Local News

Mrs. Stolarek's Beecher Elementary School first grade students who recently wrote to Santa. –Photo submitted.

Santa Letters from Mrs. Stolarek’s BES First Graders

Recently, the first graders at Beecher Elementary took on a very special project and a most important one, too – the annual writing of letters to that jolly man at the North Pole. After reading some of the correspondence, we think you will agree it was a most important task. This week, The Vedette is…

VEDETTE SPORTS REPORT

By Jeff Vorva Old gym? New gym? It doesn’t seem to matter. The results are still the same. Beecher’s boys basketball team played in its old gym for a throwback game December 8 and came away with a lopsided 81-36 River Valley Conference win over Donovan. The Bobcats wore jerseys from 2012-13, and fans were…

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Beecher Community Library News

Call the library at 708-946-9090 for programs that require registration. The library’s Penfield Street parking lot entrance will be closed until spring, but the Maxwell Street entrance still is open. Turn north on Maxwell from Indiana Avenue to get to the library. The library will be closed on Saturday, December 23, for the Christmas holiday.…

Beecher Thinking About That Levy

By Jeff Vorva The Village of Beecher Board Members agreed to take a little more time before deciding what they will do about the 2024 tax levy. Finance and Administration Committee Chairman Todd Kraus said at the November 27 meeting they could make a decision that night or table it, but it needs to be…

Rural fire in Beecher engulfs structure. –Photo submitted.

Extensive Rural Fire Kills 4 Horses

At approximately 3:37 p.m. on Sunday, November 26, the Beecher Fire Protection District, along with automatic aid, responded to a structural fire at 1624 E. Eagle Lake Road. Due to reports of animals still inside the building, the alarm was escalated to the full still alarm level prior to arrival. The first suppression company arrived…

Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry is excited about the new Will County state-of-the-art election equipment that will be in place for the 2024 elections. –Photo submitted.

New State-of-the-Art Election Equipment Demonstration Planned

Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry is inviting the public to a demonstration of new state-of-the-art election equipment that will be used to cast and count ballots in next year’s Primary and Presidential Elections. County Clerk Staley Ferry and her team will conduct demonstrations of the new ballot counters, ADA-compliant ballot-marking devices, and poll books…

Former trooper seeks restoration of driving privileges nearly 16 years after fatal crash

Beecher Police Blotter: October 25 – November 26

Disclaimer: Charges against each defendant are merely accusations, with all defendants presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. October 25, Lemere Lindsey, 23, of the 150 block of Del Mar Lane, Aurora, was a passenger in a vehicle stopped at Dixie Highway and Indiana Avenue for having an expired registration. The driver…

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Beecher Community Library News

Call the library at 708-946-9090 for programs that require registration. The library’s Penfield Street parking lot entrance is closed until spring, but the Maxwell Street entrance still is open. Turn north on Maxwell from Indiana Avenue to get to the library. Youth Services A new December take-and-make craft is available! Pick up any time. December…

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Crete Country Christmas is Coming to Town This Weekend!

Organizers have so much in store for the community at the Crete Country Christmas, December 1 – 3, and hope you’ll join them to celebrate the season. It seems there’s something for everyone – young and old, including a Grinch 5K, Breakfast with the Grinch, Santa visits, a Cocoa and Cookie Crawl, Holiday House Walk,…

Visit the Hanukkah display at the Park Forest House Museum, through January 3. –Photo submitted.

‘Step Back into a 1950s Christmas and Hanukkah’

Plus 75th Anniversary of Park Forest exhibits at the 1950s Park Forest House Museum. The 1950s Park Forest House Museum, 227 Monee Road, Park Forest, in St. Mary’s Catholic Church, invites you to “Step Back into a 1950s Christmas and Hanukkah,” which will be open from November 29, through January 3. Also available to view…

Beecher library logo

Beecher Community Library News

Call the library at 708-946-9090 for programs that require registration. During the Penfield construction project, the library’s Penfield Street parking lot entrance will be closed, but the Maxwell Street entrance is still open. Turn north on Maxwell from Indiana Avenue to get to the library. Youth Services A new December take-and-make craft will be available…

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Beecher School Board Making Things Perfectly CLEAR

By Jeff Vorva The Beecher 200U school board made things perfectly CLEAR on Nov. 13. It is taking a pro-active approach to residency scofflaws and approved to enter the CLEAR Investigation Software program to catch those students who do not live in the district. CLEAR is a product from Thompson Reuters Legal Solutions and District…

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Area News

Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry is excited about the new Will County state-of-the-art election equipment that will be in place for the 2024 elections. –Photo submitted.

