Master's Track and Field News (Rankings)

The most recent USA Track and Field 2005 Indoors Rankings were just released! Why is this of interest to you? Well my time and distance for some of the meets I have competed in are good enough to rank me in the top 30 in the nation this year. This makes it interesting to me, and therefore I feel the need to share this with you!

• I have the 30th fastest time indoors this year in the 55 meters in the Masters Mens 45-49 age group with a time of 8.12 seconds.
• I have the 24th longest Long Jump indoors in the Masters Mens 45-49 age group this year with a jump of 3.72 meters.
• I also had the 21st longest throw in the Shot Put in the Masters Mens 45-49 age group this year indoors at 8.38 meters.

However I am still painfully slow, my times in the 200 and 400 are not in the listing that was just published by National Masters News.

Just to let you know how good the people who actually compete at a much higher level then me. If I was able to long jump 3.72 at age 85 I would be the world record holder! However if I did it at age 80 I would not be!

So if any masters sprinters, or throwers want to come out and practice feel free to email me at bgentes@eroundlake.com, I already have 1 practice partner who has joined me at a meet as well! The more the merrier!

Annual Water Quality Report

This is your annual water quality report for the period of January 1 through December 31, 2004. Each year the Village issues this report to provide you information about the quality of our drinking water, the source of our water, how it is treated, and what it contains. These reports are issued in compliance with the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act. For specific information about our water's quality or any other water related question, contact Davis R. Clark at 847-546-0962 or Melanie VanHeirseele at CLCJAWA, 847-295-7788. Or, visit our web page at www.eroundlake.com or the CLCJAWA web page at www.clcjawa.com.

I posted some information on water awhile ago on the blog with some of the background information.

Memorial Day in Pictures

Overall impression was that this was the biggest turnout for a parade we have ever had, the crowds were huge!
The first four pictures are of the small ceremony we have every year at our memorial here in Round Lake. The next three are me walking the route, throwing candy and the immense amount of people along the route. The second to last picture is the color guard that walked the route with the various service flags. The last picture is an homage to my official parade driver and photographer Denise Gentes my daughter who loves a parade as much as her dad!

3pm today is the National Moment of Remembrance

The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation.

Please join us as we honor those who have served and please pause at 3 p.m. for a minute of silence to honor those who have fallen.

Improved Blog Features!

I have added a few new features to the blog. Sadly one of the changes deleted all the comments, but I wanted trackback features for the future so I had to do it. Sorry!

1. Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to the blog.
2. I have added some of my favorite blogs on the left margin.
3. The current state of my bedside table, which reflects my current reading, is also on the left margin. I read a lot so it might not be accurate.
4. I have linked this blog to numerous blog directories in an effort to get more visitors. (Average is about 50 a day right now)

Put the Memorial back in Memorial Day

Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans - the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) - established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared it should be May 30. It is believed the date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.

The ceremonies centered on the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant and other Washington officials presided. After speeches, children from the Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns.

Local springtime tributes to the Civil War dead already had been held in various places. One of the first occurred in Columbus, Miss., April 25, 1866, when a group of women visited a cemetery to decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers who had fallen in battle at Shiloh. Nearby were the graves of Union soldiers, neglected because they were the enemy. Disturbed at the sight of the bare graves, the women placed some of their flowers on those graves, as well.

The origins of special services to honor those who die in war can be found in antiquity. The Athenian leader Pericles offered a tribute to the fallen heroes of the Peloponnesian War more than 24 centuries ago that could be applied today to the 1.1 million Americans who have died in the nation's wars: "Not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions, but there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men."

In December 2000, the U.S. Congress passed and the president signed into law "The National Moment of Remembrance Act," P.L. 106-579, creating the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance. The commission's charter is to "encourage the people of the United States to give something back to their country, which provides them so much freedom and opportunity" by encouraging and coordinating commemorations in the United States of Memorial Day and the National Moment of Remembrance.

The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation.

