By Adrienne Fawcett

A battle of good and evil is playing out on a historic bridge named after “Walden,” Henry David Thoreau’s famous book about harmony in nature. No one knows who’s doing the damage … and for a long time no one knew who was cleaning it up.

“It’s barbaric what these vandals are doing,” said Sarah Wimmer, a long-time friend of the Walden-Bluff’s Edge Bridge in Lake Forest and a past president of the Lake Forest Preservation Foundation. “The perpetrators of these acts should be caught and brought to justice.”

The bridge was restored in the late 1990s and has been frequently targeted by vandals, who have ripped plants from terra cotta planters and thrown both plants and pots over the railings. They’ve set potted trees on fire, scoring burn marks on the planters, and they’ve spray-painted graffiti on the bridge’s riveted steel arches. Damage increased this past summer when someone dismantled the seats of four teak benches and threw the panels into the tangle of thorny brush in the ravine below.

“Whoever did this had to work pretty hard to get the panels out of the benches,” said Mark Williams, a neighbor whose love for the Walden-Bluff’s Edge bridge matches his appreciation of fine outdoor furniture: His family runs Williams Ski & Patio on Route 41. “I’m in the patio furniture business and I know those are nice teak benches. It really bothered me to see them destroyed like that.” 

Quietly and on his own accord, Mr. Williams took action. He hauled the broken planks up from the ravine and took them to his home, where he cleaned, measured and re-fit them. Then he brought the panels back to the bridge to re-install them on the benches. Neighbors who were saddened to see the benches demolished were surprised and thrilled to find them put back together–although it took several weeks for them to figure out the Good Samaritan’s identity. Unfortunately, Mr. Williams found only enough panels to repair three of the four benches. He’s hoping the remaining panels will resurface after autumn’s bed of leaves begins to scatter.

Lake Forest police have another theory about what happened to the rest of the seat panels. They suspect vandals used them for firewood at the beach just a short walk away. [...]

Lake Bluff's very own spirits maker was featured in the New York Times on Nov. 28. An article written by Jessica Reaves for the new Chicago News Cooperative focussed on two artisan distilleries, including North Shore Distillery of Lake Bluff and Koval Distillery of Chicago, and their efforts to make a mark on a city known for beer. The story's worth a read … Click here to get there.

By Elaine Slayton

The Volunteer Center of Lake Forest/Lake Bluff is offering its fourth annual Giving Tree at Gorton Community Center. The program will run through Dec. 19 and is sponsored by Girl Scout Troop #2715, shown in the photo below.

The Giving Tree is adorned with more than 100 “wish” mittens. Each mitten represents one holiday wish from a client of local social service organizations such as PADS Veterans’ House, Safe Place, Boys and Girls Clubs of Lake County, Holy Family Food Pantry, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lake County, and the Salvation Army. The Girl Scouts have filled out the mittens, made fliers to hang around town, and decorated the Giving Tree. They also will help sort and deliver the gifts.

Community members are invited to visit the Giving Tree, select a wish mitten, purchase the gift and drop it off—-unwrapped–at the Volunteer Center's office at Gorton by Dec. 19. This is the perfect opportunity to give children the opportunity to experience the wonderful feeling of giving back. Wishes range in price from $10 to $200, with the majority around $30. 

Last year, the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff community fulfilled 116 Giving Tree wishes. Many of this year's wishes are for basic necessities, such as warm clothing and household supplies. Other requests are for educational supplies and toys for

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While students in the U.S. were prepping for exams, vacation and a huge turkey dinner this week, their counterparts in Paris' ninth district assembled for a one-day strike. They were protesting the Minister of Education's plan to eliminate 16,000 teaching jobs in 2010. Some classes already have 38 students, a student told Le Daily Neuviéme, which is GazeboNews.com's Parisian sister site. 

Kristin McCain wasn't exactly thinking of adopting another pet. She and her husband are plenty busy looking after their two children and a six-year-old yellow Labrador Retriever named Murphy. But a few weeks ago while she was reading her daily dose of GazeboNews, Kristin learned about Reggie, an 8-year-old yellow lab who'd recently lost not one but two homes. She felt her heart tighten just a bit.

"Luckily, my husband didn't think I was insane," said Kristin, who was out of town when she came across the story. "The day I flew home, we drove directly from the airport to pick up Reggie and bring her home. She was too cute to pass up, and she just needs some TLC. She's adapted very well to our home."

Reggie has a kind and gentle disposition, which is a great match for Murphy, who bonded with her right away. The human children also took to their new family member immediately, and she with them. Here's what Kristin has to share with others who are considering adopting an older dog: "Through Hallie Johnson, a huge advocate of rescue dogs in Lake Forest, we became acquainted with Dr. Kordell of the Animal Medical Center in Highwood. Dr. Kordell is a local Labrador Retriever expert and he gave Reggie a clean bill of health and also expects her to thrive in her new surroundings. 

"Many wonderful older dogs desperately need to be adopted, so I hope more people consider adopting them. It's great not having to house break a puppy, and it's hard to describe the kindness in her eyes and how eager she is to be loved. It wasn't Reggie's fault that she's been unlucky with her previous owners. We hope to have many years together and want our home to be her last home."

In addition to Reggie, Hallie helped place several other Labs from a breeder that has had to close his business. These include a five-month-old puppy to a family in Grayslake; another five-month-old pup to a family in Park Ridge; two 13-week-old puppies to two Lake Forest families; one 13-week old pup to a Lincolnshire family; one 13-week old pup to a woman in Highland Park; and a two-year-old Lab to a family in Deerfield. She often hears of dogs looking for homes, and she fosters them as well. Contact her at halliejohnson3@comcast.net.

