Oswego’s downtown center will be a focal point for the village with the hiring of a new economic development director. Corinna Cole officially begins on the job Oct. 19. (Photo courtesy of the village of Oswego)

Aurora

Police participating in National Drug Take Back

Aurora police are joining law enforcement agencies nationwide and partnering with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in collecting expired, unused, and unwanted prescription medications (pills or patches only).

Between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Oct. 22, these medications will be accepted at the front desk of the department’s headquarters, 1200 E. Indian Trail, no questions asked. The drugs will then be safely disposed of. The service is free and anonymous. Note that liquids, needles or sharps cannot be accepted.

Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.

Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans’ usual methods for disposing of unused medicines — flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash — both pose potential safety and health hazards. More information can be found at usdoj.gov.

Kendall County

Eagle Scout donates dog beds to Sheriff K-9 Unit

On Sept. 29, the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office received three dog beds for its K-9 units from Collin Haagenson, a member of Oswego Boys Scout Troop #63. Haagenson constructed the dog beds as part of his final project in becoming an Eagle Scout.

Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Boy Scouting Program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). The Eagle Scout project is an opportunity for a Boy Scout to demonstrate leadership of others while performing a project for the benefit of their community.

Haagenson constructed a total of 25 dog beds which each measured 52-inch by 38-inch and were made of duck canvas fabric and PVC pipes for the frames. The three donated beds will be utilized by the dogs at their K-9 handler’s residence.

Haagenson donated the remaining 22 dog beds to Just Giants, which is an organization that finds homes for adolescent and senior giant breed dogs. For more information on Just Giants, visit their website at Justgiants.org.

Sheriff’s Office warns of telephone scam

The Kendall County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents of an ongoing telephone scam. Unknown individuals claiming to be an officer with the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office have been calling local residents. The individuals state that a “complaint had been filed with the IRS,” and to call a different phone number back or risk being arrested.

The Sheriff’s Office phone number may be displayed on the complainant’s caller ID, presumably by utilizing a common tactic among scammers called “Spoofing”, where through computer software; a specific telephone number will be displayed on the recipient’s caller ID.

The Sheriff’s Office would like to ensure that citizens are aware of this scam and that phone calls regarding “IRS complaints” are never handled by the sheriff’s office. Personal information should never be given out over the phone.

Also, residents are reminded that sheriff’s office personnel will never request money over the phone. Should people receive a phone call from an individual claiming to be with the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office regarding IRS business, should contact the sheriff’s office immediately at (630) 553-5856 to verify the authenticity of the deputy contacting them.

Sheriff’s Office launches employee recognition program

The Kendall County Sheriff Office (KCSO) is proud to announce its Employee Recognition Program. The KCSO’s new program is focused on recognizing employees for the great acts they perform.

There is also a new commendation and awards policy and an online citizen submission form for recognizing employees of our office. This new program will help identify those employees or citizens that deserve special recognition whenever his/her duties are performed in an exemplary manner.

Citizens may also be recognized under this program for an act that deserves recognition.

Recognition may be given for heroism, valor, lifesaving, and other acts performed in such a manner that recognition is just. Those who have displayed behavior fitting an office award should be nominated for said award.

In the event the act does not rise to the level of a formal award, outstanding work may be recognized by a certificate of commendation from an employee’s supervisor.

Any employee or citizen may nominate an employee or citizen to receive an award or commendation. If you witnessed or know of an act that deserves recognition, please take the time to let the office know by submitting an online submission form at www.co.kendall.il.us/sheriff. You may stop at the KCSO and complete an Award Nomination Form and submit it to a supervisor.

Oswego native Stan Young, a World War II paratrooper, will be one of the veterans featured on the Wall of Honor at the Little White School Museum’s “Remembering our Veterans” exhibit. The Park District is still looking for veterans’ photos to be displayed. (Photo courtesy of Oswegoland Park District)

Oswego

Veterans’ photos sought for November exhibit

Oswego’s Little White School Museum is seeking photos of Oswegoland residents who served in the nation’s military forces for addition to the Wall of Honor during the annual “Remembering our Veterans” exhibit.

This year’s exhibit will be held Saturday, Nov. 5 through Sunday, Nov. 13, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, at the museum, 72 Polk St.  (Jackson at Polk Street), just two blocks from historic downtown Oswego.

The museum is seeking candid snapshots and slides taken during residents’ military service as well as formal military portraits for exhibit during the event.

Donations of original photo are preferred, but digital contributions can also be emailed.

