Strong Winds Forecasted

Strong winds are forecasted to blow through our service area today. Please call 1-800-EDISON-1 to report downed power lines immediately. #ComEdSafety

Sauk Village Police Department Report - March 22, 2016

Sauk Village Police Department

By: Police Chief Robert Kowalski

Board Meeting Report 03/22/2016

 

-Police Service Case Summary:  During the period of 03/08/2016 thru 03/22/2016 the Sauk Village Police Department had a total of 20 arrests.  Of the arrests reported 6 were felony arrests and 14 were misdemeanor arrests.   

-CalCom Report: For a period between 03/08/2016 and 03/22/2016 the police department received 511 calls for service.

-Cases of Note:  

On 03/15/2016 the Sauk Village and Dolton Police Departments respectfully received clarification from the Cook County States Attorney's Office that no additional charges will be filed on the passenger involved with the Dolton carjacking.  Therefore this will not be classified as a homicide.
On 3/14/2016 Officers were dispatched to a domestic disturbance on the 800 block of Mary Byrne Drive.  They learned that a juvenile/victim got into an argument with her aunt who was living at the residence.  The aunt/offender became angry with her niece and grabbed a knife to stab her.  The victim grabbed the knife and received severe lacerations to both of her hands.  An ambulance was called to address the victim's wounds.  The offender was taken into custody and was charged with felony aggravated battery.    

On 03/16/16 Detectives conducted a follow up investigation reference an incident that took place on 3/15/16 in the 2000 block of 218th St. The initial incident was a large street disturbance between the resident at 2042 218th St. and 2036 218th St. Officers remained in the area to suppress additional fights from breaking out.  CalCom then received a 911 call stating there was another large fight in the area of 224th St. and Brookwood Ave.  The caller stated there were over 20 people involved with sticks, bats, and tasers.  Several Officers left the 2000 block of 218th St. to the disturbance call only to find there was no disturbance. A brief canvass of the area revealed that there had not been a disturbance and the call was ploy in an attempt to get officers out of the area (on 218th St). Working with Sprint the cell number  as a resident of Sauk Village as being the person who call in the disturbance.  A copy of the 911 call was placed in evidence. The subject was brought into the station and admitted to making the call knowing there was no fight.  The subject was charged with one count of Disorderly Conduct and one count of False Police Report.

 On 03/19/2016 officers responded to a battery on the 2600 blk of Sauk Trail. Officers learned the offender fled the scene upon their arrival. The victim explained she was sitting in her car talking to a friend when the offender approached her and punched her several times in the face through the window.  In self-defense the victim pulled out a pocket knife and stabbed the offender in the arm.  The friend of the victim pulled the victim away from the stabbed offender who then fled from the scene.  Officers were able to stop the offender vehicle and had her transported to the hospital for treatment then transported her to the station and charged her with battery.

-Crime Free Housing: On March 11, 2016, we hosted an informal "Meet and Greet" for the South Suburban Police Departments as requested and coordinated by William H. Townsell, Assistant Director Community Policing, Office, Chicago Police Department.  Assistant Director Townsell coordinates these meeting as an introduction to many services available to the law enforcement agency use throughout the Cook County are.  The different law enforcement agencies in attendance were Lansing PD, Phoenix PD, Calumet City PD, Calumet Park PD, Dolton PD, Hazelcrest PD and Sauk Village.  Some of the groups in attendance who gave presentations were Housing Authority of Cook County, U.S. Bank, Cook County Forest Preserves Community Engagement Specialist, National Runaway Safeline and the Community Investment Corporation.  

-Training: I have two Officers enrolled in the Truck Enforcement class being held by the North East Multi Regional Training (NEMERT) group.

-IPRF: Met with the Illinois Public Risk Fund, (IPRF) Loss Control Consultant who provided information on their commitment to loss control and safety.

End Report.

 

This Day In History - March 31st

1776

Abigail Adams Asks Husband to “Remember the Ladies”

On this day in 1776, future first lady Abigail Adams writes to her husband urging him to “remember the ladies” when drafting a new “code of laws” for the fledgling nation.

