November 2014

VILLAGE PRESIDENT ROBERT “BOB” KOLOSH

Village of Thornton News and Views

Village Hall

115 East Margaret Street

Thornton, Illinois 60476

Phone (708) 877-4456 Fax (708) 877-4458

www.thornton60476.com

Hours

Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm

Saturday 9am - 12pm

I hope everyone is enjoying the Fall season. As leaves are falling, don’t forget to pile them on your curb as our leaf pick up program will begin November 5th. Unfortunately as we are raking, this means we can start counting the weeks until our first snow. Like all of our residents, the en-tire Thornton staff and especially our Public Works Department are hop-ing for a mild winter season.

At this time I would like to welcome Regan Ruchala as a full time em-ployee of our Public Works Department. He replaces Jon Slager who left for another position. Good luck to Jon!

Again I would like to thank all our residents for their patience during our major road construction, water main replacement and valve replacement projects. At this time all the re-sodding near sidewalks and parkways associated with this project should be complete.

The next project of importance that will begin shortly is a road patching project throughout town where the most significant problem areas were identified. We will be replacing the fascia at the Police Department/Community Center in the coming weeks. The ThornCreek Senior Hous-ing project will be breaking ground soon. The work is progressing quick-ly at Skyline Furniture on Williams Street as they are expanding and re-modeling their current building to accommodate their new corporate headquarters. These improvements would not have been accomplished if we didn’t have such a dedicated staff working as a team for all of our Thornton residents.

Finally, I am pleased to inform you that the Village will continue offering our driveway plowing program for senior citizens and those with disabili-ties. This program represents a service that we are proud to offer. The program enrollment form is included in the newsletter. If you are eligi-ble, please complete the form and return it to the Village Hall as soon as possible.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Don’t forget to come and celebrate Holiday Happen-ings weekend, Friday, December 5th through Sunday, December 7th. Keep a look out in the mail for the complete schedule of events!

Happy Holidays,

Bob

November 2014

FROM THE CLERK’S OFFICE

VILLAGE PRESIDENT Robert “Bob” Kolosh

VILLAGE ADMINISTRATOR Doug Beckman

CLERK/COLLECTOR Debbie Pisarzewski

DEPUTY CLERK &

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Melissa Doud

BUILDING DEPARTMENT Building Commissioner

Russ Oberman Electrical Inspector

Bernie Lubawy

TREASURER Arlette Frye

ATTORNEY Scott Dillner

ENGINEER James Hus

Robinson Engineering

NEWSLETTER EDITORS Sharlee Dunlop Melissa Doud

Village Hall

115 East Margaret Street

Thornton, Illinois 60476

Phone (708) 877-4456 Fax (708) 877-4458

www.thornton60476.com

Hours

Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm

Saturday 9am - 12pm

The State elections are just about done, so now we can start to look towards our local elections to be held in April of 2015. Thankfully, we won’t have to put up with so many political commercials!! The Village of Thornton has three Trustee positions open. The Library Board has six positions open; and the School Board has four Board seats that need to be filled. Please note the following:

*If interested in any of these positions, please go online to http://elections.il.gov and type “Candidates Guide 2015” in the search box. This Guide tells you everything you need to know regardless of which of the above positions you are interested in.

*The filing period for candidates seeking election at the Consolidated Election on April 7, 2015, is December 15-22, 2014.

*Library Board and Village Board candidates need to file their peti-tions, statement of candidacy and economic interest statement at the Village Hall; School Board candidates (only) need to go online at www.cookcountyclerk.com/elections/2015elections to see where they need to file (that info is not available at the time of this publication).

Holiday Happenings will kick off at the Village Hall on Friday, December 5 with a flashlight candy cane hunt, tree lighting with the Mayor and hot choco-late and cookies with Santa at the Fire Department. Keep a look out for the full schedule of events coming in your mail soon.

***Water bills go out November 15 and are due December 5***

Enjoy the holidays – Debbie & Melissa

2014 Pride in Property Winner Corrections:

56 Arrowhead, Jason Romans

58 Arrowhead, Thomas Peterson

Holiday Closings:

Tuesday, November 11 Veteran’s Day

Thursday, November 27-Saturday, November 29 Thanksgiving

Thursday, December 25-Saturday, December 27 Christmas

Thursday, January 1 New Year’s Day

November 2014

Community Center Gym Lighting –To approve the installation of lighting up-grades in the Community Center Gym, as presented in Committee meeting.

