In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Des Plaines History Center, 781 Pearson St., is offering a poster contest to all children who reside or attend school in Des Plaines.

Cook County

Dist. 214 to host panel on start of new American presidency

High School District 214 (Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove, Hersey, Prospect, Rolling Meadows and Wheeling high schools) will host a panel on the first 30

days of the new American presidency at 7 p.m. March 2 at Forest View Education Center, 2121 S. Goebbert Road, Arlington Heights. The panel-style, non-partisan event — part of a continued effort to engage the community on topics of importance — will feature a discussion of upcoming presidential priorities and achievements, as well as potential changes and ramifications at the state and local level levels resulting from the new leadership following a highly divisive election. Guest speakers include Madeleine Doubek, publisher of Reboot ILL; Natasha Korecki, senior reporter for POLITICO and author of “Illinois Playbook”; Kerry Lester, columnist and senior writer at the Daily Herald; Michael Puente, a WBEZ public media reporter; and Gary Midkiff, a college professor and lecturer who specializes in the American presidency. The panel will be moderated by Jason Block, a journalism teacher at Prospect High School. Audience members may submit questions for consideration upon arrival. Admission is free. To register, visit www.d214.org/panel. For more information, call (847) 718-7600.

Des Plaines

History Center offers poster contest to celebrate milestone

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Des Plaines History Center, 781 Pearson St., is offering a poster contest to all children who reside or attend school in Des Plaines, in four categories: grades K-2, grades 3-5, grades 6-8 and high school. Participants may submit one poster for each of two themes — “Changes in Des Plaines” and/or “Pride in My City: Des Plaines” — on a 8½-by-11-inch poster using any media (watercolor, crayon, acrylic, pencils, markers, etc.). Winners will receive gift cards and art supplies from Dick Blick Art Supply Co., located in Schaumburg. Submissions are due at the History Center by March 15. Winners will be announced April 3. To access an official contest form, visit www.desplaineshistory.org. For more information, call (847) 391-5399.

Park Ridge

City names Brown to community development post

Acting City Manager Joe Gilmore announced that Jim Brown has been named Community Preservation and Development Director after serving as interim director for four months. Brown previously served as Director of Planning and Economic Development with the Village of Lemont and as Community Development Director with the City of Freeport, and was an Associate Planner at Teska Associates, Inc., an urban planning, urban design and landscape architecture firm based in Evanston. Brown also served as an Operations Coordinator at various United States embassies throughout Africa as a member of the U.S. Army. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Augustana College and a Master of Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois-Chicago. For more information, call (847) 318-5200 or visit www.parkridge.us.

South Holland

Mother & Superhero Party set for Community Center

The village announced that the South Holland Mother & Son Superhero Party will be held from 6:30-9 p.m. March 3 at the South Holland Community Center, 501 E. 170th St. Mothers and sons (ages 3-12) can wear their favorite superhero costumes (or not) to the party, and enjoy food, games, music and more. Tickets are $40 per mother-and-son couple and $15 for each additional “superhero,” and can be purchased at the Community Center or online at www.southholland.org. For more information, call (708) 331-2940.

Evanston

NU assistant professor nets lucrative NSF award

Northwestern University synthetic biologist Neda Bagheri, an assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering, has received a Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the foundation’s most prestigious honor for junior faculty members. The CAREER awards program supports early career development of individuals who exemplify the role of teacher-scholar through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research. Bagheri will receive $500,000 over five years from NSF’s Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport systems to support both research and education initiatives. Bagheri’s primary research goal is to explain biological observations through mathematical formulations. With NFS support, she also will introduce science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) concepts to young and diverse audiences through a children’s book series. For more information, call (847) 491-3741 or visit www.northwestern.edu.

Alsip

Local manufacturer donates equipment to Fire Dept.

In conjunction with a major remodeling project, the Alsip Fire Department received several pieces of equipment via a donation from Arkema Coating Resins, a local manufacturing plant that produces a range of latex emulsion products for manufacturers of coatings, adhesives and construction products. The donation included two portable monitors and self-educting foam nozzles, and 350 feet of 5-inch supply hose. The new equipment — valued at approximately $10,000 — would be used for incidents involving cooling flammable liquid container fires, and the application of foam, if needed. For more information, call (708) 385-6902 or visit www.villageofalsip.org.

–Cook County News Briefs–