Articles written by Ken Knutson


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  • Student athlete profile - Dru Devata

    Ken Knutson|Updated Oct 2, 2024

    Dru Devata Clarendon Hills What was your goal going into your senior golf season? There's nothing like winning as a team, and that's the main goal. Winning individually is great, but winning as a team is a different level. It's a different dynamic. It makes the winning that much sweeter and It makes the losing a little more painful What has playing for the Red Devils meant to you? Playing golf at Central has given me a different community, and when I was an underclassman it ga...

  • Flood-prone area is subject of study

    Ken Knutson|Updated Oct 2, 2024

    Residents of northeast Hinsdale hope a delayed drainage evaluation of their neighborhood will finally lead to solutions for flooding issues that have emerged during the Tri-State Tollway expansion project. At Tuesday’s village board meeting, trustees approved a contract with engineering firm HR Green to complete The Lane drainage study to address concerns about stormwater collecting and entering their homes. Resident John Bloomfield, who has lived on the particularly hard-hit corner of Phillippa Street and Fuller Road for 2...

  • New SRO brings her empathy, focus to campus

    Ken Knutson|Updated Oct 2, 2024

    After two ambulance visits to Hinsdale Central on Friday morning, the school's new student resource officer Sandra Acevedo was thankful the incidents were minor and for the subsequent calm. "I don't think there's ever typical day," Acevedo said. "Every day's a little bit different. I'm still trying to get my bearings the first few weeks in." For a good part of the day she can found in her office inside the school bookstore keeping an eye on closed circuit cameras and looking...

  • Gutman embraces his homecoming

    Ken Knutson|Updated Sep 25, 2024

    The Chicago Fire's game hosting D.C. United at SeatGeek Stadium on Sept. 7 was Andrew Gutman's 100th start as a Major League Soccer player, a special milestone in a career that had come full circle back to the club of his origin story. The left back from Hinsdale knew he'd get passionate support from the fieldside box his uncle had secured for loved ones to witness the occasion. No one could have expected, however, that Gutman would take the celebration next-level with one of...

  • Businesses find new homes in Hinsdale

    Ken Knutson|Updated Sep 25, 2024

    Hinsdale has celebrated the arrivals of several new members to its downtown business community in recent months. Here's the first of a two-part Good Reasons series introducing them. Hinsdale Prime The village's newest dining establishment had its ribbon-cutting this week but has actually been serving eager customers for a few weeks. Hinsdale Prime at 42 E. Hinsdale Ave. is meant to be a neighborhood eatery where diners become familiar faces, according to co-owner Antonio...

  • Student athlete profile - Matt Rogers

    Ken Knutson|Updated Sep 18, 2024

    Matt Rogers Willowbrook What was your mindset coming into senior year? I really want to make sure I give this year my all and leave a lasting impact so that my last year is very memorable. I want to use all the lessons I've learned in the past seasons and prove what I know. How have you evolved as a competitor? Freshman year I hadn't bought into the sport of running as I have now. Middle school running wasn't as serious, but now I care about the sport and that makes me want...

  • Central homecoming hits the big screen

    Ken Knutson|Updated Sep 18, 2024

    Lights. Camera. Action! Hinsdale Central has gone Hollywood for Homecoming 2024, looking to Tinseltown to theme this year's weeklong series of festivities leading up to Friday night's football game and Saturday night's dance. On Monday, student organizers from the school's Varsity Club board talked about the fun ways they planned to stir the spirit of their fellow Red Devils, starting with an Adam Sandler Day to kick things off. Sophomore Carolyn Kentra said the idea was to...

  • Six inducted in Central Hall of Fame

    Ken Knutson|Updated Sep 18, 2024

    The Hinsdale Central Hall of Fame will induct six new members tonight, Sept. 19, at its dinner at Ruth Lake Country Club. The event has taken place every year since the inaugural class was inducted in 1997. Following are brief bios of members of the Class of 2024. Sandy Murray Gbur Class of 1973 As a high schooler, Gbur volunteered at The Farm Club (today's Hanson Center) in Burr Ridge and taught a young boy with a developmental disability how to bowl. This experience led Gbur...

