Stealin' the bacon on any given sundae...

I have a friend who incessantly complains about Buffalo Grove.

               And he doesn’t live in the village, which makes it even more annoying.

               However, his office is in the land of the bison, so in his mind, it gives him fuel to whine about things.

               Like, for example, lunch.

               He contends that lunch in Big Animal Grove is not like it was when his office was downtown.  As in Chicago.  As in the Loop.

               OK, tell me something I don’t know.

               His malcontent may soon be coming to a quick end, however, when the village fathers and mother approve variances for the site which currently houses eSkape to accommodate a new venue operated as “Brunswick’s”.  Yes, Brunswick’s -- not be confused with Brunswick, the company that runs bowling alleys and pool rooms.  Don’t be confused because they’re one in the same.

               Brunswick’s promises to be a bit more upscale than its plain, ordinary Brunswick family centers because my guess is Buffalo Grovians want to be more upscale.

               This of course should please my friend because there will be another place for him to dine.  The concept of “Brunswick’s” is a new one and is being tested out not only in Buffalo Grove, but also in the hub of Americana – Georgia.  Seriously.  The folks who gave us automatic pin setters are also working on similar operations in Marietta and Norcross, Georgia.  We’re in good company folks.

               No doubt newly sworn in police chief, Steven Casstevens, is already at work planning changes to the police department’s police vehicle to look more like NASCAR cars.

               If the godfathers and godmother give the OK, Brunswick’s hopes to open in October.  In the meantime, they will no doubt plan an all-out marketing blitz about the upscale menu and the bar inside, cleverly named Tavern 45 (reflecting the year Brunswick was founded, 1845).  For those of you with eclectic palates, you will probably be thrilled to know that a signature item on Brunswick’s menu is, and as Dave Barry would say, I am not making this up – a Bacon waffle sundae.

               Really.

               Or quite simply, gross. I can deal with chocolate, nuts, bananas and licorice on a sundae – but bacon?  Fortunately I can’t eat it.

               Despite finding enough folks who will want to venture into the land of dead pig on a sundae, the folks at Brunswick’s will need to keep an eye on another aspect of business.  Survival.

               That’s not because it seems like the location at the north end of Town Center is as about successful as the Cubs’ bullpen or the Bears’ offensive line, but because as much as the village welcomes a “name brand” facility, it continues to look at improving commercial development in the village – as in instant downtown about a mile and a half away.

               If you recall the original plan that was unveiled in August, much of what the developer envisioned already exists in the village.  So the options for some business may be simple – duplicate or relocate.

               Odds of a developer proposing a second facility like eSkape-soon-to-be-Brunswick’s are slim (maybe), but the village may be between a rock and a hard place as it strives to attract badly needed commercial and retail operations.  On one hand, they want to accommodate potential new businesses.  But on the other hand, how do they tell potential merchants that they’re also working on an instant central business district that may very well pose competition.

               It’s a tough call.  However, there is one thing Brunswick’s will have a lock on.

               Bacon waffle sundaes. 

Board to set to take a hike...

In an unprecedented move, the Village Board, well, most of it, is meeting Friday night.

But wait.  Before you call the states attorney, attorney general or Rob Sherman, take a step back and check it out. A novel idea.

The Board will work as a team.  Literally.  But not to pass resolutions, consent agendas or rezone the entire village into a mega mall.  The Board, along with hundreds of other residents, will be participating in the 2013 Buffalo Grove Relay for Life to benefit the American Cancer Society.

The event begins at 7 p.m. on Friday and is a joint effort between Buffalo Grove and Stevenson high schools.  It will be at Buffalo Grove High School.  The village team, cleverly known as Village of Buffalo Grove, includes Jeff Berman, Jeff Braiman, Andrew Stein, Beverly Sussman, Steve Trilling and Mike Terson.  Bruce Kahn is also a team member as are Steve Trilling, Lester A. Ottenheimer III (whose name will not fit on the back of a T-shirt) and Village Clerk Jan Sirabian.

