Naperville News Digest: DuPage County seeking input on Heritage Gallery renovation; Will County waiving dog adoption fees through March 31
DuPage County seeking input on Heritage Gallery renovation
DuPage County is offering residents a chance to provide feedback on the design and content of the Heritage Gallery inside the County Administration Building, 421 County Farm Road, Wheaton.
A design team has made recommendations to replace current exhibits and presented draft sketches. Community members are being asked to review the design plans and provide input on the important people, places and stories to feature in the new exhibit.
The county is trying to create a space to reflect its diverse history, officials said.
The Heritage Gallery was originally created in 1980 as a way of celebrating DuPage County natives. It hasn't been updated since 1991.
Among those currently recognized are football great Harold 'Red' Grange, evangelist Billy Graham, astronomer Grote Reber, opera singer Sherrill Milnes, industrialist and gambler John W. 'Bet-A-Million' Gates, author Anna Landon and Tribune publisher Col. Robert McCormick.
Residents can rate their overall impression of the design and how well they think it captures the essence of the county's history and culture, if it feels accessible to people of all ages and abilities and whether it reflects the county's diversity. Suggestions for changes or improvements can be submitted.
March 17 is the deadline to complete the survey, which is available at www.dupagecounty.gov/government/departments/facilities/421_gallery.php.
Mail-in ballots for April election go out March 17 in Will County
Vote-by-mail ballots for the April 1 election will be mailed out starting Monday, March 17, for voters on the permanent vote-by-mail list or anyone who has requested a single election mailed ballot, the Will County Clerk's office announced.
Early voting will begin at 23 Will County locations on the same day.
Typically, the ballots are sent 40 days before an election but were delayed this year because of Feb. 25 primaries held in Homer Township and Aurora, a clerk's office news release said. Primary results are not official until March 12.
Early voting will take place at the Naperville 95th Street Library, 3015 Cedar Glade Road, as well as other locations throughout the county. A full list can be found at www.willcountyclerk.gov/2025consolidated.
The last day to request a vote by mail ballot is March 27.
Will County waiving dog adoption fees through March 31
Will County Animal Protection Services is waiving adoption fees for dogs six months and older as part of its 'Mutt Madness' promotion, which runs through March 31.
All dogs available for adoption can be found on the county's Petfinder website, https://IL1035.petfinder.com.
Standard adoption fees apply to all cats and dogs younger than 6 months.
Will County offers adoptions by appointment only from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday at its animal protection services office, 22452 Cherry Hill Road, Joliet. Appointments can be scheduled to visit available pets by calling 815-462-5633 or emailing adopt@willcounty.gov.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
3 days ago
- Fox News
EXCLUSIVE: 'Refugees in their own country': Samaritan's Purse steps into Israel's war zones with needed relief
In a country facing war on two fronts, the Christian aid group Samaritan's Purse is making a big impact. From building armored ambulance stations to promising a new trauma recovery center on the spot, the U.S.-based Christian humanitarian aid group is stepping into dangerous areas to help people still living with fear every day. Edward Graham, chief operating officer of Samaritan's Purse and grandson of Rev. Billy Graham, spent June 2 visiting Israel's tense northern and southern borders. He met with survivors, soldiers, medics and local leaders still trying to recover from recent attacks by Hezbollah and FRANKLIN GRAHAM LEADS CEREMONY AS SAMARITAN'S PURSE GIVES ARMORED 'BULLETPROOF' AMBULANCE TO ISRAEL "We go where other people don't or won't," Graham said during a visit to Arab al-Aramshe, a northern Israeli village hit by Hezbollah missiles and drones. "Not just because we love you, but because God loves you." Before arriving, Graham flew low over the Jordan River Valley, just beyond the West Bank."These communities were hit up here, and they are also forgotten about," he said. "But Samaritan's Purse hasn't forgotten them. We've got great relationships with local community leaders and churches in the area. These people are hurting. That's why we're here — to let Israel know they're not forgotten. And God bless them." Arab al-Aramshe is still picking up the pieces after a deadly drone strike blew the roof off the local community center and killed a man who was trying to protect it. Shrapnel still scars the building. Samaritan's Purse is building a new ambulance station in the nearby town of Shlomi to serve Arab al-Aramshe and surrounding HOSTAGE DEAL IN DOUBT AS HAMAS ADDS DEMANDS, US ENVOY CALLS TERMS 'UNACCEPTABLE' "We're delivering ambulances throughout Israel to support communities like this one," Graham said. "We're also building ambulance exchange points, safe places where medical teams can store ambulances and respond to emergencies. It's about restoring confidence so people feel safe enough to move back.""This was a dead zone filled with alarm every day," said Moshe Davidovitz, mayor of the Matte Asher Regional Council and head of the Northern Conflict Zone Forum. "We don't just want to fix the place. We want to grow the place … but we need to be able to provide some safety."Thousands of people evacuated," Davidovitz added. "They are refugees in their own country. While they were gone, they didn't know what happened to their home, to their dogs, everything they left behind." That safety is arriving in the form of 42 armored ambulances donated by Samaritan's Purse to Israel's national emergency service, Magen David Adom (MDA). One of them has already been assigned to Arab al-Aramshe. Ali Wahid, a senior medic in the area, said the new ambulance makes a big difference. "We are not afraid to respond. But now we will feel safe when we