Never too soon to start thinking about the Relay

Relay for Life organizers at Culver's

After a gloomy, wet and cold February, summer may seem like light years away. So when someone hears about a promotion for an event June 9, there’s a chance it would be met with a roll of the eyes, a sigh and a comment like “geez, it’s only February.”

                Summer plans can wait. Cancer can't.

That’s why the organizers of Buffalo Grove’s Relay for Life were busy informing information Wednesday night at Culver’s, 3450 McHenry Road, to drum up interest and, more importantly, support the for 2018 Relay for Life. 

                This year’s even is from 3 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, June 9 and, for the second year in a row, will be at Twin Groves Middle School, 2600 N. Buffalo Grove Road.

                The informational gathering was a win-win situation for local coordinators. Not only did they have a chance to meet and greet Culver’s customers, but 20 percent of each sale was earmarked to support the Relay for Life.

                This year’s Relay will be a single-day event that will give organizers a chance to set up in the morning and begin the relay so it easily goes after sunset so the luminary walk can be held, which gives participants a chance to light a luminary to remember someone who died from cancer or someone who is a cancer survivor.

                The change in schedule eliminates the overnight camping for the event, which should make it more convenient for greater numbers of people to participate.

                Information is available by emailing Karina Ogawa at Karina.Ogawa@cancer.org

                It’s not too early to mark it on your calendar and to join, start or support a fund-raising team.

Notes from the village

                Residential Waste Collection Event

                The Solid Waste Agency of Lake County (SWALCO) will hold a household chemical waste collection event on Monday, February 26, 2018, at its facility, 1311 N. Estes Street in Gurnee.

                Collections are for residential waste only. No business waste will be accepted. Accepted items include CFL bulbs, unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medicines and supplements, household cleaners and chemicals, gasoline, garden chemicals, pesticides, oil-based paints and varnishes. This event is free and appointments are required. Click  here for a detailed list of acceptable items, or to make an appointment.

It’s all in vein

                The Buffalo Grove Blood Commission's community blood drive is from 8 a.m. to 1p.m. Saturday, March 3, 2018, at the Buffalo Grove Park District Alcott Center, 530 Bernard Drive. With the high incident of the flu this year, along with the cold and snowy weather, blood supplies are critically low, so donating, say Lifesource officials, is more important than ever.

                All donors 18 years of age and older will be eligible to enter a random drawing to win one of the following wellness certificates:

·         60-minute massage from Palm Leaf Massage

·         One month membership at the Buffalo Grove Fitness Club

·         One-hour acupuncture session from Choe Chiropractic Clinic

Palm Leaf Massage will also be there to thank donors with a 10-minute complimentary chair massage. Visit lifesource.org, or call 877-543-3768 to schedule your appointment. Walk-ins are welcome.

The world according to AARP?

Vendor opportunities are still available for the Buffalo Grove Park District's 2018 Senior Expo Extravaganza on 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m Tuesday, April 10, 2018, from. at The Arboretum Club, 401 Half Day Road, Buffalo Grove.

The Expo is hosted by the Friends of the Parks Foundation and coordinated by the Buffalo Grove Park District and the Village of Buffalo Grove. This unique event provides a dynamic, one-stop shop for seniors to interact with vendors and service providers, enabling them to become familiar with the wide range of services available to them. If you are interested in marketing your business to senior citizens, contact Terri Ebner at 847-850-2117.

There's no business like snow business...

With the approaching snowmaggedon, the village of Buffalo Grove has issued these tidbits of information.

Waste Management Suspends Services on Friday, February 9

Due to the predicted snow in the forecast, Waste Management is suspending all pickup services on Friday, February 9, 2018. For any residents who have Friday pickup, services will instead be provided on Saturday, February 10. Waste Management will resume normally scheduled pickup services on Monday, February 12. For more information, please call Waste Management at 800-796-9696.

Round-the-Clock Snow Removal Efforts in Buffalo Grove

Buffalo Grove Public Works continues to work two, 12-hour split shifts around the clock due to this week's storm events. This will continue through the expected 7-12 inches predicted Thursday evening through Friday evening, with additional snow accumulations possible Saturday into Sunday.

