Good News Sunday: How a lost shoe sparked a viral sensation and search in Schaumburg

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

Lucas Duffy has spent only about 48 hours in Schaumburg, but village residents have made a lasting impression on him after his social media post about a lost shoe generated hundreds of responses and launched a communitywide search.

"Schaumburg has my heart," the 23-year-old aircraft mechanic said from his hometown of Martinsburg, West Virginia. "It also has my shoe."

Duffy was staying in the village for a couple of days earlier this month while working a job at O'Hare International Airport. After work one day, he and his colleagues met at the bar in their hotel, the Double Tree by Hilton Chicago-Schaumburg, moved to the nearby Beerhead Bar and Eatery, then ended up at Miller's Ale House.

They began walking back to the hotel at about 1 a.m., and that's where Duffy's memory gets a bit spotty. He lost one of his pricey On Cloud running shoes along the way, and was unable to find it the next morning.

Back at home later that night, Duffy posted about the experience on the Daily Herald's "Everything Schaumburg" Facebook page, inquiring if anyone had spotted the missing footwear. He described details of the previous night's activities along with a map of his route.

The response was instant and overwhelming, as strangers engaged in a kind of scavenger hunt, messaging him photographs of themselves searching fields along the route.

For the full story, click here.

Round Lake civics class inspires students to do good in their community

A new free store of donated items for people who rely on the Avon Township Food Pantry, an oral history project aiming to tell the story of the Round Lake area, and a $30,000 scholarship fund made up of donations from organizations, including the Chicago Bears, to pay for enrichment activities for children and young teens.

What do these initiatives have in common? They were all dreamed up, worked on and completed by Round Lake High School students in a new honors-level civics class taught by Doug Barnshaw and Nick Miller that started in the fall.

It was up to the students to decide what about the Round Lake community they could make better, create a plan on how to do that, who in the community they should partner with to make it happen, and to actually get it done. And the students did all of that on seven projects in the last seven months.

"It would not matter how much effort we put into the curriculum if the students weren't willing to try this with us and put themselves out there," Miller said.

The class was only for the fall semester, but students continue to meet this spring to keep working on projects even though it doesn't count for a grade.

For the full story, click here.

Kane County forest preserve may again become home to bison

It's been 200 years since bison roamed the prairies of Kane County, but a new plan to reintroduce them into a local forest preserve may turn back the clock.

Forest Preserve District of Kane County commissioners approved a plan this week to bring a handful of bison to the Burlington Prairie Forest Preserve. The plan centers on one of the main ecological goals of restoring tallgrass prairie to the county's preserves.

Before the surrounding area developed, fire and the grazing habits of wild animals, such as bison, provided natural management of the grasslands. Preserve officials reintroduced controlled burns to the preserves many years ago.

Executive director Ben Haberthur told commissioners now is the time to reintroduce bison to restore the grazing aspect of grassland management. Up to 90% of the diet for bison is grasses.

"The grasses evolved with grazing," Haberthur said. "So it actually promotes the soil microbiome to grow more. Bison are native to Illinois, and they are definitely native to this county. They will bring a big component back to the ecosystem, namely fertilizer."

For the full story, click here.

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