Channahon Lanes bowling alley Minooka high school hosted the varsity boys bowling IHSA sectional championship inviting sixteen area teams to the Southwest suburb. While the site chosen differed, the results proved to be a repeat of last season’s finish. Plainfield Central finished on top for the second straight season scoring 6119 fending off a tight field following them in Romeoville, Minooka and a somewhat surprise of Lincoln Way West. Leading the way for the Wildcats was senior Eddie Wasielewski who was ranked 27th during the season with a 193 average saved his best for the sectional rolling a 1,404 and a high game of 276 which was enough to win individual sectional title. “

By Wayne Horne

About two weeks ago Illinois Lieutenant Governor Shelia Simon released a report regarding recommendations for higher education reform based on a fact-finding tour of the state’s 48 Community Colleges. Some of the conclusions in that report would indicate Community Colleges in the State of Illinois need to better prepare students to bridge the gap between current skills employers require and the skill level of the workforce. The report indicates that for every 100 future jobs 24 will go unfilled because of a lack of skilled employees.

Mayor Roger Claar delivered his state of the village address during a luncheon hosted by the Bolingbrook Chamber of Commerce at the Bolingbrook Golf Club where he was also recognized for his 25 years of service to the community as mayor. Bolingbrook Chamber chairman Ken McConnaughay presented Claar with a plaque thanking him for his "vision and leadership.”

Joliet, IL - The Silver Cross Healthy Community Commission awarded the Spanish Community Center of Joliet with a $38,000 grant to help fund their “Education to Employment” program. This program will focus on providing educational opportunities to help strengthen the community through Adult GED and English as a Second Language programs.

The economy is showing signs of an improvement according to many published reports that suggest while the economy may not be at levels seen in 2008, there has been a steady growth pattern over the past couple of years however, there are still visible reminders of tough economic times and the resulting foreclosure crisis left in its wake.

By George E. Curry

Columnist

The United States’ population is growing increasingly diverse, but the sharp demographic shift is unlikely to close the huge economic gap between Whites and people of color, according to an annual report issued by United For a Fair Economy, a nonpartisan think tank that studies wealth and power in the U.S.

Each year the Boston-based organization issues its “State of the Dream” report near Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.

At Bolingbrook High School it was a game of up and downs when they played host to Joliet West in the first of two Southwest Suburban Blue meetings on their schedule this season. The Tigers moved up and the Raiders down after West used the last two minutes to shut the door on the Raiders 61-59 and improved their season record to 10-4, 4-1 while the Raiders dropped to 8-7 overall, 3-2 in conference

As Valley View School District 365U continues to fine tune the details of what will eventually become a community-wide effort to reduce incidents of bullying, schools throughout the district are making plans to observe “No Name Calling Week” the last week of this month.

The week is designed to call attention to the negative impact of bullying on students.

Photo caption: Keyun Patterson focuses on a book during classroom reading time at Wood View Elementary.