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# BUGL E N E W S YOUR COMM U N I T Y. YOUR NE WS . IN THI S I SSU E E VENTS
Calendar Events Upcoming events in your area SEE PAGE 4
SP ORTS
Block party Swenson learning from the best at Oklahoma
SEE PAGE 5
BU SI NESS
Dave Says Dave Ramsey’s Column SEE PAGE 4
BUGLENEWSPAPERS.COM
NEWS
YOUR COMMUNIT Y. YOUR NEWS. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2019 | BUGLENEWSPAPERS.COM
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NEWS
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2019 | BUGLENEWSPAPERS.COM
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LOCAL NEWS
Local businessman recognized for franchise success
Home Helpers Home Care owner gets rewarded for efforts in large way BY RYAN OSTRY Bugle Staff
@RyanOstry_BR18 rostry@buglenewspapers.com
Michael Gonzalez has always wanted to do two things, help people, and be an entrepreneur. Gonzalez, who recently won three awards, has been an owner of Home Helpers of DuPage and Will counties since 2008. Because of the work he has done, he was recognized by the International Franchise Association (IFA), his local chamber of commerce and Home Helpers Home Care. Home Helpers Home Care is home care after someone has left a hospital or rehabilitation service, and still has common care needs at home. Gonzalez’ grandmother, who was a business person as well,
started to get sick which is when the idea of helping not only her, but others kicked in. “She had diabetes and dementia,” Gonzalez said. “We started to experience hardships at home because my mother was the caregiver and she started to experience caregiver fatigue.” As that situation was occurring, Gonzalez wanted to help more than he originally was. “I was looking into into Home Care as a business model,” Gonzalez said. “I came across a article in a entrepreneur magazine where a guy, just like me, didn’t have any medical background but he still founded a business.” For seven months on his lunch break, Gonzalez contacted sales reps and asked questions about how the business of home health care actually works. After those seven months, Gonzalez graduated from with his Masters in History at DePaul, and then in July of 2008, his new business of Home Helpers started. The first award Gonzalez won,
NEWS BRIEFS
Teachers win Heroes in the classroom award Jenny Bell and Maggie Nickels celebrated at Soldier Field for outstanding work in the classroom BY RYAN OSTRY Bugle Staff
@RyanOstry_BR18 rostry@buglenewspapers.com There are two kinds of heroes — fictional and non-fictional. Jenny Bell and Maggie Nickels, are non-fictional heroes. The two sixth grade teachers at Meadowview Elementary School in Woodridge School District 68 were recently presented with the Symetra Heroes in the Classroom award. “I’ve been teaching for 27 years,” Bell said. “Maggie and I new each other from junior high, it’s awesome to work with someone you’re friends with, you respect and you trust.” For Nickels, she has been teaching for 31 years from kindergarten to eighth grade. “I was very fortunate to build a relationship with Mrs. Bell both professionally and socially,” Nickels said. “We’ve been teaching sixth grade as
a team for two years now.” The “Batman and Robin” duo were selected by the Chicago Bears from hundreds of other nominations to receive this award, and only 16 teachers from the Chicago-area per football season are selected. “The reason that we won this award is because of the relationships we have with all of our students,” Bell said. “Even after they leave, we make it a point to keep those relationships and for those students to understand we will both always be here for them.” Being selected by the Chicago Bears, both teachers had the opportunity to be on the video board at the Chicago Bears game on November 24 against the New York Giants. They each received two tickets to the game and VIP sideline access to the field during warm-ups to meet
SEE ‘HEROES’ PAGE 7
the IFA award, is a prestigious accomplishment for a franchise
owner, and Gonzalez was recognized at the IFA’s Franchise Action
Network Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., in September. To go along with the first award Gonzalez won, the second one was where he was honored by his local chamber of commerce, Chamber 630. The organization presented Gonzalez and his Home Helpers of DuPage and Will franchise with the Exceptional Company Culture award at the end of August. The third and final award Gonzalez collected for his efforts, is the top distinction from Home Helpers: The Home Helpers CEO Award. This venerable award recognizes a franchise that demonstrates strong commitment to his or her franchise, as well as the entire Home Helpers and DirectLink franchise community. “It’s a huge honor not just for me, but the many great people I’ve worked with over the years,” Gonzalez said. “This is a collected effort group award, we’re all very glad Home Helpers Home Care has been a success.”