Jimbooo’s Lot Resurfacing –To accept the bids from Paul Diekelman & Compa-ny and Rich Sealcoating for the repair, sealcoat and stripe of the Jimbooo’s lot, as presented.

Ambulance Presentation – To purchase the Horton ambulance, Stryker cot and Stryker stair chair, at a cost not to exceed $202,533.40, as presented.

Stop Sign Ordinance – To amend Title 9, Chapter 6, Section 2, Sub-section 3, adding a three-way stop at the intersection of Laura Lane and the Thornton Rec-reation Center exit, as presented.

Enterprise Zone – To allow for the Village of Thornton to submit the necessary application to join the SSMMA Calumet Region Enterprise Zone, as presented.

Architect Proposal – To appoint Ed Lugowski as the Village architect, as pre-sented.

Harcros Variance – Granting a variance from the fence height ordinance by two feet for Harcros Chemicals for the property located at 17021-31 Canal Street in Thornton.

WINTER WATER LINE PREPARATION

I really hope last winter was an anomaly and that this winter will be MUCH milder in both temperature and the amount of snowfall. Unfortunately, we truly never know how bad the upcoming season will be. Although the Village is dedicated to providing the best services we can to all of our residents, there are just some ex-penses that the Village cannot incur year after year. In the upcoming month or two the Village Board will be considering a Water Line Policy. This policy will standardize the Village’s role when a homeowner’s water line freezes. The Village recommends that as the temperature starts to drop, homeowners take the neces-sary steps to prevent their water line from freezing. Things that can help are set-ting a faucet or two at a trickle in the home and opening cabinets to expose lines to the heat from the house. Residents know their house better than we do and each homeowner will have to decide what measures they need to take to protect their own home. If the worst case scenario does happen and your water line freezes and/or pipes burst, those repairs may be covered under your insurance policy. The Village will not be responsible for unfreezing resident’s lines; we rec-ommend reviewing your insurance for this coverage as most insurance companies, as well as some utility companies, offer this type of insurance. Hopefully you’ll never need it as we are all hoping for less cold and snow this winter.

-Administrator Doug Beckman

VILLAGE BOARD APPROVALS

MEETING SCHEDULE

Village Committee Meet-

ings are held on the first

and third Mondays of

every month at 7:00pm.

Village Board Meetings are

immediately following at

7:30pm.

The Planning and

Development Commission

Meetings are held on the

second Wednesday of the

month at 7:30pm.

Police and Fire Commission

Meetings are held

quarterly.

All meetings are held in

the Board Room of the

Village Hall.

Open to the Public.

Village Hall

Board Room

115 East Margaret

Street

Visit us at www.thornton60476.com

for agendas and

meeting packets.

Board of Trustees

Ernest “Bo” Kaye

Kim Atkinson

Tom Ehlers

Joseph Pisarzewski

David Hudson

David Kolosh

November 2014

Our Mission: The Thornton Police

Department exists for the purpose of protecting life

& property, and to maintain social order within the carefully prescribed ethical & constitutional limits.

Through a cooperative effort we will provide

citizens & visitors to the community with

professional police services, always with the

emphasis on the continued sensitivity to

the communities needs & concerns for all.

TTHORNTON POLICE DEPARTMENT

Glenn Beckman, Chief of Police 700 Park Avenue

(708) 877-2531 Non-Emergency

(708) 877-4440 Records (708) 877-5525 Fax

Office Hours: Monday - Friday

8am - 4pm Saturday 9am - 12pm

Winter Reminder

It is just about that time of year when the snow will start to fall and the plows will be out. All motor vehicles must be removed from the street when the snow falls two (2) or more inches. Below is the Village Ordi-nance that pertains to snowfall. If you have any questions, don’t hesi-tate to call the non-emergency Police Department.

Sec 9-4-2-2 Parking Restrictions

During Snow Conditions

Every owner, lessee or other person having charge of any mo-tor vehicle in the village shall remove said vehicle from any street or highway within the geographical limits of said village in accordance with the following provisions:

A. Each time a snowfall of two (2) or more inches occurs, said motor vehicle shall be removed within two (2) hours from the time the snow fall accumulates to the extent of two (2) inches.

B. The said motor vehicle shall be removed from the street or highway until the snow removal operations of the village are completed and the snow is removed from said street or highway

C. For each succeeding snowfall of two (2) or more inches the provi-sions referred to in A and B herein shall apply.

D. Penalties:

For every violation of the provisions of this section, the owner, lessee or other person having charge of said motor vehicle shall be fined thirty dollars ($30.00), payable to the Clerk of the village.

