Readers weigh in on Dave's apartment complex idea
Even though it would be nice to see the property and maybe the buildings at the empty Valley Shopping Center on the west side of St. Charles made into something useful, my suggestion that it become a new apartment complex with some old St. Charles flair was a bit far-fetched.
It was a Donald Trump moment, really. I was rambling on about something that wasn't based on much reality. You know, pipe dream stuff. Still, some readers liked the idea, while others did not.
Ellen Misch, a resident of St. Charles for 45 years and currently living in a neighborhood near that empty plaza, said there are enough apartments near Valley Shopping Center along Main Street, and people in St. Charles already aren't crazy about Shodeen's plans for that type of housing in the former St. Charles Mall location along Lincoln Highway.
Misch suggests maybe the empty Avenue Chevrolet site along Randall Road in Batavia would be a good spot because it would be close to shopping and a sheltered Pace bus stop.
Other spots like the soon-to-be-empty Sports Authority building might work as well, Misch said.
It's likely that city officials would never change the zoning on a retail location to accommodate multi-family living, so we're likely stuck with empty retail spots for some time to come.
"Fortunately for all of us who live in these areas, there are zoning laws that have to be changed for this to happen," Misch said. "That's where the neighbors get involved."
Sports, life hero
He was one of my sports heroes because he could shoot a basketball quite well and made my favorite team, the Chicago Bulls, pretty good in the early 1970s.
Later, I came to learn how Bob "Butterbean" Love overcame a difficult stuttering disability to become confident and successful in his personal and business life as well.
It was great to see that Love will be the guest speaker at this year's Salvation Army annual appreciation dinner for its donors and volunteers at 6 p.m. Friday at the Tri-City Corps Joe K. Anderson Community Center in St. Charles.
Love has been a "Goodwill Ambassador" for the Chicago Bulls for several years, and his story is certainly uplifting.
Christy's fame
Speaking of sports heroes, there is no doubt that Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is becoming legendary around these parts. In this age of social and mainstream media overload coverage of sports stars, it is hard not to know how great Arrieta has been of late.
But there was another great pitcher who most people could only read about in a newspaper, and his name was Christy Mathewson, one of the baseball's biggest stars.
He pitched for the New York Giants in the early 1900s and had everyone in a tizzy by throwing three shutouts in the 1905 World Series.
Presenter Craig Pierce will tell the story of Mathewson and his impact on sports in this country from 7 to 8 p.m. May 25 at the Geneva Public Library. For information, call (630) 232-0780.
With Sitting Bear
One of these days, when the weather is just perfect, I would like to do one simple thing: Plop down on the ground next to "Sitting Bear" in the Mount St. Mary Park and just relax for hours on end.
"Sitting Bear" is one of many cool sculptures in the park for this year's display, and he just looks like he could use a buddy hanging around with him.
dheun@sbcglobal.net