In Ukraine, St. Charles never far from the heart

St. Charles architect Mike Dixon went through two years of preparation to become a Peace Corps member stationed in Ukraine. He wasn't going to put in that kind of time without carrying the banner of St. Charles to Eastern Europe.

Based on recent correspondence from Chernihiv, Ukraine, where Dixon is working with city officials on architecture and other community projects, he has already spoken to Chernihiv's mayor about establishing a cultural exchange with St. Charles.

“The visitor and convention bureau and chamber of commerce in St. Charles have both sent positive responses to the city of Chernihiv,” Dixon wrote in an email.

In addition to getting the cities linked, Dixon has exchanged emails with a class at St. Peter School in Geneva, and the Kiwanis Builder's Club at Haines Middle School in St. Charles.

Students from Kathy Osman's eighth-grade class at St. Peter, the Haines club and adviser Carole Schmidt have kept in touch with Dixon to learn about his work and the Peace Corps.

Dixon told students he will be in Chernihiv for a few more weeks of training before getting his “final” Peace Corps assignment that would put him in a new location the next two years.

Dixon told students their most recent letter came just as he was finishing a major project to design a restoration plan for a building from the 1880s used by the Mercy and Kindness Child Development Center in Chernihiv.

“The center works with children with disabilities,” Dixon wrote. “I have also designed an apartment for a mother with six children, a client of the Mercy and Kindness Center.”

In summing up his letter to the students, Dixon picks a perfect Yogi Berra quote that defines what his next two years will be like: “The future ain't what it used to be.”

Lose it: Some ladies will be shedding pounds if Jackie Kold of St. Charles has anything to say about it.Kold, a certified fitness and yoga instructor, will take ladies through a #8220;Get Smokin' Hot#8221; boot camp Tuesday, June 14, to Wednesday, June 29, in parks and on trails near her studio at 5N201 Shady Oaks Court in St. Charles. Participants can sign up for as many days as they would like, as a daily rate is charged.She'll be getting help from her son, Garrett, for a couple days of the camp before he leaves for military training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.Kold has helped her son prepare by developing a rigid training program that has incorporated yoga, which she believes will help him get through the more intense survival training that most recruits struggle with.The ladies who enroll in Kold's boot camp won't get that intense of a workout, but they'll be prepared for programs that fit their needs. #8220;It's important to recognize they should not work out in pain,#8221; Kold said. #8220;Just like on a yoga mat, you need to be your own teacher first. It's about listening to your body and what it needs.#8221; Kold said her camp has a strong #8220;guts and butts#8221; component because that's where women want to tone up and lose weight.It can all start with a call to Jackie Kold Fitness and Yoga at (630) 584-2254 or by visiting jackiekoldfitness.com.Stop the distractions: It's starting to gain public attention in the same manner that drinking and driving awareness gained steam in the 1980s. It's falling under the category of #8220;distracted driving#8221; and that covers a lot #8212; eating, drinking coffee, putting on makeup, smoking, using a cellphone, texting or watching video on your phone or a screen in your car.Fox Valley Orthopaedics in Geneva is joining a national campaign to partner businesses, law officials, schools, parents, kids and the media to draw attention to this problem.Geneva police and Kane County Sheriff deputies will join surgeons from Fox Valley Orthopaedic to make the rounds to service clubs, schools and other organizations for a presentation about the dangers of being distracted while driving.Hopefully, the message will get out to a lot of people because, quite frankly, we're all distracted while driving at one time or another.dheun@sbcglobal.net 26574000A building from the 1880s in the village of Chernihiv is being restored with the help of St. Charles architect Mike Dixon during his Peace Corps mission in the Ukraine. The building will be used by the Mercy and Kindness Child Development Center.Photo by Mike Dixon