While John Adams participated in the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Abigail remained at their home in Braintree, Massachusetts, managing their daily affairs in his absence. At the same time that Adams was preparing to publish his “Thoughts on Government” essay, which outlined proposed political philosophy and structures for the new nation, Abigail pondered if and how the rights of women would be addressed in an American constitution.

A prolific letter writer, Abigail never hesitated to debate her husband on political matters. She begged Adams to draft laws that were “more generous and favorable” to women than his predecessors had. She half-jokingly claimed that “all men would be tyrants if they could” and pointed out the glaring hypocrisy of male Patriots fighting against British tyranny if they should disregard the rights of half the population when drafting a constitution. Abigail warned “if particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice, or Representation.”

Adams responded to his wife’s letter, by teasing her in return and declaring that men were not really the “masters” of women but were “subject to the despotism of the petticoat.” However, like their predecessors, Adams and his contemporaries failed to make codifying women’s rights a priority. It was not until 1919 that Congress amended the Constitution to grant women the right to vote.

 

Village Administrator / Public Safety Director Report

Village Administrator / Public Safety Director Report

By: JW Fairman

March 22, 2016

 

Vacant Housing:

• The Village’s master vacant list (as of March 22nd) shows 444  vacant homes:
  • Vacant -  394 houses
  • Vacant/Occupied - 42 houses (down from 88 in January)
  • Demo list -  8 houses    

 

• The Master Vacant list is evolving to include the following information:
  • Vacancies
  • Property without occupancy permits or water accounts
  • Vacant Businesses
  • Vacant lots
  • Demo list
  • Active accounts owing more than $1000
  • Terminated accounts owing more than $1000
  • Property Managers
  • Public Work locations of Digs, Jets, B-Box locations that can’t be gotten to, located or turned on.
  • Section 8 housing, for rent locations, for sale locations

 

• Blueprint Project Vacant Housing Taskforce
  • A Vacant housing taskforce Chaired by Chief Kowalski and comprised of SV Officers and Village residents is being structured to apprise and correct the effects of vacant property in terms of community safety. Chief Kowalski will expound on the taskforce in his report.

 

Scavenger Contract Update:

• Staff met with the Village’s scavenger service on March 10^th to determine the number of collection points, adjust past billing as it relates to vacancies and work out other collection related matters. The current billing rate is $33.50 bi-monthly. Staff will make a report to the Board base on the outcome of meetings with the Vender.

 

Water Accounts

• Through Staff efforts the Village has collected $29,000 YTD more this year than the same period a year ago. (This equates to a 2016 projection of approximately $120,000 in additional water revenues.)
• 28 Water Liens (of Terminated Accounts of more than $1000) will be filed at Markham Courthouse by the end of the Month

NOTE 1: Residents or Owners of property who turn on water (at the B-box) after Public Works have shut it off will be subject to arrest for a misdemeanor “Theft of Services”.

NOTE 2: It should be noted that more than 75% of the Village’s occupied residential homes pay their water/sewer/utility bills on time and without complaint. 10% of the remaining 25% have a valid reason as to why their payments are in arrears and are given consideration by staff. The remaining 15% cost the Village tens of Thousands annually.

 

Ordinance/Resolutions/ Amendments:

 (Looking for Board Sponsors)

• THAT: Village Police Tow penalties be set aside by ordinance in a dedicated fund for Police vehicle purchases or related costs.
• THAT:   Vehicles found on property identified by the Village as Vacant be stickered, ticketed and towed by the SVPD within 48 hours. (Key component of Housing Taskforce)
• THAT:  “After Hours Turn on Fee” be increased to $250, “Before Hours Turn on Fee” be increased to $200. These figures are consistent with most municipal fees of this type (most turn on fees are paid by rehabbers or individuals that were identified in the 15% of arrear accounts that had no valid reason for non-payment).
• THAT: the Board approves a Staff request not to exceed $15,000 to update the “Civic” computer system on all financial components of the Village. (Mohan will detail this information if asked) Updating this component of the Village will give Staff greater effectiveness and efficiency in identifying and handling all financial information - in due course this upgrade will pay for itself.

