Voting Starts for Tinley Park HS Student's Cow Art

Junior Melissa Patino is 1 of 9 finalists in the national Art of Dairy contest thanks to her bovine design. Voting begins at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 17. Find out how you can cast your ballot.

A Tinley Park High School student's is getting some national exposure and could get even more if she gets enough votes. READ: Check Out Coverage of Tinley Park High School and Bremen High School District 228 in Patch's Schools Section Melissa Patino, a 16-year-old junior from Oak Forest, is one of nine finalists from around the country in Lucerne Dairy's eighth annual Art of Dairy contest. She earned her spot with a design she created on this year's contest theme, "ImaginDairy Places!" Melissa titled hers "Dairy Wonderland" and described the design on the official site: Fall into a waterfall of milk and string cheese rafts as you go on an adventure through an ice cream forest and cheesy mountain. And as part of the contest, she's taken …

• Photos (1)

Turner Loses D228 School Board Seat to Newcomer

Small business owner Larry Canning made an impressive showing Tuesday, winning a seat on the Bremen school board. While trustees Evelyn Gleason and Deborah Stearns were re-elected, incumbent Marc Turner couldn't earn enough votes.

CORRECTION (10:39 a.m. Friday, April 12): An earlier version of this story had incorrect information on where and when Larry Canning went to high school. The story has been corrected.  Two of the three incumbents running for re-election to the Bremen High School District 228 Board of Education were able to retain their seats Tuesday. But Marc Turner, who has been a trustee since 2005, was ousted thanks to the impressive showing by Tinley Park resident Larry Canning. TINLEY PARK: Check the 2013 Election Outcomes for the Races That Matter to the Village The area small business owner's vote total was second among D228 board candidates, only behind current Board President Deborah Stearns by 60 votes. Evelyn Gleason, who has been on the board …

•  22 Comments
• Photos (2)

Let the Games Begin: Lacrosse is Coming to D228

Following the signing of the emerging sports letter by Bremen High School District 228, a club lacrosse team is forming for the 2013 season, with hopes that the team will grow to both boys and girls teams in the coming year.

Lacrosse players, fans and parents in Bremen High School District 228, rejoice! After more than two years of pushing, pulling and prodding, district administration finally signed off on an Illinois High School Association emerging sports agreement letter, allowing for lacrosse to become a district sponsored sport. READ: D228 Agrees to Waiver, Allows Lacrosse Although the district signed off on the letter and will sponsor the sport, Oak Forest Park District Commissioner Joe Conway, who helped spearhead the latest efforts to get lacrosse into District 228, said the sport will be a co-op club activity, led by parents, players and coaches. “The district is on board, they're happy,” Conway said. “We met at a common level and now we're going to …

• Photos (1)

D228 Agrees to Waiver, Allows Lacrosse

The Bremen High School District board signed an emerging sports letter this week, which lets students compete in lacrosse with other schools in the state.

The door is now open for students in Bremen High School District 228 to hit the pitch and play other state high school teams in lacrosse. The District 228 board of education signed this week the emerging sports letter needed by the Illinois High School Association to compete in high school lacrosse, according to an email Wednesday night from Oak Forest Park District Commissioner Joe Conway. The commissioner was a staunch supporter of the effort to get the letter signed. The documents were signed and faxed to the IHSA on Monday, March 25, Conway said, adding that he was informed about it Wednesday, March 27. "I was able to address each of the boards concerns which were very legitimate," Conway wrote in an email Wednesday. Before the signing…

•  7 Comments
• Photos (1)

D228 Agrees to Use Website for Students' Papers, Essays

The district's board approved Tuesday a three-year contract with Turnitin.com, an online paper and essay submission site that will check for plagiarism and reduce paper costs.

Students and teachers in Bremen High School District 228 are going to have an easier time submitting, grading and reviewing papers for the next few years thanks to the district's new agreement with Turnitin.com. The three-year agreement, which was approved Tuesday, will allow every student in the district to submit papers and essays to the website, which can then be reviewed by peers and graded by the student's teacher. “A lot of major institutions are using it, so we're preparing out kids for college,” said Cori Williams, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning. YOUR TURN: Are You a Fan of Tinley Park High School Sports? Blog About Your Favorite Team From Your School The district's board of education approved Tuesday, March 19, …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

2013 Election: Bremen High School District 228 Board of Education

Three newcomers are challenging three incumbents for seats on the Bremen District 228 Board of Education.

