The changing face of auto dealer row

Cash for Clunkers is one thing, but cash for your city is ongoing and essential.

Car dealership "rows" have been an American community trademark for decades. St. Charles residents know exactly where the "row" in their town exists - along Main Street on the east side of town.

Times have changed for auto dealers, with the growth of the auto mall concept, and the challenges of a rotten economy.

You need a pencil and score card to keep track of how things are shaking out for local car dealers, but it appears most continue to plug away in the hopes that we won't someday say, "Remember those car dealership 'rows' along our main streets? What ever happened to them?"

What's happening now is that some dealers are changing their line of cars, others are merging dealerships, some are staying the same, and some are losing their car lines.

"The car dealerships are very important to us in the city," St. Charles Mayor Don DeWitte said. "We really rely on that sales tax, and we're hoping to see a bump in that tax from the Cash for Clunkers program."

DeWitte knows there is much at stake for his city in terms of the health of car dealerships.

Al Piemonte, a Cadillac dealership before, has taken over the Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge line from Richard Auto Center, which will remain a service center and may possibly introduce a new line in the future.

Zimmerman Ford took over Negri Lincoln Mercury in the past, and has otherwise remained as is - along with McCue Chevrolet, McGrath Honda, St. Charles Nissan, St. Charles Toyota and St. Charles GMC.

On the other side of the river, along Randall Road actually, we can expect to see some changes at Avenue Chevy in Batavia, which has a contract with GM for another year, but is otherwise earmarked as a dealership that would be closing.

We should all be hoping for brighter days for our car dealers because it would mean we are all doing much better - and maybe driving new cars.

Not a royal flush: The battle lines are drawn across the state regarding those video poker games you tend to see people staring at in casinos and bars where such contraptions are legal.

For now, our local mayors are saying all of the right things about not wanting these gambling devices in their cities. Until the state can figure out how to set these up and monitor them properly, as well as calming the fears of watchdog groups and anti-gambling movements, it is wise to just say we're not particularly interested.

But here's a confession: Of all of the silly gambling mechanisms out there tempting people, the video poker games are one that I somewhat enjoy. Not to the point of being addicted to them, mind you, but just for an interesting way to entertain yourself for a short time. Unfortunately, too many people get addicted and that's why our mayors are not throwing down welcome mats.

Not the best idea: Even though my tongue was planted firmly in cheek, more than a decade ago I suggested in a column that any potential new owner of the Hotel Baker in St. Charles - floundering at a time when the Lutheran Social Services had just left the building and was looking to sell it - should look into having a riverboat casino docked behind it.

Of course, those who thought I was serious took offense to such a notion. But Elgin and Aurora jumped all over the idea and added their gambling ports to the north and south of us.

In the meantime, local businessman Craig Frank saved the hotel and kept it in the community's forefront before selling it to current owner Joe Salas.

But it begs the question: Would either of these owners have fared at least slightly better if there were some form of gambling on the premises for hotel guests? Hey, I'm just asking a legitimate business question.

A model worth sharing: When you have something good going, why not share it - around the world?

A husband-and-wife team at Mooseheart intends to do just that, going international with the Mooseheart Model of Care for teaching young people in a residential-care setting by instilling values and being consistent regarding rewards for good behavior and consequences for poor behavior.

Mooseheart officials tell us that Ron and Micheala Ahrens will leave Tuesday to travel 8,500 miles to Tanzania to follow-up with orphanage workers trained in the Model of Care and to introduce the concept to others.

This isn't something that was developed overnight. Mooseheart has plenty of pride in the knowledge that the Model of Care has been nurtured for more than 40 years, evolving from a family teaching program established in 1967.

Ron Ahrens is the director of residential living at Mooseheart, while wife Michaela is a quality improvement evaluator. Both worked at Boys Town before coming to Mooseheart.

They have an excellent way of describing the value of a concept like the Model of Care at its foundation - "There is a mixing of the science of things that work with kids and the love and compassion of taking care of them."

Excellent water idea: Someone came up with a good idea for thirsty dogs.

The new drinking fountain in the southwest corner of Mount St. Mary Park in St. Charles has three options - adults, children and dogs.

The three different fountain and bowl levels make it easy for all three to enjoy a drink after a long walk or during a hot day.

The dog's fountain is shaped like an animal's water dish, and the control knob is located up by the human's fountain. This means you don't have to lean way down to turn on the water for your doggy.

I am guessing these fountains have surfaced in big places with hundreds of dogs, like Central Park in New York, but this was the first time our dog has enjoyed one in this area.

dheun@sbcglobal.net