Round Lake Chamber of Commerce-- Casino Night

Win a Seat at the World Series of Poker!
$150 Dollar Buy-In with a $30 rebuy (must have 100 players for the seat to be awarded)

Proceeds benefit the Round Lake Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Fund

February 13th, 2009 CASINO NIGHT!!
6PM-Midnight
Held at: Round Lake Beach Cultural & Civic Center
Complete w/ Texas Hold'em Tournament, Blackjack, and many more table games.

Texas Hold'em Tournament Winner (based on 100 players) will win a $10,000 seat to the WSP/Vegas

Call the Chamber office for details: 847-546-2002

Christmas Tree Pick-up

If you drag your used Christmas tree to the curb on Monday Waste Management will pick it up, they will pick up the discarded trees all four Monday's in January. They dispose of them for us in a clean environmental so that way your tree keeps on giving! Kind of a nice service we were able to negotiate with them!

UPDATE NOTE: You are certainly not going batty, I wrote the post thinking Wednesday and when I checked with Waste Management they said Monday...my apologies!

Round Lake Food Drive

As part of the Village of Round Lake's Centennial Celebration, the Village would like to reach out to those who are struggling to make it through these difficult economic times. Your help is needed for food donations (see list below for specifics).

All items donated will go to the following food pantries: Calvary Presbyterian Church, COOL, Avon Township, and Fremont Township. Donations are being accepted the entire month of November! Print out the Flyer here.

Drop off your donations at the Round Lake Village Hall or the Round Lake Police Station, and the First American Bank (60 and Cedar Lake)

• 1 lb package rice
• 1 lb package pasta
• Cereal (dry or oatmeal)
• Canned soup
• 16 oz canned vegetables
• Tomato/Spaghetti Sauce
• 16 oz canned fruit
• Beverages (juice, coffee)
• Peanut Butter
• 16 oz can pork & beans
• 1 lb bag pinto beans
• Canned tuna fish
• Canned meat (ravioli, stew, Spam)
• Packaged side dishes
• Baby food
• Baby formula
• Cookies, Crackers, Popcorn
• Condiments (catsup, mustard, mayo)
  

Thank you for making a difference in Round Lake! These food pantries serve many of our local families, lets all pitch in and make a difference! We thank your for your assistance! Together we really can make a difference!

Save the Date for KaBoom

September 26 will be one of the biggest days in park district history! Through support from Discover Financial Services and KaBOOM!, a national non-profit agency promoting children at play, the Round Lake Area Park District will be constructing a new playground and a new skate park at the district’s Community Center on Hart Road. These projects have been in planning stages for months now, with the area children participating in Design Day in June when they helped design both projects. Since then, a group of local citizens, district staff, KaBOOM! and Discover have been planning the “Build Day” on September 26.

One of the conditions the park district had to meet was to generate community involvement in the planning and preparation of the event. The district is now recruiting volunteers for the following days, times and duties:

Prep Days Tuesday, September 23
8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Wednesday, September 24

8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Volunteers will help stage the equipment, supplies and tools for the upcoming Build Day. The district is seeking 45 volunteers for each day. A light breakfast and a lunch will be served.

Build Day ”Friday, September 26

8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Volunteers will help build the playground, the skate park and numerous side projects such as picnic tables, benches, etc. The district is seeking 100 volunteers for this day. All volunteers will be provided morning snacks and lunch.

In addition to the 100 local resident volunteers, Discover Financial Services will provide 400 volunteers on Build Day. No experience necessary! If you’d like to volunteer but aren’t sure if you have the necessary experience, don’t worry! The Prep and Build Days are well orchestrated and you don’t need any construction experience to participate.

Food and Drinks: With support from the Friends of the Round Lake Area Parks Foundation, the district is also seeking volunteers for serving breakfast snacks on Build Day from 6:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.

If you’re interested in any of these volunteer opportunities, please contact the following park district staff liaisons:

• For Prep Days, contact Jeffrey Lurquin, Superintendent of Parks and Facilities at 847-546-8558 or jlurquin@rlapd.org.
• For Food and Drinks, contact Robert Newport, Assistant Director at 847-546-8558 or rnewport@rlapd.org.
• For Build Day, contact Jeff Nehila, Executive Director at 847-546-8558 or jnehila@rlapd.org.

Donations also accepted. Area businesses can also participate in the projects by donating hand tools, food, snacks and drinks. Recognition of your donation(s) will be provided the day of the event and all follow-up publications and press releases. Questions relating to possible donations should be directed to Jeff Nehila, Executive Director, at 847-546-8558 or jnehila@rlapd.org.

