8/3/2019 Mr. Russ & his ducks

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Page 6 Section 1 Daily HeralD tHurSDay, June 11, 2009Suburbs

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By Alissa Groeningeragroeninger@dailyherald.com 

  When Juliette Low Elemen-tary School’s kindergartnersarrive in the morning, they immediately check on theducks that are a mainstay onschool grounds.

  While many school court-  yards arehome toducks, thebirds atthe Arling-ton Heightsschool are

spoiled. Forthe last 10  years, cus-todian RussNendza hascared ora amily o ducks. Heeeds themin the morning and lls a poolor them to play in. He builta bridge to help the birds getinto the pool.

Each April, the elder duck returns to lay her eggs, and thestudents can watch the amily play rom the time they hatchuntil mid-October when they head south. Tere were 16babies to start with this year.

“Every morning, he’s like alittle mom,” said teacher Mary 

 Ann White.  White said Nendza held a

dying duck to keep it rom su-ering alone ater its mother

shunned it.Sta and students have

grown accustomed to seeingNendza with the ducks andinteracting in the school. Hisretirement next Monday, ater19 years, will hit Juliette Low hard.

“He’s a part o the com-munity,” said Principal Brian

Ganan.“Every-body knowsRuss.”

Ganansaid thestudents

enjoy  watchingNendzatake care o the ducks.

“Tey’reMr. Russ’ducks,” hesaid. “Tey 

get all excited.”  White said Nendza’s ded-

ication to caring or livingthings sets a good example orthe kids.

Students can learn romtheir janitor’s relationship

  with the ducks by seeing himeed them and make sure they are healthy, Nendza said.

“Tey think the ducks arehere because Mr. Russ is hereto take care o them,” Ganansaid.

For years Nendza took theducks home on weekends ina box he made with a screen

and a light to keep the duckssae and warm.

  At his house, the ducksspent their days in his back-

  yard and their nights sleep-ing in his garage. His encedoesn’t completely enclosethe yard.

“Tey can leave anytimethey want, but they eel saeback there,” Nendza said.

  While Nendza no longertakes the birds home, he stopsby school three or our timesa day on Saturdays and Sun-days to care or them. He also

 watches them all summer.“Everyday the hose goes on

and they get their water,” headded.

Nendza began caring orthe ducks ater a kindergarten

teacher brought eggs in romthe Farm Bureau so studentscould watch them hatch. Hesaid the mother duck mightbe one o the school’s originalbirds, although she could alsohave ound the courtyard onher own.

Nendza is moving to centralIllinois, where he plans to livenear a lake. Te school’s sta has promised to keep on eyeon the ducks or him.

 While he was not interestedin ducks beore his tenure atJuliette Low, he said he looksorward to watching ducks inretirement, along with otheranimals.

“Wherever I’m going tomove, there’s going to beducks around,” Nendza said.

p ho t o s b y J o E L E W N A R D / j l e wna rd@ dai l e ral d . c m

Russ Nendza watches ducks that live in Low school’s court-yard. He’s cared or ducks there or a decade, even taking themhome on weekends so they wouldn’t be neglected.

Russ Nendza, head custodian atJuliette Low Elementary School inArlington Heights, puts out ood andwater or the ducks.

Mr. Russ

& his ducksRetiring janitor at Juliette Low

ha cared for ird for a decade

By Harry Hitzemanhhitzeman@dailyherald.com 

Teir path to citizenshipbegan in an Elgin Community College classroom, woundaround a our-part test and

culminated in a ederal court-room or an oath o allegiance.

So, Wednesday was a victory lap o sorts or 38 residentsrom Elgin and the surround-ing area as they were recog-nized by the city council.

“I was nervous but very prepared,” recalled MartinaMejia, who learned Englishand earned her citizenship toollow in the ootsteps o herhusband and three daughters.“Te swearing-in ceremony 

 was very special or me and my amily.”

Eleven years ago, Elgin heldits rst ceremony to recognizenew U.S. citizens. Wednesday,it had 61 certicates to passout, but not all new citizens

could make it.Mario Aguilar said he came

to the United States in searcho a better lie and he takesbeing a naturalized citizen very seriously.

“We must keep in mind that

as new American citizens, wehave responsibilities.” he said.

  Ater receiving certicatesrom the city, the group headedto the rst foor o city hall orcake and to register to vote.

  Andrea Fiebig, director o 

the English as a Second Lan-guage program at ECC, saidthe citizenship process takesabout ve months or peopleliving in the country or ve

 years or more.“You have to prove that

  you’re literate. You also haveto know American history andgovernment,” she said. “It’sa pretty strenuous process tobecome a nationalized citizen.Besides learning a new lan-guage, it’s costly and long.”

Elgin City Council welcome new U.s. citizen

By Emily Jurlinaejurlina@dailyherald.com 

One St. Charles man is giv-ing war veterans rom the Mid-

  west and across the nation achance to truly be all they can

be.Hal Honeyman, owner o 

the Bike Rack in St. Charles,has spent the past our years

  working with the Wounded  Warrior Project’s SoldierRide, a program that outts

  wounded war veterans romIraq and Aghanistan withbicycles or a countrywidebicycle road trip.

 Wednesday marked the rstday o the Midwestern seg-ment o the Soldier Ride. It wasalso the rst time Soldier Ridehas come to the Bike Rack toget veterans tted or bikes.

In years past Honeymanand a crew o volunteers have

ridden in a bus along with thesoldier riders, making adjust-ments and xing any mechan-ical problems that came upon their trip across the UnitedStates.

  According to Woody Gro-ton, Soldier Ride national tourdirector, Honeyman and hisSt. Charles crew are pros.

“Tey’re one o the top adap-tive cycling specialists in thecountry and they’re right here

in St. Charles,” Groton said.Besides working with the

Soldier Ride, Honeymanounded Project Mobility,a group that creates specialbikes or adults and children

  with disabilities. Te inspira-

tion or Project Mobility camerom Honeyman’s son Jacob,16, who was born with cerebralpalsy and required a modiedbicycle to join his amily onbike rides.

Te special bikes, whichHoneyman estimates cost any-

  where rom $1,000 to $3,000,are donated to the Soldier Rideby rek Bicycle Co. Each sol-dier needs to be custom-ttedor a bike, a process that cantake anywhere rom a ew min-utes to a couple o hours.

“We need to work out thestrengths and weaknesses o each person we see,” Honey-man said. “Tere are all di-

erent types o people that weencounter. Some are ampu-tees, some have spinal cordinjuries. ... Whatever worksbest or that individual per-son, that’s what we’re here toassess.”

For more inormation onSoldier Ride, visit wounded

  warriorproject.org. For moreinormation on Project Mobil-ity or the Bike Rack, visitthebikerack.com.

bike hop moilize wounded oldier

bRIAN hILL/i l l@dailera ld.cm

“This thing is phenomenal,” said injured veteran Nicolette Ma-roulis o Fort Benning, Ga., ater being ftted or a bike Wednes-day by Hal Honeyman, owner o the Bike Rack in St. Charles.

    

      

  

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