Latest news with #District113
CBS News
12-05-2025
- CBS News
Former Deerfield High School wrestling coach charged with possessing child pornography
A former volunteer assistant wrestling coach at Deerfield High School in Lake County is facing multiple charges of possessing child pornography. Alexander Cohen was charged with nine felony counts of possessing child pornography of children under the age of 13. According to District 113 Superintendent Dr. Chala Holland, Cohen was charged by police in October. He said law enforcement has not contacted the district and has not provided detailed information about the pending charges. "District 113 is unaware of any allegations of criminal activity against the defendant during the time the defendant volunteered as an assistant wrestling coach," Holland said. Holland said Cohan was listed on his LinkedIn account as the social media coordinator/assistant wrestling coach at Deerfield High School from September 2012 to the present. Cohan served as an active volunteer coach for the boys' wrestling team in the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 school years and successfully passed a criminal background check. Although he did not actively serve, he remained listed as a volunteer coach in the parent wrestling handbook for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years. After 2022-23, Holland said that Cohan was not named in any subsequent handbooks or had served in any coaching capacity since 2019-2020.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former school board member officially wins seat in SC House
Courtney Waters was officially elected to the represent the House's 113th District on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Courtney Waters) South Carolina's newest legislator is a former Charleston County school board member and the state's Teach for America director. Democrat Courtney Waters, 35, officially won a seat Tuesday representing North Charleston in the state House. She was unopposed in the special election after defeating a pair of opponents in January's Democratic primary. She expects to be sworn in Tuesday. Waters paints herself as a Democratic voice willing to reach across the aisle. She said her focus will be education, affordable housing, child care, abortion access, and the environment. 'I'm just looking forward to knowing the system better and figuring out how to make it work for District 113,' she told the SC Daily Gazette Tuesday night. She will assume the seat left vacant by former Rep. Marvin Pendarvis, who resigned in September amid a state investigation into claims he settled a former client's lawsuit without telling him, then tried to buy him off to prevent the allegations from becoming public. After SC legislator resigned, he won anyway. Now a special election is set. Pendarvis won re-election anyway in November as the only candidate on the ballot. He declined to re-take the seat, triggering the special election. Waters served on the Charleston County school board from 2020-2024, an experience that she said served as a catalyst for her new role. 'After my time on the school board, I was fortunate that enough people appreciated my service there that folks asked if I'd consider running,' Waters said. The North Charleston native received nearly 70% of the vote in a three-way primary in January. Michelle Brandt, the state Democratic Party's third vice chair, was far behind at 28%, followed by Kim Clark, with less than 2% of votes cast. No Republican ran for the heavily Democratic seat. Waters' supporters included two Democratic state senators: Deon Tedder, who won a special election in November 2023 for a district that includes North Charleston, and Ed Sutton, who last November won a seat representing areas including downtown Charleston and West Ashley. Tedder, who first met Waters at a training event held by the Legislative Black Caucus on how to run a campaign, was elected to the state House as Waters won her seat on the school board. He described Waters as a well-respected, outspoken person who can explain complicated issues to constituents. 'I knew she was the right person for the job,' he said.
Chicago Tribune
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Focus on the Arts gives Highland Park HS students chance to work with professional performers
Dozens of Highland Park High School students will have the thrill of playing in an orchestra with 10 professional musicians or performing with Broadway stars at the opening event of Focus on the Arts, 7 p.m. April 1 in the school's auditorium. Focus on the Arts, a biennial festival, has been inspiring Highland Park High School students since 1964. The 2025 event, which runs through April 4, includes 330 workshops, performances, and master classes for the students, covering everything from architecture to art, creative writing, dance, drama, film, media, music, television, theater, and visual arts. 'These workshops are led by very accomplished artists,' reported Tamara Jenkins, Director of Festivals of the Arts for Township District 113 and the Executive Director of Focus on the Arts. She noted that '25 to 30 percent of people teaching are graduates of this program that have made successful careers in many different areas of the arts. It's literally a life-changing program.' Jenkins conceived and wrote the opening night program which is called 'The Artist Speaks.' 'The evening is built around what it means to be an artist, what drives an artist, and their artistic journey,' she said. The numbers and scenes are introduced by two student emcees. Jenkins was able to lure top Broadway stars to the event because the Deerfield native worked in musical theater in New York for many years as an actor, artistic director, and producer. 'I wanted the students to have the opportunity to work side-by-side with people that are very, very accomplished,' Jenkins said. The guest artists include Hugh Panaro and Andréa Burns. Panaro is best known for playing The Phantom in 'The Phantom of the Opera' on Broadway over 2,000 times. He will perform a few songs from 'Peter Pan,' 'Music of the Night' from 'The Phantom of the Opera,' and will play George Seurat in scenes from 'Sunday in the Park with George.' Burns, who just completed the Broadway run of 'The Notebook,' won a Drama Desk Award for playing Daniela in the Tony Award-winning musical 'In the Heights.' She will perform a song from 'In the Heights' with three students. Burns will also sing, 'I Feel Pretty' from 'West Side Story' and perform one of the roles in a scene from 'At the Ballet,' with student dancers. Broadway actor Kate Loprest will also perform with students at the event. Jenkins connected with Jeffrey Haydon, CEO and President of Ravinia, to ask for their participation in the opening event. As a result, thirty-five Highland Park High School musicians will perform in the Focus 2025 Orchestra with ten professional musicians. Madelyn Tan-Cohen, Director of Teaching and Learning at Ravinia, said, 'Ravinia has always had a longstanding partnership with District 112 and 113. In the past we have been involved with Focus on the Arts.' She noted that at one time 'the late great jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis, who was Ravinia's Artistic Director, and our former CEO and President Welz Kauffman, performed and spoke together at the opening night, talking about the importance of music and arts education.' This year Ravinia is partnering with the Chicago Philharmonic to provide ten musicians for the opening night performance. They will rehearse with the students three times. Tan-Cohen said, 'The kids in the orchestra will definitely have the experience of playing next to professional musicians, seeing how they rehearse. I think it will really be an exciting experience for them.' Tan-Cohen concluded, 'We really believe in providing access to students through live performance or side-by-side performances with professional musicians.' The orchestra will be conducted by Focus Artist-in-Residence Jeffrey Saver, a long-time Broadway conductor. 'He has so much to offer these kids,' Jenkins said. Jenkins noted that Saver burst into tears when she showed him the workshops that are scheduled at the festival. 'He said, 'The fact that this exists has given me so much hope for the future,'' Jenkins related. The production will be directed by Michael Unger, Artistic Director at Skylight Music Theatre in Milwaukee. 'He's an alumnus of this high school and he is one of the people whose life was changed by this program,' Jenkins said. All of the artists are paid through a 501(c)(3) community fund. There will be two other public programs: Art Night, 6:30-8:30 p.m. April 3 in the cafeteria, and Dance Night, 7 p.m. April 4 in the auditorium. Highland Park High School is at 433 Vine Ave. Tickets for the opening night event are $5. For more details on Focus on the Arts and reservation information (not yet on the website), visit
