Fox Valley briefs

Teen's death a homicide:

A Kane County Coroner's jury Wednesday declared the Halloween shooting death of an Elgin teenager a homicide. Jaime Benitez, 16, was shot in the back about 11:30 p.m. Oct. 31, 2008, after a house party on the 500 block of Douglas Avenue spilled into the street and a "dispute between rival gang members" broke out, an Elgin detective testified. Police said nine shell casings were recovered at the scene. The investigation is ongoing.

Childcare info fair

The Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin will hold a preschool and childcare information fair from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Jan. 31. Representatives from at least 18 preschools, private schools, daycares and licensed homes will be at the library, 270 N. Grove Ave., to answer questions and hand out brochures. For details, call (847) 742-2411. A complete list of participating providers will be available at www.gailborden.info after Jan. 22.

Familiar faces for new seats

The Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District board will appoint John Bradach and Warren Olsen to the two newly created seats on the board. The board interviewed five candidates based on applications submitted. The terms end in April. Bradach, of Lake in the Hills, was a fire district trustee from 1985 to 2003. For the past seven years, Olsen has been a fire district commissioner, six years as president. He will have to resign that seat.

Meet with the chief

On Monday, Jan. 26, Elgin Police Chief Lisa Womack will host the monthly Chief's Community Meeting at the police station. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the North Community Room. The topic of the meeting will be matters of public concern. E-mail any topics of community concerns, or issues, to elgin_pd@cityofelgin.org. The meeting is open to residents of Elgin.