Briefs: Santa comes to town
Santa Claus is coming to town to benefit CASA Kane County. Enjoy a pancake breakfast with Santa starting at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Congregational United Church of Christ on LaFox Road and Fox Mill Boulevard in St. Charles. Breakfast will be followed by a children's holiday concert led by the St. Charles East High School Chorale.
Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for children 3 and older. Call (630) 444-3111 or go to www.casakanecounty.org.
Students join with ESO
Area students will be performing with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Saturday for the group's Holiday Showcase at the Sears Centre, 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway, Hoffman Estates. High school and college vocalists will be singing holiday favorites with the ESO, Elgin Choral Union and Elgin Children's Choir. The event will include jugglers and aerialists from Cirque du Soleil, ice dancers and the Chicago Jazz Synchronized Ice Skating Troupe. Tickets start at $17 for kids and $29 for adults. They are available at the Sears Centre box office, select AMCORE Bank outlets, by phone at (888)-SEARSTIX or at www.searscentre.com.
Pavarotti tribute planned:
Three performers from Chicago's Lyric Opera will honor the late Luciano Pavarotti in a Sunday concert at the Arcada Theater, 105 E. Main St., St. Charles. The show includes performances by Franco Martorano, Simon Kyung Lee and Warren Moulton of the Lyric Opera. Tickets to the 5 p.m. show start at $29 and are available by calling (630) 587-8400 or going to www.o-shows.com.
Academy honors two
In honor of two Fox Valley educators who helped shape the lives of hundreds of local students, Elgin Academy has established the Ruth Tofanelli/Barbara Lachel Scholarship Fund to provide need-based tuition assistance to eligible students. Ruth Tofanelli, along with Jim Williams, was co-founder of Summit School for Learning Disabled Children in Dundee in 1968. In 1980, she added an elementary gifted program that eventually became Summit Academy in Elgin. Barbara Lachel's 30-year career as an educator began with her service as a kindergarten teacher, and she eventually rose to the position of principal at Summit Academy. When Summit Academy was consolidated with Elgin Academy in 2006, Lachel remained as director of Elgin Academy's River Road Campus until her death from cancer in 2007.
Police cite five stores:
Aurora police cited five businesses for selling to an underage person who was working with police during a Nov. 30 compliance check. Five of the 10 stores checked were served with notices to appear in court for selling tobacco to a minor. Police say future similar operations will be staged. Cited were: Kwik Pick on the 900 block of W. Lake St., Speedway on the 300 block of W. Galena Blvd., Aurora Tobacco on the 3000 block of E. New York St., Aurora Food Mart on the 300 block of W. Indian Trail Road; and Stop 24 on the 2200 block of Ogden Ave.
Police target speeders
Aurora police officers targeted speeders in a crackdown last week that resulted in 39 citations issued in a 4.5-hour period. Police staged the crackdown after numerous residents complained about speeders in the area of Indian Trail Road and Stonebridge Boulevard on the city's far east side. Police issued 31 speeding tickets and three tickets for driving without insurance. Police also ticketed and arrested five motorists: two each for not having valid drivers licenses and driving with suspended licenses and one for not having a license on them. Speeders were clocked traveling at least 15 miles over the 35 mph limit.