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CALENDAR
UPCOMING EVENTS IN YOUR AREA WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2019 | BUGLENEWSPAPERS.COM
DECEMBER 6 DES PLAINES DES PLAINES ANNUAL HOLIDAY LIGHTING CEREMONY. 4-7 p.m. in downtown Des Plaines. Join Mayor Bogusz, Santa & his elves, Anna, Elsa, Olaf and hundreds of your friends and neighbors as we all light up the great holiday tree in Metropolitan Square. The festivities start at 4 p.m. when students and local organizations decorate their own holiday trees. Santa arrives at 4:30 p.m., and there’s great entertainment right up until we countdown and throw the giant switch at 6:30 p.m. to light up downtown Des Plaines. DECEMBER 6 SKOKIE FRIDAY NIGHT PUBLIC SKATE - THE GRINCH THEME. 7-8:30 p.m. at the Skatium Ice Arena. Friday night public skate session. The Grinch theme tonight. Admission Fee: Children $5, Adults $6, Skate Rental $3. Please dress appropriately for the ice - hat and gloves are recommended. DECEMBER 7 BOLINGBROOK HOLIDAY CRAFT SHOW AND COOKIE WALK. 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. at Jane Addams Middle School. All types of arts & crafts are welcome at the Holiday Craft Show. Crafts must be Handcrafted. Absolutely no items involving or depicting alcohol or tobacco will not be allowed. (In accordance with school district policies) Craft vendors must submit pictures of their work and specific description of items. DECEMBER 7 WESTMONT THE HOLLY DAYS STORYTIME TRAIN. 11 a.m. at the Westmont Centre. All aboard our Holly Days Storytime Train. This is your chance to capture some of the most beloved holiday story. Before boarding the train to the North Pole, we will read a holiday story at the Westmont Centre, 1 S. Cass Avenue. We will then board the train at the Westmont Train Station and head to the North Pole (Aurora depot). While at the North Pole, you will have a chance to meet Santa and his elves, enjoy some additional entertainment and some refreshments. Please note: there is no alcohol permitted on this trip. Advanced tickets are required and each family is limited to 10 tickets. Children ages two and under are free. DECEMBER 7 SHOREWOOD 2019 SHOREWOOD CHRISTMAS CRAFT AND VENDOR FAIR. 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Trinity Christian School 901 Shorewood Drive Shorewood, IL. There will be a diverse mix of crafters and vendors selling a variety of wares. DECEMBER 7 SKOKIE HOLIDAY FAIR EXTRAVAGANZA. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Weber Leisure Center Gymnasium. The cost to be a vendor/crafter is $40 by 10/24 and $50 after 10/24. You need to fill out an application in order to be a vendor/crafter. Applications will not be accepted after November 15. The event is free for everyone else. Please come out and support the community crafters.
COLUMN >> DAVE SAYS
Dave Says: Landlords & duplexes DEAR DAVE:
DEAR DERRICK:
I’m 23, debt-free, and I’ve almost got my fully funded emergency fund in place. I was curious about your thoughts on saving up money to buy a duplex, living on one side, and renting out the other. It would be my first home purchase, and my first rental property.
