The Daily Herald from Chicago, Illinois • Page 165

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2001 SECTION Daily Herald Contact us 5 Paula Eaton lists South Elgin parade winners. Page 3 Barbara Ferguson has the latest on Lions Club. Page 3 The briefs Community Build Day rescheduled to July 28 The Gifford Park Community Build Day has been rescheduled from July21 to July 28. Work will begin at 8 a.ni. until completed.

Gifford Park is at Chapel and DuPage streets. Rain date is Aug. 4. The community will be putting the finishing touches on the playground and landscaping at Gifford Park. Call (847) 931-6788.

Summer fun continues at Concord Park On Saturday, the South Elgin Parks and Recreation Department will hold its second installment of its Summer Entertainment Series at Concord Park Friends, families and neighbors are invited for the Beach Blanket Drive-in. Entertainment Concepts will begin setting up the movie screen at 6 p.m. The evening's feature will be "The Goonies." There will be games on hand, as well as cartoons for the children before the movie begins around 9 p.m. McDonald's will not be on site selling its food as advertised, but concessions will be available. Bring a blanket or lawn chairs.

The blotter Carpentersville A 19-year-old Carpentersville woman told police that a computer, web camera and two color television sets valued at $3,250 were stolen out of her apartment at 3 Middlesex between 6 p.m. on July 7 and 2 a.m. on July 14. She said all windows and doors in the apartment had been locked. Carpentersville police said they collected at least two fingerprints from inside the apartment.

Twenty-five chairs and five tables valued at $1,100, that had been rented for an event, were stolen out of an unlocked sales trailer at a construction site on the 4900 block of Sleepy Hollow Road overnight on July 14. Michael E. Cuniff, Village Quarter, West Dundee, was cited by police July 14 for driving without a license and was found to be wanted on a Kane County warrant on a charge of criminal trespass to a vehicle, according to a police report. Cuniff was released after posting a bond of $800. He has court dates scheduled in Elgin on July 19 and Aug.

9. A garage on the 300 block of Amarillo was burglarized of 10 hand tools, 12 gallons of paint and 10 cans of spray paint between July 1 and 14. Police said the burglar entered the garage by breaking a side window and then vandalized the garage by spraying paint on the inside. A kitchen window was broken on a home on the 300 block of Tee Lane between 3:30 p.m. July 14 and 11:45 a.m.

July 15. A brown purse was stolen from inside the home. It contained medications, miscellaneous cards, a phone card, a check book and $355 in cash. Two checks were stolen out of a home on the 100 blockof Pecos Circle between June 21 and 25. A bank statement sent to the home on July 13 showed that an Elgin woman had cashed one of the checks for $900 at a bank in Algonquin, police said.

The other check is still missing. Dundee Township A1963 Seaking 12-foot fishing boat valued at $500 was stolen in either April or May in Dundee Township. The boat was leaning against a shed on the 33W900 block of Richardson Drive. The theft was reported to Kane County, sheriffs police on July 17. East Dundee A spare tire and rim valued at $400 was stolen from underneath a 2000 Dodge Durango parked on the 300 block of Meier Road July 13.

A pry bar was used to break the driver's door window on a 1998 Dodge van parked from July 14 to 16 in a lot on the 700 block of South Dundee Avenue, and a radio was stolen from inside the vehicle. The value of the radio and window was estimated to be over $350. South Elgin A camcorder and its case valued at $525 were stolen out of a home on the 600 block of Fieldcrest between 9 and 11 p.m. July 14 while a party was being held in the home. Jones sworn in as South Elgin's new administrator BY TOM O'KONOWiTZ Daily Herald Staff Writer South Elgin's former top cop took the reins as South Elgin's chief executive Monday night.

Village trustees unanimously confirmed Larry D. Jones as South Elgin's new village administrator during their meeting Monday night. Jones then took the oath of office for his new post, which comes with an $88,000 annual salary. Trustee John Sweet was the meeting, so he did not vote on Larry D. Jones Brent Eichelberger Jones' appointment.

Village President Jim Hansen, who handpicked Jones for the town's top spot, welcomed Jones to his new job. He also thanked him for the many years of service he already has given to South Elgin. Jones, 51, retired as South Elgin police chief a year ago after 30 years on the force. He also racked up nine years as a member of the South Elgin Planning and Zoning Commission, a board he left this week because of his appointment to administrator. Since leaving the police department last year, Jones has worked as deputy inspector general for the Illinois secretary of state's office.

Jones will begin his new job full- time next week, replacing outgoing administrator Brent Eichelberger, who was fired by Hansen and the new village board after April's general election. Eichelberger will stay in the job until Jones begins full time. During Monday night's meeting, Hansen presented Eichelberger with a plaque in appreciation for his nine years of service to the village. Eichelberger, who joined the village first as a parks intern, took over as administrator in 1997 under then village president Rick Zirk. When' Hansen won the village presidency in April, he quickly decided to remove Eichelberger from office.

