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4 | August 31, 2017 | The Homer Horizon NEWS
homerhorizon.com
Will County Forest Preserve to distribute free safety wristbands for trail-goers
Submitted by the Will
County Forest Preserve
District
The Forest Preserve District
of Will County has
launched a wristband campaign
to help people remember
the telephone number
they should call if they need
police assistance in a preserve
or on a trail.
The colorful wristbands
come in two sizes — small
and large — and they are
imprinted with the telephone
number for the Will County
Sheriff’s Police dispatch
center. The center provides
dispatching services for the
Forest Preserve District’s
Police Department.
If one is faced with an
emergency where seconds
count, call 911. But if there
is a non-emergency that requires
police assistance, or
if one sees something suspicious,
call the dispatch number,
(815) 727-6191.
The wristband campaign
is part of the Forest Preserve
police department’s “Eyes,
Ears and Cell Phones” campaign,
which provides advice
about how to stay safe
in the forest preserves by using
your sight and hearing to
be aware of your surroundings
and a cell phone to call
for assistance or report concerns.
Police Chief Tracy Chapman
said she came up with
the idea for wristbands while
she was in a safety planning
meeting where public outreach
was being discussed.
“I looked down at my
wristband that I wear every
day for my best friend who
passed away in 2011 from
brain cancer, and it hit me.
We should have wristbands
with our dispatch phone
number on it,” Chapman
said.
Forest Preserve staff hand
out “Eyes, Ears and Cell
Phones” brochures, which
also include the dispatch
number and other safety tips.
And trail users are encouraged
to program the number
into their phones. But that
might not always happen,
Chapman said. So the wristbands
will help guarantee
that the number is always
available and help is only a
phone call away.
A cyclist on the Old Plank Road Trail shows off a new safety wristband he recently
received from the Forest Preserve District of Will County. The free wristbands list the
dispatch number people should call if they need non-emergency police assistance on a
trail or in a preserve. Photo submitted
“The wristbands are not
just for your wrist,” Chapman
said. “They also can be
placed on a bike’s handlebars,
around water bottles or
even around your cell phone
while you are spending time
in the preserves. Having the
phone number right there
and available will encourage
people to call.”
Chapman said people
shouldn’t wait to call with
information or concerns.
“See it; report it,” she said.
“Real-time reporting will
increase public safety and
crime prevention.”
Ralph Schultz, the Forest
Preserve’s chief operating
officer, said the wristbands
are informative and helpful,
but they also serve another
purpose.
“Along with providing
a contact number for our
police, the wristbands can
serve as a subtle reminder
to think about safety and to
be aware of your surroundings,”
he said.
The free wristbands were
distributed by police during
Trail Safety Days. Around
100 wristbands were distributed
during a Trail Safety
Day July 30 at Rock Run
and Hadley Valley preserves
and Veterans Memorial and
Old Plank Road trails.
Wristbands also can be
picked up at four Forest
Preserve visitor centers: Isle
a la Cache, 501 E. Romeo
Road in Romeoville; Monee
Reservoir, 27341 Ridgeland
Ave. in Monee; Plum Creek
Nature Center, 27064 S.
Dutton Road in Beecher; and
Sugar Creek Administration
Center, 17540 W. Laraway
Road in Joliet.
For more information on
the Forest Preserve District’s
police department
and its “Eyes, Ears and Cell
Phones,” campaign, visit
www.reconnectwithnature.
org.
HERITAGE
From Page 3
Sharon Sweas and Christina
Neitzke-Troike.
The Village Board next
plans to determine available
funding for future phases in
Heritage Park in either September
or October, with the
Parks & Recreation Committee
playing an advisory
role for amenity planning
in future phases based on
budget allocated this fall and
winter.
“I think it’s going to be
great,” Sweas said after the
meeting. “It’s going to take
a while for the phases because
of the roadway and
bike trails and everything,
but even Phase I is going to
be exciting.
“… It has to be done right.
We don’t want to rush, rush,
rush into things.”
To that end, Sweas spoke
on some of the feedback that
was gathered from residents
through surveys and open
meetings on what they wanted
to see in the park.
Suggestions included everything
from a band shell,
splash pad that can be converted
into a winter ice rink,
a patio/plaza behind Village
Hall, playground areas for
children, a sensory garden,
sports centers, and more.
But when Planning Resources,
Inc. presented a
concept plan with a total cost
just under $21 million for all
planned park amenities at a
March Village Board meeting,
officials were quick to
shoot down what they saw
as an excessive price tag.
At the Aug. 21 Parks &
Recreation Committee meeting,
resident Frank Bujan
brought up these points, expressing
his concerns on the
budget and more expensive
items originally proposed,
like the proposed $2.2 million
band shell.
“Almost everything in life
comes down to money, most
of the time,” Bujan said.
“We want everything, but
what can you afford?”
Village Trustee Carlo
Caprio at the March meeting
also questioned the need
of a nice but expensive band
shell, adding they did not
need anything more elaborate
then “a stage with a
couple columns and a roof.”
Homer Glen Mayor
George Yukich also interjected
at the March meeting
that officials were not going
“to spend this kind of money”
proposed in the concept
plan, and that the Village
would “shop around and cut
the cost on most of these
things.”
Fast forward to the August
meeting, and the board
reiterated those points, with
Keane noting there will be a
“good, better and best” option
on any of the amenities.
“Some of the ideas like
pickle ball and disc golf,
those are affordable things,”
Sweas said afterward,
though she noted no amenities
were yet set in stone and
would be determined at a
later date. “We can work on
that, but having huge sports
centers and things, that’s
millions and millions of dollars.”
As a result, Sweas and
officials are trying to balance
making Heritage Park
a comprehensive site where
all ages can enjoy a number
of amenities without
breaking the bank for its
completion. She said she
envisioned outdoor activities
like the splash pad, a
sledding hill and similar
amenities, with the idea to
also expand the fishing area
by the shed.
“It will get done, and I
think it will be a great asset
to the community,” Sweas
said. “These are some of the
ideas that residents put forth.
We took what they thought.
So many people wanted
this or that, so we took the
majority and are trying to
incorporate their ideas and
thoughts, as long as we can
afford it.
“We’ve done the surveys
with residents and everything
and the open meetings
and maybe would bring them
back in once we get into the
more nitty-gritty of things.”
For more information
on Heritage Park, visit
the Village’s website at
www.homerglenil.
org/2247/Homer-Glen-
Community-Parks.