Batavia woman hopes to be in bookstore near you

Four years at Batavia High School and four years at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, prepared Gina Olszowski for a job as an art director for an ad agency.

But the environmentalist inside her was trying to break out all along, and finally did when the 24-year-old took a chance at landing a grant for a project related to the environment through an organization called The Wild Gift. When her idea was accepted, she took pen in hand.

After a year of writing, that project will be on book shelves this fall. Olszowski wrote "Now Coming to a Town Near You" after various interviews with everyday people about their take on the urban sprawl that has a grip on all of us.

"I had learned about The Wild Gift and its grants for five projects a year through a search engine for nonprofits called idealist.com," said Olszowski, a 2001 graduate of Batavia High School and 2005 graduate of Drake.

"I had always wanted to do this, so I submitted my project idea and was chosen," Olszowski said. "Those chosen were part of a 20-day backpacking adventure in the mountains to kick off the project."

Upon her return from the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho, she began working on her book at least two days a week. She quit her ad agency job to work part time at Graham's in Geneva and devote more time to her book.

"I will be selling it from my own Web site at first, and then play it by ear to who else is willing to pick it up," said Olszowski, who lives in Batavia.

"I would love to do something like this again and handle a different topic," she said. "By tackling this project, I have gained a lot more confidence for future projects."

More information about the book is available at www.atownnearyou.com.

Regulate this memory

One of my first memories of childhood bliss was hearing the bell of the Good Humor ice cream truck making its way down the streets of my neighborhood on Chicago's Southwest Side.

Those old Good Humor trucks were a special slice of Americana that you don't see much anymore. So I was glad to hear that today's vendors may not have to slide so far into the memory bank. The recent discussions in Sugar Grove, after an ice cream vendor was arrested on charges of exposing himself to a toddler, had village officials considering a ban on ice cream trucks. Instead, they are going to formulate ordinances to better regulate those businesses.

Even though today's kids usually have plenty of treats in their own freezers, it would have been sad to never again hear the ice cream trucks making their rounds. Awareness has been raised and parents should remain nearby when the kids are clamoring around an ice cream truck.

For the record, I was addicted to the chocolate eclair ice cream bars peddled out of the Good Humor truck.

Open for visit

It's been a long wait, but the Geneva Senior Center is hosting its official open house from 2 to 5 p.m. today in Wheeler Park, with a ribbon-cutting at 3 p.m.

Yes, it would be wise for the center to showcase a TV viewing room of some sort today, with the Chicago Bears opening their season.

But even if you can't catch a glimpse of the Bears during a tour of the new senior center, you have to ask yourself this:

How many fumbled snaps can you possibly miss in a half hour visit at the center?

Benefits the outreach

Conley Outreach stands to benefit when the Kaneland Women Insight Networking Service group gathers for its Sept. 18 meeting at Mill Creek Golf Club.

The outreach program is the service project for WINS, whose members will get some sage advice from marketing expert Lorrie Walters Marsiglio at the meeting. Signup is due by Tuesday at (630) 945-7086.