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6 | February 22, 2018 | The Mokena Messenger school mokenamessenger.com LW D210 officials share safety ideas in wake of Florida school shooting Jason Maholy Freelance Reporter A Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 parent was “shaken to the core” by the mass shooting on Valentine’s Day in South Florida and is calling on the community to come together and share ideas as to how to prevent such a thing from happening here. Stacey Ripp, speaking during the public comments portion of the District 210 Board of Education meeting on Thursday, Feb. 15 — one day after accused mass murderer Nikolas Cruz allegedly gunned down 17 people, most of them inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida — admitted she did not have an organized speech or any solutions, but stated she believes it is her “personal responsibility” to share her ideas with the board and try to help in some way. “Unfortunately, [mass school shootings] become an epidemic now, and we definitely need some changes,” Ripp said. “We need some realistic solutions, and we need some rational dialogue as to how we can address some of these things. We can’t wait until Washington does something about gun control or social media does something to enact stricter rules. I just think we need to do something, even if it’s something small. “These are just thoughts that have just come through my brain today, which hurts.” Ripp was brief, speaking for fewer than three minutes, but offered a range of thoughts including wondering whether her daughter would know what action to take if she saw a threatening social media post or if there was an active shooter at her school. She also asked what the District 210 community can do in regard to school security and school violence. Ripp told the board she spoke with her daughter about the “see something, hear something, say something” initiative, which has been implemented at Lincoln-Way Central High School by Principal Steve Provis. “But, sadly, I didn’t really know what to tell her as far as what actions to take if this were something that actually happened in one of our schools,” Ripp said. “What do we do? What should I tell her? Should I tell her to run? Do I tell her to barricade and hide and be quiet?” Among Ripp’s suggestions were to create a task force or committee composed of teachers, counselors, administrators, law enforcement officials, parents and students that could brainstorm ideas and educate parents and students on warning signs to look for on social media. She also proposed an annual meeting that covers topics such as how to look for signs of depression or bullying, or what to do if there is an active shooter in school. School Board President Joseph Kirkeeng asked Ripp to submit a list of her ideas to school administrators for further consideration. District 210 Superintendent Scott Tingley said the board was planning to talk about school security during executive session after the regular meeting. School board member Ronald Lullo said he “totally agrees” with Ripp, and added the three District 210 schools have police officers in the buildings at all times, and that students know who to go to in an emergency. Lullo also said items related to school security are planned to be on the agenda for the board’s meeting in March. The district and law enforcement conduct an active shooter drill each year. Will County Sheriff’s Police would be in charge of any such emergency at a Lincoln- Way school, he added. Provis, in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting last Oct. 1, in which Stephen Paddock is accused of killing 58 people, established a “see something, hear something, say something” student group at Central. The district is considering establishing such groups at East and West. “We’ve talked about signs to look for, what to do if someone you know makes a comment that they’re going to hurt themselves or someone else, or bring harm to a friend or the building.” Provis said. “The majority of things that come to fruition here are not cracking a big case, it’s students coming to us and telling us there is something that is just not right.” Tingley said district officials routinely discuss security issues, and that with the Florida incident fresh on people’s minds would be reviewing its security procedures. In other District 210 news, the board voted to approve spending for several items, including a unanimous decision to spend $1.87 million to lease 41 buses for the next five school years. The district will finance the lease payment with a loan with an Please see d210, 7 Summit Hill School D161 Summit Hill officials approve contracts to promote safety, communication Megann Horstead Freelance Reporter The Summit Hill District 161 Board of Education is looking to promote safety and communication at its facilities. At a Feb. 14 regular meeting, officials approved the purchase and installation of exterior cameras at Arbury Hills, Frankfort Square, Indian Trail and Dr. Julian Rogus schools. District 161 has identified a need for additional security monitoring, in part, because these locations are to be used as voting locations. The project involves configuration to the school network and setup at predefined entrances that voters and non-personnel use to enter the buildings. Costs for each facility is $4,000, or $16,000 in total, and it includes the infrastructure needed to allow District 161 to add additional cameras at other areas of the buildings at a later date. A motion was also passed to replace the existing Voice Over IP phone system at Summit Hill Junior High School. It is the district’s desire to purchase a replacement that will be more reliable and promote a common platform across school facilities. The existing VOIP phone system has reached the end of its life. Over time, the district has noted frequent power outages with the service line and that multiple systems do not work together. In a related development, Round it up A brief recap of action and discussion Feb. 14 at a regular meeting of the Summit Hill District 161 Board of Education: •The Regional Office of Education recently notified the superintendent in writing of minor violations at some of the schools that need to be corrected. As such, the district’s buildings and grounds manager is developing a plan to get in compliance. •Officials reviewed the results of a staff interest survey for academic summer camps, and the district is currently working with interested sponsors to collect proposals, which will require approval based on grade level span and following this year’s science, technology, reading, engineering, art and math (STREAM) focus. Programming is designed for incoming first- through fifth-grade students, and information and registration forms will be sent to students and their families at a later date regarding the camps, which will run for two hours and last for six days in August. the district’s contract with First Communication for technology infrastructure services is nearing its end. The board obtained several quotes from local vendors and current providers and went on to award a threeyear contract to Comcast. Installation of the new VOIP phone system is anticipated to begin during spring break and allow the district to review and make adjustments to the system as needed. Bid for pre-purchase of chiller equipment OK’d Also at the meeting, D161 officials awarded a $139,300 bid to Temperature Equipment Corporation for the pre-purchase of chiller equipment. The measure, as approved in a 5-1 vote, will support a replacement project at Dr. Julian Rogus School. Board Member Joy Murphy was the lone dissenting vote. The Board of Education is required to follow a twopart process involving prepurchase and installation of equipment. The bid is packaged with technology to reduce concerns for noise. Recently, the district replaced some chiller equipment at Hilda Walker School only to be met with complaints. As such, Tria Architecture has been enlisted to provide vibration isolators underneath the units and some sound testing and notification of the existing unit. If sound becomes a concern, additional allowances are included in the project cost to abate it post-installation. The vendor has been notified that those units are to be delivered no later than June 15. District 161 intends to get the air conditioning up and running before school starts in the fall.
