Buffalo Grove cops may strike in an effort to stay out of the gutter

Here’s your chance to help keep a BG cop out of the gutter.

The Buffalo Grove Police Department is hosting its second annual 'Bowl with a Cop' event starting at noon on Wednesday, at Bowlero, 350 N McHenry Road in Buffalo Grove. Area children are invited to enjoy two hours of free bowling with Buffalo Grove police officers.

Police officers across the country have taken
time out to bowl with kids. This is from a
Bowl With a Cop event in Hood River, Oregon

Jay Gordon, manager of the Buffalo Grove Bowlero, will provide as many lanes and shoe rentals as needed to ensure the event's success. Bowlero will also be offering hot dogs and fountain drinks at a discounted rate of $1 each.

            If you are interested, pre-registration is encouraged. To do so, contact Community Relations Officer Matthew Mills at 847-459-2560 or by e-mail at mmills@vbg.org.

Relay for Life

            The annual Buffalo Grove / Lincolnshire Relay for Life is for Saturday, June 9 starting at 3 p.m. at Twin Groves Middle School. As noted in the Relay’s Facebook page, “…Bring some canned goods with you and drop them off at registration. Not only will they help hold down our luminaria bags, but they will be donated after the event to the Vernon Township's Food Pantry! Take a moment to go on your fundraising page and dedicate a luminaria in honor of a loved one who has fought cancer.

            There are many fundraising teams participating, including the village’s team coordinated by Deputy Village Manager Jennifer Maltas.

            For Maltas, coordinating the village team is not a “work thing.”  Her mom died of breast cancer, so for Jennifer it’s a way to not only remember her mom, but a way to help in the fight against Breast Cancer.

            For information about the Relay, go to BG Relay for Life

Farmers’ Market opens 2018 season June 17

            It’s back.

            The Buffalo Grove Farmers’ Market kicks off the 2018 season on Sunday, June 17. As always, the Market will be at Mike Rylko Park and is open from 8 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.

            The season runs into October and is open every Sunday, except the Sunday during Buffalo Grove Days, which is Sept. 2.

Green Days set

            The 7th annual Buffalo Grove Green Fair, hosted by the Buffalo Grove Park District's Environmental Action Team, is from 8:00 a.m. -12:30 p.m Sunday, June 24 from. at Mike Rylko Community Park, located at 951 McHenry Road in Buffalo Grove (next to the Farmers’ Market).

            This event is free, and families are welcome. Information will be provided about activities to help residents learn about the steps they can take at home, work, and in the community, to improve the environment and make Buffalo Grove a greener and healthier place to live.  Also, the first 100 visitors to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation booth will receive an 18-inch potted oak tree sapling to take home.

            Visit bgeat.org for a complete list of exhibits and activities at the Green Fair. For more information, call Buffalo Grove Park District Marketing Manager Mike Terson at 847-850-2116 or email mike@bgparks.org

And if you must know…

The Buffalo Grove Police Department successfully brought awareness to area residents during its annual Click It or Ticket high-visibility seat belt enforcement campaign, held May 18 through May 29, by writing a total of 47 citations for seat belt violations in the process.

Officers also made two DUI arrests and arrested one motorist for driving while on a suspended license. The campaign, which coincided with one of the busiest holiday weekends of the year, was twofold: combine increased enforcement, and a zero- tolerance policy with effective communications to road users on the importance of using seat belts.

“This year’s Click It or Ticket campaign was a real success,” Sergeant Michelle Kondrat said. “Through our enforcement efforts, we believe we helped keep community members safe and reminded drivers of the importance of buckling up. Issuing tickets was not our goal; it was a way to remind people of the importance of such a simple action.”

On Deerfield Road and other stuff...

Upgrade coming.

The railroad grade crossing on Deerfield Parkway will be closed for a week beginning at 9 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 12 for reconstruction.   No doubt cynics will flock to social media to rip the village for taking so long.

Surprise – it’s not a village project, but one undertaken by the Canadian Pacific Railroad, which has jurisdiction over the tracks and crossings.  My guess is there will be grumbling that Lake County roadways once again get a priority.  In this case that’s likely the case because there are no railroad crossings in Cook County.

Rumors that the project was expedited after a soccer mom spilled her latte as she flew across the crossing while yacking on her cell phone in her oversized SUV are unconfirmed.

Speaking of Deerfield Road

The fine folks in Deerfield want you to know Deerfield Road will be closed between Waukegan Road (IL-43) and Chestnut Street until August 31, 2016 to allow for construction operations. This closure is required in order to reconstruct infrastructure between the Metra Viaduct and Waukegan Road. 

Simultaneously, maintenance work will be performed on the Deerfield Road bridge over the west fork of the north branch of the Chicago River (east of Deerpath Drive), which will prohibit traffic from crossing the bridge.

What this means is there will be a ton of roadwork.

Speaking of Aug. 12.

According to the village website, the Lake County Circuit Clerk and Mobile Passport Services Team will be at the Alcott Center, 530 Bernard Drive in Buffalo Grove, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Friday, August 12, 2016 to process passport applications and renewals, including passport photos. 

