NAPERVILLE PADDLEBOAT QUARRY OPEN ON WEEKENDS
The Paddleboat Quarry will offer 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. hours Saturdays and Sundays, May 9-10 and May 16-17, before moving to daily hours on Memorial Day weekend.
Located at 441 Aurora Ave. on the Naperville Riverwalk, the facility rents paddleboats, paddle boards and kayaks. Only paddleboats will be available opening weekend, a park district news release said.
Daily hours for Centennial Beach, 500 W. Jackson Ave., and the park district’s two splash pads at Wolf’s Crossing Community Park, 3252 Wolf’s Crossing Road, and 95th Street Community Plaza, 3109 Cedar Glade Drive, will begin Memorial Day weekend and run through Labor Day.
Beach memberships are discounted through May 25.
For more information, go to www.napervilleparks.org.
FREE COMPOST BEING GIVEN AWAY AT 2 LOCATIONS
Free finished compost for use in gardens and as landscaping will be given away Saturday, May 9, at two locations in an event hosted by the city of Naperville, DuPage County, Will County, Midwest Compost and Groot Industries.
Residents can pick up the compost from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at a city-owned lot at 2601 Wolf’s Crossing Road in Will County and the Public Works Service Center, 180 Fort Hill Drive in DuPage County.
Residents should bring their own buckets or bags to collect up to 20 gallons of compost, a city news release said. It will be available on a first-come, first served basis.
The ready-to-use compost is donated by Midwest Compost, one of two state-permitted landscape waste facilities where Naperville’s yard waste and food scraps are processed, the release said.
Public Works and Sustainability staff will shovel compost into residents’ containers, the release said.
Compost boosts soil nutrients, increases water retention and acts as a natural fertilizer, the release said.
LOCAL TEACHERS HONORED BY DUPAGE ED OFFICE
The DuPage County Regional Office of Education presented awards to three Naperville school teachers at its Educator of the Year awards event on April 30.
Recognized for the Educational Support Person of the Year was Kerry Gustafson, a paraprofessional at Washington Junior High School, which is part of Naperville School District 203.
Todd Holmberg, a social studies teacher at Naperville Central High School, also a District 203 school, was honored with High School Educator of the Year.
The Middle School Educator of the Year went to David James, a math teacher at Hill Middle School in Naperville, which is part of Indian Prairie School District 204.
Each honoree was selected from nominations submitted by school districts across the county, a news release said.
The 2026 DuPage County Educator of the Year, the office’s top recognition, was presented to Jeff Grant, a science teacher from Downers Grove North High School.
Other award winners were Private/Parochial Educator of the Year Matt Davidson, superintendent of Timothy Christian Schools; Elementary/Early Childhood Educator of the Year, Katie Poch, a fifth-grade teacher at Carl Sandburg Elementary School in Wheaton; and Administrator of the Year, Elizabeth Vander Woude, assistant director of programs for the School Association for Special Education in DuPage County.
EATING DISORDER RECOVERY CELEBRATION, VIGIL
Endeavor Health Linden Oaks Hospital will hold its 19th annual Eating Disorder Recovery Celebration and Candlelight Vigil at 6 p.m. Monday, May 18, in the hospital’s healing garden, 852 S. West St.
This year’s theme is “Every Color of Recovery: Honoring All Journeys,” organizers said in a news release.
The annual event brings together people in recovery, families, former patients, clinicians and community members to share stories and honor those affected by eating disorders. More than 300 people have attended the free vigil in the past, the news release said.
Endeavor Health’s eating disorders program provides care for adolescents and adults ages 11 and older. The team includes psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists and dietitians, with treatment options such as inpatient hospitalization, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient care, medication management and counseling, the news release said.
Registration is required at www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0845AEA628A7FAC07-62310742-19th#.
