Photo shot at Whalon Lake wins monthly contest
A photo of a heron who captured a crawfish at Whalon Lake in Naperville was the September winner of the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s Preserve the Moment photo contest.
The picture was snapped by Matthew Serafini, of Lockport, who saw a forest preserve district news story about a juvenile yellow-crowned night heron at the preserve and decided to check it out with a friend, a district news release said.
“I knew it was a fairly rare bird for the area, so I met up with a photography buddy of mine,” Serafini told district officials. “We went out and found the bird and had some great lighting. The little guy was mainly hunting crawfish. In the hour I spent with the bird, we probably saw him eat four to six crawfish and one small catfish. Awesome little hunter.”
All of September’s photo contest entries can be viewed at Flickr.com/WillCoForests.
Serafini’s photo will be entered into the district photo contest for best photo of the year in December.
Park district’s Fall Scramble winners announced
The winning foursome in Naperville Park District’s Fall Scramble on Oct. 10 at Springbrook Golf Course were Bob Trine, Mike Herbert, Dave Lemaistre and Bob Falkman, with a score of 61.
Two teams tied for second place with a score of 62: the team of Chuck Millington, Phil Wierzbinski, Bill Parrilli and Dave Maxson and the team of Bryan Spaits, Greg Hawes, Bill Kerth and Rick Prohammer.
The Fall Scramble is the last of the regular season tournaments at Springbrook Golf Course. The next event planned is the annual Turkey Shoot on Nov. 21-22, which is held at both Springbrook and Naperbrook golf courses.
All participants of the five-person scramble receive a turkey, with the group scoring the lowest for the day receiving the birds, a district news release said. Donations from the event will go to Operation Support Our Troops.
Naperville resident named Lincoln student laureate
Justin N. Craig, a Naperville resident and student at Millikin University, has been named a Lincoln Academy Student Laureate.
The honor recognizes excellence in curricular and extracurricular activities by seniors from each of the state’s four-year, degree-granting colleges and universities, and one student from the community colleges in Illinois.
Student laureates receive a letter and certificate of merit signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Lincoln medallion, a challenge coin and a $500 check from the Lincoln Academy.
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Because of the pandemic, this year’s group of student laureates will be honored in a virtual ceremony that will be prerecorded via Zoom and available for viewing Nov. 10, a news release said. Traditionally, the event is held at the Old State Capitol State Historic Site in Springfield.
Among those participating in the Zoom production will be Pritzker, president of the Lincoln Academy, and four previous Lincoln Laureates, who will speak on the topics of empathy, courage, honesty and integrity.
Benson and Jobst honored as Seniors of the Year
Sandy Benson and Joe Jobst have been named the Naperville Senior Task Force’s 2020 Seniors of the Year.
Benson is the executive council president of Naperville School District 203’s HURRAH (Happy Upbeat Retirees & Other Residents Actively Helping) program, an NCTV17 board member and a supporter of several other local organizations, a news release said.
Jobst has logged hundreds of volunteer hours at West Suburban Community Pantry for more than 10 years and currently serves as pantry manager, the release said. He also volunteers at a local cemetery engraving business.
Both were recognized for their contributions at the Naperville City Council’s Sept. 1 meeting.