Birefs: New director sought for Vernon Hills Park District

The Vernon Hills Park District has begun looking for a new top manager following the recent resignation of Executive Director Larry DeGraaf. The board Wednesday interviewed three search firms to start the process of replacing DeGraaf, 63, who has served in the position for nearly 12 years. He'll stay on the job through Februrary, giving the board time to fnd a replacement without being caught shorthanded. "He's taken the Vernon Hills Park District up several notches from where it was when he came here several years ago," said David Doerhoefer, park board president.

Antioch center hosts early holiday dinner:

A free community Thanksgiving dinner traditionally held Thanksgiving Day will instead be served from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22 at the Antioch Senior Center, 817 Holbek Drive. The dinner, sponsored by Open Arms Mission Food Pantry, is a Thanksgiving feast of turkey, potatoes, dressing, vegetables and dessert and is open to anyone within the community who would enjoy being with others to celebrate the holiday. Music will be provided by Dorothy Langley on the piano, and football will be broadcast on the center's television in the recreation room. The meal is prepared and served by Open Arms Mission food pantry volunteers. Desserts are needed and may be dropped off by noon Nov. 21 at the Antioch Senior Center. For information, call the Antioch Senior Center at (847) 395-0139.

See "Annie" in Vernon Hills:

The Improv Playhouse Showstoppers will perform the musical "Annie" at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23 at the park district's Sullivan Center, 635 N. Aspen Drive. All performances are free to the public. Call Improv Playhouse at (847) 968-4529 for details or go their Web site at improvplayhouse.com.

Public works drill

Several Lake County area communities will conduct a public works mutual aid positioning drill at 9 a.m. today at the Wauconda Park District, 600 N. Main St. The drill will further villages' disaster preparedness efforts in anticipation of the rollout of the newly formed Illinois Public Works Mutual Aid Network. The mutual aid network, similar to those in place for police and fire departments, allows public works organizations, when faced with a natural or man-made disaster that overtax their own available resources, the ability to request assistance from nearby organizations. Public works departments have never had formal mutual aid agreements, which poses challenges such as organizing volunteers and tracking resources. Today's drill will address those challenges by allowing participating agencies to practice disaster preparedness before faced with a real emergency such as a tornado. Drill participants include: the Lake County Public Works department, the villages of Barrington, Island Lake, Lake Villa, Lake Zurich, Libertyville, Lindenhurst, and Mundelein, and the Wauconda Township Highway Department.