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ON THE COVER Herschel Luckinbill, a Vietnam veteran and Montgomery resident, was among local residents and officials who gathered at the Veterans Memorial in downtown Oswego Tuesday morning, Flag Day, to announce that the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall will be coming to Oswego next year.

See story on page 6.

Photo by Matt Schury - mschury@shawmedia.com

Wine on the Fox drew biggest crowd yet, officials announce

By ERIKA WURST news@kendallcountynow.com The numbers are in, and this year, Oswego’s annual Wine of the Fox festival drew its largest number of participants to date. Whether it was the weather, the wine or the weekend, the conditions seemed perfect for visitors and residents to enjoy some fun in the sun.

Estimates show that nearly 6,000 people showed up to eat, drink and dance at Hudson Crossing Park for the two-day event, held this year over Mother’s Day weekend.

“We had a very generous turnout,” said event organizer and Village Community Relations Manager Michele Brown.

While the event is typically held on the first week in May, it appears that changing the date to Mother’s Day weekend was a success, she said.

Several wineries that had participated in the past had to bow-out during

this year’s festival because of conflicting schedules, but 13 wineries proved to be enough to keep event-goers occupied.

“I felt like there were a good number (of wineries). There was a lot of variety for people to try,” Brown said. “Not many people had concerns that there wasn’t enough to do.”

Since the event began in 2007, tasting tickets have been collected at the end of the two-day festival. During it’s inaugural year, the event brought in 10,505 tasting tickets. This year, 33,805 tickets were collected – up from 23,725 sold last year.

For each ticket collected, .80 cents goes back to the winery where the tasting occurred and .20 cents goes to the village as revenue. After considering expenses like band fees, sound and staging, advertising, tents, wine glasses, bathrooms, generators and ice, the village maintained a budget very much “in the green” Brown said. The expenses were about $50,600.

The event earned $128,198 in revenue. At the end of the weekend, $77,561 remained

in the event fund to plan for next year.

Because of this year’s success, several board members suggested keeping the festival on Mother’s Day weekend.

“If we saw such an increase in activity on (Mother’s Day), maybe it’s worth looking into,” Trustee Karin McCarthy-Lange said.

Others suggested having a second wine fest held in the village, in addition to the Wine on the Fox event.

“Congratulations, you rocked it,” Trustee Luis Perez told Brown, noting her efforts in putting the event together. “There were a lot of people involved and you did a great job...This begs the question: Are there other weekends that might be good? Should we do two of this?

Maybe the answer is emphatically no, but I like to challenge those things.”

Brown said at one point, they considered adding a third half-day to the Wine on the Fox event. The park would have opened from around 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday to kick off the weekend.

CIVIC MEETINGS WEEK OF JUNE 20-24 Monday, 6:30 p.m.: Montgomery Historic Preservation Commission, Montgomery Village Hall.

Monday, 7 p.m.: Montgomery and Countryside Fire Protection District Board, Station One, Montgomery.

Tuesday, 9 a.m.: Kendall County Board, County Office Building, Yorkville.

Tuesday, 9 a.m.: Kendall County Board Forest Preserve Commission, County Office Building, Yorkville.

Tuesday, 6 p.m.: Kendall County Board of Health, County Health and Human Services Building, Yorkville.

Tuesday, 6 p.m.: Oswego Village Board Committee of the Whole, Oswego Village Hall.

Tuesday, 7 p.m.: Oswego Village Board, Oswego Village Hall.

Tuesday, 7 p.m.: Montgomery Village Board Committee of the Whole, Montgomery Village Hall.(May be canceled) Wednesday, 9:30 a.m.: Fox Metro Water Reclamation District Board, Main Treatment Plant, Oswego Township.

Wednesday, 5 p.m.: Oswego Public Library District Board, Oswego Campus Library.

Wednesday, 7 p.m.: Kendall County Regional Plan Commission, County Office Building, Yorkville.

Wednesday, 7 p.m.: Oswego Historic Preservation Commission, Oswego Village Hall.

Thursday, 5:30 p.m.: KenCom Executive Board, County Public Safety Center, Yorkville.

Thursday, 5:30 p.m.: Oswegoland Park District Board, South Point Center, Oswego.

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Oswego Ledger / KendallCountyNow.com • Thursday, June 16, 2016

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By MATT SCHURY mschury@kendallcountynow.com

Shaw Media file photo

Four-year-old A.J. Madden of Oswego watches the fire trucks go by during Oswego’s 2015 PrairieFest. This year’s parade will step off on Sunday at 1 p.m. trying some alligator over at the food vendors.”

PrairieFest is still a local festival but has a regional draw.

“We realized that we were drawing from across the state and actually I get some calls from outside of the state,” she said, “We started to realize that this has the potential to be unrecognizable to our residents and we don’t ever want that to happen.”

Vest said they focus on the spirit of the town and making it a great party for everyone, hence this year’s theme: “Spirit of a Town, Party of the Year.”

As always, the PrairieFest parade steps off in downtown Oswego at 1 p.m.

This year the parade will include floats and bands along with awards given to the best floats.

The fest also has a new event called Main Stage Moments Friday and Saturday night.

“We’re using the main stage as a chance to announce good news,” she said. “We put out a call in March for that and we have had two different situations come up and we looked into them and made sure they were legitimate,” Vest said, “So that is just going to play out.”

