Buffalo Grove Countryside

Making hair great when it’s not your own

Thu, 24 May 2012 02:58:04 -0500

Linda DiFronzo can transform someone’s life with just the right wig. She has spent the last five-and-a-half years fitting, shaping and repairing wigs at Hair For You Salon in Arlington Heights, where she caters to women who are experiencing hair loss from chemotherapy and various illnesses. “I have literally saved people’s lives because I have given them hair and made them look like themselves again,” said DiFronzo, 51, a Rogers Park native who owns and operates the full-service salon on East Dundee Road just east of North Ridge Avenue. DiFronzo opened her salon with neither a clientele base nor a …

Buffalo Grove Police Blotter for May 22

Thu, 24 May 2012 03:00:07 -0500

The following incidents were listed among the official reports of the Buffalo Grove Police Department. Readers are reminded that an arrest does not constitute a finding of guilt. Only a court of law can make that determination. BATTERY Julius Barredo Tabang, 42, of the 400 block of Trinity Court, Buffalo Grove, was charged with domestic battery after an incident that occurred at 1:30 p.m. May 19 on the 400 block of Trinity Court. BURGLARY A woman who parked a car on the 1000 block of Weiland Road reported that someone entered her unlocked vehicle between noon and 5 p.m. May …

Buffalo Grove readies ambitious road repair schedule

Thu, 24 May 2012 02:59:02 -0500

Buffalo Grove is preparing to launch a major road maintenance project that may include the largest single street repair in the village’s history. Over the next five years, overlay work is expected to occur on 18 percent of the village’s streets for a total of 21.2 miles of road repairs. “That’s definitely a very aggressive stance to get us caught up on a lot of things,” Village Manager Dane Bragg said. “It will improve a lot of conditions in the neighborhoods for our residents.” Most of the village-wide improvement work is expected to happen in 2013, when the 10.3 miles …

Seniors, young students bond over Tuesday readings

Thu, 24 May 2012 02:58:37 -0500

Theresa Pakaski sat in a chair suitable for a 5-year-old child, holding a colorful storybook in her hands. She opened the pages of “I Love School!” and asked her kindergarten audience about what the children inside the book were doing. One enthusiastic boy knew the answer. “Counting their 1, 2, 3s,” he said, sitting on his knees underneath Pakaski. The 75-year-old continued to entertain the kids’ interest by recalling the time they counted to 20 during her last visit to their classroom at the Willow Grove Champions Enrichment Program, an extramural education service dedicated to providing customized learning solutions. This …

Nathanson saw world during 30 years in Navy

Thu, 24 May 2012 02:57:49 -0500

At 17 years old, Stan Nathanson and a group of 10 high school buddies from Chicago decided to enlist with the U.S. military. The year was 1947. War in Europe and in the Pacific had ended, and America appeared to be on top. Of the band of boys, three got called to serve. The others got married, had kids, and settled into their lives. Nathanson would soon do that, too, but not without trekking the world. During his three-decade career as a Navy reservist, the 82-year-old Buffalo Grove retiree traveled seas both near and far. “I was always on a …

Village: Borer has infected virtually all ash trees

Thu, 24 May 2012 02:57:56 -0500

Ash tress lining parkways and residential streets of Buffalo Grove may be lush and green now, but it’s only a matter of time when all of them will need to be replaced, village staff warned May 21. Deputy Public Works Director Richard Kuhl shared grim news with the Village Board about the extent of the emerald ash borer beetle invasion. “We’re probably 100 percent infested in the community right now,” he said. Kuhl said public works crews inspected in the past year over 1,000 tress and every single one of them had been eaten from the inside out. Based on …

Study says Chicago traffic congestion actually got better

Tue, 22 May 2012 17:50:34 -0500

Drivers in the Chicago area were stuck in traffic an average of 36 hours in 2011, 12 fewer than the 48 wasted in traffic in 2010, according to INRIX, a company that studies traffic patterns.

