Margaret Lungren Strotz, former First Lady of Northwestern University, passed away on Sunday July 10th in Evanston with her family. “Meg”, was publically known for her wisdom, strength and composure yet she will be best remembered as an elegant, fun-loving, “glass half-full” inspiration who loved life and was tirelessly devoted to her family to her last day.

The depression-era daughter of a concert pianist and mechanical engineer, Meg was an Evanston High School graduate who spent the year following high school working for Mc-Donnell Douglas Aircraft as a blue print inspector during WWII.  With the men off at war, Meg and her sisters resourcefully applied for and received, scholarship funding reserved for the football team at University of Wisconsin, where she attended as a Spanish major. She completed her studies at Northwestern, receiving her Bachelor’s degree in 1947.

She married trial lawyer, Robert Hanley and for 32 years they raised their family in Evanston. Unexpectedly divorced in 1979, a high school friend arranged a blind date and she originally balked at the idea.  Meg’s mother playfully commented that there was only one eligible bachelor in Evanston at the time.  That bachelor was the 13th President of Northwestern, Robert Strotz. They were married several months later.

As the First Lady of Northwestern, Meg embraced the role as Ambassador and Hostess for Alums and Dignitaries with humility and grace. Meg was a member of the NU Women’s Board, Field Museum Women’s Board, University Circle, University Guild, Glenview Club and Delta Gamma Sorority. She embraced her position and viewed it as an honor and a privilege to stand beside her revered husband.

Meg adored the arts and music filled her life. She was equally at home in the Green Room at the Lyric Opera as she was around the piano cleverly adapting lyrics to Broadway tunes in the living room with friends.

She lived her life as an inspiration to her three daughters, Katie Storer (Dr. Mark Storer) of Wilmette, Dr. Marcia Hoover (Richard Hoover) of Redmond, Washington and Elizabeth Hanley of Saybrook, Illinois. She is also survived by 8 grandchildren; Jeanette Hanley (Gerald Gutowsky), Timothy Hanley, David Hoover (Staci Hoover), Margaret Greenway (Christopher Greenway), Paul Hoover (Stephanie Hoover), Morgan Hughes, Lee Hughes, Lincoln Hughes and 9 great-grandchildren

The family will remember her life privately. Honoring her request, her children and grandchildren will gather for a private memorial service.

Meg requested that in lieu of flowers all donations on her behalf be directed to Northwestern University’s Robert H. Strotz Research Professorship Endowment which she established in his name, Northwestern University Alumni Relations and Development, 1201 David Street, Evanston, IL 60208 or www.wewill.northwestern.edu

Summer night on the North Shore. Your wife, your dog and you are having ice cream at a sidewalk hangout surrounded by a gaggle of teens. The kids all have smart phones on which they’re happily texting as they socialize.

This gets you thinking about the word “phones.” These ubiquitous devices are called phones, but they’re not being used as phones all that much.

Your own kids are using smartphones for more than phoning. So are you, your friends, neighbors, people in movie theaters who sit in front of you, drivers who don’t move after stoplights turn green…

You wonder—why are these devices even called phones? Maybe they need a smarter name. After all, phones are for your ears. And these things are for so much more…

When you can’t sleep, you can read a book on one. Sometimes you watch videos on your phone. Or TV shows, even movies. You take pictures with it! You do a lot more LOOKING at your phone than listening to it.

You look at emails, websites, news stories, weather reports. And texts, lots of texts. You’ve become “thumb-i-dexterous” from pressing those little keyboard letters so fast.

So, yeah, you spend more time looking at your phone for countless reasons than you do listening to it for the one reason that it’s also a phone.

And you muse: maybe it shouldn’t be called a phone at all. Phones are for ears. This thing should be called something for eyes. Hey, you got it: an “eye phone.” Sounds perfect.

But wait, hasn’t that name already been taken?

This story was originally published in The North Shore Weekend newspaper.

As long as I can remember I’ve carried blank paper and a pen in my purse. Even after I added the notepad app to my iPad, I still made room for paper and ink beside it in my attaché.

The notebook in my purse today is spiral bound and upcycled from a discarded book by a Glenview-based business, Hardback YoYo. Owner Brian Martin, sandwiched blank pages for writing between the original cover and several pages from the original text of Amy Vanderbilt’s Everyday Etiquette, first published in the 1950s.

Chapters covered correspondence, funerals, “Your Manners Away From Home,” and the like in a questions-and-answer format. But when I dropped my purse the other day the book fell open to the most timely of topics: registering to vote.

Mrs. D.B. Millersville, of Pennsylvania, asked Vanderbilt, “As a married woman how do I register to vote?” Vanderbilt recommended signing with your legal name rather than your social name; “that is, Anne May Smith, not Mrs. John Smith.” Another option was to use first name–maiden name-married name, Anne Clarke Smith.

“If a married woman prefers to sign herself ‘Anne Clarke Smith’ rather than ‘Anne May Smith’ there is usually no objection, and I myself feel that this is a more distinguishing name than one which uses the first two Christian names – if there are two – with the married one,” Vanderbilt recommended.

I’ll feel some pride this November when my voter ID bears the first-maiden-married name combination that Ms. Vanderbilt promoted.

But as long as I was thinking about it (and undoubtedly avoiding some other household task), I did a quick Internet search of whether spouses like Anne and John Smith vote alike. The research suggests that, more often than not, they do. The question of why remains a mystery.

Consider first a 2011 study published in the Journal of Politics. It established that spouses are more strongly correlated in their politics than they are in their personality or physical traits.

Researchers in this case likened mate selection to friend selection, and suggested that people choose friends and neighbors – and as an extension, dates – who share their socio-political orientation.

But that explanation negates the popularity of online dating, and so I read with interest a 2011 study in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior. In it, researchers randomly sampled online dating profiles from 313 zip codes, and found that few people expressed political preferences in these profiles.

Acknowledging that spouses most often vote alike, the research team sought to explain how singles who don’t talk politics at the beginning of a relationship could end up marrying a like-minded voter. They came up with two possible explanations.

One was that singles are more flexible before a first date, but they do want to know about their mate’s political preferences once things get serious. Incompatible politics may end the relationship after a few weeks or months.

A second explanation was that singles are making long-term mate choices based on qualities that unintentionally correlate with politics, like religion, “physiology or intelligence.”

But the exception proves the rule and many happy couples sit on opposite sides of the political aisle, a la James Carville and Mary Matalin –that’s who I want to talk to this election year. Tell me how you and your spouse keep the peace on election night when your ballots aren’t in agreement.

Email me at joanna@northshoreweekend.com

This story was originally published in The North Shore Weekend newspaper.

An avid Pittsburgh Penguins fan walks into a restaurant and shakes hands with me, an avid Chicago Blackhawks fan. We sit at a table at Egg Harbor Café in Lake Forest. We order oatmeal. It is early June, and Andy Duran’s Pens are in the Stanley Cup Final, skating with Sharks from San Jose. My Hawks, first-round victims, had turned in their equipment weeks ago.

Duran has every right to gloat or litter our conversation with trash talk. He does neither. Too polite.

“I like all professional teams from Pittsburgh,” Duran, a native of Jacksonville, Florida, and a current Lake Bluff resident, says. “One of my favorite trips, as a kid, was traveling to Bradenton [Florida] in the spring to watch the Pirates play spring training games. I’d attend Steelers-Jaguars football games when the Steelers visited Jacksonville.

“I ran track [at Nease High School in St. Augustine, Tim Tebow’s alma mater]. I played baseball in high school. I played second base and shortstop and bench … mostly bench.”