Relay for Life was this Weekend

We had a nice turnout for the Relay for the Life this Saturday and Sunday. Unlike last year I was unable to stay the distance, lasting until about 11pm. I could not face sleeping in a tent! Camping to me is staying in a Holiday Inn!

Many thanks to Jennifer Blum for leading the Round Lake Village People and volunteering to be a committee member for the planning of the Relay for Life. The picture at the right is of about 15 of the 25 people we had participate this year on our team. We also raised over $2,000 for the event as well.

3rd Annual “Fishing Should Be Fun” Fishing Derby

Saturday, July 26, 2008
8a.m.— Noon
Round Lake Beach lake front park on Lake Shore Dr.

Sponsored by:
Competition Bassmasters of Northern Illinois, Round Lake Management Commission, in conjunction with the Round Lake Area Park District.

For more information, call Tim Pasternak at 847-644-3976.

Every child deserves the opportunity to catch the “big one”. That is why Competition Bassmasters of Northern Illinois, the Round Lake Management Commission, and the Round Lake Area Park District are proud to cooperatively sponsor the 3rd annual “Fishing Should Be Fun” Fishing Derby. This event will give all children the opportunity to experience the joy of
fishing. Come out, bring your rod and reel, cast your line, and help make this year’s event the best yet. Don’t have your own equipment? Don’t worry - we’ll have plenty of equipment to loan you. All you’ll need to do is to make sure you don’t let the “big one” get away.

Event will feature:

• Kids fishing and boating safety seminar
• Kids casting event
• Fishing knots and rigging
• Fishing derby with prizes by age group
• Boat rides
• Fish in special designated
• Family Fishing Areas.
  
• All kids will receive a FREE Goody Bag and lunch!

A Muppet 4th

Rummage Sale this weekend! Tons and Tons of Stuff Available

When: Saturday June 7th Time: 8:00AM – 3:00PM
Where: The Village of Round Lake’s Police & Public Works Building at 751 W. Townline Rd

Plus there is a $2.00 Bag Sale 1 pm to 3 pm
Everyone in the community is invited to come out and hunt for bargains. It benefits the Relay for Life!

NOTE: I would have a spectacular picture of huge amounts of stuff here, but for some reason, photos won't load today on the blog...but trust me, there is a lot of stuff.

NOTE #2: Today the publishing pictures tool works so here is the picture.

Memorial Day Ceremonies

I will speak at two places today as the Round Lake Area remembers our nations veterans. The first place I will speak at the village's memorial at the corner of 134 and Cedar Lake Road. The text of my remarks there are as follows.

Thank you all for coming to honor those who have served our country across the years.

Today we deservedly honor many, but I want to focus on one who fought in World War 2 and came home to have a family and live a long and productive life, my father in law Christopher Rozakis. Today we are flying his flag above us.

Many however were not as lucky as my father in law to return from their service and live a full life. Here in Lake County, we have lost 13 brave soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

• Marine Sgt. Edward G. Davis III, of Antioch
• Army Specialist. William D. Dusenbery, of Lake Zurich
• Army Staff Sgt. Donald B. Farmer, of Zion
• Army 1st Lt. David L. Giaimo, of Waukegan
• Army Sgt. Terry M. Lisk, of Fox Lake
• Army Capt. Shane Reichert Mahaffee, of Gurnee
• Marine Lance Cpl. Sean P. Maher, of Grayslake
• Army Specialist Jaime Moreno, of Round Lake Beach
• Marine Pfc. Geoffery S. Morris, of Gurnee
• Army Sgt. 1st Class James S. Ochsner of Waukegan
• Army Specialist Uday Singh of Lake Forest
• Army Maj. Paul R. Syverson III of Lake Zurich
• Army Specialist Wesley R. Wells of Libertyville

The parade then moved to the Round Lake Beach Memorial which is where there was a longer ceremony where I made the following remarks.

When I was a boy the military heroes of history were my idols. Lord Nelson, John Paul Jones, Generals Patton, Pershing, Mac Arthur, Eisenhower, their courage and valor still are remembered today. Such was my fascination with their exploits that when I had the opportunity to choose a major in college, I chose military history.

What I’ve learned from the past is that it’s not just the well-known heroes who deserve recognition, but the ordinary, every-day people who served their country. These veterans deserve the respect and gratitude of all citizens. Without their dedication we would not enjoy the freedoms we have today.

