BRADLEYGRAM
VOL. 3, NO. 8: AUGUST 2021
Mayor’s Message Mayor Mike Watson mmwatson@bradleyil.org
Hello Bradley,
I hope everyone had a chance to enjoy family and friends throughout the month of July. August is “National Back to School” month and it’s here already. This is certainly a busy time of year for both parents and students who are preparing for the 2021/22 academic school season. I would like to wish everyone a healthy and successful upcoming school year! Speaking of school, I want to thank our administrative intern Trenten Wills for doing an outstanding job for us here at Village Hall. Trent is a Momence graduate and now the President of his class at the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff. During his time at Bradley Village Hall, he assisted our Clerk’s office with numerous projects and other assigned tasks. I have truly appreciated Trenten’s energy and his ability to complete assigned tasks effectively. I can’t say enough good things about this young man. I wish him the best as he continues his journey, both in school and his future endeavors. I hope many of you took the opportunity to join us for National Night Out, hosted at Perry Farm. I will begin
VILLAGE OF BRADLEY 147 S. Michigan Ave. Bradley, IL 60915
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VILLAGE OF BRADLEY, ILLINOIS
by thanking our Bradley Police Department for all their efforts to pull off this event. I can say it was certainly a tremendous success. I appreciate the other local law enforcing departments, volunteers, sponsors, and donors who pitched in to make this great local event a huge success. We wouldn’t be able to pull this event off without your help. A special shout out to our Police Chief Don Baber and Deputy Chief Anderson for spearheading this wonderful community event. The Parks Committee along with Public Works Director Terry Memenga and Jody Mariano of the TESKA group hosted a successful public forum at Lil’s Park on July 14th. A special thanks and appreciation to those residents who attended and participated in this workshop. Our plan moving forward is to continue improving and adding amenities to all our parks for the community to enjoy.
The TESKA group gave a presentation at our July 12th board meeting and also gave an overview of the parks and their needs. Anyone who would like to review this assessment can visit our website at www.bradleyil.org. This report helps us identify the areas where we can make our parks more ADA compliant, something we need to provide for our residents. For this reason, our staff is looking into multiple grant opportunities to begin making this happen. My ultimate vision is to eventually go even further, not just making the parks more handicap accessible, but also to get more playground equipment
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Mayor’s Message continued from page 1
and picnic tables that are also ADA accessible as well. I want everyone to be able to enjoy our recreational spaces, especially our youth! If you have ideas or concerns about parks and events, send them to the committee. Their information is in this newsletter. Feel free to reach out. I received a lot of communication in regards to the waste ordinance. There are a couple of things I want to cover. Currently there are three providers Prairie Disposal, Republic Services, and United Disposal. You can find this information on the website (bradleyil.org), and it is also listed in this newsletter. It was initially our plan to post service rates of all licensed providers for our residents to compare, but unfortunately, we were contacted by the attorney of one of the companies and are in the process of vetting their concern. We hope to clear this legal hurdle and provide the easy access for comparable rates and services to residents hopefully in the near future. Also, please remember that residents who used to have Friday pickup, your new garbage pickup day will be on Wednesdays starting August 4th. Please have your trash, recycling, and yard waste bags and/or cans out by 6am Wednesday morning. One last thing about trash pick-up. Below are the rates that were contractually agreed upon for residential waste hauling services with Republic. During the transition to the Village’s new waste hauling model, the Village received complaints from some Bradley residents who felt that they were overcharged for waste hauling services. If you believe that you were charged for trash hauling services at a rate different than listed below, if you were charged anything differently for trash services other than the pricing listed below, please call Republic or feel free to reach out to Kym at kbnelson@Bradleyil.org.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES COMMITTEES Please feel free to reach out with concerns, ideas, and comments
Trustee Brian Billingsley blbillingsley@bradleyil.org • Public Works • Parks/ Community • Public Safety
Trustee Ryan LaBran
Trustee Darren Westphal’
Trustee Gene Jordan
Trustee Brian Tieri
Trustee Grant Vandenhout
ddwestphal@bradleyil.org gjordani@bradleyil.org • Parks/ Community Events • Parks/ Community Events • Admin Finance • Information Tech • Community Development • Community Development
rclebran@bradleyil.org btieri@bradleyil.org • Admin/Finance • Public Works • Information Tech • Public Safety • Community Development • Admin / Finance
gvandenhout@bradleyil.org • Public Works • Public Safety • Information Technology
For further information about upcoming events, please visit bradleyil.org Lastly, I want to acknowledge a long time Planning and Zoning Commissioner for the Village of Bradley. This remarkable senior is known to many of us as Joan McGinnis. She has served on the Bradley planning and zoning commission for 38 years. Joan was appointed in August 1983 and has seen a lot of changes in the Village. Thank you, Joan, for your service to the Village of Bradley. We greatly appreciate your time and dedication to the Village.
