Downtown Partnership takes pride in St. Charles

The notebook still has some good things to share from the recent Downtown St. Charles Partnership annual meeting:

The late Jim Spear, a plan commissioner and landscape designer in St. Charles for years, was honored for his work with the partnership and the Fox River Corridor association. A memorial for Spear is planned for the Century Corners sector of downtown St. Charles.

It would be a fitting tribute for a guy who was a leader in conducting “downtown walkabouts” for partnership members on the Design and River Committee. The walkabouts were held to spot trouble areas, like bad sidewalks or weak landscaping that could use a boost.

One downtown trouble spot that was turned into a bright spot came about with the new Arcada Theatre marquee, which led Mayor Don DeWitte to say “this sign represents the nose on this city's face, and it just got much prettier.”

It was brought up that the downtown partnership can't survive without volunteer help. It got that help in the form of 1,012 volunteer hours for office work, and 652 volunteer hours at various events last year.

Jennifer Faivre, the executive director of the Downtown St. Charles Partnership, had an excellent description for the city's downtown.

“It is where pride and history come together,” Faivre said. “The things that are done to beautify St. Charles paint a picture as to what we value.”

The most impressive overall message for the downtown partnership and the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce is the list of businesses that opened in the past year during these most trying times. And it is no fluke that those who took the risk to be part of the First Street Redevelopment project just as the economy was nose-diving appear to be doing well and have become part of what Chamber of Commerce President Lori Hewitt calls a key “stroll area” for downtown shoppers.

An Iowa glimpse

When I got a short glimpse of “Leaving Iowa,” the Fox Valley Repertory's first production at the Pheasant Run Theater, I made a note to make sure I saw this play.

Anyone who has ever been on a long family road-trip vacation — quite common in the 1960s — will be able to relate to this funny and touching story.

We saw the play last week and now know why it has had good crowds for nearly every evening and matinee performance. This is its final week and your last chance to get some good laughs — and recall those battles in the back of the car with your brother or sister, not to mention the stubborn streak of your father, who was usually behind the wheel for these excursions.

The entire cast was great, but the whining and pestering of “Sis,” played by Katherine Banks, was so authentic it brought chills down the spines of those of us who remember an annoying little sister in our midst.

Will make donations

In recently writing a story about the Make-A-Wish of Illinois fundraising occurring at Panera Bread locations, I met families with seriously ill children. I was amazed at how important it is for these kids to get their wish — like going to Disney World.

I won't look at the donation boxes at Panera in the future without leaving a donation.

A great start

Organizers of the first St. Charles Heritage Center gala ball in January, which honored the St. Charles Park District's 100th birthday, were excited to announce the event raised more than $23,000.

That's not a bad start to an event they hope to turn into an annual affair, honoring different facets of the community.

The planning committee will be at it again Wednesday as work starts for next year. Anyone interested in being a part of that committee can call the St. Charles History Museum at (630) 584-6967.

For those in Haiti

An open house to raise funds for Haitian families will take place from noon to 4 p.m. today at the home of Roxanne and James Malley, who have an adopted son, Dave, from Haiti.

The open house, at 641 Young Ave. in Batavia, will display handmade jewelry from Haiti at a cost of $5 to $25, with all of the money going back to the artists in Haiti.

Roxanne is involved in the ApParent Project helping Haitian families stay together. The Malley family was able to adopt 3-year-old Dave after he was evacuated following last year's devastating earthquake.

“He has been such a blessing to our family,” Roxanne said. “And we are just trying to help out some of the families in Haiti that are like Dave's.”

Pizza and politics

There is no doubt that St. Charles Mayor Don DeWitte is a busy fellow. In addition to city business, he's at every community event he can possibly attend and has probably been to two places in one night or afternoon on hundreds of occasions.

How in the world he has time to cook his own pizza is anyone's guess, but he intends to do just that from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday in a contest against Elgin Mayor Ed Schock at Nick's Pizza and Pub on Randall Road in Elgin.

The mayors will attempt to make the best thin-crust pizza, based on audience approval, and have that pizza placed on the restaurant menu for March.

A portion of the proceeds from those pizza sales would then be donated to the winning mayor's charity of choice, so you have to go vote and cheer for DeWitte's pizza to raise money for the Living Well Cancer Resource Center. Schock's charity is the Boys and Girls Club of Elgin.

dheun@sbcglobal.net