respond," he said. After visiting the north, Graham flew south over the Gaza Strip toward Israel's southern border. "Hamas came out and attacked the communities down here," he said. "Jewish and Arab communities were hit. Today I'm seeing another ambulance exchange point location. There are still a lot of displaced people. We want to bring back confidence and security, so people can come home." In Nir Oz, a kibbutz where one in four residents were either kidnapped or murdered during Hamas' brutal October 2024 attack, the damage is still overwhelming. Houses are burned and shattered. Posters show the faces of loved ones, including baby Kfir Bibas and 83-year-old grandfather Oded Lifshitz, both killed by Hamas."This is where they burned houses, pulled children from their parents, murdered babies," Graham said, standing in the ruins."You see the pictures of the people who are no longer here. Explosions have been going off the whole time I've been in this village. But the leaders here are rebuilding. They want to bring people back this summer. And Samaritan's Purse just committed to help with a community clinic and resilience center." Mayor Michal Uziyahu of the Eshkol region walked Graham through the destruction. Her region lost 244 people Oct 7. Half of the hostages still held by Hamas come from her communities."Seventy percent of the massacre happened here," she said. "Every fourth person was either murdered or kidnapped." Still, she insists the region will not be defined by terror. "We are determined to make sure that the tragedy won't define us," Uziyahu said. "This place will be filled with life again. The thing terrorists fear most isn't tanks or fighter jets. It's the sound of children laughing in our streets." Graham, moved by what he saw, offered a simple message."There's been so much pain, murder and brokenness here," he said. "But I've talked to the survivors and asked if they carry hate. And they don't. They still love their neighbors. They want peace. I don't even understand that myself. But I ask everyone, please keep praying for Israel. They need your prayers and our support." Samaritan's Purse is building a resilience center in the Eshkol region and another in the nearby Merhavim area, home to about 4,000 children, many of whom have experienced devastating trauma."We never define ourselves through the tragedy," Uziyahu said. "We define ourselves with life and hope." Along with the trauma centers, Samaritan's Purse is building two EMS stations, one near the Gaza border, where residents bled to death during the October attacks because medics couldn't reach them in time. The group is also installing 25 bomb shelters across Israel, 11 in the north and 14 in the HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In the north, Graham met a mother, Sara Kleiman, and her 5-year-old son. They returned home months after fleeing Hezbollah rocket attacks."We try not to think about what could happen," she said. "But we wanted to come home. This is our home."
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
He Promised to Show His 2-Year-Old Daughter Christmas Lights — Instead, He Set Her on Fire. Now, He's Dead in Prison
Shawn Ryan Grell, 50, died on April 19 at ASPC-Tucson facility, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry He was convicted of dousing his two-year-old daughter with gasoline and setting her on fire His cause of death has yet to be reportedAn Arizona man who was serving a life sentence for pouring gasoline on his two-year-old daughter and setting her on fire has died in prison. Shawn Ryan Grell, 50, died on April 19 at ASPC-Tucson facility, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry. 'All inmate deaths are investigated in consultation with the county medical examiner's office,' the department said. It's unclear how the inmate died. Grell picked up his daughter Kristen Salem from her daycare in Dec. 1999 with a plan to take her to see Christmas lights, the East Valley Tribune the twosome drove to a department store in Mesa where he purchased a gas can and then bought some gas. He then drove to a remote desert area in east Mesa before placing his daughter on the ground and setting her on fire, according to the Tribune. The girl crawled about 10 feet before she died, prosecutors said, per He was convicted of first-degree murder and robbery in connection to her killing in 2001 and sentenced to death. However in 2013, his death sentence was commuted after the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that he had mental retardation, reported. He was sentenced to life in prison. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
He Promised to Show His 2-Year-Old Daughter Christmas Lights — Instead, He Set Her on Fire. Now, He's Dead in Prison
Shawn Ryan Grell, 50, died on April 19 at ASPC-Tucson facility, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry He was convicted of dousing his two-year-old daughter with gasoline and setting her on fire His cause of death has yet to be reportedAn Arizona man who was serving a life sentence for pouring gasoline on his two-year-old daughter and setting her on fire has died in prison. Shawn Ryan Grell, 50, died on April 19 at ASPC-Tucson facility, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry. 'All inmate deaths are investigated in consultation with the county medical examiner's office,' the department said. It's unclear how the inmate died. Grell picked up his daughter Kristen Salem from her daycare in Dec. 1999 with a plan to take her to see Christmas lights, the East Valley Tribune the twosome drove to a department store in Mesa where he purchased a gas can and then bought some gas. He then drove to a remote desert area in east Mesa before placing his daughter on the ground and setting her on fire, according to the Tribune. The girl crawled about 10 feet before she died, prosecutors said, per He was convicted of first-degree murder and robbery in connection to her killing in 2001 and sentenced to death. However in 2013, his death sentence was commuted after the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that he had mental retardation, reported. He was sentenced to life in prison. Read the original article on People
