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War, Trauma and the Humanities GSU course explores how military members and their families experience war and trauma More Inside Community > PAGE 3 Photo Credit: Dan Davis

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September 27 2017

ARTSCENE

(NewsUSA)- Art can take on many different shapes and sizes in a variety of media. From watercolor paintings and bronze sculptures to still-life photographs and wood carvings, art can become the focal point of any interior living space. But, what if art could become part of a home’s architecture in unexpected ways? The answer is yes, it can, and it comes in the form of natural stone. Perhaps it’s the allure of the exotic location from which it originated, or an unusual texture or uncommon color -- representing that single event in time illustrating when and how the stone was created. Whether it’s a rare stone that is one in a million or one that was uncovered from the depths of the earth, natural stone can truly make a beautiful and exotic piece of art. “Mother nature definitely has defined and shared her art with us through her supply of natural stone,” says Tom Harty, director of procurement at Stone Source, a company that specializes in curating natural stone and a member of MIA + BSI: The Natural Stone Institute. “The beautiful and creative veining found in natural stone is like a painting on a canvas.” Whether natural stone is used to draw attention to a fireplace design, or is carefully selected as a standout countertop in a bathroom, the ways in which it can be used are endless. Some

homeowners even enjoy mounting stone slabs on interior walls as pieces of art. Chris Schulte, president of Las Vegas Rock, Inc., a quarry that concentrates on extracting metaquartzite stone and also a member of MIA + BSI, explains that the company’s “rainbow gardens” offer a multitude of natural stone colors ranging from purples and reds to yellows and browns. Some of these stones are so beautiful, they can stand alone as art. “We have many customers who have purchased slabs as wall art,” he says. “In fact, in the cities of Henderson, Nevada and Las Vegas, government buildings have slabs of metaquartzite displayed on the walls.” Onyx is another type of exotic natural stone that can be used in artful ways. “The translucent character of many onyxes lends them to be backlit and incorporated as decorative pieces,” says Harty. In fact, popular uses of onyx include bar backsplashes, built-in wall cabinets, bathroom countertops, staircases, and fireplaces. Those who find beauty in nature might see natural stone as more than just another building material; they see it as a unique piece of fine art. For more information about natural stone, visit www.usenaturalstone.com

Whether it’s a rare stone that is one in a million or one that was uncovered from the depths of the earth, natural stone can truly make a beautiful and exotic piece of art.

TRAVEL TIPS ON TRIPS

How To Sleep Better When You Travel to expose yourself to the light during the waking hours as much as possible during (NAPSI)—Whether you’re the first couple of days. Avoid caffeine at traveling for business or least four to six hours before bedtime and pleasure, you don’t have to have dinner at least three hours before you let fatigue, jet lag or aggrawant to sleep. Bear in mind that although vation from dealing with the alcohol may initially make you drowsy, transportation system keep when its sedating properties wear off, the you from feeling your best. rebound can contribute to you awakening Here are five steps toward too early, making it more difficult to fall better sleep, a better trip and back to sleep. even better productivity and 5. Whether away or at home, you’ll relationships. sleep better if you stop the use of elec1. Create optimal conditronic devices 30 minutes before bed. tions to support good sleep. The light from these devices signals If you’re on a plane, train or your brain that it is still daytime, which bus, try to get a window seat if interferes with your brain’s production possible; it will give you someof melatonin, the hormone that helps thing to lean against and you you feel sleepy. In fact, slow down in won’t have to move each time general during that last half hour. Read neighbors need the bathroom. something calming, listen to quiet Family vacations can be more fun than ever when parents and children plan them out together. When you stop for the night, music, take a bath, stretch a little. ask for a cool, quiet room, at Don’t watch anything too stimulating 3. Get set with supplies. Handy items can least two or three levels above on television, especially the news. Put include: banquet rooms, bars or other public spaces and your cell phone in “Do not disturb” or “Air• A supportive neck pillow in a U shape away from elevators. Look to book a room with plane” mode. • Eyeshades blackout shades or heavy, thick curtains that keep • Dr. Shane is a licensed psychotherapist and • Soft silicone earplugs or noise-canceling the light out. Make sure everything is ready for the sleep therapist who developed the Sleep Easily earphones next day so you don’t lie awake worrying about it. Method. Based on cognitive behavioral therapy, • A blanket 2. Dealing with time zones. If you’re crossit walks you through five physical triggers to • A white noise app or a playlist of your favorite ing multiple time zones, try to arrange meetings, gently lead you into sleep. You can find further parties and major sightseeing for when it’s midday music to snooze to on your phone. facts and advice at www.drshane.com and www. 4. When you get to your destination, try in your home time. sleepeasily.com. by Richard Shane, Ph.D.

