RIVERSIDE-BROOKFIELD Also serving North Riverside $1.00
Vol. 32, No. 36
September 6, 2017
Fan-tastic Fa Sally Sall ly R Rand once lived Ogd Ave. O on Ogden PAGE 7
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HELPING HAND
Hurricane Harvey drives Riverside native from his Texas home By BOB UPHUES Editor
Just after midnight on Aug. 28, Ken Kuratko stood staring out the window of his home in the Kingwood neighborhood in northeast Houston, watching the water creep toward the front stoop. He still couldn’t believe it. A year earlier when the Riverside native and his family moved to Houston, all of the old-timers in the neighborhood said the home was “in a good spot.” It hadn’t flooded before. Even the Kuratkos’ insurance agent told them they didn’t need flood insurance. As the water crept closer to his home in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall at Rockport, about 200 miles southwest of Houston, at 10 p.m. on Aug. 25, Kuratko tried to convince himself the water wouldn’t reach his home. “I was in denial,” said Kuratko, as the water inched toward the home. “I was convinced it was going to stop there.” Three hours later, water was flooding through every doorway of the house. Eight inches of water covered rooms on the first See HOUSTON on page 15
ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer
Wayne Valentino hands a bundle of towels to Brookfield Village Manager Keith Sbiral on Sept. 2 at the village’s farmers market, where Sbiral and other staff members collected items and cash donations that will be taken to Houston to help animal victims of Hurricane Harvey. For a full story, please see page 3.
Brookfield manager hires new public works chief Former Lockport engineering director will start Sept. 18
By BOB UPHUES Editor
Brookfield will have its first-ever female public works chief later this month when
Amy Wagner takes over as director of the department following a four-month search to fill the vacant post. Brookfield Village Manager Keith Sbiral announced Wagner’s hiring on Aug. 31. Her
first day on the job will be Sept. 18. Starting salary will be $106,500 annually. “Ever since I started my municipal career, I’ve been part of the public works department,” said Wagner in a phone in-
terview. “I’ve seen what goes on on a day-today basis, and I think I’ll be very comfortable with [managing the range of services See PUBLIC WORKS on page 11
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