Specialty Center giving pets extra attention

Thu, 24 May 2012 02:58:47 -0500

The Veterinary Specialty Center in Buffalo Grove provides services to pet owners with special needs, from surgery, medical and radiation oncology to dermatology. …

BGHS orchestra ends season with seniors tribute

Thu, 24 May 2012 02:58:28 -0500

Buffalo Grove High School’s Orchestra performed their last concert May 17, a special night dedicated to the senior students’ hard work and musical contributions. Director of Orchestras and Co-Fine Arts Coordinator Elizabeth Bennett has been at Buffalo Grove for four years as well, so celebrating the seniors was extra special for her. “We started here together,” she said. This year alone, the orchestra has preformed about six concerts. The last included works by Bizet, Tchaikovsky, the Turtle Island String Quartet, Marquéz, and others. “Each concert progresses with technique to show the audience how students have improved throughout their years here …

Bike Rodeo uses fun to teach safety tips

Thu, 24 May 2012 02:58:19 -0500

Buffalo Grove Sgt. Mike Rodriguez holds National Bike Safety Month dear to his heart. He has experienced his fair share of bicycle accidents, including the most recent in a half-ironman triathlon race last August in which wearing a helmet saved him from serious head trauma. “There was a quick right turn that happened,” said Rodriguez. “I wasn’t necessarily paying attention seeing that turn come up and all I had available was my left hand to brake,” he said. Rodriguez quickly hit the left brake on his handlebars, sending him headfirst over his bike. He landed on top of his head. …

District 125 eyes a variety of course requirements, waivers

Tue, 22 May 2012 21:32:49 -0500

Stevenson High School District 125 officials discussed reasons to Monday. Currently, if a student is taking six classes and is involved in one sport, in any season, they receive a waiver from physical education class. The proposed change is to only give a waiver during the season that the student is playing a sport instead of the entire school year. If students are involved in two sports and five classes, they receive a waiver and not get credit. The proposal is to not give credit any longer, because it’s like giving students credit for being involved in a sport. Principal …

Early reviews good for Long Grove festival parking fees

Fri, 18 May 2012 14:37:12 -0500

What little information they could gather from a cold, ugly weekend painted a bright picture of the new parking ideas during Long Grove’s festivals. Two of the community’s oft-filled lots began charging fees for the first time during the Chocolate Festival, held May 4-6, and both reported positive results from drivers. Long Grove’s weekend festivals are organized by the Business and Community Partners, which began on May 4 to charge a $10 fee in the Village Hall-owned Archer Lot, in the center of downtown. At the same time, the Ullrich family, which owns the Village Tavern at 135 Old McHenry …

Voterama in Congress, week ending May 18, 2012

Sun, 20 May 2012 23:02:01 -0500

House Violence Against Women Act: Voting 222 for and 205 against, the House on May 16 approved a Republican bill (HR 4970) to renew the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) through fiscal 2016 on a budget of $680 million annually. The bill was disputed mainly because it omits provisions in a bi-partisan Senate-passed bill to expand protections for battered women who are illegal immigrants, Native American women who are assaulted on reservations by non-Indians and gays, lesbians and transsexuals. A conference committee will reconcile the competing House and Senate bills. Since it was enacted in 1994, the VAWA has funneled …

Glencoe man charged with homicide in fatal crash in Lincolnshire

Thu, 24 May 2012 04:33:50 -0500

A Glencoe man was in Lake County court Thursday on charges of reckless homicide stemming from a fatal accident Jan. 13 in Lincolnshire. John Warsaw, 63, of 1194 Carol Lane, was charged with reckless homicide and two counts of aggravated driving under the influence causing death or great bodily harm, police said. A passenger in the vehicle he struck head-on, Shruti Phandis, 26, of Wheeling, died almost five days after being transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center, Libertyville. She had just been married the day before the crash. Warsaw is out of jail, paying $50,000 on the $500,000 bond. Both …

Suburbs on alert, but so far little impact from NATO

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:46:02 -0500

This weekend’s NATO Summit in downtown Chicago may seem worlds away from the suburbs, but authorities throughout the region are preparing for any problems that could spill out of the city. So far, though, police departments haven’t reported any problems like the rallies that have taken place this week in the city. And many suburban hotel managers said their rooms are mainly booked to tourists and wedding parties and even factory workers — and not protesters.

Suit: Let disabled athletes go to IHSA state meet

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:56:38 -0500

The Illinois High School Association girls state track and field meet will be held this weekend — and Fenwick’s Mary Kate Callahan won’t be taking part. But a lawsuit to be filed Wednesday by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan in federal court aims to make it possible for student-athletes with disabilities, like Callahan who is paralyzed from the waist down, to compete in future IHSA state meets.