By Paul Foght for Lake Forest Sailing

Annie Haeger, 2007 graduate of Lake Forest High School and Boston College sophomore, has been nominated for the 2009 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year award.

Presented by the governing body of U.S. sailboat racing, the award is given for outstanding individual on-the-water achievement.  Ms. Haeger's 2009 achievements include winning the national collegiate women’s singlehanded sailing championship. She sails in the Laser Radial class and is ranked No. 77 among the world’s top 200 sailors in the class in which thousands compete worldwide. 

Ms. Haeger, 19, has her sights set on worldwide competition, with her lifetime goal being an Olympic gold medal. She probably will seek to win that in Rio in 2016, rather than in London in 2012, because her first goal is to complete her college degree.

At home in Lake Forest this week, she is navigating cautiously on crutches after ankle surgery to correct an old soccer injury. A Laser sailor often must hold her body in place by just her ankles as she hangs out over the boat’s side to keep it upright, so ankle strength is very important to Ms. Haeger's success.  She's in good hands—her ankle rehabilitation is guided by the same trainer who keeps the school’s football team in good repair. 

Although the football team had a pretty good season in the Atlantic Coast Conference this year, the sailing team deserved to get greater attention because it won the national team racing championship to go along with Ms. Haeger’s singlehanded championship.

She will spend part of the holiday break in Florida with her family to get a little sun tan and to give a little coaching to her brother, Will, who will be sailing in regattas for high school-age sailors. After Christmas, it will be back to her Boston campus to focus on studies and her ankle rehab until spring break, when she expects to go back to competitive sailing. 

By Adrienne Fawcett

A shelter, better signage, relocated crosswalks, improved communication and a pedestrian tunnel are some of the ideas that were discussed last week at a two-hour meeting about the Metra station in west Lake Forest. At issue: What to do about the crossing where five northbound commuters have collided with express Amtrak trains since 1989, including two fatalities in the past 22 months.

"Everyone has a different version of who is responsible but the bottom line is we have to do everything we can to prevent this from happening again–end of story," said state Sen. Susan Garrett, D-Lake Forest. The summit was held in her office and included representatives from Amtrak, Metra, the Illinois Commerce Commission, City of Lake Forest, Lake Forest Police Department and Federal Railway Association. GazeboNews interviewed the senator after the meeting. Here's what she said about some of the ideas that came up:

Pedestrian tunnel: An underground walkway would allow pedestrians to get from one side to the other without touching the tracks, but construction could cost an estimated $2 million or more. Who would pay for this? Sen. Garrett said an application could be made for federal stimulus dollars designed for high-speed rail, which could be combined with matching grants from the city, county and/or state.

Warming shelter: A lighted, heated shelter on the east side of the tracks would protect northbound commuters from inclimate weather. At this time, there is no shelter on the east side of the tracks. Northbound commuters sometimes wait in the station until moments before their train arrives, as was the case on Dec. 10 when a Grayslake woman was struck and killed by Amtrak No. 7, which was behind schedule and not expected to stop in Lake Forest.

Pedestrian crosswalk: The crosswalk is directly in front of the station's doors. The idea is to relocate the crosswalk so people cannot rush straight onto the tracks after exiting the station. 

Signage: At this time, the only signage on the platform is an overhead electronic message board that tells people to watch for trains. The authorities discussed adding signs warning that trains come from both directions, are not always on schedule, don't always stop at the station, and could be Metra, Amtrak or freight.

Announcements: Metra uses a Global Positioning System (GPS) to announce the arrival of its trains. The announcements are made on platforms only—not in stations–and they do not include Amtrak or freight trains. Sen. Garrett said the group talked about ways that other trains could be announced.

Enforcement: Communities such as Elmhurst place police officers at train stations during morning and evening rush hours, and the police issue tickets to people who cross tracks after warning bells and lights have been activated. Tickets can run as high as $250. Lake Forest Police Deputy Chief Glenn Burmeister last week told GazeboNews that the department doesn't have the manpower to patrol train platforms at this time. After Thursday's meeting, Sen. Garrett said the city might explore grants with the Illinois Commerce Commission's Operation Lifesaver program.

