People Who Inspired Us in 2012

One woman bakes treats and donates profits to feed the hungry. An 8-year-old pushed for a safety day at his school. And after 70 years of marriage, one couple is still deeply in love.

We've highlighted some of the top headlines in Darien and Woodridge during 2012, and unfortunately a lot of the top news ends up being bad: major crimes take place, governments disagree and so on. But there's definitely no shortage of great people in Darien and Woodridge, and we want to highlight their work as well. Here's who inspired us in 2012.  Have someone in mind that we missed? Tell us about them in the comments!  Cakes for a Cause: Woman Donates Baking Profits to Help Feed Hungry A Darien woman is making life a little sweeter for people in the area by combining her greatest passions: baking and volunteering.  Julie Stone has loved baking all of her life, but it wasn't until a few years ago that she realized she could put her skills…

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Mayor Honors Teens Who Spotted House Fire

The three girls were walking down Plainfield Road when they saw the flames and alerted the homeowner to the fire.

Three Darien teens helped prevent a possible tragedy when they spotted flames shooting from the roof of a home in the Mallard Landing subdivision. Mayor Kathleen Weaver honored the teens at Monday’s City Council meeting for alerting the homeowner to the fire coming from his house. The three girls—Jade Comes, Hunter Dapkus and Lane Paulson—were walking along Plainfield Road on their way to play miniature golf May 18 when they saw the blaze. They approached the home, where the homeowner was working in his garage with the door open. As they alerted the resident, who ran to grab a fire extinguisher, the girls stayed at the home and waited until firefighters put out the fire. “Your efforts were so unique,” Weaver said. “Young people that cared …

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8-Year-Old Boy's Letter Sparks Bike Safety Day at Concord

Hunter Long knows that he and Hunter Himes, injured in a late February accident, share more than a name: They also share strength.

Eight-year-old Hunter Long has never met the boy he calls “Big Hunter.” Big Hunter is Hunter Himes, the 14-year-old Lakeview Junior High student who was hit by a car in February while riding his bike. Hunter Long, however, says they share more in common than just a name. “All the Hunters in the world would be broken if one of the Hunters were hurt,” Hunter said. “They really want to do something for him because they feel really bad for him.” With the help of his mom, Ginny Long, Hunter came up with the idea of Hope for Hunter Day at Concord Elementary School. “We feel this little mission: Let’s be Hunter’s heroes,” Long said. On May 22, Darien Police Officer Nick Skweres will spend the day in Concord’s gym classes, making sure the kids’ …

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Local Group Funds Clinical Trial for Angelman Syndrome Treatment

The study will evaluate the effectiveness of an FDA-approved antibiotic in treating symptoms of the rare genetic disorder.

A day many parents of children with Angelman syndrome never thought they would see is now just a few weeks away. In March the University of South Florida will begin a clinical trial in humans of a drug shown to treat symptoms of Angelman syndrome in mice.  The study will be funded by the Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics, which was founded by Darien’s Paula Evans, whose , was born with AS.  Until recently AS was thought to be an incurable genetic disorder that impacted children’s speech and motor skills. It also causes devastating seizures. The syndrome manifests when a single gene on the maternal 15th chromosome is either absent or fails to switch on.  But despite that prognosis, Evans said she was always determined to fight …

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Darien Citizens of the Year Help Local Kids Achieve Dreams

Through The Gift of Carl Foundation, Robert and Charleen Vuillaume have helped hundreds of children and teens succeed in music, theater and the arts, while also supporting environmental education.

The good deeds happen quietly: piano lessons for a student here, a musical instrument for a student there. Darien is more subtly beautiful each year for the pockets of trees planted in its parks, three or four at a time, in memory of loved ones lost. Young adults with disabilities experience the thrill of taking the stage with the aid of a grant to the La Grange Actors with Special Needs Theater Group. Robert and Charleen Vuillaume are very humble about the difference they make through The Gift of Carl Foundation. But if they hear of a need that meets their foundation’s mission, the couple is there to fill it. The city of Darien recognized the Vuillaumes as the 2012 Citizens of the Year for their foundation’s work in Darien and beyond. “In…

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Students Raise More than $22K for Cancer Research

The Cancer Smashers event raised funds to benefit the Robert H. Lurie Center at Northwestern University.

They’re called the Cancer Smashers. It’s no wonder, then, that their winter fundraiser was such a smashing success. Students in District 61 and District 66 raised $22,676.96 over the course of the past week to help fund cancer research at Northwestern University’s Robert H. Lurie Center.  “I’m extremely proud of all the students from both districts that they came together to raise this much money in one week,” said Eisenhower Junior High Principal Mike Fitzgerald. “I think it’s amazing.”  EJH and Lace School raised a combined total of $14,000, while Prairieview Elementary and Lakeview Junior High took in just more than $8,600. All of the money raised will go directly to the Lurie Center, organizer Beth Tischler said. The Cancer Smashers …

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Darien 'Wonder Boy' Represents American Heart Association

At 5 years old, Marty Viau has already survived a lifetime of struggles. Now he's sharing his story of hope throughout the Chicago area.

They call him Wonder Boy. In many ways, Marty Viau is actually very ordinary. He likes to play Nintendo Wii. He goes to preschool at Concord Elementary. He fights with his big sister, Vivian. But the very fact that he now lives such a relatively ordinary life is what makes Marty so remarkable. Marty was born with an atrial ventricular septal defect — simply put, a hollow heart. There was a large hole in the walls that typically divide the human heart into four separate chambers. Through an extraordinary series of events, Marty is now a thriving 5-year-old boy. The American Heart Association of Chicago recognized Marty for his strength by selecting him as a local ambassador for this year’s Jump Rope for Heart campaign. Marty and his mom, …

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Business Spotlight

Darien Music School Hits the Right Note

Darien musician shares her lifelong love through teaching and performance

When Lori Graves was 5 years old, she wanted to do everything her older brother did. But when she wanted to play guitar, they said she was too young. “So my parents took me to Biasco Music and said, ‘Pick what you want,’" she said. "I picked the biggest thing there, this massive organ." She started lessons, but that was only the beginning. Through the years hundreds of budding musicians have learned their craft through The Keyboard Touch, the music school Graves' now runs out of her home. Graves still recalls the days when she herself was a student. Her third-grade teacher asked if anyone could play "Silent Night" to accompany the class for a Christmas pageant. Graves raised her hand. When told she would have to play it on a piano, she …

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