Fox Valley fencepost
Good deed, bad deed
Elgin Mayor Ed Schock and wife, Karen, were trying to help a troubled young woman, taking her in when she had nowhere to go. They were repaid by her taking their cars without permission, apparently more than once. The most recent joyride ended with two blown tires and the young woman's arrest on a misdemeanor criminal trespass to a vehicle charge. The mayor and his wife were "disappointed" and not inclined to post bail for her. And no doubt reconsidering the cynical adage that no good deed goes unpunished.
Pouring weather
Despite continuing lousy winter weather overall, a brief warm-up allowed contractors to pour concrete on the north half of the Batavia bridge across the Fox River. That means the bridge could be open to traffic in late April or early May, about 4½ months after it was originally scheduled to be available to traffic. Heavy rain and cold weather delayed the work. All that remains now is sidewalk and approach work, along with a final two-week closure to pour a finishing concrete layer, sandblast the deck, stripe traffic lanes and add streetscaping. Frustrated Batavia residents will no doubt be waiting eagerly.
Lights out?
A sleepless Brian Schooley, of Algonquin, wants to strike the rather intense lights bouncing through his house from the new neighboring Brunswick Zone XL on Randall Road. It's the sort of clash we often see in a growing suburban region, one often sparking cries of "not in my backyard." Instead of dismissing Schooley as just another whining NIMBY, complaining after the fact, Brunswick manager Matthew Fletcher said he wants to work with residents to find a solution. In fact, he hopes others with complaints will come directly to the business vs. contacting the village. It seems Brunswick knows how to throw a strike of its own.
Eeewww … what's that?
Wildlife biologists say they believe skunks are making a comeback in Illinois. And they weren't talking about the kind that inhabit certain political circles. It seems that skunks, once ravaged by rabies, have bounced back. That may not be a bad thing, given their penchant for eating mice and grubs. Then again, don't we have enough stink in Illinois?
21st century book reports
Read a book. Make a video book report. Put it on the Web. Win some dough. That's the premise of a Gail Borden Public Library reading program that has gone national. Called StoryTubes, the program is designed to engage youngsters to read and then report on what they've read via video. Submissions are then voted upon, with winners and their sponsoring organizations getting $500 to $1,000 in free books. While the world may not need any more unsolicited videos, it certainly needs more and better readers. Libraries and StoryTubes certainly can't hurt.
Root, root, root for the cold team
While the Cubs and the White Sox have been training in temperate Arizona, high school baseball and softball teams have started their season in conditions that hardly resemble the desert Southwest. Now these teams don't expect to have a string of nice days, not when their games begin in March in the Midwest. But the colder than usual spring has made playing the games even more miserable than usual. But we take off our hats - and offer stocking caps - to the high school players who take to the diamond on the frozen tundra with great enthusiasm, and hit, field and pitch with skill despite frozen fingers.