Red Cross takes a bite out of local chapter

It doesn't quite have the same feel to it, even though it is a nice gesture that the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago was seeking names of local heroes to be honored in various community categories at a breakfast event in April.

It's not the same because the Fox Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross held a similar event each spring, but it would have a total Kane County feel to it. The stories of numerous local heroes were told and a community breakfast at Eagle Brook Country Club in Geneva honoring their actions was always well-attended.

Sadly, that's only the half of it, when considering that the local American Red Cross chapter has essentially been eliminated and folded into the Greater Chicago area chapter. It's likely that the Red Cross had to make tough decisions about cutting administrative costs and other expenses that came with separate chapters in Chicago's collar counties.

When an organization has had local ties for so long, as American Red Cross did, you identify certain faces to it. That's why the organization won't be quite the same without the noticeable faces that were former executive director Ken Robertson or marketing director Kay Catlin for so many years.

It's probably a relief for some local board members who had the unenviable task of raising money during these hard times. But when a Red Cross has a local chapter, there are several other presentations, safety classes or helping hands for the communities they serve that could unfortunately be lost in this shuffle.

There is no doubt that the Greater Chicago Chapter will emphasize its commitment to keeping the Fox Valley area "in the loop" but it's tough to eliminate a local chapter and its local leaders and somehow stay local.

Tough for novelties: I wondered how the Mr. Kitschy novelties store at 313 W. State St. in Geneva would hold up in a terrible economy.

It was a great store to visit, and I went in many times. I just didn't walk out with many purchases, other than some Laurel and Hardy figurines, and a small plastic Ralph Kramden figure.

The store was more of a museum and walk down memory lane, and it probably had the same feel for many others. Thus, the store has its "store closing sale" signs up on its windows and will close some time in March.

But the owners plan to continue as an Internet business and Mr. Kitschy "stuff" will be available through a Facebook link or the misterkitschy.com Web site.

Those bright lights: We've wondered out loud in this column about why the Arcada Theater marquee always had lights burning out, and owner Ron Onesti explained at that time that it was a difficult process because of old wiring and making sure the city would agree to any facade changes he made.

So, it was good to hear this week that a marquee restoration is planned, with help from a downtown partnership grant, and other community support for Onesti Entertainment's investment.

There's no arguing that the Arcada marquee is the most noticeable downtown sign in St. Charles. If it could have a sparkling new look, it would only complement the rest of the progress taking place to give the city a healthy look and feel as we continue to slowly climb out of this crippling recession.

Phones they can use: Kids make fun of their grandparents when they fumble around with modern technology, whether it's a DVD player or a cell phone.

Wouldn't it be nice if the elderly could at least be equipped with a cell phone that would dial 911 in an emergency with just a push of a button?

With the support of Advantax Group, LLC of St. Charles, some Geneva High School students helped TRIAD of Central Kane County pursue that idea. They collected old cell phones donated by Advantax and deprogrammed them so they could be reloaded with a 911 emergency response program.

TRIAD has long been involved in keeping elderly people safe, whether through crime-prevention, health or safety tips and programs. Advantax, a property tax service organization, had the spare cell phones and TRIAD had the student helpers, so it made a perfect combination to do something positive for the area's senior citizens.

The name TRIAD stands for "group of three" and refers to the organizations that originally formed the initiative to keep senior citizens safe ­- the National Sheriffs' Association, the International Association of the Chiefs of Police, and AARP (the American Association of Retired Persons).

Some quick action: Bob Beavan of St. Charles was surprised to see a policeman at his door on Monday morning, and even more surprised when he was told not to go out his back door. The heavy snowfall had knocked down a power line along South Third Street, so Bob had a "live wire" cooking in his backyard.

"Boy, it didn't take long for firemen and guys from the city or electric company to get out there and fix it," Beavan said. "I thought they did a great job.

"And how was I to know?" he asked. "I could have just walked back there, and who knows what could have happened."

Stuff in our brains: It's amazing what kind of trivial info is stuck in our brains. Much of it comes out when you attend a trivia night fundraiser.

Folks who support the Kaneland Sports Boosters will notice that at the organization's fourth annual Trivia Night and Auction from 6 to 11 p.m. Saturday at Elburn Lions Park. For $25, you get dinner, dessert and all of the auctions, raffles and games.

Brush up on your history, science, geography, sports and movie trivia, and you should do fairly well. For information, contact Melanie Kuhar at (630) 365-9003.

dheun@sbcglobal.net