Participation in the Relay for Life is old hat for some of the Board members.  Take for example Berman who is has been the team’s captain since 1999.  When I found out that Berman was captain, being the Walt Whitman junkie that I am, I immediately thought of Whitman’s classic poem, “O Captain! My Captain,” a tribute to President Lincoln.  Let’s face it, Berman’s no Lincoln.  Lincoln was probably a foot taller than Berman and definitely had more hair.

Whitman and Lincoln aside, Berman’s commitment to the relay has little to do with being on the Village Board.  “I lost my mother to cancer two weeks before my 13th birthday, and her father (my grandfather) two weeks to the day before her. Obviously, I know many others who have been touched by the disease, including three former colleagues on the Board who are survivors,” he notes, adding that his mother-in-law is a multiple-times survivor.

Berman’s connection to cancer is not unique.  If you stop by Friday’s relay, the number of survivors participating as well participants walking to remember someone not as fortunate may overwhelm you.

Attending a Relay for Life is an amazing community event – and not just because there’s on happening in Buffalo Grove.  I attended the Relay for Life in Fort Atkinson, a small town of about 12,300 people.  The Relay for Life becomes a community wide event.  The event typically raises between $285,000 and $300,000, which isn’t the exception – it is the norm

So if you’ve ever wanted to tell the Board to talk a walk – Friday night is your chance because it, along with a lot of residents will be doing the same thing.

Join them.

Vegging out -- village style...

With the village fathers and mother moving to summer hours -- limiting us to only a monthly exposure of municipal democracy -- a bi-monthly feature has been cut in half.

Yes, much in the same way that the sparrows  return to Capistrano, the buzzards to Hinckley and the Cubs bullpen can't hold a lead, residents who attend Village Board meetings can count on Trustee Andrew Stein to pitch the Farmer's Market.  

Neither rain nor snow, nor gloom of night can keep Stein from promoting the Farmer's Market.  But wait, the June meeting is not until this Monday, which is after the first Farmer's Market, truly something that may toss Stein into a vegetative state.

Realizing this potential crisis, I decided to check into the status of the Farmer's Market.  For the record, the event runs from this Sunday (June 16) through Oct. 6 (but not Labor Day).

So what's the attraction to a Farmer's Market?  Vegetables, obviously.  Fruits obviously.   

It's the other stuff that is intriguing.  I happened to stop by the Farmer's Market last year -- for reasons unbeknownst  to me.  Aside from running into a myriad of neighbors and residents, it was fun seeing what else is available at the market -- freshly made basked goods, freshly roasted coffees and other unique stuff -- and I'm not talking gutter guards or siding.

I did not, however, find domesticated live stock, such as goat or yak, so my search will continue.

Beyond the usual items, the organizing committee (time for the gratuitous plug) is planning more than the usual.

Entertainment including Radio Station 104.3, which will broadcast music from the 60s, 70s and 80s.

And what would be a Farmer's Market without, so say the organizers, farm and vendor offerings including gourmet fresh and dried exotic mushrooms, salsas, barbeque and hot sauces, packaged soups and dips, cookies and cake pops, truffles, safflower oil, balsamic vinegars, brownies, marshmallows, caramels, brittles, granolas, pickles, giardinieras, muffulettas, fresh made donuts, kettle corn, snow cones, lemonade, honey, maple products, flowers, organic veggies, artisan cheeses, butter, veggies, fruit, coffee beans/fresh brewed iced and hot coffee, meats including  pork, beef, chicken, and turkey, eggs, jams and jellies, gourmet pastas, mustard, heirloom mini veggies, breads/ muffins/cookies/pastries.

And of course, the ever popular  dog biscuits and treats and knife sharpening will be available.  Seriously,   

On a charitable side of things, visitors to the Farmer's Market will be able to support local food pantries.

And since we're talking growing things, the Buffalo Grove Garden Club will be selling gloves and plants.  Now if they want to make some real money -- how about selling local scare crows.  How about celebrity scarecrows -- modeled after, say, the Village Board.  Talk about scary.