Duran, 37, is a starting quarterback today, Chief Signal Caller (Executive Director, actually) of Lake Forest-based LEAD (Linking Efforts Against Drugs). Before landing the job, in 2012, three local teenagers had committed suicide in a span of 87 days. One suicide in a year is exactly one too many. Three, in a quarter of a year? The number shook the Lake Forest, Lake Bluff and Knollwood communities.

The number rattled Duran.

“It’s one of the reasons I applied for the position,” he says. “It’s still a concern in our country. It’s not going to go away. At LEAD we primarily address the causes of drug abuse among teens and young adults. We take a community approach, seeking assistance from businesses and educators, non-profits and law enforcement. Drug abuse drives some to commit suicide. We’re focused on drug prevention.”

Suicide prevention, too. LEAD launched Text-A-Tip in early 2014. The 24/7 crisis hotline initially served middle school and high school students in Lake Forest/Lake Bluff/Knollwood, and everybody knows most middle school and high school students text almost as often as they breathe. Text-A-Tip helps those suffering from depression, substance abuse, peer pressure and bullying issues, among other conditions. How it works: ailing student (or a friend of an ailing student) thumbs a community code and crafts an anonymous text to a number (274637); a state-licensed mental health professional responds to the text no more than a few minutes later.

No other crisis hotline in the country provides such assistance.

Duran oversaw the expansion of Text-A-Tip in Highland Park and Deerfield school districts, in New Trier Township, in McHenry County. Educators from other states have heard about Text-A-Tip’s usefulness (more than 4,400 texts, through 2015) and contacted Duran to help them initiate a similar service.

“Kids today are growing up faster than they need to grow up,” Duran, father of two daughters (ages six and four), says. “There’s a lot of pressure to succeed at the high school level, to get into the right school. Some kids feel that and become depressed. Some resort to drugs and become addicted to them. At LEAD we focus on reverse stigma. I don’t consider drug abuse a dirty condition; drug abusers are people, suffering through a disease, an illness, and they need help. We’re here for them.

“Happier kids in a community,” he adds, “make that community a healthier one.”

It hits me, at about the time he swallows his ninth spoonful of oatmeal, that Duran was probably that clean-cut boy in high school who got voted “Most Likely to Stay Clean-cut” by his peers. His hair is neat and parted, professional-looking, ready for some big board meeting. Or a wedding. His clothes sport as many wrinkles as those found on a tot’s face. Duran attended Saint Leo University in Florida, majoring in religion and minoring in special education, and wanted to live and work near a big city. He interviewed for jobs near New York and Chicago in the spring of 2001.

His first job, in Chicago: case manager for Misericordia Home North. For more than five years he was a youth minister at Church of St. Mary in Lake Forest. In 2004 Duran founded Lake Forest-based Camp Hope, a five-day recreational and residential summer escape for children, teens and young adults who are challenged by developmental disabilities. Ideal preparatory posts for what he is doing today.

When he isn’t saving lives as LEAD’s leader, he’s impacting them. Busy, busy. Duran, Duran.

“My grandfather [the late Ed Duran, an engineer] and father [Paul, a former photographer currently in the banking industry] taught me the importance of hard work and resiliency,” says Duran, whose wife, Liz, has taught Chicago Public School and School of St. Mary students. “My grandfather was a family man; family was always No. 1. My father is just like him, quiet, a man who likes to sit back when he’s around his family and soak everything in.”

The topic of conversation shifts to Duran’s role as a parent. He takes it as seriously as he takes his job. He mentions the setting of expectations, the importance of balance in his daughters’ lives. The Durans love to visit Chicago. They travel to Florida at least three times a year. They bond at pools and at beaches.

“I want my children to be nice,” Duran says. “I want them to be gentle, Christian human beings. As a parent I put more emphasis on effort than I do on anything else. One of my daughters completed an art project at school. What mattered to me, more than anything else, was the time she devoted to it, her dedication to it from start to finish. The result was secondary. The beauty of it was secondary.”

Andy Duran certainly appreciated the efforts of his beloved Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final last month. He didn’t mind the result, either: Pittsburgh, in six games.

Visit leadingefforts.org for more information on LEAD. This story was originally published in The North Shore Weekend newspaper.

Chris Toomey was darn near pitcher perfect.

The crafty left-hander, who will be a senior at Loyola Academy this fall, scattered five hits and beat the Wilmette Waves 3-0 in the semifinal round of the 2016 Suburban Chicago Connie Mack League tournament at Duke Childs Field on July 16.

“It’s his time [to shine],” said LA head coach Nick Bridich.

Writing Toomey’s name on the lineup card proved to be a brilliant move by the LA head coach.

“I’m pretty sure everyone expected the Waves to roll over us,” Bridich said.

And with good reason, the Waves (24-7) hadn’t lost a league game all summer.

Toomey never wavered. He was good from beginning to end. He had five strikeouts and allowed only two walks over seven frames.

“I was most pleased with the way he approached the seventh inning,” said Bridich. “He’s up 3-0, and bam — his first pitch of the inning is a fastball strike. I loved the way he established himself late in the game.”

New Trier’s Thomas Nugent (class of 2017) also pitched well. He gave up just six hits.

RBI singles by John Mejia and Jason Vrbancic sparked LA’s offense.

Game two of the day pitted Loyola against Palatine. And despite a decent start by left-hander PJ McKermitt, the Ramblers (12-9) wound up losing the championship game 7-4.

“I thought we played 14 great innings today,” said Bridich. “I’m pretty happy with what we did.”

This contest was tied 3-3 after four innings. Danny O’Brien came up with a two-out, run-scoring single in the second inning.

Then, in the bottom of the fourth, Vrbancic tripled over the center-fielder’s head and came home on a single by Sean Tully. Later in the frame, Brian Vance, who had reached on a walk, scored on a bases-loaded walk to Hank Haracz.

LA scored its final tally in the sixth, when Will Jackson came up with a pitch-hit single and scored on an error.

McKermitt worked four innings against Palatine’s potent lineup — the Pirates defeated Evanston 11-1 in the other semifinal game on July 16 — and kept his team in it. The 3-4 hitters in the Pirates lineup went 7 for 8.

“This is a new level of competition for PJ,” said Bridich. “He’s got good stuff.”

LA opened the tourney by beating Highland Park 6-0 on July 14. Haracz turned in a standout pitching performance. A day later, the Ramblers dropped a 3-2 decision to Evanston despite solid mound work by Ben Wagner and Tommy Moran.

Meanwhile, Wilmette opened tourney play with a convincing 6-1 victory over Palatine on July 14. Patrick Jodloman (class of 2019) went the distance on a three-hitter. He used a sharp-breaking curve to fan nine batters.

The Waves opened the game with back-to-back triples by Will McNulty and Liam O’Neill. Dylan Horvitz, Sean Douaire and Eric Moerschel also had singles in the frame as the Waves took a 4-0 lead.

The Waves padded the lead with two more runs in the fifth on RBI singles by Martin Duffy and Cam Redding. Douaire also had a hit in the inning to finish the game 3 for 3.

McNulty ended up as the team’s MVP this summer. Nugent was the most valuable pitcher.

The other award winners included Duffy (golden bat), Douaire (golden glove) and Jack Falk (coaches’ awards).

Jeannie Boehm, a 2016 New Trier grad, is playing on the USA Women’s U18 National Team. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER

Playing on the USA Women’s U18 National Team proved to be a golden opportunity for Jeannie Boehm.

Boehm, a four-year starter on the girls basketball team at New Trier, averaged 7.8 points and 7.2 rebounds for the USA in the 2016 FIBA Americas Championship in Valdivia, Chile.

The USA squad (5-0) defeated Canada 109-62 in the Gold Medal game on July 17 to win its eighth straight championship and improve its FIBA Americas record to 53-2.