The Mobile Passport team suggests visiting its r website and viewing the passport checklist to ensure you are aware of all required documents. The passport application can be downloaded and completed ahead of time, or you can obtain them when you arrive at the Alcott center. If you have questions, please contact the Circuit Clerk's Office at 847-377-3380 or visit them online at www.lakecountycircuitclerk.org.  In other words, plan ahead.  A novel idea.

From the cop shop…

This Labor Day, families and friends will be celebrating the end of the summer. Sadly, this festive time is also a dangerous time on our roads, as many alcohol- and drug-impaired drivers get behind the wheel after celebrating. For this reason, Buffalo Grove Police Department is partnering with the Illinois Department of Transportation to stop drunk drivers and help save lives.

The high-visibility "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" crackdown runs from Aug. 22 through Sept. 5. During this period, law enforcement across Illinois will show zero tolerance for impaired driving and seat belt law violators. Increased state and national messaging about the dangers of drunk and drugged driving, coupled with roadside safety checks and increased officers on the road, aim to reduce impaired driving in Buffalo Grove and Illinois.

Cynics will, no doubt, take to social media ripping the cops saying it’s so they can meet their quotas.  Two things to note, quotas are illegal in Illinois and this is a statewide initiative and not a village effort.

Farmers’ Market Update

Not to sound like trustee Andrew Stein who does his best Orion Samuelson impersonation at each Village Board meeting, but the selection at the Farmers Market continues to grow as the growing season goes on.  Makes sense, right.  Just so you know.  By the way, there is no ATM at the Farmers’ Market.  Not even a free one.

Buffalo Grove Days

Yes, Virginia, it will be at Mike Rylko Park this year because of the construction on Lake-Cook Road.  But wait, what construction?  Remember, it’s a Cook County Department of Highway Department project.  So that and the ongoing budget fiasco in Springpatch could account for something.  No doubt critics will chide the village for that.  There’s a pattern here.

Buffalo Grove's Farmers Market kicks off 2016 season

Buffalo Grove's Farmers Market kicked off its 2016 season Sunday with a some new vendors coupled with child-oriented entertainment.

The usual array of items and services were available on opening day even though a couple of vendors canceled at the last minute.   Members of the Farmers Marker Committee expressed hope that the problems keeping missing vendors from the Market will be resolved.

 A downside to Farmers Market opening in early June, something that is not inherent to the Buffalo Grove Farmers Market, is a seemingly small selection of produce -- with good reason -- it's still early in the growing season. 

Buffalo Grove's Farmers Market runs every Sunday (except Labor Day weekend, which is Buffalo Grove Days) through Oct. 9   The Market is open from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and is located at Mike Rylko Community Park, 951 McHenry Road.

For more information about the Farmers Market, or to attend Committee meetings, call (847) 459-2525.

Village needs to butt in on this idea

News item:  The City of Chicago will be using goats to clear the landscape at O’Hare International Airport.

Brilliant.  Absolutely brilliant.

Hello, village hall?  Where have you been?   In this age of tight budgets and an overwhelming urge to go green (which really means saving the green and not the greening of the environment), it makes perfect sense for the village to look at this plan.

Just imagine the tranquility a herd of goats would be to the parks, the Village Green, the medians along Lake-Cook Road and, of course, the municipal campus.

According to media reports, the O’Hare goats will be housed at the airport and caged up over night.  This would be a summer thing as, well, there’s not too much for goats to do during the winter.  (As an FYI to village officials, the incorporation of Yaks into the village would make sense as Yaks do well in the winter…but that’s another proposal).

The village would need, of course, to look at how this could be incorporated into its corporate flow chart.  I’m sure that at this point in time there is no “Goat Shepherd” on the payrolls.

A new Public Works employee --  or Farmers' Market attraction?

Again, timing is perfect.  With the search under way for a new Public Works Director, it would be ideal to just add that to the job description.  Public Works handles maintenance of the grassy areas (let’s say turf areas) so it’s a natural.  I don’t think this potential was previously discussed because, well, I don’t think former Public Works Director Greg Boysen was a goat kind of guy – not that acting director Mike Skibbe is, but it’s a transitional time, which is perfect for incorporating this new approach to green gardening.

As for Board liaison – it’s a slam dunk.  Since goats are generally farm based, they’d be a natural for the Farmers’ Market.  Congratulations to Trustee Andrew Stein – you are now Goat Coordinator.  Just image the possibilities – in addition to goats chomping the weeds, Stein (who could play the role so well decked out in a pair of lederhosen and shepherd’s hat) can arrange for goat rides or a petting zoo at the Farmers’ market (which begins June 16), or how about fresh goat milk cheese? Heck, that sounds better than a bacon waffle sundae.

Heck, the village can carry the goat theme over to Buffalo Grove Days – The beer tent can feature Horny Goat Brew and maybe foster a sponsorship with the Horny Goat Brewing Company.  We’re talking some serious money here, folks.

And if the village wants to attract more restaurants, why not contact Sam Sianis about opening a Billy Goat in the village?  The possibilities are endless.

In fact, there’s a potential windfall for the Park District.  Encourage the village’s thespians to come up with an original musical just about the village’s goat initiative.  I even have a name for the production.

Nanny Get Your Gun.