The Buffalo Grove Farmer's Market is at  951 McHenry Road between  Buffalo Grove Road and Deerfield Parkway at Mike Rylko Community Park in front of the Spray 'n Play.

Hours are 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

Tradition gets trashed....

I thought I was hearing things.

It appeared to be a chicken singing “Tradition”, the timeless classic from the Broadway play and movie, “Fiddler on the Roof”.

My ears did not beseech me.  There was Chicken Little singing, or maybe clucking, the song.  Somewhere Zero Mostel is rolling over in his grave.

 

But why, C.L., why?

For years, he explained, it was a weekly, sometimes biweekly event when the streets of American echoed with the sound of steel drums being placed along the road.

Steel drums?  I asked.  I began to have the feeling that CL had spent too much time in the islands having a few too many Red Stripes.

CL assured me he had not and was just distraught about another tradition.   ‘Tradition, tradition, without our trash cans, we’ll all be rolling down the street..."

Really?  I was a bit confused so I asked him to explain.

“What’s to explain, the village has taken away yet another chore from my children.”

Explain.

“As a young chick I was always told by my parents to take out the garbage.  So once, maybe twice a week, I schlepped the cans and bags out to the curb so the waste haulers could pick them up.  Then, after school, I’d have to find the trash cans, which often rolled down the street.  But now, that’s all gone.”

You mean you don’t generate any more trash?

“Hardly the case,” he said. “Now, instead of traditional trash cans, I have a Toter.”

A what? 

“A Toter,” he said “A massive cart in which I put my garbage so the garbage man can easily collect it.”

You mean garbage men, don’t you?

“Nope,” C.L. said, “another tradition gone…no more men hanging from the back a truck, now it’s a one-man crew with a robotic arm that picks up the Toter, dumps it, and away he goes.”

C.L. looked distraught.  A longtime Sesame Street fan he worried where Oscar would live and what would happen if he too were to be swept away.

I asked C.L. if there was enough room for Oscar in a Toter. 

“Enough room?  You’ve got to be kidding.  The Toters are massive.  We can’t even keep ours in the coop.” 

Surely, I said, there must be smaller ones?  “Yeah,” he said, “but I don’t  know what size to get.”

Really, we’re talking garbage cans.

“Nope, we’re talking Waste Management, municipal contracts. So I have, in Starbucks lingo, a venti.  A  96-gallon garbage can on wheels.  You can also get a grande, which is a 64-gallon Toter or a 35-gallon tall.”

C.L., who is cramped in his coop, expressed concern that it would cost too much to replace his oversized trash can.  However, the village is working with Waste Management to drop the replacement fee for residents who want a smaller Toter.  But hurry, this offer is limited, residents must call Waste Management by June 7.

“Really?” He clucked.  “Then what happens?”  I explained after June 7 there is a $25 replacement fee.  But, rest assured, every May residents will have the chance to get a different size Toter for free.

“So much in the same way that sparrows return to Capistrano and the buzzards to Hinckley, the Toters can come back to Buffalo Grove?” 

Yep.

“Cool, but one more question…what’s a Toter?”

A Toter is actually the company that makes the carts. 

“Really?  So what are they actually?”

They are officially curbside collection carts.  And they don’t come cheap.  You can find them for sale online (now there’s a surprise…) at a cost from $69 for a 48-gallon size to $198 for a 95-gallon cart.

“I guess it’s progress of some sort,” C.L. said, “but I’ll miss the tradition clang of the metal cans and chasing them on a windy day.”

Relax, I told him.  Think of some of the possibilities that await.

“Like what?” he asked.

Well, a program just for kids.

“Really”?

Sure, Toter tots.

Or how about a place to dump old pizza containers – you could call it Toterice’s.

“Sick, very sick.”

But wait, imagine a remake of the Wizard of Oz in which Dorothy forgets to take out the garbage.

“And what would she say?”

Toter, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.

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.

It's such a simple thing...

Maybe it’s because the little things just sort of add up.