Vest wouldn’t say exactly what is going to be announced, only that it should be interesting. She did say that the Oswegoland Park District would be making a major announcement on Friday night as part of this event as well as honoring some people. Vest

declined to give anymore details then that.

Another new thing to look for is the Lumberjack Show on Friday and Saturday at noon.

“Basically we are bringing in some lumberjacks from Minnesota and they are going to come in and share their north country skills with us,” Vest said.

The lumberjacks are going to be doing something known as “log booming”. Vest explained that the lumberjacks will be running across logs floating in a 10,000 gallon tank of water.

“They are also going to do climbing and carving,” she said.

The Oswego Police Department is reminding the public to expect increased traffic congestion and delays in Oswego beginning Thursday, June 16, through Sunday, June 19 due to PrairieFest activities.

Motorists should expect delays in particular while traveling on the following: Route 71 between Route 34 and Forest Avenue; Plainfield Road between Route 71 and Woolley Road; and on the streets of Madison, Washington and Main in the downtown area.

There will be delays in the downtown area in particular on Sunday, June 19 between 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. due to the PrairieFest Parade.

Motorists may want to consider alternate routes around these areas if they are not coming in for the festival.

Parking for PrairieFest activities will be available at the following locations: District 308 Transportation Center parking lot with access from Stonehill Road (55 Stonehill Rd); Oswego High School (south and north lots); Oswego Public Works grass lot; and Park District soccer fields. There will be no access to the gravel parking lot at the soccer fields.

Festival volunteers will be assisting with parking direction.

Entry into the Oswego High School south lot at Route 71 and Franklin will not be available to motorists travelling southbound on Route 71 (no left turn).

– Shaw Media

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Your PrairieFest checklist is ready: • Big name musical acts – Marshall Tucker Band, Smash Mouth and Lucky Boys Confusion (LBC), check.

• Carnival rides, check.

• PrairieFest expo village, check.

• Annual Oswego Fire Protection District bucket brigade competition, check.

• Children’s entertainment – Miller’s Petting Zoo, Paint a-Palooza and magician Keith Cobb presenting illusions and comedy, check.

• Senior fun – Quilters Dozen Quilt raffle at the Little White School Museum and senior bingo and breakfast at the Tillers, check.

• Charity events – Kiwanis Bag Tournament, PrairieFest Duck race benefitting the Rotary Club, check.

• PrairieFest parade, check.

Of course, that’s just a small sampling of all the events and activities at the 28th annual PrairieFest that begins today, Thursday, June 16 and runs through Sunday, June 19. Activities at the free festival take place throughout the village, but main events are held at PrairieFest Park along Plank Road between Plainfield Road and Oswego High School.

The park district has sponsored the festival for almost 30 years. In 1989, the Oswegoland Park District began sponsoring the village’s annual summer festival under the name “PrairieFest.”

Before then it was known as “Oswego Days” and Oswegorama” when it was started in the late 1950s. Over the years the festival has continued to grow along with the community.

Kristie Vest, special events supervisor for the Oswegoland Park District, said they try to represent Oswego with a mix of eclectic events.

“Our feeling is that this is the festival for everyone so we better start hitting everyone’s interests and that is awfully varied,” she said. “I’d like to believe that everyone finds something of interest at PrairieFest, whether it is going to fish with your kids or listen to the Marshall Tucker Band or even just

Police issue PrairieFest traffic advisory

LOCAL NEWS | Oswego Ledger / KendallCountyNow.com •

PrairieFest has something for everyone

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Oswego Ledger / KendallCountyNow.com • Thursday, June 16, 2016

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FORUM OUR VIEW

Taxpayers to continue to pick up steep county board tab

Kendall County Board members took a pass June 2 on an opportunity to save taxpayers some money and prevent further abuse of the board’s compensation and benefits package.

In a 7-1 vote, board members rejected a resolution that would have changed the board’s compensation from a combination of a small base salary supplemented by per diem payments to set salaries of $15,000. Board Chairman John Shaw was the only board member to cast a favorable vote on the resolution.

The resolution also would have done away with the mileage reimbursements board members can claim for in-county travel and required board members to contribute the same amount that the county’s non-union, full-time employees pay for health and dental insurance benefits they can now receive from the county.

Last month County Treasurer Jill Ferko told the board her office has been having a difficult time verifying board member attendance at the board’s many committee meetings each month.

Poor record-keeping by board members prior to 2014 resulted in county taxpayers overpaying the board more than $47,000 in per diems and mileage reimbursements from 2008 to 2011, according to the results of a forensic audit.

Ultimately, the current and former board members cited in the audit ended up re-paying only a small portion of the funds to the county.

Though we believe the $15,000 annual salary included in the resolution was roughly double what it should be, it nevertheless represented an opportunity – now missed – to reform the board’s compensation and benefits package and, most importantly, save taxpayers some money.

Had the board approved the resolution--with a 50 percent reduction in the proposed $15,000 annual salary – they would have brought the board’s wages more on par with their counterparts who serve on the city councils and village boards in the county, all of whom receive straight salaries for their service.