Gov. Pat Quinn on Tuesday appointed James Baumann of Lake Bluff to the State Board of Education. Please click here to read the press release; click here to read a bio of Mr. Baumann that was included with the press release.

The following weather alert was issued on Tuesday, Dec. 22, at 2:15 p.m.

By C. Kent McKenzie, emergency management coordinator for Lake County 

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for Lake County and surrounding areas, and current forecasts suggest that we face an ugly mixture of winter weather over the next few days.

We participated in a conference call with the Chicago office of the NWS earlier this afternoon, and want to make sure everyone is aware of this potentially hazardous weather situation. Because small changes in the storm track and temperature profiles can cause significant impacts to what form of precipitation falls, we encourage you to pay attention to local media and weather information sources, such as the NWS webpage.

A strong winter storm system now is forecast to track up the upper Mississippi River Valley over the next few days, bringing substantial moisture to our area. For Lake County, the lingering snow is expected to move out later today before the arrival of the more significant storm system on Wednesday. Precipitation is expected to begin Wednesday as very light snow, sleet, or freezing drizzle. Temperatures in the mid to upper 20’s are forecast to rise slowly through Thursday morning, when they should be just above freezing. The rate of precipitation is expected to increase through the day on Wednesday, and the combination of this heavier precipitation and the temperature profile of the atmosphere suggests that the predominant type of precipitation will be freezing rain. This freezing rain is not expected to cause widespread traffic problems, because temperatures should be close to the freezing point. However, it is possible that from a quarter to a half inch of ice may accumulate on untreated walking surfaces, trees, antenna towers and utility wires. As temperatures continue to slowly rise, the freezing precipitation should change over to all rain by Thursday morning, before the moist air moves out of our area. Cooler temperatures will return on the back side of the storm, with a chance for some snow Friday night and Saturday and low temperatures in the teens.

Potential hazards with this storm include ice-glazed walking surfaces, localized flooding from heavy rain, and damage to trees and utility infrastructure from icing and wind. Forecast models suggest that there may be 1.5 inches or more of precipitable water in this storm, which could lead to some flooding of roadways and yards. Winds are expected to increase through the day on Wednesday, to sustained speeds of 15-20 mph with gusts of 25-30 mph. These winds combined with any icing that occurs will lead to an increased risk of tree branches falling and damaging electric and communication infrastructure.

The NWS forecasters continually update the forecast information, and will likely decide early Wednesday morning about upgrading the Winter Storm Watch to a warning or replacing it with an advisory of some type. Please check the NWS website or your local weather information sources for updated information during the day Wednesday.

If you cross railroad tracks when you're not supposed to in Elmhurst, you could get a $250 ticket.  But if you stay put after warning bells, lights and/or gates are activated, you could get a free bagel. Or fries. Or a cup of coffee.

Elmhurst police started enforcing railroad safety in late August 1994 after a 12-month period in which three people died in train-related collisions in the suburb. Since then, Elmhurst has experienced just one fatality in 15 years and as of January 2010 it will have gone a dozen years with no train-related fatalities, said Commander Jim Kveton.

"When I first started doing this, I used to write 10 to 12 tickets at a time. But after a couple of years, I noticed a change in behavior, so I thought we should have positive reinforcement too," said Cdr. Kveton. "I went to local businesses and got coupons for bagels, fries, coffee. I gave tickets to people disobeying the warning signs, and I gave coupons to people who were obeying the warning signs." 

Elmhurst eventually applied for and received grants from Operation Lifesaver to enhance railroad safety. The program involves the city, police, fire and public works departments. It includes signage, traffic control, public education and enforcement, and it's built around the theme "Don't get caught dead on the tracks." Click on this link to read about the program and view a public service announcement on Elmhurst's website. Click here to read up on Operation Lifesaver in Illinois, and click here to visit the national website.

