Flooding Alerts

With the snow accumulation, temperature rising and a hard rain we are susceptible to flooding. So do a couple things, keep an eye on your street drains, and go into your basement an look at your sump pump to make sure nothing bad is happening! Also drive safely those puddles might be deeper then you think!

New Blog Location plus Holiday wishes to you and your familly!

The time has come to say goodbye to the eroundlake.com/blog (no April Fools joke this time) and welcome it to its new location, which has actually been its old postion all the time. It just pointed to the eroundlake.com site, those pointers will be removed, and the blog will reside at its new headquarters.

billgentes.blogspot.com

The new blog will debut on January first, but you can go look at it now if you like, it looks slightly different appearance wise, but all the content is there so from that aspect nothing has changed. The blog will however change and I think that will make it more readable and enjoyable.

Finally I wish all of you a wonderful holiday tommorrow and I hope all of us get exactly what we wanted from Santa, and then we move on and have a wonderful 2009.

Worse/Best TV Show ever!

Over the years I have slowly stopped watching TV, reducing my viewing to sports, and the news. However the promos for one show caught my eye, and my daughters as well, Momma's Boys on NBC. Needless to say we Tivo'ed it and thank god we did, because some of the lines were so priceless we had to replay them a few times.

The premise of the show are three adult men who still live at home with Mommy (that's what they call their mother) are going to chose from 32 high quality young ladies, who range from doctors to convicts and all points in between. The moms live with the 32 girls in some monster mansion on the pacific coast while the three boys live in condos somewhere nearby. At some point the boys kick off the girls one by one, based I would assume on mom's orders. Talk about emasculating!

The highlights/lowlights of the show encompass the following:

• Creepy audition videos, where one mom asks her son to disrobe so everyone can see his body.
• Racist creepy audition videos, where one mom disqualifies the entire human race from being with her son.
• Mothers packing son's clothing for the trip and treating sons like they are in 2nd grade.
• A highly disturbing girl who has a compulsion to clean up everything, loves ABBA, and is actually my favorite character, she would in my humble opinion be perfect for the three boys.
  
• A young lady who has an extreme melt down over a broken shoe heel. She aspires to be a philanthropist when she grows up!
• Another young lady who has angst about being the Penthouse Pet of the Year and won't talk about it and then another who has no problem talking about herself posing in Playboy.
• This one was unable to recall what she did for a living.
• A lady who is a critical care nurse who hates men!
• Two of the moms look alike so its hard to separate the racist mom from the uber creepy domineering mom extraordinaire without having to concentrate.
• The girls have alcohol in their hands throughout the entire show, which makes for better TV, and lively interaction amongst the contestants.

Some of the classic lines are:

A female contestant says "I paid for my second boob job with my student loan."

One mom says that she "I call him at least 100 times a day and he answers 100 times a day."

I have no idea what the rules are, nor the actual point of the show, but all that's irrelevant when confronted by what I would guess is the stupidest TV show ever. Therefore highly watchable! Monday night 2 hour episode be there or be square! There is an encore of this episode tonight at 7pm by the way!

County Snow Alert

Current forecast guidance suggests that the onset of precipitation for Lake County will not be until around 9:00pm tonight, with the heaviest rates of precipitation occurring between 2am and 8am. The Weather Service currently expects all of the precipitation across Lake County to fall as snow, with snowfall rates of up to two inches an hour possible. There is a potential for thunderstorms within the overall storm system, and heavier snowfall rates are possible where thunderstorms develop. In general, the expectation is for from 8 to 14 inches of snow, with the potential for locally heavier amounts, across Lake County. Because of the nature of this storm system, the snow will be wetter and heavier than what fell earlier in the week.

Former Trustee John Huebner (1934-2008)

Yesterday the village lost a wonderful public servant John Huebner who was a life long resident of Round Lake, and who served as a Village trustee for 16 years, retiring in 2003. John passed away yesterday after a long struggle with cancer.

John was a village trustee when I was elected and I served with him for two years until he retired, I always valued him for his insight, opinions and his support. He had a passion for water issues and was always a useful person to consult on the history of why something was done that way versus another way when it came to engineering or public works.

