Tri-Cities briefs

Westwood Park grand reopening:

The Fox Valley Park District will reveal renovations at 11 a.m. Thursday at Westwood Park at a grand reopening ceremony. The ceremony will include bags, balloon animals and Parker, the park district's mascot. Renovations include a new playground and a double basketball court. The project is part of the park district's annual program to renovate at least three parks per year. Westwood Park is located on Aurora's southwest side off Jericho Road, just west of South Lake Street. For directions and more information, contact public relations manager Jeff Long at (630) 966-4527.

Charity car show:

The second Annual Charity Car and Motorcycle Show sponsored by Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez is planned for noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21, at the sheriff's office, 37W777 Route 38, St. Charles. Registration in 12 vehicle categories starts at 9 a.m. The entry fee is $10, with proceeds benefiting Disabled American Veterans. For more information, call (630) 761-8093.

United Way begins campaign: Fox Valley United Way will launch its 2008-09 fundraising campaign with a news conference at 11:30 a.m. today at Caterpillar, Inc., 325 Route 31, Montgomery. Caterpillar is making a $100,000-plus corporate contribution to match employee donations. Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez and Kendall County Sheriff Dick Randall are the volunteer co-chairmen of the campaign.

History of Batavia business:

Learn about the history of commerce in Batavia over the past 175 years at a discussion at 2 p.m. Aug. 25 at the Batavia Public Library, 10 S. Batavia Ave. Besides windmill factories and rock quarries, participants will talk about stores, service industries and other manufacturers of the past. Co-sponsored by the Batavia Depot Museum, the Batavia Historical Society and the Batavia Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Shop and Share

A Shop and Share Jewel-Osco fundraiser will be held today, Tuesday and Wednesday for the Daniel P. Figgins Memorial Foundation. Shoppers who present a Shop and Share slip for the group will have an amount equal to 5 percent of their purchase donated to the group, which will help provide coronary artery scans to police officers to detect heart disease. Figgins, a St. Charles police officer, died in 2005 of a heart attack while running after suspects. To obtain a slip, visit www.dpfigginsmemorialfoundation.org.