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  • Staying hot is Central hockey's goal

    Ken Knutson|Updated Jan 31, 2024

    The high school hockey journey is a long and grinding one, starting in local rinks in September and culminating with the state championship at Chicago's Uniter Center in mid-March. As the Hinsdale Central Hockey Club's varsity team heads into the final stretch, the squad is showing signs of hitting its bladed stride at the right time. Head coach Spencer Anderson said team confidence is high after sweeping all eight of its games in the silver division of Illinois West league's...

  • Cabin fever? Live theater beckons

    Ken Knutson|Updated Jan 24, 2024

    Melt away the winter malaise with some engaging theatrics this season. Stages around the area are coming alive with shows tailored for kids, just for adults or for full family enjoyment. Get a good seat at a great price compared to downtown Chicago acts. For an overdue date night, a friends' outing or just to get the crew off their devices and out of the house, consider one of these close-to-home productions. • The troupe at Stage Door Fine Arts' invites all to dive h...

  • Hinsdale native discovers home is where the art is

    Ken Knutson|Updated Jan 24, 2024

    Home. That was the theme of the West Chicago art show Rachel Weaver Rivera participated in a few years ago. For Rivera, home as a child was in Hinsdale, and life's unfolding had now brought her back mid-life. "I would be driving through the town thinking, 'Oh my gosh, I remember this event or that person,' " she related. "I thought I should do my own home show, because this is where my story began." Rivera drove around town snapping images of buildings and sites that...

  • Board gives D181 summer projects green light

    Ken Knutson|Updated Jan 24, 2024

    Community Consolidated Elementary District 181 Board members Monday approved $2.2 million in summer improvements across the nine-school district. Facilities director Mike Duggan, in his presentation to the board recommending the work, reported that the total is lower than had been forecasted when the projects were initially brought forward in October. “We were expecting to come in at around $2.4 million for this coming summer, but we did get some good prices,” Duggan said. The single biggest cost of $500,000 is to rep...

  • Central girls get their bounce back

    Ken Knutson|Updated Jan 18, 2024

    Rebounding is second nature for basketball players. But getting a grip on the sudden mid-season departure of the entire Hinsdale Central varsity girls basketball coaching staff was a challenge - and, team members say, an opportunity. The setback was delivered when Central head girls varsity basketball coach Erin Navolio and two other members of the girls basketball team coaching staff resigned on Dec. 4. No reason was articulated, so, of course, speculation ran rampant. More...

  • Ask an expert - PRACHI SHAH, FAMILY MEDICINE PRACTITIONER

    Ken Knutson|Updated Jan 17, 2024

    What should we know about the new COVID variant? COVID-19 is certainly not making daily headlines as it was a few years ago, but that doesn't mean the coronavirus no longer requires attention. Dr. Prachi Shah, a family medicine practitioner with UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Medical Group in Hinsdale, said the current and most widespread COVID-19 variant, JN.1, is more contagious than its predecessors but appears to be causing less severe illness. "The JN.1 variant is a...

  • Village's service agencies take stock

    Ken Knutson|Updated Jan 10, 2024

    In part two of our annual feature looking back at the past year — and one wish for the year ahead — for the seven major Hinsdale-based nonprofit agencies, the leaders of Candor Health Education, Community Memorial Foundation, HCS Family Services and The Community House offer their reflections. The first installment ran Jan. 4. Candor Health Education Candor Health Education began the overhaul of its programming in 2016. This past year saw that effort reach completion. “Every program is now infused with social-emotional skill...

  • Student athlete profile - Marko Ivanisevic

    Ken Knutson|Updated Jan 10, 2024

    Marko Ivanisevic Hinsdale When did you start wrestling? Wrestling wasn't big to me until my sophomore year in high school. As a kid I wasn't very good, and I didn't have a lot of wins. I stuck with it, thanks to my mom and dad, and I ended up taking fifth at state my sophomore year. That's when I really fell in love with the sport. What do you love about it? Just the grind. I love working hard in the sport. I gave up football my senior year to wrestle more, and that was a...

  • Hinsdale church member lends hand of hospitality

    Ken Knutson|Updated Jan 10, 2024

    Dick Resseguie's high school Spanish is being tested in a way he never could have imagined. Since last month, the retiree has been serving alongside fellow members of Hinsdale's Grace Episcopal Church to help care for 25 asylum seekers being housed by a congregation nearby. "They're all about 20- to 30-year-old single men," Resseguie said of the migrants, who arrived on buses from Texas in late November. Grace Episcopal Church in Oak Park has been providing and food and...

