Briefs: Construction worker killed

Authorities identified a 48-year-old worker killed Wednesday in Aurora when a piece of construction equipment hit him in the chest. William Myers, of Dixon, was working at a new subdivision west of Indian Trail Road and Verona Ridge Drive in Aurora at about 1:30 p.m. when the equipment apparently came loose, the DuPage County coroner's office said. Myers was airlifted to Good Samaritan Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:55 p.m. Wednesday.

Accident near Carol Stream

Two people were transported to Central DuPage Hospital Thursday morning with minor injuries following a collision at the intersection of County Farm Road and North Avenue near Carol Stream. Traffic was backed up for more than an hour along both roads shortly after 7 a.m. An SUV rolled on its side after it collided with a Porsche, Carol Stream Fire Chief Michael Kanzia said. A third vehicle also was involved but received just minor damage.

Addison center open house

The new Henry Hyde Neighborhood Resource Center will hold an open house from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday at 199 Michael Lane, Addison. U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam will speak at 11:30 a.m. The center offers after-school programs for grade-school students in Addison's Michael Lane and Green Oaks neighborhoods. It also will offer GED, ESL and computer literacy classes for adults, and house both the Addison Community Switchboard and a police post. For details, call director Kiki DeLuna at (630) 628-2680.

'Paint DuPage' exhibit

The DuPage Art League will host a reception for its "Paint DuPage" painting and photography exhibit from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the league gallery, 218 W. Front St., Wheaton. A professional artist will select prize-winning works in the exhibit, which depicts scenes from both modern and historical DuPage County. Admission is free. For details, call (630) 653-7090 or visit www.dupageartleague.org.

Dist. 53 approves budget

The budget for fiscal 2008 will increase 10 percent in Oak Brook's Butler School District 53. The school board adopted an $11.5 million budget this fall that will provide payment for the recent summer construction projects and some curriculum enhancements. The board also reviewed fiscal goals, such as monitoring education fund expenditures in light of enrollment declines and developing a plan for infrastructure improvements.

Dist. 4 students raise funds

The Indian Trail Builders Club at Indian Trail Junior High School in Addison announced this week that it helped raise more than $1,000 in donations for the annual Kiwanis Club Peanut Day in September. Funds are invested back into projects at Indian Trail and in the Addison community.

Aurora hands out lights

Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner will help promote a ComEd program encouraging customers to take advantage of discounts on energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs, in honor of "National Energy Efficiency Month." From 9 to 10 a.m. today at city hall, 44 E. Downer Place, ComEd representatives will pass out free, high-efficiency light bulbs as part of the campaign, which offers discounts on 1 million bulbs. The program is designed to educate consumers about saving energy and offers a financial incentive to replace standard bulbs, leaders say. For more information, visit www.ComEdCARE.com.

Locals fighting bed bugs

Burmese refugees residing in Glen Ellyn are fighting off side effects from bed bugs after the insects were found in their Glen Ellyn apartments, officials say. Some say the bugs were in mattresses donated by World Relief, but World Relief officials said the bugs could have been in donated furniture, the carpet in the apartment or in the refugees' clothing from somewhere else. World Relief officials said they have replaced everything at this point to help solve the problem. "We are very concerned about this situation and we feel like we're taking every possible step to correct it," World Relief's Senior Vice President of Marketing and Development Jan Kary said. Owners of the apartment building declined comment, but said the bugs were not in their new carpeting.

Ponds land decision looms

Naperville Park District officials said they are hopeful a decision on the purchase of a six-acre parcel at the Ponds of Hobson West will be made at the park board's Nov. 8 meeting. The parcel is wedged between two park district-owned ponds, and open-space advocates want the district to purchase the land to make a contiguous 15-acre park. A decision must be reached by the end of December, or a developer can go forward with plans to build townhouses on the parcel. The neighboring residents said they are looking into forming a nonprofit group that would aim to help the park district finance other open space acquisitions in the future.