Bright idea coming to light in Elgin
On Wednesday and Thursday, Elgin will be acting on research that shows that a well-lit neighborhood is a deterrent to crime by ensuring that porch lights burn from dusk to dawn.
On Wednesday, the Neighborhood Matters Committee of the United Way of Elgin in partnership with the city of Elgin and ComEd will send teams of volunteers to each household in neighborhoods that have a resident officer program, with a high-energy, high-efficiency bulb.
All-night lighting of this bulb costs 2 cents a day, or 60 cents a month. Some 5,500 bulbs have been donated by ComEd, and the United Way of Elgin in partnership with the city will make the deliveries.
From 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, what's left of the bulbs will be available to all Elgin residents -- one to a family -- in the foyer of the Hemmens Cultural Center. After those are gone, Ace Hardware has donated vouchers for a light bulb to be picked up at the store by each family until Nov. 15.
The goal is to have all porch lights on all night all winter across town, underscoring the ability of a neighbor to be proactive in reducing crime. A flier has been designed with other inexpensive things homeowners can do to protect themselves and their neighborhood.
For details, call Diane O'Connor at the United Way at (847) 741-2259.
The LEOs roar
On Friday, the Leo Club of the South Elgin Lions Club will serve a spaghetti supper to benefit a neighbor. Well-known South Elgin residents Mary and Dave Bulkley suffered a catastrophic loss of property in the floods this summer. All their appliances, floors, furnace and furniture were destroyed.
The youth group of the Lions is serving a casual dinner from 5 to 8 p.m. to benefit the Bulkleys. This small but growing group of 12- to 18- year-olds will offer plain or homemade meat sauce, salad, garlic bread and homemade goodies for dessert.
Donations from the community are also welcome. For details and tickets, call Lion Debra Mainard at (847) 697-8611.
Chair-ity hockey
The first annual Chair Hockey Championship to benefit Easter Seals will be held at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Rieke Office Furniture, 200 Fox Lane in Elgin.
This unique challenge will benefit the Positioning and Mobility Clinic of the Easter Seals, where children are referred to have good alignment built into wheelchairs.
Elizabeth Claerhout, physical therapy coordinator for the center, says that customization requires many visits and that public aid and most insurance companies limit the number of times a child can go to be fitted. This tournament ensures that enough visits can be made for proper fit.
At this writing, 14 teams have signed up to compete on two floors in the warehouse. Among the Elgin teams so far are: Breakfast and Noon Rotaries, Medi-Transport, Total Home Health, and Fox Valley Fire and Safety. Several groups are enlisting cheerleaders to pump up their teams. The public is welcome to watch and support a good cause. Comcast will televise the competition.
Visit www.rieke.com, e-mail rhockey4charity@rieke.com or call Loretta Grimes at (224) 238-2021 to get ticket information and to make a reservation.
Fair trade fair
The folks at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church at 330 Griswold in Elgin will hold a Fair Trade Fair from Friday through Sunday, Oct. 26-28. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Partnering with the Ten Thousand Villages retailer, the fair will feature only goods marked with a special emblem that certifies the artisans who made the products have received a fair wage. All funds go to support these wages. Goods from 27 countries goods will be on display. Items include place mats and tableware, jewelry, musical instruments, pottery, and holiday and nativity scenes.
There will be goodies to taste, like olive oil from the Middle East, and coffee and chocolate from Third World countries. You can see nuts, cranberries and popcorn from organic farmers from California and Wisconsin. Baked goodies made with fair trade sugar will be on sale.
For details, call Gudrun Dorgan at (847) 931-9774.
Adult Halloween
Eerie evening fun is available for adults at Books at Sunset on Oct. 27 and 28 and Halloween. Two shows, at 6 and 8:30 p.m. each day, are available.
Participants will hear readings of Edgar Allan Poe, meet a spiritual intuit (who is rumored to have saved a person's life with her insight), and sip a beverage concocted for the evening. A demonstration of hypnosis follows. Then you will ride on a Victorian trolley, where a paranormal investigator will be the guide to some of Elgin's historically spirited homes and a cemetery with a past. Hors d'oeuvres and beverages will be served throughout.
This gothic and glamorous (yes, that does mean costumes are welcome) event is indoors and outdoors. For details and to make reservations, call (847) 888-1860.
• Sue Moylan's column appears each Sunday. E-mail her at smoylan@dailyherald.com; leave a message at (847) 608-2726; or send her mail at Daily Herald, 385 Airport Road, Suite A, Elgin, IL, 60123-9341.