Kendall County News Briefs

Chronicle Media
Each weekend in October and on Columbus Day, Oct. 10, Blackberry Farm in Aurora will be festively decorated in the spirit of pumpkin season. A picnic area will have pumpkins for purchase, and an assortment of decorating materials will be provided. (Photo courtesy of Fox Valley Park District)

Each weekend in October and on Columbus Day, Oct. 10, Blackberry Farm in Aurora will be festively decorated in the spirit of pumpkin season. A picnic area will have pumpkins for purchase, and an assortment of decorating materials will be provided. (Photo courtesy of Fox Valley Park District)

Aurora

Kifowit hosting Kids’ Expo and Touch-A-Truck event

State Representative Stephanie Kifowit will be hosting a Kids’ Expo and Touch-A-Truck event for children and their families on Saturday, Oct.  from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Phillips Park Aquatic Center, 828 Montgomery Road, Aurora, in the North and South parking lots located off Howell Road.

“This is an opportunity for families to be active and have fun together, and I believe it is important to bring back basic family bonding experiences,” stated Kifowit.  “Also, families will have a chance to interact with our first responders and learn what they do for our community.”

This event will foster an opportunity for families to spend the day having fun, while learning about a variety of things. Some of the participants are Scitech, which will provide a free activity for the kids; Studio Nafisa, a free art project and Engineering for Kids, which will be handing out free catapult kits for kids to make.

The Aurora Fire and Police Department will have various emergency vehicles for the public to experience, the Illinois State Police K-9 Unit will put on a demonstration on at 11:30 a.m., and much more. Food will be available via Gobble Dogs Food Truck.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Kifowit’s full-time constituent service office by calling (630) 585-1308, by email at Stephanie.Kifowit@att.net, or by visiting www.ILDistrict84.com.

Pumpkin Weekends at Blackberry Farm

Blackberry Farm will celebrate the fall season throughout the month of October with its popular Pumpkin Weekends beginning Saturday, Oct 1.

Each weekend, including the Columbus Day holiday on Oct. 10, Blackberry Farm will be festively decorated in the spirit of pumpkin season. A picnic area will have pumpkins for purchase, and an assortment of decorating materials will be provided.

Carousel rides, hay wagon rides, pony rides, paddle boats, Little Farmer’s Junction (6Y & under) and tours on the “Pumpkin Train” are part of each weekend’s festivities., along with the historic museums and interactive farm animal areas.

New this year is the Victorian Halloween Party that traces back to the origins of Halloween with an event host leading crafts and games, along with a fortune teller. Hosted in the Huntoon House, it’s a ghoulish balance of scary and fun.

Other popular attractions include the Corn Crib — similar to a large sandbox, but filled with corn — where children can roll and wriggle, farm style.

Also, there’s the famous Adventure Playground, a uniquely innovative play area featuring climbing decks, slides, ropes and catwalk-style bridges connecting an array of playhouses on multiple levels and a 70-foot zip line.

Park hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, with regular admission rates for residents and nonresidents.

“Pumpkin Weekends originated as a fall festival day, but it was so popular that we expanded it to include every weekend,” said Sandie Gilmer, facility supervisor at Blackberry Farm. “This is such a fun time of year that we want to make the season last just a little longer.”

For more information on Pumpkin Weekends, call Blackberry Farm at (630) 892-1550 or visit www.foxvalleyparkdistrict.org and the Blackberry Farm Facebook page.

Kendall County

Law enforcement memorial unveiled

The Kendall County Association of Chiefs of Police will be holding a dedication ceremony for the recently constructed Kendall County Law Enforcement Memorial. The ceremony will take place on Wednesday, Sept.  28, at 4 p.m. at the site of the newly constructed memorial which is located at the Kendall County Courthouse at 807 W. John St. in Yorkville.

The Kendall County Association of Chiefs of Police began planning this memorial in 2013 and recently completed the project. The event is open to the public and the association appreciates the support from within Kendall County and beyond.

During the dedication ceremony, numerous law enforcement agencies from within Kendall County will participate in honoring fallen officers as well as dedicating the memorial.

Local officials meet to discuss ways to combat heroin use

Last month, Kendall County Board Chair John Shaw, Kendall County Sheriff Dwight A. Baird, and Commander Mike Peters attended a meeting on combating heroin in Illinois with other government officials from the 14th District of Illinois.

The meeting was led by 14th District Congressman Randy Hultgren and officials participated in a discussion which featured updates on the heroin problem and the progress being made to combat the problem. There was an update on the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 (CARA) which was signed into law by President Barack Obama on July 22.

CARA authorizes the U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to address the prescription opioid abuse and heroin use crisis. CARA has a section dedicated to law enforcement and treatment which provides grants for law enforcement officers to be trained to help combat the problems of opioid abuse and heroin use.

Kendall County Sheriff’s Deputies said they are aware of the heroin crisis and have been trained to identify situations involving opioid overdoses. Patrol deputies carry and are trained to administer Intranasal Naloxone, commonly known as Narcan. Narcan is administered to help reverse the effects of opioids such as heroin, methadone, and oxycodone.

“On occasions, deputies have saved lives by administering Narcan. The passage of CARA will hopefully allow deputies to continue to have the most up to date training and life saving techniques available to help combat opioid abuse and heroin use,” said Sheriff Dwight A. Baird.

Montgomery

Riverside Cemetery walk announced

The 8th annual Cemetery Walk in Montgomery’s Riverside Cemetery will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 5  from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Guests will be led through the cemetery in small groups to meet the fascinating “ghosts” of some of the early pioneers and other area residents who now occupy the cemetery.

