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Melissa Kowalski, owner of Flair With Hair Salon in Chicago Ridge, prepares to cut the ribbon to mark the first anniversary of the business on April 18 with the assistance of her daughter, Anastasia, 5. (Photos by Joe Boyle)

Hair salon with a ‘flair’ marks first year in Chicago Ridge

By Joe Boyle Melissa Kowalski wanted to do something meaningful to mark the first-year anniversary of her Flair With Hair Salon in Chicago Ridge. “We did not have a grand opening last year so I wanted to do something really special,” Kowalski said. “We wanted to say thank you to our clients.” Kowalski, a resident…

Gabriel Chowaniec, a fifth-grader at Palos East Elementary School, has been named a winner of the Scholastic Storyworks Magazine writing contest. (Supplied photo)

Palos East fifth-grader wins Scholastic Storyworks writing contest

Gabriel Chowaniec, a fifth-grader at Palos East Elementary School, has been named a winner of the Scholastic Storyworks Magazine writing contest. Gabriel, who is a student in Cathy Casey’s fifth-grade classroom, was named one of only five winners nationally for the December 2023/January 2024 competition. Garbriel’s submission for the nonfiction story “The Shattered Land,” “showed a strong understanding of the text along with the ability to author a well-organized and engaging response,…

Shepard High School, 13049 S. Ridgeland Ave., Palos Heights, celebrated Autism Acceptance Week April 1 through April 5. (Supplied photos)

Shepard celebrates Autism Week

By Kelly White World Autism Acceptance Week is organized by the National Autistic Society in the first week of April and aims to raise awareness about the challenges autistic people face across all areas of society. Not missing out the opportunity to celebrate all-inclusion was Shepard High School, 13049 S. Ridgeland Ave., Palos Heights. “We…

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Billions of cicadas get ready to raise a racket

By Kelly White If you haven’t heard the buzz yet, you will soon. With 2024 marking a big year for periodical cicadas in Illinois, billions of the red-eyed buggers will soon be making an appearance. Periodical cicada broods XIII and XIX will be emerging throughout much of the state at the same time. Although exact…

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‘A man of honor, a beacon of kindness’

. Chicago weeps for Officer Luis Huesca  . By Tim Hadac People across the Southwest Side shed tears earlier this week, as throngs of police officers and other filled the St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel at 77th and Western for a funeral Mass for CPD Officer Luis M. Huesca. Officer Huesca was “a man…

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Archer Manor Little League starts its 2024 season

. Sunny skies and mild temperatures greeted the boys and girls, moms and dads, umpires and coaches, and everyone else participating in Archer Manor Little League’s Opening Day parade and ceremonies at Archer Park. Since 1952, AMLL has provided athletic opportunities for thousands of boys and girls in Archer Heights, West Elsdon, Central Stickney, Vittum…

In a screenshot from a video showing drifting in a Southwest Side parking lot, Smoke billows from both a muscle car's wheels and the asphalt below. --Supplied photo

Dread over car drifters on streets

. Reckless drivers take over SW Side intersections  . By Tim Hadac At the April meeting of the Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch, a police officer admitted that the drag racing/drifting phenomenon seen and heard in the Midway area in recent years “probably will increase, but we hope not.” The admission was triggered by a brief…