NT_050318

8 | May 3, 2018 | The Northbrook tower news
northbrooktower.com
Northbrook Village Board
Village honors Exact Blade with inaugural Green Business Award
Fouad Egbaria
Freelance Reporter
Just a few days after
Earth Day and Arbor Day
festivities took place at the
Village Green, the Northbrook
Village Board recognized
a local business
with the Village’s inaugural
Green Business Award.
The award is intended to
be given to a business that
has taken steps to reduce its
impact on the environment.
Exact Blade, located at 813
Waukegan Road in Northbrook,
which offers cutlery
and knife sharpening services,
took home the award
for its green efforts.
Exact Blade received
a unanimous nod for the
award from the Environmental
Quality Commission,
which reviewed applications
for the honor
during its March meeting.
The board passed a
resolution recognizing the
Northbrook business for
the award during its Tuesday,
April 24 regular meeting.
“Following a review of
the applications, the Commission
unanimously recommended
Exact Blade
Inc. as the winner of the
2018 Green Business
Award for its recycling
efforts of paper, the reuse
of iron and steel byproduct
materials in gardening
from their knife sharpening
operations, and their reuse
of office furnishings,” the
resolution said. “These actions
have diverted waste
from landfills and serve as
a good example of ways to
reduce a business’ impact
on the environment.”
Exact Blade owner Dan
ROUND IT UP
A brief recap of Village Board action on April 24
• The board approved a resolution authorizing an
intergovernmental agreement with the Northbrook
Park District for parking lot repaving at the Park
District Leisure Center, 3323 Walters Ave.
• The board approved an agreement for Dutch elm
tree treatments to be provided by Emerald Tree
Care, LLC, of Carol Stream, using a total spending
authority of $23,670 (including a 10 percent contingency
of $2,150).
• The board also approved the purchase of fluoride
tanks for use at the water plant from Chemical Process,
Inc., of Joliet, using a total spending authority
of $15,420 (including a $500 contingency).
Mennemeyer accepted the
award, which was fashioned
from recycled wood.
He said the business had to
figure out a way to handle
dust control — that is, the
iron shavings that stem
from sharpening and grinding
of knives. Big machines
and vacuums used to rid
spaces of that material also
use electricity, he said, so
he looked for a simpler,
greener solution.
That solution? Magnets.
“I have magnets all over
the shop,” he said. “Magnets
use no electricity. …
The magnets capture all
the dust. Doesn’t matter
what machine I use.”
Trustee Robert Israel
thanked Mennemeyer for
sharing his business’ story
and hoped the award
would inspire other businesses
to incorporate green
practices.
“Part of the award is to
inspire others to follow
in your footsteps,” Israel
said. “So I’m hoping they
take something away from
this as well.”
Trustee Kathryn Ciesla
— who served as president
pro tem in Board President
Sandy Frum’s absence —
lauded the Village’s Earth
Day and Arbor Day celebration
this past weekend.
She said approximately
1,000 people attended
the event on the Village
Green and 553 vehicles
went through the recycling
program in the west commuter
parking lot.
“It’s very clear from the
participation of our villagers
that they care about the
environment and are looking
into sustainable solutions
and services,” Ciesla
said.
Among other green features,
Ciesla said Exact
Blade’s upgraded lighting
system has contributed to
an 8-kilowatt reduction in
electricity usage.
The Village’s environmental
sustainability webpage
offers tips for residents
on recycling, local
sustainability initiatives
and how to make one’s
home or business more
green. The page can be
found on the Village website
under the Living &
Visiting tab.
musical
From Page 3
nity to participate.”
It was not an easy show
to bring to the stage, as
Maranto spoke of rented
backdrops, special effects,
the flying characters, colorful
costumes and technical
elements involved in
a production that initially
came to be known to audiences
as a cartoon.
“Of course, in animation,
you can make anything
happen, but to try
and translate those moments
to the stage are really
challenging,” he said.
“People have a lot of deep
associations with Disney
films, so we all have this
idea in our head on what
it should be based on what
we have seen. So, we really
try to come as close
as possible to what people
are expecting and then
take it beyond their expectations,
we hope.”
One of the performers
looking to make an impression
on the audience
was South’s Ashley Levenson,
one of two actresses
portraying Ariel. There
were two casts in place,
with some actors taking
on the same role in both
groups.
Levenson has been in
shows since the age of 6,
but liked the freshness of
playing Ariel, the show’s
heroine, for the first time.
“It is a very fun character
to immerse myself in,”
Levenson said. “I have
never played a character
like her before. She is
super fun and she can be
naive at times, [and] that
makes her a lovable character.
She is exploring
who she is and where she
wants to be in her life.”
Levenson once appeared
as an eel in “The
Little Mermaid” with another
theater company.
“It is really cool to
switch to such a different
character,” she said.
While her role was considerable
smaller when
she was an eel, Levenson’s
said her familiarity
with the overall show
helped her in these last
few weeks in rehearsals.
“I knew a lot of the music
already, so being familiar
with it, I could dive
deeper and explore character
roles and things like
that since I am already familiar
with the show,” she
said.
This will be Levenson’s
final Glenbrook Musical,
as she plans to attend the
University of Michigan in
the fall. The finality of the
Glenbrook North’s Nicolette Sidelsky (left), as Flounder,
performs a scene with Levenson and Bekah Lampert,
as Scuttle. Photo by Scott Margolin/22nd Century Media.
last production also rang
true for GBN senior Jacob
Denenberg, who said he
is tentatively planning on
going to Northwestern.
Denenberg’s role in the
2018 Glenbrook Musical
was his 14th overall production
at GBN.
“I like to give people
something new and interesting
to focus on, and I
think it is very important
to have people communicate
messages through
theater and provide a distraction
from our daily
troubles,” he said.
Denenberg was one of
the actors playing in both
casts, so he had to play
against Levenson in some
of shows, and against
Carly Meyer, of GBN, in
others.
He pointed to the pros
and cons of that dynamic.
“I think it is difficult because
both of the Ariel’s
act differently and you
have to play off their emotions,
but it is also easy
because we have had this
whole process to connect
on personal levels both
within theater and outside
of theater,” he said.
Levenson and Denenberg
were two of the
young performers Maranto
worked with over
the last few weeks. While
noting the long hours, the
longtime GBS teacher insisted
he enjoyed getting
the show ready.
“It has been a joyous experience,”
Maranto said.
“It has been amazing to
work with kids who are
immensely talented. These
kids are really top notch.”