Liberty students race for Patrick

Fifth-grade students at Carpentersville's Liberty Elementary School learned too soon the devastation of cancer when they lost young classmate Patrick Smith in 2004.

They sure haven't forgotten.

And, thanks to physical education teacher Christine Rogers, they joined all Liberty students in "Live to Give" relays Thursday to help raise money for Children's Memorial Hospital in his memory.

Patrick would have been a fifth-grader today.

Backed by pledges from friends and family, they raced and cheered Thursday, demonstrating what PTO president Mary Oreskovich called "healthy, happy and generous hearts."

I'll say.

Relay day

Too many deaths too soon come from cancer.

If you'd like to help, consider stopping by tonight's Relay for Life at Jacobs High School in Algonquin. It's a fun way to raise money to fight this darned disease and it begins at 6 p.m.

If you don't have time to be part of it, let your money do the talking. Every dollar helps.

You'll find the school by taking Randall Road north from the tollway to Bunker Hill Drive. Turn left and you'll see the school on your left a couple of blocks down.

If you can't make this one, consider the Relay for Life at Elgin Community College on June 13.

How much?!!

With gas prices breaking the $4 per gallon barrier this week, we're all ready to scream. Or already screaming.

It won't help a lot, but it might help a little to check gasbuddy.com to find the lowest reported gas prices in an area over the past 24 hours before you head to the pump.

Go to eia.doe.gov to find out why those gas prices soared. It'll give you some historical perspective and technical info. And surely those are factors in the dramatic price increases.

But I figure all we really need to know is that gasoline prices started going up in January 2001 -- when they were still below $1.50 a gallon and crude oil was $50 a barrel.

You might recall that's the month we got a new president, one in the oil and gas business.

The price at the pump really escalated since the start of his second -- and last --term in January 2005. From a high of $2.35 a gallon that month, it's now $4 and rising.

Not that there's any connection ...

Through the roof

No wonder so many of you have gone "Through the Roof" as you share your property tax and assessment woes. With every nickel counting for so many of us these days, lots of you are questioning why your assessments have soared --meaning tax bills have, too -- even as the retail value of your homes has plummeted.

I'll share some of your grim stories Sunday -- one man says his tax bill jumped $1,900 -- and let you know what experts suggest we can do.

Listen in

Speaking of experts, you can listen in as Dundee-Crown High School holds a phone conference with renowned and oft-quoted Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Noam Chomsky at 3 p.m. today at the school's Media Center Annex.

We're all invited to join Community Unit District 300 staff and students listening to the sometimes-controversial expert on linguistics known also for his expertise and criticism of U.S. politics and foreign policy.

Book it!

Tough times have turned many of us into bargain hunters. You set a record at the Algonquin Area Public Library's recent spring sale, helping the Friends of the Library raise $10,445!

Friends of the Fox River Grove Library hope you'll also stop by their Spring Books and Baubles sale from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the library, 407 Lincoln Ave., Fox River Grove.

On stage

Sean Hargadon of the Janus Theatre asked me to let you know this is the final weekend for "The Greatest Story eBertolt: A Brecht Review" at the Elgin Art Showcase, 164 Division St., Elgin. Call (847) 931-0637 for details.

Yum!

Don't forget to mark your calendars for Sunday. You can enjoy biscuits and gravy, sausage, pancakes, eggs, coffee, milk, and orange juice for $5.75 per adult ($4 per child) at the Dundee Lions Pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon at Dundee Highlands School, 407 S. Fifth St., West Dundee.

Shop the Square

Then you can head to Woodstock for the annual Fair Diddley arts and crafts show featuring more than 500 vendors, entertainment and more food from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the historic Woodstock Square. That's the spot where they filmed "Groundhog Day." Head north on Route 47 past Route 120 to the McHenry County Government Center where you can catch the free shuttle. Think of it as a way to save gas.