The briefs: Meet the Trophy Chase author

Meet the author

George Bryan Polivka, author of the Trophy Chase Trilogy, will be visiting the Town and Country Library at 320 E. North St. in Elburn from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. Polivka will be available to sign "The Battle for Vast Dominion," the final book of his trilogy. Polivka went to Elburn Elementary School, Kaneland Middle School and Kaneland High School. A resident of Maryland, he is a member of the Kaneland High School Hall of Fame and now lives in Maryland. For information, contact Nancy Polivka at Foxbourne@sbcglobal.net.

Coloring contest under way:

The St. Charles Chamber of Commerce is having a coloring contest for children to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Entries will be accepted through Feb. 25, with five winners to be announced Feb. 29. Pictures are available at Learning Express Toys, 3865 E. Main St.; St. Charles Public Library, 1 S. Sixth Ave.; the chamber, 3755 E. Main St; and at the chamber Web site, www.stcharleschamber.com. The prize is a ride on the Miss Illinois float in the St. Patrick's Day parade March 8. For more information, call (630) 584-8384.

Learn about adoption

Sunny Ridge Family Center will have a free adoption information meeting at 7 p.m. March 3 at St. Patrick's Church, 6N491 Crane Road, St. Charles. Visitors will learn about adopting children from the United States, China, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, the Philippines and other countries. Call (630) 754-4542 or log onto www.sunnyridge.org.

Essayists receive laptops:

Third-graders from around the suburbs received laptop computers Sunday for winning essays answering the question, "How can a laptop change your community and change your world?" The following suburban students were among the 33 Illinois third-graders who won the contest: Tyler Bentsen of Central Elementary School in Lake Bluff, Jared Garner of Gurnee Grade School in Gurnee; Grant Haen of Schiesher Elementary School in Lisle; Adrian Holubek of Indian Grove Elementary School in Mount Prospect and Grace Keller of Liberty Elementary School in Carpentersville. Lt. Governor Pat Quinn announced the winners of the statewide essay contest Sunday. The XO laptop is a compact, durable, energy-efficient machine created especially for children living in the most remote environments.