Memorial Day is the time to remember all veterans for the sacrifices they made for all us. Many fought and died, still others were injured or disabled. All of them loved their country as we do here today.

Surely it is not too much to suggest that we take a few moments away from the chain of lakes, and our barbecues, to recognize the supreme sacrifice made by more then one million of our fellow countryman and women.

Surely we can take the time to visit a cemetery and look for the grave of a fallen solider and leave a flag or a flower. We can’t be that busy can we?

Earlier today at the veteran’s memorial in Round Lake we had a small ceremony where my father in law’s, a world war two veteran’s, flag was lowered to half mast, and I read the names of the 13 soldiers from Lake County who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Memorial Day is not the only day we should remember these veterans. We must keep the memory of their sacrifices in our hearts every day of the year. Thank you

Huge Cover Up in Round Lake!

I found this on the internet which is a series of tubes (according to a United States Senator) and could not help but deciding in a nano-second to post this link.

Here is how I think it all went down, there was an accident on 120 and since the aliens could not get to a hospital in time they called in a UFO Flight to Life to transport them to the Planet Gentes which is a planet in the Star Wars series in the Anorat system and it took them, owing to faster then light travel and no traffic congestion in space, less then 19 minutes to get there!

Hopefully they take Blue Cross Blue Shield there as well! For some reason pictures won't load today so no pictures.

Leadership Day on Friday

On Friday about 30 village officials and staff participated in Leadership Day, at Indian Hill Middle School. As always I had more fun then the kids did, and they had fun! I got three young ladies who were, fun, sweet and oh so talkative! OMG, For Sure, LOL!!!! (The picture is of left to right me, Shelby, Emily and Andrea)

The day started with me picking them up at the school and then immediately running into a reporter who interviewed the girls and rode around with us for about 2 hours taking pictures, so the girls were excited about being celebrities (me too for that matter)!

First stop was the 7-11 for refreshments. Diet Coke, Candy and other caffeine products were loaded into the car for the tour of the village. We visited the village hall, my campaign HQ where they scammed on some free t-shirts, then it was off for a tour of the police station where we then met the other kids for pizza.


After lunch we joined the Public Works kids for a trip to a water tower where we looked around inside and then Davis Clark our Director of Public Works did a pressure check on a hydrant at the base of the tower to demonstrate the water pressure. Quite impressive!

We had lots of fun and laughed pretty hard at Andrea's inability to open car doors, Emily's constant giggling, and of course Shelby the motor mouth! Plus I got them back by 7th period, much to their disgust!

Walk Strong to Make Life Long run/walk event

Please join Gavin South Junior High School’s fight against cancer at our Walk Strong to Make Life Long run/walk event! On Saturday, May 31^st, at Lakewood Forest Preserve, students and adults alike will be running/walking in order to raise money for cancer research. Any interested participants may either pre-register, register upon arrival, or collect pledges from family/friends. The registration fee is $20. (The first 100 registered individuals will receive a t-shirt to commemorate the event.) The event will run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and will include a free breakfast boost for early risers. Please join us as well for a meal at our picnic festivities (nominal fees will apply). Gavin South’s students and faculty are proud to be sponsoring an event through which all proceeds earned will be donated to cancer research.

For further information or to pre-register please contact either Michael Filipowicz or Erin Wilhelm at (847) 546-9336 or visit our website www.firstgiving.com/gavin37 .

Saint Joes Math-Letes

Twenty two public and parochial schools and approximately 150 students in the seventh and eighth grades participated in the Carmel Catholic High School Mathematics Contest on February 23rd. Last year, St. Joseph School from Round Lake participated for the first time with one team of seventh graders. While they didn't place in their division, Nick Ezyk brought home an Individual First Place for their division (there are three divisions based on school size).

This year, under the direction of Mr. Jerry Burger, the seventh and eighth grade Math teacher and Math Team Advisor, St. Joseph School entered both a seventh and eighth grade team in their division. The seventh grade math team members are Connor Dierks, Sam Lakoske, Melissa Mahone, Rick Seng, Myra Rivera and Alex Vandergriff. The eighth grade team members are Dalton Daily, Nick Ezyk, Hannah Green, Steven Hubert, Christine Kenyon and Abilgail Patricio.

Armed with their brains, enthusiasm and number 2 pencils, the teams of math-aletes came prepared to compete. The seventh grade team came in SECOND place and the eighth grade team came in FIRST place in their division, with Nick Ezyk also bringing home another Individual First place in their division. Congratulations to both teams and their coach!
NOTE: My apologies for not getting this out sooner, but every time I had it scheduled something pumpkin seemed to happen!

