Dear Readers,

GazeboNews has a new Facebook Fan Page. I’m not sure what verb to use in my invitation–do you “friend” us to become a fan? Perhaps “join” is the proper word. However it goes, please friend/fan/join us on Facebook. We’re also on Twitter, for those of you who like to Tweet. On both of these social media sites, you’ll find our headlines as soon as they’re posted on GazeboNews.

This is a new Facebook page for us and it replaces our previous one, so if you “friended” GazeboNews prior to late October 2010, you’ll need to “re-friend” (or join) us at our new page. Cyn and I have had a couple of fits and starts with Facebook–turns out it’s very hard to delete a Facebook page to start a Facebook Fan page–but it now seems we’re on the right footing with Facebook. The Twitter page has worked properly from the getgo, so if you’re following GazeboNews on Twitter, you don’t need to re-up.

If you’d like GazeboNews to join some other social media site, just let us know and we’ll try to get it hooked up.

– Adrienne (adrienne@gazebonews.com

“Never, never, never hurt a child.”

This simple statement is the foundation of the Allendale Association, a non-profit social service agency that helps children and teenagers who have emotion and behavioral disabilities. Many of the youth come to Allendale because someone in their life didn’t adhere to that simple statement. Often, the children and teens are victims of abuse or neglect, or they have a severe mental illness. Allendale, based in Lake Villa, helps them by providing residential treatment programs, day treatment special education, and community-based clinical programs and services.

To fund many of these, the non-profit leans on the Allendale Shelter Club, a group comprising many Lake Forest and Lake Bluff women who over time have raised $13 million for Allendale. One of their biggest fundraisers is the Allendale Holiday Boutique, which takes place this week (Nov. 2-4) at the Gorton Community Center.

We hear about the Allendale Holiday Boutique every year–this is its 47th anniversary–but we don’t hear so much about the group behind it. GazeboNews asked one of the members, Anne Wangman, for the back story. Here’s what she said:

“The Allendale Shelter Club was formed on December 6, 1906, by 16 female members of the Children’s Hospital Association to care for destitute and homeless boys. Under the leadership of Mrs. Katherine Ellwood Allport, the women of The Shelter Club rented a flat on Harrison Street in Chicago and housed 50 of the boys. The Club provided shelter, a clean bed and meal tickets to a nearby restaurant for young boys in need. The boys attended the local public schools, but summer vacation proved a difficult time so in 1909 an affiliation with the Allendale Farm was made so the boys would have a place to go away from the city during this time. Eventually girls were admitted, too.

“Today, The Shelter Club has 80 active members representing primarily the communities of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, and more than 50 non-resident and associate members. The Shelter Club is the Allendale Association’s largest donor and is actively involved in the strategy and management of the school. It also implements a [...]

By Adrienne Fawcett

The Lake Bluff District 65 School Board on Tuesday approved a recommendation to start soliciting bids to raze East School at 121 E. Sheridan Place. Superintendent John Asplund told GazeboNews the board members won’t approve bids for two or three months, but that they’re working on crafting the bid specifications at this time.

East School was constructed in 1895. Photo by Adrienne Fawcett

When the demolition is complete, the District hopes to convert the corner lot into green space for Lake Bluff Middle School.

Many in the community have strong emotional and historical ties to the building and feared the decision to construct a new school on the west side of town in 2009 could sound the death knell for the old one on the east side of town. Lake Bluff School opened in 1895, the same year that Lake Bluff incorporated as a Village, and the school was expanded in the 1920s, according to the Vliet Museum of Lake Bluff History.

The new school, Lake Bluff Elementary School, opened in September 2009. The administration remained in East School until recently, when the staff was relocated to 900 North Shore Drive, near Pasquesi’s.

An East School Task Force studied many potential uses for East School, but the group could not find an affordable preservation/re-use solution given the condition and age of the building. Here are some findings by the task force:

East School Task Force (ESTF) findings:

–East School costs the Dist about $80K a year for basic utilities and very basic maintenance even sitting empty. There are much larger maintenance expenses just down the road (the roof is very old) which might mean another $300K+ within the next few years in addition to the $80K per year. There is also some insurance costs.

–If East is used as an educational facility by Dist 65 then the code deficiencies would not have to be addressed. If East was converted to a community center or other use there would have to be zoning approval and about $2 mil of work to meet code requirements.

Facilities Action Committee Team (FACT) findings:

Many months after the East School Task Force had completed its work, a Facilities Action Committee met over several months and  concluded at its final meeting on April 4, 2010:

1) The annual costs of East were at least $75K per [...]

Here’s a summary of Halloween Trick or Treating hours in Lake Forest, Lake Bluff and Knollwood on Sunday, Oct. 31.

Knollwood: 4 to 7 p.m. for trick or treating and the annual Halloween Hot Dog Roast at the old West School building (906 W. Muir – at the Foster end of the building).

Lake Bluff: 4 to 7 p.m. for trick or treating and the annual Halloween Hot Dog Roast at the Public Safety Building, 45 E. Center Avenue. Police Department personnel, with help from their families, will cook hot dogs and serve potato chips and refreshments.  Hot dogs are limited, so come early!

Lake Forest: 4 to 8 p.m. for trick or treating. To protect your family and make Halloween a safe and happy time for everyone, the LFPD suggests the following tips that can be easily remembered…just think Pumpkin!