In the Round Lake area we have a parade honoring the sacrifice made by our veterans, the parade starts near the American Legion Post in Round Lake Park, pauses at the Round Lake Memorial at the corner of 134 and Cedar Lake for a short ceremony before continuing to the Round Lake Beach Memorial on Cedar Lake Road.

Please join us as we honor those who have served and please pause at 3 p.m. for a minute of silence to honor those who have fallen.

I blew 30 seconds of my 15 minutes!

While driving behind the cheddar curtain this morning on my way to play golf, yours truly decided to dial into the Eric and Kathy Show on the Mix (101.9 FM). Because of course with winding roads and hills being challenging enough to my erratic driving habits. Dialing calls into a radio show just adds to the degree of difficulty. By the way for those of you concerned I wear a head set. (I am sure that is most of you.)

So the question was what can you offer someone that is unique? So my brillant idea was lunch with the Mayor! As I sat on hold I was trumped by an opera singer, and a lady willing to offer a free hair weave, and someone offering a ride in a luxury car. All I could come up with was tacos with the Mayor. Then to top it off Eric credited me with being the Mayor of the Beach! I quickly corrected that glaring geographical error about Round Lake's suburb! With that I was off the air!

Credit to Sam Yingling for being the first person to contact me and harass me about hearing me on the radio. So far the number is 9.

I played the Abbey Springs golf course today and shot a 86. So while wasting 30 seconds of my valuable 15 minutes away on call in shows, I was able to double down on the golf course on my buddies so the day was not a complete loss.

Field Day at Village School

Thursday meant Field Day at Village School. Most of the action occurred with the the tug of war between 4th 5th and 6th graders. The kids had a great time, they were all good pullers. The picture on the left is of Mrs Fainman's class getting yanked over the line. The second picture is me posing with a bunch of my new best friends, if I had longer arms we could have gotten more of my friends in the picture.

The highlight of the day for me was being guest puller for the girls in an epic battle against the boys. Those repeated trips to the Round Lake Park District gym have paid off for me because I was able to assist in the beating of the boys!

Radioactive! Radio the Round Lake Way on FM 98.3

One of the most exciting new things on the Round Lake Area horizon is RONDARADIO a low frequency radio station that has been on the drawing board for years and is in its final stages prior to going live and on the air. I must also point out that I was able to assist in the fundraising by securing a $30,000 grant from Lakewood Homes for some of the major startup costs two years ago.

This is such a good idea, I wish I had thought of it, but I didn't! Round Lake resident Bish Krywko did along with his wife Fran and the energy and drive to get the radio station to this point are all down to their vision.

RONDARADIO is a community-based radio station that will be run by volunteer community members and students from Round Lake, Grayslake, Grant and Lakes high schools who live, work and play in the stations service area. They will also serve as a working classroom for broadcast students from area colleges and universities.

The station will operate on the frequency of 98.3 FM, broadcasting at 100 watts of power. Operation will be 24/7 and will utilize computers to assist with programming.

The Village of Round Lake Heights is home to the WRLR Studios and our 130' broadcast tower. The signal will radiate out to an area 3.5 to 5 miles in diameter from the antenna and most likely will extend even further, 7 to 10 miles out.

The stations 100 watt signal will reach a potential 90,000 plus residents living in the greater Round Lake area including all the Round Lake villages, Hainesville, Lake Villa, Grayslake, Lindenhurst, Ingleside, Long Lake, Fox Lake, Antioch, unincorporated Lake County and many others

A Women of Achievement and a Round Lake Resident

One of my blog goals is to highlight residents who do interesting things or in the case of Jeneen Smith-Underwood exceptional things!

Jeneen is a Round Lake resident and she received a prestigious award on May 13, 2005, at the YWCA Lake County 27th Annual Women of Achievement Awards. Through the years, more than one hundred women have been honored at this prestigious event. Their community service, professional achievement, integrity, leadership and dedication to the lives of others stand as a reflection of the YWCA’s historic mission and values. This annual tribute is an opportunity for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the economic empowerment of women and the elimination of racism.