Boehm played nine minutes in the title game and ended up with two points, five rebounds and one steal.

In the five-game set, the 6-foot-3 forward shot a team-best 72 percent from the field. Her 36 rebounds were third best on the team.

The Harvard University recruit teamed with some incredible talent. The USA outscored its opponents 520-241 and shot 51 percent from the field.

Lauren Cox of Flower Mound, Texas was named tournament MVP. She averaged 13.0 points per game.

The other leading scorers were Chennedy Carter (11.8), Amber Ramirez (10.8), Tyasha Harris (10.6), Sidney Cooks (10.6) and Megan Walker (9.6).

Medal Semifinals

Boehm finished with five points and nine rebounds in USA’s 104-36 victory over Puerto Rico in the Medal Semifinals on July 16.

Preliminary Round: Game 3

She was a headliner.

Boehm turned in a star performance in the USA’s 110-52 victory over Venezuela on July 15. She led all scorers with 20 points.

Coming off the bench, she also pulled down nine rebounds, including five on the offensive end. She was good on 8 of 9 field goals.

In her team’s three preliminary games (3-0), Boehm shot 87 percent from the field (13-15) and averaged 10.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

Preliminary Round: Game 2

Boehm didn’t see a lot of time, but she was productive in USA’s 80-59 victory over Brazil on July 14.

In eight minutes of playing time, Boehm finished with two points, four rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal.

Cox (13 points), Carter (12 points), Walker (11 points) and Tyasha Harris (10 points) led the USA.

Preliminary Round: Game 1

Boehm played 18 minutes and just missed a double-double in USA’s 117-32 win over Guatemala in the opening round of 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championship at Valdivia, Chile on July 13.

Boehm came off the bench to tally 10 points and nine rebounds. She went 4-for-5 from the field and 2-for-3 from the foul line. Six of her rebounds were on the defensive end. She also added one assist.

Ricky Palonis, Joe Zawaski and B. Mills Rendell

Glenview’s Joe Zawaski shot a 139 (70-69) to win the scratch division at the 50^th Annual North Shore Amateur on July 16-17 at Sunset Valley Golf Course in Highland Park.

Ron Ruffie (68-71—139) took first in the handicap division, while Stuart Duhl took top honors in the senior division (70-72—142).

Zawaski won his division by three strokes over Ricky Palonis (142). Others in the top 11 included B. Mills Rendell (146), Justin Schwab (146), Quinn Prchal (147), Noah Apter (147), Jason Paek (148), Brandon Bolling (149), Michael Abrahamson (150), Andrew Vitt (150) and Brad Rendell (150).

Ruffie claimed his title by a comfortable margin: eight strokes. Others in the top 11 included John Bert (147), Paul Knapp (147), Kirk Blakney (148), Sargon Gilliana (148), Tom Mientus (148), Joseph Pauley (149), Douglas Shelby (151), Jim Ardell (152), Brett Sherman (152) and Hal Axelrod (153).

Duhl won the senior division by five strokes over runner-up Scott Lapins (147). The other finishers were Dick Freund (149), Neil Meltzer (152), Steve Dlugosinski (153), Tom Vandenberk (153), David Lee (154) and Mike Lane (157).

Paul Knapp, Ron Ruffie and Jon Bert

Scott Lapins, Stuart Duhl and Dick Freund

SCOREBOARD WATCHING: CLUB SOCCER

The FC United Select 2 girls soccer team took runner-up honors in the U15 girls division at the US Youth Soccer’s 2016 National Presidents Cup in Tulsa, Oklahoma on July 14-16.

Coach by Craig Snower, FC United fell to West Coast FC Murphy of California 1-0 in overtime in the championship on July 16.

The team went 1-0-2 in the preliminary games. Maggie Brett scored FC United’s lone goal in a 1-1 tie against Union SC Crimson Tide Academy of New Jersey in the opening preliminary game.

In second preliminary game, FC United topped JASA Coastal Surge Black of North Carolina 2-1 on goals by Fallon Warshauer and Lilly Frentzel.

And in the team’s final preliminary game, a 1-1 tie against West Coast FC Murphy, the FC United goal was scored by Warshauer.

The other roster members included Ashley Bufe, Claudia Campolo, Josie Crumley, Meghan Dwyer, Julia Goldish, Grace Harmer, Leland Keller, Claire Kelly, Meghan Kurtz, Kate Murtaugh, Madeline Prassas, Caitlin Ross, Torrie Welch and Grace Zern.

Meanwhile, in U13 boys division action, FC United Select 1 went 1-1-1 in the preliminary games and then dropped a 1-0 decision to Herndon Argentinos Juniors Black of Virginia in the consolation final on July 17.

FC United opened the tourney by downing Herndon 3-1 in the first preliminary game. Goals were scored by Ethan Webster, Patrick Brennan and Alexis Escobar.

Brennan and Oscar Blazer came up with FC United’s goals in its 2-2 game against CYSA La Laja of California in the final preliminary game.

And, in the other prelim, a 2-1 setback to CASL Juniors Red South of North Carolina, FC United’s lone goal was scored by John Cronnolly in the first half.

The other team members include Collin Maine, Eamon Brady, Zachary Moskowitz, Max Iida, Drew Maytum, Ian Lukasik, Jack Latteman, Issaco Mati, Jake Krueger, Colin Redmond, Daniel Kaye, Dylan Gripman and Chaz Bond. The squad is coached by Paul Gibbs.

SCOREBOARD WATCHING: CLUB DIVING

Loyola Academy’s Christopher Canning, seen here at the IHSA state meet last winter, is now a three-time All-American. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER

Four big names — Michael Diveris, Christopher Canning, Alex O’Toole and Jesse Creed — got it done.

That foursome led the way as Windy City Diving took first place in the USA Diving Junior Olympic Zone D championship at the University of Missouri on July 7-10.

The four standouts, along with 13 other teammates, will now compete in the national championships in Moultrie, Georgia on Aug. 1-14.

Creed, who will be a sophomore at New Trier, had a terrific showing in the 14-15 girls competition. She won two events: 3-meter springboard and platform. She also qualified to the nationals in the senior women’s 1-meter platform.

Diveris, a 2016 grad at Lake Forest High School, advanced to the nationals after placing seventh in the 1-meter springboard and 11th in the 3-meter springboard.

O’Toole, who will be a junior at Loyola Academy, finished ninth in the 3-meter springboard. He’s returning to the boards for the first time in two years.

Canning, who is set for his senior year with the Ramblers, continues to shine on the national stage. The three-time All-American, who took second in the IHSA state meet last winter, won the 16-18 boys platform and 3-meter senior men’s event. He also qualified in the 16-18 1-meter springboard, boys 3-meter springboard and senior men’s 1-meter springboard.

The National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association named Canning the boys independent school national champion for the 2015-16 season.

In the team competition, Windy City tallied 426 points to beat Nebraska Diving Club (312 points). Creed led all women divers with 59 points. Canning led all men divers with 60 points.

In addition to Canning, Diveris and Lake Forest grad Alex Streighiff also earned All-America honors. Streighiff will dive at the University of Iowa. Diveris will dive for the University of Pennyslvania.

Glenbrook Aquatics: Ryan Cohn has qualified for nationals in the 14-15 boys division in three events: 1 meter, 3 meter and platform.

