Free Press Advocate

Wilmington 209-U picks new school board president

Published by admin on Tue, 05/04/2021 - 5:45pm

The newly elected members of the Wilmington School District 209-U were officially sworn in on April 29.

Members Tim Cragg, Peggy Kunz, Stephanie Southall, and Katrina Plese all took the oath during a special meeting, which was then followed by an organizational meeting to vote for president, vice president, secretary, and to make committee assignments.

One change as the new term begins will be in leadership.

When nominations were made for president, member Peggy Kunz nominated Tim Cragg to serve as president, a position he has held for the past six years.

Wilmington Park District will hold off on new hire

Published by admin on Tue, 05/04/2021 - 5:43pm

The Wilmington Park District will hold off on hiring a new superintendent of recreation, at least for now.

Members of the district’s Board of Commissioners made that decision during their April 22 regular meeting, on the advice of new Executive Director Kirsten Van Duyne.

The position became vacant following the resignation of Andrew Liaromatis last month.

St. Rose vaccine clinic in Wilmington to take walk-ins

Published by admin on Tue, 05/04/2021 - 5:41pm

The COVID-19 vaccination clinic at St. Rose School in Wilmington will start taking walk-ins this week.

The Will County Health Department announced that the clinic began accepting walk-ins on Tuesday. Walks-ins will be allowed today (May 5) from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

The clinic will also continue to take appointments online, by logging on to https://events.juvare.com/.../4c246e52-9248-4b14-84ca.../ and typing in the voucher code “Wilmington.”

Lane closures coming to I-55 near Wilmington

Published by admin on Mon, 05/03/2021 - 4:24pm

The Illinois Department of Transportation announced Monday that a patching and resurfacing of Interstate 55, from north of River Road, in Wilmington, to just north of the I&M Canal, in Channahon, will begin, weather permitting, Friday, May 7. Major travel delays are anticipated.

The work will initially require two consecutive weekend lane closures. Starting at 9 p.m. Friday, May 7, to 5 a.m. Monday, May 10, I-55 between Interstate 80 and the Kankakee River will be reduced to one lane in each direction.

Illinois 53 in Elwood resurfacing begins May 3

Published by admin on Thu, 04/29/2021 - 6:01pm

The Illinois Department of Transportation announced today that a resurfacing of Illinois 53 from Hoff Road to Manhattan Road in Elwood will require daily, intermittent lane closures beginning, weather permitting, Monday, May 3.
 
The project, which consists of resurfacing the 3.3-mile stretch of Illinois 53 and constructing new ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps, is expected to be completed in late November. Access to residences and businesses within the work zone will be maintained throughout construction.
 

Sales tax, state funds help push Wilmington budget to the black

Published by admin on Tue, 04/27/2021 - 4:40pm

The city of Wilmington crafted a conservative budget for the 2021 fiscal year (FY21), which ends on Friday.

And, it appears those conservative figures, as well as higher than expected sales tax dollars, will help the city move into FY22 with their budget in the black.

Matt Hoffman, the city’s finance director, gave an update of the year-end budget during the regular meeting of the Finance Committee on April 20.

Van Duyne takes the helm at Wilmington Park District

Published by admin on Tue, 04/27/2021 - 4:39pm

Wilmington Park District’s new executive director doesn’t have far to travel when it comes to making her way to the office.

Last month, the park district board of commissioners approved the hire of Wilmington native Kirsten Van Duyne, and the new director has hit the ground running.

Wilmington 209-U readies for the Class of 2034

Published by admin on Tue, 04/27/2021 - 4:36pm

Dozens of future Wildcats will join the Wilmington School District 209-U school district this fall.

On April 12, Bruning Elementary School Principal Beth Norman gave the members of the school board an update on registration for next year.

Norman said the district has already registered 84 kindergarten students for the 2021-2022 school year.

Inspections on I-80 bridges over Des Plaines River begin April 26

Published by admin on Thu, 04/22/2021 - 12:33pm

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) announced Thursday that routine inspections of the Interstate 80 bridges over the Des Plaines River in Joliet will begin, weather permitting, Monday, April 26.
 
To complete the inspections, daily lane closures will be required, starting with the westbound bridge until May 3, when inspections begin on the eastbound bridge. Inspections on both bridges are expected to be complete by May 8, weather permitting.
 

Zink appointed as new Wilmington Deputy Police Chief

Published by admin on Tue, 04/20/2021 - 5:35pm

The city of Wilmington will have a new deputy chief installed at the police department.

On April 13, Police Chief Phil Arnold explained the addition of a deputy chief to the members of the Police and ESDA committee.

“In 2014, our former deputy chief, Rick Juster, was on medical leave. We hoped that he would come back, but he never did come back in and ended up retiring, medically, and then as you all know he passed away,” Arnold said.