Jeneen Smith-Underwood truly believes in giving "first-time homeowners an opportunity to purchase a home." In her role as the Neighborhood Services Coordinator for Round Lake Beach, she has successfully developed a program to acquire, rehabilitate and sell vacant homes in order to create affordable housing for lower income households. The Home Acquisition and Rehabilitation Program (HARP) was introduced in the spring of 2001 and has won three awards – Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association, the LocalGovNews.org, and the Illinois Municipal League. In addition, Jeneen has also started the Rebuilding Together program to help low-income, elderly and disabled owners live in warmth, safety and independence by bringing skilled and unskilled volunteers together on one day each year to provide home repairs. Jeneen’s personal community-related contribution is to encourage young women to become their best by leading by example.

We should be proud of Jeneen and impressed by her commitment to her community and the area in general. Congratulations, Jeneen!

Mayors Answer 911 to Fix 911 in Round Lake Area

About three years ago the mayors of the various Round Lake municipalities stepped in and revamped and revitalized the area's 911 emergency service number dispatch system (CENCOM). We had a contract service running the center and to be candid the center was a disaster, no leadership, no policies, massive turnover of staff, and numerous troubling complaints. Mayor's Hill, Bauer, Lumpkins, Mueller and yours truly stepped in and reworked the entire organization from top to bottom. It was a long process with resistance from some odd areas but we stuck to it.

We redid the board structure, making mayors the board members (no designees are allowed), we hired a director and we did away with the contract vendor. We also put a renewed emphasis on training, service and benefits to retain and attract staff. Today the result is we have one of the premier 911 agencies in the county.

We have a young aggressive forward thinking director Brian Tegtmeyer, 16 fulltime and 8 part time employees, modern procedures and equipment and most of all peace of mind that when you dial 911, you will get instant high quality response from professionals.

Hopefully you will not have to dial 911 for any reason in the future, but if you do, you can be thankful we stepped in and created a premier agency for the area.

SAVE THE DATE Streets of Summer Festival June 18th

On Saturday, June 18th, the Village of Round Lake will be hosting it's second annual Streets of Summer Festival located at Cedar Lake road at Route 134. We are proud to have legendary Chicago Blues man, Lonnie Brooks to headline the festival. Deluxury, a Chicago rock rhythm band will be opening for Lonnie Brooks. Also on our main stage is the Round Lake Community band and a Latin band to be announced.

In addition to the inflatable rides we had last year, we are adding a climbing wall and the Orbotron where you get into a ring and you spin like a gyroscope. The Greater Round Lake Fire Department will have the Smoke House on site for demonstrations on fire safety.
Make sure you get in our Royal Flush dunk tank where instead of you dropping into the water, the water dumps on you. Plus you don't want to miss our trackless train, which is fun for the whole family.

Come out early and see our classic car show! Judges will be on hand to vote for the best cars as well as giving out trophies. On our second stage will be the entertaining Magic Steve to perform as well as our local Martial Arts school. All of this plus local food vendors and a Miller beer garden located near the main stage! The festival runs from noon to 11:00 PM at night with free children's rides from noon to 1:00. Mark your calendars so you don't miss out on the fun in downtown Round Lake!

Please visit www.eroundlake.com for the latest festival information.

Board Committee Assignments and an Initial Work Plan

To kick off my second term I am revamping the way the village board does business. I have created six committees that encompass the range of services the village provides to its residents. Their are two areas that fall outside however Police and Village administration, by statute they are under the direct control of the Village President or Mayor. So I will be in charge of both of those areas as always.

Finance Patty Blauvelt and Sherry Perkowitz
Public Works—Brian Brubaker and Don Newby
Building and Zoning —Jerry Shaw and Bob Del Prato
Special Events— Don Newby and Brian Brubaker
Facilities and Capital Assets— Bob Del Prato and Jerry Shaw
Programs— Sherry Perkowitz and Patty Blauvelt

Please note: The Chair is listed first the Vice Chair is listed second.

