Tri-City Youth Football stays true to its mission

When your organization stages an emotional event honoring soldiers returning from conflicts in the Middle East to teach young people about making sacrifices, you ponder how events with similar messages could be held in the future.

That was basically the formula Tri-City Youth Football board members had in mind in following up on last year’s program in which former players who had served in Iraq returned for a special honor from current players and their families.

This year, the organization will offer a July 6 football training camp day for the Giant Steps program, which serves autistic children.

“We want to do something every year that stays true to our mission statement of teaching life lessons through football,” said Dominick Donatelli of Tri-City Youth Football.

Board members Jack Hull and Joe Ninni proposed the idea to get involved with an organization that helped kids with special needs.

Hull learned about Giant Steps through a similar organization and felt it was a good match for the football players.

“Giant Steps likes to do things outside of its facility for the kids,” Hull said. “The kids get a lot of one-on-one attention there, they don’t do a lot of stuff in groups, and we’re trying to offer that.

“I’m not sure to what extent sports is of interest in their lives, but we’ll have a fun day and hopefully put a smile on their faces,” Hull added.

Donatelli said that seventh- and eighth-graders from Tri-City Youth Football will serve as “buddies” for the camp day at the organization’s football fields on Peck Road in St. Charles.

The boys will participate in simple football drills, but will also do other fun kids’ stuff, such as a water fight with sponges and squirt guns. A cookout and awards for all of the Giant Steps children will conclude the day.

“This is the first time that we have done something with an organization like this, but our hope is to expand this in years to come,” Donatelli added. “We also plan on partnering up some of our teams with a boy from Giant Steps by making them an honorary member of the team.

“They can come out for coin tosses and other involvement with the team.”

For Frega, it’s grand: For the past 24 years, I have handed out mini American flags to kids along the Swedish Days parade route with other members of Tri-Cities Exchange Club. We’ll be out there Sunday as well, but one thing will be different. For years, we would chat with Joe Frega, a Geneva police officer and fellow Exchangite, who would be in his squad car waiting to block State Street traffic for the start of the 1 p.m. parade.Sunday, he#146;ll have a far better seat as this year#146;s parade grand marshal. Frega was on the Geneva police force for 30 years, displaying an excellent combination #8212; he was a good guy and a good cop.He deserves this recognition and I hope he enjoys the view #8212; while also getting a feel for how far his service club buddies walk to hand out flags.Why the debate?: And still, some want to debate whether St. Charles needs a Red Gate bridge. My two cents worth, which is millions of dollars less expensive than all of the studies and land buys that have already taken place regarding this potential span, would be: The bridge has been needed for more than three decades and anyone complaining about it now probably should have had their say in 1980 or so.We should be grateful, as well, that then-Mayor Fred Norris and city officials got tired of waiting for the Red Gate crossing and put up the Prairie Street bridge in 1993. It had plenty of detractors, many who have certainly crossed the river on that bridge since it was dedicated to Walter Foulkes on May 14, 1994.She#146;s our Miss USA: Spotted on TV last Sunday among the crowd in Las Vegas at the annual Miss USA pageant was none other than St. Charles#146; own Karen Morrison Comstock, who thrilled the city back in 1974 by winning that coveted title fresh out of St. Charles High School.It was no surprise that Karen was in attendance, considering she remains active in the pageant circuit, helping for years at the Miss Illinois events staged at the Norris Theater in St. Charles.His next assignment: St. Charles architect Mike Dixon was true to his word in letting us know where his next two years in the Peace Corps will take place.He got his assignment last week and is headed to Vinnytsya, a city of 365,000 people in Ukraine.Dixon acknowledged that it is a beautiful city in the heartland of Ukraine, but noted that it has a bit of infamy: It was a headquarters location for Hitler during World War II.Gulping at reunion: A note in my mailbox made me gulp rather hard. It was a reminder that my 40th high school reunion (there#146;s that gulp again) was coming up in Naperville near the end of July.It also reminded me that the organizers of the St. Charles East Class of 1986 have asked me to mention that their 25th reunion is coming up July 30 at Chord on Blues in St. Charles.There#146;s a bunch of other fun things planned, including golf at Pottawatomie Golf Course and a trip to the new Otter Creek Aquatic Park, and a tour of the high school.Classmates should spread the word and can register at regonline.com/stc86reunion.com.And be glad, for now, that it#146;s not your 40th.dheun@sbcglobal.net