News

Coal City approves use permits for two businesses

Published by admin on Tue, 10/15/2019 - 8:04pm

Two new business ventures were granted conditional use permits by the Coal City Village Board.
At the recommendation of its Planning and Zoning Board, village trustees granted a conditional use permit for a motor vehicle repair shop and an outdoor storage facility.
The storage facility will be located on land the village recently sold to local businessman Randy Alderson, who at the time of submitting his bid indicated his intent to provide storage for recreational vehicles on the land.

When it rained, it poured

Published by admin on Tue, 10/15/2019 - 8:02pm

The clouds turned the sky dark, the rain fell and it continued for nearly 22 hours.
“Officially our rain gauge at the shop, which is what I check, was 9 inches,” Coal City maintenance supervisor Darrell Olson said recalling the “rain event” on Sept. 27.
The prolonged and at times heavy rains caused widespread flooding throughout the village and resulted in damage to the town’s sewer plant.

‘Preventive maintenance’ against bullying

Published by admin on Tue, 10/15/2019 - 6:49pm

Statistics don’t matter when your child is being bullied; not that it happens to one in five high schoolers, or that the statistic is higher in junior high.
When a distraught mother called The Free Press Advocate last week to report that her child was suffering and nothing was happening to the bully, we thought it was a good time to take a look at how Wilmington School District 209-U handles such reports.
And by chance, October is National Bullying Prevention Awareness month.

City to force those dead trees down

Published by admin on Tue, 10/15/2019 - 6:47pm

If residents won’t cut down their dead or dying trees, the city will, and will send the bill.

Ghouls and goblins to meet up for Lions spookhike

Published by admin on Tue, 10/15/2019 - 6:46pm

It’s the start of autumn, the leaves are changing and will soon fall, Jack-O-Lanterns have appeared on porchsteps and ...ghouls and goblins are gathering for the Wilmington Lions Club’s annual spookhike, “A Walk in the Woods.”
This year’s event will take place Friday, Oct. 25 and Saturday, Oct. 26, beginning at 7 p.m. each night. (The gates close at 10 p.m.) The meandering haunted and spooky hike, with scares and frights around every turn, moves back to the South Island this year.

City to perform random sump pump checks

Published by admin on Tue, 10/15/2019 - 5:21pm

If you have your sump pump connected to your sanitary sewer line, now is the time to disconnect it.
At the Oct. 8 Braidwood City Council meeting, city administrator Tony Altiery announced that the city will start to perform random checks to ensure that property owners’ sump pumps aren’t connected to their sanitary sewer lines.

Get in the fall spirit at Scarecrow Fest

Published by admin on Tue, 10/15/2019 - 5:16pm

On Saturday, Oct. 19, from 1 to 4 p.m., the city of Braidwood will be celebrating its fifth annual Scarecrow Fest at Braidwood Zoo.
You can show off your creative handmade scarecrow during the scarecrow contest or enter your most delicious chili recipe against your neighbor in the chili-cook off.
Those who’d rather taste than cook can warm up by sampling some of the delicious chili.
Children can enjoy an afternoon of fun with a variety of activities, including free pumpkin decorating, a bounce house and face painting.

Braidwood to hold first zoning board meeting of 2019

Published by admin on Tue, 10/15/2019 - 5:15pm

Braidwood’s planning and zoning commission will meet for the first time in nearly one year on Monday, Oct. 21, at 6 p.m., at Braidwood City Hall.

The commission has not met since November, said city administrator Tony Altiery. Meetings were not being held because there was no relevant business to conduct.

As the city continues to update and clean up old ordinances, a need for the zoning board has arisen again.

Braidwood police to be more visible at businesses

Published by admin on Tue, 10/15/2019 - 5:13pm

Don’t be surprised if you begin seeing a few more friendly faces while you’re out shopping around town.
On Oct. 1, the Braidwood Police Department started a new initiative to perform random checks at businesses and banks throughout the city.
Braidwood Chief of Police Todd Lyons said the goal of this new initiative is to get officers out of their squad cars and into the community to be visible, where they will build relationships with residents and help be a deterrent to crime.

New parking restriction irks downtowners

Published by admin on Tue, 10/08/2019 - 8:23pm

When the signs went up last week, downtown business owners and residents took note.
The signs, notifying the public of a new parking restriction, will mean that nobody, even residents, will be able to park overnight on North Water Street.
According to city hall, an ordinance prohibiting parking on North Water Street daily from 3 to 6 a.m., to allow the public works crew to street sweep or snow plow as needed, was approved in August.