November 2014

COMMUNITY INFORMATION

Interested in more information about our Village Government? Try visiting our website at www.thornton60476.com. Various information on our website includes:

Financial Information (Annual budgets and audits); as well as bi-weekly invoice lists);

Village Department annual reports;

Village Trustee board meeting packets;

Upcoming community events and other important reminders;

Local Village ordinances and codes;

Elected Official contact information; and

Online water bill payments

Our Village strives for transparency; we hope you take advantage of all the information available to you, on our website. Also, please visit our Facebook page to see what’s happen-ing in town.

COMMUNITY CENTER

Hours

Monday - Friday 9am - 8pm

Saturday 9am - 1pm

Sharlee Dunlop, Director of Parks and Recreation Amy Potwin, Assistant Director

701 Highland Ave

(708) 877-4454 (708) 564-5078 Fax

Zumba with Bea Tuesdays & Thursdays

6:30-7:15 PM

$35/six week session

Fitness Center Included!

Teen Fitness

Conditioning

Tuesdays

5:00-6:00 PM

Ages 13-18

$40/six week session

Zumba for Kids Thursdays

5:00-5:30pm

Ages 5+

$20/four week session

Mad Scientist Tuesday, November 18

4:00-5:00 PM

Ages 7-11

$5.00

Nail Party Wednesday, December 3

4:00-5:00 PM

Ages 6-10

$5.00

Game Room Day Tuesday, December 16

4:00-5:00 PM

Ages 8-12

$5.00

Play dough and

Finger-painting Tuesday, December 30

1:00-2:00 PM

Ages 4-6

$5.00

Holiday Happenings Event:

Free Family Bin-go

Saturday, December 6

2:00-3:30 PM

Adult Classes Tuesdays & Thurs-days 7:00 PM Saturdays 11:00 AM

Youth Classes Saturdays 10:00 AM

No contracts!

REC-ORATE!

Help us decorate the Recreation Department for Holiday Happen-

ings! Come in and pick up a piece of our mosaic to color. Bring it

back by December 1st. The result is a great decoration created by

the community!

Pajama Rama Saturday, November 15

Saturday, December 13th

12:00-1:00 PM

Ages 2-4

$5.00/each time

Mobile Gymnastics Program

Mondays

11:30 AM to 12:15 PM

Ages 3-5

$58.00/six week session

COMMUNITY PROGRAMS

Pinochle every Thursday 1:00pm

Hand & Foot every other Friday 5:00pm

Alcoholics Anonymous

FREE Senior Fitness Center (62+)

ESL Conversation Class every Wednesday 12:00pm

First Aid Equipment Rental

PARKS AND GROUNDS

Charles P Nason Park, Highland Avenue

Diekelman Park, North Kinzie Street

Marian Mikrut Memorial Park, Pawnee Drive

Hubbard Park, 102 N Hubbard St.

Skate Park, Park Avenue

COMMUNITY SERVICES

Memorial Tree Project

K-9 Training Academy

T.O.P.S.

Tutoring

Recycling

Party / Conference Room Rentals

Table and Chair Rentals

First Aid Equipment

Fall and Winter Programs

November 2014

Our Mission: To provide the citizens of

Thornton with fast, effective and professional fire, rescue and medical services through the use of trained personnel and quality equipment. We

continually strive to prevent the loss of life,

personal injury and property damage through

public education and emergency

responsiveness. We will render our services with

pride and personal commitment to the

individuals in need of aid.

THORNTON FIRE DEPARTMENT

David Habecker, Fire Chief Joe Eaker, Assistant Fire Chief

115 E Margaret Street

(708) 877-4459 Non-Emergency

Carbon Monoxide is a Silent Killer; Poisoning Cases Increase during Winter Season Each year in America, more than 150 people die from accidental non-fire related carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning associated with consumer products. These products include faulty, improperly-used or incorrectly-vented fuel-burning appliances such as furnaces, stoves, water heaters and fireplaces. Understanding the Risk

What is carbon monoxide?

CO, often called "the silent killer," is a gas you cannot see, taste, or smell. It can be created when fossil fuels such as kerosene, gasoline, coal, natural gas, propane, methane or wood do not burn properly.

Where does carbon monoxide come from?

CO poisoning can result from faulty furnaces or other heating appli-ances, portable generators, water heaters, clothes dryers or cars left running in garages.

