Laura Ortega
Easter is a joyful season
By Laura Ortega
Your correspondent in Greater Ashburn
4214 W. 82nd Place • (773) 627-6679
Ladies and gentlemen, Easter is around the corner.
What is Easter? Easter is a holiday that celebrates the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. After his crucifixion, death, and burial, three days later, he arose from the grave. In doing so, he conquered death and redeemed us from sin, if we believe in Him.
I’m looking forward to reading during the 8 p.m. Easter Vigil Mass on Saturday, April 16 at St. Bede the Venerable Church, 83rd and Kostner. Please stop by and say hello.
I love this time of year. There is nothing like the smell of spring in the air. I enjoy listening to the birds, hearing their excitement that another season has dawned. They’re busy finding a mate, building nests, and laying eggs.
There is so much life emerging all around us, including my tulips and daffodils, which have started sprouting. I really enjoy gardening and can’t wait to head to a local nursery to select my flowers that will bloom until the end of summer.
Laura Ortega
I want to wish a most wonderful 36th birthday to Abraham Toro on April 2, Angello Gonzalez (who turns 11) on April 3, his sister Ashley Gonzalez (who turns 14) on April 10, and Gaby Escalante (who turns 23) on April 18.
Ashburn Baptist Church, 3647 W. 83rd St., would like you to celebrate Easter with them on April 17 at 10 a.m. After the service, there will be an Easter egg hunt, a family photo booth and Easter treats.
The Wrightwood-Ashburn Branch Library, 8530 S. Kedzie, hosts Family Game Time from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sundays. This is a great way to learn how to win and lose with grace – not to mention the value of spending quality time with loved ones.
The Bogan High School Class of 1976 is holding a reunion at 7 p.m. Friday, April 29 at Georgios Banquets, 8800 W. 159th St. Only a small number of tickets remain at $65. Tickets at the door will be $85. If you are a member of the class and wish to purchase tickets or for more information, go to the Unofficial Bogan Reunion Facebook page.
Looking for a great find or want to start your spring cleaning? Then head over to St. Bede’s Flea Market from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 2 at 83rd and Kostner. The flea market will run the first Saturday of the month until November (except in May due to First Communions). Vendor pays $10 per space, bring your own tables, vendors may not sell food. Call the rectory at (773) 884-2000 or email suedemas@yahoo.com.
The following events are for 18th Ward residents only. For more information, please call Ald. Derrick Curtis’s office at (773) 284-5057 or visit derrickgcurtis.com/events.
- An Easter egg hunt is set for noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 9 at Rainey Park, 4350 W. 79th St. There will be games, snacks, and an Easter basket giveaway.
- Come and celebrate Earth Day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, April 14 in the north parking lot of 8329 S. Pulaski. Sponsors may include Lowe’s, ComEd, Peoples Gas, ITI Intermodal, Oak Street Health, the Chicago Department of Streets & Sanitation, United Fidelity Bank and more.
- A paper shredding and electronics recycling event is set for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 7 at the parking lot of Oak Street Health, 3348 W. 87th St.
- A pet health-fair is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 25 in the north parking lot at 8359 S. Pulaski. Staff from Chicago Animal Care & Control will be on hand with 100 free vaccines (rabies, FVRP, DA2PPL). There also will be free microchipping, ID tags, pet food & supplies. Sign up to receive a “curb your dog” lawn sign.
If you have any news you’d like to see in this column, please call me or send an email to editor@swnewsherald.com.
All this writing makes me hungry; I think I’ll head over to Taco Sabroso, 8346 S. Pulaski, for some chorizo tacos topped with cilantro, onion, and green salsa… hmmm hmm delicious! Readers, it’s been fun, I wish you and your loved ones a joyful April month.
“On the Day of Judgement, we shall not be asked what we have read, but what we have done; not how eloquently we have spoken, but how holy our lives have been.” – Thomas à Kempis
1 Comment
Local News
Boys Volleyball | Brother Rice falls to Glenbard West and York, takes 4th at Smack Attack
Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent It was a busy weekend in the area for boys volleyball as Brother Rice hosted its 14th annual Smack Attack tournament. The 24-team event played April 19-20 featured area teams Brother Rice, Marist and Richards, along with defending Class 4A champion Glenbard West and two highly rated teams from…
Swanson scores, assists in Red Stars’ win over Reign
Spread the loveThe Red Stars improved to 3-1-1 by beating the Seattle Reign, 2-1, on the road on April 21. Mallory Swanson had an assist on an Ali Schlegel goal in the fourth minute and added a goal of her own in the 31st minute. Swanson missed last season after sustaining a knee injury on…
Red Stars’ Tatumn Milazzo has top Save of the Week
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Tatumn Milazzo called her achievement “funny.” The Chicago Red Stars defender and Orland Park native was awarded the NWSL’s Save of the Week after chasing down a ball in a loss to Angel City on April 13. The Save of the Week usually goes to a goalie. Milazzo laughed…
Men’s College Volleyball | Saint Xavier captures fifth straight conference tourney title
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The SXU men’s volleyball team won its fifth straight Chicagoland Christian Athletic Conference tournament championship after a 25-16, 25-17, 25-22 sweep of Calumet College of St. Joseph on April 20 at the Shannon Center. Jan Lopuch had 10 kills and nine digs for the Cougars. With the win, the…
College Baseball | Saint Xavier upsets Eastern Illinois
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Saint Xavier baseball team picked up a win that its players are going to remember for a long time. The Cougars stunned Eastern Illinois, 4-2, on April 17 in Charleston. It was the Cougars’ first win over the Panthers, a Division I program, since 2005. Lyons grad Troy…
Boys Volleyball | Glenbard West tops Marist to stay unbeaten