 

Miscellaneous:

Looking for Board Direction:

• What does the Board wants to do with arrear accounts that belong to individuals who are employed by the Village or hold appointed Village positions.
• Owens Group has completed updating the Employees’ Handbook and will meeting with me Thursday to review the material.
• Staff is asking that the Board approve an amount of not more than $7000 annually from the annual IPRF (Illinois Public Risk Fund) grant to update SVPD general orders and policy and procedures per IL. Statues.
• Staff is currently reviewing employee insurance coverage and interviewing insurance groups to assure that Sauk Village is receiving the best coverage at a competitive cost. Staff will make a proposal to the Board prior to the Village’s annual budget.

Budget:

The 2015/16 annual budget is ready to present to the Finance Committee and Staff is seeking meeting dates.

This Day In History - March 30th

1981

President Reagan Is Shot

On this day in1981, President Ronald Reagan is shot while leaving the Washington Union Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Reagan’s assailant, later identified as 25-year-old John Hinckley Jr., approached the president as he left the hotel after speaking to a union convention, and fired five to six shots from a .22 caliber gun in his direction. The president later recalled in his autobiography that the shots sounded like firecrackers. He turned to the agent next to him and said what the hell is that? One bullet hit Reagan in the chest. Immediately the Secret Service pulled Reagan into a waiting limousine and sped to George Washington University Hospital, where he walked into the emergency room on his own. White House Press Secretary James Brady, a policeman and a Secret Service agent were also injured in the shooting. Each man survived, but Brady sustained severe head injuries that caused permanent disability.

First lady Nancy Reagan arrived at the hospital soon after the shooting and sat by the president’s side as he recovered. Reagan was released from the hospital less than two weeks later and quickly returned to his presidential duties.

Reagan recalled the day of the assassination attempt in great detail in his autobiography. He remembered lying on a gurney in the emergency room while medical personnel, much to his disappointment, cut away his brand new pin-striped suit. As he started to lose consciousness, he felt a woman’s hand in his. He did not know if it was Nancy or a nurse and in typical Reagan fashion—always ready with a joke—he asked, Who is holding my hand? Does Nancy know about us?

In the years after the shooting, Reagan also recalled an ominous and prophetic visit he had made before the attempt on his life to the same theater in which Abraham Lincoln had been shot. While at the theater Reagan had mused that although presidential security had greatly improved since Lincoln’s time, it was still possible for someone who had enough determination to get close enough to a president to shoot him.

The assailant Hinckley, who acted alone, confessed a bizarre reason for the shooting–Hinckley was obsessed with the actress Jodie Foster and claimed he shot the president in order to impress her. Hinckley was arrested, judged not guilty by reason of insanity and placed in a mental hospital, where he remains today.

Sauk Village Homeland Security (ESDA) Report - March 22, 2016

Sauk Village Homeland Security (ESDA) Report - March 8, 2016

Over the past 2 weeks, the Department of Homeland Security (ESDA) responded to 27 calls.

The Department responded to:

• 7 - Fire alarms
• 4 - Vehicle accidents
• 2 - Smoke investigations
• 1 - CO alarm
• 8 - School patrols
• 1 - Transformer fire
• 1 - Structure fire
• 2 - Assist other agency
• 1 - Brush fire.

This Day In History - March 29th

1790

John Tyler is born

On this day in 1790, future President John Tyler is born in Charles City County, Virginia. Tyler was the last president to hail from the colonial Virginia planter class that also produced George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe. Through influential family ties, Tyler gained a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1811, and then went on to serve in the army during the War of 1812 and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1816 to 1821.

Tyler was elected as William Harrison’s vice president in 1841 and was suddenly thrust into the role of acting president when Harrison died one month into office. (Tyler was often referred to as His Accidency.) He was the first vice president to immediately assume the role of president after a sitting president’s untimely exit and set the precedent for succession thereafter.

