Waiting for the sun Hawthorn North students go solar for energy alternative.(Neighbor)(Lake County schools)

Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), October, 2006

Energy conservation is a cyclical topic and with rising costs and uncertainty abroad, the search for alternatives is back in the forefront. Students and staff at Hawthorn Middle School North in Vernon Hills have joined the effort, helping to install a solar power generating system. Granted, the solar collectors are small, generating only enough electricity in about two months to power five homes for a day, but the idea is big.

Two students, Corey Cale and Jose Arreola, were selected by science teacher Doug Shearer to take the lead on the project, funded by a $10,000 grant by the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation and ComEd. "It's nice to have the power but I think the story is the two boys and what they've been able to accomplish," Shearer said....