Briefs: Council pay vote Dec. 15

Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns has pushed back the date for the city council to vote on a pay-docking attendance plan for aldermen. It was due to be considered Monday, but Burns will be out of town on business that night, and so has put it on the Dec. 15 agenda. The matter has been heatedly discussed three times by the council. "Dec. 15 will be the last time we discuss this issue," he said Monday. "I think it is important, like every other pertinent issue in the community, that we vote it up or down. ... Ultimately, it needs to move to the back burner."

Fire pits OK'd

It's now legal to use a backyard fire pit in Batavia since the city council changed its law about open burning this week. It also added a provision giving city workers the authority to make you douse the fire, if they determine the fire to be unsafe or if it is emitting obnoxious odors or dense smoke. No fire is to be bigger than 3 feet wide by 2 feet high, unless it is a ceremonial fire, for which you need a permit from the city.

Crèche display set

The Geneva History Center will unveil its historic crèche to the public on Friday during the Christmas Walk. The crèche, a Neapolitan Nativity set, was brought to Geneva more than 75 years ago by Kate Raftery, the former proprietor of the Little Traveler. It will be on display through Dec. 30. Raftery began displaying the exquisite 18th century crèche as early as 1930. The Center, at 113 S. Third St., will remain open until 9 p.m. Friday.

New Kane prosecutor

A veteran of the Illinois Attorney General's Office has been named Kane County's newest prosecutor. Daniel R. Carter recently was hired as an assistant state's attorney and assigned to courtroom 203. Since 1988, Carter has worked for the state attorney general's office in the financial crimes and sexually violent persons units, among others. Before that, Carter was a Cook County prosecutor and an Itasca police officer, according to the Kane County State's Attorney's Office.

Fabyan principal hired

Darcy Thompson has been hired to head the new Fabyan Elementary School in Geneva, which opens next fall. Thompson has served as Geneva school district's coordinator of student services at the elementary level since 2005. In this position, she also serves as the lead administrator for the District 304 preschool program. She is a graduate of Western Illinois University and is enrolled in a doctoral program in curriculum and instruction at Northern Illinois University.