THURSDAY
September 24, 2015 • 75¢
HEAVY HEARTS Reapers boys soccer plays in memory of former player / 16
SERVING PLANO AND KENDALL COUNTY FOR MORE THAN 40 YEARS
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County Annual Oktoberfest ahead gets 2 Three days of festivities set ComEd for downtown grants By LYLE R. ROLFE
news@kendallcountynow.com
Oktoberfest may have started in Germany, but you don’t have to travel any further than Plano to enjoy an authentic Oktoberfest celebration, complete with German food from Plano’s Wurst Kitchen Sausage Co., imported German beer and wine, and German musicians. For three days, the festivities will take place in downtown Plano, come rain or shine, because all events are held under a huge circus tent on Main Street. Events go from 4 to 11 p.m. Friday; from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday; and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. On Friday, admission is free between 4 and 5:30 p.m. After that there is an $8 admission fee for everyone 18 and older. The big tent opens at 11 a.m. Saturday with free admission until 1 p.m. After that there is a $10 admission fee for everyone 18 and older. And the festivities resume Sunday at 11 a.m. with free admission all day for everyone until the event ends at 6 p.m. “This is our 11th year for Plano’s Oktoberfest, which has become a traditional Oktoberfest just like in the old country,” said Ed Schleining, event sponsor and owner of the Wurst Kitchen Sausage Co., in Plano and Aurora. Everything is prepared in their own kitchens, he said. The menu includes schnitzel, roast pork, kassler rippchen, bratwurst, potato salad, sauerkraut, strudel and more, all prepared by their own chef who got his start in Germany, Schleining said. Food will be available from 4:30 to 10 p.m. Friday; from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday; and from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
$20K to be used for green space, 7 defibrillators By MATT SCHURY mschury@kendallcountynow.com
Eric Miller file photos - emiller@shawmedia.com
ABOVE: People take part in the Chicken Dance Contest in 2014 at the Plano Oktoberfest. The competition is for all ages. BELOW: The Johnny Wagner Band performs in 2014 at the Plano Oktoberfest. The band will play authentic German music on Saturday night at this year’s fest.
Sunday. And Schleining brings a beer wagon to the event each year. “We sell only imported German beer and wine – no light beer or American beer,” he said. But food and drink are only part of the fun over the three days. Entertainment begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday with the Hirsch Band, an authentic German group playing music for listening and dancing until 7 p.m., when the official opening ceremony will be held.
A Chicken Dance Contest will be held at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with the winners taking home trophies for their talents. There will be an adults’ competition and one for kids, he said. And each night after the kids’ winners are announced, a surprise visitor from the North Pole arrives with a big bag filled with gifts he gives to the kids, Schleining said. Saturday night at 9 p.m., the big event takes place – some lucky lady will be crowned Miss Oktoberfest to reign over
the event. The competition is open to all ladies 18 and above. Schleining said they have had as few as six contestants and as many as 16, ranging in age from 16 to 82. “In fact, the 82-year-old was a winner one year. She was so surprised, she cried. She said she had never won anything before.” The winner receives a trophy and crown. Contestants are introduced, asked to tell the audience about themselves and then asked some trivia questions, which includes some on German traditions. The number of contestants is then narrowed down to four and the winner is chosen by applause from the audience, he said. Throughout the Oktoberfest event, Karl-Heinz & Otto, two German dancers, keep the audience entertained by their dancing and acting talents, urging everyone else to join them on the dance floor, Schleining said.
See OKTOBERFEST, page 2
Kendall County recently received two grants from ComEd that will go toward public safety and green space improvement. Sylvia Rogowski, a spokesperson for ComEd, told the Kendall County Board last week that the county received two grants from the company, each worth $10,000. “On behalf of ComEd I want to congratulate Kendall County on winning not one but two grants from ComEd this year,” Rogowski said. “The first grant is through the ComEd Green Region Program in partnership with the nonprofit Open Lands.” The second grant the county received was through ComEd’s new Safe Communities Program in partnership with the National Safety Council, Rogowski said. Funds from this grant will be used to buy seven automated external defibrillators and seven watertight cases to be used by the patrol division in their Kendall County sheriff’s squad cars. These will allow deputies to more accurately access medical emergencies and provide lifesaving help more quickly. A review committee of safety experts selected Kendall County from among 119 applications. “ComEd is happy the funding will support your initiative to purchase external defibrillators for [sheriff’s] police cars,” she said.
See GRANTS, page 2
LOCAL NEWS
OPINION
WHERE IT’S AT
Project moving ahead
Cold weather is coming
Work to widen Route 34 from Oswego to Yorkville expected to begin next year / 3
Reflections: Back in the day, fall was time for putting by the last of the summer produce / 5
Forum ................................................... 5 Fire calls .............................................. 7 Kristy Lawrie Gravlin.......................13 Local news ..................................... 2-13 Opinion................................................. 4 Police reports..................................... 7 Sports............................................ 14-16
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