• Parents or a responsible teenager should accompany younger trick-or-treaters.
• Use sidewalks. If there is no sidewalk, walk on the left side of the street facing the flow of traffic.
• Make sure Halloween costumes are safe. Costumes should fit properly so the wearer can see and breathe easily.
• Porch lights should be turned on at your home so children know it is okay to visit your home.
• Kids should trick-or-treat in groups in their own neighborhoods and let their parents know their route.
• Instruct children never to eat anything until they get home and the treats have been examined.
• Never eat unwrapped candy. Always wash and cut fruit.

Submitted by the City of Lake Forest

At its meeting on Monday, November 1, 1010, the City Council will declare November 1-5, 2010 as “Train Safety Week.” Mayor James J. Cowhey has called attention to pedestrian train safety as one of his top priorities since taking office in 2009.

Mayor Cowhey spearheaded a Pedestrian Rail Safety Symposium, cosponsored by the Northwestern University Transportation Center, kicking off his initiative on June 22, 2010. Norm Carlson, a Lake Forest resident and transportation consultant who has been working closely with the City and volunteering his time, chaired the event. Participants amongst North Shore communities heard presentations from Operation Lifesaver, the Federal Railroad Administration, marketing and economics professors from Northwestern University and discussed education, engineering and enforcement solutions.

Prior to the Symposium, Mayor Cowhey appointed a Transportation and Safety Enhancement Committee (TSEC), comprised of public safety officials, school officials, engineers, City staff and volunteers from the local business community. The Committee’s priority is to reduce the number of vehicular/train and pedestrian/train accidents by educating the public as to the importance of train safety. The TSEC reminds all commuters and pedestrians that all trains do not stop at every station and to minimize use of cell phones and other electronic distractions while in the vicinity of railroad tracks. The Committee meets monthly.

Over the summer, students from Lake Forest High School voluntarily wrote and produced a peer video and public service announcement titled “Trainception.” The video will be presented at the November 1 City Council meeting and the students responsible for creating it will be recognized for their efforts. The video will be shown at both Lake Forest train stations during Train Safety Week, and volunteers from various transportation agencies and public safety officials will be on hand to distribute informative literature and answer questions. In addition, Operation Lifesaver will have staff available at corporations located in Conway Park and in the local schools to help promote Train Safety Week to commuters and youth.

Chicago Tribune reporter John Keilman brings an old Lake Forest mystery into the present with a three-part series beginning in today’s Trib. Headlined “The Girl In The Road,” the first story recounts the 1916 disappearance and death of Marion Lambert, a teenager who grew up on the grounds of the Jonas Kuppenheimer estate in Lake Forest.

Definitely worth a read if you love local lore and are in the mood for what could be a ghost story! Click here to get there.

Ghost Walk brought the spirits above ground for two days to rave reviews from those brave enough to take the tour. Here are two sets of photos from last weekend’s event. The slideshow pics shown below were taken by John Crowley. Gunnar Soderlind also was on hand to shoot the spirits–click here to visit the Ghost Walk 2010 photos on his website.

Photos of Ghost Walk 2010 by John Crowley

A reader wrote to Ask The Gazebo if Mettawa’s new Costco store is going to be open in time for Thanksgiving. The answer is that all signs point to a Nov. 20 opening; construction is moving along and the retailer started moving products into the new store on Tuesday, Oct. 26.

GazeboNews asked Mettawa Mayor Jess D. Ray if residents who were opposed to Costco are now resigned to its presence … or is there a feeling of wishing this wasn’t in their yard? … or even anger that it came to be?

“I have heard residents refer to the Costco store with all the positions you mentioned,” he said.

This is “Candidate Forum” submission written by Amy Gertler Highwood. Like Reader Forum articles, Candidate Forums represent the writer’s opinions and not necessarily those of GazeboNews. If you would like to comment on this Candidate Forum, you must include your full name. We encourage civilized discussions, and we have a few requirements; please fully review our comments policy .

To the Readers of GazeboNews:

Carl Marcyan exemplifies our community standard, “Character Counts”. As a colleage and professional friend of his for nearly 25 years, I have the utmost confidence that he will listen to and represent the voice of our community.

As a proud resident of Highwood, I am invested in all aspects of our growth and development. I know that Carl Marcyan has what it takes to understand and address our interests. He is a strong leader and a consensus builder. As an attorney, he knows how to collaborate and solve complicated financial and legal problems.

Please join me in voting for Carl Marcyan for Lake County Board.

Amy Gertler, Highwood

Lake Bluff’s American Legion Post 510 will conduct a ceremony honoring the nation’s veterans at 9 a.m. in the Gazebo on the Village Green Thursday, November 11. Post 510 Commander David Cimarrusti will host. Col. Larry Larimer, USA will be the Guest Speaker. Joan Green, Lake Bluff Women’s Club Veteran’s Activities Chair will lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

Lake Forest High School’s Band, directed by Janene Kessler, will provide music. An LFHS student (to be announced soon) will sing the Star Spangled Banner and America The Beautiful. LFHS Buglers Stephan Papastefan and Timothy Wong will perform Taps and Echo. Chris Fischer, Lake Bluff Middle School Student Council President, will deliver the Gettysburg Address.

State Senator Susan Garrett and Thomas Dickelman, Pastor, Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Community Church, will read the names of local Iraq and Afghanistan casualties. Reverend Debbie Fisher, Pastor, Grace United Methodist Church of Lake Bluff, will deliver the Invocation and Benediction. Boy Scout Troop 42 sponsored by Grace United Methodist Church will conduct the flag ceremony.

The Marine Rifle Squad from Marine Air Control Group #48, Great Lakes will perform rifle volleys. A wreath will be laid at the Veterans Memorial. Refreshments will be served in the Community Room of the Lake Bluff Public Safety Building after the ceremony.

Submitted by American Legion Post 510