Charity begins in Ecuador and continues in St. Charles

Young people from Ecuador to St. Charles have benefited from seeds planted during a Fourth of July neighborhood party last summer in The Windings off Empire Road.

Windings resident John M. Power, a Chicago lawyer, first heard at that party about a group of his neighbors getting involved in a charitable mission. First Baptist Church of Geneva was supporting World Youth Project by sponsoring this mission to build new homes in a poverty-stricken community in Ecuador.

"My neighbor, Tony Blaskoski, just started talking about this opportunity through the church and how we could put a group together," said Power, a partner in Cogan & McNabola P.C., in Chicago.

The group did its work in Ecuador for 10 days last November, carrying on charitable work at the same time our new president was calling for his country to embrace the value and work ethic of volunteerism.

The experience was unforgettable, according to Power, who added he would "do it again in a minute."

Power apparently intends to do just that, but with less travel time, by aiding a project at Glenwood School for Boys and Girls in St. Charles.

"My son knows one of the houseparents at Glenwood and he is aware that some painting and work in the cottages is needed, so I sent an e-mail to the group members who worked in Ecuador, and it appears we are willing to help this cause as well," Power said.

"The good feeling from the work we did in Ecuador was infectious and we would do it again if we were invited to go back," Power said. "But this has sort of blossomed into helping groups with any kind of need, and Glenwood is a wonderful place to help.

"The same group that went to Ecuador is going to do the work at Glenwood," Power said. "And there are some youth groups who are going to help as well."

A coyote's appetite: The thought of a coyote gobbling up your pet isn't very pleasant.

It keeps many pet owners around here talking with neighbors about the danger lurking in the dark or even in daylight - coyotes combing the area in search of food.

Too often, that food can be your little shiatsu or poodle. But it can actually be your golden retriever or German shepherd. At least that's what Bob Andrini, a wildlife biologist in Cook County, told area residents at a recent seminar about coyotes.

Coyotes will eat dogs of any size, Andrini said, but they are mostly after mice and rabbits.

Andrini and other wildlife experts keep close tabs on coyote movements and habits, all a part of studies such as the Chicago Urban Coyote Project.

Coyotes hunt in family groups, not just in wild packs, as some of us would tend to believe. We're seeing a lot of them roaming around now because it is mating season.

If coyotes are eating living creatures below them in the food chain, and there's not a bigger, stronger animal around here gobbling them up, how do we keep them from swarming the area?

Coyotes often fall victim to heartworm and distemper, Andrini said, making their life spans only three to four years at best.

Basically, anyone who lets a dog or cat outside on its own for long periods of time could be inviting trouble. There are just a lot more coyotes adapting to suburban life than ever before.

For your eyes: I figured the former Chronicle building on Randall Road would end up in the hands of physicians of some sort, and most likely in some type of spillover from the Delnor Hospital campus.

It appears that's exactly what is going to happen, as plans are on the move for Geneva Eye Clinic to eventually move into the empty office building. That busy eye clinic currently calls the lower level of the Delnor medical building its home.

The back warehouse, used as a printing plant for more than a decade, reportedly will be the home for the Excels Gymnastics organization in the future. It's a plum spot along Randall Road, and thankfully it will be more than a deserted building soon.

Long holiday season: It was a long winter, that's for sure. But I think we can take down anything that has to do with the holiday season.

Banners in the parking lot of the Tri-City Center, where Dominick's, Goody's and other businesses are located in St. Charles, still proclaim "Happy Holidays" with colorful Christmas ornaments.

So, have they been up too long, or are they just way too early for the 2009 holiday season?

dheun@sbcglobal.net