Lake County in 60 seconds
Follow health officials
The Lake County Health Department is using the popular electronic service Twitter to share information with the public. Visit twitter.com/lakecohealth to learn how to connect to the service, which will offer short, daily health messages.
Homeless total down
Volunteers who conducted a census of homeless people in Lake County last Thursday night found 367 people who met the federal definition of homelessness, preliminary results showed. That's down from 439 the year before, a decrease of about 16 percent. The annual census, which focused on about a dozen areas in the county, is necessary for officials to receive federal grant money.
Tax increase measure on ballot
The Hawthorn Woods Village Board voted to put a referendum question on the April 7 election ballot asking to create a tax levy for the police pension fund. Hawthorn Woods contributes about $170,000 to the fund. If voters approve the request, it would cost each homeowner about $11.67 per $100,000 of fair market value, officials said.
Business lends a hand
Molly Maid, a residential cleaning service franchise, recently announced the results of its 2008 Ms. Molly Foundation campaign, which raises money for domestic violence shelters and safe houses. Nationwide, the program raised a record $127,500, a 30 percent increase from 2007. Locally, the Molly Maid in Highland Park, which serves Southeast Lake County and Northeast Cook County, continued to be one of the program's most consistent contributors with its collection of more than $1,000 in donations. Since the program's inception in 1996, Robert Dillon, co-owner of the Southeast Lake County/Northeast Cook County Molly Maid, said they have raised more than $15,000. All of the money raised locally is donated to Lake County's a Safe Place domestic violence shelter. For more information, visit www.asafeplaceforhelp.org. To contribute to the 2009 Ms. Molly Foundation campaign, call (847) 681-1800 or visit mollymaid.com/foundation.
Sheriffs association scholarships
More than $53,000 in college scholarships statewide will be handed out by the Illinois Sheriffs Association for the 2009-10 academic year. The scholarships only may be applied to tuition, books and fees. The student must be enrolled full time at a certified institution of higher learning in Illinois. Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran will award one scholarship for $500. Applications are available at the Lake County sheriff's office at 25 S. Martin Luther King Ave. in Waukegan or online at www.ilsheriff.org. Students must complete the application, answer an essay question and return the documents to the Lake County sheriff by March 13.