If you've been awaiting the H1N1 vaccine, you need to hang in there a little longer. The Lake County Health Department's Community Health Center has received another shipment of vaccine from the U.S. government and will announce in early December the locations and schedules for appointment-only clinics for high-risk residents. It also is providing vaccinations at its five community health centers in North Chicago, Zion, Waukegan, Highland Park and Round Lake Beach.

Demand was so high during the County's previous clinics that one vendor received 10 appointment requests per second on its web site, which swamped its system, Health Department Executive Director Irene Pierce said in a press release. To date, the County has provided or allocated about 70,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine, but there are 300,000 residents considered to be in high-risk categories. You have to be in one of these groups to get the H1N1 vaccine at the County's December clinics:

• Individuals 6 months to 24 years of age
• Caretakers and household contacts of children under 6 months of age
• Pregnant women
• Healthcare workers and emergency services personnel
• People 25 to 64 years of age with underlying medical conditions, such as asthma or diabetes, which put them at high risk for flu-related complications

If you want to know when the clinics start scheduling appointments, you should regularly visit this H1N1 link to the County's website. You should also check with your doctor, as well as pharmacies. The Illinois Department of Public Health is starting to distribute H1N1 vaccine to the healthcare providers who registered to receive it, according to the press release. For a list of these providers, visit the Health Department's website. Also—please help keep LF/LB readers informed. If you know of doctors or pharmacies that have the vaccine, please comment on this story or contact adrienne@gazebonews.com.

By Doug Simpson, securities engineer at McAfee Inc.

Online retail spending for the 2009 holidays is expected to reach $28.8 billion this year. While this is merely a 3% gain over last year, it's still open season for e-commerce fraud. Here are some safety tips you should follow if you shop online; they will not stop all fraud, but they will significantly reduce your risk while shopping online. 

1. Never use your debit/cash card online. These do not have the same protection as your credit cards. Use a dedicated credit card, temporary credit card or PayPal account for holiday shopping.

2. Use one credit card and choose the one with the lowest limit. This will limit the damage if the bad guys get your card. It will be easier to monitor the activity if you use one card exclusively for holiday shopping. You should check this account at least weekly if not daily.

3. Be careful shopping at online retailers that are not well known. Well known sites usually abide by security guidelines. When shopping at smaller, less well known sites you should use a PayPal debit account or temporary credit card. You can create a PayPal account that is not linked to your bank accounts or credit cards. You can then add as much cash as you you need. Another option is a temporary credit card number for online shopping. These are single use or single

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Lake Bluff police and firefighters on Wednesday found a dead body inside a burning car in the 900 block of Sherwood Drive.

At 6:54 a.m., officials received a call from someone who reported seeing a car on fire in that area. Upon arrival, they found a blue 1987 Acura fully engulfed in an intense fire; the car was in a parking lot. Firefighters extinguished the flames quickly, and then they discovered a dead man in the car’s front seat.

Investigators were able to obtain the Acura’s VIN information but were unable to make a positive identification on the body or determine the exact cause of death. Deputy Police Chief David Belmonte said an autopsy will be performed and dental records will be reviewed by the Lake County Coroner’s Office. Police will continue the investigation with assistance from the Coroner’s Office, State Fire Marshal and Lake County Major Crimes Task Force.

View Burnt Car Location in a larger map

The Chicago Tribune on Wednesday reported that Northwestern Memorial Healthcare will commit to building a new Lake Forest Hospital or replace the medical center within the next decade as part of its proposed acquisition. Click on this link to read the Trib's full story.

When the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists reported last week that teens and young women should delay getting a Pap test until age 21, many people were surprised and confused. The news came a few days after a federal task force said most women could put off getting regular mammograms until age 50. It’s not as if women enjoy going in for these tests every year, but many have accepted them as routine. Why? Because the medical profession said they should. What’s going on? GazeboNews asked local gynecologist Dr. David Schewitz to provide his take on the news about Pap tests.

By Dr. David Schewitz, principal of Lake Forest Obstetrics, Gynecology & Infertility

Pap smears have been responsible for decreasing the incidence of cervical cancer by more than 50% in the past 30 years because of widespread screening. So why change a good thing? First off, it’s important to note that the new guidelines will not put an end to the progress that’s being made in eliminating cervical cancer. In fact, the majority of invasive cervical cancer is found in individuals who've never had a Pap smear or none for the past five years. To understand the recent recommendations, it's helpful to know the following:

The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), which is easily transmitted during sexual activity, is responsible for the vast majority of cervical abnormalities and cervical cancer. This virus is quite common in sexually active teenagers and young women. But luckily, good immune systems tend to resolve these infections and even cervical abnormalities within one to two years. Therefore, the recommendation to start screening at age 21 (regardless of onset of sexual activity) is based on the very low incidence of cervical cancer in under-age-21 women. In addition, abnormalities found on Pap smears, which usually resolve on their own in this age group, may lead to increased anxiety, overuse of follow-up procedures and possibly unnecessary treatment.
The recent introduction of HPV vaccines promises to decrease the incidence of cervical cancer, but we won't see the results of this for another 10 to 20 years. Here’s what ACOG recommends, which my practice supports:

• Under age 21: Pap smears are not required. Teens and young women should still get annual exams, especially if they are sexually active. Counseling regarding safe sex, contraception, preventative care and testing for sexually transmitted infections should be done annually. Other STDs are common in sexually active teenagers and Pap [...]