These committees will have a rotation policy that ensures that over time all trustees will serve as Chair of each committee, each position will have a one year term. You may not serve on a committee for more then 2 consecutive years.

Once the committees start meeting they will work and report back to the board on issues the board or Mayor has referred to it. I have developed a starting list of my thoughts (by no means complete) and have asked the trustees to add to the list so each committee can have the pump primed and ready to go!

Finance Committee

• Set procedures and guidelines for developing the budget (timing for the steps) so we can implement a budget on time and efficiently.
• Monitor investment rates and make sure we maximize the interest we earn.
• Explore methods of bidding jobs and business out more efficiently.
• Get more payment online services for all village monies.

Public Works Committee

• Develop a workable tree replacement plan.
• Plan a schedule for repaving streets and or protecting our “newer” streets.
• Analyze needs for new equipment.
• Investigate automation for the department for complaints and problems

Building and Zoning Committee

• Make sure we use and adopt the most up to date codes.
• Ordinance enforcement
• Review of Ordinances
• Investigate greater automation
• Revamp Sign Ordinance

Special Events Committee

• Oversight of Fest Committee
• Christmas Tree lighting
• National Night Out
• Development of a 100^th Anniversary Committee
• Spring Clean up?
• Farmers market?

Facilities and Capital Assets Committee

• Directory of all land we own
• Inventory of all equipment we own
• Explore better more cost effective methods of managing our fleet
• Technology decisions

Programs Committee

• Explore for grants on state, and federal levels. (Pilot programs)
• Examine programs that benefit demographic segments (Seniors)
• Green programs and Tree related programs
• Internet improvements of www.eroundlake.com
• Trails (Link up with the Millennium Trail into our downtown?)

Round Lake-- Lake Cleanup

Yesterday the village participated in a clean up of Round Lake. The cleanup was organized by the three villages that have residents on the lake. Round Lake, Round Lake Beach and Round Lake Park, over a year ago the three municipalities formed a Lake Management Committee that consists of 3 representatives from each village. They are slowly but surely making the lake a better place to use and certainly making it cleaner judging by the junk that was pulled out of the lake by the volunteers. You can also see the Round Lake Police Boat, in the picture at left.

Many thanks to all the volunteers who gave up Saturday to make the lake a better place.

The Blog is out there and loving it!

Matt Pera of the Round Lake News discovered the blog last week and ran an article on the front page of the paper about it. Obviously I knew he knew because he interviewed me about it early this week. I won't go into all the details about why I am doing a blog (Read about it on this page) because I have already done that.

BLOG NOTE: I am having trouble posting pictures at the moment so we will have to rely on words rather then pictures. I plan to post a picture of Kramer from Seinfeld for this post at some point. I am trying to get some clever high quality pictures with each post. Hopefully that have some "ultra clever meaning" hidden meaning. I will add pictures to each post this weekend after the fact once the IT issue is fixed!

I am monitoring the count of people who come visit the blog and the first two weeks it was roughly 10-15 a day. The third week it jumped to 20-25, and then this week right up to 40. Today thanks to Matt I am over 55 and counting. I have two polls currently running one asking you if I am nuts for doing this (90% plus say yes), the second more serious poll asks a question about three major issues affecting Round Lake (Transportation, Schools and Shopping). Transportation leads the way at the moment.

Golf and Prizes

Well yesterday was the Friends of the Round Lake Area Park District Golf Outing. The foursome I was in shot a 2 under par 70. We were carried by Kurt Anderson, the superintendent for district 46 schools. He was excellent!

What I excelled at was the raffles afterwards, winning 9 different prizes with my 25 tickets. I won a pedicure, 2 gallons of paint, some kids toys, an overnight stay at the Lincolnshire Marriott, a rum and coke party pack, a bath kit with oils and stuff, and some pool passes that my spouse made me give back and of course I won two tries at throwing a dart at a balloon, where I successfully humiliated myself by missing both times. Later attempts by others were worse I am happy to report. I am in the process of redistributing my loot since two of the prizes were won by others in my foursome who had to leave early!