Replacing the per diems with set salaries would have also served to protect taxpayers by preventing current and future board members from either deliberately or mistakenly claiming per diems for meetings they did not in fact attend. It also would have insulated current and future board members from accusations of abusing the per diem system. It’s true changing the board’s compensation to set salaries would mean all board members--even those who are lax in their meeting attendance – would receive the same pay. But voters would

always have the right to boot those less than ambitious board members off the board the next time they would be up for re-election.

Service on the county board is a part-time job, just as it is for the other members of elected governing boards and city councils in the county who receive far less in compensation.

Those who seek to serve on the county board or any other elected governing board should be motivated first and foremost by a desire to serve their communities, not for financial compensation, health and dental insurance and mileage reimbursements to drive to and from work.

By voting to maintain the status quo, the county board assured that they will continue to be compensated like no part-time employees we know of in the private sector and at a significant cost to county taxpayers.

Community festivals have long, entertaining history in this area This week, the Oswego area is looking forward to the 2016 edition of PrairieFest, a continually growing festival of entertainment and good food that is eagerly anticipated all year.

Each year’s PrairieFest kicks off the area’s community celebrations, with other towns up and down the Fox Valley all following with their own. Yorkville has their traditional July Fourth celebration and parade, Plano celebrates on Labor Day, Aurora has a bunch of festivals, Geneva has Swedish Days, Montgomery has MontgomeryFest, and on and on.

Many years ago, community celebrations were smaller, farther between, and were designed for the amusement of immediate area residents, unlike many of today’s fests, which are marketed statewide.

Those long-ago festivities were usually kept pretty short, but the enjoyment was no less intense. In fact, it was probably more intense simply because there were so many fewer forms of entertainment available then.

During my childhood, the big community event in Oswego was the annual carnival, sponsored by the Oswego Business Men’s Association – the forerunner of today’s chamber of commerce – which set up shop right on South Main Street.

The Tilt-A-Whirl, Ferris wheel, and other small rides really gave us a thrill, as did the opportunity to engage in games of chance with unsavory carny workers.

A more wholesome activity was the annual school fun fair at Halloween. Today, each school building has their own fun fair, but in the 1950s it was a traditional community Halloween event, sponsored by the PTA –there was only one in those

the best county fairs in Illinois.

Besides those annual events, each community enjoyed their own small celeRoger brations. Most of these events were put on Matile by local organizations as fundraisers or were the products of itinerant entertaindays – as their main fundraiser. First at ers. For instance, in a curious mixture of the old Red Brick School gym and later at sponsor and eventual end money use, take the new high school (later Traughber Juthis item from the Sept. 30, 1869 Kendall nior High and now the District 308 Center) County Record: “The Oswego Union Sewon Franklin Street, we enjoyed Halloween ing Society’s peach festival of last week costume contests and had the chance to was not well attended; the proceeds of it win wooden canes and other highly-prized are to go towards buying a hearse, but this do-dads in the ring toss, penny pitch, and generation need not expect the benefits of other games. one unless funds for the same are raised Back in the 1800s, community activiby some other means.” The new hearse ties were even scarcer. The annual county was finally purchased in 1871, much to the fair was the most important local event. In community’s relief. the 1850s, the fair was held at the courtOccasionally, two towns would get house in Oswego, with displays of produce together for some competitive activities, and other traditional fair fare arranged and from the late 1800s through the first around the courthouse grounds, accordfew decades of the 1900s, baseball was exing to accounts in the Kendall County tremely popular. The July 31, 1874 Record Courier. The first Kendall County Fair reported: “Last Saturday afternoon, the and Livestock Show was held at Oswego boys from Yorkville played a ball game in 1853, and continued to grow in populari- against Oswego. Mr. Geo. Seeley was ty over the years. selected as umpire and the mercury stood After the county seat moved back to at 104 in the shade. At the close of the fifth Yorkville 1864, a real fairgrounds was inning the game was closed with a score of acquired on Game Farm Road about nine for Oswego and 15 for Yorkville; the where the Beecher Center is located today. Yorkville boys having to take the train to Although it continued to be popular, get back home. Mr. King, of the Yorkville mismanagement raised its ugly head and club, caught a ball handsomely in the the fair association was dissolved in 1908, right eye, and a little later an Oswego boy just five years after celebrating its 50th an- got one in his left eye.” niversary. Eventually, the Kendall County During the 1800s, a number of travFair was revived, and each year it seems eling, medicine and other shows, from to become more popular. one man with a dancing bear to an entire Of course, our neighbors to the west circus, visited local communities from in Sandwich still produce their annual time to time. An Oswego reporter noted in DeKalb County Fair, one of the oldest and 1874 that “a menagerie, consisting of two

REFLECTIONS

men, a bear, and a drum came along the other day and exhibited in the streets; the bear was a good upright walker, would dance, and shake hands with and kiss the ringmaster, carry a pole, wear a hat, roll over, etc.”

One Oswego youth, Will Sutherland, even traveled with a circus in the early 1900s. And in 1923, a circus took a break near Oswego while traveling on modern U.S. Route 34. According to the Record: “Grange Brothers Circus passed Oswego on Route 18 Saturday morning en route from Sandwich to Belvedere. Early risers were surprised to see elephants and camels grazing along the roadside or blocking traffic.”

Small towns did have community celebrations back then, most notably on the Fourth of July. According to back issues of the Record, most local Independence Day celebrations had several things in common. There was usually a parade, although it was usually called a procession.

