Not too late to apply for a disaster loan from August storms

Did those nasty storms last August take off your roof, your siding, your garage? Or, perhaps, hit your business right where it hurts?

There's hope.

You may qualify for a low-interest disaster loan to repair or replace your damaged homes and businesses or lost possessions.

Although the initial requests for federal assistance fell through, a second effort by Gov. Rod Blagojevich won a disaster declaration and approval of the federal loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration for affected Illinois residents, including those of you in McHenry and Kane counties.

E. Greg Dawson, spokesman for the SBA Office of Disaster Assistance, asked me to let you know you can get up to $200,000 in loans for an individual home, $40,000 for personal possessions and $1.5 million to repair property damage to a business or to replace economic loss, all at very low interest rates. You need, however, to get those applications in by Jan. 15 for the physical damage. You have until Aug. 18 to show economic loss.

"We encourage people to come out and see if they qualify," Dawson said.

You don't have to take the loan, but you can't get it if you don't apply. Call (800) 659-2955 for details.

Remembering

Sandy Scaletta of Algonquin wondered why red and white ribbons are dotting some trees in Algonquin's Gaslight West subdivision, as well as along Stonegate Drive, just north of County Line Road. Those ribbons are in honor of the Marian Central students involved in a serious car crash last month. Alexander Grys, 14, of Algonquin, and Taylor Wozniak, 17, of Lake in the Hills, were killed. Alexander's sister, Eva Grys, 17, and William Schlau, 14, were seriously injured. Neighbors and friends wanted to let the families know they're thinking of them during this difficult time.

Dropped box

Those of you who tried to drop off your old eyeglasses may have run into a bit of a glitch. Jerry Kautz of the Algonquin Lions Club tells me they are taking quick steps to replace a missing drop box or two and that they have another spot to add to the list. You can drop your old specs -- and help some needy folks along the way -- at both branches of the Algonquin Area Public Library; the Algonquin village hall; Northwest Eyecare, 245 Stonegate Road (across from Lifetime Fitness); the Wal-Mart on Randall Road and Atkinson Eyecare, 126 S. Randall.

Floating down Main

If you missed the holiday parades Saturday, you still can catch a holiday march in Cary today where Merry Cary is in full swing. You'll also have another chance to see the Dickens float created by Dane Willman of Carpentersville atop his flatbed truck.

It took weeks for the trucker to recreate five of the Dickens Village pieces, including the Christmas Carol cottage, Picadilly Gallery, Dickens' birthplace, Ebenezer Scrooge's flat, and the Daily News building. Dane often lends his trucks to parades. He feels it's essential to be part of the community, and he loves to give kids a treat. He also wants people to know truckers are a vital part of our community as well. He sure is proving that.

The Merry Cary parade starts at 1 p.m. and goes down West Main Street through downtown to Jandus Road. You and your youngsters also can enjoy a children's train, pony and wagon rides, petting zoo, Dickens carolers and more.

Lights out

I'll bet some of you are gearing up for your annual trek to see the holiday lights throughout the area. I'm afraid you'll be disappointed if you planned to stop by Bordeaux Drive in Lake in the Hills where Kevin and Tara Sorenson's impressive, synchronized musical display had lots of us saying "How'd they do that?"

You may recall my first question for Kevin last year was "Just how many trips to Home Depot did that take?"

Sadly, we won't get a rerun. The Sorensons and son, Adam, have moved out of state to be near family.

They loved doing the 22,000-light display. But even though Kevin is clearly an electronic genius, even he can't quite figure out how to put on that show from almost 1,000 miles away. They hope you'll help pass the word so the new residents of their former home don't have disappointed visitors driving by looking for a light show that isn't.

Shining a light

If you'd like to capture your own holiday display on camera, take a moment to view Night Photo Editor's Patrick Kunzer's helpful "Photographing Christmas Lights" video on our Web site. He makes it simple. And, for most of us, that's a very good thing!