Good News Sunday: After 25 years, Lazarus House continues to expand to meet community's needs

This is Good News Sunday, a compilation of some of the more upbeat and inspiring stories published recently by the Daily Herald:

After opening its doors in June 1997 as an emergency shelter, Lazarus House in St. Charles now works to meet the needs of its clients in a variety of ways, from helping them access legal services to making sure they are getting the medical care they need.

"We've continued to grow with what the needs of the community are," Lazarus House Executive Director Julie Purcell said. "We just continue to expand and try to serve as many people as we can. We went from providing just emergency services to adding a transitional living program. We also have a food-only program. There are food insecure people in the community. They can come and get food at our door."

It also has an outreach program that provides such things as one-time rent, mortgage and utility assistance, and ongoing rental subsidies to qualifying households. The program is funded through state and federal funds.

"Now, more than ever, these services are essential," St. Charles Mayor Lora Vitek said in congratulating Lazarus House on its 25th anniversary. "I am very proud of the work they do to change the lives of people and offer individuals a place of hope."

Lazarus House serves men, women and children connected to the schools of Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles and western rural Kane County who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Lazarus House is the only emergency shelter serving central Kane County that is open around the clock, 365 days a year.

For the full story, click here.

How rare Lipizzans get to the top of their game, amaze the crowds

What does it take to teach a horse to dance?

Time, and lots of it, says Esther Buonanno, the program director of Tempel Farms in Lake County.

Some patience doesn't hurt. And you'll need the right horse.

Enter the Lipizzan, a rare breed that numbers less than 12,000 worldwide. Roughly 1,200 of those live in the United States, and you'll find 70 of them at Tempel Farms in Old Mill Creek, just north of Gurnee.

Training them in the classic style of dressage has been the mission of Tempel Farms since it was founded in 1958 by Buonanno's grandparents with the import of 20 pregnant mares from the famed Spanish Riding School in Austria.

The Tempel Lipizzans are now the largest privately owned herd in the world. The farm also is one of the only - if not the only - facilities that breeds, trains and exhibits its Lipizzans publicly.

"They are incredibly intelligent and incredibly beautiful," Buonanno said. "We believe that there is great value in sharing this with people, the beauty and the art of it, and it's worth preserving."

For the full story, click here.

Long Grove firefighters come to the rescue of a trapped fawn

With Lake County animal control unavailable and a wildlife intake center out of reach, Long Grove firefighters knew it was up to them to rescue a baby deer that had fallen into a home's window well Monday, Aug 22.

Not only would they need to find a way to liberate the fawn, but they also needed to do it before the animal smashed through the window and damaged valuable artifacts in the basement.

The only question - how?

"We couldn't put a ladder down, because it started to freak out, and we didn't want it to punch through the (window) glass," Long Grove Fire Protection District Lt. Kris Mullen said.

The firefighters landed on a solution - lowering webbing into the well and guiding the fawn into it. Once the fawn was secure, they quickly lifted her out with a rope.

For the full story, click here.

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