Oration was the featured event, since that was an era that appreciated the long-winded stump speech, including reading the Declaration of Independence, followed by speeches by the best local, and sometimes imported, orators. Most towns had a local band, and band music and singing were both parts of most years‘ celebrations, as were foot races, baseball games, and croquet. I imagine people have found reasons to celebrate one thing or another for as long as there have been people. It seems that only the size and the frequency of our celebrations have changed over the years.

Looking for more local history? Visit http://historyonthefox.wordpress.com/

FORUM

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Campership awards

To the Editor: Oswegoland Woman’s Civic Club members, for the very first time, presented 12 eighth-grade students who attend School District 308 junior high schools with monetary awards toward the camperships of their choice over the summer.

The following received these firsttime-ever campership monetary awards: Bednarcik: V.P. Judy Siedlecki presented to Katelyn Charapata for Teen Improv Class at Second City, Chicago and to Isabella Castanada for Opus Chamber Music Camp, Benedictine College, Lisle.

Murphy: Past President Mary Jo Hartley presented to Savannah Doege for Junior High Musical Theatre at North Central College, Naperville.

Plank: President Kathy Guseman presented to Alyssa Aguirre for Ballet Folklorico, Quetzal Costl; Alexis Dermott for Ballet Classico, Allegro Ballet Studios, Aurora; and Charlene Harrison for Band and Choral Camp, Western Illinois Univ.

Thompson: Treasurer Rebecca Christiansen presented to Ryan Kazda for Summer Youth Music Camp, Univ. of Illinois.

Traughber: President Kathy Guseman presented to Shea Dickensen for Summer Youth Music Camp, Univ. of Illinois; Emily Frost for Summer Jazz Ensemble Camp, Oswego High School; Ciara Isidro for Drawing and Maga, WWC, Sugar Grove Campus; Anissa King for Art Classes, Studio 60, Oswego; and Zane Lucin for Summer Jazz Ensemble Camp, OHS & Honors Geometry Prep Course.

We are so proud of these young women and men, and that we had the opportunity to recognize them and encourage them toward their goals and passions in life.

Many thanks to those of you who made these monetary awards possible through your contributions at our fundraising events during Christmas Walk and at Wine on the Fox. For more information, visit OswegolandWomansCivicClub.org.

Kathy Guseman

President and campership chair

Katherine Martens Fundraising chair

Judy Siedlecki

Vice president and publicity chair Oswegoland Woman’s Civic Club Oswego

Radical Islamic Terrorists must be defeated

To the Editor: Terrorist attacks directly linked to Radical Islamic Terrorists continue.

The following is a list of the major attacks beginning at Fort Hood on 11/2009 with 14 killed and 44 injured.

9/2012, Benghazi 4 killed including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

4/2013, Boston, 3 killed, 264 injured.

7/2015 Chattanooga, 6 killed, 2 injured at Naval Recruiting Offices.

12/2015 San Bernardino, 16 killed 23 injured and finally 6/2016 Orlando 49 killed and 53 injured. These major attacks total 91 killed and 386 injured.

Notice that the Radical Islam Terrorist attacks have increased within the United States beginning in 2009 which is after President Obama ordered a pull out of our troops from Iraq, which allowed the development of ISIS to gain power and encourage attacks throughout the world.

Instead of ending a war as Obama claimed, the war has been extended and is now being executed on our homeland.

Even after this latest horrendous attack, where the terrorist on a 9-11 call stated his allegiance to ISIS, President Obama still does not state that this was an attack by a Radical Islamic Terrorist.

Likewise Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have not used the words, Radical Islamic Terrorist and simply refer to it as terrorism.

We are in a war with Radical Islamic Terrorism and in order to defeat an enemy it must be identified for what it is.

Not all Muslims are terrorist but all of the attacks cited have been by Muslims.

It is high time that Muslims who do not subscribe to terrorism, denounce the radical terrorist contingent and work with nations throughout the world to stop this terrorism.

The Radical Muslim Terrorist have demonstrated that their aim is to kill what they consider to be apostates until their ideology and system of government, a caliphate with Sharia Law, rules the world.

Why won’t President Obama properly identify the enemy? The Constitution makes him the Commander in Chief and requires him to defend the United States against all enemies both foreign and domestic.

Our survival is dependent on all Radical Islamic Terrorist being total-

ly defeated and eradicated, but this can only begin by identifying it as the enemy, “Radical Islamic Terrorism” and initiating all that is required to defeat it..

Leland H. Hoffer Oswego

Parking in Boulder Hill

To the Editor: Recently, the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office has been receiving an increasing number of citizen complaints regarding vehicles parking on sidewalks throughout the Boulder Hill Subdivision.

Not only does this create a safety hazard for area residents as they walk throughout the subdivision, it is considered a traffic violation.

If sidewalks are obstructed by vehicles that are improperly parked, it forces people to either have to walk in the roadway or onto other residents’ property.

Children playing in front yards or walking along the area may be obstructed from view by improperly parked vehicles, creating a hazardous situation.

Neighbors that may be disabled or need assistance walking are prevented from using the sidewalks when vehicles are improperly parked on the sidewalk.

According to the Illinois Vehicle Code: (625 ILCS 5/11-1303(a) (1) No person shall: stop, stand or park a vehicle: (a) on the roadway side of any vehicle stopped or parked at the edge or curb side of a street; (b) on a sidewalk; (c) within an intersection; (d) on a crosswalk.