Kidney Blog

Last year at the Round Lake Spartan Corn and Brat fest Maureen Giramonte a Round Lake Resident, and Streets of Summer Beer Tent Coordinator (aka the Beer Wench) talked to me about something near and dear to her heart raising awareness of Kidney Disease and raising funds for the Kidney Trust.

Maureen has decided to ride a bike 240 miles to raise awareness this September throughout Wisconsin in something called the Tour DaVita. She has created a blog to chronicle her adventure which is here. I would encourage you to read and visit the site regularly, but more importantly visit this place where she is raising money to support the cause!

Anyone who decided to ride 240 miles on a bike deserves our support and encouragement!

Album Art on Display at Lake County Discovery Museum

Explore 60 years of outstanding album cover artwork in the special exhibition "LP Art," on display thru August 3, 2008, at the Lake County Discovery Museum near Wauconda. The exhibit showcases some of the most memorable and inventive Long Playing (LP) record album covers of all time from artists like Frank Sinatra, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Beck. "LP Art" is sponsored by the Daily Herald.

Since the conception of album art by Alex Steinweiss in 1939, it has become an integral part of music and popular culture. See the cover evolve from early jazz sleeves to iconic rock albums to interactive CD booklets. The exhibit contains sections on rock, punk, jazz, funk, hip hop, pop, novelty and children's records. It also features highlights from the remarkable catalogues of The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Pink Floyd. A special area focuses on album covers by famous visual artists such as Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, Takashi Murakami and Robert Mapplethorpe. The exhibit also includes the history of the various audio formats and packaging used to distribute music over the years, including Edison phonographic cylinders, records, 8-tracks, cassette tapes, Compact Discs (CDs) and MP3 files.

The exhibition features numerous hands-on activities for children and adults. In the Cover Art Studio kids can design their own album cover or interpret a classic such as Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon." At the Cover Shoot visitors can take the stage with various costumes and props and get in touch with their inner rock star. Adults can get in on the fun as they try to recall band logos in our Album Art Alphabet game. A free audio tour provides a soundtrack for visitors as they explore the exhibit.

The entrance to the Lake County Discovery Museum is located on Route 176, just west of Fairfield Road and east of Wauconda in Lakewood Forest Preserve. Gallery hours are Monday - Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is $6 for adults and $2.50 for youth ages four to 17. Children three years and under are free. Seniors are $2.50 after 2 p.m. On Discount Tuesdays, admission is $3 for adults, and youth 17 years and under are free. Admission is always free for Museum members.

"LP Art" is sponsored by the Daily Herald. For more information about the exhibit or to download discount admission coupons, call 847-968-3400 or visit online at www.LCFPD.org/LPart.

About the Lake County Discovery Museum

The Lake County Discovery Museum in Wauconda, Illinois, provides visitors with hands-on exhibits and educational programs. The nationally accredited Museum also is home to the nation's largest collection of picture postcards. The Museum is part of the Lake County Forest Preserve District, which manages more than 26,000 acres of land and offers innovative educational, recreational and cultural opportunities for all ages.

Don't Forget Earth Hour is this Weekend!

ComEd has joined with the City of Chicago, World Wildlife Fund, and the Metropolitan Mayor's Caucus to Sponsor Earth Hour Chicago for one hour on March 29, 2008 from 8-9 p.m.

Residents, businesses and organizations are encouraged to join millions of people around the world in "turning off the lights". The goal is to demonstrate that by working together, each one of us can make a positive impact on global warming.

ComEd is working closely with City of Chicago officials and emergency agencies to ensure a safe and coordinated event. ComEd encourages municipalities to participate in this event by urging residents to turn out non-essential lighting in their homes.

Earth Hour is just one more way ComEd is demonstrating its commitment to environmental stewardship. Through CARE (www.COMEDCARE.com) ComEd is helping customers to reduce energy usage, manage their bills and protect the environment. It is their hope that Earth Hour will serve as an additional way to educate customers about becoming smarter energy consumers. For more information or to any questions, visit www.earthhour.org

Wine Tasting for the Round Lake Area Park District Foundation

"A Taste of the Grape" wine tasting fundraiser is going to be held on Saturday, March 5 from 6:30-9:00 pm at the Rolek Community Center. Tickets are $30 per person and are on sale at the Registration desk at the Rolek Community Center, 814 Hart Rd. Round Lake, and the Sports Center 2005 Municipal Way, Round Lake Beach. This event is one of a series of fundraisers to raise money to renovate the Hart's Woods playground. Bring your friends. For more information go here.