Trustee Dale Multerer and I had been visiting him at the hospital for the last few weeks and his sense of humor and command of the facts were there right to the end. John will be missed by all of the village.

Weather Warning from Lake County

Lake County will be affected by three separate winter weather events over the next five days.

First, forecasters expect the light fluffy snow to continue accumulating the remainder of today and overnight, with a total of around 5” (+/- 2”) of new accumulation. Winds will be light, and temperatures not as cold as they have been, but heavy snowfall rates may make for a challenging commute home this evening. Please use caution when driving.

The second evolving situation may cause serious problems later this week. There continues to be disagreement between the major forecast models, but there will be a wintry mix Thursday evening. Some indications point to a brief period of freezing rain followed by heavy liquid rain, while others indicate the likelihood of heavy freezing rain and significant ice accumulation.

Because of the divergence in the models, confidence is low in any particular solution, so we need to pay attention to the changing forecasts and be prepared for problems Thursday night into Friday. We generally look at ½” of ice as the threshold for substantial damage to trees and utility lines, so if the model that is currently anticipating more than ¾” of ice proves to be correct, we will likely be facing widespread power outages and fallen trees in the roadways on Friday morning. In addition, both the Des Plaines and Fox Rivers are nearing their action stage because of the rain last Sunday, so there is a possibility for some flooding.

We need to emphasize that the forecasters and forecast models do not yet have concurrence about what form of precipitation we can expect, and very subtle changes in the forecast can cause drastic changes in our consequences.

The third winter weather event will likely be a moderate snowfall Saturday night into Sunday, but is still far enough off that projections may change.

Mayor Bowl 3 is set with the finalists

The long season is almost over with two teams finally making the prestigious "Mayor Bowl 3". The semifinals were finished yesterday with the following results.

Terry Vandenboom beating Chris Rozakis 108-96
Al Villasenor beating Rik Flor in overtime 80-80 (tiebreaker was 3-1 in TD's scored)

Good luck to the finalists!

Round Lake Spartan Cheerleaders are State Champs!

This weekend the Round Lake Spartan Featherweight Cheerleaders were crowned state champions by the Illinois Recreational Cheerleading Association's Cheerleading and Dance State Championship held at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates. I have known lots of these girls fro years and I am very very happy for them. In addition the pee wee squad finished third in state as well! Watch this video I was blown away by how good these girls are!

The girls on the team are Mariah Berrera, Shelby Brubaker, Rebecca Bubloni, Maricela Bueno, Madison Eastman, Kaylee Hiland, Madison Iazzetto (Blum), and Christina Larson

Coaches: Jen Bubloni, Lori Brubaker, Steph Olson and Heidi Spaw

Fantasy Football Semifinals are set!

The third annual Mayor's semifinals are set, and kicked off last night with two match ups.

Terry Vandenboom against Chris Rozakis
Al Villasenor against Rik Flor

Where I am you may ask? My team was excused by Rik in the quarterfinals quite easily. Good luck to the four semifinalists!

Results from the 120 CPC meeting last night.

The 120 Corridor Planning Council reached one of the major decision points last night, which was to decide on the character of the road. There were 3 remaining options that were voted on.

13 of the 16 members were present so we had a good representation of key decision makers throughout the corridor.

Alternative 5-- 6 lane expressway with limited on and offs failed
2 votes to 11 votes

Alternative 4-- 6 lane expressway signalized arterial failed
1 votes to 11 votes

Alternative 3-- 4 lane boulevard (either signalized or with roundabouts) passed
11 votes to 2 votes

I cast the villages vote for Alternative 3, based on a few things, the first being cost, followed by land use issues along the corridor are easier to solve with alternative 3.

120 Corridor Planning Council takes big step tonight

Tonight at the 120 Corridor Planning Council we will make a big decision about the character of the road. But before we get to that I want to review what has happened to this point.

At the Lake County Transportation Summit in September 2005, an improved Illinois Route 120 corridor was identified as a consensus priority. The Corridor Planning Council was formed and tasked to look to the future, to 2030 and beyond, and establish the vision of what this new Illinois Route 120 corridor would be. The goal is to develop a plan that is technically feasible and will be preferred by the local communities along the corridor. This feasibility study will tell IDOT what is the locally preferred alternative and set the table for continued studies.

