Editor’s note: This is the second edition of what we envision will be a weekly newsletter. Let us know what you think about the format and content. Write to [email protected].
Predicting the future
Prognostication is a pasttime fraught with peril. Nevertheless, we’re going to go out on a limb and confidently predict that …
Homewood Public Library Board of Directors: Special meeting at the library, 17917 Dixie Highway, tonight at 6 p.m. to discuss of a memorandum of understanding with the employees’ union, AFSCME, regarding library staff vaccination requirements.
Chad Lewis will present “Legends and Folklore of Winter” at Flossmoor Public Library, 6 p.m. tonight. It will be a chance to hear stories about Santa Claus, Krampus the Christmas monster, New Year’s Eve superstitions, how to predict a hard winter and more. Registration required. Email [email protected] to register.
Holiday break: The Homewood Board of Trustees has canceled its second regular meeting in December, which would have occurred on Dec. 28.
No Noon Year’s Eve celebration: Homewood’s traditional New Year’s Eve celebration for kids has been canceled for the second year because of the pandemic. The event always packed a crowd onto the floor of the village hall auditorium for the noon balloon drop, not a safe thing to do in a pandemic.
Gatherings
Today:
Flossmoor’s colorful holiday parade: The parade will start at 4:30 p.m. The Homewood-Flossmoor Park District is helping out by setting up bleachers at Heather Hill School so residents who aren’t on the parade route will have a place to gather and view the decorated village vehicles as they pass.
Silent Night Pajama Jam: Sponsored by You Matter 2 at the John H. Blakey Senior Center, 1 N. Rebecca St. in Glenwood. There will be two sessions of fun, food and music, 5 to 7 p.m. for sixth to eighth grade students and 8 to 10 p.m. for ninth through 12th grade students. Tickets are $6. Register online.
Windows on Sterling: Performances in the windows of Gypsy Fix at 1056 Sterling Avenue will include the Inifiniti Dance Company at 6 p.m., Beverly Theatre Guild Singers at 7 p.m. and Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra musicians at 8 p.m.
Postdicting the pastIt’s a made-up word, yes. But you were there because we were there so we don’t care …
Water flow. Flossmoor has long purchased water from Homewood, which purchased water from Chicago via Harvey. The two villages have now completed an agreement to continue that arrangement when Homewood switches to Hammond via Chicago Heights as its water source, which is slated to happen during the second half of 2022.
Considering the recent water woes in Dixmoor, another Harvey customer, officials in both villages might be feeling the decision to switch sources has been reconfirmed.
Testing works. Local schools have been participating in the SHIELD testing program this fall to help detect COVID-19 virus outbreaks before they spread far. The system seemed to work in District 153 recently, when the district moved three Churchill classes to remote learning after positive cases were found.
COVID-19 surge. After a moderate surge in cases that peaked Sept. 11, COVID-19 cases are surging again. They started rising again in Homewood and Flossmoor during the second half of October and continue to climb. So far, the numbers of daily cases have not reached the level of last winter’s surge, but they are still rising.
What we’re watching
Not on TV. These are things we’re paying attention to in the H-F community. Let us know what you’re watching. We’ll watch, too.
MLK Day of Service. The sixth annual event continues a tradition of service with numerous projects that seem to concentrate the community’s general generosity into one day. Flossmoor’s website listed a number of projects already planned for Jan. 17.
According to the village, projects currently include:
- Community clean-up at Flossmoor Hills School.
- Sorting donations at The Bridge Teen Center.
- Book drive for Bernie’s Books.
- Birthday in a Box for South Suburban PADS.
- Sock drive for PLAN4SUCCESS.
- Soles4Souls Shoe Drive at Western Avenue School.
- Valentine’s Day cards for seniors.
- Litter clean-up at Sand Ridge Nature Center.
- Blood Drive with Omega Psi Phi.
To volunteer, contact Marcus Stennis at the Village of Flossmoor 708-798-2300 or [email protected].
It’s not too late to host a service project. Register at the village website.
Build a Bed project. One early service project will help provide kids with one of the basic needs for physical, mental and emotional health: a good bed. Volunteers will help build bunk beds on Jan. 16 at Flossmoor Fire Department, 2828 Flossmoor Road. The project is associated with Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a national nonprofit organization that seeks to ensure all children have a good bed to sleep in. The project is sponsored by the Flossmoor Community Relations Commission and the Flossmoor Volunteer Fire Department corporation. Register online (select the Oak Forest IL Chapter).
Updates
Train station renovation continues. Homewood Mayor Rich Hofeld said Metra is planning to seek bids for its portion of the project after the first of the year. Metra will renovate the tunnel and the east side of the station, replacing the building at Harwood Avenue and Ridge Road.