Elgin News Digest: South Elgin High School wins state coed cheerleading championship; Kaptain wins environmental group’s public official award; Chamber Music on the Fox planning free anniversary concert

Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune
·2 min read

South Elgin High School wins state coed cheerleading championship

South Elgin High School’s Coed Cheerleading team won the IHSA state championship in a tournament held Feb. 2-3 at Grossington Motors Arena in Bloomington.

Dundee-Crown High School finished fifth in that division, according to the IHSA website.

Tuesday, the South Elgin team announced that team members Bryan Estrada and Taylor Davis have been named to the Illinois HIgh School Cheerleading Coaches Organization’s all-state team.

South Elgin’s coed squad also took the state title in 2020 and finished third in 2022 and 2023, according to the team’s social media pages.

Kaptain wins state environmental group’s public official award

Elgin Mayor Dave Kaptain is the recipient of with the Illinois Water Environment Association’s 2024 Public Official Award.

Kaptain, who will be honored at an association banquet in East Peoria in March, was nominated for his efforts to improve and protect local waterways in the Fox River Valley, according to a news release from the city of Elgin.

A founding member of the Fox River Study Group, which helped develop the Fox River Implementation Plan to address water quality impairments, Kaptain serves as the board chairman for the Northwest Water Planning Alliance, which includes more than 80 communities planning for a future sustainable water supply, the release said.

He also played a key role in having Trout Park River’s Edge designated as an Illinois Land and Water Reserve by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and in having the city become a part of the Fabulous Fox River Water Trail.

“I am honored to be named this year’s recipient of the IWEA Public Official Award,” Kaptain said in the release. “It takes a community to help improve and protect our waterways, so I want to share this honor with the many people I have worked with who were and are a part of those efforts.”

Carpentersville to host ‘Visit with the Village’ event Feb. 19

Carpentersville will be hosting “Visit with the Village” at 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 19, at Biggby Coffee, 2168 N. Randall Road.

Police Chief Todd Shaver, Fire Chief Bill Anaszewicz and Village Manager John O’Sullivan will meet with the public and answer questions, according to a post to the village’s Facebook page.

For more information, call 847-551-4381.

Chamber Music on the Fox planning free anniversary concert at ECC

To mark its 10th anniversary, Chamber Music on the Fox will present a free concert at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, in the Blizzard Theater on the Elgin Community College Campus, 1700 Spartan Drive.

The concert will feature Pedro Diaz, who serves as English Horn of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, according to a news release. It is sponsored by the Seigle Foundation and ECC.

To reserve seats, go to www.chambermusiconthefox.org/concert/a-concert-for-elgin.