U-46 names new Larkin principal, director of grants
The District U-46 School Board has appointed a new principal at Larkin High School in Elgin and a new district director of grants for the 2026-27 school year.
Jason Misicka, currently serving as Larkin’s interim principal, will assume the position on a permanent basis, according to a news release.
Prior to becoming interim principal, Misicka was Larkin’s assistant principal of culture and climate for six years and freshman dean of students for two years. He has more than 20 years of experience at the secondary education level.
Angela Marler Conner is the new director of grants and has more than 10 years’ experience in educational finance and nearly 35 years’ experience in education.
For the last two years, Conner has managed budgets and monitored educational programming at Community Unit School District 300. Prior to that, she was the director of federal/state programs for the Gilbert Public School District in Arizona.
Intersection work starts Monday at Randall Road, Route 72
Construction begins Monday, Feb. 16, on improvements to the intersection of Randall Road and Route 72, which borders Elgin and West Dundee.
The project includes the addition of a third lane on both the northbound and southbound legs of Randall to increase capacity and improve intersection safety, a social media post from the Kane County Division of Transportation said.
Additional improvements will be new paths along Randall Road, storm sewer installation, traffic signal modifications, intersection lighting, roadway resurfacing and landscape restoration.
Randall Road and Route 72 will remain open to traffic. However, temporary daily lane closures will be necessary between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Flaggers will be present as needed to help direct vehicles.
Work should be completed by the end of December, depending on the weather. For more information, go to kdot.kanecountyil.gov/Pages/Default.aspx.
Carpentersville house fire causes $50,000 in damage
A fire to a home in the 100 block of Hickory Drive in Carpentersville on Tuesday, Feb. 10, caused an estimated $50,000 in damage, officials said.
Firefighters were called to the house about 8 p.m, according to reports. Fire Chief Bill Anaszewicz said the fire started in the bathroom and extended into the attic, with damage leaving the home uninhabitable.
The occupants — two adults, two children and a dog — were able to exit before firefighters arrived, Anaszewicz said. No one was injured in the incident.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
Visiting chef to present four-course dinner at ECC
Eric Olson, a noted chef and Elgin Community College alumnus, will present a four-course visiting chef dinner at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, in the Spartan Terrace Restaurant, Building H, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin.
Olson is culinary director of Bourbon Belly Hospitality, where he oversees kitchen operations for five west suburban restaurants, including The Burger Local in Geneva, according to the ECC website. He will work with a team of ECC students and fellow alumni chefs from the Bourbon Belly Hospitality team in preparing pastrami-cured salmon, sunchoke soup, red wine-braised beef cheek and olive oil cake. Two courses will include wine.
Tickets are $95 per person. For tickets, go to elgin.edu/calendar/art-center-events/visiting-chef-featuring-chef-eric-olson.php.
Township mental health board OKs $1.2M in grants
Hanover Township Mental Health Board has approved awarding a collective $1.2 million in annual funding to 34 agencies.
The funding period runs from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2027, according to a news release. Agencies receiving money serve Hanover Township residents in the areas of mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse intervention and prevention.
Elgin-area agencies include:
- Ecker Center for Mental Health, $155,000 for therapy and crisis services.
- Easter Seals of DuPage and Fox Valley Region, $80,000 to provide outpatient medical rehabilitation and $20,000 for services for mental health youth treatment and developmental disabilities.
- Family Service Association of Greater Elgin, $52,000 for therapy services.
- Centro de Información, $57,500 for family-centered mental health services.
- About Behavioral Change, $20,000 to provide substance use counseling and education.
- Enriching Partnerships for Early Learning, $15,000 for its early childhood parenting program.
For a complete list of the grant allocations, go to www.hanover-township.org.
