Geneva selling limited-edition ornaments at city hall

Just in time for Christmas shopping: Get a Geneva ornament.

To commemorate the city's 175th anniversary, City Hall is selling a limited-edition pewter ornament.

It features the official city logo, and comes in a velvet-lined case.

The cost is $12. To buy one, stop by city hall's reception desk, 22 S. First St. It is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call (630) 232-7494 for more information.

Speaking of the anniversary, keep Aug. 14 free. That's when the Geneva History Center is having a Geneva Birthday Party, from 4 to 8 p.m. on the lawn of the Kane County Courthouse on Third Street.

All for charity: Here are a couple of fundraising updates:

• The Batavia Mothers Club Foundation's April 25 Fox Trot raised more than $9,000. More than 450 runners and walkers took part.

• The Feb. 20 Winter Wine Festival raised more than $148,000 for the LivingWell Cancer Resource Center in Geneva. Held in a private home, it featured live and silent auctions, a sushi bar and a performance by the actors from the Chicago cast of "Jersey Boys."

• The Feb. 27 "Toss for a Cause" bags tournament in Batavia raised $900 for the Batavia Parks Foundation, to help pay for the new SpaceNet playground thingie at Engstrom Family Park. There were 20 two-person teams.

When news breaks: Some days, news falls in my lap. But maybe the odds are greater for this, since I live in one of the towns that I cover.

Twice in the last month, while minding my own beeswax and trying to get some chores done, news has broken out around me.

The first was around 4 p.m. on a Monday. I'm out mowing the lawn, when I notice a Batavia police SUV, lights flashing, stop at the end of the block, make a U-turn, and block Wilson Street.

It's not everyday the main east-west route across town is blocked, so I jog down to see what's happening, turn the corner, and holy smokes, something a block away is on fire, filling the area with smoke.

I run back home to grab a camera and notebook, and circle back. By then the smoke is completely gone, and all there is is a garbage truck whose motor caught on fire, but self-extinguished.

The second was May 17. Needing a little cash, I set out to the drive-through at my bank - the Chase branch at Route 31 and Main Street.

One problem: it's blocked off by big black police vehicles. Yes, it had been robbed about a half-hour before.

And I have to admit, my first reaction was "$%^*S! Where am I going to get cash now?"

• Susan Sarkauskas covers Batavia, Geneva, Elburn, Sugar Grove and North Aurora. E-mail her at ssarkauskas@dailyherald.com.