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Marist boys volleyball team, ranked fifth in the nation by USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches, lost to Glenbard West, 25-23, 25-21, in the championship match at the Brother Rice Smack Attack on April 20 in Chicago. Glenbard West (19-0) is the two-time defending state champion and is ranked third…
St. Laurence hoops teams top honor roll
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Area basketball teams proved to be strong on the court and in the classroom this season, and St. Laurence was the leader of the pack. The Illinois Basketball Coaches Association compiled a list of the top academic teams, and the area did well. In Division 3 girls, St. Laurence…
Chicago Bears recognize St. Rita senior with All-Star award
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Chances are good that few outside of St. Rita football circles know who David Lyle is. With good reason. Lyle missed his senior season for the Mustangs last fall after sustaining a serious knee injury. He even postponed having knee surgery so that he could take care of his…
Pols want 63rd St. armory for new police HQ
Spread the love. Porfirio, Guerrero-Cuellar push plan in Springfield . By Tim Hadac Any plans the Chicago Department of Aviation may have had for the vacant Army National Guard Midway Armory, 5400 W. 63rd St., may be grounded, at least for now. Several elected officials are eyeing the parcel as the headquarters of a new…
It’s (pizza) party time at OLS
Spread the love. Third graders at Our Lady of the Snows School break into cheers as they learn they’ve won a pizza party for selling more raffle booklets than any other class. The recent Grand Raffle fundraiser brought in about $6,000. Parents looking for a grade school for their sons and daughters for 2024-25 are…
Neighbors
Remembering Lee Milner
NEWS TEAM Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com On Wednesday, April 17, the Springfield, Illinois Capitol and journalism communities lost a devoted friend and advocate when Lee Milner passed away. As Dean Olsen wrote in his piece in the Illinois Times earlier this month, “Readers of Illinois Times often have seen Milner’s work as a freelance photojournalist. But…
Capitol Briefs: Expansion of postpartum coverage, ban on kangaroos among hundreds of measures to pass House
By ALEX ABBEDUTO & COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois kangaroo owners are one step closer to being forced to surrender their marsupials this week after the House passed a bill criminalizing their possession. That was one of more than 300 bills to pass the House ahead of a Friday procedural deadline.…
Pritzker says state ‘obviously’ needs to change 2010 law that shrunk pension benefits
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com With a month-and-a-half left in the General Assembly’s spring session, Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration is readying its proposal to address Illinois’ chronically underfunded pension system. But the governor this week also acknowledged in the strongest terms yet that any plans to finally get the state on track toward…
Pritzker’s health insurance reforms targeting ‘utilization management’ clear House
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker celebrated a partial legislative victory Thursday night when the House passed his initiative to end some practices health insurance companies use to control the amount and cost of health care services individual patients receive. The “Healthcare Protection Act,” House Bill 5395, cleared the…
Lawmakers, cannabis industry calls for ban on ‘delta-8’ and other psychoactive hemp products
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois’ largest cannabis business association is pushing to ban the sale of delta-8 THC, an increasingly popular psychoactive substance that’s popped up in corner stores across the country in recent years. New legislation filed in Springfield this week revives an ongoing debate over delta-8 and other…
As state continues to inventory lead pipes, full replacement deadlines are decades away
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois Clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com Lead pipes in public water systems and drinking fixtures have been banned in new construction since 1986, when Congress amended the Safe Drinking Water Act, but they are still in use across the U.S. and in Illinois. The presence of lead pipes has persisted due in part to…
Capitol Briefs: Bill creating new early childhood agency among 244 to advance
By ALEX ABBEDUTO HANNAH MEISEL & COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker’s plan to create a new state agency to oversee Illinois’ various early childhood programs moved forward on Friday after the state Senate’s unanimous approval. It was one of 244 bills that cleared the Senate this week. Early childhood…
INVESTIGATE MIDWEST: Farmers have clamored for the Right to Repair for years. It’s getting little traction in John Deere’s home state
By Jennifer Bamberg, Investigate Midwest Originally published April 10, 2024 During the 2023 harvest season, one of Jake Lieb’s tractors quit working. A week later, his combine stopped working, too. Both were new — and he was locked out from making any repairs himself because of software restrictions embedded in the machines. Instead, a technician…
Capitol Briefs: Pritzker appoints first-ever Prisoner Review Board director; Chicago advances migrant funding
By JERRY NOWICKI & DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Weeks after two high-profile resignations at the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday appointed the first-ever executive director to help lead the beleaguered agency. To fill the newly created position, the governor tapped Jim Montgomery, who most recently served as director of…
Advocates renew push to tighten firearm laws aimed at protecting domestic violence victims
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois Clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Advocates for stricter gun laws rallied at the state Capitol Tuesday for a measure aimed at protecting domestic violence victims and two other criminal justice reforms. The bills are backed by organizations such as Moms Demand Action and One Aim Illinois among others. “These policies support…
Hi! Welcome to the neighborhood newspaper. Your column is so informative and friendly. Thanks for all the information on Ashburn events and also for the inspirational and religious thoughts. I look forward to reading your column every week.