Well, the good news is your renter would be right next door. You can keep an eye on things. The bad news? Your renter would be right next door. It would be a necessity to have very clear boundaries in your relationship. Otherwise, some people will come knocking on your door at midnight expecting
DERRICK
you to change a light bulb or something silly like that. The trick to being a good landlord, especially for a rookie, is learning how to balance being firm with people, while still being fair and kind. Another thing to consider is the purchase of a duplex in general. The upside is you’ve got someone helping pay the bill when it’s rented. The
downside is when you get ready to sell a duplex, most of the time your buyer is an investor. This means you’re dealing with a wholesale-minded buyer, and that tends to hold prices on duplexes down more than it would a comparable, traditional, single-family home. On the other hand, the cute, young couple looking to buy a perfectly staged and freshly painted home is usually more than willing to pay full retail. I’ve owned several duplexes in my life, but
I’ve always done much better with single family homes. They’re easier to rent, they tend to stay rented more consistently, and as a rule, they appreciate faster. Just know your upsides and your downsides if you’re planning on moving into a duplex and doing this. And be very careful about your location. You’ll come out much better mentally, emotionally, and financially in an area where homeowners take pride in their neighborhood!
PAGE 5
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2019 | BUGLENEWSPAPERS.COM
BASKETBALL SOCCER CROSS COUNTRY FOOTBALL SOCCER TENNIS BASEBALL SOFTBALL VOLLEYBALL TRACK & FIELD SWIMMING CHEERLEADING DANCE BOWLING FEATURE
BOOMER
SOONER
Downers Grove South offensive lineman Erik Swenson is finding his way at Oklahoma BY MARK GREGORY Editorial Director
@Hear_The_Beard mark@buglenewspapers.com
In 2013 as a sophomore at Downers Grove South, under thenMustang and current Minooka head coach John Belskis, offensive lineman Erik Swenson made a verbal commitment to the University of Michigan – the team he rooted for growing up. By the end of his senior season, Jim Harbaugh had replaced Brady Hoke as head coach of the Wolverines, Swenson’s scholarship was rescinded and he found himself without a team just weeks before signing day. It didn’t take long for Swenson to find somewhere to play, however, as he chose to attend the University of Oklahoma and history has proven that everything worked out for the better. Swenson redshirted his first collegiate season, but during the first three years in Norman, OK, the Sooners posted a combined record of 35-6, won three Big 12 titles and finished in the top five in the nation in both the Associated Press and Coaches Polls every year. Over that same time frame, the rebuilding Wolverines have gone 28-11 and finished no better than 10th in the nation. This season, Oklahoma is 11-1 on the season and looking to play its way into the Football Four as it will face Baylor in the Big 12 Championship game this weekend. Oklahoma handed Baylor its
only loss of the season in mid November when it came back from a 25-point defecit to win 34-31. A win over the Bears could would potentially be enough with the resume of wins this season. With Utah also being a one-loss team and the current No. 4 team, the Sooners may need some help from Oregon to earn the right to compete for a national championship. “It has been pretty good season,” Swenson said. “We are right where want to be. We are making the fight towards the end.” After redshirting his true freshman season, Swenson saw action in 10 games over the next two seasons combined and has played in nine of the Sooners’ 12 games. “It has been a good couple of years, but this year has been the best as I have been getting some good playing time and developing myself on the field,” Swenson said. “Everything worked out fir the best. When one door closes another one opens.” While he has been on the Oklahoma offensive line, Swenson has had the opportunity to block for Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, both Heisman Trophy winners and both No. 1 overall draft picks in the National Football League, Mayfield by the Cleveland Browns and Murray to the Arizona Cardinals. This season, he has blocked for Jalen Hurts, a graduate transfer from the University of Alabama
SEE ‘SWENSON’ PAGE 6
PHOTO BY JOSHUA GATELEY/OU ATHLETICS
Erik Swenson found a home at Oklahoma after having scholarship at Michigan pulled.