The fine for these violations as established by law is $120. Also, these violations are moving violations and three convictions of a moving violation within a twelve month period can lead to a suspension of one’s driving privileges.

The Kendall County Sheriff’s Office will be patrolling the Boulder Hill Subdivision to locate violating vehicles and attempt to notify drivers/owners of the violations. Initially, the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office will be distributing warning notices and give residents the opportunity to properly park their vehicles to prevent being cited for the violation.

After a period of time to provide residents the chance to correct the problem without further actions, deputies will begin identifying violators and issuing citations.

The Kendall County Sheriff’s Office

continues to strive to ensure roadways and subdivisions in the county are safe for both motorists and pedestrians. We greatly appreciate your attention to this issue and cooperation in making the roadways and sidewalks safe in the Boulder Hill Subdivision.

Deputy Mike Mrozek Kendall County Sheriff’s Office Yorkville

Senior Center thanks

To the Editor: The Oswego Senior Center would like to express thanks to the Village of Oswego for their continued support as well as for providing the OSC with bike racks that the village received from a grant.

We hope that individuals take advantage of the weather and racks to get some exercise cycling to and from the center when the weather is nice.

The bike racks are located outside of doors 5 and 6. Thanks again.

Sandy Pastore, MSW Executive Director Oswego Senior Center Oswego

Thank you to Democrats

To the Editor: Thank you to all the County Democrats who have continued to support the Kendall County Democratic Party. This weekend the residents of Kendall Count have an opportunity to stop by and meet fellow Democrats at the Oswego Prairie Fest.

Candidates from national, state, and local will be on hand throughout the weekend so please stop the booth for more information. The Kendall County Democrats will also be in this year’s parade once again so keep an eye out for us on that.

June is an exciting time for us as we will be spending allot of time working to serve you our great residents of Kendall County. So please join me in supporting this year’s Oswego Prairie Fest and stop by and see the Kendall County Democrats.

For information, please visit us on the web at [ http://www.kendall-democrats.org ]www.kendall-democrats.org Thank You,

Martin J. Flowers Kendall County Democratic Party, Montgomery

Oswego Ledger / KendallCountyNow.com • Thursday, June 16, 2016

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Oswego Ledger / KendallCountyNow.com • Thursday, June 16, 2016

| LOCAL NEWS

6 Vietnam Moving Wall coming to Oswego in ’17

By MATT SCHURY mschury@kendallcountynow.com Veterans and officials were on hand Tuesday morning to celebrate Flag Day at the Veterans Memorial in downtown Oswego and to announce that the traveling Vietnam Wall Memorial will be coming to Oswegoland Park District’s Prairie Point Community Park June 29July 3, 2017.

The traveling wall is a replica of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. The black, granite memorial bears the names of all U.S. servicemen and women who died while serving our country during the war.

The effort to bring the wall to the village will be a collaboration between the Village of Oswego, Oswegoland Park District, School District 308, Oswego Chamber of Commerce and the Fox Valley Veterans Breakfast Club. Officials organizing it say they are going to need some help from the community to bring it here.

Speakers at the event included State.

Rep Keith Wheeler, R-Oswego; Oswego Village President Gail Johnson; Karen Novy, Chief of Staff for State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego; Dave Krahn, Oswegoland Park District Board president; and Herschel Luckinbill, a Montgomery resident, Vietnam War veter-

an and Fox Valley Veterans Breakfast Club President/Committee Co-Chair.

Rev. Thomas Cross gave an invocation and the National Anthem was sung by Mark Murphy.

Krahn has been part of the group that has been working behind the scenes to bring the wall to the community.

“I can’t stress the importance of a project like this, it’s what melds a town together,” Krahn said. “Honoring our vets has always been there but sometimes it seems like a mere formality.

Flag Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day seemingly turn into hollow holidays without people really realizing the sacrifice these brave men and women have made. The Vietnam Moving Wall changes that dynamic and you will walk away with a different perspective on what it means to be a veteran.”

Krahn said the committee will have a booth at PrairieFest seeking local volunteers. He explained they will need hundreds of volunteers in order to sustain a 24-hours a day memorial for five days, which will include a nonstop reading of every name etched on the wall.

He added that they could also use financial backing from those in the community.

For Luckinbill, the committee’s General Chairman and a Vietnam Veteran,

bringing the wall to Kendall County is personal. Luckinbill recalled being on patrol in the Gulf of Tonkin on Dec 23, 1966.

“At 10 a.m. general quarters sounded—’Man your battle stations!’ As the crews scampered to their battle stations a Viet Cong shore battery opened fire and three heavy shells made direct hits on the ship that I was serving on, killing two of my shipmates,” he said.

Luckinbill added that he visited the wall a few years ago when it came to West Aurora High School and the experience was touching.

“I felt as if I had spent five days with my two shipmates,” Luckinbill said.

Shortly after that he worked to get the wheels moving to bring the wall to Oswego. Luckinbill said that they will be planning events and programs while the wall is in Oswego.

“There are 58,315 names on the wall, eight of those names are women who were nurses and 16 were chaplains,” Luckinbill said. He finished his remarks by reciting a poem entitled “The Moving Wall” by Gary L. Jones.