"Snow Command" screens at Public Works provide real-time updates for planning, hourly weather predictions and response levels for snow and ice control activities based on weather patterns. A geographic information system (GIS) map shows plow trucks and their progress through routes. Roads shift from red to green on the screens as a truck completes its route. Fleet mechanics are an integral part of each 12-hour shift, fixing trucks to get them back on the street as soon as possible.

Village parking restrictions will go into effect as soon as snow plow crews begin operations and will continue until the snow has ended and all streets have been cleared.

For questions or concerns, please contact the Public Works Department main number at 847-459-2545 during normal business hours (Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.), and the non-emergency Police Department during off hours at 847-459-2560.

Other general reminders...

*  The Fire Department asks that residents, if possible, should clear snow off of fire hydrants and around the area surrounding the hydrant.

*  Do not shovel or push snow into the street. 

*  Make sure your mailbox is accessible.

*  One tip -- if you want to make your snow removal easier, coat your shovel with silicone or WD-40.  It also help snow throwers.

*  If you have a bird feeder, make sure it's filled.  Heavy snows impact the availability of food for birds.  Village officials do not have to be fed. 

Is his transparency going to pot?

            Much has been written, to no surprise, about the use of social media by politicians – especially President Trump who clings to it like a cheap suit.

            Not only has it has changed the landscape of politics, but also the need for transparency by public officials.  It has also raised the level of curiosity by constituents who want to know what their government officials are doing and why.

  

Village Trustee Andrew Stein

(Photo from Facebook)

          However, it is not just a national or statewide issue. Local politicos need to adhere to a high level of transparency as well, especially when posting on social media.

            This includes Buffalo Grove officials.

            Whether on the Park Board, Planning and Zoning Commission or the Village Board, public officials need to be as open as possible.

            Which is why a post by Village Board trustee Andrew Stein on Dec. 15 raised some questions. Stein’s post included a link from the Illinois Policy Institute that “Poll Shows ‘Large Majorities’ Of Illinois Voters Support Legalizing Marijuana” (Marijuana poll). Stein queried Facebook users by asking them “What do you think of this?”

            There were 10 comments, including one I made asking, “Are you proposing this for the village?” to which Stein replied, “I am curious where others stand.”

            Was that really the case? I initially shrugged it off until I got a call from Stein, during which he further reiterated that he was just interested in the possibility of recreational use of marijuana being legal in Illinois. I had no intention of writing about Stein’s post because at first, because it just seemed inane.

            But I began thinking, which is always a dangerous thing, and I could not help but wonder why Stein was interested in what people thought of legal recreational marijuana in Illinois.

The thought stayed with me until recently when I decided to see if, in fact, there was more to Stein’s concern about recreational use of marijuana than a fleeting comment on Facebook.

            There was, and, still may be. 

             Information I obtained through a request filed in accordance with the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, yielded that Stein had more than a fleeting interest in the issue.

For Stein to state on social media that he was just curious as to where others stood appears to be a misrepresentation of his intent.

Stein’s interest is based in the introduction last year of Illinois House Bill 2353, the cannabis control act.  An amendment would, apparently, allow recreation use of marijuana.

Stein began pushing for the village to take the lead in local regulation of recreational marijuana in early October.

In an email sent to Village Manager Dane Bragg and Board President Beverly Sussman, on Oct. 25, Stein wrote, “Time may of the essence on this. I would like to discuss an ordinance to ban the sale and cultivation of Recreational Marijuana in Buffalo Grove. It would be great to have something on the books before legislation makes its way through the State.”

Why was “time of the essence”?  Apparently because at that time the two bills, HB 2353 and SB 316, were on the docket in Springfield and would address legal recreational use of marijuana in the state.

Bragg responded to Stein on Oct. 27, telling him that according to the Northwest Municipal Conference, as well as the Illinois Chiefs Association via Buffalo Grove Police Chief Steve Casstevens, the bills was pushed aside until after the first of the year.