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September 27 2017

SuburbanTimes

Natural Stone: Discovering New Forms of Art

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COMMUNITY

Course Explores How Military Members Experience Trauma

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

By Lisette Gushiniere

How do you combine concepts about war, trauma and the humanities and turn them into an eight-week long college course? Faculty at Governors State University (GSU) located in University Park, IL think they have that all figured out. Thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), GSU is able to offer a new course entitled, War, Trauma, and the Humanities. NEH selected the GSU project—one of 15 nationally—and is providing $100,000 to fund the course. While the course broadly explores the ways in which members of the military, and their families, experience trauma, student veterans will bring a unique perspective to the class. The grant covers the cost to train five student veterans who will be embedded in the classroom, drawing on their own experiences to lead group discussions on poetry, films, memoirs, oral histories—even soldiers’ letters during a unit that focuses on women in combat. A British literature scholar and the daughter of a Vietnam veteran, Dr. Rosemary Erickson Johnsen was the perfect recruit to co-design the course. Johnsen co-wrote the Dialogues on the Experience of War grant in conjunction with Dr. Andrae Marak, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Everyone in the course will learn more about war experience through the literature, films, outside speakers. We’ll also learn important context, such as historical information about WW1. The student-veteran discussion facilitators will be voices of experience, helping all of us make broad connections. Everyone will also enhance their skills in analysis, discussion, and writing,” Johnsen stated. An end-of-semester town hall meeting and spring roundtable discussion are part of the inaugural project Johnsen is team-teaching with Marak. The humanities—the study of the human experience

through literature, art, music, and other cultural expressions—have long been used as a means of understanding and expressing feelings about war. From Homer’s reflections on the Trojan War to Warsan Shire’s poetic portrayal of today’s refugees, people have long used the arts as an outlet for the complex feelings brought about by war. “One of the great things about studying the humanities is that the knowledge you gain, and the skills you develop, go with you out into the world,” Johnsen said. “The humanities—literature, art, theatre—have always offered vital insight on the human experience, and engaging difficult subjects like the trauma that comes with war is where the humanities really shine,” she continued. The course also compliments GSU’s demographic where the university attracts a majority of older students, according to collegefactual.com. Johnsen, who has been on the faculty at GSU for over ten years, sees veterans as an “important subset,” of the overall student community. “GSU’s mostly non-traditional students bring a lot to their studies: perseverance, commitment to education, and rich life experience. These make teaching literary study at GSU rewarding,” she said. Johnsen has published extensively on the inter-war period between World War I and World War II in Great Britain, and her piece on the practice of “gaslighting” was recently published in the Los Angeles Review of Books, according to a GSU press release. She is a scholar primarily of crime fiction, though, with a particular interest in “contemporary representations of urban spaces and the increasingly complex border between the genre and literary fiction.” She also has an expertise in women’s literature and is an affiliated faculty member with the GSU Gender and Sexuality program. A third-generation Michigan State University graduate, Johnsen earned her Ph.D. there and has been teaching, researching, and serving at GSU since 2006. In 2015, she won the prestigious Faculty Excellence Award for

her work in all three areas. When commenting on her experience and how it compliments the course she said, “I understand the need for and the value of programs like this. My father did two tours in Vietnam, and he does not talk about it. End of discussion. So what begins to converge is what I know about it personally and my academic and teaching background,” she said.

