Don’t miss all the fun this Saturday, July 24th, at the Round Lake Heights Village Hall grounds at 619 Pontiac Court, Round Lake Heights.
Things will kick off with a parade at 11:00 AM with the carnival and food booths opening at Noon until 11:00 PM. All proceeds will be going to Dollars For Scholars with Scholarship announcements being made at 5:30 PM
This is Round Lake Heights 50th Anniversary Celebration so come on out and celebrate with them and enjoy all the festivities which will also include the following:
11:00 Parade
12:00 Carnival begins – Food booths open – Car Show – DJ begins – Bounces R US
12:30 Balloon launch
1:00 Jim Sommers Magic Show
2:00 Serpent Safari – Texas Holdem tournament $35.00
3:00 – 7:00 Bingo
4:00 Baggo tournament – Dandyni the Clown
5:00 50th Anniversary Announcements
5:30 Scholarships announced
6:00 Casino opens (blackjack tables)
7:00 Texas Holdem tournament $75
9:00 Fireworks
There will be plenty of fun for all ages besides the carnival, including crafters, raffles, and games. Hope to see you there!
UPDATE: Although we heard the fireworks a little after 9:00 PM, we understand from a friend who had planned on being in the car show that the festival was cancelled. The reason = Lumpkin Lake was overflowing and covering the area where many of the event participants would have been set up. Will this area ever be corrected?
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With well over 100 visitors yesterday looking for information on tornado’s in Round Lake, we thought we would once again post WHAT the various tornado siren warning sounds stand for. We are not aware of any actual tornado touching down Thursday night but as we all know, the sirens wailed for a very long time. They were one LONG warning sound which is meant to WARN you of a possible tornado.
Here is what the sirens mean since we are due for similar weather tonight (Friday)
Long Steady Siren = If the warning lasts 3 to 5 minutes it means the National Weather Service has issued a warning that the Round lake Area is in the path of a tornado and all residents should prepare to take cover.
Up and Down (Oscillating) Siren = If you hear these lasting 3-5 minutes it means that a tornado has been spotted. This requires IMMEDIATE action on your part and it is VERY important that you take cover IMMEDIATELY. You should go to a basement or a small interior room. If you are outside when you hear this warning, you should take cover in a low ditch or ravine.
NOTE: There is NO ’All Clear’ siren since tornadoes are unpredictable. Residents are advised to tune in a weather channel for updates but NOT to call 911 just because of stormy weather. The dispatchers have enough to do during turbulent weather so it’s best to tune in your radio for updates.
…the rain came!
We had planned on showing you all the participants in Round Lake Area’s Memorial Day Parade and got ourselves a perfect location at a bend in the road that allowed a clean shot down Main Street in Round Lake. As we visited with other families who started to gather we couldn’t help but notice the changing skies and dark clouds moving in from the West. Hope went up as they appeared to be breaking up and moving North but as you can see from the photos in the slide show below, it didn’t last long.
As the old fire truck went by you will see some sprinkles on the windshield. When the R.L. Area Rescue Squad vehicles went by, you will notice that their wiper blades are still not on but the firetruck behind them appears to have turned theirs on.
Then we ducked further under the big tree that we were under to get out of the downpour and snapped a couple more photos of the poor participants getting totally SOAKED from the sudden rain storm. Look at those poor little tike’s being pushed by their Mom’s in their strollers wondering WHY ME!. Once the biker brigade went by we decided to save our new camera from damage, tucked it into a plastic bag that a guy gave me, and headed for the car about a block away. At least I had the ability to get out of the downpour but I sure felt sorry for those who were in the parade with no place to go. I circled around to get home which is close to the final destination of the parade at Round Lake Beach’s Memorial Park but since they no longer blast the sirens, I had no idea whether or not they completed the balance of the parade or quit part way. Like many others, I was soaked through to my underwear and everything went right into the dryer!
We hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day as we take a moment to acknowledge the sacrifice of the countless Americans who died while protecting the freedoms all Americans now enjoy.