Until next time, Stay safe & healthy
AUG 9 & 23, 6:30PM - VILLAGE BOARD MEETING Village Hall AUG 10, 11AM - BRADLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY Bradley Public Library Aug 17, 10am-1pm - CONGRESSWOMAN ROBIN KELLY CONSTITUENT SERVICES REPRESENTATIVES MOBILE OFFICE FOR BRADLEY. Village of Bradley Council Chambers. Contact Jordan. henderson@mail.house.gov or 708.679.0078 for an appointment. No walk-ins.
Public Works Update
Well, summer is already half over. I hope you were able to complete some of your projects. The Public Works Department still has plenty to keep them busy for several more months. You may have already noticed some sidewalks being repaired in a few spots. We hope to do a few more. Within the next sixty days, we expect to see a series of alleys get repaired and our annual road maintenance completed. And Phase III of our sewer rehabilitation program should begin in the next month or so. We have had some success in the parks as we updated some swings, updated the ballfields at Lil’s park, and have begun planning for a splash pad at Lil’s park as well. We are also considering the addition of a dog park to be located near Brassie and Yorktown; stay tuned for that plan to progress.
I feel compelled to remind again that brush collection is designed for piles no larger than a small car. In regards to tree trimmings, If you are taking a tree completely down, you should arrange for a professional service that will take it down and haul it away. Also, we continue to fund our Sanitary Sewer Backflow Prevention grant. The Village will reimburse a resident, up to $1,500, for the cost of installation for the backflow preventer. If you have a susceptible basement drain, you should truly consider this program. I hope you had a chance to enjoy the new patriotic lights on Broadway during July? The extra color was a nice change and really dressed up Broadway. Last, but not least, I am still looking for some summer labor. If you have a bit of time, I am looking for temporary, short-term labor to help with pouring concrete, taking care of the parks, etc. Go to www.BradleyIL.org for application or any other information.
ATTENTION ALL! E-waste FAQ’s Acceptable electronic waste: • • • • • • • •
Computers and Small-Scale Servers Computer Monitors Electronic Computer Keyboards & Mice Printers, Fax Machines, and Scanners Televisions DVD Players, DVD Recorders, and VCRs Digital Converter Boxes, Cable Receivers, and Satellite Receivers Portable Digital Music Players and Video Game Consoles
We DO NOT accept actual DVD’s, CD’s, or VHS tapes. We DO NOT accept microwave ovens. We DO NOT accept piano/organ keyboards. We DO NOT accept small appliances (blenders, juicers, etc) We DO NOT accept ANYTHING other than what is on the approved list KANKAKEE COUNTY
E-WASTE RECYCLING
www.k3county.net/ewaste Operated by Belson Steel Center Scrap 1685 N. State Route 50, Bourbonnais, IL 60914 Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-3:30pm, Sat 8am-12noon 815-932-7416
Lucille Ball Word Search
27 years ago, the US Congress and President Reagan encouraged the public recognition of our senior citizens, their wisdom, their leadership and their contributions by declaring August 21, 1988 to be the first National Senior Citizens Day. Of course, the act of encouraging our loved ones’ happiness and social interaction should happen throughout the year, not just on Senior Citizens Day. There’s never a bad time to make our loved ones feel special, and there are a lot of different ways to reap the benefits of connecting with seniors, from simple day-today check-ins to intergenerational family activities.