Rosemary Erickson Johnsen, Ph.D. Photo Credit: Dan Davis

POLITISCOPE

What makes Kim Jong Un tick? major conflict” with the U.S., Trump has Kim Jong Un is a “smart said: “I hope he’s cookie,” President Donald rational.” Trump said earlier this In my research on year of North Korea’s political leaders, I’ve leader. Stephen Benedict Dyson found that different “He’s 27 years old,” people have differTrump mused. “His father dies, [he] ent definitions of rationality. The took over a regime. So say what you core question – “What is my best want but that is not easy.” move?” – is often answered by a Kim, who has assassinated his leader’s idiosyncratic beliefs, rather internal rivals using anti-aircraft than by an immediately obvious guns and chemical weapons, seeks logic of the situation as seen by to develop a nuclear missile that external observers. can reach the United States. These The history of dealing with actions may provoke a “major, inscrutable foreign leaders is

By Stephen Benedict Dyson

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instructive: From Hitler to Saddam to Khrushchev, understanding the other is the most urgent challenge of national security decision-making for the U.S. To influence Kim’s behavior, we must ask: What is his particular vantage point? Lessons of the past In the spring of 1943, the director of the first centralized U.S. intelligence agency, Colonel William “Wild Bill” Donovan, sought help in understanding Hitler. Donovan wanted to give President Franklin D. Roosevelt a sense of “the things that make him tick.”

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Donovan called Walter C. Langer, a psychoanalyst helping with the war effort, in for a meeting: “What do you make of Hitler? If Hitler is running the show, what kind of a person is he? What are his ambitions?” Langer combined the scant intelligence on Hitler with insights from Freudian psychoanalysis into a study on Hitler. He accurately predicted that Hitler would commit suicide rather than be captured by Allied forces. But his insight was largely irrelevant to the military strategy for defeating Germany. The

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September 27 2017

SuburbanTimes

FOOD YOUR JUST DESSERTS

Fun Twist On A Classic Childhood Favorite (NAPSI)—Whether the weather has shut down your camping trip or backyard barbecue, you’re taking a staycation this year or you just want a dessert with a difference one night, you and your family may adore this version of a classic treat that’s easy to make, delightful to eat and may well have everyone asking for, well, s’more.

marshmallows for regular marshmallows. Nutrition Facts Per 1 s’more: Calories 60, Fat 1.5g, Saturated Fat 0.5g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 20mg, Carbohydrate 10g, Fiber 1g, Sugars 5g, Protein 1g. Many families consider these treats even more enjoyable because they’re made with Crunchmaster crackers created from whole grains, seeds, and that’s about it. The company uses such wholesome ingredients as brown rice, quinoa, flax, corn, amaranth, millet, sunflower and chickpea from trusted sources to create simply delicious snacks made to meet healthy lifestyles. They’re certified gluten-free and kosher, with no artificial colors or flavors. What a lot of people like about these crackers, in addition to the taste, is that they’re also non-GMO Project Verified, 100 percent whole grain, low in sugar, and free of saturated and trans fats. Learn More

Banana Chocolate S’mores

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 15 minutes Serves: 12 24 Crunchmaster™ MultiSeed Crackers Original 12 squares milk chocolate (about 3 g each) 12 slices banana 6 marshmallows, halved crosswise Preheat oven to 375° F. Place 12 crackers on baking sheet. Top with chocolate, Gluten-free s’mores made with Crunchmaster™ crackers can bring back happy memories. banana and marshmallows. For other recipes, coupons and Tips: Bake for 3 to 5 minutes or until chocolate is facts on wholesome crackers, go to www. melted and marshmallows are puffed and • Substitute dark chocolate for milk chococrunchmaster.com. To find nearby stores golden brown. Top with remaining crackers, late if desired. that carry your favorites, use the store locapressing down slightly. Serve warm. • You can also substitute miniature tor at that site.

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What makes Kim Jong Un tick?

time it was delivered to Donovan. More recently, the former top U.N. weapons inspector Charles Duelfer and I studied what made former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein tick. For several years, Duelfer was the senior point of contact between Iraq and the U.S. After the regime fell, he produced the definitive report on its weapons programs. Looking for logic in Saddam’s decisions, we found instead a morass of idiosyncratic thinking. Most astonishing was his misreading of President George W. Bush’s June 2002 speech to the West Point Military Academy. Intending to warn Saddam that he must comply with U.N. demands or face war, Bush struck a stern tone. The “gravest danger to freedom,” he said, was “unbalanced advertising@cstweekly.com

dictators with weapons of mass destruction.” Later in the speech, Bush praised President Ronald Reagan for standing up to “the brutality of tyrants.” What Bush said and what Saddam heard were two very different things. Saddam did not see himself as unbalanced, and he knew that he did not have weapons of mass destruction. And U.S.-Iraq relations had been excellent under President Reagan, Saddam recalled. The United States had tilted toward his side during the Iran-Iraq war. Things started to deteriorate only under the Bushes, in his view. Our analysis showed that Saddam believed Bush could not have been talking about him. Instead, Saddam concluded he must have been stweekly@citizen6news