Just what you weren’t hoping for! Another bill in your mailbox! But we aren’t talking about a little utility bill, we’re talking about a bill that makes no sense based on current property values. Most of you will agree that nobody would pay you the amount that the Avon Assessor’s office says your home is valued at. Even though they continue to say that the ‘value’ is based on a three-year range, there is no way they can warrant such valuations. The biggest problem is that in order to win a tax appeal is that you must find at least three comparable properties that they are taxing for less. It doesn’t matter what those properties sold for, it’s what the assessor has them valued at.
So, let’s say that your assessed value is $240,000 and not one single real estate agent will take the listing priced above $199,900 because they have NO COMPARABLES to show an appraiser who will also be coming in low. It does you no good, though, when it comes to protesting your tax bill. If the assessor can continue to inflate your properties value along with the comparables you chose for your defense, you will lose your tax protest. The game that is played is that you MUST find properties of equal size and amenities that are taxed LESS than your property. Understand that YOU must show that YOU are being unfairly taxed compared to your neighbor with an identical property. It’s most often an impossible task since the bulk are ALL over-assessed in value.
We were expecting to see some relief now that year 2006 fell out of the formula but that was just wishful thinking.
This is something that will ONLY require about 10 minutes of your time and you don’t even have to leave home!
I’m talking about the 2010 Census. Yes, according to a census spokesperson, if EVERYONE mailed back their 2010 Census Form, taxpayers would save a whopping $1,500,000,000 (that’s billion!). What could be an easier way to save money without any wrangling by the Republicans and Democrats? And better yet, you don’t even need a $.44 stamp since a postage paid envelope is included. It has been estimated that it will cost $57 per household for a person to arrive at your house, obtain your information, and travel to the next house. Keep in mind that if 2/3 of the residents on a block mail their forms back, a census taker is not simply walking from house to house. A census takers route could entail a large area that requires reimbursed transportation due to the number of scattered homes not submitting their forms.
Let’s try to save this $57/per household amount by getting our forms mailed in promptly. It is something that we will all benefit from.
NEWS UPDATE:
Every little bit will help since they reported on FOX news tonight that the government had to scrap the PDA’s (touch pad device) they had planned to give the census takers to speed up the reporting (that they spent 600 million dollars on) due to a problem with their functioning. Those were scrapped for a new device costing a total of 3 Billion (that’s right BILLION!) which is giving them problems as well so it appears that after spending $3,600,000,000 the door-to-door census takers will be doing everything with pen and paper.
How many of you know that the U.S. Census Bureau is also spending $1.2 million sponsoring Greg Biffle’s #16 NASCAR Ford Fusion? And that’s JUST for 3-weeks! The car will have the primary sponsor, 3M, on it plus the Census 2010 logo along with the words ‘Mail It Back!” painted on the hood.
With March being the Tornado Awareness Month and also the time that they are most common, it is advised that everyone be aware of the different tornado warning sounds emitted by the area sirens. All villages in District 116 comply with the National guidelines for warning residents of possible tornadoes occurring in the immediate area. Sirens are also tested each month on the first Tuesday at 10:00 AM. Many also have solar panel backups so even if there is a power failure, they will continue to operate.
The following is what you need to know as far as the different types of siren warnings:
Long Steady Siren = If the warning lasts 3 to 5 minutes it means the National Weather Service has issued a warning that the Round lake Area is in the path of a tornado and all residents should prepare to take cover.
Up and Down (Oscillating) Siren = If you hear these lasting 3-5 minutes it means that a tornado has been spotted. This requires IMMEDIATE action on your part and it is VERY important that you take cove IMMEDIATELY. You should go to a basement or a small interior room. If you are outside when you hear this warning, you should take cover in a low ditch or ravine.
NOTE: There is NO ’All Clear’ siren since tornadoes are unpredictable. Residents are advised to tune in a weather channel for updates but NOT to call 911 just because of stormy weather. The dispatchers have enough to do during turbulent weather so it’s best to tune in your radio for updates.
The next Annual Chamber Home & Business Expo is scheduled for April 17th from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. at the Round Lake Area Park District’s Sports Center located at 2004 Municipal Way, in Round Lake Beach (behind the post office)
This is a workshop for consumers as well as businesses. If you would like more information contact the Round lake Area Chamber of Commerce, Shanna Coakley at 847-546-2002
