‘Ridin’ the Storm Out’

BUREAU — In April, the faculty, staff and friends of the Leepertown Grade School had been thrilled to learn from Merry Noonan, co-owner of Lou’s LaGrotto restaurant and organizer of the Concerts for a Cause, that the district would be the beneficiary of a concert by ‘70s rockers REO Speedwagon.

The news was a surprise because just a week earlier, Noonan had announced John F. Kennedy School in Spring Valley would benefit from a concert by Lady Antebellum in August.

Noonan said they decided to add a second concert to benefit Leepertown because of Superintendent Amber Harper’s persistence.

Leepertown supporters worked to sell tickets and find volunteers for the concert, only to have it canceled at the last minute by storms that swept through the area.

Not only was the concert canceled, but vehicles stuck in the mud at the Cedar Point
Sportsmans Club, north of LaSalle did extensive damage, which threatened to eat up any profits.

“I really wasn’t expecting anything,” Harper said. “Merry said they were going to have to roll and reseed the Sportsmans Club.”

There was rain insurance, but Harper said they had to wait for that, and then Noonan needed to pay REO and meet the other expenses with the insurance and ticket money.

But the sun came out last week, when Noonan looked at the final numbers.

“She called me, and there was about $13,000 left,” Harper said. “I was really surprised and really pleased.”

Harper had originally requested funds to purchase two SMART boards, five laptop computers, two laser printers, three TVs, three DVD players, and a software program. Her wish list has changed a little since then, and Monday she said the $13,000 will cover most of the list.

“It will help so much with our technology; $13,000 is two years or more of our technology budget,” she said.

Thanks to a Illinois Math Science Partnership Grant, the computers are taken care of, and now topping Harper’s list are a color laser printer and a TV/DVD player for each classroom. Harper has simpler desires as well, such as a few extra cartridges of printer toner, which knocks a hole in the district’s budget when they run out in the middle of the year.