Community supporter Stetenfeld dies at age 50. See page 3. opinion
SportS
New Governor, Same Traffic Problems
Tigers place 10th in state page 11
page 6
T HE ENTERPRISE Your Complete Source For Plainfield News Since 1887
thursday, february 5, 2015
Volume 127 no. 27
enterprisepublications.com
Serving Will and Kendall counties
Board to vote Feb. 9 Shorewood Village Clerk braves unexplained illness Tracy Ragusa’s home sits just above the DuPage River. Her wide-open backyard seems to melt into its banks. When it is warm, she’s outside, pulling weeds, trimming the shrubs and tending her flowerpots. she’s often in a small, sloping landscaped area that’s planted with milkweed to attract monarch butterflies. Wildlife wanders through her yard. she’s a friendly, funny woman with wide green eyes and a charming smile. Ragusa, 45, serves as the village’s clerk. See The Full STory on Page 9
CDC offers these tips to prevent Lyme disease 1. Avoid wooded and bushy areas with high grass and leaf litter. 2. Walk in the center of trails. 3. When outdoors, use repellents that contain 20 to 30 percent DEET on exposed skin and clothing for protection that lasts up to several hours. 4. Bathe or shower as soon as possible after coming indoors, preferably within two hours.
That will help you wash off and more easily find ticks that might be crawling on you. 5. Examine gear and pets. Ticks can ride into the home on clothing and pets, then attach to a person later, so carefully examine pets, coats and day packs. 6. Tumble clothes in a dryer on high heat for an hour to kill remaining ticks.
The Association of Plainfield Teachers membership on Jan. 29 ratified a new three-year contract that increases District 202 teachers’ pay by an average of 2 to 3 percent a year, retroactive to July 1, 2014. The APT approved the contract by a vote of 1,078 in favor, to 554 opposed. The Board of Education is expected to vote on the proposed new contract at its Feb. 9 regular meeting. “This contract moves our association forward from where we were, and gets us closer to where we hope and deserve to be,” said APT President Dawn Bullock. “We understand the many issues that District 202 is struggling with, and we appreciate the work everyone did to produce a reasonable agreement.” This was the second vote by APT membership on a proposed new contract in four months. A team of District 202 administrators and APT leadership reached tentative agreement on the original proposal on October 8, 2014 after about 11 months of negotiations. The last contract expired June 30, 2014. The APT represents about 1,850 certified staff members, including all teachers. However, the APT membership voted against the first tentative contract proposal on Oct. 22, 2014. District and APT leadership returned to the bargaining table in November to re-address issues concerning workload, retirement and compensation. The new contract includes several changes from the original proposal intended to meet teachers’ concerns from last fall. The most significant is additional retirement language recognizing years of service in the district. Retirees with at least 15 years of experience will get $500 per year of service. Retirees who work at least 33 years will also get an additional benefit
See ballot | Page 8
INSIDE
here are some suggestions from the centers for Disease control on preventing lyme disease:
24 pages
Teachers Ok new D202 contract
community
Reducing exposure is the best way to prevent illness
75 cents
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