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Davis: Bedbugs, bowling, quilting among our highlights

Stories of the week, quirky, offbeat edition.

Quilting for a cause:

Surely the sweetest story of the week was news that the Sun City-Huntley Sew 'n Sews (great name) had finished their 10,000th quilt for Project Linus - a group named after the Peanuts cartoon character never seen without his security blanket. The group's mission is to get comforting blankets to seriously ill or traumatized children. About half the blankets go to University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital. So not only is this a great, humanitarian service by the Sew 'n Sews, whose ages range from 55 to 89, it's a terrific way to stay active and engaged. "We have had people say Project Linus has really saved their lives because they had no purpose before. Some are very troubled, and being able to give to somebody else saved them," said Judi Goldman, a Project Linus chapter coordinator.

New noise frontiers:

I had to put in a call to staff writer Jim Fuller to make sure I hadn't missed something when I saw his report on a big influx of O'Hare noise complaints stemming from St. Charles, 30 miles west of the nearest O'Hare runway. "Is this your first story on this topic?" I asked. Fuller assured me it was, mainly because the complaints are just coming to the fore. But they're emphatic. Robert Gunther, who lives on Stonewood Drive, attended last week's city council meeting to recommend pushing the FAA to limit St. Charles to corporate and private aircraft.

The council took a pass on doing that, for now, saying they're waiting for FAA hearings on the topic next month. But the noise, reaching new suburbs because of new east-west runway configurations, is only likely to escalate; more runway construction is on tap for the busy airport.

Talking turkey:

I had to chuckle softly when I read staff writer Lauren Rohr's account of East Dundee's plans to hold a Turkey Testicle Festival with the same name on the same day as one that's been going on for 32 years in Huntley. That there's room for two festivals of this ilk is amusing, but I was struck by the words of one of the organizers: That East Dundee needs more family-oriented entertainment downtown. Yep, I thought, nothing says family fun like chowing down on deep-fried turkey parts. On the other hand, it's not at all hard to imagine kids challenging one another, much like Flick being goaded into sticking his tongue to the flagpole in "A Christmas Story," to eat just one: "I triple-turkeydog dare ya!"

Don't let the bedbugs ... read?

Imagine everyone's surprise when two dead bedbugs were discovered on a table in an isolated room at the Palatine Public Library. Erring on the side of safety, the library was closed Thursday while crews - including Odie the beagle, a certified bug-sniffing dog - searched the entire 90,000-square-foot building. No more bugs, eggs or larvae were found, and the library reopened Friday morning.

End of an era:

Yes, this happened almost two weeks ago, but I was struck by the nostalgic posts from readers about the closing of the iconic Hoffman Lanes, in business for about 50 years. One lamented the "bowling boutiques" that have popped up in their place. I so get it; still miss the 12-lane Warrenville Bowl, closed several decades ago.

jdavis@dailyherald.com

Iconic Hoffman Lanes bowling alley closes

Huntley seniors complete 10,000th quilt for kids

East Dundee jumping on the Turkey Testicle Festival bandwagon Event mimics Huntley bar's 32-year tradition

Palatine library reopens after being declared bedbug free

O'Hare noise complaints now stretching to St. Charles

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