Visitors took advance of a perfect fall Saturday to sample wines from around the world during Geneva’s annual Geneva’s Festival of the Vine held along and around Third Street. (Photo by Jack McCarthy / Chronicle Media)

ST. CHARLES

Council backs plan to build $21.5 million police facility

The St. Charles City Council has unanimously voted to approve building a new $21.5 million police facility on property at the former Valley Shopping Center.

The City will purchase approximately 6.5 acres along the south side of the former Valley Shopping Center, 1605 W. Main Street, for $714,765. The chosen site meets all the criteria needed for a modern police facility and is expected to accommodate the City’s police operations for the next 50 years.

“Locating our new police station at the Valley Shopping Center site provides our community with police services that are quite visible, easily accessible, and centrally located,” said Mayor Ray Rogina. “It also allows the City to rehabilitate a depressed property for a greater common good.”

Locations for the facility had been under review for about two years. The Valley Shopping Center was one of the original sites under consideration. But until recently, the site was under contract with another buyer.

Until the Valley Shopping Center site became available, the City was looking at placing the new facility on City-owned property at Rt. 31 and Red Gate Road. At this time, there are no immediate plans for the land at Rt. 31.

Recognizing several deficiencies with the current facility, in 2015 the City Council directed the police and public works staffs to review the structure, site, and operational needs of the Police Department. The results showed replacing the current aging facility with a newly built structure on an alternate site was the best long-term option.

Funding for the new facility will come from both City funds and a 20-year bond issue. It will take two to three years to design and build the new police station.

BATAVIA

Fermilab Open House marks 50th anniversary

Fermilab hosts a free Community Open House takes place on Sept. 23 from 10 a.m to 4 p.m., offering an opportunity to see the laboratory up close and tour areas not typically open to the public.

Fermilab will host tours, demos and hands-on activities for the whole family — there’s a little something for everyone of all ages to do or see.

Visit experiments, including the giant Muon g-2 magnet. Learn all about Fermilab’s particle accelerators and experiments. Visit the Lederman Science Education Center, see some of our facilities, and watch live video casts with our partners in France, Chile and South Dakota. Have lunch, hike the lab’s restored tall-grass prairie, and see the resident herd of bison.

Enter the Open House from the east via Batavia Road or from the west via Wilson Street. After parking, visitors will take a short orientation tour, after which they can decide what sites you’d like to see.

ST. CHARLES

Motorcyclist, 64, killed in Labor Day accident

A 64-year-old motorcyclist from West Chicago was killed in a Labor Day weekend collision with a car on West Main Street in St. Charles.

St. Charles police and fire departments were called to the 1900 block of West Main Street around 12:48 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2, for a crash involving injuries.

According to the report, a 1996 Harley Davidson motorcycle was eastbound when it was struck by a westbound 1999 Dodge Avenger that was initiating a left turn to go south on South 19^th Street. While making the left turn, the motorcycle, occupied by only the driver, was struck by the Avenger.

The driver of the Dodge is 17 years of age and was cited for failure yield, turning left, the report said.

COUNTY

Forest district features hikes with naturalists

Get your daily 10,000 steps in, during our guided hikes with Forest Preserve District of Kane County naturalists.

Each month, we’ll take an invigorating two-hour hike at a forest preserve. “Trek with a Naturalist” programs are designed for those who like active hiking. The hikes will be led by a naturalist, who will interpret the ecology of the preserve along the way.

Join us at one or all three hikes:

• The first will take place on Thursday, Sept. 21, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at Lake Run Forest Preserve,        40W255 Tanner Rd., Sugar Grove.
• The second hike will be on Thursday, Oct. 19, from 4-6 p.m. at Raceway Woods Forest Preserve, 17N702 Western Ave., Rt. 31, Carpentersville.
• The third hike will take place on Saturday, Nov. 11, from 9-11 a.m. at Grunwald Forest Preserve, 02S035 Lorang Rd., Elburn.

These free programs are for ages 18 and above. Advance registration is required. Call 630-444-3190 or e-mail programs@kaneforest.com to register.

For more information, call 630-444-3190, visit www.kaneforest.com, or find us on social media by searching @forestpreserve.

ELGIN

ECC student named to NASA scholars program

Elgin Community College Student Angela M. Andrada will be one of 304 community college students nationwide who move closer to a career in the aeronautics industry as part of the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars program (NCAS).

The four-day program will be held in September at NASA’s Langley Research Center outside of Washington, D.C.

Andrada, of Elgin, will interact with NASA engineers and others at Langley as she and other scholars learn more about careers in science and engineering. Scholars also will tour the center and attend NASA briefings before forming teams and establishing fictional companies interested in Mars exploration. Each team will develop and test a prototype rover, form a company infrastructure, manage a budget, and develop communications and outreach.

By her participation in the program, Andrada hopes not only to encourage girls to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), but not let gender and racial stereotypes undermine their self-confidence while doing so.

NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars is a project funded in part by the Minority University Research and Education Program (MUREP), which is committed to engaging underrepresented and underserved STEM students in authentic learning experiences to sustain a diverse workforce.

For more information about the program, visit http://ncas.aerospacescholars.org/.

COUNTY

Rehabilitation court hosts art, writing show

The Kane County Drug Rehabilitation Court will host its Annual Art and Writing Show from 3:30-6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Jury Assembly Room, JC-100, located on the first floor of the Kane County Judicial Center in St. Charles.

The artwork and writings are submitted by current Drug Court participants. The public is invited to this event.

A wide variety of art forms will be represented at the show including some live music as well as traditional paintings and collages. Light hors d’oeuvres and beverages will be served by Drug Court participants who have volunteered to assist with the event.

Many of the artists will be present at the show along with Presiding Drug Court Judge Marmarie Kostelny and the entire Drug Court team.

The art show is presented as a positive sober event for drug court participants and is intended to encourage healthy and creative activities. The art often represents the participants’ hard work in recovery, their thoughts on addiction and their efforts at reunification with others. By working with Kane County Drug Court, participants commit to their recovery under close judicial supervision for 24 months of intensive treatment and probation.

For more information contact Kane County Drug Rehabilitation Court Coordinator Alicia Klimpke at klimpkealicia@co.kane.il.us.

–Kane County News Briefs–