The Daily Herald from Arlington Heights, Illinois • Page 205

APRIL 8, SODS DAILY HERALD SECTION) F3 Number of lilacs on display during Uhp.tkM. The annual Lombard festival runs from May 3 to May 18. The 8.5-acfe horticultural display includes 200 varieties of lilacs, as well as 25,000 yips in SO varieties, fombamp8rks.org Today's quote People don't care if the county owns an intersection or the city owns an intersection. They care about getting through it." Bffl Wyatt, Kane County board member and an Aurora Republican, on how (lie county can work with local governments to get projects done PHOTOS BY RICK POINTED POETRY Above, Elgin Community College sophomore Russ Devereaux delivers his poem at ECC's sixth annual poetry slam Wednesday at the school. Top, St.

Charles North senior Shelby Harris takes her turn at the mic and received a perfect score from the judges. Students from several local high schools and ECC participated. County collecting more child support BY ADAM KOVAC com More than $14 million in child-support payments were collected in 2007 in Kane County, about a $1 million increase from a year earlier, prosecutors said this week. The state's attorney's child- support division also boasted a 97 percent success rate among the 1,832 hearings it oversaw, according to annual statistics released by the office. Prosecutors attribute the increase in child-support collections to a growing Kane County, which has seen its court system affected by the increase in population, said Clint Hull, the county's first assistant state's attorney.

"Each year we get busier and busier there's more bodies in Kane County," Hull said. "So there's more crime being committed. There's more mothers that need child support collected." The child-support division is responsible for enforcing child-support orders primarily for Healthcare and Family Services in Illinois. According to the agency, Kane County has about 11,176 administrative or open court child-support cases and has referred 7,619 cases to prosecutors for enforcement. Fox Valley in 60 seconds Bridge closure In Batavia: The Wilson Street bridge in Batavia will be closed from 7 a.m.

today to 3 p.m. Friday for additional deck work, A 16-day closure will likely start April 14. Lincoln fundraiser Saturday: Lincoln Elementary School in St. Charles will have its 15th annual Clothing and Toy Resale fundraiser from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday at the school, 211 S. Sixth Ave. Admission is free. Sale items include gently used adult and children's clothing, toys, books, videos and baby equipment. There also will be a bake sale.

All proceeds go to the Lincoln Parent- Teacher Organization. Item donations still are being accepted. For more information, call (630) 587-2687 or (630) 513-5902. Raveling museum: Meet live creatures and animal specimens from the Midwest Museum of Natural History from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday at the National Bank and Trust Elburn branch as part of the bank's grand-opening festivities. The bank is at 930 N. Majn St. There will also be a drawing for tickets to see Local deaths St. Charles Richard "Dick" Fair, 56, of Batavia RolandA.Langlais,56,of St.

Charles For full obituaries, see Business. TV personality and naturalist Jeff Corwin at the museum May 17, and for tickets to Chicago-area parks and zoos. The museum in Sycamore has a display of more than 200 animal specimens from North America and Africa. Call (630) 365-3336. Cops warn of GPS St.

Charles police are asking owners of global positioning systems to keep the valuable items out of plain view while their vehicles are unattended. 'Between March 23 and March 28, police received five reports of stolen GPS units in parking lots across the city. In all of the incidents, units mounted on a dashboard or in plain view were targeted, with burglars gain- ing access by smashing a vehicle window. Police suggest placing GPS units and other valuable items in a glove box or console when a vehicle will be unattended. Little Acorns day April 17: The Kane County Forest Preserve District will have its monthly Little Acorns program for 4- and 5-year-olds April 17atTekakwithaWoods in St.

Charles Township. The event includes stories, hikes, songs, games and crafts. Admission is $5 per child. Participants should register in advance by calling (847) 741-8350, ext. 10.

The park is located at 35W076 Villa Marie Road, just off Route 25, one mile north of ArmyTrail Road. For details, visit the Web at www.kaneforest.com. Preserve help sought: The Kane County Forest Preserve District seeks volunteers for park workdays scheduled throughout April. Opportunities are available in Aurora, Batavia, Big Rock, Elburn, Elgin, Geneva, St. Charles and Sugar Grove.

For a detailed list of workdays, go to the Web site at www.kaneforest.com or call (630) 762-2741. Oak Street work will force North Aurora days to relocate BY JOHN JOHNSTON Daily Herald Correspondent Questions and concerns about an upcoming road project in North Aurora brought a large crowd to village hall in North Aurora Wednesday as residents had a chance to figure out how the upcoming Oak Street rebuild will affect them. The $3 million project will begin April 14, temporarily converting a busy two-way street to a one-way westbound between Route 31 to Randall Road, senior project manager for engineering consultant Rempe-Sharp, Jim Sparber said. The project will replace the north side of the street first then move to the south side. It may also include a short break in utility services for some res- idents.

Notice will be given at least 24 hours before any break in service, said Mike Clock, public works superintendent. Jackie Herwig, the secretary to the principal at Goodwin Elementary and wife of Trustee Max Herwig, said the project has the potential to increase tardiness and headaches for parents driving their children to school. She also had concerns that children would be close to a construction zone. The village allows construction between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

on every day except Sundays, which would mean the work would be under way while students are walking to school. Clock said the crossing guards will still be present and the construction crews would keep a sharp eye on the site to ensure children do not wander too close. He said children walked near a project to replace the water mains on Oak last year without an incident. Trustees Max Herwig and Mike Herlihy said the project will also move North Aurora Days away from the Clock- tower Plaza at the southeast corner of Oak Street and Randall Road. Herwig said the probable site would be the 4-acre lot the village owns at the corner of Airport Road and Route 31.

He said the site, which is the future home of the police station, will be twice the size of the old one and offer the village some flexibility on events. However, the village is still talking to the owners of neighboring properties about parking, he said. S. Elgin High hires new assistant principal BY KERRY LESTER A South Elgin elementary school principal has been named assistant principal at South Elgin High School, Elgin Area School District U-46 officials said Wednesday. Jon Tuin now is principal at Willard Elementary School, a position he has held since 2002.

Tuin started his teaching career in U-46 in 1985 before moving to Berlin, Germany in 1990. He returned to teaching in U-46 in 1995. Tuin holds a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Loyola University, a master's degree in education and counseling from Northern Illinois University, and a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Wheaton Col- lege. He was named the Kane County Administrator of the Year in 2007. "Jon brings a wealth of knowledge to our team, a passion for educating every student and extraordinary leadership qualities that will be a perfect fit to help guide us to our future levels of success," said Melanie Meidel, incoming principal at South Elgin High, in a news release.

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