
Kaneland School District 302 upgrades confidential tip line for calls about bullying, violence
The district currently has a safety tip line, but is switching to a new service with Gaggle that will be monitored by trained professionals at all times, the release said. Per the release, Gaggle has been around for more than two decades, and uses artificial intelligence and trained experts to help prevent bullying, violence and self-harm.
The new tip line, called SpeakUp for Safety, is meant to streamline the reporting process and improve accessibility for calls made in the district, the release said.
Non-life-threatening reports will continue to be routed to Kaneland staff, but urgent issues will initiate notifications to district contacts or law enforcement when necessary, the release said.
The service will be integrated with Google Workspace for Education, meaning students will have access to it without additional apps.
'We are committed to enhancing student support. The upgraded SpeakUp for Safety tip line empowers students to report their concerns confidentially, allowing us to address incidents of bullying and crises more effectively,' Kaneland School District Director of Technology Tim Wolf said in the release.
The new tip line has already been activated, a district spokesperson said on Tuesday. The email for the new tip line is speakup@kaneland.org, and the phone number (which can be used for voice calls and text) is 630-332-0142.
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Chicago Tribune
02-07-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Kaneland School District 302 upgrades confidential tip line for calls about bullying, violence
Kaneland School District 302 is upgrading its safety tip line for calls about bullying, violence and crises, according to a news release from the district on Tuesday. The district currently has a safety tip line, but is switching to a new service with Gaggle that will be monitored by trained professionals at all times, the release said. Per the release, Gaggle has been around for more than two decades, and uses artificial intelligence and trained experts to help prevent bullying, violence and self-harm. The new tip line, called SpeakUp for Safety, is meant to streamline the reporting process and improve accessibility for calls made in the district, the release said. Non-life-threatening reports will continue to be routed to Kaneland staff, but urgent issues will initiate notifications to district contacts or law enforcement when necessary, the release said. The service will be integrated with Google Workspace for Education, meaning students will have access to it without additional apps. 'We are committed to enhancing student support. The upgraded SpeakUp for Safety tip line empowers students to report their concerns confidentially, allowing us to address incidents of bullying and crises more effectively,' Kaneland School District Director of Technology Tim Wolf said in the release. The new tip line has already been activated, a district spokesperson said on Tuesday. The email for the new tip line is speakup@ and the phone number (which can be used for voice calls and text) is 630-332-0142.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Yahoo
'Python Huntress' takes on invasive snakes in the Everglades
By Maria Alejandra Cardona OCHOPEE, Florida (Reuters) -Amy Siewe was a successful real estate agent -- but her life changed after she captured her first python in Florida's Everglades. "I just had this fascination with snakes. So when I learned that there was a python problem here in Florida ... I went on a hunt, I caught a nine-foot (2.75-meter) python, and that was it. I was hooked!" she said. Within two months she had sold her business in Indiana and moved to Florida to become a python hunter. Now, with more than 600 dead pythons under her belt, she is known as the "Python Huntress" -- one of a handful of women amongst hundreds of men hunting the invasive Burmese python in Florida's Everglades wetland ecosystem. "This python is about 10 feet (3 meters) long," she says as she wrestles a snake she has just captured in the tall grass in the middle of the night. "It's probably about three years old, and to date it's eaten about 200 of our native animals, including mammals and birds." Burmese pythons have been spreading through the Everglades National Park since Hurricane Andrew in 1992 destroyed a breeding facility for the pet trade, freeing some 900 snakes. Originally native to Southeast Asia, the python can grow up to 18 feet (5.5 meters) long and has a voracious appetite, consuming the local wildlife, including mammals, birds and even alligators. The Everglades is a unique subtropical ecosystem, with the largest continuous mangrove ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere. It is home to a vast array of unique species, including the endangered Florida panther, the American alligator and the American crocodile. But it provides no natural predators to the Burmese python, allowing the population of the invasive species to balloon. Scientists have noted dramatic declines in raccoons, opossums, bobcats, and rabbits in the region. "There's an estimated 500,000 pythons out there," Siewe said. The pythons, which are hunted by night, cannot legally be transported alive, so they are killed on site after being captured and measured. Once home, Siewe skins the dead snakes, and then has the skins professionally tanned into leather to be made into purses, wallets, watch bands and other goods. It takes an average of 12 hours to catch one. "So it's not that effective, right," she admits. "We're always going to have pythons in Florida. What we're trying to do is figure out how to decrease their numbers. Hunting right now is the most effective tool that we have."


USA Today
04-06-2025
- USA Today
UNC baseball ace named finalist for National Pitcher of the Year award
UNC baseball ace named finalist for National Pitcher of the Year award All year long, one pitcher for North Carolina has dominated over all others. Undefeated ace Jake Knapp, already named ACC Pitcher of the Year, is now one of five finalists for the National Pitcher of the Year from the College Baseball Hall of Fame. Knapp joins Gabe Craig from Baylor, Jacob Morrison from Coastal Carolina, Zan Taylor from UNC Wilmington, and Dylan Volantis from Texas. Three of the five finalists for the NPOY award hail from the Carolinas. Knapp finished his 2025 campaign with a 13-0 record and a 1.98 ERA. In 14 starts and 15 appearances, he threw 95.1 innings, allowing 21 earned runs on 63 hits with 85 strikeouts. Opposing batters hit .186 against the star pitcher. Knapp was tied with Zane Taylor for the third lowest ERA in the nation, just a hundreth over Evan Dempsey from FGCU. The Tar Heels ace also led all of college baseball with 13 wins on the season, tied with Ricky Ojeda from UC Irvine; however, Ojeda lost a game, Knapp hasn't. It is clear why the graduate right-hander is one of the best in the business, and he is getting the necessary recognition on the team, conference, and national levels. The winner of the prestigous award will be announced on June 13th, just a week and a half away. The inception of this award was in 2009, and since then, no UNC baseball pitcher has won the award. Knapp has a chance to not only be recognized as the best, but he can make UNC history in the process. Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.