The paint was the most worrisome prize, since it means we will be repainting inside the house in the near future, which means more work for me.

Send a Kid to Camp Golf Outing Today

One of the most worthwhile programs in the area is the "Send a Kid to Camp" program run by the Round Lake Area Park District Foundation. The village is proud to participate in this program and today we have a foursome in their annual golf outing. Many of the villages vendors have bought foursomes in support of this worthy program

The Foundation has a day camp scholarship program available for residents age 6-21 years of age. Applications for the scholarship are available at the Round Lake Area Park District Community Center located at 814 Hart Road, Round Lake. Scholarships will be awarded based on financial need and the availability of the day camp scholarship funds at the time of application.

The Friends of the Round Lake Area Park District Foundation (501C.3) raises money for the specific purpose of supporting programs of the Round Lake Area Park District. Any questions, contact Peggy Dohr at 847-546-8558, ext. 226.

Comments on Residential Development

Yesterday at the village board meeting we had a public hearing on the Ryland homes parcel which is South of Dawn Marie and running down to Route 120. The project will bring our sewer to the corner of Wilson and 120 and trigger a large commercial and industrial park in the area bounded by Fish Lake Road, Route 60, Bacon Road and Route 120. At the public hearing there were some questions about the Ryland project which has evolved over time into something a little more palatable to the village.

One of the questions was about when are we stopping development? How can we continually approve new development every meeting? While these questions were out of left field factwise, since the village has NOT approved a new development in over a year and a half. As an aside I would point out that in the last few years the village has approved 2 new developments and 2 add on's in the last 3 years. The largest of these projects was the 180 senior oriented homes for Pulte on Curran Road and 120 and the first senior project in the area.

Lets face the facts, the village is on the downside of residential development. Over the last few years I have consistently spoken out with the same thoughts and premises about residential development. Let me reiterate them:

• Any residential development must meet and serve the large vision established by the village's comprehensive plan.
• It must have a missing need for a type of housing in the village (estate residential, senior housing etc.).
• It better be awfully good for the village with some large amenity and or benefit.

I have been repeating this at the village hall, in speeches to the chamber of commerce, at presentations to other taxing bodies and its been written about in the papers. But actions speak louder then words, so take some time and look at the residential development that has been done. Evaluate it, understand it and then realize the village is indeed sticking to the big goals in our comprehensive plan. So come in out of left field, and join the progress the village is making towards making the area a better place to live.

Downtown Development District Takes Shape

Over the last year the village board has been working with various segments of the community. To come up with a vision for the downtown area. Just recently after 5 public meetings we have adopted our downtown plan.

The next steps are adjusting our zoning, ordinances and developing an RFP (Request for Proposals) from developers to get moving on the project.
Some of the project goals are as follows:

• Cultural Arts Center
• restaurant district
• New Metra Station
• More parking
• Improved traffic flow

This link will take you to the section of our website where we have numerous Adobe PDF files containing the complete downtown plan.

Turn on the tap and water comes out! So how did it get there?

Water seems to be a given. You turn on the tap and out it comes. Round Lake is very lucky because we were one of the founding members of an organization called the Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency or JAWA for short. What does this mean? The short answer is Lake Michigan water some of the best drinking water in the country comes out of taps becuase our membership in this organization.

JAWA represents the community's of Grayslake, Gurnee, Lake Bluff, Libertyville, Mundelein, Round Lake, Round Lake Beach, Round Lake Heights, Round Lake Park, Lake County, Vernon Hills and Wildwood. So if you live in these areas and have city or village water, it came from Lake Michigan.

We have two water towers in the village, one on Wilson Road in the Northwest corner of Valley Lakes, the second is near the corner of 134 and Hart Road. You can't miss them they are big and white! We also have a ground storage tank along Nippersink Road, which we are going to be expanding to contain 2.5 million gallons of storage in this fiscal year. This project will be paid for by bonds from impact fees developers have paid to the village over the years.