  • Ask an expert - REX NEWELL, ANTIQUE APPRAISER

    Ken Knutson|Updated Jan 3, 2024

    How do you know if old stuff is worth anything? Ready to part with that tacky collectible? It could be treasure to Rex Newell. "If something that you have is strange and ugly, it tends to be really valuable," said the veteran antique appraiser. "Strange is good in this business." Newell will offer his services to attendees of his "Antiques Roadshow"-like program from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10, at the Hinsdale Public Library (see Page XX for details). He'll also...

  • Resolve to follow the (new) rules in '24

    Ken Knutson|Updated Jan 3, 2024

    Just when you got used to the old rules, 2024 brings a slate of new ones to learn. More than 300 new laws took effect Jan. 1, ranging from a ban on book bans to the regulation of “deepfake porn” and prohibitions on videoconferencing while driving. Under the Paid Leave for All Workers Act, workers in Illinois are now entitled to earn up to 40 hours of paid leave during a 12-month period, time they can take off work for any reason, regardless of whether they are full-time, part-time, or seasonal employees. Scott Cruz, a lab...

  • Trustees act to stem migrant buses

    Ken Knutson|Updated Jan 3, 2024

    Following the arrival of 11 busloads of migrants in 11 days in downtown Hinsdale, the village has joined the growing number of suburban communities enacting restrictions on bus companies to prevent the unannounced drop-offs. At a special village board meeting Tuesday, trustees passed an ordinance requiring bus companies to file an application with Hinsdale Police Chief Brian King at least five days before a proposed disembarking date. Failure to do so carries a fine of $750 per passenger and the possible impounding of the...

  • Give 2023 a proper send-off

    Ken Knutson|Updated Dec 27, 2023

    Spots in Hinsdale and nearby towns are offering a variety of ways to ring in the new year for all ages. • Seats are still available for the New Year's Eve performances of "Cinderella" at Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace. All ages are sure to enjoy the classic Rodgers + Hammerstein adaptation of the beloved fairytale, featuring the songs "In My Own Little Corner," "Impossible/It's Possible" and "Ten Minutes Ago." New Year's Eve and multi-course dinner a...

  • Party of five content in their village abode

    Ken Knutson|Updated Dec 27, 2023

    Camden Markowitz' birth in July not only added a third son to Sara and Andy's active Hinsdale brood, it also tipped the gender scales among the offspring of Sara and her five siblings. "He broke the boy-girl tie of grandkids for my mom and dad," Sara reported. "We've got four girls and five boys now." That's unlikely the source of Camden's joy, but his big smile garnered him the mantle of The Hinsdalean's happiest baby for 2023 and a spot on the cover. He timed his arrival to...

  • Board member enters, admin exits

    Ken Knutson|Updated Dec 27, 2023

    Hinsdale's Heather Kartsounes was appointed to the Hinsdale High School District 86 Board Dec. 21, filling the vacancy left when Kay Gallo abruptly stepped down Oct. 26. The announcement came, however, after the board accepted the sudden resignation of Interim Superintendent Linda Yonke. Yonke and co-Interim Superintendent Ray Lechner were both hired in July to serve 120 days as caretaker administrators for $1,300 a day after the board and former Superintendent Tammy Prentiss...

  • Dolehide serves up master stroke

    Ken Knutson|Updated Dec 13, 2023

    Caroline Dolehide's holiday wish was granted early this year. Back in September, the 25-year-old pro tennis player from Hinsdale sat at 111th in the world singles standings as she began play at the WTA 1000-level tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico. This had been a good year up to that point for Dolehide, having elevated her ranking from 206 in February to 99 by the end of May following a series of strong performances that culminated with a championship at the Naples ITF W60...

  • Hinsdale native stays faithful to his roots

    Ken Knutson|Updated Dec 13, 2023

    Christmas Eve was always a lively time in the Peckenpaugh household in Hinsdale. In addition to Doug Peckenpaugh and his five older siblings, the holiday banquet grew substantially, Peckenpaugh said, due to his mother's boundless spirit of hospitality. "My mom was one of these people who would open up her home to any family who could come," he said. "She would run a big buffet and we'd have 20, 30 people coming through." By 10 p.m. the gathering would disperse, leaving the fam...

