Latest news with #AppearanceCommission
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
City to celebrate Juneteenth with music, fellowship
The City of Sanford Appearance Commission is inviting the community to its second annual 'Juneteenth: A Celebration of Freedom,' a free evening of performances that celebrate the values of freedom, resilience and unity. Juneteenth is a federal holiday that commemorates June 19, 1865 — the day when Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas with news of freedom. Juneteenth has been celebrated in Texas since 1866 but only became a national holiday in 2021. The event will be held Thursday, June 19, at W.B. Wicker Elementary School starting at 6 p.m. It will start with a special reading of Sanford's Juneteenth proclamation by Mayor Rebecca Salmon along with members of Sanford City Council. The Community Fellowship Choir will open the musical portion of the program with select songs before turning the stage over to the North Carolina Central University Jazz Studies Collective for several jazz standards. Rod Brower and the Together-N-Unity Choir return with Ray Owen for their second Juneteenth in Sanford. 'Our performance will offer a message of peace and hope,' Brower said in a release. 'These are two things that the world needs right now.' W.B. Wicker School was built in 1927 by prominent African-American contractor Link Boykin to serve Sanford's black high school students. The W.B. Wicker Alumni Association will offer a curated exhibit of historical photographs and memorabilia from the school's early days. 'W.B. Wicker School stands as a beacon to all things good and favorable; to have attended it is to love it, then and now,' Margaret Murchison, president of the school's Alumni Association, said. 'We are proud that the Appearance Commission chooses W.B. Wicker School as the venue for its Juneteenth celebration each year.' 'Bringing the community together is a small but fitting way to commemorate this culturally and historically significant anniversary,' said Liz Whitmore, a historic planner for the city and a liaison to the Appearance Commission. A new addition this year is the participation of local members of historically African-American fraternities and sororities, many of whom have roots at W.B. Wicker School. 'As this celebration grows, we want to fill it with the people and organizations that represent the triumphs and resiliency of the African-American community,' Whitmore said. The Appearance Commission received funding for the event from Friends of Sanford, Inc., the Lee County Arts Council and the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
Chicago Tribune
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
As mayor Dan DiMaria steps down in Morton Grove, trustee he appointed Janine Witko elected to succeed him
Current Village Trustee Janine Witko is set to take the reins as mayor of Morton Grove, running unopposed in the April 1 election to replace Dan DiMaria whose public service spans at least a decade. 'It's been an honor and a blessing and I hope the residents think I left the town a little better than I found it,' DiMaria told Pioneer Press following the election. He decided not to seek another term in this year's Consolidated Election after feeling a tug in his private life. 'I'm not retiring from my full-time job and that'll keep me busy. And, grandpa duty is calling now, so that changes things a little bit,' DiMaria said of his decision to step down. DiMaria started out on the Appearance Commission and then won election as village clerk. He successfully ran for a village trustee seat before making a winning bid for mayor in 2013. He said he's done pretty much everything he set out to do for the village. 'You know, I went in on goals I wanted to get done … and I met those goals,' he said. Those goals included developing Sawmill Station Apartments, establishing a new water supply partnership and building a new commuter train station. The Morton Grove station on Metra's Milwaukee District North line is expected to be completed this summer. 'There will always be something else, but I felt it was time,' DiMaria said about leaving office. 'I've been blessed to be mayor and I wanted to go out leaving the town a little better than I found it.' His words of advice for Witko? Listen to the residents. 'Know what your residents want, and you do that by listening to your residents,' he said. Witko was first appointed village trustee in 2013 by DiMaria to fill a Village Board vacancy created after another trustee left the area. Witko, as well as the village clerk and other incumbent trustees — are all members of the local Action Party. They all ran unopposed for reelection. Eileen Scanlon Harford will continue as village clerk. Saba Khan, Ashur Shiba and Constance 'Connie' Travis were each reelected to at-large positions on the Village Board, according to unofficial April 1 vote totals from the Cook County clerk's office. The election results are unofficial until the clerk certifies them – usually within weeks of the election. The Consolidated Election also had library board candidates on the ballot. In Morton Grove, there were four candidates who ran for two available seats on the library board. Kimberly 'Kim' Moldosfky got 39% of the vote and Mohammed Azam Hussain picked up 32%, emerging as the top two vote-getters, according to the unofficial results. Jay M. Cook and Samuel Broderick McCampbell also ran for library board trustee.
