Close call for Geneva grad in L.A.
William Burge graduated from Geneva High School in 1984 and he's been living in California for the past 17 years, so his name doesn't come up too often on the local scene.
But people who know William or his three sisters or two brothers - one of them Rob Burge in Batavia - were buzzing last week because of one ill-advised step that William took just outside his home in Napa Valley.
Rob Burge calls his brother's incident "crazy and insane" and relayed these details:
Rob says William is a bit of a night owl, so it was no surprise that he was outside his home at 9 p.m. collecting rocks for his fire pit. But about 20 feet from his house, he stepped on and fell through a wood cover over a spring water well - that he had no idea had been on this property for 40 years.
"He fell 38 feet, straight down, with his arms straight up, and plunged into 50 feet of cold water," Rob said. "He was completely disoriented and didn't know what happened, so he started treading water and couldn't climb out because the bricks in the well were all slick."
William cried for help for more than two hours, later finding out that his nearest neighbor slept with earplugs. His cries echoed through the valley and a neighbor two blocks away called police, who arrived and called in 100 rescue personnel.
"It took about an hour and a half to get him out of there and he went to the hospital to be treated for hypothermia, but he was very lucky," Rob said. "The doctor said most people would have died from being in that cold water that long."
Rob said it's been a tough year for William, who lost his job, went through a divorce and had his mother die.
"While he was in that well, he said it was surreal, that he had visions of our mom and dad coming to him and saying he was going to be OK and that it was not his time yet," Rob said. "So this is like a new lease on life for him, and he feels very energized and positive."
More on the plaza: Another interesting piece to the First Street plaza atmosphere recently opened, and I've heard plenty of good things already - especially from those who enjoy a thin-crust pizza.
Neo Authentic Pizzeria joined the plaza business lineup at its 31 S. First St. location in St. Charles. In addition to some nice pies created on wood-burning ovens, Neo is pleasing customers with wine, cheese, salami selections, bruschettas and salads.
As was noted in a recent column, other First Street plaza business and restaurant owners are looking forward to the entire plaza being occupied. Only then will the city's dream of First Street being a vital destination for years to come take hold.
Love these kisses: You can't miss on this for a summer treat: A scoop of Eskimo Kisses ice cream in a sugar cone from the Batavia Creamery. It's a coconut and chocolate concoction that made my day.
dheun@sbcglobal.net