Winthrop Harbor News

After being gone almost a year, Pfc. William Schaefer, 20, was home for Christmas -- his first holiday with his family since he joined the Army.

A Monday evening fire in an abandoned three-story building on the 2800 block of Eschol Avenue was responded to by crews from four area departments.

Some 100 sailors had a holiday taste away from home at the VFW Post No. 7448 in Winthrop Harbor Saturday afternoon.

Kids as young as 3 packed food items and other necessities in hand-decorated boxes Tuesday, filling more than 400 boxes as part of the Lindenhurst Early Childhood Center's annual Gift of Giving program.

Dan Pierce was elected president of the North Shore Sanitary District for the coming year at Monday's annual organizational meeting.

Jean Studebaker of Winthrop Harbor believes warm feet can warm the heart. A few months ago, she started a sock drive called Socks for the Soul to benefit the homeless.

Lake Countians shivered through Thursday as the coldest temperatures and wind chills since February shook the area.

'This has been a tough fight so far this year,' said Marine Bob Perosa, describing the efforts to collect enough toys through Toys for Tots to distribute to the increasing numbers of local children in need.

For a quarter century, Central Auto Body repair shop has been the place where residents have gone for all their service needs, said owner Steve Strezo, who took over operations a decade ago from longtime owner Gene Feely.

Fire officials said Thursday they believe an overhead lighting bulb was the cause of a warehouse fire to which several Lake County fire departments responded.

Officially, 2009 marks the 50th year that The News-Sun's Help Them to Hope fund has been collecting donations from the Lake County community for those in need during the holiday season and beyond.

With interest rates low and the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, plus the mild weather, 'tis the time to go house hunting.

Most people stopped what they were doing, walking or driving, to stare at the procession of antique tractors cruising through town to unincorporated Russell.

If you love old tractors and want to be part of a benefit for A Safe Place, then you need to be in Winthrop Harbor or Russell on Sunday afternoon.

Scott McElroy thinks he knows why people want to see "A Christmas Carol" repeatedly.

Burglaries were on the rise here over the last several weeks, but recent arrests may have ended them and solved cases in Gurnee, Zion and unincorporated areas.

If you've been noticing words such as zhug , toum or harissa appearing on the menu at your favorite sandwich spots, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you.

The ladies in the Waukegan Police Department's records office just like to have fun.

A Winthrop Harbor man will serve three years in prison after admitting to having a sexual relationship with an underage girl last summer.

BASIC COVERAGE: A headline on Friday's story about Wadsworth dropping Winthrop Harbor police coverage may have implied to readers that the village has signed a contract with the Lake County Sheriff's Office for additional coverage.