Memorial Park redo has veterans' support
The oldest park in Arlington Heights may also be the village's most neglected.
Memorial Park dates back to 1925 and is located at Chestnut and Fremont streets in the historic neighborhood west of the Arlington Heights Memorial Library. The park has a Civil War monument erected by veterans themselves in 1925.
Arlington Heights resident Mark Walker, who served in Vietnam, wants to completely rehab the park, which is estimated to cost $500,000. Instead of uneven paths and deteriorating memorials, Walker envisions light poles, benches and engraved bricks in a new central plaza.
Walker and his group officially kicked off the park's fundraising at an Arlington Heights Committee-of-the-Whole meeting on Monday.
Trustees expressed support for giving the group $25,000 from the village's general fund contingency account, which currently has a balance of $219,800 to last the village until April 30.
Trustee Joe Farwell said the village should've helped redo the park years ago.
"I've been part of the Memorial Day parade for the past couple of years, and I've been a little embarrassed to hear we've never really contributed," Farwell said.
Memorial Park hasn't been upgraded since 1969.
For more information or to donate, go to: www.ahparkfoundation.org/memorialparkfund.
No "Must See TV" Monday: Looks like not much is slated for Monday's village board meeting. So to save money, village officials decided not to televise the meeting on the local cable channel.
The village saves about $2,500 each time it skips a taping, said Community Relations Coordinator Nancy Kluz.
That money will be used for special announcements and videos that will broadcast on the channel, Kluz said.
Now that's giving back: Arlington Heights resident Ken Nopar organized a winter coat collection last week at the Chicago Metra stations where he collected more than 300 winter coats for people who need them.
The coats were collected from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 4 at the Union and Ogilvie train stations in Chicago, which serve 90,000 suburban riders. The donated coats will be given to residents of the Chicago Housing Authority and homeless shelters through the Heartland Alliance.
Nopar says he's planning a bigger and better effort for next year.
Finally, sub shop opens: Jimmy John's sandwich shop is finally open in downtown Arlington Heights. The 38-seat restaurant is at 19 S. Dunton St. The village board approved the restaurant's plans in March.