Heun: Batavia group helping girls in need get prom dresses

Think about high school traditions for a moment, and it's likely that the right-of-passage known as the senior prom will pop into your mind.

For the ladies, that likely means fond recollections of the dress they wore that night.

For the second year, CHIP IN Batavia is making sure that girls who could not otherwise afford a dress for prom are able to get one.

The organization that helps high school students in need is partnering with Zano's Salon & Spa in Batavia to provide free dresses to girls who qualify from 1 to 4 p.m. April 11, 18 and 25 at the Congregational Church of Batavia. There are additional try-on times from 2:45 to 4:45 p.m. April 16 and 21 at the church, which has parking in the back.

Zano's manager Katherine Dobbs and her associate, Melinda Tennis, have asked their clients to donate dresses for this event.

It's another case in which Joanne Spitz and Melinda Kintz of CHIP IN Batavia have become heroes for many students.

This event is open to students from all area high schools, not just Batavia.

"We give the schools complete discretion" in determining which girls qualify for a free dress, Kintz said.

"Joanne and I do not ask for any reason if they come with a signed form (from a school counselor) and they are greeted warmly and made to feel comfortable," Kintz added.

Mostly, CHIP IN organizers want girls to take advantage of this opportunity. It was made available to all area schools because the generosity of donors has been incredible, and there should be plenty of dresses to go around, Kintz said.

"Some of these gowns are easily $300 and up, and maybe we should have anticipated that, because people really rally," Kintz said.

Now the event simply needs girls who can benefit from such generosity. Those interested can get forms on the chipinbatavia.org website.

It's that whistle

When I was a kid hanging around with friends, we sometimes resorted to silly time-wasting games like "who can whistle the loudest?"

Had Geneva basketball coach Phil Ralston been involved in those contests, he would have won each time. No one else would have been close.

This guy has the loudest whistle, maybe in the history of whistling. It can be heard over the din of most crowds, and his players react to it like Pavlov's dogs.

It's been a key part of this excellent coach's methods, and it left Vikings fans whistling all the way to Peoria for the Class 4A state finals. It was the Vikings' first trip in 52 years.

It's been the most heart-stopping climb to the state finals mountaintop I've witnessed in all my years of covering or watching prep basketball.

But I still can't whistle.

Life in India

Haley Carroll of Geneva is about to learn more about India than most of us will ever know in our lifetimes.

The public relations major is a sophomore at Ball State's honors college, and she'll be spending two months in India as one of only 12 U.S. students nationwide selected to participate in this year's Cultural Vistas Fellowship program.

Carroll is minoring in energy, so it makes a lot of sense that she will perform her internship at a renewable energy business or agency in India.

She should be pretty well-positioned for the future, considering how important renewable energy will be - as will having the skills to explain it to others. Caroll said she chose India because the country is at such a critical time in its history regarding energy consumption and renewal.

Time flies, but ...

It didn't seem possible that time was flying this fast.

When writing a few weeks ago about men's clothing stores in downtown locations in years gone by, it later dawned on me that Colson's was a fixture in St. Charles for 112 years before it closed its doors at 116 W. Main St.

Granted, it wasn't exclusively a men's clothing store and, in fact, was a "clothing and dry goods" location serving the city in its earliest days.

But here's what somewhat floors me - Colson's has been gone 23 years. To many of today's local residents, that empty storefront simply means we haven't been able to find a suitor for it since Vertical Drop left that location.

They have no recollection of Colson's in downtown with its various family members and, at the end, company treasurer Dave Pederson operating the store.

The store made it through the Great Depression, floods and fires in downtown St. Charles, but it ultimately ran its course. But 23 years already? Yikes.

McNally's final days

It probably shouldn't take long for McNally's patrons and others to get used to the name of Valley Lodge as their favorite spot, but it will seem odd that downtown St. Charles won't have its Irish pub in place in the First Street plaza.

McNally's will do its final day of business April 4, and then the site officially becomes Valley Lodge Tavern on April 14. But the menu will have a familiar look to it and hopefully the fun atmosphere won't change.

Generally, popular bar-and-grills of this nature benefit from a makeover, and that's what McNally's fans will hope to see.

Getting their honors

Family and friends of Ben Waldie and Rev. Melinda Hinners-Waldie will have much to celebrate when TriCity Family Services hosts its annual gala and benefit April 18 at Pheasant Run.

The couple has earned the Golden Heart award for supporting the agency for so many years.

Other Golden Heart recipients include BMO Harris Bank and the Geneva Lions Club.

The Golden Heart has been a nice addition to what has long been an enjoyable event.

dheun@sbcglobal.net