A.D.O.P.T. Pet Shelter offering adoption fee discounts A.D.O.P.T. Pet Shelter is reducing its adoption fees by half for all black adult cats and dogs during its Black Friday Adoption Event. The promotion will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 29, at the Naperville shelter, 420 Industrial Drive. Community members interested in adopting a pet can stop by the shelter to meet the animals they have available. A.D.O.P.T. is a private, nonprofit, no-kill animal shelter that has placed more than 30,000 animals in homes since 1989. The organization provides temporary shelter and care to dogs and cats in need of a home. To view adoptable animals, go to www.adoptpetshelter.org. Will County Forest Preserve Dist/HANDOUTThe new Forest Preserve District of Will County budget includes money for improvements to be made at the Hidden Oaks Nature Center and Preserves in Bolingbrook. (Forest Preserve District of Will County) Forest preserve district’s new budget includes tax drop The Forest Preserve District of Will County’s Board of Commissioners has approved a balanced $98.2 million budget, which includes a $50 million bond sale approved earlier this year for capital projects and land acquisition. Among the projects to be funded are improvements for the Hidden Oaks Nature Center and Preserves in Bolingbrook and at the Isle a la Cache preserve in Romeoville and engineering for future trail connections in DuPage and Wheatland townships. Funds for the first phase of engineering to extend the DuPage River Trail along Weber Road from Naperville to Bolingbrook and for the Wolf’s Crossing Road trail to connect to the forest preserve’s Normantown Trail in Wheatland Township are planned, district officials said. The board also approved the 2024 property tax levy of $26 million of which nearly $8.3 million is for debt service and $17.7 million is for general corporate purposes. The tax rate dropped by 27%. For the owner of a home valued at about $300,000, the tax paid to the forest preserve district would be $85, which is $31.40 less than in 2023, officials said. Naperville Central students place 1st at journalism convention Three student journalists from Naperville Central High School won first place for their election coverage at the national high school journalism convention in Philadelphia. The piece for the school newspaper Central Times, “Youth voices amplified,” was written by senior C.J. Getting, operations managing editor. Seniors Jay Deegan, the editor-in-chief, and Sarah Segvich, content managing editor, provided photography and additional reporting. The article was a multimedia feature from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago that won first place in the category of Reporting: Election 2024 Coverage. Deegan also placed fifth for News Story of the Year for an article about post-pandemic attitudes on school attendance, “Chronically Absent: How nearly a quarter of D203 high schoolers missed more than 10% of school last year, and what’s being done to stop it.” Receiving an honorable mention was Javen Oswald, a 2024 Naperville Central graduate and former Central Times editor, for his piece, “76% of weighted Career and Technical Education course enrollment is male. Here’s why.” He was a top 10 finalist in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Reporting category. Deegan also received an excellent rating in the General Spot News, Getting earned an honorable mention in News Writing and yearbook editor, senior Carter Speckmann, was recognized with an honorable mention for Yearbook Copy/Captions: Sports.