  • Discussion group leader stokes lively talks

    Ken Knutson|Updated Sep 18, 2024

    Ever imagined working for the U.S. State Department trying to craft foreign policy in a complex, dynamic world? Then the monthly Great Decisions group at Hinsdale Public Library may be for you, as participants grapple with global issues like Mideast realignment and NATO's future to better understand the important layers and proverbial land mines that confront government officials. "The materials are very good, and it takes you places that you probably wouldn't have bothered...

  • D181 updated on construction work

    Ken Knutson|Updated Sep 18, 2024

    Work to ready schools in Community Consolidated Elementary District 181 for full-day kindergarten next school year is continuing on schedule and on budget. At Monday’s school board meeting, Mike Duggan, facilities director, told board members that construction projects at the six elementary schools began after classes let out May 31. At Oak School, remodeling of the main office, related services office and two classrooms was completed in time for the beginning of school. Crews will continue building a four-room addition, whic...

  • Move nourishes HCS Family Services

    Ken Knutson|Updated Sep 11, 2024

    HCS Family Services has a new home from which to serve the community's under-resourced population. Last Friday afternoon the Hinsdale nonprofit held its first food distribution for clients at 22 N. Elm St. after moving out of the Memorial Building, where it had operated since its founding in 1937. Executive Director Wendy Michalski said the curbside delivery for 75 neighbors, as those receiving food are referred to, went smoothly using a process by which cars are...

  • Getting autumn off on the right foot

    Ken Knutson|Updated Sep 11, 2024

    Cooler weather makes for comfortable running conditions. For those looking to pick up the pace this season, there are several upcoming opportunities to both get a workout and make a difference for worthy causes. For the last 30 autumns, the Rotary Run Charity Classic has brought runners to The Community House, 415 W. Eighth St. and sent them out onto Hinsdale's streets for a healthy race and a philanthropic mission. This year's milestone staging of the run will be Sunday,...

  • Off-leash dog permits mulled for KLM

    Ken Knutson|Updated Sep 11, 2024

    Users of the dog park at Katherine Legge Memorial Park may soon need to obtain a permit in order to let their dogs run off leash. At Tuesday's meeting of the Hinsdale Parks and Recreation Commission, Mike Hayes, superintendent of parks and recreation, told commissioners that incidents of dog fights, biting and running into non-designated areas has prompted the permitting recommendation. "That way we can prove vaccination, build a database," said Hayes, with dog owners...

  • Ask an expert - DR. ROSS TANIS, ALLERGIST

    Ken Knutson|Updated Sep 11, 2024

    What should people know about fall allergies? When it comes to cherished autumn trappings, ragweed and mold do not rate highly, especially for allergy sufferers. Dr. Ross Tanis of Hinsdale's Allergy & Asthma Physicians said patients may notice that the period when symptoms are most acute is becoming more protracted. "The warmer seasons are longer, and for that reason you're seeing people having seasonal allergies last longer throughout the year," Tanis said. He cited a...

  • Trustees warm to new fire apparatus

    Ken Knutson|Updated Sep 4, 2024

    Hinsdale officials are planning to streamline the fire department’s fleet — and save some money in the process. At Tuesday’s village board meeting, trustees signaled their support for acquiring a Snorkel aerial fire truck to take the place of both the existing engine and ladder truck vehicles. Interim Fire Chief Jeffrey Pindelski, who was hired in May, told trustees that he was asked to evaluate the department’s operations when he came on board. “I have identified an opportunity to realign our emergency response procedure...

  • Hola! to Hispanic Heritage Month

    Ken Knutson|Updated Sep 4, 2024

    By Ken Knutson [email protected] ¡Celebremos! September is Hispanic Heritage Month, a time to lean into engaging programs and events reflecting the vibrancy of Latino culture. There are several opportunities to join the fiesta right here in Hinsdale and the surrounding area, so check out the details below and then vamonos! • Keep your head up when visiting nearby forest preserves. The Mexican Cultural Center DuPage, in coordination with the College of DuPage and th...

  • Hardship led woman to branch out into art

    Ken Knutson|Updated Sep 4, 2024

    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as the maxim goes. Artist Marianne Patrevito recognizes that her abstract collages might not hit the beauty mark for some. And that's just fine. "Some people either like it or they don't," the Hinsdale resident said. "I'm OK if somebody says it's not their thing." Patrevito invites people to meet her and experience her work at a reception kicking off her Hinsdale Public Library exhibit, "The Process of Art in Nature," from 6:30 to 7:30...