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6 SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2019 | BUGLENEWSPAPERS.COM
COLLEGE
North Central defeats top-ranked Mount Union It was a game that surpassed all the records, benchmarks and superlative descriptions of a college football game, postseason or otherwise, and the torrid pace set by the offenses of both teams left most spectators figuring the outcome would come down to the last team to possess the ball. And that was the case in North Central College’s second-round NCAA Division III playoff game at the University of Mount Union on Saturday, but after all the points and yards had been piled up, it was a defensive stand which sealed the outcome for the fifthranked Cardinals, who took down the Purple Raiders, 59-52, to advance to next week’s national quarterfinal. After rolling up nearly 700 yards of offense, the Cardinals found the issue still in doubt as Mount Union took possession on its own 40-yard line with 2:39 to play. A 50-yard pass from D’Angelo Fulford to Wayne Ruby put the Purple Raiders in striking distance, but Fulford was brought down for a loss once by Ben Wong and twice by Tommy Hyland before a fourth-down pass was intercepted by Jake Beesley in the end zone with just two seconds on the clock. “I’ve never been a part of a game like that one,” said North Central head
coach Jeff Thorne. “That was unbelievable. It was an unbelievable atmosphere. Mount Union is a first-class organization from top to bottom, I have nothing but respect for them. I’m beyond elated with the way our guys played. At the end of the game, that’s our mantra, ‘I am a champion and I refuse to lose.’ We had some guys put the team on their back and say, ‘we’re not losing today.’” For Mount Union (11-1), ranked No. 1 by D3football.com and No. 2 by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) heading into the game and having not faced a deficit at any point in any game this season before Saturday, it marks the first time since 1994 that it will not advance past the second round, and it took every inch of the finest offensive performance ever put forth by a North Central team to make it happen. The Cardinals gained a school-record 699 yards of total offense, including a school-record 522 passing yards fron quarterback Broc Rutter, whose five touchdown passes give him a single-season record 47 this year. Andrew Kamienski hauled in a career-high 256 yards on 12 catches to become the first Cardinal to record more than 200 receiving yards in a game since 2005 and
DeAngelo Hardy easily surpassed the game-high totals of his young career with 186 yards on eight receptions. North Central (11-1) took its first lead of the contest early in the second period as Rutter delivered a 24-yard touchdown pass to running back Ethan Greenfield, giving the visitors a 21-20 advantage with 12:05 to play in the first half. Hyland forced a fumble on the ensuing possession which was recovered by Beesley at the Mount Union 45. Facing fourth down-and-six at the 41, Rutter connected with Kamienski on a slant pattern, and the junior eluded a would-be tackler to run uncontested to the goal line to extend the lead to 28-20. The Raiders, however, closed the half with 18 unanswered points and carried a 38-28 advantage into the half after gaining 460 yards in the first half alone. “Coach (Shane) Dierking, Coach (Tim) Janecek and our defensive staff did a great job at halftime. We made an adjustment to give a little bit more help defending the pass, and our guys did a great job of executing that adjustment and making them go in a different direction.” The Cardinals struck quickly to start the second half, and once again it was a quick pass to Kamienski that did the damage, this time from 71 yards out. Mount Union needed just 35 seconds to respond with a 66-yard TD pass from Fulford to Ruby, and the following series saw the Raiders back North Central up in to a third-and-28 situation at its own eight-yard line. Rutter, however, once again proved immune to the pressure of the moment, firing a 30-yard strike to Hardy to move the sticks, then hitting Kamienski for 59 yards to set up firstand-goal. Greenfield covered the remaining distance on the next play to
make it a 45-42 game with 8:56 on the third-quarter clock. “We came in with the mindset that it was going to be a multi-round battle and we just had to keep going one drive at a time,” Rutter said. “There was never a moment where we flinched. We were down 10, and just said, ‘cool, let’s get the ball and go score.’ The whole team came out and fought all day long, and there was not one ounce of doubt this week that we could come here and compete.” The Cardinals forced their second turnover of the day on the next possessiion, as Talha Ayhan pounced on a fumble at the North Central 40-yard line. The visitors put together a 10play, 60-yard drive which ate up 5:22 (the longest drive of the day by either team) and took the lead once again at 49-45 when Rutter found Kamienski at the back of the end zone for a sixyard score, Kamienski’s fourth of the day. Mount Union was forced to bring its punter on for the first time on its next drive, and Rutter found a new way to the goal line by heaving a 56yard completion to Khori Blair before calling his own number for a 10-yard score, extending the lead to 56-45 with 14:16 to play. The ensuing kickoff was returned 47 yards by KJ Redmon, enabling the Raiders to advance 41 yards in just three plays and score on a 12yard pass from Fulford to Josh Petrucelli. North Central responded with a nine-play, 57-yard drive and brought on kicker Magnus Meyer for a 35-yard field goal. Meyer split the uprights with the kick, matching his longest made attempt of the season. Greenfield finished with 130 rushing yards on 27 carries, while Dakota Cremeens finished with a team-high eight tackles.
