Wednesday Journal, March 1, 2017
OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM
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OPRF student a Google Doodle finalist An Oak Park and River Forest High School student might soon find her artwork distributed on one of the most high-traffic websites on the internet – Google. OPRF junior Emma Vejcik is the Illinois finalist for Google’s national Doodle Contest, according to OPRF spokeswoman Karin Sullivan. Supporters can vote for Vejcik’s work at Doodle4Google.com through March 6. Vejcik already won a tablet computer
for being the Illinois finalist, but if she wins the national competition, she’ll get her doodle on Google’s homepage for the entire day of March 31, a $30,000 college scholarship and a $50,000 technology grant for OPRF. The theme of this Doodle Contest is “What I See For the Future.” Vejcik’s image, titled “An ‘L’-evated Future”, features a futuristic cityscape with a space-aged El train system.
Timothy Inklebarger
Dominican VP picked to lead Indiana college
Dominican University’s senior vice president for finance and administration has been selected to lead Calumet College of St. Joseph in Hammond, Indiana. Amy McCormack will become Calumet College’s seventh president on July 1. In a statement, McCormack said: “I am grateful for the role that I have been able to play, and the people I have come to know during my 26 years at Dominican. My work has introduced me to so many people in the community through the purchase of the Priory campus, the construction and renovation of several buildings, AMY MCCORMACK real estate transactions, multiple sustainability initiatives, the community leadership program, and the performing arts. My life has been enriched further by my involvement with the Ernest Hemingway Foundation, PlanItGreen and One Earth Film Festival. I am confident I will stay connected to Dominican.” She added that she will remain a resident of Oak Park and stay involved in several initiatives she presently is involved in, particularly around the area of sustainability. At Dominican University, located in River Forest, McCormack was responsible for financial planning and budgeting, capital planning, facilities and security operations, human resources, auxiliary services, risk management and performing arts, according to her Linkedin.com page. She also played an active role in sustainability initiatives and helped develop the first sustainability plan for Oak Park and River Forest and in PlanItGreen sustainability projects, university officials said.
Deborah Kadin
Photo provided by OPRF
OPRF student Emma Vejcik is a finalist in Google’s national Doodle Contest.
Chicago Defender’s new editor
The former communications director for the Oak Park Education Foundation is now, as of Monday, the executive editor of the more-than-a-century-old Chicago Defender — perhaps the country’s most storied and influential African American newspaper, the media journalist Robert Feder announced on his blog, Feb. 27. Shari Davis Noland, of Oak Park, will step into the position after the paper’s former executive editor, Kai EL’ Zabar — the first female to hold that position at the paper — resigned last December, along with Cheryl Mainor, the paper’s publisher. The two women told Crain’s last December that their ideas for the paper diverged from the vision of its majority owner, Real Times Media of Detroit, which they said is more focused on enhancing the paper’s business events, the most important of which is the annual Bud Billiken Parade. Noland has journalism degrees from Northwestern University and the University of Missouri. She’s married to Terry Noland, the executive editor of Chicago magazine.
Michael Romain
Butch McGuire’s saloon decor to be auctioned
John Toomey Gallery, 818 North Blvd. in Oak Park, will auction more than 200 pieces from the saloon’s collection on Saturday, March 4. A selection of items from the Robert E. “Butch” McGuire Collection will be available. It has been 11 years this May since Butch passed away at the age of 76, but his name, through the eponymous saloon, Butch McGuire’s at 20 W. Division St. in Chicago, continues to live on. Some of you may have a (hazy) recollection of being there. The items in the upcoming auction are being retired from their rotation. The collection’s diverse offerings include: framed art, prints and posters, nautical and maritime objects, antique English pub signs, breweriana and advertising mirrors, steins and mugs, Waterford crystal, carved wood elements and architectural hardware, sports memorabilia, and more. McGuire has been described as “an avid and savvy collector of everything bar or nautical related and decorated his bar extensively.” He founded Butch McGuire’s Saloon in 1961, after borrowing $1,500 from his mother. The bar, popular since its opening, has over the years become a Chicago institution. His son now runs the 56-year-old establishment. The auction begins this Saturday at 10 a.m. An open preview leading up to the auction will be held through March 3 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. In addition,
there will be an extended evening preview on Thursday, March 2 from 5 to 7 p.m
Fat Paczki Tuesday! Did you get your paczkis (pronounced POONCH-keys) on Mardi Gras (aka “Fat Tuesday”) at Oak Park Bakery? If you did, you weren’t alone. The bakery reports they were hoping to break last year’s record of 13,000. That’s right, 13,000. That’s a passel of paczkis.
Ken Trainor
We, Robot
For the first time in the event’s history, the Oak Park Education Foundation will host the annual Illinois Middle School VEX Robotics State Championship in Oak Park. The March 4 event will be held at Julian Middle School, 416 Ridgeland Ave. Doors open to teams at 7 a.m., with the competition scheduled to last until 4 p.m. Thirteen teams from Julian and Brooks will compete for the top prize. The room, suffice it to say, will be full of all forms of artificial intelligence. This event is free and open to the public — humans are welcome, too.
Michael Romain
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