Vol. IV No. 30 D209 students awarded scholarships, PAGE 5
D209 students likely back in class in fall Administration proposes two days on-site, three days remote learning By MICHAEL ROMAIN
JULY 22, 2020
theVillageFreePress.org
Maywood debates proposed Popeyes, PAGE 4
HERO MOURNED: President Barack Obama hugs Rep. John Lewis after his introduction during the event to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches, at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., March 7, 2015. (Caption via Wikimedia)
Editor
The roughly 4,600 students who attend Proviso Township High Schools District 209 will be back in class next school year, at least for two days out of the week. District 209 administrators presented their recommendations during a regular meeting on July 14. The plan comes roughly four months after Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered school buildings closed in March in order to slow the spread of COVID-19, with D209 and other districts across the state switching to an e-learning model that had students learned from home. What administrators are calling a Blended and Remote Learning Plan will entail students attending school on-site for two days a week and learning remotely from home three days a week. “This allows students to receive in-person instruction and support while minimizing the human interactions that could spread
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza/Public Domain
Area leaders honor late John Lewis Congressman Danny K. Davis remembers Lewis as ‘the essence of decency’
By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
Tributes from local lawmakers at various levels of government have been pouring in for John Lewis — the longtime Georgia Congressman who was a constant presence in the modern civil rights struggle. Lewis died on July 17 from pancreatic cancer. He was 80 years old.
See D209 Reopening on page 4
As a college student in Nashville, Lewis helped organize the sit-ins that prompted local officials to desegregate lunch counters. From there, he joined the Freedom Riders on life-threatening bus trips across the country that helped pave the way for the effective desegregation of interstate travel. As a 23-year-old leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Lewis was among the “Big Six” organizational leaders who planned the
March on Washington in 1963. “We’re tired of being beaten by policemen. We’re tired of seeing our people locked up in jails over and over again, and then you holler, ‘Be patient.’ How long can we be patient? We want our freedom, and we want it now,” Lewis exclaimed in his speech at the historic demonstration — a speech that he was asked to tone down by other organizers who thought his original draft was too See JOHN LEWIS on page 2
TIRED OF PAYING ATM FEES?
PAY NO MORE!
LOOK INSIDE TO FIND OUT HOW
1759 N. Mannheim Rd. | Stone Park, IL 60165 708-483-0030 | www.provisobank.com Proviso Community Bank is a branch of Hinsdale Bank & Trust Company.