A pair of University of St. Francis football senior student-athletes, Kody Randa (SR/Sandwich, Ill.) and Brandon Ruffin (SR/Peoria, Ill.) will be representing the Saints at the 2019 NAIA Senior Football Classic, which will be held on Saturday, Dec. 14, at Memorial Stadium in Savannah, Ga. The inaugural game will feature around 100-plus seniors from across the nation with team rosters divided into east and west squads. Ruffin, a 2019 All-Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Midwest League First-Team selection, was the Saints’ top receiver this season with a squad-high 31 pass receptions for 416 yards and three TD’s in 11 outings despite facing double coverage on most offensive plays. The fourtime (2016-19) first-team All-MSFA Midwest League pick also produced a team-leading 544 kickoff return yards and averaged 25.9 yards on 21 returns. Ruffin completed his four-year (201619) career as the school’s all-time leader in yards receiving (3,013 yds.), total touchdowns (38), and receiving touchdowns (37).
‘SWENSON’ FROM PAGE 5
“The quarterbacks have been impressive, but looking at the guys in front of me on the offensive line has been great,” he said. “Orlando Brown is a starter for the Ravens and is doing a great job there and Bobby Evans got his first career start with the Rams and did a great job, Cody Ford playing for the Buffalo Bills and Dru Samia and Ben Powers – those guys were all great mentors and great friends and I am super happy to see them having success in the league. They were great mentors on the field with what technique to use and how to read a pass rusher and how to study film, but honestly, the biggest take away was what they did
off the field – always did the best they could in classes, always got in an extra strength time with the coaches. “Our offensive line had a big rebuilding year this year and we had to replace four starters and we looked at what the guys before us did and how they were just as successful on the field as they were off.” As a redshirt junior, Swenson has another year of eligibility left next season and could stay and get even better on the field and hopefully follow his fellow line alums into the NFL, but for now, the focus is on Baylor and a shot at a berth in the final four.
where was part of three national championship games, winning college football’s top prize after the 2017 season. “It has been pretty crazy blocking for them and seeing their progressions,” Swenson said. “I was closest to Kyler and seeing his progression over the years and he turned into a really good player and Jalen this year has done a really good job and working hard to be the best he can.” While he has had fun working for the skill players upfront, Swenson said it was his fellow linemen that he has had the best time with.
Mount Union, which gained 713 total yards in the game, saw Fulford complete 23 of 35 passes for 549 yards while also running for 139 yards on 20 carries. Justin Hill made seven catches for 221 yards and Mitch O’Hara paced the Raiders’ defense with 12 tackles. The Cardinals advance to take on ninth-ranked Delaware Valley University (Pennsylvania), a 45-10 secondround winner over Wesley College (Delaware). The game will kick off at noon local time on Saturday at a site to be determined. Story by Clark Teuscher, NCC Sports Information Director
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‘HEROES’ FROM PAGE 3 the players, and they both also were presented with their own personalized Bears jersey and other prizes. “We had the opportunity to sit with some of the people from the selection community at the Bears game,” Bell said. “They told us the history of the award and we both really enjoyed that.” Although this award has been presented in the past, the duo did something no one else has ever done, receive the award as a team. “We were recommended for the award as a team, so that was pretty neat to hear,” Bell said. The way the two teachers found out about the award was at their recent school assembly. “There was an assembly that was planned without our knowledge and it was third through sixth grade,” Nickels said. “When we walked in we had a sense something was going on but we had no idea they were focusing on us.
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