By Jeff Vorva
The final numbers have not been crunched, but preliminary figures show Beecher’s Fourth of July Festival did a bang-up job in 2024. Beecher Trustee Todd Kraus told the board at the July 8 meeting it appeared to be a success.
“We don’t have all the numbers because it ended 40 hours ago, but it did exceed the budgeted revenues,” Kraus said. “They came close to doubling their revenue in the car (raffle) sales.”
Kraus thanked the many volunteers who worked at the festival, and said, “There is a ton of work for four days and then taking everything down the next day.”
Police Chief Terrence Lemming said the fireworks night was a bit challenging but had thanks and praise for the Village of Monee’s police for helping out.
“They came out with four cars to help us with traffic control,” Lemming said. “This might have been the worst (traffic) we’ve had after a fireworks’ show. They also brought their high-definition cameras to watch the streets, which was a help.”
Lucky Fourth of July winners included: Jim Francis, of Peotone, who won the 2024 Chevy Trax raffle, while Cayley Gaffney won the 50-50 raffle worth more than $1,000. Dralle Chevrolet and Buick took home first in the parade float category, and Manteno’s Cody McCullough won the Freedom 5K Run with a time of 15 minutes, 59.9 seconds.
Sad news
Mayor Marcy Meyer acknowledged the death of Planning and Zoning Commission member Edwin Prom, 30, as a result of an accident. He recently had been appointed to the commission. According to his obituary in the Hack Funeral Home website, he died “pursuing his passion of preserving wetlands.” He was a heavy equipment operator, served in the National Guard, and was a 2012 graduate of Beecher High School.
Police station coming along
Trustee Joe Tieri, chair of the Public Safety Committee, said the foundation walls are complete at the new police station, at 250 W. Church Road, and the next major step is getting the plumbing and electricity projects rolling. He anticipates those projects will be done in August.