Tyler’s planter background made him a natural proponent of states’ rights and the perpetuation of slavery, and, as such, a threat to his own political party. When Tyler vetoed his fellow Whigs’ attempt to reestablish the National Bank, most of his cabinet resigned and he was thrown out of the Whig Party. He also alienated the Democrats by denouncing the policies of former President Andrew Jackson, a popular Democrat. As a result, Tyler was a president without a party who received death threats from both sides and earned the enmity of Congress. His four years in office were contentious, although he is credited with settling American and Canadian border disputes with Britain and beginning the annexation of Texas.

Though politically despised, Tyler was a devoted husband and father. He holds the record for the most children sired (legitimately, at least) by a president. Tyler fathered 15 children: eight with his first wife, Letitia (who died early into his presidency) and 7 with his second wife, Julia, who was 30 years his junior. He was 70 years old when his last child was born. The extended nature of his family and his penchant for overspending left Tyler perpetually in debt.

After his tenure as president, Tyler tried to broker a Peace Convention between the north and south on the eve of the Civil War, but failed to reach an agreement with Abraham Lincoln on key issues. Denounced as a traitor by the North, Tyler fell in line with southern secessionists and in 1861 was elected to the Confederate House of Representatives. Tyler died on January 16, 1862, in Richmond, Virginia, a few days before the first meeting of the Confederate Congress.

 

1929

Herbert Hoover has telephone installed in Oval Office

On this day in 1929, President Herbert Hoover has a phone installed at his desk in the Oval Office of the White House. It took a while to get the line to Hoover’s desk working correctly and the president complained to aides when his son was unable to get through on the Oval Office phone from an outside line. Previously, Hoover had used a phone located in the foyer just outside the office. Telephones and a telephone switchboard had been in use at the White House since 1878, when President Rutherford B. Hayes had the first one installed, but no phone had ever been installed at the president’s desk until Hoover’s administration.

Sauk Village Senior Committee Report - March 22, 2016

Sauk Village Senior Committee Report

March 22, 2016

The 8^th Annual Chili Cook-off was a huge success with 15 chefs competing.  Judges (Southland Voice Barb Dorman, Mayor David Hanks, Kathy Tustison, VC Debbie Williams and Trustee Rosie Williams) had a very, very difficult time choosing the winners.   Congratulations to the winners - 1^st place GiGi Austin (1^st last year), 2^nd place Rose Ketcham (3^rd last year) and 3^rd place first lady Linda Hanks.  Also to 50/50 winner Rose Langston.  Many thanks to all the volunteers, participants and committee members.

Senior Committee Open Senior Activity is this Friday and every Friday 12:30-3:30 p.m. with Steve Shymkus and Frank Williams.

The SV Blue Grass will not meet Easter Sunday, March 27.

Monday, April 11 at 11:30 a.m., Bloom Township Trustee Kevin Watson will speak on various services offered by the township.  BP screening and lunch will follow with movie ‘Private Benjamin’ at 12:30 p.m. at the McConathy Public Library.  This event is co-sponsored with McConathy Library at the library.  Reservation required for the luncheon, call (708)757-4771.

Bloom Township Senior Department have many trips scheduled: April 21-22 Mysique Casino & Galena; May 26 Majestic Star Casino; and September 25 – October 1 Myrtle Beach Show trip and Charleston, S.C.      The township tax preparation appointments are filled.   Next and last (for the season) township community luncheon Friday, April 15 ‘Spring Break’ tickets are now on sale.  For additional information call the Senior Department (708) 754-9400.

This Day In History - March 28th

1834

Congress Censures Jackson

On this day in 1834, President Andrew Jackson is censured by Congress for refusing to turn over documents. Jackson was the first president to suffer this formal disapproval from Congress.

During his first term, Jackson decided to dismantle the Bank of the United States and find a friendlier source of funds for his western expansion plans. Jackson, who embodied the popular image of the Wild West frontiersman, claimed that the bank had too many foreign investors, favored the rich over the poor and resisted lending funds to develop commercial interests in America’s Western territories.