® mokenamessenger.com news the Mokena Messenger | February 22, 2018 | 7 stem From Page 4 d210 From Page 6 interest rate of 3.68 percent. The cost of $9,730 per bus is an increase from the terms of the current five-year lease, under which each bus costs $9,220. District 210 could have bought buses for $79,723 each, which had the district been able to sell the vehicles after the agreement ends would have cost $6,700 more over the life of the contract. Board members also voted 4-2 to spend $1.88 million for “general maintenance” that includes life safety items at Central and East, bleacher replacement in the East gymnasium, and “access control upgrades” that includes twoway cameras at school entrances at all three schools. The money is among $3.6 million being allocated to capital projects that will be undertaken this summer. Board members Chris Lucchetti and Aaron Janik voted against the proposal. Lucchetti cited the need to be conservative with spending, particularly with items such as bleacher repairs, which he defined as discretionary rather then essential. Lucchetti was also referencing spending $1.08 million to resurface the parking lot and tennis courts at East. The measure was approved 4-1, with Lucchetti voting “no” and Janik abstaining. Lucchetti questioned how, with the capital projects fund depleted, the district would address an unforeseen maintenance issue that could arise. Money for such an emergency would come out of the operations and maintenance fund, according to district officials. NEW YEAR. NEW SUCCESS. ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS IN The Mokena Messenger LORA HEALY 708.326.9170 ext. 31 l.healy@22ndcenturymedia.com CONTACT thing they do. So, it’s a culmination of classroom experience: You walk the track to see where the turns are, and then you see how your car performs. Then you do safety, obviously, and then they get to race.” During those “kart talks,” they not only talked about the mechanics and engineering of the karts, but they also discussed the solar technology that helps to power the racing facility, which Accelerate General Manager James Galdikas said gave them an opportunity to talk about sustainability. “I think that the most important thing that they all take away is that learning can be fun,” Galdikas said. “The lesson plans are very adaptable to what we’re able to do here.” For nearly three hours, the students learned about the karts, walked the track and studied the components of the karts before getting in the driver’s seat. Once behind the wheel, Pezzuto said they got the chance to test out what they’d learned. “Every lap should be better than the previous one, usually because they’re learning as they’re trying to apply what they did today to the actual track,” he said. “That’s what we’re looking for. “It’s been proven that if you give the person handson or a child hands-on, they’ll learn quicker, and it will stay with them longer,” Pezzuto said. In addition to the knowledge they gained from handson learning, the experience was challenging in other ways. For many of the students on the trip, it was their first time ever behind the wheel and a step way outside of their comfort zone. “I think most of them have been extremely nervous, no matter how confident of personalities they are,” Cryer said. “I’ve definitely seen about 90 percent of them go a little white in the face when it was time to get into the kart.” Galdikas said Accelerate is already fielding inquiries I’LL SELL YOUR HOUSE IN 60 DAYS OR LESS, OR Bob Spychalski Real Estate Expert BOB SPYCHALSKI I’ll pay you $ 500! * * Call for details. Call 630.728.8490 today for aFREE, no obligation market analysis. Call 630.728 from other school districts about the program and plans to improve and expand the curriculum. In the future, he said it’s possible that the programs will be extended to Accelerate’s other locations around the country, and that high school engineering and automotive students could have the opportunity to actually get their hands on the cars and work with the mechanics of them. “This is something that I think all the kids in this area should have an opportunity [to do] because reading a textbook and seeing what your teacher has to say but then actually experience it goes a lot longer and [is] a lot easier for the kids to apply,” Pezzuto said. Your property may be worth more than you think! bobspy@comcast.net • www.spysold.com Bubble NAWS Illinois Humane Society 9981 W. 190th St. Mokena, 60448 Bubble is a beautiful, 3-year-old, spayed, female tortoiseshell. She is a very sweet and gentle girl that is friendly, talkative and calm. She loves attention and enjoys being petted and sitting in the window and watching the outside world. She would make a wonderful companion. Contact Wendy at (708) 478- 5102 or wendy@nawsus.org to meet her. Want to see your pet featured as The Mokena Messenger’s Pet of the Week? Send your pet’s photo and a few sentences explaining why your pet is outstanding to Editor T.J. Kremer III at tj@mokenamessenger.com or 11516 W. 183rd St., Office Condo 3, Suite SW, Orland Park, IL 60467. MALLEY’S DISCOUNT TIRE &AUTOCARE BRAKES, SHOCKS, STRUTS, TIRES 9447 W. Lincoln Hwy. (Rt. 30) •Frankfort (Next to Currie Ford) 815-277-2410 We Moved From 115th &Pulaski WWW.MALLEYSAUTO.COM Mon. -Fri. 8am -6pm • Sat. 7am -2pm OIL CHANGE $ 15.00 Labor Only Plus Tax, Disposal, Oil and Filter Add $10.00 for Tire Rotation Not valid with any other offer. Most vehicles. Expires 3/8/18. 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