New St. Joseph cancer center gets a name

On Oct. 2, more than 300 people celebrated the groundbreaking at the new Cancer Care Center at Provena St. Joseph Hospital. At the ceremony, President and CEO Bill Brown announced it will be called the Bob and Edna Meadows Regional Cancer Center, for the family that founded Meadows Inc. in 1926.

The 26,000-square-foot, two-story building will have infusion and radiology centers in one central location, as well as a resource center for education and training. The opening is planned for next fall.

Dr. Courtney Coke, medical director for the center, said the focus will be on treating the entire person. Side effects will be reduced by pinpointing treatment. There will be art and music therapy, as well as massage. Chemotherapy will be administered in private spaces, and there will be a rooftop healing garden. Funding for the center was from the commitment of the community, with $250,000 coming from employees.

For details, call Andrea Duval at (847) 695-3200, ext. 5425.

Latino awards

The Elgin Latino Political Action Team will present its sixth annual Latino Achievement Awards at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Heritage Ballroom of the Centre of Elgin. About 100 guests will snack on hors d'oeuvres while the ceremony begins.

The first four categories of awards are given to Latinos who have worked to improve the quality of life in Elgin. More than 30 individuals have been nominated to receive the Lifetime Achievement, Business, Government, and Community Service awards.

The Douglas Hoeft Memorial Award is presented by Libby Hoeft and is reserved for a non-Latino who has worked for the betterment of the Latino community. Nominees this year include: Betty Brown, Francis Garris, Shari Huizar and Major Ken Nicolai from the Salvation Army.

Money received goes to scholarships. Five or more are given each year to high school seniors or those in the first year of college. A teen mom is given $500 for general assistance.

For reservations or information call either George Irizarry at (847) 888-1122 or Armida Dominguez at (847) 888-8026.

Harvest time

As a wrap to the Giving Garden here in Elgin, I called Major Ken Nicolai at the Salvation Army. He said 296 pounds of produce were dropped off this past summer. Garden staples such as celery, cucumber, tomatoes. eggplant, squash, zucchini, and jalapenos were the most often donated. Many thanks from him to all those who brought these garden gifts.

From 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every Thursday until the end of the year, the Harvest Market, so successful this summer, will move to Gasthaus zur Linde at 15 S. Grove Ave., in Elgin. Some of the favorites -- Gloria's Gourmet Meats, the Breadsmith and Pan Barkery (dog treats) will be on hand. Any questions? Call Jen Benson at the Downtown Neighborhood Association at (847) 488-1456.

Shred Fest 2007

From 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Accurate Document Destruction will have a shredding truck in the parking lot of First Community Bank, 165 S. Randall Road. It is a free, first-come, first-served event, and anyone -- business or personal -- can take any kind of paper and any amount of material to be shredded.

A TV monitor will show what is going on in the truck as old bank statements and checks, dated records and files are destroyed. Identity theft and the widespread sharing of client data have given new importance to protecting personal information. Disposing of documents is a good first step to protect identity.

Joyce Lueth, senior vice president of First Community Bank, said that staples and paper clips are OK, but CDs, binder clips and plastic binders are not. She says she has received inquiries from executors about disposing of parental estate material.

For those registering to win, there will be drawing for a free home shredder. For details, call Joyce at (847) 622-8800, ext. 328.

Six-month checkup

Elgin got two new council members in April. Thought I'd catch up with them and see how they are doing with their new responsibilities.

• John Steffan said he wasn't surprised by having to do more reading, just the volume of it. As a lawyer, he is accustomed to studying documents. But he is adjusting his personal time to take this into account.

He also notes that perfunctory votes on the council don't mean that the members haven't looked at the issues, asked staff for input and consulted with each other before the vote. In other words, a quick vote doesn't mean not caring about the issues.

Big differences and lots of good are coming to Elgin, and he's proud to be part of it.

• Mike Powers says that the months he's served have been a terrific experience. He loves it more than he imagined he would. He liked getting the opportunity to visit with neighborhood groups.

His professional background in advertising is very collaborative. He sees the same thing in the council itself and in the rapport with the staff. He says the council shares a vision and moves through various strategies to achieve goals.

He said the future -- with all the projects in the pipeline --looks very exciting.

Thank you both for stepping up to serve!