“A visit to the wall will be many things to many people but to me it has healed my soul and made me feel proud to have been there,” Luckinbill read.

“Rest in peace Tony Perry and Tom Tiglas, my shipmates, December 23, 1966.

BRIEF Montgomery shredding, recycling event Saturday

The Village of Montgomery will offer free paper shredding at its monthly recycling event this Saturday, June 18.

Paper shredding will be available at 10 Civic Center Avenue in front of the Montgomery police department from 9 a.m. until noon along with other recycling opportunities typically available on the third Saturday of each month.

Paper shredding will be limited to two banker-type boxes of documents per vehicle; staples are fine, but please remove any binder clips and rubber bands.

In addition, tours of the police department will be offered from 10 a.m. until noon.

During the event, you can drop off electronics (anything electrical that plugs in, except tube, projection and plasma TVs), all types of batteries and metal at the recycling event location to help keep these items out of landfills. Newer flat screen TVs and computer CRT monitors will also be accepted.

This recycling event will not accept paint, light bulbs, car fluids or tires. Call 630-8968080, ext. 9003, with any questions.

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Local Waubonsee softball players receive ISCC honors

The Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) and the NJCAA’s Region IV Softball Committee recently recognized Waubonsee Community College players for their outstanding play this past spring.

Eight members of the Lady Chiefs’ program were honored by the ISCC after Waubonsee captured at least a share of the league title for an unprecedented sixth straight year.

Tiffani Palmatier and Abby Etheridge were each named to the All-ISCC First Team. Alex Wagner was selected to the All-ISCC Second Team. In addition, Palmatier was chosen to the

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bases. A two-time All-ISCC First Team selection, Etheridge finished her Waubonsee career with 143 hits in 345 at bats for a two-year batting average of .420.

Wagner, an Oswego East High School graduate, earned All-ISCC Second Team honors for the second straight year. The right-hander went 3-0 with a 2.37 earned–run-average in conference play. Overall Wagner won seven games in the circle while tossing a team-leading 103 and twothirds innings.

– Shaw Media

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All-Region First Team in leading head coach Perry Clark’s squad.

Palmatier set a Waubonsee single-season record with 74 runs Tiffani driven in this spring, Palmatier surpassing Lauren Vitiello’s mark of 67 set in 2011. Palmatier finished tied for 12th nationally among all NJCAA Division II players in runs batted Abby in. The sophomore from Oswego East High Etheridge School also slugged a dozen home runs to equal Vitiello’s Lady Chiefs’ single-season record also set in 2011.

The right-handed hitter finished the season Alex Wagner with a .350 batting average.

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Thursday, June 16, 2016

In just his second season for the Concordia University Chicago baseball program, Oswego alum Mitch Wilson strengthened his case as one of the top NCAA Division III players in the Midwest.

A 2014 graduate of Oswego High School, Wilson made a repeat appearance on the All-Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference first-team. He also added second-team honors for both the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and the D3Baseball.com All-Midwest Region teams for 2016. Hitting in the number five spot in the lineup for most of the year, Wilson batted .361 in 46 games, good for seventh in the conference.

He scored 44 runs and drove in 36 with a slugging percentage of .550 based on 22 extra-base hits. His extra-base hits included eight triples which set a new CUC single-season record.

After splitting most of his time in 2015 between designated hitter and rightfield, Wilson played exclusively at second base this season.

He handled the transition smoothly,

committing just four errors in 239 total chances for a .983 fielding percentage.

“Mitch has been our ‘Mr. Reliable’ all season long,” says CUC head coach Mike Stawski. “When he’s going well, it’s usually the case that our team is playing very well. He’s one of the best players in our conference with a chance to be the best in the next few years, and we’re thankful we have him for two more years.”

SPORTS | Oswego Ledger / KendallCountyNow.com •

Oswego alum Mitch Wilson receives ABCA award

Oswego Ledger / KendallCountyNow.com • Thursday, June 16, 2016

| SPORTS

10

PREP BASEBALL

Oswego East’s Garrett Goetz named All-SPC

By KRISTIN SHARP ksharp@kendallcountynow.com The Southwest Prairie Conference boasted the most talented baseball league in Class 4A this spring, so placing two players on the All-Conference roster was an accomplishment for Oswego East.

Junior shortstop/pitcher Garrett Goetz was voted team MVP, both offensive and defensive, and was the only player selected to the Southwest Prairie All-Conference team. Senior Vince Schwartz received Honorable Mention All-Conference honors.

Goetz batted .430 for the season with a team-best 43 hits in addition to 17 RBIs and 23 runs scored. On the mound, he pitched 54 1/3 innings with a 2.06 ERA and a 3-6 record. Schwartz hit .402 and led the Wolves with 23 RBIs. “It was pretty impressive for those guys to put up the numbers they did with as tough of a conference and as tough of a schedule as we played.

Plainfield North captured fourth

place in the state finals while Plainfield South finished in the Elite Eight and a total of five of the eight SPC teams won regional titles, while Oswego and Oswego East were eliminated in regional semifinals by conference opponents. Oswego East finished 12-19 overall, and 17 games were against regional championship teams. The Wolves went 7-14 in the SPC. “I was really impressed with the way the kids competed the entire season,” Engelhardt said. “We had ups and downs from the start. We dealt with some injuries early on, had a good stretch in the middle and won eight of 11, and then ran into some of that tough conference play.

