Are you feeling the need to get out, have some fun, meet some new friends and try a new activity? The Fox Valley Older Adult Senior Center is located at 1406 Suydam Road, Sandwich. For more information call (815) 786- 9404. Most activities are $2 for members and $3 for non-members. (Photo courtesy of FVOAS)

Aurora

Police investigate shooting with injuries

Aurora Police are investigating a shooting that occurred just after 11 p.m. Jan. 17 in the 1200 block of S. Fourth St. that left a 22-year-old man critically injured.

The man shot was able to run back to his residence in the 1200 block of Pearl Street where he was found inside his home suffering from gunshot injuries. He was airlifted from an Aurora Hospital to a different suburban hospital in critical condition.

He is expected to survive. There was a gun recovered from the Pearl St. address. Several theories and motives are being worked on by detectives.

If you have any information call Investigations at (630) 256-5500 or Crime Stoppers at (630) 892-1000.

Regional

Park District shelters available for reservations

The Fox Valley Park District features 13 picnic shelters throughout its park system in Aurora, North Aurora and Montgomery. Reservations for groups of 25 or more are available from May 1 to Oct. 21.

Reservation fees are $60 for residents and $90 for non-residents, with a $100 refundable security fee required as well. Reservations include exclusive use of the shelter, pavilion and grill areas during the reserved time. However, as public parks, adjacent open space and playground areas remain available to others during reserved times.

Capacity ranges from 30 to 150 people at all of the shelters except Cool Acres, which can accommodate groups as large as 200. Cool Acres – located on the Fox River along Route 25 and Sullivan Road – is the only shelter area that allows consumption of alcohol. Additional fees and permits are required.

The newly renovated Jericho Lake Park is available once again and features an array of improvements. Also, for the first time, shelter reservations are available at Red Oak Nature Center (weekends only).

Austin Park, Copley I Park and North Aurora Island Park are not available for shelter reservations during the 2018 season due to restroom renovations.

Reservations are taken in-person at the Cole Center (101 W. Illinois Ave.), Prisco Center (150 W. Illinois Ave.) and Eola Center (555 S. Eola Rd.) during weekday hours. An illustrated picnic shelter guidebook is available online and at each facility, providing an overview and photos from each reservable park site.

Kendall County

Sheriff’s Office investigates loud explosion

On Jan. 20 at approximately 4:35 p.m. the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office received several calls of a loud explosion in the area of Route 71 and Timbercreek Drive.

Upon further investigation, it was revealed the explosion was from an exploding target commonly referred to as Tannerite.

The Sheriff’s Office would like to remind the citizens of Kendall County of the dangers of exploding targets. Although they are legal to own, detonation of explosives can be very dangerous, and any damage that is caused as a result of the explosion may result in criminal charges.

Community groups give generously to PADS

Midway through its eighth season of providing nutritious meals and overnight shelter to the area’s homeless community, Kendall County PADS has received an outpouring of donations that have helped its guests get through what has thus far been an unusually harsh winter.

The homeless support group has received generous gifts from churches, businesses, civic organizations, and individual citizens, according to Anne Engelhardt, executive director of Kendall County PADS.

“I am very grateful for the tremendous community support for people living with homelessness,” said Ms. Engelhardt. “We have not had to do any fundraising activities. Instead, our time and energy goes into volunteering at the shelter sites.”

One longtime donor to PADS is the Fox Valley Family YMCA, where gymnastics director Karen Oelker led a fundraising effort late last year that garnered $400 from coaches and participants at the Plano facility.

Every year she works with her team captains to come up with a way to give back to the community. In recent years, the YMCA has donated winter clothing, laundry detergent, and laundromat cards for PADS guests.

“This really made the girls think about how real this was, and we then decided this is what we would be fundraising for,” she recalled.

So, they held an open gym and advertised it as a “parents’ night out,” with profits going to Kendall County PADS.

At Parkview Christian Academy in Yorkville, the second-grade class of teacher Kristen Dudding collected and donated to PADS guests dozens of toothbrushes, tubes of toothpaste, bars of soap, and other hygiene items.

Becky Grace of Coldwell in Yorkville also organized a PADS drive. Coldwell Banker agents and clients donated paper goods, hygiene items, pre-paid laundry cards, NCG movie passes, and gift cards for McDonald’s and Walgreens. In addition, Coldwell Banker collected nine large boxes of winter outdoor clothing (coats, hats, gloves, and scarves). And the real estate firm donated funds to the Kendall County Community Food Pantry, a PADS partner.      

