel, a 1992 graduate of Schaumburg High School who now lives in California.
  

   
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  Cubs fans: Save Wrigley tradition, end losing traditionApr 5, 2012 12:00 AM
  In a year when the Cubs have a new management team, a new manager, plenty of new players and renewed hopes, old Wrigley Field is the topic of new discussions about possible changes. What updates would cut it with fans of the venerable "Friendly Confines?" “We've been here so long that any little change is so traumatic for me,” says Bud Sonoda, 46, of Mount Prospect.