We lost nine of 10, but the kids came back and battled and we were playing our best ball at the end of the season.”

Oswego East opened the summer slate with a 2-2 record after splitting doubleheaders with Oswego and Naperville Central to start the schedule. The Wolves will play through July 6 at the Oswego Wood Bat tournament before the IHSA summer playoffs take place the week of July 11.

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KendallCountyNOW.com is the official website of the Kendall County Record.

SM-CL0374422

Date: Time: Location:

Wednesday, June 29, 2016 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM Montgomery Village Hall 200 N. River Street Montgomery, IL, 60538

Purpose of the hearing: • •

•

To present the preferred alternative To present Section 4(f) impacts to the Stuart Sports Complex and the Blackberry Trail Forest Preserve To obtain public input

Exhibits will be on display and an audio-visual presentation will be shown continuously during the hearing. Project team members will be present to discuss the project and answer questions. A Public Forum will begin at 6:00 PM, where the public will be invited to make a statement to a court reporter. Written comments can be submitted at the meeting, mailed after the meeting, or submitted to the project website at www.US30baselineroadstudy.org. Comments received by July 28, 2016 will become part of the official public meeting/hearing record.

The Department will process any permits that may be required within the designated floodways of the project limits.

“Making sense of investing” Member SIPC

The Illinois Department of Transportation (Department) cordially invites you to attend the public hearing concerning the preliminary engineering and environmental study (Phase I) for the improvement of US 30 from IL 47 to IL 31 in the City of Yorkville and Village of Montgomery in Kane and Kendall Counties. The proposed scope of work for this improvement includes roadway widening and reconstruction to provide two lanes in each direction separated by a curbed median, pedestrian and bicycle accommodations, and drainage improvements. The details of the hearing are as follows:

This hearing will be accessible to people with disabilities. Anyone needing special assistance should contact Lori Brown at (847) 705-4477. Persons planning to attend who will need a sign language interpreter or other similar accommodations should notify the Department’s TTY/TTD number (800) 526-0844/or 711; TTY users (Spanish) (800) 501-0864/or 711; and Telebraille (877) 526-6670 at least five (5) days prior to the meeting.

All correspondence regarding this project should be sent to: Illinois Department of Transportation 201 W. Center Court Schaumburg, IL 60196-1096 Attn: Bureau of Programming Lori Brown or submitted through the project website or email: www.US30baselineroadstudy.org or info@us30baselineroadstudy.org SM-CL0374521

BOYS BASKETBALL

By KRISTIN SHARP ksharp@kendallcountynow.com

nounced his resignation in May after four seasons as the Golden Eagles head coach.

Doty accepted the head coaching position at Graceland University (NAIA Division I) in Lamoni, Iowa and has offered Ross an opportunity to play at Graceland when he transfers from the junior college.

In 2015-16, the Golden Eagles were ranked No. 1 in NJCAA Division III all year long for the second consecutive season and won a second National Championship in three seasons. Ross plans to spend his summer preparing for his first collegiate season. The Golden Eagles open the 2016-17 season on Nov. 5 with a home game against Cedar Valley.

“I think the plan is to be at Rock Valley for a year, assess where he’s at, and he’s been to a couple open gyms there and he sees the guys there are pretty darn good,” Borrowman said.

“It’s one of the best judo [junior college] programs in America. It’s fueled him more to get himself physically ready. ... He’s got big goals and he has a shot as a Division I scholarship after a year. I’m confident something good will come up for him.”

Photo provided

Oswego’s Malique Ross took part in Saturday’s IBCA All-Star game at Pontiac High School. He was part of the Class 3A/4A North squad and scored 17 points with five assists.

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Thursday, June 16, 2016

Recent Oswego graduate Malique Ross made the most of his final opportunity to play high school basketball.

The 5-foot-11 point guard was selected to the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) All-Star game, which took place on Saturday at Pontiac High School. Ross was a starter on the Class 3A/4A North squad, which was coached by DeKalb’s Al Biancalana. He was an IBCA Fourth Team All-State selection for the 201516 season, averaging 17.6 points over 18 games after missing 11 games with a wrist injury.

South All-Stars won by a score of 126-113 behind a 20-point effort from Ilijah Donnelly (Bloomington). North All-Stars were led by Northwestern-bound Barrett Benson (Hinsdale South), who scored 19 points. Ross finished with 17 points and five assists while North Greenville commit Daniko Jackson (Riverside-Brookfield) finished with 16 points.

“He played really well, which is not surprising,” Oswego coach Matt Borrowman said. “He’s been working

quite hard since our season ended to get himself healthy and strong before he heads off to Rock Valley.”

The North roster also included Plainfield North graduate Kevin Krieger, who will continue at Minnesota State, as well as Nebraska-bound Isaiah Roby (Dixon), Northern Michigan’s Michael Pollack (DeKalb), DePaul-bound Devin Gage (Chicago Curie) and the University of Chicago’s Jordan Baum (Deerfield).

Ross met his All-Star teammates on Friday for a practice before a walkthrough on Saturday before tip-off.

“It was really fun to play with some guys who are expected to be big time players at their schools and have a big future,” Ross said. “It was really fun to play with guys like that.”

Ross will continue his playing career at Rock Valley College in Rockford.