Top senior athletes — class of 2016 — from The North Shore Weekend/Daily North Shore area will be playing at the next level. Here is the fall sports list:

Photography by Joel Lerner, George Pfoertner, Jon Durr, Teng Shen, Steve Handwerker and Tracy Allen

Men’s Cross Country

Highland Park High School’s Brett Davidson

Lake Forest High School’s Mark Myers

New Trier’s Josh Derrick

Highland Park High School: Brett Davidson (Boston University)

Lake Forest High School: Mark Myers (University of North Carolina)

New Trier High School: Josh Derrick (MIT)

Women’s Cross Country

Highland Park High School’s Charlotte Nawor

Lake Forest High School’s Katie Condon

Highland Park High School: Charlotte Nawor (University of Illinois)

Lake Forest High School: Katie Condon (Kansas State University)

Men’s Diving

Lake Forest High School’s John-Michael Diveris

Lake Forest High School’s Alex Streightiff

Lake Forest High School: John-Michael Diveris (University of Pennsylvania)

Lake Forest High School: Alex Streightiff (University of Iowa)

Women’s Diving

Lake Forest High School’s Carmen White

Lake Forest High School: Carmen White (New York University)

Field Hockey

Lake Forest High School’s Emma DeNoble

Lake Forest High School’s Sheridan Weiss

Lake Forest Academy’s Caroline Miller

Lake Forest Academy’s Lexi Silver

Loyola Academy’s Lindsay Getz

New Trier High School’s Alison Denby

New Trier High School’s Rose Gorski

New Trier High School’s Maggie Lake

New Trier High School’s Claire Weaver

Lake Forest High School: Emma DeNoble (Colgate University)

Lake Forest High School: Sheridan Weiss (Indiana University)

Lake Forest Academy: Caroline Miller (American University)

Lake Forest Academy: Lexi Silver (University of Maryland)

Loyola Academy: Lindsay Getz (Georgetown University)

New Trier High School: Ali Denby (Middlebury College)

New Trier High School: Rose Gorski (Cornell University)

New Trier High School: Maggie Lake (Colgate University)

New Trier High School: Claire Weaver (Villanova University)

North Shore Country Day: Tala Glass (Bowdoin College)

North Shore Country Day: Rachel Gordon (Haverford College)

North Shore Country Day: Camille Scheyer (Yale University)

Football

Glenbrook North’s John Clark

Glenbrook North’s Nick Karis

Glenbrook North’s Joe Levy

Glenbrook North’s Dimitrije Milutinovic

Glenbrook North’s Patrick Strickland

Highland Park High School’s Cristian Volpentesta

Lake Forest High School’s Danny Carollo

Lake Forest High School Matthew Clifford

Lake Forest High School’s Jaxon Mills (No. 52)

Lake Forest Academy’s Daniel Joseph

Lake Forest Academy’s Thomas Schaffer (No. 58)

Loyola Academy’s Sam Badovinac

Loyola Academy’s Emmett Clifford

Loyola Academy’s Bobby Desherow

Loyola Academy’s Eric Eshoo

Loyola Academy’s Daniel Kurkowski

Loyola Academy’s Ben LeRoy

Loyola Academy’s John Shannon

Glenbrook North: John Clark (Texas A & M)

Glenbrook North: Nick Karis (Augustana College)

Glenbrook North: Joe Levy (Carnegie Mellon)

Glenbrook North: Dimitrije Milutinovic (Saint Xavier University)

Glenbrook North: Patrick Strickland (Carroll University)

Highland Park High School: Cristian Volpentesta (University of Wisconsin)

Highland Park High School: Adam Danzig (St. Olaf College)

Lake Forest High School: Danny Carollo (Purdue University)

Lake Forest High School: Matthew Clifford (Dayton University)

Lake Forest High School: Seth Cole (Carroll University)

Lake Forest High School: Jaxson Mills (Dayton University)

Lake Forest Academy: Daniel Joseph (Penn State)

Lake Forest Academy: Thomas Schaffer (Stanford University)

Loyola Academy: Sam Badovinac (Butler University)

Loyola Academy: Emmett Clifford (Holy Cross)

Loyola Academy: Bobby Desherow (University of Wisconsin-Whitewater)

Loyola Academy: Eric Eshoo (Northwestern University)

Loyola Academy: Daniel Kurkowski (Holy Cross)

Loyola Academy: Ben LeRoy (Northern Illinois)

Loyola Academy: John Shannon (Notre Dame)

Men’s Golf

New Trier’s Andrew Huber

New Trier High School’s Matt Murlick

 New Trier High School: Andrew Huber (Colgate University)

New Trier High School: Matt Murlick (Marquette University)

Women’s Golf

Lake Forest High School’s Emily Young

New Trier’s Louis McCullough

Lake Forest High School: Emily Young (Amherst College

New Trier High School’s: Louise McCulloch (Northwestern)

Men’s Soccer

New Trier High School’s Spencer Farina

Lake Forest High School’s Matt Moderwell

Lake Forest High School’s Sebastian Ziaja

New Trier’s Jacob Moskowitz

New Trier’s Michael Gallo

Lake Forest High School: Matt Moderwell (Northwestern University)

Lake Forest High School/Chicago Magic: Sebastian Ziaja (Marietta College)

New Trier High School/Chicago Magic: Spencer Farina (University of Notre Dame)

New Trier High School/Chicago Magic: Michael Gallo (Marquette University)

New Trier High School: Jacob Moskowitz (Carnegie Mellon University)

New Trier High School: Bradley Nassar (University of Delaware)

Women’s Swimming

Glenbrook North’s Erin Oliphant

Lake Forest High School’s Reilly Lanigan

Lake Forest High School’s Haley Nelson

Loyola Academy’s Jamie Kolar

Loyola Academy’s Claire Voss

New Trier Swim Club’s Hope Hayward

Glenbrook North/Glenbrook Aquatics: Erin Oliphant (University of Pacific)

Highland Park High School: Natalie Gelberg (Carthage College)

Lake Forest High School: Reilly Lanigan (University of Notre Dame)

Lake Forest High School: Haley Nelson (University of Illinois)

Loyola Academy: Jamie Kolar (University of Illinois)

Loyola Academy: Claire Voss (San Diego State University)

New Trier High School: Samantha Adams (Colgate University)

New Trier High School: Morgan Conley (Georgetown University)

New Trier High School: Hope Hayward (Indiana University)

Women’s Tennis

Lake Forest High School: Christina Zordani (University of Wisconsin)

Women’s Volleyball

New Trier’s Erin Denham

Loyola Academy’s Christina Reed

Loyola Academy’s Melanie Fyda

Loyola Academy’s Olivia Van Zelst

New Trier High School’s Isabelle Tashima

New Trier’s Allyson Vaughn

Loyola Academy: Melanie Fyda (University of Massachusetts)

Loyola Academy: Christina Reed (Brown University)

Loyola Academy: Olivia Van Zelst (Purdue University)

New Trier High School: Brooke Carlson (Pomono College)

New Trier High School: Erin Denham (Williams College)

New Trier High School: Isabelle Tashima (Harvard University)

New Trier High School: Allyson Vaughn (Ohio University)

Mark Shaw (left) of Lake Forest and his son A.J. Shaw take a moment alone at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland July 18. Photo courtesy of Mark Shaw.

A Lake Forest resident and alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention sees similarities to the campaigns of his party’s presumptive nominee Donald J. Trump and the one waged 36 years ago by former President Ronald Reagan.

Mark Shaw, who first got involved in Republican politics campaigning for Reagan while a college student in 1980, said the GOP is more unified at its convention July 18-21 in Cleveland than at any time since the Reagan presidency.

“This is a very unified convention,” Shaw said. “This is the most unified I’ve seen the party since Ronald Reagan. People are looking for a leader. Despite what you’ve heard about Donald Trump on issues or his personality, people are looking for a leader and that’s what he is.”

Shaw also said he remembers skepticism about Reagan’s viability as a candidate. He said the country was looking for a leader with Iran holding American diplomats hostage in the United States Embassy in Tehran.

