Hoffman Estates Park District notes
Serpent Safari field trip: The Hoffman Estates Park District will host a field trip to Serpent Safari Monday, with hours from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The trip is open to boys and girls in kindergarten through fifth grade.
The fully-supervised trip includes transportation with drop-off and pickup from Willow Recreation Center, 3600 Lexington, or the Community Center and Ice Arena at 1685 W. Higgins Road.
Admission is $65 ($70 nonmembers). Early and late stay options are available.
Hoffman Ice Program: Girls ages 8 to 18 are invited to check out the Hoffman Ice Program. For a limited time, Randy Jordan, American Hockey Association of Illinois Coach of the Year and Blackhawk Clinic organizer/instructor, will offer a 10-week Introduction to Girls Hockey program.
Classes will be offered 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Mondays through Dec. 24. All equipment is provided and participants can start at any time. The Ice Arena is located at 1685 W. Higgins Road in Hoffman Estates.
The first session is free, then participants pay $50 for 10 sessions (prorated). For more information, call Randy at (847) 285-5501, or e-mail at rjordan@heparks.org.
HEPD makes the top four: The Hoffman Estates Park District was recently named one of the top four parks and recreation agencies in the nation (among cities with populations of 50,000-100,000) by the National Recreation and Parks Association.
The Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Parks and Recreation is a national recognition, sponsored by the NRPA and the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration. More than 250 parks and recreation agencies and departments vied for the award.
Hoffman Estates will be judged against the Bolingbrook Park District, the Arlington Heights Park District, and the city of Bloomington, Ind., Parks and Recreation Department. The winning agency will be announced at the NRPA annual conference, to be held this September in Indianapolis.
"To be named a finalist is a recognition toward which our agency has worked long and hard," said Dean Bostrom, executive director for the Hoffman Estates Park District. "This honor is doubly supported by our recent re-certification as an Illinois Distinguished Agency (in January 2007), which demonstrated our (district's) accomplishment in exceeding statewide industry standards in parks and recreation general management practices, as well as program service and delivery."
The agency's Seascape Family Aquatic Center has also been awarded the 2006 International Platinum Aquatic Award for Safety by industry risk management experts Ellis and Associates.
For more information, contact communications and marketing manager Monica Del Angel at (847) 781-3672 or mdelangel@heparks.org.
Smoking policy: The Hoffman Estates Park District Board of Commissioners has approved a district-wide ordinance that prohibits smoking within 50 feet of any public facility entrance, playing field or playground. The policy, which affects all facilities except Poplar Creek Country Club, was designed to protect non-smoking patrons from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke.
"Our previous smoking policy restricted patrons from smoking in any public facility," said Tim Satkowski, administrative and finance committee chair. "Unfortunately, patrons were still subjected to second-hand smoke, as they were often forced to walk by smokers standing just outside the facility entrances."
The policy provides non-smokers with a safe, smoke-free environment while on district property, and provides smokers with a designated smoking area at least 50 feet away from each facility entrance. By also prohibiting smoking near playgrounds and athletic fields, the district hopes to protect children from the dangers of second-hand smoke as well.
Any individual who violates the no-smoking policy, or any HEPD rule or ordinance, can be temporarily evicted from district property and may have his or her admission rights to all district property permanently revoked. For more information on this or other HEPD ordinances, call the park district at (847) 885-7500.