The Importance of Staying Connected with Senior Loved Ones
According to the Administration on Aging, 28% of adults over 65 live alone; for women over age 75, the percentage jumps to 45%. While maintaining independence can provide a big boost to self-esteem and empowerment, it also comes with risks for our older loved ones. When seniors live alone, without much family or social contact, it can take longer to detect the warning signs of physical or cognitive impairment. This can put their health and safety at risk, and increase the likelihood of depression and other mental health issues. Indeed, loneliness and social isolation are significant predictors not only of physical health problems but also depression and even mortality in the elderly. Conversely, even a quick friendly conversation can increase our happiness for the day, says a recent study by the University of British Columbia. Imagine the value of spending true quality time with our loved ones! It’s not only good for seniors, it’s good for families — Needless to say, grandchildren also benefit from having another source of advice, connection, and family history.
NEXT NEWSLETTER BRADLEYGRAM SEPTEMBER 2021: Community Developments, Public Works, Upcoming Events, Updates, and more…
W O H S Y C U L E H T L F R E D M E R T Z
W S F O T D S H Y E B R A R V L U K M J P
C R A T F R C L L Y E Y E B F I L M R V O
C U M G D Y I E L D C S D L A S K O K D P
M O B D P E V C H I L U U K S B L N R Y R
B D K E Y I S E K U H C L N S O D A J E S
Babalu Beverly Hills Comedienne Cuban DeslAmaz Desilu Studios Emmy Ethel Mertz Fred Mertz Heres Lucy
O N K S S K A I C Y I Y W E C E C F F L S
D A P I Y D Z Y L E R O L I V I M P L W E
P E O A C M T D A U T I N R R O T X Z A N
L N S R V O M R B S S H C Y E C L D T R I
F I B N P X N E E Z C T C A O V P I R F S
H M X A Q A S M W E X U U M R A E R E M U
I Love Lucy Icon Jamestown Laughter LucieArnaz Lucy Ricardo Mame MGM Paramount Redhead
Z S O Z Z I A K T I L S E D R D R B M A B
Q R A E G J J X S M L D I A I E O Q L I W
W U Y O M B W V A H I D M O N O O G E L O
V O N Z H F X M U E Q O C G S Z S E H L H
W Y K J G H E L N Y U P U A T M O C T I S
V F D T I T O N Z N G V B A T R U W E W P
L A U G H T E R T T C V A C F U J E X T R
Q Z I A V I V I A N V A N G E Y G M T I V
Ricky Ricardo Show business Sitcom Technicolor Television The Lucy Show Vivian Vance Wildcat William Frawley Yours, Mine and Ours
Animal Trivia
1. What is the common name for Orcinus Orca? 2. What is the only mammal born with horns? 3. On what continent does the aardvark come from? 4. What is the collective noun for a group of ferrets? 5. Which two mammals lay eggs? 6. Which jellyfish has the most dangerous poison for humans? 7. How many legs does a lobster have? 8. Which ape’s name means “man of the forest” in Malaysian? 9. What backboned animal is thought to live the longest? 10. What birds eye is larger than its brain? Answers1. Killer Whale 2. Giraffe 3. Africa 4. A business 5. Duck-billed platypus and the spiny anteater 6. Box jellyfish 7. Ten 8. Orangutan 9. Greenland Shark 10. Ostrich
The Village of Bradley would like to give a shout out to all the seniors living in our village and the community, and encourage everyone,to help celebrate National Senior Citizen Day by checking on a senior you know and tell them how much you appreciate them!
A N T C B O T B S C U X W C M H I M G M R
VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT:
bradleyil.org