“The Democrats said they wanted to run against Reagan,” Shaw said. “They thought he would be easy to beat. Look how it turned out. It was a landslide. That could happen again like it did in the early ’80s.”

Though an activist in local politics since 1993, Shaw said his involvement started with Reagan more than 10 years before. This is the first convention for Shaw, who is chairman of the Lake County Republican Central Committee and state central committeeman for the 10th Congressional District.

One special moment for Shaw during the convention’s opening night came when Trump made an appearance on stage when his wife, Malania Trump, was speaking. He heard it might happen but was taken aback when it did.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” Shaw said. “I don’t think a nominee has ever appeared at the convention on the first day. You didn’t know who it was through that smoky haze or what he would say. He was true to form. He said he would talk about his wife and that’s what he basically did.”

Though there were reports of protestors surrounding the Quicken Loans Arena where the convention is being held, Shaw said what he observed was tame. He had a chance to see what they were doing as he had to travel for more than an hour to get from the arena to his hotel.

“There weren’t that many,” Shaw said. “Some of them were talking about Jesus Christ, not Democrats or Republicans. We saw some on the train with Black Lives Matter signs. They were just sitting there.”

The 2016 convention is Shaw’s first. He said he applied to be an at-large delegate because he wanted to witness what he expected to be a historic convention first hand. He also decided to take his son, A.J. Shaw, who will start his freshman year at Lake Forest High School in August.

“I wanted him to have the experience too,” Shaw said of his son. “It’s very exciting. I’ve seen them on television but you don’t really know what it’s like until you get there. We’re meeting people from all over the country.”

As an alternate delegate, Shaw said he attends all meetings and sits in a section of the arena 35 feet from the floor set aside for alternates from all the states.

“If one of the delegates can’t attend a committee meeting, you go. If they can’t vote, you vote,” Shaw said. “We’re a little elevated. We have a better view,” he added referring to his seats.

Of Illinois’ 73 delegates and alternates, 64 were elected in the March primary. Shaw said he applied to be an at-large delegate and was chosen out of 110 people at the state convention in May in Peoria.

Shaw is not alone among North Shore residents representing their constituents at the convention. Reeve Waud of Lake Forest and Todd Rickets of Wilmette are delegates pledged to trump. They were not available for interviews.

A.J. Shaw (left) walks through Cleveland with Todd Rickets, delegate to the Republican National Convention pledged to Donald J. Trump and an owner of the Chicago Cubs. Photo courtesy of Mark Shaw.

Update: Since this story was published on July 10, the North Shore Mosquito Abatement District has provided updated surveillance data for the week of July 10 to July 16, 2016, indicating that as of week 29, the risk of WNV infection is low but remains above average for this time of year and appears to be increasing as the vector abundance and WNV infection rate increase: Culex pipiens abundance in NSMAD gravid traps during week 29 increased approximately 40% over last week. This is the fifth consecutive week that Culex abundance has been above the seasonal average. Vector Index: The Vector Index indicates the abundance of WNV-infected mosquitoes increased over last week and is above average for this time of year, though not at the levels seen in 2012.

Mosquito test batch
Photography by Joel Lerner/JWC Media

Mosquitoes testing positive as carriers of West Nile Virus have increased on the North Shore this year, but most people with bites will never experience symptoms of the disease.

Testing agencies have reported 12 of nearly 600 batches of mosquitoes tested between May 16 and July 7 from Wilmette and Glenview through Lake Bluff are positive for West Nile Virus, according to the North Shore Mosquito Abatement District (NSMAD) and Lake County Health Department.

One positive test was reported in Highland Park on June 23, according to the health department, and the rest are in Cook County, according to David Zazra, communications manager for NSMAD.

A Culex pipiens mosquito; photo from Wikipedia

Zazra said there have been four positive tests in Glenview of the Culex pipiens mosquito, a common house mosquito that carries the virus after feeding on an infected bird: one in Kenilworth, two in Northbrook, one in Wilmette and three in Winnetka since the agency began testing May 16.

“That’s the earliest positive test we’ve ever had,” Zazra said referring to May 16. “We are ahead of past years. We are on a par with 2012, which was the highest year we’ve had.”

The Highland Park result is the only one in Lake County so far this year, according to the release.

While Zazra and Dr. Monica Fudala, a family physician with Northwestern Medicine, encourage people to take precautions against mosquito bites, Fudala said the likelihood of developing serious illness is very small.

“Roughly 25 percent of the people who contact the virus will feel any symptoms at all,” Fudala said. “Those that do will have headaches, body aches, joint pain, nausea and vomiting.”

If any of those symptoms occur, whether or not a person knows they have received a mosquito bite, Fudala said they should consult a physician.

Fudala said an even smaller number of people who contact West Nile Virus, approximately one percent of those who experience symptoms, contact a neuroinvasive form that affects the brain and requires very close monitoring such as hospitalization.

While deaths are rare, they do happen, according the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Last year there were 72 neuroinvasive cases reported in Illinois, with seven resulting in death. Of those seven fatalities, six came from transfusions of infected blood and one from the disease itself, according to Fudala.

People over 50 are more susceptible to the disease than those younger, according to Fudala, but she said all people should protect themselves by wearing long pants and long sleeve shirts, particularly at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most prevalent.

“Use a repellant spray with deet,” Fudala said. “Spray over the skin and clothes because they can bite through the clothes into the skin.”

Two reasons positive tests for West Nile Virus are higher this year are consecutive days of higher temperatures and less rain, according to Zazra. He said the mild winter played a role, too.

“We had several days of mid-80s or above-90 strung together,” Zazra said. “That’s when they breed and it tends to amplify the virus.”

While some mosquitoes thrive with more rainfall, Zazra said the Culex pipiens likes to breed in stagnant water heavy with organic substances. The longer the water remains stagnant the more the insect carrying West Nile has a better a breeding ground.

“We want to get them before they’re flying adults,” Zazra said.

Fudala said prevention is key, and she suggested people make sure their homes are protected with tight screens and clear gutters.  “Don’t leave your screen door open,” Fudala said.

She said all stagnant water should be drained, and that bird baths and puddles on outdoor furniture are particularly worrisome.

Yuh Schabacker-Koppel of Lake Forest, the founder of Green Minds of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, also would like to see prevention rather than abatement practiced. She said it is a better use of taxpayer money. “We should prevent the mosquitoes from breeding in the first place,” Schabacker-Koppel said.

The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for northern Illinois.

The warning is in effect from noon Thursday until 7 p.m. Friday. Although temperatures are expected to climb into the mid-90s, humidity will make it feel worse. The heat index could reach between 105 and 115 degrees.

The National Weather service warns that the conditions could lead to heat related illnesses. The warning states that the elderly, small children and pets are most at risk.

“Have a cool place to shelter from the heat. Avoid outdoor activity during the afternoon,” the National Weather Service states.

Loraine, Chuck and Sharon Percy attend Coroner’s Inquest, Chicago, October, 1966. Credit: Glenn Wall collection

A high-profile lawyer from New York hopes to uncover new information about the murder of U.S. Senator Charles Percy’s daughter Valerie, who was stabbed to death by an intruder while she slept in her family’s Kenilworth home 50 years ago this September. It was the first murder in Kenilworth and the brutality of the crime shocked people on the North Shore and beyond.

John Q. Kelly is a personal injury lawyer who represents families in high-profile wrongful death cases, including the estate of Nicole Brown Simpson against O.J. Simpson; the parents of teenager Natalee Holloway, who disappeared in Aruba, and the estate of Kathleen Savio, ex-wife of former police officer Drew Peterson –among others.

Kelly grew up in Glencoe and was 13 years old when Valerie Percy was killed. She was 21.