The Family Service agency is turning 80 years old in 2010 and there's no time like the present to start the party. The first stop in its year-long anniversary celebration is a Family Spa Evening. Guests will enjoy wine, hors d'oeuvres and the spa treatment of their choice at the Midtown Athletic Club in Bannockburn–all for a great cause. The event takes place from 4:30 to 8 p.m. on Jan. 6.

Tickets are available now. The social services agency encourages supporters to buy tickets for themselves and/or give them away as presents to the people on their holiday lists. Visit www.famservice.org or call 847-432-4981.  

GazeboNews has the most complete and in-depth coverage of the mid-December pedestrian-train collision at the Metra station in west Lake Forest. We’re covering not only the fatal accident, but the history and similarities of previous collisions at the station, case studies on how other suburbs are addressing the issue, and discussions about how to solve the problem.

• For coverage on the mid-December fatal accident: “How Did it Happen?”
• For a history of the fatalities at the station: “How Many is Too Many?”
• For analysis on the similarities of the accidents: “What Can be Done?”
• To learn how another suburb has dealt with a similar problem: “Elmhurst Case Study”
• Train station summit: Authorities meet to discuss short-term and long-term solutions: What’s Next?

The Three Sisters store in Lake Forest was paid a surprise visit on Friday morning when a driver clipped the curb, drove over the sidewalk and shattered the retailer's window. A GazeboNews reader was in Market Square after the accident and used a cell phone to snap this photo. 

Here's what happened, according to Lake Forest Deputy Chief Glenn Burmeister: At 8:29 a.m., on Friday, Dec. 18, a 48-year-old Lake Forest woman was parking in front of Three Sisters, a clothing boutique at 270 Market Square. As she was backing out, she saw a car approaching, so she put her 1993 Jeep in drive to move forward. Then she hit the brakes, but her foot slipped onto the accelerator and caused the car to crash into the window. No one was injured. 

The driver was issued a citation for failure to maintain control of the vehicle; a court date was set for Feb. 3, 2010, in Park City; and a $75 case bond was posted. City inspectors responded, investigated and determined there was no structural damage to the building. 
 

GazeboNews photographer Cyn Sansing Mycoskie spent Wednesday afternoon following Santa around downtown Lake Forest. Along the way she came across some reindeer, elves and a lot of really cute kids. Here are some photos that capture the day, which was the downtown merchants’ first “Following Santa” event. Be sure to click to the right to see all the pics.

Photos by Cyn Sansing Mycoskie of cynimage.com

Editor's note: The author of this post is a contributing writer to REELChicago.com and Watchboom.com

By Chris Shogren-Thompson

Several local actors and musicians are starring in the fictional documentary, “A Sicilian Odyssey,” which debuts at 8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20, at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago.

Lake Forest actor Walt Sloan (shown in the photo at left) stars as Editor-in Chief Max Madreluna, who challenges the young American writer Nikki Barry to discover the mysterious treasure in a magical keychain her mother gave her as a birthday gift.

The film also features CenterStage alumni Tom Beck, Doug Schuetz and Ron Weiner, who was the former director of the “Phil Donahue” and “Jenny Jones” shows.

Individuals from the Lake Forest singing group “The Buckthorns” also provided talent for the film, including Mr. Sloan, Steve Ragsdale and Music Director June Entwisle Miller. Lake Bluff’s D-Street Music owner Danny McMurray provided original music and sound mixing. Darwin Records handled narration.

Lake Bluff vocalist Suzanne Cross recorded “Ni Viremu,” a poem written by producer and director Jenna Maria Constantine of Chicago-based Jade Entertainment and KaplaniKid Productions.

The Gene Siskel Film Center is located at 164 N. State Street, Chicago. The doors open at 7:30 p.m., with the “Sneak Peek” screening beginning promptly at 8 p.m. Tickets are $8. For more information contact Jenna Maria Constantine at 312-399-4860 or email at babyfaceproduction@sbcglobal.net.