The Paramount Theater’s Act2 capital campaign fund has received a $250,000 gift from the center’s endowment fund.

AURORA

Endowment fund offers $250,000 gift to Paramount

Following the recent announcement of Paramount Theatre’s major  Act 2  capital campaign launch, the fundraising effort has received another shot in the arm from its endowment fund.

The campaign has announced a $250,000 gift from the Paramount Arts Centre Endowment fund.

Created in 1983 by Anne Goldsmith, Ed Schmitt and other community leaders, the fund has supported the theater annually using investment income from the $2 million fund. The annual donation, totaling approximately $80,000, depends on PACE’s investment results. But outstanding stock market returns recently resulted in a larger gift.

“This significant award will go a long way in helping us reach our goal of $4.5 million,” said Katie Arko, Paramount’s Vice President of Development Katie Arko. “Combined with the Dunham Fund’s $2.5 million grant, announced last month, we’re more confident than ever that this campaign will exceed its initial estimations.”

The PACE grant is the result of a vision conceived more than 25 years ago by Goldsmith, who recruited other prominent and hardworking volunteers in Aurora, including Ed Schmitt, to work with her to create an endowment fund to provide a perpetual stream of income to the Paramount.

The Act 2 Capital Campaign will support three major areas of expansion and improvement. The first is the creation of the Paramount School of the Arts soon to be located in the new John C. Dunham Aurora Arts Center, directly adjacent to the Paramount Theatre.

In addition, all 1,888 original seats that have served more than eight million visitors since the theater opened in 1931 will be replaced starting summer 2018. Also, Paramount’s 173-seat sister stage, the Copley Theatre, located in the North Island Center directly across the street from the Paramount, will undergo a complete modernization.

SUGAR GROVE

Nominees sought for two Waubonsee honors

Nominations are now being sought for Waubonsee Community College’s 2018 Distinguished Contributor and Distinguished Alumnus awards. Nominations must be received by Friday, March 30. This year, awards will be presented to the recipients at the college’s commencement ceremonies on May 12.   

The Waubonsee Distinguished Alumnus Award is presented to outstanding graduates of Waubonsee Community College in recognition of their unselfish and continued support of the college. The nominees should have completed an associate degree at Waubonsee; have documented evidence of a distinguished record in their chosen profession and/or occupation; have documented evidence of contribution and service to their community; and have demonstrated a lifelong interest in education.

The nominee cannot be a current employee of Waubonsee.

The Waubonsee Distinguished Contributor Award is presented to individuals, groups or organizations who have made outstanding contributions or given exemplary support to the college. The award will be given to a nominee who has supported an area of the general operation of the college in either a personal or professional capacity that has contributed to the overall growth and expansion of the college’s mission.

Nominations can be submitted online at https://www.waubonsee.edu/distinguished-alumnus-award for the distinguished alumnus and at https://www.waubonsee.edu/distinguished-contributor-award for the distinguished contributor.

For questions or additional information contact Kim Caponi, Director of Presidential Communications and Operations, by email at kcaponi@waubonsee.edu.

ST. CHARLES

Police Academy offers taste of law enforcement

Wonder what it’s like to collect fingerprints from a crime scene or be a part of a SWAT team? The St. Charles Citizen Police Academy offers a chance to learn that and other aspects of law enforcement and crime prevention.

The course offers a unique opportunity to interact with members of the Police Department and a get a behind-the-scenes look at how the Department operates.

The Academy will meet Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. between March 15 and May 31. Each session lasts 2-3 hours and includes classroom discussions as well as hand-on demonstrations. Sessions are held in the St. Charles Police Department Training Room, 211 N. Riverside Ave. The academy is free of charge to all St. Charles residents, business/property owners and their employees, and approved St. Charles high school juniors and seniors.

Pick up an application in the Police Department lobby or download one from the City web site at www.stcharlesil.gov/crime-prevention/citizen-police-academy.  Send completed applications to the St. Charles Police Department, care of Officer Jim Burden, 211 N. Riverside Avenue, St. Charles, Illinois 60174 or jburden@stcharlesil.gov. Applications are due March 8.

For more information, contact Burden at 630.443.3835 or jburden@stcharlesil.gov.

SANDWICH

Free spring gardening workshop March 24

The Sandwich Park District invite hosts its annual free Spring Gardening Workshop on March 24 at the David A. Francis Community Center, 1001 N. Latham St.  

The yearly free community program helps gardeners improve their knowledge, but also to encourage those who think they might like to try their hands at digging in the dirt.

Three speakers will be featured beginning at 8:30 a.m. with a presentation entitled “Adding Color to Your Garden with Native Plants” by Amy Hamilton, a retired teacher and Master Naturalist with a love of native plants.  

She also is the grounds manager of the Plano School District, where she is transforming the landscaping with native gardens. Hamilton will show how to plan for continuous blooms and color from spring to fall at home with a variety of native plants.

Richard Hentschel, horticulture educator for the University of Illinois Extension Service in Kendall, Kane and DuPage counties,  will discuss “Common Backyard Weeds and How to Handle Them” and how to identify the annual, biennial and perennial weeds that we all have.

Nancy Christian of Redbud Creek Farm Garden Center will talk about “Surprising Succulents – Even More Versatile and Enticing Than You Imagined,” will focus on wide variety of succulents.

Pre-registration is requested by calling (815) 786-8044.  Doors open at 8 a.m.with a continental breakfast available for purchase.

AURORA

Fire Museum still has badges for firefighters

The Aurora Regional Fire Museum seeks to present commemorative badges to former firefighters and their families. 

In 2006, to celebrate the Aurora Fire Department’s 150th Anniversary, a commemorative badge was designed and issued to all current firefighters and retirees, up to badge No. 548. The badge is a replica of the one worn by Aurora firefighters during the first half of the twentieth century, and include a number signifying each paid members seniority.

Badges were presented to retirees and families of former firefighters on June 25, 2006. In the years since, the Aurora Fire Department and Aurora Regional Fire Museum have worked to deliver these badges to the families of the firefighters who served the city for so many years.

But 111 badges remain to be given out. 

The museum seeks to present the remaining badges to families of firefighters.

For more information, contact Brian Failing, Executive Director, at 630-256-4141 or ed@auroraregionalfiremuseum.org.

AURORA

Man sentenced for gun, drug offense

An Aurora man is headed to prison for possessing a gun in close proximity to illegal drugs he planned to sell.

Kane County Circuit Judge Donald M. Tegeler, Jr., on Thursday, Feb. 22, sentenced 21-year-old Angel Arredondo to 10 years’ imprisonment in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Judge Tegeler convicted Arredondo on the offense of armed violence, Class X felony, on Aug. 7, 2017. Arredondo waived his right to a jury trial.

Kane County Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Rodgers presented evidence that on Feb. 11, 2016, Aurora police officers served a search warrant at Arredondo’s residence in the 700 block of Spring Street, Aurora. Police found Arredondo in the basement in the residence with a loaded 12-gauge shotgun within his reach and more than 60 grams of marijuana that he admitted he sells.

–Kane County News Briefs–