The format is simple, everyone gets a glass and can move around 4-5 tables sampling, and deciding on which wines they want to order for home use.

Auction for Art at Village School

In April 2007 an “Auction for Art” raised over $6000 for art programs at Village Elementary School (880 W. Nippersink Road) in Round Lake. Many businesses and individuals in the community made donations and participated in this successful event to raise funds for our young artists.

These funds have been the means of providing exciting opportunities for our students so far this school year.

We were able to purchase large art prints of 16 famous paintings for our school library. Teachers are able to check these out for classroom use. Our librarian is working on plans to spotlight a different print and artist each month.

In early December our students enjoyed a wonderful assembly by Strokes of Genius in Glenview. Leonardo DaVinci was brought to life for our students in a dramatic, interactive assembly which involved student volunteers, a re-enactment of the painting of the Last Supper, scaffolding, and demonstrations of various inventions by DaVinci.

Our ArtSmarts Program is bringing local artists to the classrooms to teach students about famous artists and various art techniques. Our Guest Artists this year have been Sandie Bacon from Lake Bluff and Andrea Harris from Mundelein. These artists have exposed the students to knowledge they might not otherwise gain and given them hands-on experiences with creating their own artwork. The students learned about the work of Claude Monet and created watercolor postcards which were mailed home to their families. Next, the students learned about Leonardo DaVinci’s Mona Lisa and created their own portraits using Cray-Pas oil pastels. They later enjoyed creating paper cut-out pictures following the techniques of Henri Matisse. Most recently, the students learned to create their own foam stamps to make art prints like Keith Haring. Our final ArtSmarts presentations for the year will take place during the week of January 8-11, 2008. The students will be creating wire sculptures based on the work of Alexander Calder.

The culmination of our ArtSmarts Program will be our ArtSmarts Museum Night to be held at Village School on Friday, January 25, 2008, from 6:30-8:00pm. Each student will have 2 pieces of their ArtSmarts artwork on display, for a school total of over 1000 pieces of artwork. This gala event provides an opportunity for the children to proudly show their families and friends what they have learned in the ArtSmarts Program. Refreshments will be served. A Museum Gift Shop will sell art supplies as well as a special set of notecards created by 12 Village School students for the amazing price of $5. Proceeds from these sales will help fund next year’s art programs. Donations and volunteers are needed for this event.

Later in the spring, our students will enjoy additional art programs as the 6^th graders create a wall mural for our cafeteria, and the 1^st – 5^th graders create additional art in their classrooms. We will also be looking for art fundraising opportunities later in the year.

We are grateful to all of those businesses and individuals who donated to last year’s “Auction for Art” to make all of these art opportunities possible for the students at Village School.

If you have any questions about these art programs, please contact Village School Art Committee Chair, Shelley Trump, at (847) 546-7835 or Village School at (847) 270-9470.

Pancake Breakfast with Santa this Sunday

Don't Miss Out on this Family Fun Event! Join the RL Chamber of Commerce for the Annual Pancake Breakfast with Santa & Holiday Gift Bazaar. Its this Sunday, December 2, 2007 from 7:30 am - 12:00 noon its, held in the Round Lake High School Cafeteria.

Don’t miss your visit with Santa! Sit on his lap and get a photo for ONLY $5.00 Plus you get to eat Pancakes, sausage, eggs, juice, milk & coffee for $5 for adults & $4 for kids under 12 or over 65 Purchase tickets in advance or at the door.

FABULOUS RAFFLE PRIZES:
Grand Prizes include:1 night at the Marriott Lincolnshire with theater tickets courtesy of Strang Funeral Home; $200 Shopping Spree at the ACE Homestore, courtesy of ACE Hardware; Choice of a Season Pass to the RLAPD Fitness Center -OR- a Season Family Pool Pass courtesy of the Round Lake Area Park District AND SO MUCH MORE....

Raffle tickets can be purchased for $1.00 each or 6 for $5.00. Need NOT be present to win. (Prize donations are currently being accepted. Shop our Holiday Gift Bazaar. Visit area crafters to check out all they have to offer and check off your holiday shopping list.

Proceeds from this event benefit the Scholarship Program through the Round Lake Area Chamber.

Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony

Don't forget that this Friday the 30th at the Village Hall starting at 6pm we will have our annual Tree lighting along with Reindeer lights and a "special visitor" as well! If you want a hint...there will be elves around!

Officer G will be making a special appearance as well! Here is map to the Village Hall, hope to see all of you there!