Lake County in 60 seconds
Washington Street lane closures
One lane in each direction on Washington Street between Route 21 (Milwaukee Avenue) in Gurnee, and Route 41 in Waukegan, will be closed beginning Tuesday. The closures will allow work on the reconstruction of the road, which will continue until fall 2009. Besides replacing the 30-year-old pavement, the work will modernize the intersection at O'Plaine Road, improve drainage, provide landscaped medians and elevate the road above the 100-year flood plain. Repairs also will be made to two bridges spanning the Des Plaines River. Information on the project is available at www.lakegov.info or www.lakecountypassage.com.
Gurnee fire employee of year
Gurnee firefighter/paramedic Christopher Koehn recently received high praise from the village's Breakfast Exchange Club. Koehn, also a public education officer, recently was named the 2007 Gurnee Fire Employee of the Year. Koehn has been with the Gurnee Fire Department since 1994. One of his duties now is to work with the public to ensure there is an awareness of fire danger and steps that can be taken to minimize those risks. Criteria used by the Breakfast Exchange Club to determine the fire employee of the year include community affairs involvement on and off duty, customer service, safety habits, organizational skills and productivity. "On a daily basis," Gurnee Fire Chief Fred Friedl said, "Chris puts forth nothing less than extraordinary performance and devotion on and off duty." Koehn will receive the award at Gurnee's Sept. 11 remembrance ceremony at Viking Park on Old Grand Avenue. The ceremony will be at 1 p.m. Sept. 7.
Celebrate county's culture
Food and music from around the world are the main attractions at the Taste of Lake County Culture event set for Aug. 31 at the Greenbelt Cultural Center near North Chicago. From 3 to 8 p.m., there will be gospel choirs, the Scotch Lads, the Last Dance Band and other performers. Admission is free, and people of any age can attend. For information, call Lake County Forest Preserve District officials at (847) 968-3477.
Twilight Shuffle
MainStreet Libertyville hosts its first Twilight Shuffle 5K run/walk Aug. 31. The race begins at 6 p.m. in downtown Libertyville, starting and finishing on Newberry Avenue, just north of the Liberty Theater. The 3.1-mile race is professionally timed. Participants ages nine and older can sprint, run, walk, or walk or shuffle around downtown. A post-race party will be at Mickey Finn's Brewery. Race fees are $30 (ages 18 and above) and $15 (ages 9-17) before Aug. 20. Race day registration also will be from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Newberry. Applications are available at many downtown businesses, at www.mainstreetlibertyville.org or at (847) 680-0336. Proceeds benefit MainStreet.
After school pumpkins
Registration is open for the Great Pumpkin Gang at the Prairie Crossing Learning Farm, an after-school club where children grow pumpkins and other crops from seed to table. The club is open to all students grades K through 8. Students care for a plot of land during weekly meetings from Aug. 28 to Oct. 16. The farm is a program of the Prairie Crossing Institute, a nonprofit organization located in the Prairie Crossing neighborhood in Grayslake. Descriptions, dates and registration forms are available at www.pclearningfarm.org.