The project’s Purpose & Need was established and two alternatives, the No-Build Alternative (Alternative 1) and the Widening of Existing Illinois Route 120 (Alternative 2) fell short of meeting the purpose of the project and were eliminated. A decision matrix with 8 main categories and 26 total criteria was developed to help compare road character and road placement alternatives.

The four alternatives being considered represent what potential alternatives that would be both technically feasible and preferred by the local communities along the corridor. Each alternative has its advantages and disadvantages. All alternatives that meet the purpose and need of the project will be studied by IDOT again later.

All four alternates for road character include a bypass around existing Illinois Route 120 within the Villages of Grayslake, Hainesville, Round Lake, and Round Lake Park. Alternate 3A is a 4-Lane Roundabout Boulevard, Alternate 3B is a 4-Lane Signalized Boulevard, Alternate 4 is a 6-Lane Signalized Arterial, and Alternate 5 is a 6-Lane Expressway.

The next steps in the project are to study road placement, intersection types, and finally, the project’s financing strategy. A summary document will be prepared documenting the findings of the feasibility study and will be transmitted to IDOT.

Before construction would begin, IDOT would complete a Phase I Study that would further analyze the results of the feasibility study. At the conclusion of the Phase I study, engineering plans and specifications would be prepared for construction, and property would begin to be acquired. Depending on the availability of funding and other scheduling items, construction could begin no sooner than 6 to 10 years.

I favor alternate 3, I want more information on the differences between option A and B before I come to a conclusion on that issue, but we are getting closer!

Police Department Accreditation Nears Completion

Since I made changes in the police department a few years ago and demanded a better more professional department the department has taken giant steps forward. One of these major steps is an on-site assessment as part of a program to achieve accreditation by verifying it meets professional standards.

Administered by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA®), the accreditation program requires agencies to comply with state-of-the-art standards in four areas: policy and procedures, administration, operations, and support services.

As part of the on-site assessment, Department employees and members of the community are invited to offer comment at a public information session on Monday, December 15, 2008 at 4:00 p.m. The session will be conducted in the Round Lake Police Department Community Room located at 741 West Town Line Road, Round Lake, Illinois 60073.

Department members and the public are also invited to offer comments by calling (847) 201-2169 on December 15, 2008 between the hours of 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. Comments will be taken by the Assessment Team. Telephone comments as well as appearances at the public information session are limited to 10 minutes and must address the Department’s ability to comply with CALEA’s standards. To review the standards, please contact Director Michael S. Recupito at (847) 546-8112.

Anyone wishing to submit written comments about the Round Lake Police Department’s ability to comply with the standards for accreditation may send them to the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA®), 10302 Eaton Place, Suite 100, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030-2215, or www.calea.org

FREE Stuff--- Pancake Breakfast with Santa

I have 4 tickets for the Round Lake Chamber of Commerce's Pancake Breakfast with Santa that Trustee Dale Multerer would like to raffle off to a Round Lake Resident. The proceeds benefit the Round Lake Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Fund. The tickets are $5 so this a $20 value!

Event details:
Sunday December 14, 2008
Round Lake High School
7:30am to noon

The kids can get to sit on Santa's lap as well! Who will be making a special appearance! Plus there is a craft fair, and the Round Lake Area band will entertain you!

How to win:
Email me at bgentes@eroundlake.com and I will automatically enter you into the raffle, and I will draw the winner on Thursday.

Alternatives to Driving: Transit on the Tollway

The Illinois Tollway’s board of directors recently approved Tomorrow’s Transportation Today, a $1.8 billion plan to relieve traffic congestion by investing in key Interstate to Interstate interchanges and creating dedicated Green Lanes that will encourage more Tollway commuters to consider carpooling, vanpool programs, and express bus services. Green Lanes combine the functions of high-occupancy toll lanes (HOT), high-occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV), and carpool lanes – all of which are helping uncork bottlenecks in states across the country by squeezing more capacity out of existing roadways through variable tolling. The investment includes $1.4 billion for interchange improvements, as well as $400 million to support new transit alternatives for Tollway commuters who don’t want to pay more to drive alone.