“I just remember being troubled and puzzled by it at the time,” Kelly told DailyNorthShore.com on July 19.

So when Kelly noticed the case was nearing its 50th anniversary, he decided to seek information about the murder. Kelly said he is motivated by curiosity in the case — he does not represent anyone.

But when all of his requests for information were denied, Kelly in April filed a lawsuit alleging a violation of the Freedom of Information Act in Cook County Circuit Court. The lawsuit was filed against various Illinois agencies for refusing to release records about the murder of Valerie Percy.

The lawsuit seeks the release of all records relating to the 1966 investigation conducted by the Village of Kenilworth, the Illinois State Police, Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Chicago Police Department and Cook County Medical Examiner, according to the Courthouse News Service.

Kelly said it’s peculiar that so little is known about a case that made national headlines. He noted that media reports are the only information he could find on the case. And the fact that no one will release information about a 50-year-old crime struck him as atypical.

“I haven’t got a single document in six months since I filed a request. Pretty unusual on a cold case,” Kelly said.

Valerie’s former boyfriend Andrew Potash with reporters outside her wake at Scott Funeral Home, Wilmette. Credit: credited to Glenn Wall collection

Kelly said he has no idea what to expect from the records — if they are turned over — and has no plans for what he will do with any new information the files may reveal. “Before I was curious and now I am very curious,” he said.

Chicago native and author Glenn Wall, who wrote the book Sympathy Vote about the Percy murder, is interested in what Kelly may find.

In his book, Wall points to William Thorensen III, the son of a Kenilworth industrial tycoon, as the prime suspect. Thorensen grew up a block-and-a-half away from the Percy’s home. Authorities believe the murder weapon was a serrated bayonet, which was found in Lake Michigan three days after the murder. Wall said Thorensen was arrested in New York six months after the murder and charged with possession of old military weapons. But Wall said Thorensen refused to be interviewed or answer questions about the Percy case.

Wall told DailyNorthShore.com that he was interested to learn the extent to which Thorensen was investigated by authorities, beyond what is already known. He also speculates whether DNA results conducted in 2002 reveal who had been in the Percy’s house on that fateful evening in 1966.

“(L)earning more about who may have committed a crime can also help put to rest questions about those who didn’t do it. Also, a lot of time and money was spent on this investigation. The public picked up the tab,” Wall said.

Since Thorensen was murdered in 1970 by his wife — who was acquitted on self-defense — Wall further contemplates the extent to which a dead suspect would be investigated by authorities.

Certainly many people will be interested to know what those investigative files reveal about the Percy murder, which has remained a mystery over the past 50 years.

Esther Erickson, 78, of Buffalo Grove, formerly of Northbrook, IL, passed away peacefully July 17, 2016. She was the loving wife of the late James Erickson, beloved sister of the late Walter Kiesel, wonderful mother to Jennifer (Erickson) West and David Erickson and adoring grandmother to Mason and Kaela. Throughout childhood and adulthood, she was also a parent/grandparent to many spoiled four-legged family members.

She made the best strawberry cake ever and had the magic touch when it came to growing the most beautiful flowers. From being a foster parent to a preschool teacher to a realtor to a volunteer, she was always helping others. Her loving heart, endless patience and beautiful spirit will be missed and remembered by so many. Private visitation will be held at Kelley & Spalding Funeral Home, 1787 Deerfield Road, Highland Park, IL. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, 75 Remittance Drive, Suite 5828, Chicago, IL 60675-5828.

WINNETKA – Several instances of criminal damage to property were reported to the Winnetka Police Department recently. These include:

• An estimated $150 in damages to a concrete lawn ornament on the 500 block of Orchard Lane, which occurred between 6 p.m. on July 12 and 8 a.m July 13
• Loss of $20 from damages to two large ceramic planters in the 300 block of Poplar Street, which took place between 1 a.m. and 8 a.m. on July 13
• Damages to a security sign and two plants on the 300 block of Fairview Avenue, between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. on July 13 and estimated to cost $100 in repairs
• Estimated $100 in loss from damages to a garden hose and lawn sprinkler, reported to have taken place midnight on July 16 and midnight July 17 on the 400 block of Cedar Street

From the Winnetka Police blotter

Top senior athletes — class of 2016 — from The North Shore Weekend/Daily North Shore area will be playing at the next level. Here is the winter sports list:

Photography by Joel Lerner, George Pfoertner, Jon Durr, Teng Shen, Steve Handwerker and Tracy Allen

Boys Basketball

Glenbrook South’s Jimmy Martinelli

Lake Forest High School’s Lorenzo Edwards

New Trier’s Tino Malnati

New Trier’s Colin Winchester

Glenbrook South: Jimmy Martinelli (New York University)

Lake Forest High School: Lorenzo Edwards (St. Joseph’s College)

New Trier High School: Tino Malnati (Northwestern University)

New Trier High School: Colin Winchester (Emory University)

Girls Basketball

Glenbrook South’s Caitlin Morrison

Lake Forest Academy’s Tessy Onwuka

Loyola Academy’s Liz Satter

New Trier’s Jeannie Boehm

New Trier’s Haley Greer

New Trier’s Autumn Kalis

New Trier’s Kathryn Pedi

Glenbrook South: Caitlin Morrison (Valparaiso University)

Lake Forest Academy: Tessy Onwuka (Buffalo)

Loyola Academy: Liz Satter (University of Pennsylvania)

New Trier High School: Jeannie Boehm (Harvard University)

New Trier High School: Haley Greer (Colgate University)

New Trier High School: Autumn Kalis (Carthage College)

New Trier High School: Kathryn Pedi (Holy Cross)

Girls Hockey

Loyola Academy’s Maggie Cusick

New Trier’s Johanna Glaaser

New Trier’s Mia Solberg

Glenview/Chicago Young Americans: Caitlin Schneider (University of Wisconsin)

Loyola Academy: Maggie Cusick (William Smith College)

New Trier High School: Johanna Glaaser (St. Olaf’s College)

New Trier High School: Mia Solberg (Colorado College)

Boys Swimming

Glenbrook South’s Tommy Hagerty

Glenbrook South’s Sam Salganik

Lake Forest High School’s Michael Hambleton

Loyola Academy’s Chris Kearney

New Trier’s Danny Brooks

New Trier’s Willie Kinsella

New Trier Swim Club’s Max Robertson

Glenbrook South: Tommy Hagerty (Boston University)

Glenbrook South: Sam Salganik (UW-Milwaukee)

Lake Forest High School: Michael Hambleton (Centre College)

Loyola Academy: Chris Kearney (Miami University-Ohio)

New Trier Swim Club: Danny Brooks (Lehigh University)

New Trier High School: Willie Kinsella (Bucknell University)

New Trier Swim Club: Max Robertson (University of Massachusetts)

Top senior athletes — class of 2016 — from The North Shore Weekend/Daily North Shore area will be playing at the next level. Here is the spring sports list (so far):

Photography by Joel Lerner, George Pfoertner, Jon Durr, Teng Shen, Steve Handwerker and Tracy Allen

Baseball

Glenbrook North’s Michael Oh

Glenbrook North’s Jordan Kaplan

Glenbrook North’s Kyle Mitter

Glenbrook South’s Jordan Libman

Highland Park’s Justin Mills

Highland Park High School’s Noah Stern

Lake Forest’s Cal Coughlin

Lake Forest’s Matthew Peterson

Loyola Academy’s Jack Lombardi

Loyola Academy’s Liam McKeough

Loyola Academy’s Thomas Smart

New Trier’s Ben Brecht

New Trier’s Liam O’Neill

Glenbrook North: Michael Oh (Creighton University)

Glenbrook North: Jordan Kaplan (Coe College)

Glenbrook North: Casey Kempner (University of Kentucky)

