Briefs: Shepard alumni picnic, dogs help kids learn, more

Retired Shepard High School teachers, from left, Ann Chang, Joyce Winans, and Kate Richardson attended the inaugural all-class alumni picnic Saturday to mingle with former students at the school in Palos Heights. (School District 218)

Graduates of Shepard High School in Palos Heights from throughout the school’s history gathered last weekend for the school’s first ever all-class alumni picnic.

The weather cooled off just in time for the event on Saturday at the school’s campus, where Astros gathered to mingle, grill food, meet former teachers, and tour the school with dean of students Nick Bax.

Shepard High School dean of students Nick Bax talks with a group of graduates at the inaugural all-class alumni picnic Saturday at the school campus in Palos Heights. Bax also led building tours (School District 218)

Young readers can get practice in an inviting environment by reading to and listening with therapy dogs at Midlothian Public Library, 14701 S. Kenton Ave.

The sessions are designed to build reading skills as kids practice reading out loud and listening to a story with dogs from Love on a Leash, a nonprofit organization that brings therapy pets and their handlers to visit places such as nursing homes, hospitals and schools to provide comfort and happiness, according to a news release from the library.

Doggy and Me storytimes are scheduled from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Mondays Aug. 7 and 21, and Sept. 4 and 18. Children can sign up for a 15-minute time slot with a dog. More information is at midlothianlibrary.org or 708-535-2027.

Plant the Gem, a communitywide event last October in Flossmoor, is one of four finalists for the Governor’s Cup in the 2023 Governor’s Hometown Awards program. A team from Flossmoor will head to the Illinois State Fair in Springfield to present for the judges’ panel Aug. 16. The final award winner will be announced the same day.

Plant the Gem was a one-day event held in partnership with the Flossmoor Green Commission, the Hidden Gem Half-Marathon and the Chicago Region Trees Initiative. More than 250 volunteers of all ages and abilities planted more than 300 trees in parkways and parks in Flossmoor. Volunteer teams included village residents, nature enthusiasts, local organizations and staff and students from area schools. Twelve different tree varieties, which are native to the region, were planted with help from $30,000 in federal funds, made available to the Chicago Region Trees Initiative.

Flossmoor was a finalist for the award also in 2020 for its Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service event.

Cook County commissioners will be on hand at 9:30 a.m. Saturday for a ceremony marking 5 years of educational tours focused on the Underground Railroad at Beaubien Woods Forest Preserve Boat Launch, 134th Place and the Little Calumet River.

The ceremony will be followed by a Hike the Freedom Trail tour conducted by the Little Calumet River Underground Railroad Project’s Larry McClellan, the foremost authority on the Underground Railroad in northern Illinois, and Tom Shepherd, the group’s organizer.

The tour focuses on the Ton Farm, adjacent to Beaubien Woods, an important site on the National Park Service “Network to Freedom,” designated as a significant location on the underground railroad network, where Dutch settlers aided and helped to replenish countless runaways as they escaped the cruelty and hardships of slavery in the south.

Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital’s Joliet Community Based Outpatient Clinic will host a mobile food pantry on Aug. 7 in Joliet. (Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital)

Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital’s Joliet Community Based Outpatient Clinic will host a mobile food pantry from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Aug. 7 in the clinic’s parking lot, 1201 Eagle Street, Joliet. The pantry is open to anyone in need, with no proof of military service, residency or income required.

Participants will receive basic food staples, including dry goods, meat, dairy and fresh produce.

Food will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last. A volunteer will load pre-packed items into each vehicle as directed by the driver. Donations will also be offered to those without access to a vehicle.

The Joliet clinic provided food to 133 households, benefiting 446 people, during its mobile food pantry in March. The clinic is planning additional food pantries later this year.

Veterans experiencing food, housing or employment insecurity are encouraged to contact Hines VA’s Homeless Program at 708-202-4961.

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