Charlie Fox's steps up to fight breast cancer

Charlie Fox's Pizzeria & Eatery in St. Charles is hoping to sell a lot of pizza Friday night.

Charlie Fox's, 3341 W. Main St. at the Peck Road intersection, joins pizza places across the nation that night for National Pizza Party Day, a designation created by Slice of Hope.

This pizza industry national charity out of Seattle has its sights set on fighting breast cancer.

Last year, Charlie Fox's kicked in $1,000 to the Karen Mullen Breast Cancer Foundation by donating 10 percent of each sale from the pizza party day.

“This year we are hoping to exceed that amount and really get the community involved,” said Dani Biggs, a marketing manager at Charlie Fox's. “If people come out and support this night, we are hoping to have a $6,000 or $7,000 night.”

The restaurant is hoping for repeat customers from last year and that those customers will “want to do it even bigger this year,” Biggs said.

Charlie Fox's is one of few pizzerias in the area participating, though the Domino's Pizza chain is a national sponsor, Biggs added.

Owner Lou Morelli views the fight against breast cancer as a cause to which everyone can relate.

“There isn't a person in this country who hasn't felt the effects of breast cancer in some way,” Morelli said. “Whether you've had the disease yourself, or a family member or friend has had it, it's safe to say you've been impacted by breast cancer.”

More information about the event is available at charliefoxpizza.com.

Filling those corners: Three down, one to go. That would be the math for downtown Geneva's key State and Third streets intersection. Not long ago, Starbucks on the northeast corner was the only business intact at the intersection. But EvenFlow restaurant and nightclub opened in the old State Bank building, and Perlman Fine Jewelers is moving from the Geneva Commons into the location recently vacated by Kiss the Sky music shop, which moved back to Batavia. Perlman owners are hoping to open the downtown store shortly after the holidays.

The last corner needing tenants remains the vacant Merra-Lee shops. And that's an important vacancy to fill, as it has always marked the epicenter of downtown shopping in Geneva.

Touch up your French: If you have never heard of the Geneva International Cultural Exchange Committee, don't feel bad. These organizations don't seek constant publicity, but it is important to know that this committee is behind the cultural exchange with Geneva's “sister city” of Croissy-sur-Seine, France.

Committee members say a delegation of 20 folks from that French city, six of whom perform with the Rive Droite/Rive Gauche Swing Band, will be in Geneva on Wednesday.

Organizers are planning a 10 a.m. presentation at the Geneva History Center on Third Street before our French visitors go to the Geneva City Hall for a look at the Pierre Rannaud painting and a visit with the mayor.

The swing band will perform a free concert with the Geneva High School jazz bands at 7:30 p.m. in the school's auditorium.

Cozy outdoor dining: Though the warm days will dwindle to a precious few, plenty of area restaurants continue to encourage outdoor dining with the aid of fire pits or gas-flame heaters for warmth and ambience.

The Turf Room in North Aurora has a nice outdoor fireplace setup, as does the Office in St. Charles.

We recently noticed plenty of folks enjoying Aurelio's Pizza outdoors in downtown Geneva, with the gas-flame heaters humming near each table.

If we can have some nice Indian summer evenings, these restaurants will likely continue to offer a pleasant outdoor experience.

New station coming: At first glance, it simply appeared that the Phillips 66 station on Batavia Avenue (Route 31) and Houston Street in Batavia was closing. But a Shell station is taking its place, and that is good news for the many motorists who have a habit of fueling their vehicles at that spot.

Not for a fort: The long poles lying on the grounds of Eaglebrook Country Club along Bent Tree Drive in Geneva look like logs waiting to be put in place for a fort.

The club is planning to erect a safety net in that area to keep golf balls from striking nearby pedestrians or vehicles, or rolling onto Starbucks' property.

I've often wondered why a driving range was built in which the golfers aim shots toward a neighborhood sidewalk and street.

Granted, it would take a monstrous poke from a skilled golfer to smash a ball that far. But if the wind is blowing behind a golfer who hits a long ball on a regular basis, more than a few balls are capable of bounding over or across the small hills that stand between the sidewalk and the driving range target flags.

It's too bad, in terms of visual appeal. There is no way tall poles holding netting are going to look as nice as rolling hills and trees.

But at least no one is likely to get whacked with a golf ball when walking or driving by that area.

So long, Allen: They were the old veterans of high school sports way before I turned up on the Tri-Cities scene in the late 1970s. They represented a three-headed monster of local prep knowledge, with each one deeply devoted to his local high school.

It was Elmore McCornack in St. Charles writing for the Chronicle, Les Hodge in Batavia writing for the Windmill Herald and then the Chronicle, and finally, Allen Mead in Geneva writing for the Geneva Republican.

McCornack and Hodge both worked for me many years ago, and I came to admire and appreciate them as terrific colleagues and friends. My encounters with Mead were as competing newspaper guys, but he was always pleasant and helpful when it came to anything involving Geneva sports.

With Mead's passing last week, all three are now gone. They become distant but lasting and vivid memories. Much like the thousands of sports events they witnessed and documented for the ages.

dheun@sbcglobal.net