Glenbrook North: Nathan Mirochnick (Rhodes College)

Glenbrook North: Kyle Mitter (Benedictine College)

Glenbrook South: Jordan Libman (Illinois State University)

Glenbrook South: Justin Machado (Fordham University)

Highland Park High School: Justin Mills (Tufts University)

Highland Park High School: Noah Stern (Webster University)

Lake Forest High School: Cal Coughlin (Texas Christian University)

Lake Forest High School: Grant Messner (California Institute of Technology)

Lake Forest High School: Matthew Peterson (Villanova University)

Loyola Academy: Jack Lombardi (Creighton University)

Loyola Academy: Liam McKeough (Denison University)

Loyola Academy: Thomas Smart (Oakton College)

New Trier High School: Ben Brecht (University of California-Santa Barbara)

New Trier High School: Liam O’Neill (Florida Southern College)

Boys Lacrosse

Glenbrook South’s McLain Murphy

Lake Forest High School’s Mac Altounian

Loyola Academy’s Ben Gorman

Loyola Academy’s Ian Griffith

New Trier’s Tyler Seminetta

Glenbrook South: McLain Murphy (University of Vermont)

Glenbrook South: Nate Stadler (DePauw University)

Lake Forest High School: Mac Altounian (Manhattan College)

Lake Forest High School: Mitchell Salanty (Messiah College)

Lake Forest Academy: Ford Johnstone (Swarthmore College)

Loyola Academy: Ben Gorman (John Carroll College)

Loyola Academy: Jack Gorman (Georgia Tech University)

Loyola Academy: Ian Griffith (Kenyon College)

New Trier High School: Griffin Cleary (Carthage College)

New Trier High School: Tyler Seminetta (University of North Carolina)

Girls Lacrosse

Loyola Academy’s Hannah Burgess

Loyola Academy’s Ana Freda

Loyola Academy’s Caroline Thompson

Loyola Academy’s Tessa Waters (No. 4)

New Trier’s Audrey Kingdom

New Trier’s Tace Sutherland

Loyola Academy: Hannah Burgess (Yale University)

Loyola Academy: Bailey Busscher (Stetson University)

Loyola Academy: Ana Freda (American University)

Loyola Academy: Taylor Kozloski (University of Cincinnati)

Loyola Academy: Jane Toraro (University of New Hampshire)

Loyola Academy: Caroline Thompson (Columbia University)

Loyola Academy: Tessa Waters (Vassar)

Loyola Academy: Allie Thuet (Colorado College)

New Trier High School: Audrey Kingdom (University of Colorado)

New Trier High School: Tace Sutherland (Bucknell University)

Regina Dominican: Nora Byrne (Butler University)

Regina Dominican: Sheelagh Walsh (American University)

Women’s Soccer

Glenbrook South’s Gabby Baldo

Glenbrook South’s Olivia Peters

Highland Park High School’s Zoe Redei

Lake Forest High School’s Paige Bourne

Lake Forest High School’s Sheridan Bufe

Lake Forest’s Hannah Marwede

Lake Forest High School’s Lea Waddle

Lake Forest High School’s Adrian Walker (No. 15)

Loyola Academy’s Devin Burns

Loyola Academy’s Shannon Powers

New Trier’s Flower Edington

New Trier’s Dani Kaufman

New Trier’s Kelly Maday (right)

New Trier’s Bina Saipi

New Trier’s Katie Sedera

Glenbrook South/Sockers FC: Gabby Baldo (University of Tampa)

Glenbrook South/FC United: Amy Peters (Walsh University)

Glenview/Eclipse: Abby Dein (Northwestern University)

Highland Park/Lake Forest Academy/Eclipse: Lydia Brosnahan (Purdue University)

Highland Park/Eclipse: Zoe Redei (University of North Carolina)

Lake Forest High School/FC United: Paige Bourne (Purdue University)

Lake Forest High School/FC United: Sheridan Bufe (University of Toledo)

Lake Forest/Eclipse: Hannah Marwede (University of Miami)

Lake Forest/Eclipse: Lea Waddle (Vanderbilt University)

Lake Forest High School/FC United: Adrian Walker (DePaul University)

Loyola Academy/FC United: Devin Burns (University of Iowa)

Loyola Academy/FC United: Natalie Joyce (Colby College)

Loyola Academy/FC United: Shannon Powers (Miami University-Ohio)

New Trier High School/FC United: Dani Kaufman (Bucknell University)

New Trier High School/FC United: Kelly Maday (University of Illinois)

New Trier High School/FC United: Bina Saipi (DePaul University)

New Trier High School/FC United: Katie Sadera (University of Chicago)

Softball

New Trier’s Ellie Head

New Trier’s Payton Arenson

New Trier’s Shayle Arenson

Boys Tennis

Lake Forest High School: Jack Lunn (Grinnell College)

Boys Track

Lake Forest High School’s Gavin Hoch

New Trier’s Teddy Oh (left)

Lake Forest High School: Gavin Hoch (University of Iowa)

New Trier High School: Jack Litowitz (Middlebury College)

New Trier High School: Teddy Oh (Johns Hopkins)

Girls Track

Lake Forest High School’s Anika Boyd

Loyola Academy’s Lily Adler

Loyola Academy’s Kathryn House

New Trier’s Tara Smart

Lake Forest High School: Anika Boyd (Washington University)

Loyola Academy: Lila Adler (University of California-Berkley)

Loyola Academy: Kathryn House (University of Michigan)

New Trier High School: Tara Smart (North Dakota State)

Boys Volleyball

Lake Forest High School’s Shane King

Lake Forest High School’s Mason Moore

Glenbrook North’s Danny Martens

Glenbrook North’s Jon Simon

New Trier’s Peter Hindsley

Glenbrook North: Danny Martens (Milwaukee School of Engineering)

Glenbrook North: Jon Simon (Carthage College)

Lake Forest High School: Shane King (Coker College)

Lake Forest High School: Mason Moore (Carthage College)

New Trier High School: Peter Hindsley (UC-San Diego)

Girls Water Polo

New Trier’s Lauren Barrett

New Trier High School: Lauren Barrett (UC-Berkeley)

The father could not wait to get off the boat. The son could not wait to get on it. This was an annual Two Family Members Passing in the Night (or Day) following the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac.

The father was Mark Baxter. The son, starting at the age of five, maybe six, was John Baxter.

“My mom [Kay] and I would head up to Mackinac Island [in Michigan] and wait for my father to finish the [333-mile] race,” John Baxter, now 46 and a resident of Northfield, recalls. “As soon as I could, I would get on that boat and sleep. That’s one of my early memories of the race.”

John Baxter will get on a boat again this weekend, this time for the start (July 23) of the “Mac”, the 108th edition. It will be his 30th “Mac”. He is the crew boss/strategist of a Nelson Marek (NM, for short) 68, slotted in Section 1, one of 23 sections in the longest annual freshwater distance race in the world.

Baxter has other stories to tell.

So do several other sailors with North Shore ties.

THE SAIL MAKER

John Baxter owns Doyle Sailmakers Midwest, based in Chicago. He grew up in Kenilworth and landed his first sailing job in Florida, as a seventh grader, after his family moved to The Sunshine State when he was eight. His sail shop boss back then made Baxter take the trash out and sweep the floor. The job had a perk.

“I got to play around with sails,” he says. “My boss, all those years ago … we’re good friends now.”

Baxter has sailed competitively all over the world: Australia, Europe, the Caribbean, “sort of all over,” says the father of three (ages two to eight) and the husband of Ruth. “It’s you and your crew and the boat against the elements. I learn something new every time I’m on a boat. I learn how to communicate better with my crew, how to do things more efficiently. I pick up things. So many little tricks.”

