The briefs
Doctor, care facility sued
A Chicago law firm has filed two lawsuits alleging mistreatment of Marie Johnson, 78, of Palatine, by a Chicago doctor, Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village and Claremont Rehabilitation Center in Buffalo Grove. The suits allege that University of Illinois physician Konstantin Slavin, employed by Alexian Brothers, caused Johnson a spinal cord injury that resulted in her being paralyzed from the waist down. The suit also alleges that Claremont did not care for her properly after she was paralyzed. Alexian Brothers and Slavin declined to comment. Claremont did not return a phone call.
Hersey wins ACT honor
Hersey High School in Arlington Heights is one of only three schools in Illinois to be given the Red Quill Award for 2007-08 from the ACT's Midwest regional office. The award was established last year to recognize schools taking an innovative approach to curriculum and showing consistent growth in ACT scores.
Palatine robbery seminar: The Palatine police crime prevention unit is sponsoring a free robbery prevention seminar at 7 p.m. Thursday in the police training room at village hall, 200 E. Wood St., for business owners. Register at (847) 359-9061 by Wednesday. The number of robberies tends to peak during the winter. Police offered the following tips: Keep the back doors to your business locked at all times, greet all customers with eye contact, be sure all security equipment is maintained and utilized at all times and call 911 if you observe any suspicious people or activities.
Bartlett fire station to close
The Bartlett Fire Protection District will permanently close Fire Station No. 3 when its lease expires April 30. The fire station, located next to village hall on Main Street, is usually unmanned. It houses some equipment and serves as a home base for the fire district's part-time, paid-on-call firefighters. A new, $5.1 million station is currently under construction in the Brewster Creek Business Park at Spitzer and West Bartlett Road. A September opening is scheduled.
Townhouse project on hold
The Mount Prospect village board has not made a final decision on a proposed 14-unit townhouse development at 1040 W. Northwest Hwy., but is likely to review it again March 4. An earlier proposal drew fire from the neighboring Northwest Meadows subdivision. The subdivision consists of single-family homes to the east of the proposed development. Some residents said density is an issue, as was parking, since guest parking basically would be confined to the site. A vacant building, which previously housed a State Farm insurance office, is now on the site.
Bartlett uses online auction:
The Bartlett public works department is gearing up for an online auction that will feature six village dump trucks and five other vehicles. The auction will be held through the Northwest Municipal Conference and Obenauf Auction Services. The Bartlett Police Department was first in the village to give the electronic auctions a try, quickly selling three used squad cars last June on eBay. Under the agreement, the village sets the minimum value of the property and retains the right to refuse a bid it considers too low. The specific auction date has not yet been set.
BP school grants available
Area teachers can now apply for BP grants of up to $10,000. The A + for Energy program is available to any preschool through high school classroom teacher in an accredited or licensed public or private school within Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will counties. Winners are recognized for developing creative and student-focused classrooms, after-school, extracurricular or summer programs. While these programs must be centered on energy or energy conservation, they can move beyond science to incorporate reading, math, history, geography and the arts. Teachers can find out more about the program by visiting www.aplusforenergy.org. Applications must be postmarked or submitted online by March 7.