Forest Park Review 100219

Page 1

GROWING COMMUNITY WEDNESDAY JOURNAL, INC.

ForestParkReview.com

Vol. 102, No. 40

$1.00

F O R E S T PA R K

REVIEW

Forest Park Arts Alliance brainstorms ideas PAGE 4

New senior development aims to create community PAGE 6

OCTOBER 2, 2019

@FP_Review @ForestParkReview

Rat population grows in Forest Park Residents can have the biggest impact on reducing rodents By MARIA MAXHAM Staff Reporter

School spirit

SHANEL ROMAIN/Contributor

Stairway to the Stars performs during the Proviso East Homecoming Parade on Saturday, Sept. 28 in Maywood. For more photos see page 11.

Library redo right on schedule and under budget Community support key in keeping library programs running By MARIA MAXHAM Staff Reporter

Forest Park Public Library renovations are progressing on schedule

and slightly under budget, according to library Director Pilar Shaker. She predicts phase one of the three-phase project should be complete by the end of October, and the entire renovation

should be tentatively wrapped up in February. The first phase of the renovation involves the lower level of the library,

The rat population in Forest Park has recently increased, causing the Department of Public Health and Safety to step up efforts to reduce rodents in the area. Forest Park-related Facebook groups have hosted active discussions about this topic, with comments ranging from “Village of Forest Park, your rat breeding program is going swimmingly” to suggestions about how to reach residents to educate them about the problem. Rats are, subjectively speaking, kind of creepy. They come out at dusk, skulking around the edges of your yard or running through the alley, their eyes glowing in the glare of your car’s headlights. They destroy property and can spread disease through the fleas and lice they carry. In fact, in Los Angeles some experts warn that uncontrolled rat populations may bring back medieval diseases like the Bubonic plague and leprosy. Their creepiness is exceeded only by their hardiness. According to the city of Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation fact sheet on Norway rats, “They can crawl through holes the size of a quarter, tread water for three days and land unharmed after a five-story fall.” Norway rats also reproduce extremely rapidly. Female rats as young as two or three months old can be impregnated and can produce up to seven litters a year, each litter containing 8-12 pups. These unwelcome critters have recently become a biggerthan-normal problem in Forest Park, with a corresponding increase in calls to the Department of Health and Public

See LIBRARY on page 12

A good neighbor has your back.

See RATS on page 13

Life’s a combination of good days and bad. I have your back for both. And who has my back? The company more people have trusted for 90 years. CALL ME TODAY. 1606040

State Farm, Bloomington, IL

Meaghan Good, Agent 7601 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130 Bus: 708-366-3779 meaghan@goodsgotyou.com


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.