The museum can often scan original photos while owners wait if they bring them in during regular archives and research area hours. Digital submissions should be scanned at no less than 300 dpi, and may be emailed to info@littlewhiteschoolmuseum.org.

Photos should also include which arm and unit the veteran served in, dates of service, places served, and ranks and awards earned.

The extensive “Remembering Our Veterans” exhibit, which completely fills the museum’s Main Room, is mounted during each year’s Veterans Day observance. It draws hundreds of rarely-seen artifacts, photographs, and documents from the museum’s collections.

In addition, each year’s exhibit features a Wall of Honor with photographs recognizing the service of local military personnel.

Admission is free, but donations are always gratefully accepted.

ISBE votes to advance D308’s request to virtual learning

Community Unit School District 308 is working to continue its innovative pilot program that allows high school students to take up to 40 percent of their classes online without a loss of General State Aid (GSA) to the district.

District administration and union representatives presented their waiver renewal proposal at the recent IL State Board of Education Meeting in Springfield.

At its Annual Strategic Planning Session last month, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) unanimously voted to send to the General Assembly the Fall 2016 Waiver Report, which included School District 308’s request to continue its successful implementation of its virtual learning program.

At the meeting, State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Smith was very supportive of the waiver renewal and applauded School District 308 for piloting opportunities in online education.

Village names new economic development director

After a six-month search, the village of Oswego has hired its next Economic Development Director.

The village announced on Oct. 13 that Corinna Cole has been selected to take the position vacated by Vijay Gadde in April. Cole comes to the village after working as a senior vice president at the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

She is the village’s third economic development director in the last five years.

While in New York, Cole was responsible for negotiating and overseeing projects valued at $650 million, leading a team of project managers with a portfolio of more than 150 projects valued at $1.3 billion in public funding.

Cole has a bachelor of arts in political science and English literature from Knox College in Galesburg and a certificate in real estate finance and investment from NYU School of Continuing Professional Studies in New York City. 

Village President Gail Johnson said Cole’s immediate focus will be the development of the village’s downtown, the vacant Dominick’s store and attracting new restaurants and retail.

“I am beyond excited to welcome Ms. Cole to our team. She brings experience, enthusiasm, and vision to the position of Economic Development Director,” said Johnson. “We have interviewed a lot of good, qualified candidates for this position. We were determined to hire the best person not only for the job, but for this community. I am confident that we have.”

Cole will be appointed to her post at the Oct. 18 Village Board meeting, and her first day with the village will be Oct. 19. Her annual salary will be $100,000.

Public safety programs available for at-risk residents

The Oswego Police Department would like to remind residents of two, free local public safety programs for at-risk residents in the area.

The Oswego Police Department’s Citizen At Risk (C.A.R.) Program has been in place since 2011 and allows residents who may be at a risk of becoming confused, lost, disoriented or missing, to be registered with the Oswego Police Department. This voluntary assistance program is intended to help police reunite at-risk residents with their families and provide necessary medical assistance if needed.

C.A.R was designed to assist officers in gathering firsthand information for quicker dissemination to other officers, as well as other police departments, on citizens with special needs or care. Family members, caregivers, legal guardians and individuals can register with the police department, creating a confidential record for an individual in the event that person is lost, missing or could be in danger due to special needs.

The record contains contact information as well as other information such as physical descriptions, photographs, identified disabilities, places children like to hide, medical needs, triggers and communication strategies.

Registrants are given a bracelet with a unique identification number.

If a registered at-risk resident has contact with police and they have difficulty communicating, police will be able to use the identification number to locate family members, use provided strategies for communication and obtain necessary medical assistance.

Another safety program, the Illinois Premise Alert Program, supports individuals living with disabilities, while aiding public safety personnel to better respond to their needs.

The program allows people with special needs, their caregivers and family members, to provide information to be kept in a secured public safety database for first responders.

Locally, this database is maintained by Kendall County’s Emergency Dispatch Public Safety Answering Point, KenCom. Whenever police are dispatched or respond to a registered address or encounter a registered individual, KenCom will be able to relay the provided information and offer guidance to the responding police officers. The information is maintained for two years and is provided to emergency service agencies as needed to deliver appropriate, effective services to the individual.

The program does require a renewal to be requested every two years in order to be kept in the KenCom database.

Citizen At Risk (C.A.R.) Program can be found at http://www.oswegopoliceil.org/car-program.html and the Illinois Premise Alert Program can be found at http://www.co.kendall.il.us/kencom/ipap/.

–Kendall County News Briefs–