Briefs: Student absentee ballots available
College students enrolling for the fall semester are urged to apply for an absentee ballot for the 2008 presidential primary. Students registered to vote in Lake County attend school outside the county can sign up to automatically receive an absentee ballot at their school address. The Temporary Absent Student Program requires a registered voter complete the enrollment card designating their college mailing address. Enrollment is effective for two years. Call (847) 377-2406 or visit absentee@co.lake.il.us for an enrollment form. They also are available at municipal or township offices or downloaded from www.co.lake.il.us/cntyclk.
WWII veterans to gather:
World War II veterans who participated in the Battle of the Bulge will hold a reunion next month at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort. The event will run Sept. 25-30. Veterans of the European battle -- fought in late 1944 and early 1945 -- are encouraged to join a related group and attend, as are friends and relatives. For details, visit www.battleofthebugle.org or call (703) 528-4058.
Burglary suspect arrested:
A Beach Park man wanted for theft in Chicago was charged with two counts of burglary Tuesday after breaking into a Lake County gas station, police said. Brian S. Maki, 46, 12915 W. Sallmon Ave., is held in Lake County jail on a $50,000 bond. Lake County sheriff's Sgt. Christopher Thompson said Maki is the suspect in two burglaries Tuesday and Aug. 6 at a gas station on the 37000 block of Green Bay Road in Beach Park. Deputies investigating the break-in saw Maki running on Green Bay Road around 1:18 a.m. Tuesday. Detective chased him and learned he was wanted on a theft warrant in Chicago, Thompson said. When accompanying him to his home, detectives noticed the same jacket they saw on the gas station surveillance tape, Thompson said. A further search of the room revealed more clothing worn in an Aug. 6 burglary to the same station, Thompson said, adding a cash drawer taken from that burglary was also located.
Board OKs off-track parlor:
The Illinois Racing Board approved an off-track betting parlor at Metropol Café, 421 N. Liberty Ave., Wauconda, at its most recent meeting Tuesday. The approval, an expected move, came after the village board also OK'd the proposal July 24. The off-track betting in the parlor will be handled by Melrose Park-based Inter-Track Partners. At the July Wauconda village board meeting, some residents attended to complain about gambling in the area. Village officials responded that the owner of Metropol was a respected member of the business community.
Robbery suspects sought:
Buffalo Grove police are searching for two men connected to an armed robbery. The police responded to the Smoke Hut, 1140 W. Lake Cook Road, around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The clerk at the store said two men entered the store and requested a carton of cigarettes. As she was getting them, one man displayed a handgun and ordered the clerk to the back of the store, police reports said. The clerk said her wrists and ankles were bound with duct tape, and she was placed in a bathroom. The clerk was able to free herself after the two men left the store. An undetermined amount of cash was taken, according to police. The only description of the two men given is one is tall and heavy set while the other is of medium build. Anyone with any information on the armed robbery should call Buffalo Grove police at (847) 459-2560.
Amvets donate a bus:
Amvets Post 66 in Wheeling donated a bus to the North Chicago VA Medical Center Wednesday morning. The bus will be used to transport disabled veterans. Post Cmdr. Tony Altieri said the bus was obtained through a $75,000 grant administered by the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs. Altieri said the post was originally going to pay for the bus itself, when the former state commander of Amvets put him in contact with the department's director, Tammy Duckworth. The bus, obtained from Central States Bus Sales of Big Rock, actually cost slightly more than $75,000. Altieri said Amvets had already put a $10,000 deposit on the bus before the grant was obtained. Instead, it used money earmarked to buy the bus to buy 50 television sets for the medical center."We've been very fortunate. We've been doing fairly well. We thought it would be nice if we could buy them a bus." In the past, the medical center had to rent a vehicle.