Stein, however persisted, and in an email sent to Bragg, Sussman, Casstevens and Deputy Village Manager Jennifer Maltas, on Nov. 3 wrote “I have been thinking about this and was wondering, does Buffalo Grove wish to be a leader in this and pass an ordinance prohibiting the sale and distribution before the Bill moves? We could be the first and others could follow our lead in telling the State that this is a bad idea? I think that it is worth the discussion. Does anyone agree with me?”

Bragg quickly responded that “Seeing as the bill isn’t going anywhere, I think it is a distraction right now. In addition, the bill as proposed preserves home rule authority to regulate how we want. This may be of more pertinent interest after the first of the year.”

Which, you would think would be the route to go. Stein, however, remains persistent. There’s nothing wrong with a Village Board member taking an initiative on a matter, as Stein has with the recreational marijuana issue, however, what is troubling is his lack of transparency with constituents.

Stein continued to plead his case into November when he once again emailed Bragg and Sussman simply saying “it may be closer than was thought.” His support was a voluminous report from the Stand Strong Coalition, a group which, as indicated on its website (standstrongcoalition.org) was, “formed August 1st, 2014 by concerned parents, Jamie Epstein and Debbie Stern. It is a community-based coalition dedicated to preventing underage drinking and drug use for the youth in our community.” The group lobbied the Board in August to raise the age for tobacco sales to 21, a measure which was approved.

The information Stein provided detailed scheduled public meetings featuring experts who apparently side with Stand Strong Coalition. The question that is not answered is if Stein attended those meetings and if he did, did he do so as a regular citizen, or member of the Village Board.  When I spoke with him in December, he made no mention of his idea for an ordinance or if he had attended or approached Stand Our Ground for support.

Instead, he turned to Facebook with an innocuous post casually asking people how they felt about recreational marijuana being legalized in the Land of Lincoln.

After receiving information from my FOI request, I contacted Stein by email and asked him about the two bills, to which he replied “…I was concerned that legislation to approve recreational marijuana was going to move soon. I am opposed to recreational marijuana. I was considering proposing a resolution by the Village opposing legislation, before it moved forward. When I saw the article that I posted on Facebook, I saw an opportunity to gauge sentiment. You asked me if I was proposing this for the Village and I told you that I was just curious where others stand.”

Got it.  At least he confirmed that he is opposed to recreational marijuana and that he was considering introducing a resolution to the Village Board opposing it.

Which raises more questions

The first being why didn’t he say that on his Facebook post and secondly, what exactly is he looking for – a resolution opposing the bill, or an ordinance prohibiting recreational marijuana in the village?

As noted in the Nov. 3 email, Stein asked Bragg, Sussman, Casstevens and Maltas, “does Buffalo Grove wish to be a leader in this and pass an ordinance prohibiting the sale and distribution before the Bill moves?”

I’m not passing judgment on Stein’s beliefs on recreational marijuana, just the scope of his transparency.

He needs to be transparent in what he’s looking for and an openness as to why.

Otherwise his transparency will go up in smoke.

No matter what’s being smoked.

Trust fund set up for Kevin Hauber's children

The Village of Buffalo Grove released the following information in a press release on Wednesday, Jan. 31

The Buffalo Grove Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association (BGPFFPA), Local 3177 of the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF), has created the Kevin Hauber Memorial Trust Fund at First Midwest Bank.

Kevin, his wife Kimberly, and their four girls. 

The trust fund will be used for the education, health and well-being of Buffalo Grove firefighter/paramedic John “Kevin” Hauber’s four young children. Hauber passed away on January 27, 2018 after a four-year battle with colon cancer.

Hauber, 51, was a career firefighter/paramedic at the Buffalo Grove Fire Department, with nearly 24 years of service.

Donations can be made at any First Midwest Bank Branch, or mailed to the Buffalo Grove Fire Department, 1051 Highland Grove Drive, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089. Checks should be written to the “Kevin Hauber Memorial Fund c/o BGPFFAPA”.