Golfers tee off to help out Special Olympics Illinois
A field of 85 golfers competed at the Bartlett Hills Golf Course this week as part of the Special Olympics Illinois Northeastern Area golf tournament.
Golfers played nine holes and the gold medal winners from each division are eligible to compete at the statewide outdoor games next month. The low score on the day was a 49.
Daniel Orlando of Bartlett was the lone golfer to represent the Tri-Villages. The 12-year-old, one of the youngest to compete, shot an 83. He plays golf with Northeast DuPage Special Recreation Association in Addison, a group that had 25 golfers in the contest.
Golfers came from Kane, Lake, DuPage and McHenry counties, as well as Rockford, Freeport and Sycamore.
But one of the day's success stories came from off the greens.
The Bartlett Woman's Club rounded up nearly 100 volunteers from organizations including the Boy Scouts, the Village Church of Bartlett, Marmion Academy in Aurora and local businesses.
The women have been involved with the tournament for about 15 years, said Ruth Beckner, who coordinated the volunteers.
"The Bartlett community came out in droves," said Amy Kaylor, manager of sports and competition for Special Olympics Illinois Northeastern Area.
"It was very successful and the golf was much improved over last year. Everyone's getting better and better."
One of Streamwood's few and proud: Best wishes to Streamwood U.S. Marine Jeffery Selvick Jr., on both his upcoming deployment to Iraq and the imminent birth of his son.
Selvick, 22, who graduated from Streamwood High School in 2003 and Universal Technical Institute in January 2005, is briefly back in town this weekend for a Saturday send-off party before his deployment Aug. 21.
Selvick's wife, Jenn, whom he married last Sept. 3, will give birth to their son in late September, meaning that Jeffery won't get to see his boy in person until returning from his expected seven-month deployment.
The couple are currently stationed in North Carolina, but Jenn will return to the area when Jeffery goes to Iraq.
Jacque Selvick, Jeffery's mother, says he's been talking about joining the Marines ever since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which stirred both his anger and his patriotism.
Worried about him, she talked him into delaying his decision for a while as he pursued his education at UTI, but he ultimately began his tour of duty with the Marines in January 2006.
For the record: Hanover Park village board meetings will soon be easily accessible to the public. They're being recorded and the videos will be uploaded every other week to Google Video. Anyone wanting to watch them should go to video.google.com and type in "Hanover Park Board Meetings."
Trustee Toni Carter said the village wants to facilitate better communication with the community. She hopes the meetings will someday be broadcast on Channel 17.
Congrats: Marlene Slavin, a resident of Bartlett for five years, has taken over as executive director of the Marengo-Union Chamber of Commerce in McHenry County. She previously was a vice president and board member for the Bartlett Chamber of Commerce.