In September, the Little Village Chamber of Commerce recognized former Riverside resident and longtime local property manager Richard A. Dolejs as the innovator, founder and first president of the Little Village Community and Chamber of Commerce.
He was recognized on Sept. 9 at a banquet prior to the Mexican Independence Day parade to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce.
Dolejs presided over the transition of a Czech-American cultural community to a predominantly Mexican-American cultural community and led the real estate and commercial community to persuade banks and savings and loans to offer Latinos mortgages, which were not previously available due to red-lining.
He was also a strong influence in the rebuilding and modernization of Farragut High School, and the acquisition of a community center at 3610 W. 26th St., which now exists as offices for the community council and chamber of commerce, was concluded under his direction.
Well done
Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel has announced the following accomplishments of four police officers:
Sgt. John Cairo has graduated from Lewis University in Romeoville with a master’s degree in criminal social justice.
Officer-in-Charge Brian Greenenwald was recently awarded the MADD Heroes Award at a presentation in Springfield for his efforts to remove more than 600 drunk and drugged drivers from Riverside roadways.
Officer Michael Panek has returned after spending more than a year on active military duty with the U.S. Navy in Africa.
Officer Joseph Mahanna received his designation and a drug recognition expert (DRE), the second Riverside police officer to receive this designation and one of just 115 in the state of Illinois.
Published
Brookfield YouTuber (plusimagestv), former Chicago Bears Refrigerette and author Dedsa Ravanesi has announced the publication of her new book “A Curvy Girl’s Guide to 10 Steps Toward Self-Love and Self-Acceptance.”
Ravanesi says her goal is that plus-size women who are challenged with self-loathing will see themselves through new eyes and discover the strong, intelligent, remarkable women they are.
The book is available for purchase on amazon.com.
I’d be honored
Lyons Township High School business education teacher Natalie Carlson has been selected as the University of Chicago’s Outstanding Educator Award after being nominated by an LTHS graduate who is now a freshman at the university.
The university received letters from hundreds of students, inspired by teachers who changed the course of their lives, who taught them to re-imagine texts, to delve deeper into problem-solving and to think beyond the borders of the classroom in pursuit of their own education.
Riverside Township residents Sherri Stahnke and Cheri Coffman are among 70 suburban poll workers who were selected for special recognition by Cook County Clerk David Orr as top election judges in the county.
The honorees were feted at a luncheon and ceremony at the Cook County Administration Building in Chicago in September.
On campus
Isabelle Legan, of Riverside, has been awarded the Deans Leadership Scholarship from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa for the 2018-19 academic year.
Students at Riverside-Brookfield High School marked Homecoming 2018 by selecting the Homecoming Court, including the king and queen, last month.
At the homecoming pep assembly, William Briolat and Melissa Oliveira Liz were announced as king and queen. Other members of the court included Georgiana Gomorczak, Kori Hopek, Angela Murray, Abigail Regan, Patrick Hanley, Chris Mango, Josh Ranft and Conor Raymond.
Three local high school students were named recently to the 2018 Homecoming court at Nazareth Academy in LaGrange Park.
Riverside resident Gunnar Hendrix was named Senior Prince, Brookfield resident Gina Moran was named to the Junior Court and Riverside resident Michael Almeida was named to the Sophomore Court.
Jane Alm, of Riverside, was named to the 2018 spring semester dean’s list at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana for achieving at grade-point average of at least 3.5 on a 4-point scale.
