They continue to serve and....

Well it has been a while since we checked in on Buffalo Grove’s finest and the calls they respond to. Here's a sampling of the calls police respond to.  Seriously.

·         Yeah, right, the renewal is in the mail.  A motorist involved in an accident was cited for driving with an expired driver’s license.  The license expired in 2009 -- five years ago.

·         The wheels on the bus?  A Pace rider was asked to leave the bus for using foul language. Police told him to wait for next bus -- or find another way home.  Sounds like a good idea.

·         Seriously?  A resident called police because her neighbor cut part of her grass too short.  Police report that “she was upset” Police told her it would grow back.

·         Seriously, Part 2 -- Police report that a cell phone was stolen from a church. Is nothing sacred?

·         Guess it wasn’t happy hour.  Police report an intoxicated male did not take kindly to being processed at the police station.  According to police reports, he took fighting stand and swung at a police officer.  While being processed, took fighting stance and spit at camera.   Talk about a Kodak moment.

·         Speaking of spitting.  Police report that a man spit on car next to his because he didn't like the way it was parked.  Said he was making a statement.  Seriously.

·         Why does this not surprise me?  Police report several incidents of dog bites at the Happy Tails dog park -- really?

·         Talk about recycling.  A resident reported their mail box missing.  It was located, post and all, found in a mulch pile.

·         Seriously, Part 3.  Police reported they stopped a motorist for texting while driving.  Now that’s bad enough, but the motorist also lacked a driver’s license. 

·         The itsy, bitsy spider.  Folks, I can’t make this up.  Police responded to a case of road rage brought on by a spider.  Seriously.  The female motorists reported seeing spider on an envelope in her car.  Panicking, she three it out the window of her car.   Another motorist approached her car and lectured her about littering and then allegedly verbally abused her and took pictures of her license plate.  The spider was not charged.

·         If you decide to drive after drinking, take into consideration the following:

A woman got stopped for speeding – doing 51 in 35 mph zone.  Big deal, right?  But wait, she decided to, ahem, help the officer.  Since she could not find her insurance card, she told the officer to give her a ticket for not having an insurance card.  But wait, there’s more.  When the officer asked her if she saw police car, -she said yes, but was on cell phone and was also texting.  Being cooperative, she told the officer to give her a ticket for both.

But wait, there’s more.  She told the officer that she wasn’t drinking, but then admitted to having Bud Lights / Coors Light.

Surprise – she did not pass field sobriety test, after which she was taken to station, where, according to police, she started "making odd statements".  Like what, you ask?

"I pay your salary” Even though she’s from Schaumburg.  She then told the officer that he should “rebel against the government".  This was followed by a “heil Obama” comment and a declaration that and she was not drunk because "I'm a 120 pound woman and had three beers".   Must have been a full moon.

·         Draw your own conclusion.  A resident complained to police that she heard “juvenile noise” the night before.  The next morning she reported finding used condoms the next morning.  She discarded them before her children saw them. 

·         If you decide to drive after drinking – Part 2. When a police officer goes to administer a field sobriety test, do not say “no, F^&* you.” 

·         Talk about distracted driving – A resident called about a vehicle traveling at a moderate pace as the driver was on the cell phone. He was driving on a village bike path.

·         Read the fine print – Police were called to a restaurant because a customer did not want to pay bill. The resident brought in two coupons from restaurant.com – Even though the offer said customers could use = only one...he wanted to use two.... was not going to pay due to confusion on web site.  Seriously.

·         And you want the police to do what?  -- A resident called police because he upset because landscaper stuff blew into his yard.  The landscaper agreed to use lawn trimmer next time.

·         Getting forked over – A resident reported that his lawn had been vandalized by numerous white plastic forks.  Seriously.

·         A political statement? -- Someone vandalized a bike path by spray painting the word "devil" on the bike path -- it was on the Elliott Hartstein Trail.

·         Check it out.  – A resident reported to police about a Craig’s list purchase – He purchased a car which needed work.  But there was a reason for it – he found out later it had been salvaged and rebuilt.  Oops.

·         Seriously? Part 4 – Police noticed a home with its doors open late.  It turns out the owner had been out watching storms and left doors open,

·         Write your own conclusion -- A business operator noticed kids with a “large bulge in the pocket of his cargo pants and suspected an attempt to shoplift alcohol.

·         And finally --- A new meaning to suspicious person.  Responding to a report of a suspicious person, police found a man sitting in his car playing video games.  But why?  He told police his wife does not like him playing video games at home, so he pretends to go to the health club and then parks and plays video games.  Seriously.

A chance to not just talk the talk, but walk The Walk

Ah, June….the month that gets Nettie Flower and the rest of the gang from New England pumped up.

                Ah, June….Baseball in Chicago, Stanley Cup hockey – OK -- maybe it’s not all seashells and balloons.

                June, however, is when high schoolers are set free to embark on a litany of activities that generally get them away from academia and the halls of school. 

                But not always.  There’s a group of students from Buffalo Grove and Stevenson high schools that may be enduring their most busy week of the year (academics aside, of course).  Once again, students from both schools are working together to coordinate the “Relay for Life”, a major fund raising initiative of the American Cancer Society.

                This year’s Relay starts at 7 p.m. this Friday at Stevenson High School.  As of Tuesday, the web site for the BGHS/SHS Relay reports that there are 43 teams  participating, which have so far raised $73,017.34  That’s not a bad start, but when you consider the 2012 census puts the population of Big Animal Grove at 41,715, that comes out to $1.75 per resident.  That may buy you a cup of coffee at Starbucks – unless you’re into their fancy caramel lattes with skim milk and extra whipped cream – then it’s a whole lot more.

                The late Will Rogers reportedly once said that America was the only place where a man would drive a Cadillac to the poor house. That may not be possible today not because people aren’t poor, but probably because GM would recall the car before a guy got to the poorhouse.

                Rogers, however, may have been on to something. There are folks who have more than a little spare change who snub a chance to be charitable.  When you look at the work the students from Buffalo Grove and Stevenson high schools are doing – and what they’re doing it for – supporting them should be a no brainer.

                But they’re not doing it alone.   A look at the Relay’s web site, which by the way is http://relay.acsevents.org/site/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=57828, will give you a look at the variety of teams that are participating.  The teams represent area corporations, bands, groups of friends and even the Village of Buffalo Grove, which once again has a team in the Relay.

                The team’s captain is Trustee Jeff Berman who takes on that role not because he was asked to, or because he wants notoriety.  It’s because he lost his mother to cancer – 39 years ago – when he was a teenager. So rather than simply recall that his mom died from Cancer, Berman does what he can to not only raise funds, but awareness of the continuing need for research into cancer.

                As of Tuesday, the village team has surpassed its goal of $1,200 by more than $1,800.  A lot of other teams have exceeded their goals as well, but there’s still a long way to go.

                It’s one of the few times when you hear people not only talk the talk, but walk The Walk.

                It’s an easy thing to do.

                Can’t walk?  A little support can go a long way.  Just think of Nike.

                Just do it.