Park Place Interiors stays strong in tough times

If they had to rely on an industry that matches their last name in this economy, Kathleen and Russ Newhouse would be in a world of hurt.

As it is, the owners of Park Place Interiors in Geneva don't necessarily need an influx of new homes. Their business, based on old-fashioned customer service, stresses educational seminars and plans that fit a current home's personality and budget.

To walk into their spacious design gallery at 407 S. Third St. is to walk into a worldly adventure.

"Russ was an airline captain and we've done a lot of traveling around the world, and we've picked up many of our ideas along the way," Kathleen said.

The Newhouses have been part of Geneva's Third Street business district for the past three years. They have seen other businesses suffer recently, and are hoping all of the shops get community support.

"The economy does affect us, but we also are doing well because people are looking to specialize and be more selective with their home décor now," Kathleen said.

Even if furniture sales or more expensive projects might be slower now, Kathleen said that window treatments remain popular and "really help keep us going."

The Newhouses believe consumers are spending less on travel and view their own homes as the place to invest money.

"People look at some rooms in their home and say, 'We want to make this our resort,'" Kathleen said.

With that in mind, Park Place Interiors is planning an event to introduce the upscale Habersham line furnishings from 5 to 7 p.m. July 24 at the store, featuring nice discounts. More information is available at (630) 232-7799.

"You don't have to spend a lot of money to make your home something very unique," Kathleen said. "You can get one piece to make a statement in one room, and have that be the one that you show everyone and talk about."

Seeking a theater: As the Geneva Cultural Arts Commission has gained momentum, the idea of live theater in the city has been talked about often.

When the library was contemplating a move to the Sixth Street school site, city officials talked about moving City Hall into the current library site. Then arts supporters viewed the current city hall building as a future arts center.

That complicated scenario isn't likely to occur, so news about Batavia's former First Street Playhouse troupe soon setting up shop in the basement of the 524 W. State St. building is being viewed as a nice boost to the city's entertainment offerings.

With Urban Grille occupying most of that building, it is a match made in dinner-theater heaven. Watch for all sorts of promotions and fundraisers for these thespians - and a little more excitement on that portion of State Street.

Those situations: Cedric Benson, previously of the Bears, gets arrested and says the cops have it all wrong. General manager Jerry Angelo says Cedric shouldn't have put himself into that situation, regardless of who was right or wrong about the arrest. Cedric pleads ignorance, saying he's not sure what that means. A few weeks later, he's in trouble again and gets fired.

Mark Peterson of Geneva, a respected citizen who was considering seeking election to the city council, gets arrested for drunken driving and other charges. And he tells a reporter in a published story that the cops have it all wrong.

I don't know about Benson or Peterson or the cops they were dealing with, but I'm starting to understand what Angelo was saying.

Le Pew strikes: The east side of Geneva, just west of East Side Drive, was not a place you wanted to be hanging around Wednesday morning.

Why?

An ungodly odor was apparent for hundreds of yards in every direction from East State Street, where apparently a poor Pepe Le Pew met his or her fate via an automobile tire.

Getting sprayed by a skunk has to be one of the more unpleasant occurrences, but I wasn't aware of a "final spray" when one of these creatures becomes roadkill. This was as bad as it gets, and the odor didn't subside until I was heading north on East Side Drive and reached Division Street.

"Skunks are probably the worst to clean up because you don't want to get that smell on you," said Dan Dinges, director of Geneva's streets department. "Our guys just have bags for that, and you just clean it up and throw it away."

So my hat is off to the unlucky city worker who drew the short straw and had to pick up that mess. Anyone who drove past this spot endured a good old-fashioned burning of the nose.

dheun@sbcglobal.net