The website for JAWA has lots of interesting information on water, Lake Michigan and the agency. Some of the interesting facts are:

• The lake contains so much water that 400,000 gallons of water (rain or snow) fall on it every second of the day!
• 320,000 gallons of water evaporate off the lake every second as well.
• Lake Michigan is the 5th largest lake in the world. (Caspian Sea, Lake Superior, Lake Victoria and Lake Huron are bigger)
  

I have appointed Trustee Don Newby as Round Lake's Director on JAWA and I serve as the alternate for the monthly board meetings. Don has served for many years on this board.

Jobs and the Great Lakes Navy Base

The Pentagon announced a 20 year plan that will save $48 billion dollars and cost the Great Lakes Naval base 2000 jobs. They employ 24,000 people at the base, so this is a reduction in force of 8%. If you recall Great Lakes in the early 90's emerged as the Navy's only consolidated training base in the country. This lost of nearly 2,000 good jobs to the county will be felt everywhere. I can think of 15-20 families who have people working at the base here in Round Lake that I know of. I am sure there are more that I don't know as well.

When Motorola closed in Harvard 4 years ago and 42 miles await least 3 families in my neighborhood who were directly affected, and countless more who also were affected throughout the Round Lake area so the impact of losing 2,000 jobs in the county will hit us here in Round Lake. That's a given.

Our elected officials are making the right noises right now about the potential closing, but its going to be difficult to prevent this from happening. But we need to try.

The Seamier Side of Being Mayor

When I was elected Mayor 4 years ago one of the things that was completely new to me were policing and public safety issues. I worked very hard to grasp the issues that confront us from a "public safety" point of view. Over time I became very familiar with resources that can help us evaluate public safety in Round Lake.

So with the horrific tragedy that took place in Zion last week I think it might be appropriate to remind you of one of the resources that the Lake County Sheriff's office has. Its the Registered Sex Offender list. You can search by municipality. I would caution you that the people listed here are registered and monitored and have paid their debt to society in terms of jail time.

I would also add that I know as Mayor, how vigilant our Police Department is when it comes to monitoring these people, I have always been impressed with the level of attention they place on this particular issue. While we are never 100% safe, our vigilance is very very high.

Transit Oriented Development

I have gotten this question a few times about the Downtown Development Plan. Since the concept we are trying to implement is Transit Oriented Development (TOD) I get the question what about the Metra station? Are we fixing that? Yes we are! The train station is the central point of the Downtown plan, TOD is based on the concept of downtown residents and business people having walking access to the train station. When we were investigating the concept of TOD I was fortunate enough to travel around the area and look at train stations that had been renovated in the TOD concept. One that was exceptional, the station in Tinley Park (shown above). The station has indoor and outdoor seating area with tables, an indoor coffee and bagel shop, and is a hot-spot for wireless internet connections.

So here's the answer yes we want that! It may not look exactly like the Tinley Park station but it will reflect the character of the downtown and it will be one of the first things that happens when we start the project!

I have some links for you to investigate if you are interested in more information on the Round Lake Downtown Plan.

School Funding Proposal in the Illinois Senate

School funding is to my thinking the single most important issue facing communities across the state. Our downstate legislators appear to be incapable of the tough decisions required to change the way we fund education in the state. However a proposal by Senator James Meeks and Senator Rick Winkel has some legs with the support of Senate President Emil Jones.

The proposal raises income tax to 5% from 3%, it also raises corporate income tax to 8% from 4.8%. However while it raises taxes, it also gives a 33% property tax rebate to homeowners. Based on what you paid to the schools in 2002. The plan could save homeowners $3.5 billion, and the income tax increase could raise nearly $5 billion.

The tentative plan would raise the bar of per student funding from the state and its existing amount of $4,900 to $6,100. All this sounds positive, in fact it would help nearly 90% of all the counties in Illinois and more importantly to us it will help Lake County schools.

