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.
While looking for all the “shoddy properties” in Hainesville yesterday with no success I traveled past the Round Lake Roller Rink on Hainesville Road. To my surprise it is up for sale and appears to be closed as well. I’m sure that there are many unhappy kids who enjoyed going there and having birthday parties. etc. at the roller rink. The staff had posted a ‘good-bye’ on their website stating they were closing back in January. With the adjoining land that may be available (where the large wooden playground equipment used to be) why not open an indoor and outdoor paintball range since that seems to be gaining in popularity across the area.
I graduated from Lane Tech in Chicago and was on their roller skating team and we were allowed to use Riverview Roller Rink for practices. There was no organ playing but we could go as fast as we wanted to and there were no guards telling us to slow it down. Friday’s and Saturday’s were always spent at the rink. When I got married I lived not far from the rink and remember seeing a big black cloud of smoke in the sky when it burned down due to all the wood and layers of varnish on the floors. Many memories remain from the good times I had at the Riverview Roller Rink just like many will remember the ones they enjoyed at the Round Lake Roller Rink. Let’s all hope that it gets purchased and re-opened soon.
(Yes, I still have my Lane Tech sweater)
I never got into the crowd that went to The Hub out on Mannheim Road but it was too far to travel anyway. For those of you who remember Maxwell Street in Chicago, I bought several pairs of Chicago Roller Derby skates there and still have the last pair I purchased.
While we may have lost one business in District 116 (hopefully only temporarily), it appears as though there is FINALLY going to be a tenant at the beautiful new strip mall at Hainesville Road and Shorewood. The developer of this classy looking mall seems to have been caught up in the down turned real estate market, yet has maintained the property and kept it looking 1st class. I am really surprised that a pizza place, dry cleaners, hair salon, dog grooming, coffee & donut shop, veterinarian, dentist, or someone hasn’t leased one or several units. The traffic on Hainesville is certainly sufficient to support a business there. The new tenant appears to be Jewel Story and based on the sketches in the window it appears to be a jewelry designer & fashion store. Let’s hope that it is just the beginning of a successful growth for this beautiful 8-unit shopping strip.
Someone wrote the following about the Jewel Story in Mundelein
“The very best in designer knockoff jewelry and handbags”
…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.
As Hainesville tries to arrive at a decision on what to do about their police protection, they rejected the idea of inviting Round Lake Park to their dog and pony show on Tuesday. According to comments attributed to Hainesville’s Mayor Linda Soto, Round Lake Park’s Police Department has “more gang and violence responses, whereas Hainesville is more about community policing”. The Mayor’s comments appear to favor Grayslake’s offer, if they elect to disband their own 2-year old police force, stating that Grayslake was a better fit due to the overlap of school systems and park district.
Additionally, the lawsuits from the past policing relationship between Hainesville and Round Lake Park certainly did not help matters at this juncture. Mayor Jean McCue of Round Lake Park was very disappointed that her village was not invited and issued a ‘mild‘ response to Mayor Soto’s description of Round Lake Park’s local policing activities, electing to take the high road instead in order to maintain a healthy relationship between the two villages.
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.