Will County Clerk Holds Lottery Determining Primary Top Candidate Ballot Spots

Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry held a lottery on Wednesday, December 13, to determine which candidates will appear in the top ballot position in certain races in the March 19, Primary Election. The lottery, held in the Will County Board Room, involved those candidates who filed petitions simultaneously at the start of the business…

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Rockett Sentenced to 12 Years in Fatal Girlfriend Shooting

Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced Ben Rockett, 71, of Joliet, was sentenced recently to 12 years in prison in the 2021 shooting death of Sonja Underwood. Rockett pled guilty to Armed Habitual Criminal (a class X felony) before Circuit Judge Carmen Goodman. On the evening of March 30, 2021, Rockett and girlfriend Underwood…

Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry is excited about the new Will County state-of-the-art election equipment that will be in place for the 2024 elections. –Photo submitted.

New State-of-the-Art Election Equipment Demonstration Planned

Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry is inviting the public to a demonstration of new state-of-the-art election equipment that will be used to cast and count ballots in next year’s Primary and Presidential Elections. County Clerk Staley Ferry and her team will conduct demonstrations of the new ballot counters, ADA-compliant ballot-marking devices, and poll books…

–Photo submitted.

Bertino-Tarrant Announces Re-election Campaign

Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant filed petitions with the Will County Clerk’s office this week, officially kicking-off her re-election campaign. Pledging to continue prioritizing public safety, balanced budgets, and an open and transparent government, Bertino-Tarrant points to her promises made and kept in her desire to seek a second term. “When I ran for county…

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Darrius Brown Convicted of Aggravated Domestic Battery for 2018 Attack

Brown previously convicted of aggravated domestic abuse of child’s mother, sentenced to eight years in prison. Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced Circuit Judge Carmen Goodman on Monday, November 20, found Darrius Brown, 42, of Plainfield, guilty of Aggravated Domestic Battery (a Class 2 felony), Aggravated Unlawful Restraint with a Deadly Weapon (a Class…

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JJC Becomes Statewide Leader in Dual Credit Enrollment

Joliet Junior College has established itself as a statewide leader in dual credit enrollment, *reporting a record 23.93 percent increase in dual credit enrollment hours compared to fall 2022. This is the first milestone since the October 2022 introduction of the 12x12x12 program, an aggressive dual-credit initiative envisioned by JJC President Dr. Clyne Namuo that…

Support the Francis Fund on Giving Tuesday, November 28. –Photo submitted.

Support USF’s ‘Francis Fund’ Giving Tuesday, November 28

If you ever wanted to support the pursuit of a higher education for students at the University of St. Francis (USF), you have the opportunity to do so on Tuesday, November 28, a day known globally as Giving Tuesday. Join fellow Saints worldwide as they come together to celebrate USF students and encourage giving to…

Will County Board Passes Budget After Last Minute Amendment

By Stephen Nelson Responding to a request from the Will County Public Defender’s Office, County Commissioners at their Thursday November 16, meeting were able to pass a budget for the next fiscal year beginning December 1.  Several persons who work in the Public Defender’s Office showed up complaining they were left out of budget discussions…

Representatives from more than 60 local governments and agencies attended a “Will County Public Information Officer Workshop” on best practices for emergency public communications. –Photo submitted.

Will County Hosts Workshop: Keeping Public Informed During Emergencies

The Office of Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant and the Will County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) hosted a county-wide workshop for local agencies on how to keep the public well-informed during emergencies. “This is the first time in several years the county has been able to host an event focused on providing best practices for…

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Winters Found Guilty of Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault, Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse

Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced that a jury recently found Vincent Winters, 58, of Joliet, guilty of three counts of Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault of a Child (a Class X felony) and three counts of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse (a Class 2 felony) of a five-year-old girl in 2017. The jury returned its…

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Talbot Sentenced to Six Years in Lockport Drug Induced Homicide

Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced that Steve Talbot, 36, of Joliet, has been sentenced to six years in prison for selling heroin and fentanyl to a 24-year-old woman, who died of an overdose in Lockport in 2016. Talbot pled guilty to one count of Drug Induced Homicide, a Class X felony, and was…

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Illinois Supreme Court Decision Rejects Bank’s Attempt to Obtain Refund from Joliet

Regarding property taxes on Evergreen Terrace Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow and Joliet Mayor Terry D’Arcy announced a landmark decision by the Illinois Supreme Court will save the City of Joliet from paying $6 million in back property taxes that had been sought by the former owner of the Evergreen Terrace property, which was…