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threatening North Korea, not Iraq. Kim Jong Il, father of Kim Jong Un, possessed the nuclear weapons that the Iraqi president desired but did not have. Bush was dumbfounded by the lack of Saddam’s response to his threats. Later he asked, “How much clearer could I have been?” Duelfer and I had the academic luxury of malleable deadlines in studying Saddam. Langer spent many months on his Hitler study. Scholarship on Kim Jong Un may be too slow for the current crisis. Major decision-makers may instead need to rely on their intuition. Empathize with your enemy Former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara

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September 27 2017

SuburbanTimes

NEWS

Thornton Township Helps Harvey Storm Victims

Chicago, IL – Hurricane Harvey, Houston, Texas. These are my sister’s an extremely destructive Atlanchildren and my sister’s death made me tic hurricane, started on August the mother to her children. This is their 17, 2017 and lasted for 18 days, second major storm, Katrina was the according to the National Weather first and now Harvey. One of my nieces Channel. The storm resulted in is a retired US Coast Guard worker from floods, displaced more than 30,000 New Orleans. She was with my other niece people and prompted more than when the storm occurred. Their homes and 17,000 rescues. Seventy one people cars were affected. The water was so high, died as a result of the hurricane they flagged down a boat to pick them up, and while the storm caused more than later they saw a school bus, which took them $70 billion in damages. Texas and to a high school in Houston for shelter. Both Louisiana were areas affected by the of my nieces were in the shelter. They had hurricane. several small children with them. The shelter Texas Governor Greg Abbott had food and water. There was no air travel declared a state of emergency for at Hobby Airport, and the expressways were 57 counties. Throughout Texas, crowded.” more than 300,000 people were Washington said, “We opened a relief left without electricity and billions project here at the Township collecting food, of dollars of property damage was diapers, and various items to be driven to sustained. Texas. I stopped by the Thornton Township In an effort to help storm victims, Senior Citizen location and the collection box Thornton Township’s President was overflowing with supplies.” Frank M. Zuccarelli and the Board Trustee Washington was asked what she of Trustees are working to send learned from this experience. She said, “Be prepared to help others in their time of contributions to the affected areas. need.” “We have seen the devastation that The township is accepting diapers, baby has hit many southern states. As formula, blankets, water, and hygiene care a Township, we have always been products. Supplies can be dropped off at the about helping people. We brought following locations: water to the Flint Michigan community when that crisis happened, Main Building, 333 E. 162nd Street, South and we are once again looking to Holland, IL help people get the supplies they Food Pantry, 15840 Page Avenue, need in the affected areas of Texas. Harvey, IL Our prayers are with them, and our Senior Center, 1420 Huntington Drive, community is here to step up in any Calumet City, IL way they need,” Zuccarelli stated. Youth & Family Services, 14323 S. Halsted The project is being sponsored St, Riverdale, IL by Thornton Township trustees Village of Lansing Municipal Center, 3148 and township officials. Items will Ridge Road, Lansing, IL Pictured is one of the homes impacted by flood damage from Hurricane Harvey. A conbe shipped to the affected areas Also, monetary donations can be made to struction crew prepares the home for cleanup and inspection. by W&W Towing and donations the Thornton Township Foundation, Inc. will be accepted until the end of All checks can be dropped off at the South people who live in the township, said ThornSeptember. Holland location and all funds collected will be used ton Township resident and Trustee Joyce The devastation affected the relatives of specifically for relief efforts. Washington. “I have two nieces that live in

