Midnight Alleyway by Bre Buttney. (Supplied photos)

Midnight Alleyway by Bre Buttney. (Supplied photos)

OLCHS art students win awards

Spread the love

From staff reports

Oak Lawn Community High School students Bre Buttney, Shelbylyn Dykstra, Hedaya Hasan, Madison Iwema, and Hailey Rabideaux excelled in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.  This competition takes place yearly across the country. Spartan artists submitted artwork and won awards at the regional level.

reporter OLCHS art students1 We Were Young by Shelbylyn Dykstra

We Were Young by Shelbylyn Dykstra.

Over 40 schools participated and over 2,000 pieces were submitted. Of the 11 pieces Oak Lawn Community High School submitted, five were awarded gold keys, silver keys, or honorable mentions. These winning artworks included animation, photography, digital drawings, and an editorial cartoon. Much of the winning artwork touches on important issues.

Art teacher Ailysh Cooper said, “Students in our art department challenged themselves to try new things and send important messages to the viewers of their artwork. OLCHS students have big ideas and this competition is a celebration of their ingenuity and strong voices.”

reporter olchs art students2 A Girls Look by Madison Iwema

A Girl’s Look by Madison Iwema.

Local News

Orland Park Police Chief Joseph Mitchell and his officers picked up another award for safety. (Photo by Jeff Vorva)

Orland Park officials Geeked up over new safety ranking

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva The Geek has spoken. And Orland Park officials liked what it had to say. The MoneyGeek personal finance technology company ranked Orland Park eighth safest out of 952 United States cities between 30,000 and 100,000 residents for 2021. “As crime continues to rise in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, we…

Willow Springs Police Chief Jim Ritz (right) congratulates new part-time police officer Anthony Vosicky. (Photo by Steve Metsch)

Willow Springs hires three for police department

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch All three new hires by the Willow Springs Police Department have some experience working in the village. But as of Jan. 27, they are officially members of the police department. The Willow Springs Village Board, at its most recent meeting, hired Andzeliak Bugajski and Anthony Vosicky as part-time officers and…

Argo High School is sending nine wrestlers to this weekend's sectionals. (Supplied photo)

Argo wrestlers advance to sectionals

Spread the love

Spread the love From staff reports Nine members of the Argo wrestling team qualified for this weekend’s sectional tournament at the IHSA Class 3A regional at Mount Carmel High School last Saturday. Head Wrestling Coach Matthew McMurray said, “It was a great job by all of our wrestlers as they finished in third place. We…

Oak Lawn Community High School's band, choir and guitar program students will be opening up for “The Rat Pack” on Friday, February 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the school’s Performing Arts Center, 9400 Southwest Highway in Oak Lawn. (Supplied photo)

Spartan Educational Foundation presents Rat Pack tribute

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Kelly White Oak Lawn Community High School’s Spartan Educational Foundation is dedicated to helping students fulfill their dreams. “The Spartan Educational Foundation is continuously looking for opportunities to raise funding to support our student scholarship and staff mini-grant programs,” Michael Riordan, Superintendent at Oak Lawn Community Hight School and Spartan Educational Foundation…

St. Pius X Parish will merge with St. Leonard effective July 1. (Supplied photo)

Stickney’s St. Pius X Parish to merge with St. Leonard

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Bob Bong St. Pius X Parish in Stickney will merge with St. Leonard Parish in Berwyn this summer, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, announced last month. The merger is part of the archdiocese’s ongoing Renew My Church initiative and will take effect on July 1. The new parish will have one…

Twins Casey and Caroline Hart, of La Grange, will attend college for free as Chick Evans Scholars. Seniors at Lyons Township High School, they both are caddies at the La Grange Country Club. (Photo by Steve Metsch) 

La Grange twins are Chick Evans scholars

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Long hours spent in the La Grange Country Club’s caddie shack – killing time by reading books or playing cards as they wait to be called to duty – have paid off for a brother and sister. Through the past four years, Caroline and Casey Hart honed their skills, learned…

CRRNH_HernandezGirlsSnow_020922

Fun from above

Spread the love

Spread the love While some folks see heavy snowfall and curse the skies, children in Clearing and Garfield Ridge seemed thrilled with last week’s winter windfall. Schools cancelled classes, and kids like Garfield Ridge sisters Makayla, 10, and 6-year-old Mia Hernandez grabbed their plastic sleds and rode ripples of white all afternoon on a large…

Brother Rice sophomore Tre Dowdell handles the ball against Leo on Friday. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Brother Rice’s 11-game win streak ends with loss to Leo

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff writer In seemingly a blink of an eye, Brother Rice picked up as many losses as it had all season. The Crusaders headed into last weekend’s action with a 21-2 record and was 10-0 in the Chicago Catholic League Blue. But Friday night, they suffered a 56-50 setback to…