When the Senate passed legislation in 1831 to renew the bank’s charter, Jackson promptly vetoed it. An 1831 meeting with his cabinet generated classified documents regarding Jackson’s veto of the bank legislation. Soon after, Congress overruled Jackson’s veto.

One of the key issues in the election of 1832, between Jackson, a Democrat, and Whig (Republican) Henry Clay, was the bank’s survival. Jackson easily won reelection, but Clay’s Whigs took control of the Senate. Jackson renewed his attack on the bank early in his second term, appointing a new treasury secretary whom he ordered to dismantle the bank and distribute all federal funds to individual state banks until a new federal bank could be organized.


The Senate, with Clay at its helm, fought Jackson’s attempts to destroy the bank, passing a resolution demanding to see his cabinet’s papers regarding the veto of 1831. When Jackson refused to release the documents, Clay retaliated by introducing a resolution to censure the president.

Congress debated the proposed censure for 10 weeks. Jackson protested, saying that since the Constitution did not provide any guidance regarding censure of a president, the resolution to censure him was therefore unconstitutional. Congress ignored him, slapping him on March 28 with what amounted to an official public scolding for assuming authority and power not conferred by the Constitution.

The largely symbolic censure failed to stop Jackson from revamping the federal banking system. Democrats regained the majority in the Senate in 1837 and had Jackson’s censure expunged from the record. Still, Jackson did take the reprimand personally–a biographer later wrote that, when Jackson retired from the presidency, the only regret he expressed was not being able to shoot Henry Clay.

Sauk Village Church of God Annual Easter Egg Hunt Extravaganza!!!

Sauk Village Church of God Annual Easter Egg Hunt Extravaganza!!! Saturday, March 26, 2016 1pm - 3pm

20,000 eggs filled with candy, small toy, or money!!!

100 Easter Baskets to be given away

Name drawing for 5 girl and 5 boy bikes

Free food

This is always a great time for the kids, don't make them miss it!!!!

Sauk Village Church of God
23001 Torrence Avenue...
Sauk Village, IL

Any questions, please call 708-758-9300

Easter Morning Son-Rise Service - Sunday, March 27, 2016

Sauk Village Beautification Committee Report - March 22, 2016

Sauk Village Beautification Committee Report

By: Chair Linda Todd

The Beautification Committee will be hosting the Annual Community Clean Sweep May 21, 2016 from 9:30am-1:00pm behind the Village.  

 
As part of our fundraising effort we will be holding a Community Flea Market/Craft show June 4, 2016 from 9:00am-3:00pm at the Edward Paesel Community Center behind the Police Dept.  We will be putting flyers out shortly with all the details.

We are always looking for new committee members as well as volunteers, if interested please leave your information at the front desk of the Village Hall or email us at svbeautification@saukvillage.org.

This ends my report

Beautification Chair Linda Todd

This Day In History - March 26th

1979

Israel-Egyptian Peace Agreement Signed

In a ceremony at the White House, Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin sign a historic peace agreement, ending three decades of hostilities between Egypt and Israel and establishing diplomatic and commercial ties.

Less than two years earlier, in an unprecedented move for an Arab leader, Sadat traveled to Jerusalem, Israel, to seek a permanent peace settlement with Egypt’s Jewish neighbor after decades of conflict. Sadat’s visit, in which he met with Begin and spoke before Israel’s parliament, was met with outrage in most of the Arab world. Despite criticism from Egypt’s regional allies, Sadat continued to pursue peace with Begin, and in September 1978 the two leaders met again in the United States, where they negotiated an agreement with U.S. President Jimmy Carter at Camp David, Maryland. The Camp David Accords, the first peace agreement between the state of Israel and one of its Arab neighbors, laid the groundwork for diplomatic and commercial relations. Seven months later, a formal peace treaty was signed.

