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D-155 approves plan for bleachers
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Dismantling could start before Nov. 1 By EMILY K. COLEMAN ecoleman@shawmedia.com
CRYSTAL LAKE – The west bleachers at Crystal Lake South High School are coming down starting as soon as this month, a district official said. The Community High School District 155 Board signed off Tuesday evening on a conceptual plan for returning the home side and the press box to the east bleachers and dismantling the west bleachers to their ninth row. The unanimous approvals mean the disconnection of the electrical work will start Wednesday, with a complete dismantling to follow probably starting sometime before Nov. 1, Director of Operations Jeff Daurer said, adding he expects the process to take about six weeks. The district had sought bids on the demolition in December after a court ordered the west bleachers to come down but had held off approving a contract until now – after the Illinois Supreme Court ruled school districts are subject to municipal zoning and stormwater ordinances and after negotiations, with the neighboring property owners who filed the lawsuit and the city of Crystal Lake, started. The district’s attorney, as well as those representing the city, the property owners and the McHenry County Regional Office of Education, are scheduled to appear before McHenry County Judge Michael Chmiel at 1:30 p.m. Thursday to discuss where they’re at in the negotiations. Chmiel still could decide his order stands and the bleachers have to come down completely, Daurer said. But the dismantling of the bleachers to the ninth row – where the first structural support is – is in line with what Tom Burney, the attorney representing the property owners, has proposed. Burney reiterated at Tuesday’s meeting that the property owners would like a privacy fence at the top of the bleachers, and said he hopes minimizing the sound is part of the continuing talks. One of the property owners, Kim Maselbas-Gurba, said after the vote that she feels good about the plan so far. “I’ll believe it when I see it,” her husband, Jeff Gurba, said, adding, “There’s no trust with them.” If Chmiel signs off on the progress so far at Thursday’s court hearing, district staff will move
Kyle Schwarber sets Cubs’ franchise record for postseason home runs
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MLB PLAYOFF COVERAGE IN SPORTS
The Mets’ Daniel Murphy celebrates after hitting a home run during the third inning of Game 3 of the National League Championship Series against the Cubs on Tuesday at Wrigley Field. AP photo
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LITH resident, girlfriend killed in Florida hit-and-run crash By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com LAKE IN THE HILLS – The last time he talked to his son, John Berg shared how excited he was to go on vacation in Florida. The Lake in the Hills man started a long-planned vacation to Clearwater Beach, in Florida, on Thursday with Viola Flores, his live-in girlfriend of three years. “With my honey on little rendezvous,” Flores wrote in one of many
Facebook posts documenting their “We just know that God knows trip. who did it, and we hope that Her last post came at 4:20 p.m. Sunday. Nearly four hours later, the couple was walking when they were person turns themselves in for struck by a silver SUV-style Merthe right reasons.” cedes, police said. Jonh Berg, 62, and Flores, 51, were taken to a local hospital, but both died later. Gloria Yepiz Police said the driver fled and has Lifelong friend of Viola Flores yet to be found. “The only thing we can hope is that they find the driver,” John Tuesday. “... I have faith in what they Berg’s only child, Matt Berg, said are doing, and I have faith in the com-
munity.” Police are using surveillance video and pictures from area businesses to help identify and locate the driver. In several Facebook posts, police have urged anyone with information about the crash or the driver to call the Clearwater Police Department. Gloria Yepiz, a lifelong friend to Flores from her hometown of Aurora, shared tearful wishes the driver comes forward. “We just know that God knows who did it, and we hope that person
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turns themselves in for the right reasons,” Yepiz said. Flores was a sales representative for a restoration specialist in Hoffman Estates, Yepiz said. Flores had two children and a young granddaughter. “She was the whole package,” Yepiz said. “She had a contagious smile, and her laugh – everybody is going to remember that laugh.” The funeral for Flores will be at
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