Winter Ops Update
Another five to seven inches of snow blanketed Naperville overnight, leading to lots of closures and cancellations. Both Districts 203 and 204 canceled classes and the Naperville Park District canceled all morning activities. Go to napervilleparks.org to see the status of all activities beginning at 3 p.m. or later.
Plowing all that snow off the roads is another issue. All 22 city trucks and a full contingent of contractor trucks have been working in 12-hour shifts to clear the roads. And with temperatures forecasted for minus 27 degrees in the coming days, time is working against them.
“We’re kind of trying to beat the clock here because this afternoon some colder weather is supposed to start coming in to the area. We’re going to do our best to get our streets in the best condition that we can because once that cold air comes in, our roads will be slippery and there can be conditions of black ice,” said Linda LaCloche, communications manager for the City of Naperville.
LaCloche also said many neighborhood streets and cul-de-sacs will continue to be “snowpacked” as there have been many snowfalls in quick succession and the city won’t be able to keep up.
BNSF Meeting
In other news from this weekend, residents headed to City Hall early Saturday morning to share their concerns and frustrations on the disruptions of Metra’s BNSF line. Experts including Metra’s CEO, Jim Derwinski, were present to answer questions and share more information. The Metra board is now asking for $5 billion from the state to make improvements necessary to meet passenger needs. That funding would support various projects such as locomotive and coach purchases, service and station improvements, and bridge renewals. These upgrades are to help increase speeds, passenger capacity and overall commuter experience. The board has also looked into possible route changes but nothing concrete has been determined due to the limited funding.
Dance and Cheer Teams
Congratulations to Naperville North’s competitive dance team for winning the 3A state championship on Saturday down in Bloomington. North finished with a score of 95.42, nearly two points ahead of second-place Stevenson. The Huskies are the first Naperville area dance champions since Neuqua Valley won back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016.
Congratulations also go out to Neuqua Valley cheerleading who won the Lemont sectional championship and will advance to state. Metea Valley cheer will also move on to state in the co-ed division after finishing fourth.
