Briefs: Driscoll open house set
Driscoll Catholic High School, 555 N. Lombard Road in Addison, will host an open house from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday for prospective students. The school will also host a pretest workshop from 7 to 9 p.m. Jan. 8 and an entrance exam at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 12. Seventh- and eighth-grade students, transfer students, younger siblings and their families can visit the open houses to learn about Driscoll's curriculum, meet with faculty, staff and coaches and discuss financial aid and transportation. Families who cannot attend may obtain an incoming freshman application by calling Matt Butler at (630) 543-6310. For details, visit www.driscollcatholic.com.
Beware of Web predators
A town hall meeting, Internet Predators and our Children, will be hosted by Butler Elementary District 53, the District 53 PTO and the Oak Brook Police Department at 7 p.m. Dec. 14 at Butler Junior High, 2801 York Road, Oak Brook. Kidnapping victim Alicia Kozakiewicz will speak. She was abducted as a teen and imprisoned in a cage by a man she met online. The meeting will be facilitated by NBC 5's Allison Rosati, with guest speakers Alicia and Mary Kozakiewicz and a member of the Illinois attorney general's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Organizers said the meeting will contain potentially disturbing content and advise parents view this Internet address to decide if their child should attend the event along with them: http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerindex?id=3742791.
Coats collected at stations
Winter coats are being collected from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Union and Ogilvie train stations in Chicago. The stations serve 90,000 suburban riders. Coats dropped off at the Citibank branch in the Ogilvie station, at 500 W. Madison St., and in the Great Hall or the area next to tracks 6 and 8 in Union Station, 210 S. Canal St., will be given to residents of the Chicago Housing Authority and homeless shelters through the Heartland Alliance. Coats don't need to be new, but they should be in good condition. The collection effort was organized by Ken Nopar of Arlington Heights.
Christmas store opens
The Outreach Community Center in Carol Stream will open its annual Christmas store event Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. The social services agency at 345 S. President St. will sell thousands of reduced-price toys to families living in the surrounding neighborhood. About 1,000 children are expected to benefit from the daylong event. All proceeds from the store are used by the center's case management department to help neighborhood families who need financial assistance with expenses such as rent, car repair and doctor bills. For more information about the Christmas store, call the Outreach Community Center at (630) 260-7600.
Laidlaw lays off 26
As a result of a recent merger, 26 full-time employees at Laidlaw International's Naperville offices will be laid off effective Jan. 31. The company was acquired by FirstGroup PLC in October and is being relocated to Cincinnati. Some of the company's other employees have been offered job transfers.
Red light camera locations
Naperville staff are recommending that the first round of the city's new red light cameras be installed at 95th Street and Book Road and Aurora Avenue and Fort Hill Drive. The cameras are expected to be activated in January and will only give out warnings for the first 30 days. In September, the city council approved a $1 million, three-year contract with Maryland-based Traffipax to install eight cameras at four intersections. The city said it hopes to eventually equip 10 to 15 intersections with cameras.
Weight limits on bridge
Naperville is putting weight restrictions on vehicles traveling on the Bailey Road Bridge over the west branch of the DuPage River due to its deterioration. Single unit vehicles are restricted to 20 tons, combination vehicles with three or four axles are restricted to 32 tons and vehicles with five or more axles are limited to 26 tons. Construction work to rehabilitate the bridge will likely start in early spring and end next fall. The bridge will be closed during this time. When it reopens, there will be no weight restrictions.
Head lice found at Clow
Several cases of head lice have been reported at Clow Elementary School in Naperville, according to an e-mail notification to parents. A number of classes were examined as a precautionary measure against the spread of head lice. The school is recommending that parents check their families' heads for the presence of lice and/or nits (eggs). If you suspect anything, contact your doctor or pharmacist for proper treatment and notify the school immediately. Children should also be reminded not to share hats, combs, brushes and other such sources of transmittal and infestation.