Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Board President Henry Drake says he has wanted the new hire since last year.
The Bloom Township High School Board of Education supported the hiring of Lenell "Doc" Navarre as superintendent at their Monday night meeting. Board Member Pat Donahue was not present for the vote, but the present members voted unanimously in favor of Navarre. Board President Henry Drake said he supported the hiring partly because of Navarre's aggressive approach to trimming the fat without compromising student performance. "Our best thing right now is to try to save money, bring up grades and test scores," Drake said. "Doc is in the process of saving us money." Navarre's experience as Bloom High School principal and assistant superintendent were also noted as key strengths when board members discussed his hire. Navarre took over as …
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Henry Drake clarified what he said to me in a phone interview at last night's board meeting.
It's not often Patch gets mentioned in the public meeting of a government body, so I thought I'd draw a little attention to this. At the Monday, Jan. 9 Bloom 206 school board meeting, Board President Henry Drake took a moment to read a statement confirming his knowledge of the impending staff cuts and schedule changes at the district. Drake started by saying his previous statements were "misrepresented" in a Patch story. Take a look at the story he's referring to: "Bloom 206 to Cut Teaching Staff, Remove Block Scheduling" "I knew about the possible changes," Drake said. "I didn't know a staff member had sent information to the media." Because I wrote the story in question, I want to address this. On Friday, Jan. 6, during my brief phone …
Friday, October 14, 2011
Property manager Dionne Williams talks about Bloom 206 Board President Henry Drake's recent visit to the complex.
There aren't a lot of apartment complexes in Chicago Heights, but most people are familiar with Thornwood. Just next door to St. Kieran School, the complex has had its ups and downs over the years. Patch spoke with property manager Dionne Williams about Thornwood, the recent improvements and how the management hopes deter crime. Patch: How long has been Thornwood Apartments been around? Williams: They’ve been here since the ‘70s but Ludwig and Company took over the management in 2004. Before that City of Chicago Heights used to own this property. DK&I bought it. They own a couple of different properties in Chicago Heights. They bought (Thornwood) in 2004. The apartment complex has gone through some changes over the past few years. How are…
41.537532
-87.629952
Thornwood Apartments
19440 Glenwood Rd, Chicago Heights, IL
/articles/thornwood-apartments-manager-talks-upgrades-donations-and-crime-business-spotlight
1724957
/locations/5593289
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Let's take a look back at the most interesting stories from the week of Aug. 14-20.
This story brought out the fury in a few of our readers. We checked with Drake, his sister, the district's lawyer and public records to figure out if the board president had too many ties to his family's bus company, which has a contract with Bloom 206. We let the readers decide whether they felt there was a conflict of interest. Take a look at the article and let us know what you think. As part of our new series, Census Sense, we took a look at data from the 2010 Census showing the make up of every household in Chicago Heights. Some of the numbers were pretty interesting. This story got a lot of attention, mainly because it involves a man allegedly spontaneously robbing his friends at gun point. Who knew friendship could be so dangerous? …
Friday, August 19, 2011
Patch gets the answers from Drake, his sister, Bloom 206's attorney and state records.
Back in May, during a heated Bloom District 206 board meeting, board member Robert Rossi questioned board president Henry Drake's connection to the local bus company DLM, which has a contract with Bloom. Drake countered that his sister owned the company, not he, and he felt Rossi was targeting him because he is a young black man from Ford Heights in a position of power. Because of the speculation and reader comments on Patch, Drake recently decided to talk more about his connection to the company, which belonged to his father, the Rev. Willie Drake, until his October 2006 passing. "I'm just ready to move forward and put all this behind me," Drake said. “I am not the owner of DLM. I drove buses for them and I worked for them, but not …
Monday, August 15, 2011
Bloom board member Robert Rossi says the police report of what happened in last Monday's executive session was not accurate.
A behind-closed-doors argument that ended with two Bloom 206 board members being named in a police report started with a discussion about minutes, according to board member Robert Rossi. A police report Rossi filed Aug. 8 says he and board president Henry Drake were having a conversation about this year's elections during the executive session of a public meeting, leading to an argument in which Drake threatened Rossi. The report is not entirely accurate, Rossi said, adding that he was actually upset some of his statements at a May 17 public meeting would not be added to the minutes even though Drake said they would. When Rossi made a motion to consider adding his statements, no one on the board would second it. Rossi said he told Drake …
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Here's a quick update on what stories Chicago Heights Patch is researching.
A lot of information about Bloom District 206 has come across my desk this week, and you can expect to see updates on many of the following stories. We recently heard that Bloom Supt. Glen Giannetti suffered a stroke two weeks ago in his Michigan summer home. District 206 Board President Henry Drake confirmed that Giannetti is resting at home and Assistant Supt. Lenell Navarre will be filling the role until Sept. 1. "We're preparing to go back to school without our superintendent," Drake said. "We miss him." Giannetti was a supporter of Chicago Heights Patch in the very beginning and even agreed to be the subject of our first Tough Questions video. We wish him a speedy recovery. Back in May, Board President Henry Drake's association with…
Robert Rossi and Henry Drake got into an angry argument behind closed doors Monday night, but they disagree on how heated it got.
While the Monday Bloom District 206 Board of Education meeting was largely incident-free, things got heated between two board members during the lengthy executive session. Board member Robert Rossi ended up filing a police report Monday night, accusing Board President Henry Drake of threats. Rossi told police he and Drake were in a conversation about the voting in this year's election when Drake got very upset and threatened to "(profanity) him up" and call his friends to "take care of this tonight." Drake was removed from the room by others who were at the meeting, according to the report. "It was a heated argument," Drake said Wednesday. "I would never threaten another person." The board president said he sees the police report as a …
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The board voted on two motions that have been a point of contention between newly appointed board president Henry Drake and longtime board member Robert Rossi.
Bloom Township School District 206 passed two controversial motions Tuesday night, bringing in a new law firm and hiring a new accounts payable clerk, despite vocal opposition from 16-year board member Robert Rossi. Rossi opposed firing law firm Sraga Hauser and hiring the Berwyn-based Del Galdo Law Group, saying that the board had never interviewed candidates to replace Hauser. Rossi also opposed hiring board president Henry Drake's wife, Shirley, as a clerk, calling it a conflict of interest. (Click on the accompanying video to see the board's discussion about firing Sraga Hauser and hiring Del Galdo.) The board passed both motions with a 4-3 vote, as board members Bev Goncher and Pat Donahue sided with Rossi. In the past two weeks, …
New board president Henry Drake and board member Robert Rossi don't see eye to eye.
Accusations of nepotism and political agendas are flying as Bloom Township District 206 School Board members disagree on upcoming decisions. The board will be holding a special meeting Tuesday to decide whether to hire newly appointed board president Henry Drake's wife, Shirley, as the accounts payable clerk at Bloom's administration center. The special meeting was called after last week's regular meeting was canceled. At least one board member is vehemently opposed to the possibility of hiring Shirley Drake and has suggested the hiring of family members is wrong. The same board member also has suggested board members Donald Aprati and William Angell are "too political." "I have fear that with this new current board, the majority that …
Current teacher
4:41 pm on Tuesday, April 17, 2012
having polled many of my colleagues, Doctor Naverre has their support... more ›