The NM68, on which he’ll race this weekend, topped its section at the “Mac” last summer. The performance pleased Baxter — and stunned him.

“Shocking,” he says. “The boat was an interesting project. It was built in 1985 or ’86. It had been to Hawaii a few times, undergone a major refit. It made its way to the Great Lakes a few years ago.”

Baxter was a member of an overall “Mac” championship crew in the late 1990s. The field numbered around 300 boats then. He figures he has been a part of 11 other “Mac” section title efforts.

“The hardest part of the ‘Mac’?” he says. “Probably at around 2-5 a.m. You’re racing 35-45 hours nonstop, depending on the conditions, and at that time in the morning, you’re tired and usually cold or wet or both.”

A “Mac” trophy is named after his grandfather, and another “Mac” prize is named after his godfather. Baxter’s late mom, Kay, served as a Chicago Yacht Club race committee member for 50 years.

THE COMMODORE

Joseph Haas gets it. The “Mac” is more than a boat race. Much more.

“It’s a life experience,” says the Winnetka resident and CEO of Deerfield-based Holden Industries, the parent organization of a group of diversified manufacturing companies. “The Chicago Yacht Club is really organized, committed to providing a lot of family activities before and after the race.

“And it’s a fun race,” the 64-year old, a past Chicago Yacht Club (CYC) Commodore, adds.

Three years ago, aboard a Hanse 630e in the Cruising Section, Haas and his crew mates earned three “brag” flags — the coveted triple bullet — after finishing first to cross, first among the boats in the section and first overall. He is set to race in his 10th “Mac” this weekend.

One of his 2016 mates has competed in the race 38 times, four others at least 25 times. “Mac” racers on smaller, slower boats normally don’t get to eat what Cruising Section entrants get to eat throughout the two-to-four day trip.

“Steak and Beef Stroganoff,” Haas, chairman of the CYC nominating committee and a member of the club’s board of directors, says. “Fajitas for breakfast.”

Nothing satisfies Haas more than something that’s not edible: a combination of camaraderie and constant teamwork in the confines of a watercraft.

“It takes a lot of planning, a race like this,” he says. “The best part of it is working together with a crew trying to get up there as fast as possible. You can’t do this alone. It requires a team effort, in four-hour shifts.”

THE SWIFT GOAT

David Gustman was a hero and a goat on the same day. Twice.

Huh?

A sailor who races the “Mac” at least 25 times becomes a member of the Island Goat Sailing Society (IGSS). Gustman, 62, has 33 “Mac” races under his Sou’wester. A trial lawyer from Wilmette with three children who followed his path to the University of Michigan, he earned fastest goat honors at the “Mac” in 2012 and in ’14.

The Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) sailing goat? You could make a case, lawyer or not, for the late John Nedeau, the uncle of Gustman’s wife, Lisa, and a member of the Lake Michigan Sailing Hall of Fame. The Master Mariner, who died in June, entered the “Mac” 66 times, capturing the overall title in 2011 — at the age of 80. His Turbo entrant, Windancer, clocked a time of 36 hours, 25 minutes and 26 seconds.

“I was crewing for him when I met my future wife,” Gustman, who grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, says. “He was incredibly calm, fearless.”

Gustman’s boat, Northstar, a J109 “Mac” entrant, finished first in its section and fifth overall in 2014, two years after finishing second in its section and fifth overall. Two of his 2016 crew members are sons Hunter, a Utah resident who turns 28 on July 23 (“Mac” Race Day), and David, 26, an advertising executive living in Lincoln Park.

Among the elder Gustman’s other crew members is Rob Matthews, a 62-year-old real estate developer from Kenilworth. Matthews was eight, all alone on a Sunfish sailboat, when he experienced a baptism by fire on a body of water. His older brother, Curt Jr., had shoved the sailboat toward open water. The startled little brother had never navigated a boat all by himself.

“My brother yelled, ‘Figure it out,’ ” Rob recalls.

The Sunfish and Rob returned to shore. At the same time, thankfully. He had figured it out.

Northstar’s lone female crew member this weekend? Captain Laura Wagner, 40ish and dubbed “Boat Mom” by the boat’s owner.

“Laura,” Gustman says of the Chicagoan, “keeps all of us dialed in. You know what’s nice about having four crew members in their 20s? They’ll be doing all of the work for us in the front, while the rest of us, old goats, settle in the back.

“There are four keys to racing well in the “Mac”, in any race, really,” he adds, turning serious. “Preparation, gear, a good crew, luck. And all four are equally important.”

THE FUTURE GOAT

Christopher McNicholas caught the competitive sailing bug late, shortly after his final year at Wabash (Indiana) College in 2007.

Now 31 and Vice President of Sales for Digital Acoustics, LLC, in Lake Bluff, the Lake Forest High School product is geared up for his eighth “Mac”, sixth aboard the Transpac 52 Imedi, owned by Mark and Lily Hauf of Chicago. Imedi will compete in the Turbo Section of the race. McNicholas will be responsible for the vessel’s navigation and computer systems and “a whole lot of grinding,” he says. (Grinding is tensioning a rope to control the sail.)

“I grew up on and around boats, including sailing camps at Lake Forest Beach, but I never raced competitively,” says McNicholas, a football player (tight end) and lacrosse player (attack) during his years at LFHS. “My love of the outdoors and a few good friends in the sailing community got me hooked on offshore racing and its community.

“Sailing,” he adds, “scratches that competitive itch, and it’s a sport you can grow old with as well. I hope to become [a member of the Island Goat Sailing Society]. I am fortunate to have a wife [Angela] who understands the sailing lifestyle and supports my racing. It’s not always the most predictable schedule, and races can eat up a good amount of weekend and vacation time.”

Angela is a Language Arts teacher at Lake Bluff Middle School. Her typical routine at past “Mac” races was to see her husband off from a power boat or the Navy Pier parade and welcome him on a dock on Mackinac Island several days later.

“This year will be special [on the island],” Christopher McNicholas says.

No matter where his boat places.

His one-year-old son, Russell, will be on the island, too, eager to see his daddy.

Get the feeling both are going to need a nap?

John Baxter, a crew boss/strategist, will sail the “Mac” for the 30th time this weekend. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER

David Gustman (left) and his son, David, will set sail together, along with several other crew mates, aboard Northstar in the 108th edition of the “Mac” race. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER

David Gustman (left) and his son, David, will set sail together, along with several other crew mates, aboard Northstar in the 108th edition of the “Mac” race. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER

John Baxter and the Chicago Skyline. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER

John Baxter. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER

Joseph Haas. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER

WILMETTE – A 13-year-old faces charges related to numerous threats that were made against local schools in April and June.

The teenager also was charged with abusing his elderly father base on video found on his phone.

The teen faces seven felony counts of disorderly conduct related to false bomb threats, two felony counts of making threats against schools, one felony count abuse of an elderly person and one misdemeanor battery.

Police said the teenager made numerous telephone calls to several Wilmette schools and threatened shootings, bombings and deaths of specific faculty members.

On June 8 the boy made calls that threatened Avoca West School in Glenview and Crow Island School in Winnetka with shootings, police stated. The calls disrupted the operation of the schools and required a police response.

Crow Island school on lockdown June 8.

Police were able to trace the calls to the 13-year-olds mobile phone. Police executed a search warrant and were able to determine that the youth had placed the threatening calls to the schools and also made vulgar and threatening calls to other businesses, stores and institutions, a press release from the Wilmette Police department states.

Police stated that the threats were not credible and the teenager did not have the means to carry them out.

Video on the phone also provided evidence that the youth had committed a domestic battery against his elderly father and abused his elderly father who was in his car.

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