  • Work begins to revitalize Zook home

    Ken Knutson|Updated Sep 4, 2024

    Mimi Collins got a good look at the century-old 4 E. Fifth St. home before closing on it in May. Sometimes, however, it's the previously unseen that can deliver a payoff. "Look at this chimney over here, how great that is," Collins said pointing up to the distinctive brick stack. "It was all covered in ivy." During a tour of Collins' latest Hinsdale restoration project shortly after she took possession of it, Collins was already in the early stages of breathing new life into...

  • Ask an expert - Business profile - SWEET ALI'S GLUTEN FREE BAKERY

    Ken Knutson|Updated Aug 29, 2024

    Ali Graeme was brimming with nervous excitement as she prepared to open Sweet Ali's Gluten Free Bakery in downtown Hinsdale in 2009. Surveying her shop's new sign from the sidewalk at 13 W. First St., a couple walked past. "I heard them say, 'Oh, this is a bakery. This isn't going to make it,' " Graeme recounted. Today she can reflect on 15 years of making it and baking it, serving up an assortment of delectables with the ingredients of both good health and fabulous flavor...

  • Central teams kick off their seasons

    Ken Knutson|Updated Aug 28, 2024

    Part two of our Hinsdale Central fall sports preview series examines the boys and girls cross country squads and the girls volleyball team. Both running programs have experience on their side, with room for newcomers to make their mark, while girls volleyball is looking to take the next step in a recent run of postseason success. The final installment in the series will run in the Sept. 5 issue. Boys cross country First meet: Aug, 28 vs. Benet & Fenwick Last year: 22nd in...

  • Special needs day program takes flight

    Ken Knutson|Updated Aug 28, 2024

    Reaching adulthood for those with special needs often means leaving behind structured schedules for a more independent lifestyle. That can be a daunting prospect for both the individual and their families, said Ryan Massengill, superintendent of recreation for Gateway Special Recreation Association, a consortium of local communities of which Hinsdale is a member. “We had a push from a lot of family members that had young people that were going to be exiting out of transition that wanted more recreation that was community b...

  • D86 board sets superintendent goals

    Ken Knutson|Updated Aug 28, 2024

    By Ken Knutson [email protected] Using data to boost academic performance is important to Hinsdale High School District 86 Board members. And they want their new superintendent to make it a priority. At the board’s Aug. 22 meeting, Superintendent Michael Lach was given his five goals for the 2024-25 school year, the first of which is to “identify and improve the academic performance of all students and address achievements gaps in performance results.” Board President Cat Greenspon said there’s room for growth in the...

  • Reserve a seat for fall theater

    Ken Knutson|Updated Aug 21, 2024

    Summer's sunset doesn't have to darken the mood, since the lights are about shine on stages nearby. Area theaters are getting ready to open their new seasons of productions, and there's something for everyone in the offerings. • "Is it possible to be both a symbol and a person? A postage stamp and a grandmother? And if it is, does that duality take a toll?" Those are questions posed by Jessica Fisch, director of "The Audience," which hits the Drury Lane Theatre stage W...

  • Woman finds, now leads Newcomers group

    Ken Knutson|Updated Aug 21, 2024

    Cathy Schlesinger had spent three decades in Charlotte, N.C., before the desire to be closer to her son's family led her to Hinsdale in 2021. "I had moved a lot in my earlier years, but 30 years in Charlotte was a lot to give up," she said. A couple of new neighbors invited Schlesinger to a coffee gathering sponsored by Newcomers and Neighbors of the Greater Hinsdale Area. Not only did she find a circle of fellowship - she's now president of the social organization. "It's...

  • Hinsdale Central gets summer glow up

    Ken Knutson|Updated Aug 21, 2024

    The most significant improvement project at Hinsdale Central High School over the summer, according to Principal Bill Walsh, didn't require any heavy equipment. "We renumbered all the rooms," Walsh revealed on a recent campus tour shortly before students returned. Rooms now have four-digit identifiers, with 0100 numbers in the basement, 1000 and up on the first floor and 2000 on the second. "We ran out of numbers," said Walsh, explaining the way expansion over the years had...

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