Northwest suburban briefs
Des Plaines ward meeting set:
Des Plaines 2nd Ward Alderman John Robinson will host a meeting for ward residents, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 23, at Christ Church, 1492 Henry Ave., to discuss issues such as flooding and River Road construction. Representatives of various city departments will be present. There will be an opportunity for questions. For more information, call Robinson at (847) 530-3345.
Finnerty family fundraisers:
A multifamily garage sale to benefit the Finnerty family will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 27, in the 700 block of South Mitchell Ave. Separately, Scarsdale neighborhood residents Lesa and David Lawson invite people to contribute items to a garage sale they plan to host for the Finnerty family. This one takes place 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, June 26, and Saturday, June 27, at their home, 529 S. Banbury Road. Call (847) 590-9267. To contribute directly to a fund set up for the Finnerty children, whose parents and brother died in a fire this month, checks made out to Jennifer Murphy, guardian of the children, can be mailed or delivered to Village Bank & Trust, 311 S. Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights, IL 60005.
Messmers in concert today:
Wayne and Kathleen Messmer will be featured singing with the Mount Prospect Community Band tonight in a program of Broadway show tunes. The Messmers are Mount Prospect residents and well-known professional singers, and Wayne is perhaps best known for singing the "National Anthem" at many Chicago pro sports events. Tonight's performance takes place at 7:30 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Band Shell at Lions Memorial Park, 411 S. Maple St., or, in case of rain, inside Lions Recreation Center.
Web site wins design award:
Cook County Clerk David Orr's new genealogy Web site has won a 2009 Achievement Award as an example of an "effective and creative program" from the National Association of Counties. CookCountyGenealogy.com, launched last year, allows visitors to conduct free searches of birth, marriage and death indexes dating to 1872. Once a document is located, genealogists can download a high-resolution scan of the original for a $15 fee. Users from 88 countries have generated more than 9.6 million hits to the site, and bought enough genealogy records to pay for the project in only 12 weeks. The award will be presented July 26 in Nashville.