St. Charles man's talent good match for Peace Corps

It's been more than a year since I mentioned in this column that St. Charles architect Mike Dixon was going to leave the area to join the Peace Corps.

He was trained for months to learn the Russian language and customs, with the understanding he'd likely end up in a country that was part of the former Soviet Union.

Then the Peace Corps switched gears on him, considering an assignment in a different country.

But Dixon finally got his marching orders - and he's ecstatic that he'll be able to make good use of his training in the Russian language.

"My official invitation to Peace Corps service has arrived - along with a very cool letter from President Barack Obama - and it couldn't be more perfect," Dixon said. "It is the Ukraine, and I'll be leaving on March 28, 2011 and it is a position in community development."

Dixon joked that it was surprising that the placement officer in Washington, D.C., "would understand what to do with an architect."

In the past, Dixon had expressed a hope that he would be able to establish a program through his St. Charles Kiwanis Club in which young people in the country he was to be stationed would be able to interact with those in the United States regarding building structures and architectural design.

Popcorn gurus: Fans at Wrigley Field had a chance to find out what those of us in the Tri-Cities have known for a few years now - that Kernel Fabyan's Gourmet Popcorn is pretty good stuff.

Kernel Fabyan co-founders Dann Villwock and Rich Balance of Geneva threw out the first pitch at Sunday's Cubs game, finishing off a year in which the Geneva popcorn shop enjoyed four events at Wrigley Field. Thousands of fans have enjoyed samples of Kernel Fabyan's various popcorn flavors this year.

"It's been a lot of fun for us, and the game on Sunday was an event that would give us the most visibility," Balance said.

The local popcorn gurus, including company president Nick Giachino, were also pleased that their product is making a debut in some retail grocery stores, starting with Blue Goose in St. Charles.

Coffee coincidence? How is it that the day after our stubborn recession was somehow declared over last week, the line at the drive-through for the Starbucks on the west side of Geneva was a mile long?

And then, a day or so later, Starbucks reveals it plans to raise prices on some of its fancier coffee creations because the cost of coffee beans has gone up.

Or is that with the recession declared kaput, it might be a good time to squeeze more out of coffee lovers?

The bottom line? I am glad I don't drink coffee.

Lots of scoring: It was nice visiting with Max Striedl in the Batavia football field press box during a recent game.

Batavia fans should remember to thank Max. He's been working the scoreboard for the Bulldogs for 47 years now.

They'll thank him even more if his scoreboard shows more points for Batavia than Geneva after Friday's key Upstate Eight game.

dheun@sbcglobal.net