This is not a scary event, but more an opportunity to learn about the past from authentically costumed actors who will portray some of the people buried in the cemetery.

This year’s event will highlight a Civil War veteran, a woman who lived through the Great Depression, a man who loves to reminisce about his childhood in the early 1900s and a member of the large Albright/Albrecht family whose common ancestor came here from Germany around 1870.

Tours will begin near the corner of River and Taylor streets on the south side of the cemetery about every 10 minutes, so visitors can arrive any time between 7 and 8:30 p.m. Parking is available along River Street and at the playground at the north end of Montgomery Park. Visitors are encouraged to bring a flashlight and wear sturdy shoes.

The Cemetery Walk is organized by Montgomery’s Historic Preservation Commission. There is no charge for this event. In the event of rain, the Cemetery Walk will take place on Thursday, Oct. 6 at the same time. An indoor reenactment of the Cemetery Walk will take place in the Board Room of the Montgomery Village Hall at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 11 as part of the Village’s Senior Program.

Volunteers are being sought to serve as guides to escort the groups through the cemetery. To volunteer or for additional information, please contact Debbie Buchanan at the Montgomery Village Hall at (630) 896-8080, Ext. 9003.

Residents can now view bills and pay online

The Village of Montgomery is pleased to announce a new electronic billing service. Starting with the Oct. 1 bill, customers will have the option to register for online billing and receive emails when their bills are ready for viewing.

They simply click through and the bill appears with all the information they would have received on a paper bill.

Customers can pay from the comfort of their homes, seven days a week, 24 hours a day by logging onto www.ci.montgomery.il.us, downloading “PSN Payments” from the App Store® or Google Play™, or calling a toll-free automated phone service (877) 885-7968. Customers can pay by credit or debit card as well as making an electronic payment from checking or savings. Residents can pay immediately, schedule a payment, or set up Auto-Pay and not have to worry about making payments for each bill. Auto-payments can be for the amount of the bill or a set budgeted amount.

You do not have to pay online to view your bill or balances. However, Montgomery’s new payment processor charges a convenience fee of $2 for payments made online and by phone.

“This is a win for everyone involved,” said Justin VanVooren, director of finance. “We spend approximately $2,500 in postage each billing cycle to mail bills to all of our customers. It is just one way we are looking at to hold down costs for our customers.”

Security of online information is always a priority, so when the village looked for a company to provide online bills and payments, that was a top consideration.

They chose Payment Service Network (PSN) which has attained Level 1 Certification by the Payment Card Industry —  Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS), the highest degree of security awarded by the industry. PSN specializes in providing billing, payment and communication services to utility companies and municipalities.

The company was a pioneer in the online payment industry and is based in Madison, Wisconsin. If residents have any questions, they can call PSN’s HELP line, toll free at (866) 917-7368.

Oswego

Crosstown rivalry continues

Oswego East High School (OEHS) and Oswego High School (OHS) will face off on the gridiron for the annual Crosstown football game at OEHS on Friday, Sept. 30.

The sophomore game begins at 4:30 p.m. and the varsity game begins at 7 p.m. Gates will open at 4 p.m. Tickets are $4 for adults, $2 for students (grades K-12), and $1 for senior citizens. Tickets are available online at https://statechamps.com/clients/oswegoeasthsil/ during the week of Sept. 26-30. You can also buy them in person at OEHS or OHS during the same time frame.

Tickets will be sold from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at both schools, and there will be extended hours at the OEHS athletic office from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on the same days (enter through door 41). Tickets will be available online or at the gate on Friday (game day) until they are sold out.

There will be satellite parking with shuttle service from Bednarcik Junior High School, Plank Junior High School, and Oswego High School. Shuttles begin about 4:30 p.m. and run until about 30 minutes after the end of the varsity game.

Sandwich

Sandwich Police Department cadets donate to FVOAS

Last month, Sandwich held a free Community Awareness Fair in celebration of National Night Out featuring a 5K Race, a car show,  live K9 demonstrations along with community food and small business vendors. The Sandwich Police Department Cadets focused their fundraising efforts from this event on the needs of Fox Valley Older Adult Services (FVOAS). The Cadets, along with Becky Lueken of the Wiener Wagon, generously donated to FVOAS.

Through this initiative of the Sandwich Police Cadets, Fox Valley Older Adult Services was honored to be the recipient of profits from the 5K Race and different local vendors. FVOAS’ supplies outstanding programing and services to seniors in a multi county area. Through the generosity of both business and private donors FVOAS, for the past 44 years, has been able to help seniors continue to live vital and independent lives.

Through Active Adult Activities at the Senior Center, Adult Day Service and Home Services, now including 24/7 Private Home Services, FVOAS and its partner, Voluntary Action Center (VAC), assist thousands of seniors in DeKalb, Kendall, LaSalle, Bureau and soon, Kane counties.

For more information on services please call, (815) 786- 9404 or stop by the Fox Valley Community Center at 1406 Suydam Road, Sandwich.

Yorkville

Veterans sought for appreciation program

The Chapel on the Green in Yorkville will have their Veterans Appreciation Program on Sunday, Nov.  13 at 2 p.m.  They are seeking veterans who would be willing to speak during the program.

“It is always special to hear from the veterans,” said Carol Sheeley, Chair of the event.  “I hope to hear from some veterans, or someone with the name of a veteran that I may contact.”   Call Carol at (630) 553-5163.

–Kendall County News Briefs–