Briefs: Chain waters level off

Officials said the water levels are leveling off on the Chain O' Lakes and Fox River in Antioch. The lakes are about 15 inches above flood stage and about 8 to 10 inches above the point where homes start to become damaged in low-lying areas. The levels remain about 6 inches below figures recorded during the August 2007 flood. Barring any additional rainfall, the Chain is expected to stay high for an additional 36 hours before starting to drop. The National Weather Service has predicted a 50 percent chance of rain Thursday and a 40 percent chance of showers on Friday and Saturday.

Fuel leak cleaned up

Wauconda village officials said Tuesday the diesel fuel leak on Bangs Lake has been cleaned up. The leak was discovered Friday coming from a pickup truck parked near the west shore of the lake, near the Wauconda Park District marina. The village hired SET Environmental to contain and clean up the roughly 30 gallons of diesel fuel that spilled onto the lake. Officials said the area was contained Friday, but crews continued to clean up the lake throughout the weekend. Officials declared the work complete after results of environmental testing done Monday, along the shoreline between Lakeview Villa and Maimans I subdivisions and along the orange skirted boom, came back clean. Over the next few days, the environmental firm will remove the orange containment boom and use a high pressure wash to clean it before loading it on a truck. For more information, call the village's Environmental Quality Director Jackie Schramm at (847) 345-2976.

Internships availableŒ

The 10th Congressional District Democrats have begun accepting applications for internships. Applicants should be high school juniors or seniors, college students, or graduate or law students with a desire to help the Democratic Party. Computer skills are desired, and a commitment to work a minimum of 15 hours a week during the summer is required. Course credit is available with cooperating high schools and colleges. Students can apply for a summer internship, as well as one-semester internships or for the full year. There also are immediate internships available, with a requirement of at least eight hours after school or on weekends. Acceptance into the internship program is selective and contingent upon an interview. For more information on the program, or to apply, contact Lauren Beth Gash, chair, or Allen Wagner, intern coordinator, at info@tenthdems.org or call 847-266-VOTE (8683).

Dist. 103 earns award

Lincolnshire-Prairie View School District 103 received the 2008 Bright Red Apple Award for educational excellence from SchoolSearch. District 103 is one of 14 elementary school districts in Lake County to receive this award. A total of 91 school districts in Illinois received the award out of 871 elementary and high school districts in the state. Award criteria for elementary school districts includes educational level of teachers, pupil/teacher ratio, average teacher salary, expenditure per pupil and academic performance of students.