Retention pond work in St. Charles raises questions

Retention ponds around residential or commercial settings catch a lot of rainwater, but rarely catch our attention.

We know what they are supposed to do - keep water from building up on our streets and sidewalks. But someone has to keep an eye on them to make sure they are safe and continue to carry out the tasks for which they were designed.

And that type of work is what caught the attention of residents near the large pond at Foxfield and Stuarts drives on the east side of St. Charles.

This pond, directly north of the Jewel/Osco retail strip and east of a smaller pond right at Kirk Road and Foxfield Drive, underwent some grading work and is in line for a makeover.

Residents who saw some trees being removed and extensive grading wondered what was up. A few rumors were spreading that the St. Charles Public Works department had to work on this particular retention pond because it was ground zero for a bug infestation.

It sounds logical that bugs like hanging out in retention ponds, but they don't create the need for this type of makeover.

"It's not a bug infestation," said A.J. Reineking, public works manager for the city. "What happened was the shoreline on the retention pond was eroding severely and we were getting 3- to 4-foot vertical drop-offs in places."

Not only is that dangerous, but it was beginning to encroach on nearby roads, including the access roads into the Jewel retail area and the Charlestowne Mall, Reineking said.

"If we put it off much longer, we were going to risk losing those roads, and it was just a hazard," he added.

The city hired a contractor to regrade the entire area and use pumps to empty the entire pond. The city redid some stonework that was affected and plans to put in native plants.

"With deep-rooted plants there, we can stabilize the shoreline indefinitely and give it a nice aesthetic appeal," Reineking said.

A swig and a show:

Batavia aldermen say it is OK for alcohol to be served at the Randall 15 movie theaters in the near future.

At first blush, that sounds pretty good. On second blush, forget it.

You think a person talking loudly or messing around with a cellphone during a movie is annoying now? Put a couple of drinks in that same person, and see what you get.

No votes came from aldermen Dan Chanzit and Susan Stark earlier in the process, but they changed their minds after feeling more comfortable about the restrictions that would be in place.

I probably would have been like former St. Charles alderman Jim Martin on this one and just stuck with a no vote as it relates to alcohol licenses. Martin never budged from his stance on that.

For me, a movie theater and alcohol has never seemed like a necessary mix.

An important note:

At first, it seemed somewhat peculiar that our pastor would encourage us to bring our mobile phones to Mass. But it was a one-time deal for the purpose of signing up for a text messaging service from St. Peter church in Geneva called "Flocknote."

Maybe this was my punishment for glancing at a Cubs score on my ESPN app during a church service. Or maybe it was simply just a way to stay alert about what was going on at the church.

In a great use of modern technology, Pastor Jon Bakkelund sent out a Flocknote to alert parishioners that a 101-year-old parishioner had died, but had requested a funeral Mass.

Problem was, she had no close family or close friends to attend. So the good padre asked for those who could, to show up for that Oct. 12 morning service.

My first reaction was, if I were retired, this would be a must-do. But the more important point is that Flocknote did what it was supposed to do in alerting us about something spiritual and important.

And that makes it a cool thing to have on your phone.

Plus, a friend told us the funeral was well attended, and how good does that make you feel?

Hull the athlete:

It wasn't as if the first time I met Clint Hull it was apparent that this young fellow was going to be a high achiever. You can surely say that about him now, considering his role as 16th Circuit Court judge in Kane County.

The only thing I knew that first time, around 1980 or so, was that he was a pretty good Wiffle ball player.

You read that correctly. In the early years of my career, as a sports editor at that time, a group of St. Charles kids threw down the gauntlet and challenged the newspaper staff to a Wiffle ball game in a terrific backyard stadium they built.

Clint Hull was one of those kids, and we still talk about those games to this day. It is hard to explain the fun we all had in doing this, but it was certainly pure Americana. Norman Rockwell on steroids, if you will.

He confirmed my thought that he was a good athlete through his stellar soccer career at St. Charles East.

Because I have cheered on his journey from the sidelines, even though he beat me in Wiffle ball, it made the fact he won TriCity Family Service's Barth Award last week for his commitment to human services all the more enjoyable.

Take coats to Craig:

For the past decade, Craig Foltos has had area residents drop off their extra winter coats, hats, boots, scarves, gloves and mittens at his barbershop so he can distribute them to families that could use them.

He'll even pick up these items at your home if you have so many it would be easier for someone to help.

It's not just a holiday push, because the winter garb can be dropped off at Foltos Tonsorial Parlor, 7 E. Wilson St. in Batavia, through the winter months. Information is available at (630) 879-5253.

dheun@sbcglobal.net