Keep involved in Batavia's downtown progress

I've exchanged a few yea or nay emails with Batavia readers during the past year because of my contention that residents made a mistake in voting against a downtown recreation center proposal.

It would have anchored a key downtown spot that is currently a strip mall area that likely will remain empty for years to come, and it would have allowed McDonald's to move and upgrade.

Still, downtown planning is an ongoing reality, and Batavia city officials and downtown business leaders have constantly kept downtown improvements in the forefront.

Residents have a lot of ideas about their downtown, and I encourage them to stay involved in the process and understand what the new streetscape concept and future ideas are all about.

Even though it doesn't necessarily address the retail and aesthetic issues of that empty strip mall, I like what I am hearing about extending access to the river and creating a plaza near the east-side community center.

A formula for Batavians to embrace is that the Riverwalk makes for a terrific town square, and any way to extend it or its concept to other parts of downtown neighborhoods should be discussed.

He has friends:

Friends of golf instructor Rich Flores of Batavia continue to rally support as he continues his struggle against a rare disease called cardiac amyloidosis.

A group called Friends of Rich Flores is alerting others that Rich is now at Northwestern Memorial in Chicago for three weeks of treatment.

Work has already started on a golf outing fundraiser to help offset medical bills. It will be on July 25 at Pheasant Run in St. Charles, a golf course that Rich has spent much time over the years working at as an instructor and in the pro shop.

When I first spoke to Rich and reported a month or so ago about his illness, he told me doctors were not sure what was causing his symptoms of feeling weak, dizzy and fainting. Now he knows what is going on, but his case is complicated by platelet cell dyscrasia, a form of cancer. So it's been chemotherapy and now some bone marrow transplant work to start rebuilding his immune system.

Rich has been incredibly positive, as he always is, and the Friends sent out a news release in which they quote him as saying he has a goal of #8220;playing nine holes of golf, carrying my bag, by the end of summer.#8221;

Information about Rich's fight against his illness, and the golf outing, is available at FriendsofRichFlores.org.

Baker and its music:

Think of Baker Memorial United Methodist Church in St. Charles and you can't help but think of music, considering that music director Jeff Hunt and his St. Charles Singers have given the church a great reputation.

The intent is to extend more music to the community, which is what the church will do with a summer series of Friday noon concerts in the church sanctuary.

It starts this Friday with Isaac Stevenson playing the marimba. Concerts are free, though donations are accepted, and those who attend can also catch the weekly Farmers Market on Fourth Avenue.