From L.A. to North Carolina, other U.S. regions have had success with similar programs. Seattle’s HOV/HOT lanes move the equivalent capacity of four regular lanes during rush hours. In Houston, more than 40,000 daily commuters use the express transit buses – up from virtually zero transit riders since HOV lanes were first introduced in 1979. North Carolinans who carpool, vanpool, or ride transit cut their commuting costs by approximately $3,000 each year. Both HOV lane users and non-users gave Los Angeles’ system an 88 percent public approval rating. By encouraging carpooling, increasing transit options, and improving connections between tollways and transit routes, commuters benefit from a wide menu of options to fulfill their transportation needs.

The Green Lanes also provide a new opportunity for Pace to help meet the region’s rising transit demands without taking on significant new capital expenses. Express bus service along the Tollway’s dedicated Green Lanes, coupled with new park-and-ride facilities and intermodal centers, will provide commuters with more reliable and accessible transit options and help reduce regional congestion. In coordination with Pace, the Regional Transportation Authority, and Chicago Metropolitan Agency

for Planning, the Illinois Tollway's Green Lanes Plan will help strengthen the connectivity between existing transit services and future regional transportation and land use improvements. As planners explore new alternatives to fight gridlock, making the most of existing infrastructure is an important part of a cost-effective system.

For Additional Information:

• Tomorrow’s Transportation Today: A Progressive Improvement Plan – Illinois Tollway Press Release
• Green Lanes Plan – Illinois Tollway
• Personal Benefits of HOV Lanes – North Carolina Department of Transportation

The 2009 Mayors 5K

I have been walking and or running at the Nippersink Forest Preserve recently and have mapped out what will be a reasonable route for my third annual race. I specifically walked the loop on Saturday with an eye towards having a race, while my daughter ran the route and offered me her thoughts.

There are some nice steep hills so I am thinking we will have a very challenging race, however we are going to have to run one part of the loop first.

I need to confirm the date with the forest preserve, but I am shooting for a Saturday in late May or early June.

Lake County Launches New Website

Lake County spent $500,000 redesigning the county's website. You can find the new site at the following web address www.lakecountyil.gov I browsed it for awhile seeing what they had to offer and some of the features are quite useful, not sure however they got our moneys worth out of the site.

• MAP IT! CLOSE TO HOME - Enter your address and find your elected officials, schools, polling places, police and fire stations, and more close to your home.
• REQUEST A SERVICE – Report a pot hole on a county road, submit a complaint about a restaurant, and request other services.
• The site allows users to interact with county government, access services on-line, and find information easily using “I WANT TO…” and “County Services A to Z,” or through information portals for residents, business, and visitors.

The public is encouraged to visit the new site and send their comments. A short survey can be found at www.lakecountyil.gov. The old website will remain active through Friday, November 21 and there will be a link to the new site. Starting next week, visitors to www.co.lake.il.us will be redirected to the new website at the new web address. County email addresses have also changed from name@co.lake.il.us to name@lakecountyil.gov.

Energy Saver Tips

In today's challenging economic environment its important to make smart money saving moves in your homes. I was browsing this site called Energy Savers which is produced by the U.S. Department of Energy, in partnership with Owens Corning, providing useful tips to help Americans save energy and money at home.

Here are a couple of tips I gleaned from the site:

• Clean or replace filters on furnaces once a month or as needed.
  
• Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed; make sure they're not blocked by furniture, carpeting, or drapes.
  
• Bleed trapped air from hot-water radiators once or twice a season; if in doubt about how to perform this task, call a professional.
  
• Place heat-resistant radiator reflectors between exterior walls and the radiators.
  
• During the heating season, keep the draperies and shades on your southfacing windows open during the day to allow the sunlight to enter your home and closed at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows.

New Notification System in Place!

Yesterday was the first day we used our new emergency notification system we implemented this year its loosely called "Reverse 911" or "One Step Notification". If you had signed up for the system you would have received a parking notification yesterday around 5pm because of the expected snow fall last night.

The service lets the village send an unlimited number of voice and text messages to residents, businesses, staff, or any combination of these groups. If you want to learn much more about the service go the providers website here.

I would encourage you to use the link on our web page or click on the graphic at the right.