"I appreciate the opportunity and experience 1 had here in South Elgin," Eichelberger said after receiving the plaque from Hansen. "It was a won- derful place to work, and, more im- portantly.tobeapartof." Eichelberger, who received a stand- ing ovation from the crowded audi- ence Monday night, said he hopes to find another job leading a municipal- I ity in the area. Meanwhile, he will re- ceive severance pay for the next-five months. A litde DAILY HKRAI.n TONGK Megan Rzonca got only a few nibbles, but still had fun at the Sleepy Hollow fishing derby held July 4 at Lake Sharon in Sabatino Park. The derby is just one of many events held at the park, named for the village's first police chief, throughout the year.

Sabatino Park is a place for relaxation and rememberingone goodpolice chwf BY NAOMI DILLON Daily HenAl Staff Writer Lawrence Sabatino stepped into some mighty big shoes when he decided to accept the job of Sleepy Hollow police chief in 1959. The department was just starting up and you could tell. The practices and procedures so commonplace today in law enforcement were nonexistent, so was support staff and even a dispatch radio. "When he first started there was no radio system to dispatch a car," said James Montalban, the current village police chief. "So they'd call his house, he'd turn on a light, the squad car would drive to his house Lawrence Sabatino and get the information." It seems, Sabatino's feet were more than big enough to fill those shoes.

The Chicago native served as a pioneer, sculpting the future of the village's police department and influencing legions of would-be officers. It's for tiiis, village officials many of whom called Sabatino a park to the old chief in 1976, one year after he died of cancer. Located in the center of town just east of Sleepy Hollow Road, Sabatino Park is one of only two parks in the entire village, but it is the only park with designated play areas and the only one with a name. The park includes numerous amenities, not die least of which is a baseball diamond, soccer field, and a covered pavilion for cookouts. In addition, the park plays hosts to a number of events.

For Halloween, the village lights a bonfire and has a costume parade, 'while a headless horseman rides through the park. Fireworks light up the sky during the Fourth of July and a parade procession ambles past the park. And for Easter, there is an egg hunt. Last year, village board members allocated $45,000 toward improvements at Sabatino Park. The park was expanded, new equipment purchased and, most importantly, a parking area was created.

"Parking is a big problem because the park is so popular," Montalban said. Sabatino Park is well-known and well-used, not unlike its namesake, who was known to mill around town and chat with people. Certainly the job lent itself to his outgoing nature, but Sabatino was just an amiable fellow, Montalban See PARK on PAGE 3 DAILY HERALD TONGK Dorothy Sabatino, shown here riding in a squad car in Sleepy Hollow's Fourth of July parade, still beams with pride when people ask her if she was married to Lawrence Sabatino, the village's first police chief. "He was a mentor and friend to a lot of up-and-coming officers," she said. St.

Charles woman organizes a garden walk for life BY HEATHER SWANSON Daily Heralil Cnmxjinmknt The first Grass Roots Garden Walk was inspired by a Chicago garden walk and a cancer fund-raiser. The St. Charles event is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday in the Cambridge East subdivision in St.

Charles and will feature more than 25 gardens. Inspired by the Sheffield Garden Walk in Chicago, veteran gardener Karen King decided it was time to host a similar event in the suburbs. "Most of the garden walks around here arc just beautiful but they have huge houses, lots of space, and not many of us could afford what they do," King said. "Like the Sheffield walk, I wanted to do one with smaller, more basic neighborhood lots where everyone can benefit from the gardening tcch- The first Grass Roots Garden Walk to benefit the American Cancer Society will take place Sunday in St. Charles.

Time: 11 am to 2 p.m. Twenty-five gardens will be within walking distance. niques used." Participants can expect to see a surprising and often creative mix of garden styles and plant varieties along the self-guided tour. King's own yard includes several gardens featuring a vibrant and healthy mix of perennials, annuals and ornamental grasses. "It's amazing what the people around here have done," King said.

Race: Cambridge East subdivision in St. Charles, near Tyler and Kirk roads. It starts at 1806 RitaAve. and includes about 25 gardens. Cost $2 per person, but more donations accepted.

Call: (630) 879-9009 "There are ponds, charming little walk ways they've done a lot with these small yards." And unlike other garden walks, the homes included in the Grass Roots tour are all within actual walking distance. "Most garden walks, at some point you have to drive to the next garden," King said. "On our tour, it's an easy walk from the first garden to the last." DAILY IIKKiU.ll STOt.C.KKR Karen King stands in the trellis her husband, Ralph, built for their garden behind their St. Charles home on Rita Avenue. King is organizing the first- ever Cambridge East Grass Roots Garden Walk to benefit the American Cancer Society.

There will be 25 gardens on the walk..