Beautification Committee Events

Note: Block Captains and Scout Leaders who organized their own events
on lanes and roads in the area, please send along your stories.
There are plenty of vests and bags for anyone working on their own piece of the Village.
Contact P. Denise Israel.

Residents Suit Up for a Greener Village

Saturday, May 1st was our Village wide trash pickup event. The Beautification Committee says “Thank You” to all the volunteers who focused on Lake Cook Road. The Cook County SWAP crew organized a pick on Old Sutton Road, so our crews were able to focus on a different artery of our Village.
Over 77 bags of garbage and assorted odd trash were removed from our roadway! A special thank you goes to the hard working members of the Riding Club. The members of this local group have been especially supportive at our Pick Up events and we appreciate their efforts!
If you were not able to participate, we encourage you to focus on your own property, specifically those areas close to roadsides, and then offer to help a neighbor with their property. It was nice to see many owners throughout the village picking up trash on their properties prior to May 1.
For the Village residents who have shown pride in their clean property, we all thank you! Some Block Captains have organized their neighbors to take care of their areas as well. We all need to keep our roadsides “clean and green”. Your help is needed to put an end to littering in our Village; call 911 if you see this action.
The Beautification Committee continues to work on projects throughout the Village, including work near the Village Hall and local projects at Countryside Elementary and Barrington High School. We are looking for individuals who may like to join us in building these new areas of focus. Please join us at one of our upcoming morning meetings, or contact us via green@barringtonhills-il.org.

Beautification: Fall 2009 "Make a Difference Day" Success

Thirty one BRAVE Barrington Hills residents came out in the damp, drizzly, cool morning air to tailgate before the semi-annual Roadside Trash Pick-Up Event on "Make a Difference Day," Saturday, October 24, 2009.

Residents met on the Bateman Road at the Barrington Hills Riding Center. Half the volunteers were from the Barrington Hills Riding Club and the remainder of the residents represented many areas of the Village with the largest group being from the Longmeadow neighborhood.

Donning the new day glow yellow safety vests, teams were driven to their quadrants where 7 auto tires, 1 auto battery, 87 orange bags of trash, a 10 foot ladder, a screen door, a double mattress and several opossum carcasses were pulled up to the roadside!

Three total miles of roadside work was completed in less than two hours; the volunteers did a great job and should all be thanked, especially for coming out on a day when it would be so much easier to just stay home or go shopping. Everyone did it with such good humor and seemed to not only enjoy the camaraderie of the event but lingered afterwards for the post event tailgate, snacks, and to share stories of the unusual debris they found.

We hope more residents will join us next Spring as we help others pick up their roadsides. We want all residents to feel inspired by these efforts so they will make an effort to keep their own roadside property litter free!

"Beautification Event" May 2, 2009

See all the fun action photos and results at the end of this photo display!

The sun shined gently and a cool breeze provided further inspiration to the volunteers who participated in our May 2nd Roadside trash pick up. The volunteers came from inside and outside our Village. The Teams represented members of The Riding Club of Barrington, [McHenry County] Boy Scout Troop 152, employees from the Bellamine Jesuit Retreat, BHS, the Presbyterian Church of Barrington, Barrington Area Conservation Trust, several Block Captains, newly elected Trustee Elaine Ramesh and husband Mani, Harper Business Honor Sorority and residents who just wanted to make the difference on Lake Cook Road.

The Barrington Hills Presbyterian Church provided access to sanitary facilities and parking for the participants.

Members of the Beautification Committee provided food and refreshments at the end of the clean up. Jimmy John's of Barrington sent a large box of sandwiches to the volunteers to complement the food supply and thank those who worked so hard.

The Boy Scouts of McHenry County worked along the same roadway, Lake Cook Road on their own designated segment. In all 16 linear miles of roadside were cleared of debris and more than 10 tons of trash and other items were removed from the roadside. A huge thank you goes to everyone who participated.

Many residents used the day to clean up along their own lanes and roads and to help their neighbors. All in all it was a beautiful day! The photos below tell a small part of the day's story. It was not possible to get too many "action" photos for safety reasons. Names of the workers and details for the story are being added as they become available. More photos and captions are coming!

Note: Block Captains and Scout Leaders who organized their own events
on lanes and roads in the area, please send along your stories.
There are plenty of vests and bags for anyone working on their own piece of the Village.
Contact P. Denise Israel.

