Children eagerly wait for the balloons to drop at noon last Saturday in Palos Heights. (Photos by Steve Neuhaus)

Children eagerly wait for the balloons to drop at noon last Saturday in Palos Heights. (Photos by Steve Neuhaus)

Noon Year’s Eve celebration

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Samantha Garrett (left) and Emma Mathe (right) doing some dancing. 

Because many children can’t stay up late to welcome in the new year, the Palos Heights Recreation Department hosted a Noon Year’s Eve celebration on December 31 so kids could celebrate the impending new year playing sports and creating arts and crafts. At noon, there was a balloon drop to mark the beginning of a new year.

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Five-year-old Vivienne tries to make a basket. 

 

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DJ Jason Khuen entertains the crowd by playing some hits.

 

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Anthony (from left) along with his siblings Alex (center) and Henry (right) enjoy arts and crafts at Saturday’s Noon Year’s Eve event.

 

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A bounce house inside the gymnasium was a big hit with the kids at Noon Year’s Eve in Palos Heights last Saturday.

Local News

ShawnTe Raines-Welch  

Campaign 2020: Civil Rights attorney ShawnTe Raines-Welch to seek judgeship  

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Spread the loveBy Ray Hanania   Civil Rights attorney ShawnTe Raines-Welch has announced her candidacy for one of two vacancies for judge in Cook County’s 4th Subcircuit in the June 28 primary election. Raines-Welch specializes in legal work for municipal governments, including cities, school districts, park districts and other local taxpayer-funded public bodies at an established…

U.S. Rep. Marie Newman

Campaign 2020: 11 elected officials endorse Newman in primary 

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Spread the loveBy Bob Bong   Marie Newman’s bid to win the Democratic nomination in the new 6th Congressional District picked up steam Tuesday when 11 elected officials in Cook and DuPage counties announced they were endorsing her in the June primary over fellow incumbent Sean Casten. “Congresswoman Marie Newman has been a very strong and effective…

biz royalberry signage

Owner dispels rumors of Royalberry closing 

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Spread the loveBy Bob Bong  Frank Salman, owner of Royalberry Waffle House and Restaurant in Palos Heights, has a simple message:  “We’re not closed!”  Salman said rumors have been rampant in the area that his restaurant of 17 years suddenly closed at the corner of 127th Street and Ridgeland Avenue.  “We are not closed. We are…

Fikri Rahana, owner of 7-Eleven in Palos Heights, sold a $900,000 winning Lucky Day Lotto ticket. (Photo supplied by Illinois Lottery)

$900,000 Lotto ticket sold at Palos Heights 7-Eleven

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Spread the loveBy Bob Bong Local Lucky Day Lotto players best check their tickets for last Sunday’s mid-day drawing. A winning ticket worth $900,000 was sold at the Palos Heights 7-Eleven store. The winning ticket was sold at the store at 6350 W. 135th St., and matched all five numbers in Sunday mid-day’s drawing: 11-13-24-30-37.…

District 230 Supt. Robert Nolting has relaxed mask mandates at Stagg, Sandburg and Andrew high schools. (Photo by Jeff Vorva)

D230 goes yellow and relaxes mask mandates after judge’s ruling

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Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva In the wake of a judge’s decision, District 230 has gone yellow. The district, which serves Stagg, Sandburg and Andrew high schools, on Monday switched its COVID-19 status from orange to yellow. Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow ruled in favor of parents who took 145 Illinois school districts to court…

Damari Reed, seen here at a tournament in January, was one of two Shepard wrestlers to qualify for the 3A Hinsdale Central Sectional. Reed was the 152-pound champion at the Marist Regional on Feb. 5. Teammate Gabe Smith placed 2nd at 195. Photo by Jason Maholy

Area wrestlers advance to sectionals

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Spread the loveFrom Staff Reports The following wrestlers have qualified for sectional competition after placing in the top three at their respective regional tournaments. (Name, class, finish at regional)   Class 3A Marist Regional Marist George Marinopoulos, Fr, 2nd at 106 Michael Esteban, Fr, 1st at 113 Will Denny, Fr, 2nd at 120 Jesse Herrera,…

Brett Thoss experienced his first golf show without his father, Thomas, last weekend in Tinley Park. (Photo by Jeff Vorva)

Palos Golf returns to Tinley Expo despite loss of longtime owner

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Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva The Tinley Park Golf Expo returned to the village’s convention center last weekend. So did the Palos Golf Shop. But there was someone very important missing. Thomas Thoss, the longtime owner of the Palos Hills business along with his wife, Nancy, died in October after a battle with cancer. His…

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

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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…

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

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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…

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

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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…

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

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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

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

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

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Public officials seek greater oversight of prescription drug middlemen

Public officials seek greater oversight of prescription drug middlemen

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

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

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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

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