Ice House Mall, 200 Applebee St., will continue to seek donations for the Meals of Hope Holiday Food Drive through Dec. 27.

Deerfield

Group of Deerfield High students named all-state musicians

Deerfield High School reported that six students recently were named all-state musicians by the Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA). The students — Gwen Goodman (oboe), Adam Aaronson (trombone), Julia Lewit (harp), Matt Fang (cello), Natalie Morin (viola) and Jiwon Mun (viola) — were first selected to the ILMEA District VII festival, based on an audition with hundreds of other high school musicians throughout northeastern Illinois. Because of their high scores at the district level, the six Deerfield student-musicians will attend the 2018 Illinois Music Education Conference, in Peoria, Jan. 24-27, 2018. The event features rehearsals and clinics led by nationally known music educators, and the selected students will perform in a festival concert at the Peoria Civic Center. For more information, call (224) 632-3000 or visit www.dist113.org.

Deer Park

Village to host Winter Break Event at Vehe Barn

The village will host Winter Break Event from 1-3 p.m. Dec. 28 at Vehe Barn, 23750 W. Cuba Road. The family-oriented event includes a screening of the “The LEGO Batman Movie” (rated PG) on a big screen inside the barn, as well as crafts, an ice cream bar and movie snacks. Admission is free. Attendance is limited to the first 150 registrants. To RSVP, and for more information, call (847) 726-1648, send an email to kkasregis@vodp.net or visit www.villageofdeerpark.com.

Barrington

Meals of Hope food drive ongoing at Ice House Mall

Ice House Mall, 200 Applebee St., will continue to seek donations for the Meals of Hope Holiday Food Drive through Dec. 27. Visitors to the mall can bring boxed and canned goods donations to support the Northern Illinois Food Bank. Donation boxes are located near Santa’s Winterland and throughout the mall. Collected items will be distributed to needy families and victims of Hurricane Harvey and Irma. In addition, children attending Visit with Santa (3-6 p.m. Dec. 20-22 and noon to 3 p.m. Dec. 23) at the mall are asked to bring canned or boxed goods to contribute to the food drive. For more information, call (847) 381-6661 or visit www.icehousemall.com.

Oak Park

Agnew chosen as village’s Sustainability Coordinator

The village announced that Oak Park resident Marynda “Mindy” Agnew has been selected to lead the village’s municipal environmental programs as Oak Park’s Sustainability Coordinator. Agnew, who has a background in business finance, sustainable community development, government operations, environmental science and conservation, was part of the initial group that procured grant funding for resource reduction and zero waste strategies in District 97 schools. She also worked with key community stakeholders and the village to launch Oak Park’s CompostAble composting program. In her role as Sustainability Coordinator, Agnew’s first task will be implementation of the single-use bag ban set to begin Jan. 1, 2018. Her duties also will include overseeing the community choice electricity aggregation program, identifying project funding opportunities, executing strategies that help achieve the village’s sustainability objectives, and working closely with citizen volunteers on the Energy Commission. For more information, call (708) 383-6400 or visit www.oak-park.us.

Tinley Park

ComEd to conduct tree pruning activities

The village announced that ComEd will be performing vegetation management activities on distribution circuits in Tinley Park throughout the next several months. These activities are a key component of ComEd’s maintenance program to ensure system electrical reliability, as vegetation contact with ComEd equipment is a leading cause of outages. Qualified line-clearance workers contracted by ComEd will be performing the necessary tree pruning work. Supervisors and general foremen will be in close contact with the crews to ensure that the work is performed properly. To access a map of areas that will be affected by vegetation management activities in the village, visit www.tinleypark.org. For more information about vegetation maintenance along power lines and ComEd’s “Right Tree, Right Place” program, call (800) 334-7661 or visit www.comed.com/Trees.

Schaumburg

Pair of Roosevelt pharmacy profs net major awards

Roosevelt University, 1400 N. Roosevelt Blvd., reported that two founding members of its College of Pharmacy (COP) recently earned major statewide awards. Cara Brock, assistant professor of clinical sciences and chair of academic teaching and excellence at COP, has been named 2017 Illinois Pharmacist of the Year by the Illinois Pharmacists Association (IPhA). Since 1950, the award has been given annually to one pharmacist exhibiting the highest level of professionalism and engagement. Among her accomplishments, Brock has held a faculty placement as a clinical pharmacist for a hospice program at Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village, and she also developed an elective course for Roosevelt students who learn how to care for patients in hospice settings. Abby Kahaleh, associate professor of pharmacy administration at COP, has been selected a 2017 Outstanding Volunteer of the Year by the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists (ICHP). Kahaleh was recognized for engaging students in public health research as well as policy advocacy on behalf of pharmacists in Springfield. For more information, call (847) 619-7300 or visit www.roosevelt.edu.

Skokie

Village offers drop-off site for recycling holiday lights    

The Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC), Elgin Recycling and the village are offering a free holiday lights recycling program. All holiday string lighting and extension cords can be dropped off at the Skokie Public Works Department, 9050 Gross Point Road, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, through Jan. 31, 2018. Garland, live greens, wreaths and other non-recyclable items will not be accepted. Elgin Recycling will process the collected material after the program concludes. For more information, call the Public Works Department at (847) 933-8427 or visit www.skokie.org.

–Cook County News Briefs–