Fundraiser Set for Minooka Community High School Teacher

A 5K walk/run and a dining special are set for Saturday.

Already, 190 people have registered for a 5K that will be held on Saturday, Nov. 10 to help raise money for Mike Assaf and his family. Assaf was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and is currently undergoing treatment. His wife, Anna is a stay-at-home mom and the couple, who lives in Plainfield, has four children. The youngest is less than a month old. "We want to help raise money to alleviate the stress," Jill Nehring, Assaf's co-worker at the high school said. Assaf has been out of work since September. "Anytime somebody is in need, we try to come up with anything we can to help them," Nehring said of the (Minooka Community High School) community. The school community is holding a 5K Run/Walk at Community Park. The event begins at noon, …

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Plainly Plainfield

Agony of Defeat May Be Part of Our Genes, Experts Say

The reason we get emotionally involved in athletics is because we not only want to belong to a "tribe," we want our tribe to be the best, according to sports psychologists.

Sunday morning, you could almost feel the butterflies fluttering inside football jerseys all around Plainfield.  Shoppers decked out in Chicago Bears garb scurried up and down supermarket aisles stacking carts with snacks and beer to share with friends and family during the super-hyped NFC Championship game between the quintessential rivals – the Bears and the Green Bay Packers.  There was an atmosphere of anticipation, urgency, festivity.  I felt nervous myself as I navigated the throngs of orange and navy at the Meijer. It felt like Christmas or the Fourth of July. My husband and I were throwing our New Year’s diets to the sidelines for the occasion, stocking up on fancy cheeses and crackers and all the fixin’s for homemade Italian beef …

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About Town

Are You Ready for Some Football? Playoff Fever's Not Gripping Everyone

Contrary to what you might expect, Plainfield won't be grinding to a halt at 2 p.m. Sunday just because the Bears are facing the Pack in a do-or-die playoff game.

“What game?” That’s what Linda Barton said when I asked her about her plans for Sunday’s big game. She was the first person I talked to on my little “About Town” tour Wednesday afternoon to see where and how other people are planning to watch the Bear-Packers playoff game Sunday. My own plans, you may have heard, are still up in the air. Linda was standing behind the counter of Eich’s Sports on 143rd Street. I targeted places athletic types might hang out to avoid just the kind of response she gave me. But it was an eye-opener. Contrary to speculation, the whole town isn’t grinding to a halt for Sunday’s 2 p.m. kick-off. A lot of people - the guys at Mega Sports, for example - will be working, maybe checking radios and smart phones on the …

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