Local businessman and river advocate, Orville Reed dead at 88

Some participants in the 31st annual Kankakee and Iroquois Rivers Clean Up on Saturday will likely leave earlier than the noon wrap-up time for the event.

The funeral of one of the cleanup's founders, 88-year-old Kankakee River advocate Orville Reed, will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Clancy-Gernon-Hertz Funeral Home, west Kankakee. Visitation will be held there 4-8 p.m. today.

Reed, of Kankakee, was founder and owner of Reed's Rent All and Sales and Reed's Canoe Trips — now operated by his son Larry Reed, of Kankakee, and stepson Jim Reed, of Chebanse.

Orville also was a founder of the Northern Illinois Anglers Association in 1979, served as its treasurer and president and board member for at least 10 years.

He was a founder not only of the cleanup in 1983, but of the Kankakee River Valley Fishing Derby in '84.

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River cleanup Saturday

Volunteers will descend on and into the Kankakee and Iroquois rivers starting at 8 a.m. Saturday for the Northern Illinois Anglers Association's 32nd annual Kankakee and Iroquois River Clean Up.

The annual cleanup will run until noon, with volunteers removing a year's accumulation of litter and junk from the rivers and tributaries from the Indiana state line to Wilmington and beyond.

Volunteers receive free commemorative patches, refreshments, a good time outdoors with like-minded people, sense of accomplishment and community service credits if needed.

Groups and individuals may join the cleanup from Momence Island Park, Shamrock Golf Course, Aroma Park boat launch, Beckman Park boat launch, Bird Park boat launch, Bradley-Bourbonnais Sportsman's Club boat launch, Kankakee River State Park concession stand or Wilmington North Island Park band shell.

Volunteers are encouraged to register in advance so adequate beverages and food can be served at all sites. Contact chairman Barb Thomas at 815-939-2675 or 815-953-8822 or email sltbjt@att.

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Green Drinks: River as water supply

• GREEN DRINKS

River as water supply is topic of meeting

The adequacy of the Kankakee River as a source of drinking water will be the topic of the Green Drinks meeting at 6 p.m. Aug. 27 at Tucci's Restaurant, 1560 N. Illinois Route 50, Bourbonnais.

The speaker will be Kevin Culver, Midwest environmental compliance manger for Aqua America in Illinois and Indiana for 13 years. Culver also has been a River Watch volunteer on the Kankakee River and Rock Creek for 12 years.

A networking session will start at 6 p.m. and the program at 6:30.

Green Drinks is sponsored by the Council for Community Sustainability, a public outreach group of Kankakee Community College's sustainability initiative.

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