Youth group fundraising just off by a whisker
This is the news we've been waiting for.
Did Dan Starr of St. Charles have to shave the beard he has sported for most of his adult life as part of a challenge he gave to the youth group at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church in St. Charles to raise more than $5,000 for the church's recent Crop Walk?
Baker senior pastor Ronni Verboom tells us that Starr's beard is safe - for now.
"Unfortunately we didn't make the goal this year," Verboom said. "We did raise $3,500 for hunger relief, which is superb. Last year I think our total was around $1,000.
"So, we'll see what happens next year. If Dan Starr is willing to put his beard on the line again, we just might do it."
Scream for ice cream: It's as if a bit of St. Charles history was passing without notice. That's how some longtime residents were viewing the fact the half-gallon cartons of Colonial ice cream currently on sale at the Colonial Café restaurants will be the last they'll see.
But fear not. Colonial will still offer hand-packed pints and quarts of the ice cream that made St. Charles famous.
"We're really just no longer retailing half gallons of ice cream," said Clinton Anderson of Colonial. "You can still get the ice cream hand-packed at the restaurants, but we're putting more focus on culinary at our restaurants and we've recently hired a corporate chef with that in mind."
This appears to be the best of all worlds - an upgrade in food offerings and the ice cream hand-packed in smaller portions.
Spicing it up: They're not calling themselves Spice Girls yet, but that might change after the Welcome Club of the Fox Valley takes in a presentation at 7 p.m. Monday by the owners of the Spice House, on Third Street in Geneva.
The presentation takes place at the monthly meeting at Fox Valley Presbyterian Church, 227 East Side Drive in Geneva.
The ladies who make up this social and fundraising club view owner John Cirpinski and his partner, chef Kevin Bozis as the "spice experts" who will teach them how to enjoy the holidays more with the use of spices.
More information about the club or presentation is available by calling Carol at (630) 482-9090 or Dawn at (630) 262-0815.
A cold rush: Yes, the winter chill is starting to entrench itself around us again. But there are a few spots in the Tri-Cities that can be colder than others.
Here's my new "cold spot" in town: The entryway into the new First Street parking garage in St. Charles has all the makings of a perfect wind tunnel. So, when you've parked your car there during the winter, be sure to have your scarf on when walking out onto First Street.
A real mudder: I've seen plenty of local football the past 30 years, but not too many performances better than the "thud in the mud" that Geneva's Michael Ratay put on Batavia last weekend in scoring six touchdowns.
Good luck to our local teams as the state playoffs begin Friday.
dheun@sbcglobal.net