Let teachers show students they care
When I attended Maine South High School in Park Ridge, it was a big deal if someone got busted with marijuana or had a house party with underage drinking.

Emphasis on 'season of giving'
A long-standing tradition is soon upon us as the city of Elgin gears up for its annual tree lighting ceremony to kick off the holiday season. But even tradition, it seems, cannot ignore certain realities.

Back to Square 1 for Burlington developments
Dave Gathman: Two quick votes taken by the Burlington Village Board this week are a reminder of how much hard work has been just thrown away because of the economic slowdown — and how much work will have to be repeated if this little village is ever to explode with the rapid growth that seemed just about to happen only a couple of years ago.

It's not romantic, but it's mine
Mike Danahey: Last Friday, The Courier-News Pulse column mentioned that, just in time for the holidays, Sun City Huntley resident Joseph S. Persaud will put out "Beguiled, Again," a sequel to his 2006 romance novel "Florence and Adam: A Love Affair."

Ready or not, here it comes
I was thrilled when I woke up Saturday morning and the sun was shining and it was still warm enough to walk my dog without pulling on my heavy parka.

Red-light cameras a scourge
Jeff Ward: I don't care if it does bring property values down (and it surely will), I'm packin' up and moving to Barrington, even if it means pitching a tent in Miller Park. I just have to be part of a town that's somehow managed to elect such a sage village board.

No debate over ECC's value
I was listening to National Public Radio recently and a journalist was interviewing a novelist who was underemployed.

'Legs and Lace' bringing Elgin old-fashioned cabaret
It's often said there are some things that simply don't go out with style, like bell bottoms, disco music or shag carpeting.

New meaning to ‘business promotion’
Dave Gathman: Lt. Col. Michael Fenzel of the U.S. Army will speak this morning as part of Hampshire High School's Veterans Day celebrations. He'll have to hurry back out of town by mid-afternoon. But it will be just a taste of his Hampshire-visiting this season.

’Tis the season ... why wait?
Mike Danahey: While paying some bills last week, I noticed that it's already Christmas in West Dundee. Hearing Karen Carpenter mournfully crooning a carol over the store's PA system almost had me streaming sentimental tears in Sears.

Benching sports right call for U46
I cannot tell you how much time I've spent in the bleachers and how many innings of prep baseball I've watched as my three nephews, in their turn, passed through high school.

When the unbearable leads to unthinkable
Jeff Ward: Last week, my wife and I discussed some marketing efforts made on behalf of my business. I was lamenting the fact it hadn't been done sooner when my wife turned to me and said, "You had to take care of your mother last year."

When will economy perk up in Elgin?
Erin Calandriello: I have been covering local layoffs for the past two years. Supposedly, our economy is picking up. The Yankees winning the World Series Wednesday night apparently is another indicator that America will come out of its financial rut.

Unearthing facts about our area's history
Steven Ross Johnson: Little-known fact: At one time, wild rice grew around the Chicago River. Chances are that any rice grown from that area these days would make it to the plates of only the bravest diners (me not being one of them), but it does reveal a little bit about what earlier life was like in northern Illinois.

Of flu, mittens and planners
Dave Gathman: When the idea was approved by the Hampshire and Burlington village boards last month, it sounded pretty alarmist. Because Burlington has no police force of its own, the villages agreed that Hampshire cops would be made available to provide an armed escort for delivery of H1N1 flu vaccine to Burlington destinations.

Holidays before the goodbyes
Holiday dinners in my family tend to be a little chaotic. With kids, dogs and plenty of football games to watch, we're hardly a quiet crowd and our get-together on Saturday was no exception.

All in the family with Elgin City Council
If you channel-surf onto last week's Elgin City Council committee of the whole meeting, you have to stay tuned for a moment of unusually high drama between council members Robert Gilliam and Richard Dunne.

Taking time for local schools
One of the things I've always admired about Chicago-area folk is their willingness to pitch in during times of crisis. Don't believe me? Think back to the last time we got a foot or more of snow.

More haunted tales about Elgin
Erin Calandriello: My grandma, Bea, and my great-grandmother, Valerie, were supposed to board the Eastland ship in Chicago in July 1915. It was set to sail up the Chicago River to Michigan City. The Western Electric Co. was taking its employees and their families on a day cruise and picnic.

Speed limit studies limited
Dave Gathman: At the village board's request, the Illinois Department of Transportation has agreed study whether it would be allowable to lower the speed limits on Route 72 in front of Tuscany Woods subdivision, from 55 mph down to 45.

Time for dose of common sense
Julia Doyle: Growing up in a large family meant sharing a lot of things — bedrooms, clothes, bathrooms, toys and germs. With three older sisters plus nephews and nieces who started arriving when I was 5 years old, it wasn't uncommon for the same cold or flu bug to cycle through the household — sometimes more than once. Add to that the day care my mom ran out of our house for several years, and our home was a virtual petri dish.

A mysterious note about Stegall home fix-up grant
Upon cleaning off the cyclonic mess that was my desk last week, I discovered a note sent a while ago, not directly to me but to this office. Printed out in a small font on a carefully torn sheet of paper, it looked like it would belong in a really big fortune cookie or in a bottle headed out to sea.

This debate needs civility
You can tell it's fall in Geneva by the sea of white crosses temporarily adorning the St. Peter Catholic Church front lawn. Each cross is intended to represent one of the more than 3,000 abortions that take place in this country every day.

Elusive parking space a lesson in value at ECC
After I digest my Thanksgiving Day meal, Black Friday awaits me at 5 a.m.