For their achievement, Sadat and Begin were jointly awarded the 1978 Nobel Prize for Peace. Sadat’s peace efforts were not so highly acclaimed in the Arab world–Egypt was suspended from the Arab League, and on October 6, 1981, Muslim extremists assassinated Sadat in Cairo. Nevertheless, the peace process continued without Sadat, and in 1982 Egypt formally established diplomatic relations with Israel.

Sauk Village Fire Department Report - March 22, 2016

Sauk Village Fire Department Report

By; Fire Chief Al Stoffregen


March 22, 2016

Over the past 2 weeks, the fire department responded to 26 calls.

The Fire Department responded to:

• 4 - Vehicle accidents
• 4 - Fire alarms
• 8 - Medical assist
• 2 - CO alarms
• 2 - Smoke investigations
• 3 - Assist other agency
• 1 - Brush fire
• 1 - Structure fire
• 1 - Rekindle of the structure fire.

 

This Day In History - March 25th

1774

Parliament Passes The Boston Port Act

On this day in 1774, British Parliament passes the Boston Port Act, closing the port of Boston and demanding that the city’s residents pay for the nearly $1 million worth (in today’s money) of tea dumped into Boston Harbor during the Boston Tea Party of December 16, 1773.

The Boston Port Act was the first and easiest to enforce of four acts that together were known as the Coercive Acts. The other three were a new Quartering Act, the Administration of Justice Act and the Massachusetts Government Act.

As part of the Crown’s attempt to intimidate Boston’s increasingly unruly residents, King George III appointed General Thomas Gage, who commanded the British army in North America, as the new governor of Massachusetts. Gage became governor in May 1774, before the Massachusetts Government Act revoked the colony’s 1691 charter and curtailed the powers of the traditional town meeting and colonial council. These moves made it clear to Bostonians that the crown intended to impose martial law.

In June, Gage easily sealed the ports of Boston and Charlestown using the formidable British navy, leaving merchants terrified of impending economic disaster. Many merchants wanted to simply pay for the tea and disband the Boston Committee of Correspondence, which had served to organize anti-British protests. The merchants’ attempt at convincing their neighbors to assuage the British failed. A town meeting called to discuss the matter voted them down by a substantial margin.

Parliament hoped that the Coercive Acts would isolate Boston from Massachusetts, Massachusetts from New England and New England from the rest of North America, preventing unified colonial resistance to the British. Their effort backfired. Rather than abandon Boston, the colonial population shipped much-needed supplies to Boston and formed extra-legal Provincial Congresses to mobilize resistance to the crown. By the time Gage attempted to enforce the Massachusetts Government Act, his authority had eroded beyond repair.

 

This Day In History - March 27th

1775

Jefferson elected to the Continental Congress

Future President Thomas Jefferson is elected to the second Continental Congress on this day in 1775. Jefferson, a Virginia delegate, quickly established himself in the Continental Congress with the publication of his paper entitled A Summary View of the Rights of British America. Throughout the next year, Jefferson published several more papers, most notably Drafts and Notes on the Virginia Constitution.

In June 1776, Congress put together a committee to draft the Declaration of Independence. After much discussion, the committee chose Jefferson to compose the document. At just 33 years old, Jefferson finished writing his draft of what is considered the most important document in the history of democracy in just a few days. After a few minor changes, the committee submitted the draft, titled A Declaration by the Representatives in General Congress Assembled, to Congress on June 28, 1776. After some debate, the document was formally adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776, under the new title, The Declaration of Independence.

In the following years, Jefferson drafted other historical documents including, in 1777, a bill establishing religious freedom that was formally enacted by Congress in 1786. He served as Virginia’s governor from 1779 to 1781, minister to France from 1784 to 1789 and the first U.S. secretary of state under President George Washington from 1790 to 1793.

Jefferson served as vice president under President John Adams from 1797 to 1801 and afterwards was elected the third president of the United States, a position he held for two terms from 1801 to 1809. After his presidency ended, Jefferson retired from public life to his home, Monticello, in Virginia. Jefferson died on July 4, 1826–50 years to the day after the signing of The Declaration of Independence. He was 83 years old.

