By Paige Fumo Fox

Source Chicago Tribune

Jacob Yarrow, 13, attends Brooks Middle School, plays piano and clarinet, enjoys Wii with his younger brother, and always has been a “great walker.”

He also has autism.

For Jacob’s family — including his brother Caleb and parents Ginger and Philip — participating in the annual walk to benefit the organization Autism Speaks is part of the journey of understanding and helping Jacob and others on the autism spectrum. The Yarrows of Oak Park have raised more than $100,000 since 2005 and are consistently among the top five fundraisers each year, according to a spokeswoman for the organization.

“We got involved with (the organization) when it was Cure Autism Now. It was focused on scientific research, and we had a friend on the science board,” Ginger Yarrow said. During the first walk, Jacob was 4 and had been diagnosed with autism about a year and a half earlier. CAN later merged with Autism Speaks.

The Yarrows found themselves surrounded with other people “who get it,” she said. They began to raise money by simply emailing their friends and family, expanding their contacts each year. For this year’s event on May 18 at Soldier Field, they raised nearly $16,000 and will have a matching donation of $5,000 from Philip Yarrow’s employer.

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By Ken Manson

Source Chicago Tribune

Berwyn dog owners now have a place to take their pets with the grand opening last month of a dog park at Karban Park, 64351/2 Ogden Ave.

The first dog park in Berwyn might be followed by others, said Jeff Janda, executive director of the Berwyn Park District. The district oversees the triangular lot between East and Gunderson avenues and just north of an alley that is north of Ogden Avenue.

The park was opened after petitions signed by more than 200 people requesting a dog park were submitted in February 2011. Berwyn ordinances bar dogs from other parks so confrontations between unleashed pets and humans can be avoided.

Karban was chosen because it already was cared for by the Park District, Janda said.

“We wanted to redevelop it, make it proud,” he said.

The 9,800-square-foot tract was just an open grassy area before being fenced. Added were human and dog fountains, bags to clean up after pets, electricity, water, lighting, benches and picnic tables.

“People like to be able to use the park,” Janda said. “For a lot of people, a dog is part of the family.”

Janda said he goes past Karban several times a day and always sees pet owners using it.

“They’re a very friendly group,” he said.

Entry is by key card for those who get an annual permit costing $50 from the Park District. The cost goes toward expenses, including the bags used by pet owners to clean up after their dogs. Hours are sunrise to sunset.

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By Gregory Pratt

Source Chicago Tribune

Tinley Park police are requesting the public’s help in catching people suspected of stealing air conditioners around town.

Police in Tinley Park and other suburbs are requesting the public’s help in catching people suspected of stealing air conditioners.

Police think there are at least two men involved in the thefts. The suspects are believed to be driving either a full-size silver or gray Dodge pickup or a black Chevy Suburban with gold trim on the bottom, according to Tinley Park police Chief Steve Neubauer.

The suspects are believed to be stealing air conditioners after dark using portable power tools to cut the cables and tubes attached to the units.

Most of the thefts have occurred in commercial or industrial areas, police said. In one incident, the thieves stole multiple air conditioners from one location near a strip mall.

A police report indicated that “approximately 35 air conditioners have been stolen from the Tinley Park, Oak Forest and Orland Park area overnight” in the past two months, with 20 coming from Tinley Park.

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By Paige Fumo Fox

Source Chicago Tribune

While floods can wipe out family treasures, they sometimes can reveal long lost ones.

Kevin McCarey was working outside his house on Lyman Avenue in Oak Park, preparing a raised garden bed, shortly after the late April rain had soaked his yard.

As he turned over dirt, he noticed something shiny not far from where he was working: a gold ring.

“We weren’t even digging there,” McCarey said. “That one just showed itself. It was just sitting on a little dirt patch.”

It turned out to be a Baylor University 1970 class ring inscribed with the letters SCS. McCarey found a website devoted to matching owners with their lost class rings but said “it was asking for a lot of personal information.” So he gave up.

Several days later, he read a police blotter item on a local news site indicating jewelry and other items had been stolen during a home burglary several blocks from his home. The victim was a man in his 60s, which could have put him at the right age to graduate from college in 1970.

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By Michelle Manchir

Source Chicago Tribune

John Paulett leads almost all of his classes at Fenwick High School while the students sit in chairs formed in a circle. It’s a way that provokes discussion and critical thinking for some of the tough topics he tackles in his theology classes at the Catholic school in Oak Park, he said.

His students stood up from those chairs Thursday morning to applaud Paulett as he became one of 10 Chicago-area high school teachers honored this year with a Golden Apple Award. Each year, the award puts a spotlight on the area’s top teachers.

Paulett, 62, stood motionless when school administrators, representatives from the Golden Apple Foundation, his wife and his adult daughter surprised him with the award during a moral theology class.

“My class knows I’m very rarely at any kind of loss for words, but I’m really overcome,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion. “I’m so delighted.”

Paulett was one of 510 teachers nominated from the Chicago area this year. The winners are chosen based on their contributions to “building a stronger, better-educated citizenry,” according to the foundation’s website.

Nominated by students, parents or colleagues and then vetted by foundation staff and volunteers, Golden Apple Award recipients receive a $3,000 cash award and a tuition-free spring quarter sabbatical to study at Northwestern University.

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Source Chicago Tribune

A man yelled at a 14-year-old girl in Oak Park to get into his car, but then drove off after she said no, Oak Park police said today.

The girl was walking on the sidewalk in the 800 block of Division Street around 3:33 p.m. April 26 when the man drove past her, honked the car horn and waved. The vehicle then passed the girl a second time and the man yelled “get into my car,” according to a police report.

The girl said no, and the man drove southbound on Oak Park Avenue, according to the report.

Oak Park Det. Sgt. Michael Lepczynski said the incident is still under investigation.

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By Paige Fumo Fox

Source Chicago Tribune

In an effort to increase support for Oak Park’s and River Forest’s youngest children, particularly those considered at risk of academic failure, the boards of the Village of Oak Park, School District 97 and Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 have agreed to a five-year contract with the nonprofit organization Collaboration for Early Childhood.

The agreement provides for development, hearing and vision screenings for children from birth to 5; home visits for parents of at-risk children; staff development for day cares and preschools participating in the state’s Preschool for All program, and a network of services to which families can be referred.

“We want all kids in Oak Park and River Forest to receive developmental screenings and get referral to services,” said Carolyn Newberry Schwartz, the organization’s director.

For the 2013-14 fiscal year, District 97 will pay about $248,000, the high school about $216,000 and the village about $172,000. By the end of the five-year agreement, each government will be paying more than double its original amounts.

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