MAPLE PARK
4 Kaneland students arrested in 2 incidents
Four students were arrested this week after two separate incidents, one a food fight and the other a fistfight, at Kaneland High School, officials said.
Two students were charged with disorderly conduct after a lunchtime food fight Wednesday after which several students were suspended, said Supt. Charles McCormick. The students were charged after ignoring staff orders to stop the fight, McCormick said.
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“They became grossly insubordinate to the staff,” McCormick said. “Students need to understand that there are boundaries they cannot cross.”
One student charged is an adult; the other, a juvenile, will be referred to Juvenile Court, said Kane County Sheriff’s Lt. Pat Gengler. The name of the adult student was not released.
Police were called to break up a fistfight between two students during a bus evacuation drill about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, officials said. Miguel Cervantes, 17, of Montgomery was charged with obstruction of justice and will be charged with simple battery, Gengler said. The other student is a juvenile and will be referred to Juvenile Court.
“In light of changes in the way schools handle violent incidents, we are charging more and more students with criminal offenses,” Gengler said. “I hope this will send a message that students are at school to learn, and if they act to disrupt the learning process, we’re going to have to aggressively deal with it.”
— Denise Linke
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BATAVIA
City gets $250,000 to fix walks near schools
The city has been awarded a $250,000 grant to fund sidewalk-improvement projects near local schools, but officials don’t know specifically what the money will pay for.
“It’s our guess that the grant will fund the three projects connected to the middle school, but we don’t know yet because IDOT hasn’t sent us the details,” said Ed Barsotti, director of the League of Illinois Bicyclists, who wrote the grant proposal as a city consultant.
Neither Barsotti nor City Administrator Bill McGrath knew whether the city would be required to use the grant for projects specified by the Illinois Department of Transportation or whether local officials would be able to allocate the money.
Last fall, Batavia applied for about $400,000 from the Safe Routes to School program, a federal grant administered in Illinois by IDOT. Officials listed eight projects they wanted to fund with the grant. Three would benefit students at Batavia Middle School: a new sidewalk on Raddant Road, repairs to the school’s entrance walk and a footbridge over a small creek at Hart Road.
The other five are building a new sidewalk on Van Nortwick Avenue near Storm Elementary School; paving a gravel footpath north of Gustafson Elementary School; paving a dirt footpath south of Gustafson; installing permanent radar speed feedback signs on Prairie Street near White Elementary School; and installing bike racks at several schools.
— Denise Linke