Briefs: You can help clean beach
Volunteers collected more than 350 pounds of debris along a three-quarter mile stretch of the Lake Michigan shoreline at Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve near Highland Park. The effort last month was part of the annual Alliance for the Great Lakes Adopt-A-Beach Clean-Up. Volunteers included members of the Friends of Fort Sheridan, Cub Scouts, Lake Forest High School teachers and students and the League of Women Voters of Highland Park. Debris included bottle caps, food wrappers, cigarette butts, water bottles and soda cans. The data will be used as part of an international effort to identify sources of shoreline debris.
Budget talk set
The Lake County Board will meet in a rare night meeting today to review a proposed budget for the next fiscal year. The meeting is set for 6 p.m. at the transportation division office, 600 W. Winchester Road, Libertyville. The board will vote on the spending plan in November. The 2008 fiscal year starts Dec. 1.
Alleghany Road closed
Alleghany Road between Route 120 and Peterson Road will be closed to thru traffic for a week beginning today at 6 a.m. The closure and detour are needed to allow for the replacement of the railroad crossing. Local traffic will be allowed from Peterson to the Metra crossing and from Route 120 to the Metra crossing, but the construction zone at the crossing will be closed to all traffic. The detour will be Peterson Road, Route 83, Route 137 to Route 120.
West Nile case in county
A 71-year-old Lake Zurich resident is being reported as the first person in Lake County to contract West Nile virus. The man became sick Sept. 12, was hospitalized and discharged, according to the Lake County Health Department. Also, one dead bird and about 50 pools of mosquitoes have tested positive for West Nile. While most victims show no symptoms, some can become ill usually three to 15 days after the bite of an infected mosquito. It occasionally can cause serious complications, particularly in the elderly. Last year, 11 human cases and one death were reported in Lake County. Call (847) 377-8300 or visit www.co.lake.il.us/health/ehs/westnile.asp.
Ceremony for new market
An official groundbreaking ceremony is set for 11 a.m. Friday for renovations of Centennial Park in downtown Grayslake. It will be the site of a new winter farmers market, called Marketplace at Centennial Park, that's to debut Nov. 24. Representatives from the weekly Grayslake farmers market, village of Grayslake and Lake Forest Hospital are expected at the ceremony. Up to 10 vendors with a variety of food are projected to be at the winter market scheduled to run Saturdays from Nov. 24 to Dec. 22. The market also will be open Jan. 19, Feb. 16, March 15, April 12 and May 10. Officials said the grand opening will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 24. Grayslake's Wednesday night farmers market will continue from June through October.