Chicago Tribune du lieu suivant : Chicago, Illinois • 133

MAY 1,2002 WEDNESDAY TRIBWEST DN SECTION 2 CHICAGO TRIBUNE 3 LISLE, NAPERVILLE AND EAST AURORA i ii i .1 in mini i in. i. iiiiii i 1 1 I ,1 I 3 fir I n. i' -j i-i T- mjjj Flora the Flower Fairy plays with Ellie Girgis (in pink), 5, Rachel Perelnan (left), 6, and Samantha Hochstetler, 5, on Arbor Day. Theater hike is a natural for Arbor Day Photos for the Tribune by Michael Walker Tyler Sharkey, 5, and Madison Sharkey, 3, inspect a tree at The Plant, a "tree factory" set up at Morton Arboretum in Lisle.

Arboretum puts tree lessons to music, on display By Denise Linke Special to the Tribune It took a long time to hike from Morton Arboretum's visitors center to the clearing where preschoolers and their parents watched a musical biography of pioneer arborist John Chapman. "This makes me tired," sighed Alan Morrow, 3, of Aurora, long before the half-mile journey ended last week. Halfway into the show, spectators sprawled on the grass agreed that "Hiking With Johnny Appleseed" was well worth the walk. Even Alan's tired toes were tapping to the swinging Broadway-style tunes the costumed cast presented before leading their audience over the rise to the next act. "This is fantastic," exclaimed Lombard resident Heidi Schmuldt, who brought her children Peter, 3, and Leslie, 4, to the event.

"It gives us a nice opportunity to be out in nature and enjoy live theater." "I liked the part where Johnny put the pot on his head," Les lie said with a giggle. "He really looked funny." Families that missed the three theater hikes last weekend still found plenty to do at the arboretum's celebration of Arbor Day. Plant sales raised funds for the non-profit tree preserve and gave area gardeners a chance to pick up exotic blooms and shrubs. On Friday arboretum officials marked the holiday by planting several trees on the grounds. Kids probably had the most fun at The Plant, a tented "tree factory" that showed young "assembly workers" every part of a tree, from the roots to the leaf tips and how they all work together.

Each child entered the exhibit by punching a time card and donning a plastic hard hat. The children then worked their way through several job stations representing different tree functions, with a craft or activity waiting at each station. "I liked crawling through the root. That was neat," Kish Isra-ni, 6, of Naperville said. Other stations let kids stack tree trunk blocks, sort seeds and decorate paper bags with leaf shapes in green paint "chlorophyll." "We're trying to get them to learn without realizing they're learning," visitors program co ordinator Linda Johnston said.

"Treating a tree like a factory in which each part has a specific job to do, is a good way to introduce very young children to the parts of a tree and how they come together to make the entire tree grow." More than 500 children visited The Plant on Friday morning, she said. The highlight of each "shift" at The Plant was the planting station, where each child received a small pot, topsoil to fill it with and a black hills spruce seedling to plant in it. Children took their seedlings home to put in their yards. "Putting in the dirt was the most fun," Rhianna Israni, 4, said. "I don't get to play in the dirt at home much." After planting their seedlings, children clocked out, then took their time cards to the "foreman" to collect their pay: garden seeds and a leaflet about trees.

Most of them were as thrilled as any adult on payday. "We come here every year," said Lisle resident Debbie Gra-nat as her daughter, Kiley, settled accounts with the foreman. "It's really neat that children can come and learn about plants by making things. Our tree from last year is doing really well in our yard, and it's been fun for Kiley to watch it grow." Naperville venue goes over with fans, Fire at pro debut The atmosphere is great. The players came out here Friday and they were excited.

This place is going to rock even more when we get additional seats in Fire General Manager Peter Wilt -t" i K- "''r pi- 1 I I i i i it iti i I ii tlmmi iiMwaaif ii Iiiiii mmmmmmtaumm'TtwRmtiAtmniamimmm ir By Jack McCarthy Special to the Tribune Tyler Meek had what were arguably the best seats in the house Saturday. The Neuqua Valley High School freshman and two friends claimed front-row spots behind the Chicago Fire goal as they watched warm-ups before the team's Major League Soccer home opener at North Central College's Cardinal Stadium, where the team is playing because Soldier Field is being renovated. They were among nearly 10,000 soggy fans who braved a wind-driven, steady rain and temperatures in the low 40s for the game against the New England Revolution, which ended in a 2-2 "Real fans take it," said Meek, who hoped to snag a soccer ball from his perch 10 feet from the playing field. "We had general admission tickets so we could sit anywhere we wanted. So we decided to sit right here.

Best seats in the house." Standing next to Meek and his friends was the Fire general manager, Peter Wilt, who was siastic but well-behaved. There was plenty of security on hand, including a private firm hired by the team, North Central pub-' lie safety personnel and Naperville police. A college spokesman said there were no reported disruptions or arrests. "I was there and everything went very smoothly," North Central spokeswoman Mary-Claire Uselding said. "There were no problems that we were aware of.

