Update on Oak Park and River Forest High School Pool Plans…..In a continuing story regarding the Oak Park and River Forest High School Pool, the School’s Board has officially abandoned its plan to borrow cash. In October we reported how the Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 Board of Education approved the funding of a new 11-lane, 50m pool to be built from the ground up for use by the Oak Park and River Forest HS students and surrounding communities. At a cost of roughly $37 million, including the $3.5 million purchase of a parking garage from the village of Oak Park, the original plan was for the board to borrow $17.5 million, as well as use up $20 million in district reserves. Earlier this month, however, in a vote of 5-0, the board decided not to borrow the money after all. “It has been a long process and it feels like if we do vote to abandon the bonds tonight, it will give us a chance to step back, take a deep breath, and in a day or two, dig back in and start moving forward to figure out what the next steps are,” board president Jeff Weissglass said before the vote. Construction on the new pool is scheduled to begin during the summer of 2016, with the goal of being completed in time for the 2018-19 school year.
Rio Venues To Be Tested Daily For Zika…..Rio Organizers are set to test Olympic venues daily for signs of the mosquito-borne zika virus. The virus has been linked to a rare birth defect and also a condition that can cause paralysis. Just this week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have advised against pregnant women traveling to Brazil and 21 other countries with zika outbreaks. “Rio 2016 will continue to monitor the issue closely and follow guidance from the Brazilian Ministry of Health,” the Rio2016 Committee said in a statement.
Independent Olympic Athletes To March Ahead of Brazil.….International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach announced today that potential Independent Olympic athletes would march next to last, ahead of only host nation Brazil, in the Rio Olympic Opening Ceremony’s Parade of Nations. The Opening Ceremonies are slated to take place on August 5th, and athletes without a national flag under which to compete, walk out behind the Olympic flag. In London at the 2012 Olympic Games, the group of non-country-affiliated athletes marched between Iceland and India, while in Sochi 2014, they marched between Mongolia and Nepal according to the Russian alphabet.