  • Village is resident's lifelong investment

    Ken Knutson|Updated Dec 13, 2023

    Richard Eck recalled his teenage stint in the movie business, in a manner of speaking. He worked the concessions counter at his hometown Hinsdale Theater during his youth in the 1970s. It was a relatively low-stress job, Eck said, until the theater scored a first-run screening of a John Belushi comedy the summer of 1978. "They didn't have too many first runs. The one they did have was 'Animal House,' and the theater was an animal house," related Eck, who was suddenly thrust...

  • Hinsdale native stays faithful to his roots

    Ken Knutson|Updated Dec 13, 2023

    Christmas Eve was always a lively time in the Peckenpaugh household in Hinsdale. In addition to Doug Peckenpaugh and his five older siblings, the holiday banquet grew substantially, Peckenpaugh said, due to his mother's boundless spirit of hospitality. "My mom was one of these people who would open up her home to any family who could come," he said. "She would run a big buffet and we'd have 20, 30 people coming through." By 10 p.m. the gathering would disperse, leaving the fam...

  • Fast breaks, flips mark the season

    Ken Knutson|Updated Dec 6, 2023

    The 2023-24 Hinsdale Central winter sports season preview series concludes with a look at boys and girls basketball and girls gymnastics. Boys cagers and the gymnasts are counting on newcomers to step up this year, while girls hoopsters are relying on veteran leadership to guide the program. Boys swimming/diving and boys and girls wrestling were featured in last week's issue, while boys and girls bowling and hockey were the focus in the Nov. 23 story. Editor's note: This...

  • New businesses find footing in Hinsdale

    Ken Knutson|Updated Dec 6, 2023

    In a follow-up to story that ran in the Nov. 9 issue, here are three more businesses that have opened their doors in Hinsdale recently. Step back into a subterranean gallery of treasures from yesteryear at Antiques Hinsdale Underground, 5 W. Second St. Descend the stairs into a hallway lined with an assortment of items from a cigar store Indian to throwback movie posters to various sports memorabilia. Owner Eric Jungnickel said he typically goes out in the field to obtain the...

  • Ask an expert - UMESH BHATIA, MEDITATION PRACTITIONER

    Ken Knutson|Updated Dec 6, 2023

    How can meditation ease stress? A calm lake is able to mirror its surroundings in serene tribute. But toss in some pebbles, and the scene is suddenly roiled by the ripples. Meditation expert Umesh Bhatia believes our spirits are likewise too often unsettled by incoming concerns. "The average human has 30,000 to 50,000 thoughts in a day," he said. "The reason why we don't experiment the inner light is because of the rain of thoughts that are coming into our minds." Connecting...

  • All the bells and whistles

    Ken Knutson|Updated Nov 29, 2023

    When Hinsdale's Memorial Building was constructed in 1929 as a tribute to the village's war heroes, its clock tower housed a bell. The bell was replaced by a carillon system in 1973 for the town's centennial but has been inoperable for years. Until now. A new carillon system was recently installed as part of this year's 150th sesquicentennial celebration, and visitors at the Christmas Walk tomorrow, Dec. 1, will be treated to a special unveiling of the new chimes after the 5 p...

  • Singer relishes last high school holiday season

    Ken Knutson|Updated Nov 29, 2023

    Hinsdale Central senior Lauren Doppke will give her vocal chords a workout over the next couple weeks. A member of the school's Chamber Choir, she and her fellow vocalists are making joyful sounds all around the community. "We're visiting Notre Dame Church (in Clarendon Hills) and we're going to a retirement home, as well," Doppke said. "We're doing an event (at Central) in the morning where we sing while people grab coffee. "It's definitely a busy time," she added. This week...

  • Shopper takes trip down memory lane

    Ken Knutson|Updated Nov 29, 2023

    In this year of embracing Hinsdale's heritage, Scott Moore has plenty of his own fond recollections of the town generations ago. The product of Oak School, Hinsdale Middle School and Hinsdale Central (Class of '77) moved back to town in the early 1990s with wife Elaine to raise their brood. "I loved living here as a kid, and it just seemed natural to share it with my family," Moore said. The impression left by his Oak principal even inspired the "Blanche Jaros" golf trip that...

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