Niles News Briefs

Pace proposes route changes

The City has been contacted by Pace in regards to proposed service changes that would affect Park Ridge riders. Proposed changes would include routes 215, 225, 226, 422, and 423; the addition of Route 424; and, the discontinuation of Routes 210 and 421. 

Pace is seeking public input on the next phase of these service improvements and will be holding six public hearings throughout its service region.  For more information, please visit pacebus.com.

Students Making Sauerkraut Learn to Love It, Learn About Healthy Benefits

Niles West German 2 Honors students were busy making sauerkraut last semester. They prepared the sauerkraut in class and allowed it to ferment for 15 weeks, which is considered quite a long time. German teacher Josef Neumayer said, “As part of our sauerkraut-making unit, we discussed the economy of cabbage, culinary practices, cultural significance, and we ended with the importance of probiotics and health and wellness.”

The longer sauerkraut ferments, the more the flavor develops, so last week the students sampled the results and decided the flavor was just right and it was ready to share. Students took home a jar to share or cook a meal for their family over the weekend. Neumayer said, “This batch was amazing.” For many of his students, it was their first time trying sauerkraut and now there are some big fans.

Joshua Saville said, “At first the salt was overwhelming, but afterwards it was tolerable and then delicious.”

“It was crazy how easy it is to make sauerkraut,” said Mohtadi Syed. “We only used two ingredients. I learned a lot about fermentation and probiotics. I thought I would spit it out, but, it was delicious.”

District 64 to compete in Special Olympics spring games

District 64 will compete in the Special Olympics Spring Games at Prospect High School on April 25-26. Special Olympics is an athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children, ages eight and up with disabilities.

In order to be eligible for participation in Special Olympics, every athlete must have a valid application for participation (Medapp) on file with Special Olympics Illinois prior to the start of training. The deadline in District 64 is Feb. 27, 2020. To view the form, visit our Special Olympics page here.

Hit a homerun for literacy

District 64 will host a World Read Aloud event with a baseball theme. The program, part of Parent University, will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 5 at the Field Elementary School’s Learning Resource Center. The event will include a virtual visit from authors David A. Kelly, author of “The Ballpark Mysteries” series and Dan Gutman, author of “Baseball Card Aventure” series, “My Weird School” series and many others. Participants will read aloud, create personalized bookmarks and enjoy new books and tasty treats. Attendees are encouraged to wear their favorite baseball attire.

Field School is located at 707 N. Wisner Avenue, Park Ridge.

Myths and Realities About Snakes

Fear and fascination have surrounded snakes for centuries. In s-s-s-celebration of National Serpent Day, Little Red Schoolhouse naturalist George Klut debunked four common misconceptions about these reptiles.

Myth 1: Snakes dislocate their jaws to eat. Snakes have two, unfused and flexible lower mandibles (jawbones) that allow them to swallow prey, sometimes much larger than their heads, whole. Their teeth are designed to hold rather than chew prey.