Evergreen Park Community High School sophomore, Xarles (Chaz) Barnes, recently discovered a unique talent of being able to multiply any two numbers ranging from 1-100 simply in his head. (Supplied photo)

Evergreen Park High School student excels at multiplying

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Kelly White An Evergreen Park Community High School student has been adding up his future. Sophomore Xarles “Chaz” Barnes recently discovered a unique talent of being able to multiply any two numbers ranging from 1-100 simply in his head. Barnes said he does not memorize the answers, they just come to him…

Reavis bowlers claimed a regional title on Saturday. Photo by Reavis High School

Area Sports Roundup: Six area girls bowling teams headed to sectionals

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff writer Six area girls bowling teams are headed to sectionals. Reavis and Stagg won IHSA regional titles last Saturday, and four other teams have advanced to this weekend’s action. Reavis won its own regional at Palos Lanes in Palos Hills with a 5,378 in six games, well ahead of…

Neighbors

Stateville may close as early as September under Pritzker’s prison plan

Stateville may close as early as September under Pritzker’s prison plan

By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Stateville Correctional Center could close as early as September under a plan laid out by Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration on Friday. Top officials with the Illinois Department of Corrections testified in front of a key panel of state lawmakers. The 12 members on the General Assembly’s…

Labor-backed bill banning 'captive audience' meetings awaits House action

Labor-backed bill banning ‘captive audience’ meetings awaits House action

By ALEX ABBEDUTO Capitol News Illinois abbeduto@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – With two weeks left before the General Assembly’s spring session is set to adjourn, negotiations continue on a labor union-backed initiative that would allow Illinoisans to skip religious and political work meetings without reprimand.  Dubbed the “Worker Freedom of Speech Act,” Senate Bill 3649 advanced out…

House gives OK to new state agency focused on early childhood programs

House gives OK to new state agency focused on early childhood programs

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House gave final passage Thursday to a bill establishing a new cabinet-level state agency whose mission will be to provide a kind of one-stop shop for services focusing on early childhood development and education. By the time it’s fully operational in 2026, the new…

ANALYSIS: ‘Significant enough’ opposition to Pritzker’s revenue plan leads to call for cuts

ANALYSIS: ‘Significant enough’ opposition to Pritzker’s revenue plan leads to call for cuts

By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com When Gov. JB Pritzker proposed his budget for the upcoming fiscal year in February, he sought authority from lawmakers to raise more than $1 billion in revenue through various changes to the state tax code.  Among other things, he sought to raise $526 million through extending an expiring…

State officials offer last goodbye to former Thompson Center as renovations begin

State officials offer last goodbye to former Thompson Center as renovations begin

By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO — State officials kicked off the private renovation of the building which once served as the state government’s Chicago headquarters.  The James R. Thompson Center, as it was known under state ownership, was sold in 2022 to a development firm that is renovating the building for its…

Public officials seek greater oversight of prescription drug middlemen

Public officials seek greater oversight of prescription drug middlemen

By DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois draju@capitolnewsillinois.com As state lawmakers hold hearings targeting the role of pharmacy benefit managers – an influential arm in how the health insurance industry prices prescription drugs – multiple state agencies are considering how to better regulate the industry. Often referred to as pharmaceutical “middlemen,” PBMs act as third-party intermediaries…

Thousands of youths at risk of losing access to after-school programs

Thousands of youths at risk of losing access to after-school programs

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Advocates for community-based after-school programs say as many as 40,000 youths statewide could lose access to tutoring services, recreation and other extracurricular activities this summer unless Illinois lawmakers approve an infusion of funds to keep them going. “The time is now for legislators to act to…

Lawsuit alleges sexual abuse was rampant in state-run juvenile detention centers

Lawsuit alleges sexual abuse was rampant in state-run juvenile detention centers

By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Rampant sexual abuse occurred unchecked for decades at Illinois’ juvenile detention centers, a new lawsuit filed on behalf of 95 former detainees alleges, citing hundreds of incidents over more than two decades. The plaintiffs were boys between 12 and 17 years old when the alleged abuse occurred and…

House GOP advances 2 human trafficking victim protection bills as others remain in limbo

House GOP advances 2 human trafficking victim protection bills as others remain in limbo

By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com After Illinois received another failing grade from a national advocacy group, state House Republicans have introduced legislation aimed at further protecting victims and prosecuting perpetrators of human trafficking. Shared Hope International, an advocacy organization that works to prevent sex trafficking, said in its 2023 Illinois report card that…

Remembering Lee Milner

Remembering Lee Milner

NEWS TEAM Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com On Wednesday, April 17, the Springfield, Illinois Capitol and journalism communities lost a devoted friend and advocate when Lee Milner passed away. As Dean Olsen wrote in his piece in the Illinois Times earlier this month, “Readers of Illinois Times often have seen Milner’s work as a freelance photojournalist. But…