RIVERSIDE-BROOKFIELD Also serving North Riverside $1.00
Vol. 32, No. 35
August 30, 2017
Cancer su survivor Bart Richard Richards of Riverside completes c triathlon PAGE 3
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A rain garden grows in Brookfield PAGE 6
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North Riverside begins water main upgrade PAGE 2
Again, racist graffiti found at RB
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NEW YEAR, OLD BELL Ethan Avila, 7, of Riverside, wears a birthday hat, after the first day of school on Aug. 24, outside of Central Elementary in Riverside. The Central School bell tower built in 1897, rang its bell at dismissal for the first time in a decade, following recent repairs. For more photos, visit online at RBLandmark. com
Staff moves more quickly to respond By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter
For the second time in less than a year racist graffiti was found scrawled in a girls’ bathroom at Riverside Brookfield High School on Aug. 21. The racist graffiti was discovered in the same bathroom where similar graffiti was found last November. Like last year, the graffiti stated “whites only” according to a student who was part of a meeting Assistant Principal of Student Affairs Dave Mannon held last Thursday morning with 20 student leaders to discuss the incident. According to the student Mannon said the graffiti had the same or similar handwriting as last year’s racist graffiti. The person who wrote the graffiti has apparently not yet been identified but administrators have their suspicions. According to the student, Mannon said that the graffiti appeared after administrators had spoken to a student about a photo of a Confederate flag that was on the student’s Snapchat page. Last year administrators waited six days to publicly disclose the racist graffiti. Last year’s racist graffiti led to a student protest at a “Positivity Day” assembly the school held after the inSee GRAFFITI on page 9
ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer
D103 suspends maintenance chief May be linked to asbestos investigation
By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter
Ryan Grace, the maintenance director for Lyons Elementary School District 103, has been suspended with pay. Superinten-
dent Carol Baker suspended Grace last week. Sources close to school board members say that Grace was suspended after he refused to answer questions posed last week at a meeting with Baker and the district’s
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lawyer. The questions apparently were related to activities that resulted in the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) trying to fine the district $20,000 for violaSee SUSPENSION on page 9
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