A few weeks ago I observed retiring police chief Steve Balinski salute the flag during the pledge of allegiance, which opens each Village Board meeting.

No big thing, just a class way to show respect to the flag and what it stands for.

Fast forward to Monday’s Board meeting.  Once again, the pledge and once again attendees, including the state runner up Stevenson High School basketball team, stood and respectfully said the pledge.

Except, so it seems, one.  Sure, he started to say the pledge, but before long he just stopped.  Maybe he was distracted, or maybe it was because of the words “under god” – but for whatever reason he didn’t finish it.

True, it’s a person’s rights to say the pledge or not, or even abridge it.  It’s disturbing, however, to use it to call attention to you and your personal belief.  It’s a simple minute – literally – to show respect for the others in attendance and toward the United States.

And on Monday the pledge seemed to mean a bit more than usual.  There wasn’t a need for a long explanation.  All it took was one word.

Boston.

Who's on first?

The advent of social media has provided candidates at any level a new vehicle by which to deliver their messages.

President Obama used it extensively in both his campaigns as did Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

So I was not too surprised when I started seeing various posts by the candidates in the stimulating and issues loaded race for village trustee.  With three names on the ballot, current Board members Beverly Sussman, Andrew Stein and Lester (call me Les) A. Ottenheimer III,  and one write-in candidate, Jeff Battinus, it’s hardly been as exciting as say, an appearance by Carlos Marmol.

The four candidates have all said the usual stuff.  The three current board members have touted their experience and concern for the village, something incumbents usually due.

Battinus has been doing the same too, but since he has not served on the Board, he does not have the experience to fall back on as the other three.  Instead, he has been trying to forge ahead by riding the coat tails of the proposed instant downtown.  At last month’s candidate forum much of the discussion focused on the 65-acre proposal for a central business district along Lake-Cook Road on land currently being used as one of the village’s two golf course. 

A little residential concern, objection and ::poof:: we have a campaign.  Sort of.

With only one proposal on the table a decision does not seem to be in the near future.

If there are other major issues in the race, there has not been much discussion about them.  Yep, folks are concerned about the Weiland Road project.  Yep, folks are concerned about the budget.

But when it comes to hearing what the Village Board has to say about it, there does not appear to be a lot of interest in these topics.  At the past two meetings, there have been more people in attendance to say good-bye to retiring Police Chief Steve Balinski and retiring Public Works Director Greg Boysen than  have been to discuss village issues. 

Oh yes, let’s not forget the parents who came at last week’s Board meeting to celebrate the state champion Buffalo Grove Cheerleaders.

So cheerleaders and public works directors have taken the focus of the village.  In an election year.

As sitting Board members, Sussman-Stein-Ottenheimer III have had the chance to let the public know of their concerns for issues facing the village, but have not made village board meetings campaign forums.

So where’s Battinus during the Village Board meetings?  My guess he’s in one of two places – he’s out running (remember, part of his candidacy announcement was based on his jogs through the village) -- or he’s in Ela Township.

Say what?

Just check social media.  Battinus has made it a point to let the world know that he “likes” Ela First.

The what?   Ela First?

 Ela First, as noted on its Facebook Page is “…Committed to the people of Ela Township, we will Continue to provide quality services while maintaining a Balanced Budget with Integrity, Accountability, and a Proven track..”

I’m not sure why Battinus is interested or concerned in the fine folks of Ela Township – I mean Lake Zurich is beautiful this time of year -- but it seems to me that a candidate running for Buffalo Grove Village Board should be putting Buffalo Grove first.

He’s made it clear his opposition to the instant-mall and has called for development along Dundee Road and Milwaukee Avenue.  But now what?  One local paper endorsed him because of his “fresh voice”.  What it didn’t say is what they fresh voice was going to say.

Yep, the village needs more commercial and retail development – you can’t argue that.  But how should it achieve that?  The campaigns of all four candidates have been pretty mum on that. 

It’s a $64,000 question that a lot of folks in Buffalo Grove have been trying to answer.  And who knows where the answer will come from.

But odds are it won’t be in Ela Township.