The Yorkville American Legion Post 489 and the Veterans Outreach for Kendall County invite residents to all the veterans by sponsoring a flag that will be displayed at Town Square, 301 N. Bridge, Yorkville, Nov. 5-12. (Photo courtesy of Yorkville American Legion)

Aurora

Police offer Halloween safety tips

Halloween is upon us, and the Aurora Police Department is offering tips to keep children safe as they head out trick-or-treating. Make sure to check your local trick-or-treating hours and follow these tips for a fun night.

• Make sure costumes, wigs and accessories are flame resistant.
• Be sure to carry a flashlight; and costumes should be bright or reflective so children can see and be seen. Putting reflective tape on costumes is another option.
• Masks, costumes and shoes should be well-fitting to avoid blocked vision, trips and falls.
• Children should stay on sidewalks, look both ways before crossing streets and use established crosswalks wherever possible.
• Props like swords, knives and other objects should be made of soft or flexible material.
• Only visit homes with a front porch light on; and kids should only enter homes if they’re with a trusted adult. Otherwise, Trick-or-Treaters should stay outside.
• Bring a cell phone while trick-or-treating in case of an emergency.
• Only factory-wrapped treats should be eaten; homemade treats should be avoided unless the cook is well-known to the trick-or-treater or their family.

Don’t forget to verify addresses of sex offenders living in your neighborhoods by visiting http://sheriffalerts.com/cap_main.php?office=55129

Police participate in prescription drug takeback

Aurora police are once again collecting expired, unused and unwanted prescription medicines from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Aurora Police Department during the Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Takeback Day.

Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are extremely high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.

Studies show that most abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

In addition, disposing of unused medicines like flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash — both pose potential safety and health hazards.

Bring your pills or patches for disposal to the Aurora Police Dept., 1200 E. Indian Trail.  The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. Police cannot accept liquids, needles, inhalers or sharps — only pills or patches. Also, drugs dropped off before 10 a.m. or after 2 p.m. cannot be accepted.

Last April, Americans turned in 475 tons (nearly one million pounds) of prescription drugs at over 5,800 sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,600 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 15 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in just under ten million pounds—more than 4,982 tons—of pills.

State

Illinois children diagnosed with polio-like illness

Nine children under 18 years old have been diagnosed in northern Illinois with acute flaccid myelitis, a rare but potentially severe condition that causes weakness or even paralysis in the arms and legs.

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is working with the health care providers to collect necessary information to send to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The case reports are from individuals younger than 18 years of age and from northern Illinois. Specific location information is not available. 

AFM is a serious, but uncommon condition. It affects a person’s nervous system, specifically the spinal cord. AFM or neurologic conditions like it have a variety of causes, including viruses, environmental toxins, and genetic disorders.

Much is still unknown about AFM and often, a cause for AFM cannot be identified.  Symptoms can include:

• Sudden onset of limb weakness and loss of muscle tone and reflexes facial droop/weakness
• Difficulty moving the eyes
• Drooping eyelids
• Difficulty with swallowing or slurred speech

If you or your child develops any of these symptoms, you should seek medical care right away.

While we don’t know if it is effective in preventing AFM, steps you can take to help stay healthy include:

• Washing your hands often with soap and water
• Avoiding close contact with sick people
• Cleaning surfaces with a disinfectant, especially surfaces that a sick person has touched

For more information on acute flaccid myelitis, visit https://www.cdc.gov/acute-flaccid-myelitis/.

Oswego

Police HQ dedication and ribbon-cutting

The public is invited to celebrate the opening of the new headquarters of the Oswego Police Department. The new headquarters, located at 3355 Woolley Road, will be unveiled to the public during a dedication ceremony at 3 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 26.

The public will be able to glimpse the inside of the building during an open house and tours, which will be held once the ceremony concludes.

“The design and development of this cutting-edge law enforcement facility was inspired by a desire to provide an inviting and transparent building for our community to use, while enhancing safety and operational efficiency for the department members serving our public,” Oswego Police Chief Jeff Burgner said. “We’re proud to be able to invite the public in and showcase how the new facility will benefit our community.”

The dedication ceremony will include music from the Oswego Fire Department Pipes and Drums, a flag-raising by the Oswego Police Department Honor Guard, the national anthem sung by Oswego East student McKenna Kreiling, and comments from Congressman Bill Foster, Village President Gail Johnson, and other representatives from the village staff, architect, builder and other teams that collaborated to make the project a reality.

The building is designed by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, Inc., along with the consulting firm McClaren, Wilson & Lawrie, and built by construction management company Gilbane Building Company.

“Great architecture is often the result of great collaborations between a client and an architect,” said Peter Ruggiero, design principal at HOK. “We are very proud of our collaboration with the Village of Oswego, the Oswego Police Department, their leadership, and the new headquarters building that is the result of this collaboration.  The contemporary design of the new headquarters reflects the forward-thinking vision of Oswego, its police department, and their commitment to excellence.”

Village named a Green Power Partner Community

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized Oswego as a Green Power Partner community, in recognition of its dedication to using 100 percent renewable energy for its Electrical Aggregation program.

In Oswego, the village has contracted with clean energy provider MC Squared to purchase most of the energy and all the renewable energy credits for residents and businesses that participate in the Village’s Electrical Aggregation program.

For residents in the program, the amount they pay on their ComEd bills for their electricity supply supports new energy from a mix of wind and solar projects — all at the same price as conventional coal- and gas-powered electricity.

“We’re happy to be supporting clean energy production,” Oswego Finance Director Mark Horton said. “It’s a smart thing for the environment, and the best part is that with just a little comparison shopping we were able to continue to bring green energy to Oswego without any additional cost to residents.”

To be named a Green Power Partner, communities must meet a minimum percentage of green power, between 3 and 20 percent, based on the amount of power a community uses annually.

Currently, 74 percent of all energy used in Oswego is from renewable resources like wind and solar.

To qualify as a Green Power Partner, communities must use energy from eligible renewable sources, including solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, or certain biomass or low-impact hydroelectric sources. The energy must be purchased voluntarily and sourced from renewable facilities less than 15 years old located in the United States.

Unless a resident has opted out, they are automatically signed up to participate in the Village’s electrical aggregation program that contracts for renewable energy at the same price as conventional energy.

For more information on the Village’s Electrical Aggregation program, contact the Village of Oswego at 630-554-3618.

Yorkville

Local Legion seeks Flags of Valor sponsors

The Yorkville American Legion Post 489 and the Veterans Outreach for Kendall County invite residents to honor our nation and all the veterans who have served with the 2018 Yorkville Flags of Valor as American Flags are displayed at Town Square during the week of Veterans Day.

Sponsoring a flag gives you the opportunity to recognize and honor a veteran in your life. A flag can be sponsored for $30 per flag and will include a keepsake ribbon and option to personalize a tag in honor of a veteran. 

This flag will be displayed at Town Square, 301 N. Bridge, Yorkville, Nov. 5-12. Ribbons and tags will then be mailed to designated address listed on form the week following Veterans Day. 

Everyone is welcome to participate and support local veterans either through sponsoring a flag or donating to support the hundreds of veterans in Yorkville and Kendall County as all proceeds will be donated back to the Yorkville American Legion Post 489 and Veterans Outreach for Kendall County.

To purchase a flag or to donate, interested individuals can register online or print and complete this form and return to the following locations by Friday, Nov. 2:

United City of Yorkville City Hall, 800 Game Farm Road or Yorkville Parks and Recreation Department, 201 W Hydraulic Ave.

–Kendall County News Briefs–