CASE: Walking for a Cause

Editor:

As the captain of team “CASE Cares,” I will be joining with thousands of people nationwide this fall to participate in the 2009 Out of the Darkness Communit Walk to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The AFSP is at the forefront of research, education and prevention initiatives designed to reduce loss of life from suicide.

In 2007 the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry released a study that showed a 15-year-high increase in the youth suicide rate. The president of the AACAP said, “I call on all physicians, educators, parents, and teens to learn the signs of suicidal behavior and to take action when they observe symptoms by seeking help.”

The Evanston community suffered the tragic loss of an elementary school student just last year.  Evanston Citizens for Appropriate Special Education (CASE) is taking this opportunity to do something proactive and positive to support prevention efforts.

We invite interested community members to join our team. The three-mile walk will take place in Lincoln Park at 10 a.m. on Oct. 10.  Sign up by going to www.afsp.donordrive.com  Or call Evanston CASE at 847-556-8676. If you can’t walk with us, I hope you will consider supporting our participation in this event.

We appreciate your support and hope to see you at the walk.

 —  Cari Levin, Founding

Director, Evanston CASE

Krave Concessions Perk Up Evanston’s Lakefront

Editor:

I want to share a recent discovery I made along our lakefront. I am referring to those wonderful colorful Krave concession stands.

The first time I stumbled upon this fantastic new addition to our lakefront, I had ridden my bike to meet a friend near Greenwood Street Beach, at what we previously called the Hut.

The concession stand was decorated with bright hula hoops and colorful signage with ’50s- and ’60s-type toys, such as Slinkies and, on the umbrella-ed.

After meeting my friend we decided to have lunch. We sat at a table and were surprised when a waiter came over to take our order. We each ordered a “special,” one a hamburger, the other a hotdog with chips and a coke.

What a pleasant place to stop and have a good, inexpensive lunch.

Another thing we noticed was how friendly and attentive the young people working there are.

After complimenting our waiter, I asked him if this was his summer job. He explained that it was and that he was a junior at Evanston Township High School.

He learned about this Evanston-based company, Krave, at the Evanston Job Fair last April. As the summer moved along, I repeatedly stopped at those cute umbrella-ed Krave concession carts.

Whether at Lighthouse Beach or Lee Street Beach, I was able to sit down and enjoy a refreshing drink or an ice cream bar.

Each time I did, I would see kids with their parents getting an assortment of treats to bring down to the beach or to take for the car ride home after a day on the beach.

I found myself remembering when I would take my young son out for a beach day. How great it would have been to have this type of convenient concession stand.

I believe that the recent addition has been a huge step forward for the Evanston beachfronts.

After a long wait for this type of food concession stand along our lakefront, I am pleased that an Evanston company with such exceptional customer service was selected to act as our Lakefront concessionaire.

Some good things are worth waiting for.

— Susan Schell

 

 

For the Sake of the Future, Growth Must Be Stopped, Not Just Controlled

Editor:

Regarding planning for the future: Any plan must include a strategy to stop “growth,” no matter how unpopular.

It should be evident by now that continuous “growth” and “progress” cannot be sustained. Social costs and the destruction of the environment escalate. Local and federal governments and taxing bodies must learn to wean themselves from this expectation of more revenue and corresponding borrowing from the future.

Leaders must set an example for the general public. It is almost too late, and it is high time to face the unpleasant future that will hit our children.

— John Tuzson