NT_010418

northbrooktower.com year in review 2017
the northbrook tower | January 4, 2018 | 3
Stories that shocked and moved readers in 2017
Martin Carlino, Editor
This past year gave the
Northbrook community a
wide variety of stories.
There were stories that
broke hearts, stories that
inspired and stories that
put a smile on the faces of
everyone.
Regardless of the tale,
Northbrook had it all this
year. Here a just a few of
the stories that stood out to
us in 2017 and caught your
attention as well:
January
Residents mourn the loss
of beloved mail carrier
Rudy Loosa
Rudy Loosa, 59, died
Jan. 14 of a heart attack
while delivering mail in
his truck in Northbrook,
where he had worked for
more than 18 years.
Loosa was more than a
mail carrier to the homeowners
along his route. He
was a friend.
Residents of the neighborhood
south of St. Norbert
Parish were in mourning
after their beloved
longtime mail carrier suddenly
passed away while
on the job.
February
GBN graduate wins
fashion scholarship with
water-saving designs
Glenbrook North graduate
Marley Isaacson went
up against students from
60 universities across the
country to win a $30,000
YMA Geoffrey Beene
scholarship in January of
2017 in New York City.
This scholarship has
been one of the many successes
Isaacson has had
since she decided to pursue
her passion in design
after taking her first fashion
class at Glenbrook
North.
March
GBN alum produces
another hit with HBO’s
‘Big Little Lies’
Glenbrook North graduate
Nathan Ross, who has
served as an executive producer
on successful films
“Dallas Buyers Club,”
“Demolition” and “Wild,”
applied his Midas touch
to television with HBO’s
“Big Little Lies.”
In late September, the
series captured an Emmy.
April
Aspiring actor and
musician got his start here
at Glenbrook North
Nathan Salstone, who
graduated from Carnegie
Mellon University this
spring with a degree in
acting and musical theater,
performed in a Kelly
Clarkson tribute show at
Feinstein’s/54 Below in
Manhattan after being discovered
on a school trip.
Salstone started off his
career as a student at Glenbrook
North and stated
teachers at GBN helped
him grow as a performer.
May
Spartans bring home nine
team, individual state
golds
Glenbrook North has
won its fair share of state
championships over the
years. But a state champion
team in May, didn’t
make the evening broadcast
on CSN Chicago or
receive the support of hundreds
of fans traveling to
the finals in Champaign.
The co-ed squad brought
back nine gold medals —
one individual, seven team
Northbrook mail carrier Rudy Loosa died Jan. 14 while on his route in town.
Residents said he was an icon in the community and that “there will never be
another mailman like him.” In this photo he is shown greeting then-1-year-old Charlie
Peacock with freshly fallen leaves in October 2010. 22nd Century Media File Photo
and one overall school title
— from the Illinois Council
of Teachers of Mathematics
state contest on May 6.
In late November, the
team recorded its highest
score in 41 years of competitions
and sent eight
students to Princeton.
June
Lifeguards rescue child at
Meadowhill pool
On a Tuesday afternoon
in June, Northbrook Park
District lifeguards performed
a successful rescue
of a child in the pool at
Meadowhill Aquatic Center.
Several lifeguards then
assisted with emergency
care on the pool deck.
Northbrook police and
paramedics arrived at the
pool, continued treatment
and then transported the
child to a local hospital for
medical attention.
July
Activists vow to speak out
until wage demands met
Six people from the
Northbrook Working
Families Coalition wore
red shirts in support of a
higher minimum wage at
the regular board meeting
July 25, with three of them
making comments to trustees.
Since their initial appearance
at Village Board
meetings in mid-2017,
members from the group
continued to show up at
many meetings throughout
the rest of 2017.
August
Northbrook drummer, New
York native use music as
escape
Before graduating from
Glenbrook North in 2012,
Michael Hojnacki eagerly
waited for the email that
would change his life.
Hojnacki applied to several
schools, but as the fall
semester approached, he
had yet to receive his first
acceptance letter.
Hojnacki’s ill fate
changed when he received
an acceptance email from
New York’s New School
of Jazz and Contemporary
Music. Little did he know,
his musical career — and
life — would drastically
change.
September
Heritage Woods proposal
officially denied
It’s not often that the
approval of a consent
agenda during a Northbrook
Village Board
meeting is followed by
applause from the audience.
But applause briefly
rang in the Village Hall
boardroom Tuesday, Sept.
12, as the Village Board
closed the book on a proposed
development that
generated vocal opposition
throughout multiple
rounds of public hearings
since last December.
October
Northbrook native is
something to write home
about
Few sportswriters have
had the opportunities Jesse
Rogers has throughout
his career. Rogers, 47, a
Northbrook native and
Glenbrook North graduate,
spent time covering the
Jordan-era Chicago Bulls
and the early years of the
Chicago Blackhawks dynasty.
November
D225 terminates former
employee after rescinded
resignation
In early November, the
Glenbrook D225 Board
of Education once again
delivered a ruling on oncesuspended
Glenbrook
North employee Steven
Schulhof.
Per a statement from
D225 superintendent Mike
Riggle, the District took
action to terminate Schulhof’s
employment on Nov.
6.
Schulhof was charged
with aggravated unlawful
use of a weapon, no concealed
carry license and
impersonating a police officer
on Aug. 28.
December
Dairy Queen owner smiles
even in adversity
Shortly before 11 a.m.
on Nov. 30, Jennifer
Schubert Spencer received
an unwelcome visitor in
the front dining room area
of her Dairy Queen. That
visitor came in the form of
Lexus SUV, which plowed
through the storefront of
the family-owned and operated
spot.
Following the accident,
Spencer’s Dairy Queen location
incorporated a new,
special touch to the restaurant.
The board used to
cover the damage done by
the car has now been decorated
by the community.