Some area residents found innovative ways to give to PADS. David Edelman, a 1987 graduate of Oswego High School, raised $500 from his fellow classmates at a recent reunion.

And Yorkville resident April Morsch used her Facebook page, April’s Awesome Attic, to collect coats, scarves, gloves, and boots––as well as a monetary contribution––from her friends and neighbors.

Also donating to Kendall County PADS this shelter season were the American Legion Riders, Oswego; Au Sable Grove Presbyterian Church, Yorkville: Church of the Good Shepherd, Oswego; First Baptist Church, Plano; Kendall Lodge 471 A.F. & A.M., Yorkville; the Marian Fathers of St. Mary Catholic Church, Plano; Kendall Lodge 471 A.F. & A.M., Yorkville; Masonic Raven Lodge #303, Oswego; the Men’s Group at Trinity United Methodist Church, Yorkville; St. John’s Lutheran Church, Somonauk; the sixth grade classes at Emily G. Jones School, Plano; United Methodist Women, Yorkville; Wheaton Title and Trust; Wines for Humanity, Naperville; and the Yorkville Junior Women’s Club.

There were other donors who asked to remain anonymous. Those who wish to donate or volunteer at a shelter site may call (630) 553-5073 or visit the website at www.kendallcountypads.org.

Oswego

Applications taken for Citizen’s Police Academy

The Oswego Police Department is announcing sign up for its next Citizen’s Police Academy session, beginning Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018. Classes will be held on Wednesday nights from 6:30 p.m. until approximately 8:30 p.m. and will run for 14 weeks in the Community Room at the Oswego Law Enforcement Center.

Class size will have a minimum of 12 participants, with a maximum of 20. Eligible applicants must be 18 years of age and reside in, own property, or operate a business within the Village.

During class, students will learn various functions and duties of the Police Department and its officers.

Some of the topics include: Patrol, Investigations, Crime Scene Investigation, DUI Enforcement and Criminal Law. Open dialogue and questions are encouraged in the classroom.

Students may also participate in practicums, which allow the class to step into the role of the officer in various situations. Graduates of the class are eligible to join the Citizen’s Police Academy Alumni.

This class is designed to promote better communication between Village citizens and the Police Department by fostering a better understanding of the needs of Law Enforcement and the community. An application may be picked up at the Oswego Police Department or completed on-line at www.oswegopoliceil.org.

The application deadline for the February class will be Feb. 2, at 12 p.m.

Any questions please contact Officer Stephen Bailey at (630) 551-7364 or Deputy Chief James Jensen at (630) 551-7300.

Sandwich

Cure the winter doldrums at FVCC

This Fox Valley Senior Center is located at 1406 Suydam Road, Sandwich, right across the street from the Sandwich Fair Grounds. For more information call (815) 786- 9404. Most activities are $2 for members and $3 for non-members.

Regular Monthly Programs and Activities:

• Bible Study Tuesdays 10:30 a.m.
• Painting Group Thursdays 12:30 p.m.
• Woodcarvers Tuesdays 9 a.m.

Exercise

• Tuesdays and Thursdays 10 a.m.
• Chair Yoga Wednesday 10 a.m.
• Line Dancing Fridays 9:30 a.m. (No class in January)
• Food and Fun
• Provided by Voluntary Action Center (VAC)
• Lunch Mondays – Fridays 11:30 a.m. $4 suggested donation
• Men’s Breakfast Tuesdays 8 a.m. $5.00

Games and Play

• Bingo – Mondays 9 a.m. First and third Mondays 12:15 p.m.
• (12:15 p.m. Bingo provided by Voluntary Action Center (VAC))
• Cards – Thursdays 12:30 p.m.
• Coloring Craze – Fridays 9:30-11:30 a.m. with special instructions on first Friday
• Hand and Foot Card Game – Mondays and Wednesdays noon.
• Mexican Train Dominoes – Tuesdays and Fridays 12:15 p.m.
• Wii Bowling – Mondays 10:15 a.m. and Wednesdays 9:30 a.m.
• Finally Fridays- Fridays 4 – 7 p.m. Cash Bar

Health and Wellness

• Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support Group third Thursday 1 p.m.
• Audiology Checks first Tuesday 9:30 a.m.
• Chair Yoga, Wednesdays, 10 a.m.
• Haircuts Wednesdays 10 a.m. to 2p.m. $10
• Information and Assistance
• Benefit Access/SHIP DeKalb County Residents fourth Tuesday 9 a.m.-11 a.m.
• Benefit Access/SHIP LaSalle County Residents second Wednesday 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

–Kendall County News Briefs–