Bremen Community High School District 228 serves 5,000 students from Oak Forest, Tinley Park, Midlothian, Country Club Hills, Hazel Crest, Markham and Posen. Dr. Bill Kendall is the superintendent. The seven-member board meets at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month, with locations alternating between the four district 228 schools. There are three seats available, sought by six candidates, three of whom are incumbents. CANDIDATE BIOS Early voting begins March 25. Election Day is April 9.  Join Patch! Create a free user account and join the discussion about the future of Oak Forest. You'll be subscribed to the free daily newsletter and breaking news alerts.   Got a news tip? Email Patch editor Lauren Traut.

• Photos (1)

Lacrosse Group Still Pushing to Play in D228

District 228 administration still hasn't signed an emerging sports letter for lacrosse, which would allow the Oak Forest Fury, a high school club team made up of area students, to compete against other schools.

High school lacrosse players and their parents in Bremen High School District 228 just want one thing: a chance. The players want to take the field under the lights and compete against other high school teams, while the parents want a chance to cheer their children on at the varsity level.  But they can't—yet. The District 228 board of education, so far, has not signed off on an emerging sports letter, which is required by the Illinois High School Association to compete in lacrosse at the high school level. Without the letter, high school level lacrosse players in D228 cannot play other teams in the state. “We are now the only team without that waiver signed in the Chicago Southland,” said Oak Forest Park District Commissioner Joe Conway, …

•  54 Comments
• Photos (2)

Janelle Edwards

9:44 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Jeff: Maybe you are not up on the current facts but Dr. Kendall has what is called an Evergreen Contract which renews every year and keeps his contract as a 5 year deal at $200,000 which would cost us taxpayers over a million dalloars to buy out. Where was this written in your column. You are a bipartiasan, Kendall apologist . How about reporting this Jeff: Since Dr. Kendall has assumed control …   more ›

D228 Board President Will Remain on April 9 Ballot

Bremen High School District Board of Education President Deb Stearns will stay on the April 9 ballot, after the district's education officers electoral board voted to dismiss several challenges to her candidacy.

Challenge Dismissed, D228 Board President Will Remain on Ballot

Bremen High School District Board of Education President Deb Stearns will stay on the April 9 ballot, after the district's education officers electoral board voted to dismiss several challenges to her candidacy.

Bremen High School District 228 Board of Education President Deb Stearns will remain on the April 9 ballot, following the dismissal of a challenge to her candidacy. At a Jan. 23 special meeting of the D228 Education Officers Electoral Board, members dismissed resident Steve Szabo's challenge due to a, "failure to state the interest of the objector," one of five motions Stearns's lawyer made to dismiss the challenge at a meeting earlier in January. “The courts have said there doesn't have to be much of one, but you've got to have one,” said Mike Davies, president pro-temp of the board. “When I review Mr. Szabo's objection, I don't see anything that resembles, or comes close to resembling that issue.” Szabo was not present at the Jan. 23 …

•  48 Comments
• Photos (1)

Former Substitute Teacher Mulls Legal Action Against D228

Anthony Fiorenzo, a former Bremen High School District 228 substitute teacher, says he was terminated from his position Jan. 9, over a discussion with Board of Education President Deb Stearns. Now, Fiorenzo is contemplating legal action.

A former Bremen High School District 228 substitute teacher is contemplating legal action against the district, following his termination Jan. 9.  Anthony Fiorenzo, who worked as a sub in the district for three years, claims he was fired from his job following a dialogue with board president Deb Stearns, regarding a Facebook post that depicted the district's students in an unfavorable light. The post depicted students from each of the four high schools in various scenarios, labeled with the schools' names. “The Oak Forest children in the picture were all Caucasian students sitting for a class picture, the Hillcrest photo was a photo of the Hillcrest basketball team, the photo of the Bremen students depicted kids drinking and partying, …

•  39 Comments
• Photos (1)

Sue1

4:26 pm on Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Seems to me like he isn't saying because it didn't play out the way he is trying to say it did.   more ›