So lets stay tuned and see what happens.

Transportation Woes in the County

The second failure of the Lake County Traffic Referendum (No's -53% Yes's 47%) was disappointing to say the least. The proposal would have allowed the county to bond for $100 million + dollars for highway improvement. Among the projects lost based on the failure was the widening of 60 from Diamond Lake up to and past Round Lake.

Looking at a few of the Round Lake Precincts (Round Lake's 10 precincts favored the referendum roughly 68% to 32%) we can see the broad support out here in western lake county for traffic improvements. But unfortunately the further east you go in the county the less the support becomes, since that's where all the counties traffic dollars have been spent over the years and of course that area has the tri state running through it as well.

The sad fact is that because half of the county board members are up for election in the next electoral cycle we will not see the traffic referendum on the ballot again in the foreseeable future. The board members do not want to have their names appear on the ballot with a tax increase for something that is desperately needed.

Todays' Daily Herald has an article on the traffic issue here in Lake County that I strongly suggest you go read. It gives a little of the background on the issue and what some elected officials (me and others) and others are doing this summer. Hopefully we can finally get moving in the right direction!

Happy Mothers Day!

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods.

During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday". Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up to Easter), "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England. During this time many of the England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers.
A special cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along to provide a festive touch. As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church" - the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration . People began honoring their mothers as well as the church.
In the United States Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle hymn of the Republic) as a day dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe would hold organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston, and a mass every year. In 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death, the 2nd Sunday of May. By the next year Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.

Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers, businessman, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day. It was successful as by 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day as a national holiday that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

First Saturday in May

To me the first Saturday in May is Kentucky Derby Day! Some of you may not know it but I own a horse (pictured above), she is a 2 year old filly named Karakorum Starlet (I own 9%). My guess is she will not be running in the 2006 Derby but you can always dream.

I own the portion of the horse through a marvelous idea, a limited partnership named Karakorum Thourghbred Partnerships. Check them out!

I like Bellamy Road to win with Sun King in the place hole in todays Derby. (please note this was posted before the race) Of course the horse is trained by my favorite trainer Nick Zito (trained Go for Gin a former Derby winner and a large score for me on that day). So lets run for the roses in 2006 with Karakorum Starlet but enjoy the 2005 Derby first.

Police and Public Works facility moving along!

On the Southeast corner of Bacon and Townline Road the village purchased a 39 acre parcel a few years ago to house this 34,000 square foot structure that will be our new police and public works department buildings later this year. The project has had a few snags but its on track right now and I know both departments can't wait until they get into their new home. The village board made sure that this facility is expandable so it can meet future growth needs for the village.

The old police station will become the new village building department and the village engineers. The old public works facility will go away and become more parking for Metra. Our guess is we will add 80 spots depending on the configuration. This will bring us close to 400 spots around the station. That's an increase of 120 spots in 3 years, we aim to add more over time as well, with our transit oriented development program.

Lake Access in Silver Leaf Glen

Over the last four years I have been dealing with the large park land parcel that Ryland homes deeded to the village when Silver Leaf Glen (SLG) came into the village. The issues that have come up and vanished over the four years are way to many to recount here. A short list of phrases should give you an excellent overview of whats going on... "5 presidents of Wooster Lake Association (WLA) in 4 years" "no bylaws" "no money" "Cease and Desist letters" "confusion" "finger pointing" "100 different points of view" and of course a partridge in a pear tree.

Now we have residents living in SLG, and of course we listen to them not the WLA. So when residents of SLG start asking me to do something and the ideas range from a boat launch to a passive park, the village has to listen to them. So at some point in the next month or so I am going to gather the SLG residents together exclusively and talk through the issues with them and see what they really want, and then we are going to move in that direction.

I spent the afternoon walking the parcel with a resident of SLG and came away struck by the beauty of the property and I can understand why the residents want to use it.