Good Samaritan takes care of problem himself

A Good Samaritan stepped up to the lawn mower this week and helped out a neighbor. On Monday, I wrote about the Arlington Heights village board approving a new ordinance to make it easier to clean up lawns of vacant or overgrown properties and fine their owners for the work.

Turns out, as the number of home foreclosures rises in Arlington Heights, so does the number of unkempt lawns and neighbors are complaining.

To go with the article, we ran a photograph of the one of the homes that received multiple complaints on the 1000 block of South Chestnut Avenue.

On Thursday, a resident called me and said a Good Samaritan from Rolling Meadows read the article and simply mowed the lawn himself.

Irish band to return: Brigid's Cross, a popular Irish band out of Cleveland, was supposed to play at the July Irish Fest in Arlington Heights, but the concert - and pretty much the entire weekend - was rained out.

So Derek Hanley, owner of Peggy Kinnane's, is bringing the band back and hosting Brigid's Cross from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. on Oct. 17. Admission is $10.

Hospital hosts photo exhibit: Steve Samson of Samson Photographic in Arlington Heights was selected by Northwest Community Hospital to display his black-and-white photos of babies and children in the hospital. For three months, Samson's photos will hang in the hallway connecting the main hospital to the Busse Center for Specialty Medicine.

Online safety program: The Arlington Heights Police Department will host a free workshop for parents on how to protect children from online sexual predators from 7 to 8:30 p.m. tonight at Pioneer Park, 500 South Fernandez Ave. Swing by the chamber expo: The Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce is hosting a business expo from 5 to 8 p.m. tonight at the Sheraton Chicago Northwest Hotel in Arlington Heights. Admission is free, open to the public, and hundreds of residents and businesses are expected to attend. Businesses expected to display their products and services at the expo include accountants, attorneys, auto dealers, banks, health care providers, home services providers, employment services firms, financial advisers, Realtors, restaurants, interior designers, event planners and others.

For more information, or to RSVP to attend, call the chamber at (847) 253-1703, or register at www.arlingtonhtschamber.com.

Food drive continues: Unopened and non-expired cans and boxes of food can be delivered between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday to the Arlington Heights Health Department, located on the first floor of village hall. At the end of the week food items will be brought to Wheeling Township and Elk Grove Township food pantries, which both serve Arlington Heights residents.

• Sheila Ahern covers Arlington Heights. She can be reached at (847) 427-4563 or via e-mail at sahern@dailyherald.com.