Local man misses out being 'Biggest Loser'

If you want to keep tabs on "Biggest Loser" contestant Julio Gomez, you'll have to hit the gym with him on South Randall Road. Gomez, an Algonquin resident and TV show's only Illinois contestant, was voted off the NBC program in the episode that aired last week.

"The Biggest Loser" was filmed months ago, but the order in which the contestants were eliminated is a secret revealed slowly as the show airs this fall.

The final weigh-in and season finale is the only show that remains to be taped and will take place in December.

Until that time, Algonquin loser Gomez will have to continue toward his goal of losing 200 pounds far from the "Biggest Loser" campus.

At the start of the program, Gomez weighed 407 pounds and in his four weeks on the show made substantial progress, shedding 43 pounds.

Updates from NBC report Julio recently has dipped below the 300 pound-mark -- about halfway to his goal.

Can he lose another 100 in the next two months?

He's got at least 227 Facebook friends who believe he can.

According to one of the Internet's most popular UFO Web sites, mufon.com, a Chicago Street resident and friends sighted a UFO over Elgin in late September.

While sitting on the porch of his Chicago Street home, the resident and three others reportedly saw an object in the western sky just above the tree line. The object moved in both lateral and vertical directions "not indicative of aircraft or hot air balloons," the report said.

"The color was orange and flared in intensity, and the shape was that of ball, except when the colors flashed (or varied in intensity), wherein the shape expanded, but still remained ball-shaped," the report described.

The viewers could not see details of the craft, and the object reportedly made no sound.

The Bartlett Police Department can now tweet and post news and public safety information to The Courier-News and friends on Twitter.

Bartlett police announced this week that the agency will use Web sites Twitter.com and YouTube.com to disseminate information about upcoming traffic advisories, business alerts and other criminal activity.

One of Bartlett PD's latest tweets is an attempt to identify two male suspects who committed an armed robbery at the 7-Eleven at 125 E. Lake St. on Sept. 26.

The tweet includes a link to the Bartlett PD's Web site, www.village.bartlett.il.us/police/police.html, where viewers can examine still images of the surveillance video from the night of the robbery.

Check out www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzd2rlxhnoI to view another surveillance video and help the police identify a male suspect who burglarized Bartlett Liquors at 1075 W. Army Trail Road on Sept. 24.

Readers can find both links and follow the Bartlett Police Department by visiting the department's Twitter page. Visit www.twitter.com/bartlettpd or sign up for a free Twitter account and then follow bartlettpd. This will allow you to receive notifications of updates.

Sign up to follow couriernews while you're there or visit www.twitter.com/couriernews.

Harper One will release "Spirit of Service: Your Daily Stimulus for Making a Difference" on Tuesday. The book bills itself as a "daily devotional" and offers 365 specific suggestions for ways to get involved in your community. There's an accompanying Web site, www.spiritofservice365.com, where you can find local places to volunteer by typing in your zip code. A recent search for places five miles from Elgin's 60120 led to links that included the Literacy Volunteers Fox Valley in St. Charles, the Elgin Jaycees, and Maryville Academy in Bartlett. So if you're looking for something positive to do with your spare time, check it out.