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W E D N E S D A Y
December 9, 2020 Vol. 40, No. 19 ONE DOLLAR @oakpark @wednesdayjournal
JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
Concordia faculty braces for cuts Process seeks closer ties to Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter
Faculty at Concordia University Chicago in River Forest are bracing for what could be a round of painful terminations and cuts to various departments as the institution implements what it is calling a “prioritization” process. In an email statement, Eric Matanyi, the university’s associate vice president for communications and marketing, said prioritization “will allow the university to realize $5 million in funds that will be reallocated to support existing under-resourced programs/operational areas, as well as new initiatives.” Matanyi said, in addition, that the university “is emphasizing its ongoing commitment to its mission and vision.” Part of that mission is to be “steadfast in Jesus Christ as revealed in the Holy Scriptures” and to faithfully practice the “confessional teachings of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod,” the Lutheran denomination that operates the Concordia University System. The system comprises seven colleges and universities across the country, including the one in River Forest, and one satellite campus. Concordia University Chicago’s vision is to be a “Christ-centered university where truth, freedom, and vocation form students for lives of influence and service for the common good.” But the members of the Concordia Faculty SenSee CONCORDIA on page 16
Cat-astrophe averted Photo provided via drone
NOW SAFE ON THE GROUND: It took more than a day of ingenuity but neighbors, and a generous tree service, finally brought this cat to safety.
It took a village (River Forest) to get this cat down from a tree in Thatcher Woods By MARIA MAXHAM
O
Staff Reporter
n Dec. 6, a cat stuck in a tree on forest preserve property near Thatcher Avenue and Hawthorne Avenue was rescued by Fernandez Tree Service, the same Chicago certified arborists who saved a cat from a tree in Chicago’s Galewood neighborhood in October. According to a post on the River Forest Neighbors Facebook page, Fernandez Tree Service refused to take money for the rescue. The cat, who was checked out by a vet, reportedly had a fever but
appeared otherwise fine. She is being taken in by Brett Gentile, one of the residents who helped with the rescue. That rescue had gone on since the previous day, when residents discovered the cat stuck about 40 feet up in a tree. Resident Irene O’Connor, who started a post about the cat on a River Forest Facebook page, said she was originally alerted to the problem when she saw two teenage girls trying to shake the tree to get the cat down. According to O’Connor and resident Brett Gentile, the police said they couldn’t help. Nor could the fire department or the village’s public works department. They said they’d also called the Cook County Forest Preserves, which was also not able to offer assistance. Residents left food out at the base of the tree overnight, but
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See CAT-ASTROPHE on page 16