What makes Kim Jong Un tick? CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

spoke about intuition in a 2003 documentary about his role in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. McNamara revealed crucial new details about the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev had smuggled nuclear missiles into Cuba, threatening 90 million Americans. President John F. Kennedy’s first reaction was that he must destroy them with a massive air strike. This would have courted war with the USSR. Seeking the widest possible range of advice, Kennedy asked Llewellyn “Tommy” Thompson, former U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, to

supplement his foreign policy team during the crisis. Thompson had come to know Khrushchev well and had stayed at his house in Moscow. “Mr. President, you’re wrong,” McNamara recalls Thompson saying of the air strike plans. “I think Khrushchev’s gotten himself in one hell of a fix.” The former ambassador knew that Khrushchev could be impulsive and later regretful. He imagined a terrified Khrushchev, in awe of the events he had set in motion. Thompson suggested that Kennedy help the Soviet leader find his way out of the crisis. Kennedy decided on a naval blockade rather than an air strike, and Khrushchev backed down.

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The lesson McNamara drew? Empathize with your enemy, and intuit how the world looks to them. “We must try to put ourselves in their skin, and look at ourselves through their eyes,” he said. History tells us that to influence Kim, we must empathize (note: not sympathize) with him. To figure out what makes him tick, Trump and his advisers must first understand how we look to the North Korean leader, peering at us from his very particular vantage point. Stephen Benedict Dyson is an Associate Professor of Political Science at University of Connecticut.

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SuburbanTimes

September 27 2017

NEWS

The board of trustees of the Village of Glenwood held a special meeting on Sept. 14, 2017 at the Glenwood Village Hall (pictured) to discuss a budget plan focused on community building. In the end, however, five department heads received two percent raises instead. Photo by Citizen Staff

Department Heads Receive 2 Percent Raises in Glenwood By Christopher Shuttlesworth

After several months without any discussions on a budget, the board of trustees of the Village of Glenwood held a special meeting on Sept. 14, 2017 to discuss a budget plan but received puzzling news. The Village of Glenwood board members include Mayor Ronald Gardiner, Clerk Dion Lynch, Trustee Toledo Hart, Trustee Brian Beckman, Trustee Ronald Clark, Trustee Miriam Slaughter, Trustee Paul Styles, Trustee Maxine Washington and Trustee Adam Winston. Trustee Slaughter informed the Citizen that the special board meeting was scheduled to discuss a budget plan that would benefit the Village of Glenwood. But once the meeting began, other matters like certain pay-raises were discussed. Slaughter explained that in the budget, five Department Heads of the Village of Glenwood was scheduled to receive two percent pay-raises. “We do not have enough money in our budget to have raises for all of these people,” she said.

“If you drive through Glenwood it is dark at night because we don’t even have street lights to see.” Ultimately, the special meeting ended with Trustee Winston, Washington and Slaughter voting “No” while everyone including Mayor Gardiner voted “Yes” for the two percent pay-raises. Slaughter acknowledged that Trustee Washington was very upset because the board couldn’t delegate money for future necessities but had money to give five department heads two percent pay-raises. Slaughter also noted that the two percent pay-raise will also increase the five department heads’ pensions as well. “The 2 prcent raise was over and beyond what they should be getting,” Slaughter said. “In my opinion, it is not responsible for the [Village board] to do this and to continue to have our community bleed. Our constituents need us to do what is right for them and not to consistently increase their taxes.” Inside a Village of Glenwood document, it shows the five Department Heads of the Village of Glenwood scheduled to retroactively receive two

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percent pay-raises include Glenwoodie Grounds Superintendent Eric Swanson, PGA Professional Phil Robins, Fire Chief Kevin Welch, Finance Director Linda Brunette and Patrick McAneney, director of public works. The document pointed out that Village Administrator Eric Swanson’s current salary stands at $90,421.76 but the two percent raise and an additional $3,000 increase his salary to $95,230. PGA Professional Phil Robins current salary is $72,000 but the two percent raise increase his salary to $73,440. Fire Chief Kevin Welch currently makes $102, 571 but the two percent raise and an additional $16,000 increase his salary to $120,622. Linda Brunette, finance director currently makes $83,821 but the two percent raise and an additional $2,000 increase his salary to $87, 497. Patrick McAneney, director of public works currently makes $91,795 but the two percent raise and an additional $12,000 increase his salary to $120,622. As a result, this leaves only $67,000 for an assistant administrator position. For more information, you can visit http:// www.villageofglenwood.com/.

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