“When the coach [Craig Doty] first talked to me, I connected real well with him and I saw there was opportunity there and a push for me to see what else I can do,” Ross said.

Now, Ross will play for interim head coach Evan Lavery, who was tabbed to replace Doty after he an-

SPORTS | Oswego Ledger / KendallCountyNow.com •

Oswego’s Malique Ross enjoys All-Star treatment

11

Oswego Ledger / KendallCountyNow.com • Thursday, June 16, 2016

12

SPORTS AMATEUR BASEBALL

OFF TO A ROCKY START

Offense rusty as Oswego Cats open summer slate below .500 LAURA M. MEDINA sports@kendallcountynow.com The Oswego Cats are experiencing a start vaguely reminiscent of last season, and while that’s not enough to guarantee the same kind of success the team experienced in 2015, it’s a reminder that there is plenty of time to ensure that it at least has a chance for a similar kind of finish.

Oswego, which is currently 3-4 overall and 2-3 in the Chicago Suburban Baseball League, opened last season with just four wins in its first seven games en route to ending at 17-14 with a 15-10 record in the CSBL. The team then clinched the American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC) Regional Tournament at Jackie’s Field of Dreams and rounded things out as the fifth-best team in the Stan Musial World Series last August at Farmingdale State College in New York. The national tournament was the Cats’ first such bid since finishing fourth in the 2012 World Series in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

With their sights on another postseason run, the Cats are hoping to turn their early struggles into learning experiences that lead to later successes.

After splitting a season-opening doubleheader (116 win, 8-5 loss) with the Crestwood Panthers on June 5, Oswego dropped a 6-1 league contest against the Joliet Dirtbags two nights later. On Saturday, the team swept a doubleheader from the Homestead Ranchers, 11-2 and 8-2 at home, but lost two to the host Crystal Lake Cardinals by identical 2-0 scores Sunday.

Against Joliet last week, the Cats went up against a pair of right-handers that combined to allow just one run and seven hits, while striking out seven.

Shortstop Trevor Lines, first baseman Kevin Loukota and second baseman Adam Lipscomb each had two hits for Oswego, which went quietly through the first five innings and trailed 3-0.

A one-out rally seemed to be on the horizon in the sixth when Lines and right fielder Bobby Smith each singled. Loukota drilled a pitch to left-center that appeared to clear the bases, but it was ruled a ground-rule double, plating Lines and stranding Smith at third.

With the bases loaded and two out, left fielder Jeff Tucker grounded out to end the inning. “(Two) double plays killed us, and that groundrule double killed us,” Cats field manager Todd Miller said. “We just couldn’t put the ball in play and couldn’t get the run. We were missing some of our veteran bats, and our older guys were swinging, but we couldn’t put anything together and couldn’t get over the hump.”

Miller, though, shouldn’t worry about the Cats’ offense too much, as that was the team’s strongest attribute last season.

Its .294 team batting average was second in the league, with Clay Schuler leading all hitters in the CSBL with a .351 clip and five other players in the top 25 (69 at-bats or more): Jose Camacho at .333, Lines at

Steven Buyansky for Shaw Media

Oswego pitcher David Schurr (25) hurls the ball to a Joliet batter during a baseball game against the Joliet Dirtbags on June 7 at Oswego High School. .323, Ryan O’Dell at .300, Loukota at .297 and Smith at .291.

Oswego also was third in hits (211) and runs scored (151). Schuler was second among players with 27 hits (77 at-bats), while Smith (23) and Camacho (22) were not far behind. Among those driving in runs, Schuler was fourth with 22 RBIs, O’Dell sixth with 16 and Camacho and Smith had 13 and 12, respectively.

Camacho, though, will be unavailable for a few weeks so he can complete a summer course at Texas Southern University.

“We’ll bounce back, and we’ll get more swings and more guys in the lineup,” Miller said. “It’s just a matter of getting them comfortable with the idea that, ‘You can do this; you don’t have to press and try to hit 40 home runs. Just play your game. You’re going to have to manufacture runs, get timely hitting and stay out of the situations that cause us outs.’ ” As the bats begin to come around, Oswego will look to its pitching to provide some stability.

In the loss to Joliet, left-hander and Oswego East graduate David Schurr surrendered three runs and nine hits while striking out 10 in seven innings of work. Right-hander Ryan Millan surrendered two

hits in the eighth, and right-hander Andrew Bruss conceded three runs and four hits in the ninth.

The trio looks to keep contributing to a staff that combined for a regular season 5.04 ERA and features six new arms in addition to its 12 veterans.

“David was very good,” Miller said. “He throws the ball really well, has good movement and good velocity. He’s a nice addition.

“Our pitching should be really good. It will definitely lead us, but we have to let our bats keep up.

We’ll start to hit; just like the major leagues, the bats have to catch up to the pitching.”

Miller also looks to build on the defense, which features a bevy of infield and outfield veterans that have provided a solid backing to the pitching staff in years past.

Oswego will have plenty of time to evaluate each aspect of its team with 14 games left in June.

“Everybody’s got a ‘deer in the headlights, we gotta make that impact,’ and it’s like, play your game,” Miller said. “Just relax and go out there. You’re here because you can do it, not because we hope you can do it. It’s a matter of juggling everybody around and finding them playing time, but we’ll be OK.”