Sauk Village Administrative Services Report - March 22, 2016

Board Meeting Report for March 22, 2016 

By: Director Sherry Jasinski

 

• 30 New Water service in the month of February
• 235 On the current shut off list as of March 16 south side = $105,146.77
• 51 squatters living in homes without service has been reduces to 41 for a two week period
• Tickets for the month of January through March 22, 2016 are as follows:
• Failure to abate Nuisance- 26
• Failure to maintain Property-4
• Garbage Service-13
• Inoperable auto -23
• No Occupancy – 48
• No Parking on garbage day-107
• Parking Commercial vehicles in residential- 5
• Parking on Non hard surface-9
• Property Maintenance - 4
• Snow Parking- 30
• Water Service Required – 95

Business License renewal letters went out on March 18, 2016 for the new license period

On April 11, 2016 the renewal letters for the Contractor Licenses will be going out

This concludes my report

 

This Day In History - March 24th

1989

Exxon Valdez Runs Aground

One of the worst oil spills in U.S. territory begins when the supertanker Exxon Valdez, owned and operated by the Exxon Corporation, runs aground on a reef in Prince William Sound in southern Alaska. An estimated 11 million gallons of oil eventually spilled into the water. Attempts to contain the massive spill were unsuccessful, and wind and currents spread the oil more than 100 miles from its source, eventually polluting more than 700 miles of coastline. Hundreds of thousands of birds and animals were adversely affected by the environmental disaster.

It was later revealed that Joseph Hazelwood, the captain of the Valdez, was drinking at the time of the accident and allowed an uncertified officer to steer the massive vessel. In March 1990, Hazelwood was convicted of misdemeanor negligence, fined $50,000, and ordered to perform 1,000 hours of community service. In July 1992, an Alaska court overturned Hazelwood’s conviction, citing a federal statute that grants freedom from prosecution to those who report an oil spill.

Exxon itself was condemned by the National Transportation Safety Board and in early 1991 agreed under pressure from environmental groups to pay a penalty of $100 million and provide $1 billion over a 10-year period for the cost of the cleanup. However, later in the year, both Alaska and Exxon rejected the agreement, and in October 1991 the oil giant settled the matter by paying $25 million, less than 4 percent of the cleanup aid promised by Exxon earlier that year.

 

Village Clerk Report - March 22, 2016

Village Clerk Report

By: Village Clerk Debbie Williams

March 22, 2016

There is no village board meeting next week (March 29^th) because it is the fifth Tuesday of the month.

The Free rain barrel program will begin again in April. We will be calling to resolve older issues first and then begin to take new orders.

As previously reported the website committee is in the process of reviewing the website for future updates. We are asking all elected officials, department heads and committee chairs to review their information. If information is outdated or not on the website at all it is because it was never received by the committee or is currently in the update process.

ELECTED OFFICIALS-If you are not included on the website it is because we have not received a picture and bio from you. We are asking all elected officials to provide updated information.

DEPARTMENT HEADS- Please submit current information on your department including names of staff and positions, useful links that pertain to your department, pictures of equipment and services performed if available.

COMMITTEE CHAIRS-Please submit all information pertaining to your committee including meeting dates and times, committee members, pictures from events, mission statements and flyers for upcoming events.

Check out the latest What’s Happening in Sauk Village for updates on the Easter Egg Hunts scheduled for this weekend. Sauk Village Church of God is scheduled from 1pm-3pm. We are looking forward to giving away 20,000 eggs, 100 baskets and 10 bikes.

Finally, Trustee Myers, my husband Frank and I were honored to attend a service for Park Forest Officer Tim Jones yesterday. The last word was that Officer Jones remains in critical but stable condition. The notice was sent late in the day and the church was packed. The outpouring of support for Officer Jones and his family was incredible.  Blue ribbons from the service were hung from poles at the Village Hall, Police Department and Fire Department to show our love and support for Officer Jones and all first responders.

Prayers to all beginning with the dispatchers who take the first call to the Police, Fire, ESDA and ambulance personnel who run into the danger as we run away from it.

That concludes my report.