And from our perspectiveaside from the rain it was a very good evening." Traffic before and after the game moved smoothly through downtown Naperville. And the efficiency extended even to the post-game cleanup. The fans, officially 9,444 of them, left a major-league mess, which included soggy pro-, grams, empty cups, food wrap--pers and even clothes. But Cardinal Stadium and environs were spotless less than 12 hours later for Sunday's Northeastern Illinois Special Olympics Spring Games. The Fire return to Naperville on May 11 for a 3 p.m.

match; against Los Angeles. Photo for the Tribune by Michael Walker Shedd Aquarium employee Betsie Rypma shows whale food to pupils at Tate Woods Elementary School in Lisle. The children raised $252.27 for the aquarium in a book-reading project. Lisle kids devour tales for whales soaking up the rain and the pre-game excitement. "The atmosphere is great," Wilt said.

"The players came out here Friday and they were excited. This place is going to rock even more when we get additional seats in here." Just Saturday morning the Fire had finished installing bleachers behind each goal that can accommodate up to 5,000 fans in addition to the 5,000 permanent seats nearby. By next month the team will add track-side seating and bleachers opposite the main stands to bring total capacity up to 15,000. Saturday's crowd was enthu Pupils donate cent for each book read said. "You can't throw anything overboard a boat because the marine life thinks it's something to eat," he said.

Steaks Pasta Seafood mals, created reports and posters, and embarked on a field trip to Shedd Aquarium. They were delighted during the assembly when Radhika Shah and Betsie Rypma, educators at the aquarium, showed them the type of toy the aquarium will buy with the donated money. "With a feeder ball, you put fish inside and they try to get at the fish," Rypma said, describing a large, hard plastic ball with holes. "When you see the animals playing with their toys, you'll know you helped to buy them." In addition to buying a $128 feeder ball, the school also helped pay for food for one beluga. Other funds went to "adopt" three whales through the Whale Center of New England.

Other visitors at the assembly included Jim Dawson of the U.S. Coast Guard, who donated to the school a device for collecting six-pack rings. Once collected, the plastic can be recycled, he By Laura Zahn Pohl Special to the Tribune The beluga whales at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago will have more toys, thanks to youngsters who have read thousands of books at Tate Woods Elementary School in Lisle. During the last few months, the school's 300 1st- and 2nd-grade pupils have donated a penny for each book they've read. When they gathered at an assembly last week to celebrate their accomplishment, they learned that they had read 25,227 books since mid-November.

"You've read more books than there are people in Lisle," Lisle Mayor Joe Broda said at the event. The pupils studied ocean ani The children also presented a birdhouse they had decorated to Diane Tuscher-Ancede of Lisle, who is coordinating a display of 110 birdhouses this summer. Several pupils were chosen to work with Nancy Staszak, the school's art teacher, to design an ocean theme. The assembly included a collection of letters the children wrote to a New York school that was affected by the Sept. 11 attacks.

Boxes of books and proceeds from two book fairs will be sent to the school, accompanied by the children's wishes. The activities, all tied to literacy and reading, provide many long-term benefits, said Judy Bauman, director of the school's instructional materials center. "It gives them a start on service and giving that will carry over," she said. i vuiiiuuiiieiiidi cnuee Enjoy One Complimentary Entree I I a.1 when you purchase another 3 of equal or greater value. Reservations Please! Simply present this ad to your server when you order.

7 Naperville libraries ease penalties for overdue material Hilton LisleNaperville M. M. Readers who rack up fines for Library items can now be re 3003 Corporate West Drive Lisle, IL 630-505-0900 -Ext. 3140 ,1 dust on the shelf," West said. Library officials also raised the accrued fine rate to $10.

Currently, patrons are blocked from borrowing materials when they have $5 in fines. But, West said, with the proliferation of video rentals, it doesn't take long to accumulate $5 in fines. overdue books will get some relief under a new circulation policy adopted by the Naperville Public Libraries. "It's become so easy to renew materials online and by phone that the staff wanted to liberalize the policy to make it more user-friendly," libraries deputy director Mark West said. newed for up to 12 weeks.

The only exception is if an item is on reserve. The policy takes effect Wednesday. Trustees generally praised the policy change, but some questioned that it might leave shelves bare. "I'd rather have it in a patron's hands than collecting Limit one certificate per table. Minimum party of two.

Good towards dinner entrees only. May be used for up to $18.00 towards the purchase of any entree, Friday Night Seafood Buffet or Prix-Fixe Menu. Tax and gratuity not Included, this offer may not be used In conunctlon with any other offer or discount Please base your gratuity on the full value of your check before this special offer is applied. Not valid on holidays. Expires une 200Z H-2.