St. Charles man keeps busy in Ukraine

St. Charles architect Mike Dixon knew he'd be busy when he joined the Peace Corps and was stationed in Ukraine.

But he likely didn't know he'd be this busy.

Dixon sent emails to his friends last week that he'll be involved in designing the Open Air Folk Architecture Museum for the village of Severynivka.

He joked that because the news was out on YouTube, he's definitely committed to doing the project.

“The first phase includes 12 structures, including a bridge and windmill, potter's estate, visitor center and a church,” Dixon wrote.

Just good beef: It's a fairly simple reason why Sal Levato has been operating Gina's Subs and Pizza on the east side of St. Charles for 20 years: the Italian beef.I can't speak to all of the food he offers, because I order the Italian beef every time I go. Creature of habit, I suppose. Anything Italian should be good at a place named after Sal's favorite actress #8212; Gina Lollobrigida. Costume time: Talk about getting a jump on Halloween. The Fox Valley Repertory has a good sense of timing in offering its second annual Masquerade Ball from 4 to 7 p.m. Oct. 15 at Batavia Park District's Shannon Hall.Families are invited to take part in this event celebrating the fifth anniversary of the repertory's Performing Arts Academy.Considering the creativity these people have, there should be some interesting costumes at this event.Music, dancing, prizes, a costume contest and silent auction will unfold. Leslie Hunt of St. Charles will attend to conduct a #8220;meet and greet#8221; in addition to a music lesson. So young folks in attendance can learn about what Hunt had to do to reach the American Idol finals a few years ago.Tickets are on sale at foxvalleyrep.org/masquerade.Popular disc spot: The new disc golf course at Wheeler Park in Geneva sure seems to be a big hit with players who enjoy the sport. In the early evenings before it gets too dark and during the weekends, we notice quite a few kids and adults out there firing those discs.But here's something I didn't know until noticing the players carrying a bag full of discs. Each disc is weighted in a different way for use, depending on the length of the throw. Kind of like, well, clubs in golf.Can you tell I've never played the game? Probably won't either, considering I get tendinitis in my elbow by just looking at it funny. Picking your spots: A reader asks why the Culver's restaurant being built near Pheasant Run on the east side of St. Charles didn't consider the former Baker's Square location.I'm guessing the price wasn't right. Plus, you'd have to knock down the Baker's Square shell and start from scratch to create the Culver's look. That might be more costly than just breaking ground in an open area?Hitting the books: If you don't think kids these days are reading enough, you can't blame Ozzie, the Kane County Cougars mascot. His 2011 summer reading club had 145,000 students from 427 schools participate to improve their reading skills.dheun@sbcglobal.net