These students overcame pandemic, a plan to close the school and a crumbling building to return to class
Updated Apr 28, 2021;
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The students at the A. Harry Moore school will finally return to their school building on May 3 after almost two tumultuous years that include the coronavirus and uncertainty over the school’s future.
Parents of the students are excited for the doors to open at the 88-year-old Kennedy Boulevard school building, after bearing the brunt of handling their children’s education and therapies.
Nicole Gohde says her 9-year-old son, Gabriel, who has developmental disabilities, epilepsy and autism, needs that one-on-one time not only with his teachers and therapist, but his friends as well.
It will never go away, for some 10 years can seem like a lifetime, for others, just yesterday.
Retired Phil Campbell Elementary School Principal Jackie Ergle vividly recalls spending hours in the hallway the morning of April 27th, 2011, before sending people home.
Retired Phil Campbell Elementary School Principal Jackie Ergle
Praying they d be able to dismiss early, I would say, Lord please lift this warning so that we can get our children home, just let us have time.
A decade later, a scrapbook preserving the town s defining moment in history now sits on a corner shelf in the school s library.
Each page, a bittersweet reminder of not just the pain, but also the compassion that poured in.
In Poway and Pittsburgh, mayors join fight against hate after synagogue attacks
When an attack happens these days, mayors who have experienced shootings in their communities reach out with advice for their newly affected colleagues. A couple embrace near a growing memorial across the street from the Chabad of Poway Synagogue in Poway, California, on April 29, 2019. A gunman opened fire two days before as about 100 people were worshipping, exactly six months after a mass shooting in a Pittsburgh synagogue. One person was killed in the Poway attack. (AP Photo/Greg Bull)
April 27, 2021
(RNS) Mayor Steve Vaus counts his days from April 27, 2019, when a gunman burst into a Chabad synagogue, killing one congregant, injuring three others and shattering the Norman Rockwell vibe of the small, Southern California town of Poway.
. It s all part of the City s Reimagining Public Safety Initiative. So how is this going to help?
Adler: Well, what we did last week was to not change any functions, to not change any people, but to take certain departments and put them under civilian control. So the finance department and the police department is now part of the overall City finance department. As with all other departments, the building services division is now in charge of facilities, as in all other departments, and 9-1-1, 3-1-1, these important emergency call services are now under, again, common operational control. We think it s going to make the city more efficient. It s going to help taxpayers and we think it s going to ultimately improve both the operations and the safety in the city.
Carmel High to open multicultural center promoting inclusivity
Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein. Paul Valade | Staff Photographer
Posted4/25/2021 5:30 AM
Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein this Friday will open a new multicultural center to educate students about diversity, equity and inclusion.
The center will provide a space where all students can congregate, socialize, learn and feel valued. It is modeled after collegiate multicultural centers.
Officials plan to create new educational and social programs to introduce students to different cultures, ethnicities and religions. To do that, they will bring in speakers to talk about how to be an ally of marginalized groups, promote advocacy for certain needs and incorporate community service opportunities.