FIND US ONLINE: DailyNorthShore.com
SATURDAY JANUARY 25 | SUNDAY JANUARY 26 2020
SUNDAY BREAKFAST
William Barnard’s message for kids: Get your carrot. P22
SPORTS
HPHS boys basketball coach Paul Harris, Giants rely on huge asset: defense. P20
SOCIAL SCENE
Scenes from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago’s 10th Annual Winter Wishes. P14 FOLLOW US:
NO. 380 | A JWC MEDIA PUBLICATION
NEWS
Keeping with the Beat NEW TRIER JAZZ FESTIVAL CELEBRATES ITS 37TH YEAR BY DEBBIE LEE THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND
When the Frank Mantooth Jazz Festival comes to New Trier High School on February 8, participants can expect the kind of format that has made this a beloved event for 37 years. “Jim Warrick, the former New Trier jazz director, started this festival in 1984 because he believed that young jazz students should hear the very best professional big bands for themselves,” says Mark Hiebert, Interim Director of Jazz Bands. “But he also wanted to provide an experience that encouraged them to pursue their own study of this music.” In keeping with tradition, students from 35 schools will gather in a non-competitive setting for an entire day of jam sessions, clinics, and the opportunity to perform on a main stage in front of peers and jazz enthusiasts. But what makes this year’s festival different—intentional or not— is that it will also underscore the contributions of female performers to the genre. One can’t help but wonder if jazz critic and historian George T. Simon—who, in 1967, infamously said, “Only God can make a tree, and only men can play good jazz”—would have come Continued on PG 10
HANDLED WITH CARE
TEMPLE JEREMIAH’S BACKPACK BLESSINGS PROGRAM PROVIDES NOURISHMENT FOR NEIGHBORS IN NEED. BY DEBBIE LEE THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND
It’s Sunday morning in January and despite the brutal winter weather, Temple Jeremiah in Northfield is bustling with activity. Young children are lined up outside of the sanctuary for a sing-along with the cantor, clusters of teens gab about their weekend before gathering for a lecture on voting rights, and adults make their way through the halls to get to Hebrew class. Right in the middle of the chaos, executive director Danny Glassman breaks down a giant pallet of groceries shrouded in plastic. Dividing the contents between two work stations, he and a team of eight congregants will grind away for the next few hours to construct six-pound care packages full of nourishment: cereals, fruit, pasta, and other shelf-stable goods. Next, the bags are transferred to bins, loaded onto a truck, and driven by a volunteer to Highland Park, where they will be distributed to recipients among two local public schools. This initiative, known as Backpack Blessings, provides two days’ worth of food to neighboring children who qualify for free or reduced price school breakfasts and lunches. The backpacks serve as a supplement for weekends, when students are at home and lack access to cafeteria meals. “When we first started, we went out to our neighboring communities and saw that there was a large number of children on the free lunch program in Highland Park,” explains Barb Miller, Temple Jeremiah’s president. “When we announced that we’d start the program in that city… well, we had many members of our congregation who grew up in those schools and had no idea about the statistics.” According to welfareinfo.org, 1 in 15.5 people in Highland Park live in poverty. Poverty rates for children in nursery and elementary schools are just above 10 percent, and a 7.8 percent rate for middle schoolers is considered high enough to impact the com-
Staff at Temple Jeremiah (Barb Miller, center) begin setting up for Backpack Blessings. PHOTOGRAPHY BY DEBBIE LEE
munity due to lower expected graduation rates. Backpack Blessings partners with the Northern Illinois Food Bank to provide anywhere between 35 and 60 packages per month to kids in need. Five dollars can feed a child for the weekend, and $140 can provide enough food for an entire school year. It is no coincidence that Backpack Blessings’ assembly line is organized in the lobby of the synagogue—the purpose of being on full display is to inspire action from members
of the congregation. “We’re blessed that people not only provide financial resources, but dedicate their time to keep this program running,” says Miller. “The first thing Senior Rabbi [Paul] Cohen said when he started here 20 years ago was, ‘I want this building to be a receptacle for doing good,’” she adds. “If you haven’t noticed, we keep food and clothing donation boxes Continued on PG 10
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 991 HIGHLAND PK, IL