Photo Group 1 - Talkin' Trash

VBH Beautification Day, May 2, 2009 - Volunteers Talkin' Trash 1
Photo courtesy of Deb Stone


VBH Beautification Day, May 2, 2009 - Volunteers Talkin' Trash 2
Photo courtesy of Deb Stone

VBH Beautification Day, May 2, 2009 - Volunteers Talkin' Trash - In the Ditch
Photo courtesy of Deb Stone

Photo Group 2 - Miles then Meals

VBH Beautification Day, May 2, 2009 - Volunteers from the Riding Club tailgate before the event.
L to R - Patti Fahey, Frauke Schell, Marty Fahey, Paul, Emily McHugh,
Joan Abboud, Karen Rosene, Dave Rykman, Dale Gilleland gather at the Presbyterian Church
Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

Foreground L to R - Chuck Prettyman, Dave Rykman, Dale Gilleland, and Bill Springer
chat before the workday begins. Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

Chairperson P. Denise Israel and Officer Semelsberger discuss protocol and strategy.
Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

P. Denise Israel (orange hat) and Officer Semelsberger in the midst of volunteers.
Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

Insurance requirements before the teams proceed. Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

Joan Abboud, Patti Fahey, P. Denise Israel, Karen Rosene. Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

Safety vests. Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

Victoria Mc Clellan is the President of Harper College Business Honor Sorority,
Kappa Beta Delta. She was a volunteer at our May 2 event . Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

Trustee Elaine Ramesh and husband Mani Ramesh arrive to assist the teams.
Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

Team member allocation and countdown. Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

Emergency reach numbers, supplies, assistance and timing - last minute details.
Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

Team proceeds carefully along Lake Cook Road at Steeplechase - L to R:
Marty Fahey, Mani Ramesh, Frauke Schell and Patti Fahey. Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

Karen Rosene, Elaine Ramesh, and Emily McHugh along Spring Creek after their section
of Lake Cook was completed. Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

Joan Abboud along Spring Creek after her team's section
of Lake Cook was completed. Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

Karen Rosene, Elaine Ramesh, and Emily McHugh along Spring Creek after their section
of Lake Cook was completed. They just keep on cleaning! Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

Crews meet along Lake Cook. Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

Picking up one crew after their section of Lake Cook was completed. L to R: Marty Fahey, Frauke Schell,
Mani Ramesh and Patti Fahey - ready for a break after their ~ 18 bag clean up on both sides of the road.
Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

Patti: We are cleaned up and ready to eat! Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

Harper student and more ready to celebrate the end of a great day! Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

Gathering to eat and share stories. Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

Reunited at the end, Harper student s - mom and daughter. Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp


Beautification Committee members bring much needed drinks and food for the returning workers.
A nice surprise: someone from Barrington Jimmy John's brought a large box
of food and more drinks for the workers, some of which was shared with the VBH Police
Officers who provided safety protection for the day. Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

VBH Administrator Bob Kosin.Bob said 10 tons of trash were carted away
in over 150 bags, along with debris from storms and more. Photo courtesy of Barbara Kemp

More Photos will be loaded. They need to be compressed, resized
and posted with proper captions and acknowledgement. Ed.

"Make a Difference Day" October 25, 2008

See all the fun action photos and results at the end of this photo display!

Chief Murphy and his team provide safety support along the roadway.

Greeting Trustee George Schueppert

Preparing for the work - checking the list!

Barrington High School Students come to earn community service hours.

The group ensures they have clear plans and good supplies. Warm clothing needed for the start.

Ready to Roll! Anyone who saw the filled orange bags along Lake Cook Road
can appreciate the Committee and residents did "Make a Difference"

Beautification team residents, Carolyn Springer, Bill Stone, Ann Horwath,
P. Denise Israel,Slade Stone and foreground Jan Shepard with their bounty.
Photo courtesy of Deb Stone

Beautification team 1 residents in action, Carolyn Springer, Bill Stone, Ann Horwath,
P. Denise Israel,Slade Stone and foreground Jan Shepard with their bounty.
Photo courtesy of Deb Stone

Clean up begins at home: Resident Ann Horwath with Horwath and Stone children
have fun and help with clean up - photo courtesy of Deb Stone

Clean up begins at home: Resident Ann Horwath with Horwath and Stone children
have fun and help with clean up - photo courtesy of Deb Stone