What are the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning?

Symptoms of CO poisoning include headache, nausea and drowsiness. Exposure to undetected high levels of carbon monoxide can be fatal.

CO Alarm Installation

The Illinois Carbon Monoxide Detector Act, adopted in 2007, requires the installation of carbon monox-ide alarms in every dwelling unit, with at least one working CO alarm within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping purposes.

Combination smoke-CO alarms must be installed in accordance with requirements for smoke alarms.

CO alarms are not substitutes for smoke alarms and vice versa. Know the difference between the sound of smoke alarms and the sound of CO alarms.

CO Precautions

Have fuel-burning heating equipment (fireplaces, furnaces, water heaters, wood stoves, coal stoves,

space heaters and portable heaters) and chimneys inspected by a professional every year.

Open the damper for proper ventilation before using a fireplace.

Never use your oven or stovetop to heat your home. The CO gas can kill people and pets.

Make sure all fuel-burning vented equipment is vented to the outside to avoid CO poisoning. Keep the

venting for exhaust clear and unblocked.

If you need to warm a vehicle, remove it from the garage immediately after starting it. Never run a

vehicle or other fueled engine or motor indoors, even if garage doors are open.

Make sure vents for the dryer, furnace, stove and fireplace are clear of snow and other debris.

Only use barbecue grills outside, away from all doors, windows, vents and other building openings.

Some grills can produce CO gas. Never use grills inside the home or the garage, even if the doors are open.

Use portable generators outdoors in well-ventilated areas away from all doors, windows, vents and

other building openings to prevent exhaust fumes from entering the home.

If Your CO Alarm Sounds

Immediately move to a fresh air location (outdoors or by an open window or door). Make sure every-

one inside the home is accounted for.

Call 9-1-1 from a fresh air location (outdoors or by an open window). Remain at a fresh air location

until emergency personnel arrive to assist you.

Please don’t hesitate to call the Fire Department non-emergency line – 877-4459 for more information.

It is recommended that you check your smoke and CO detector batteries once a

month.

You should install new batter-ies twice a year.

Pick a date, like a birthday or the change to and from day-

light-savings time.

Make sure all of the smoke and CO detector batteries in the

home are replaced.

November 2014

THORNTON PUBLIC WORKS

Public Works Office Hours: Monday – Friday 7:00am - 3:30pm

After hours: Call Lynwood

dispatch 708-758-4744 ext. #1

Maintenance tech is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Jim Landini, Superintendent Bryan Roberts, Assistant Superintendent

321 E Harriet Street

(708) 877-4462 (708) 877-1627 fax

Our Mission: To provide a wide range of vital community services to the residents of Thornton in a professional and effi-

cient manner.

Full Time Staff:

Eric DiSanto

Regan Ruchala

Part Time/Seasonal

Staff:

Richard Kingery

November 2014

BULK RATE

U.S. Postage

P A I D

Thornton, IL

60476

Permit No. 8

POSTAL CUSTOMER

THORNTON, ILLINOIS 60476

WOLCOTT

REUNION "Come Home To Thornton"

July 31st - Aug 2nd, 2015

Mark your calendars to join us for our

first annual reunion weekend! Full of events! Get out those old 60's 70'

and 80's pictures and start sharing them on the 'Grew Up In Thornton’

Facebook page!

The reunion committees are trying to

locate as many Wolcott Alumni as possible. Please email your name,

address, phone#, and the year you

graduated to:

wolcottreunion2015@yahoo.com

If you are part of a reunion commit-

tee please email your contact list.

SPREAD THE WORD!

HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS IN THORNTON

DECEMBER 5th-7th

Events all weekend throughout the Village starting Friday night with a Light

Parade and tree lighting with the Mayor! Everyone is encouraged to light up your vehicle and be a part of the parade that starts at the Methodist Church.

Saturday there will be activity all around the Village and the weekend will end with a holiday open house at the Historical Society Museum. On Saturday on-

ly, participating businesses will offer goodies and/or special discounts. Please support our local merchants!!

Residents are encouraged to decorate their homes for the weekend. We will hold a deco-

rating contest next year in honor of our 10th anniversary of Holiday Happenings!

We’re always looking for new ideas and new people to offer input for this fun weekend. If

you are interested, please contact Debbie

Pisarzewski at the Village Hall.

Look for complete schedules in the mail, at the Village Hall, Wolcott School, Library and

online.

We Hope you take part and enjoy this fun

weekend of holiday activities in our Village!