By Natural Resources Commissioner Pam Otto What comes to mind when you think of a good neighbor? State Farm? The folks next door? Bald-faced hornets? Okay, that last one may sound like a stretch. After all, aren’t hornets the critters people get “mad as”? Isn’t “stirring up a hornet’s nest” the last thing you want… Read More Wasp Nests
By Heather Goudreau, Natural Resources Commissioner The St. Charles Natural Resources Commission is excited to host the annual Pumpkin Smash on Saturday, November 5th. Last year we collected 797 pumpkins and we hope to smash that number in 2022. This is a drive through event, making it quick and easy to get your pumpkins composted,… Read More Annual Pumpkin Smash is Nov. 5
From the St. Charles Mental Health Board Celebrating 61 years of providing customized, consumer-focused programs and services in an equitable, inclusive manner, the Association for Individual Development (AID) works with individuals with developmental, intellectual, and/or mental health challenges, those who have suffered a trauma, those experiencing immediate and/or chronic crises and those at risk to… Read More Association for Individual Development is there for Individuals with with Physical, Developmental, Intellectual and Mental Health Challenges
From the St. Charles Community Mental Health Board For Parents of Preschool & Elementary School Students Review and/or empty papers from the take-home folder after school each day. Daily, read teacher school, and district messages that are emailed or sent through an electronic portal to parents. Tell your children specific expectations you have for after-school… Read More Have a Proactive Start to the School Year
by Natural Resources Commissioner Suzi Myers They’re back! The wonderous flashing bugs of the summer. Known by many different names, including lightning bugs and candle flies, fireflies are not bugs, but acutally a beetle. The firefly family, Lampyridae, includes more than 2,000 species worldwide. We have about 170 species here in the USA, but they… Read More Fireflies
From the St. Charles Mental Health Board The Community Crisis Center was founded in 1975 in Elgin by a group of volunteers who wanted to create a safe place that would be “always home” for individuals and families in crisis, whether that crisis be domestic/sexual violence, economic crisis, or emotional anguish. Over the years, professional… Read More Community Crisis Center Helps Individuals and Families in Crisis
By Natural Resources Commissioners Lee Haggas and Mrs. Carol Haggas Of all the statistics on the effects of climate change, here’s one that doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves: in the past 50 years, the population of birds migrating across the Great Plains on their way to Mexico declined by 70%, and of… Read More Fine Feathered Friends Need Friends of Their Own
by Tom Galante, St. Charles Natural Resources Commissioner As our weather finally gets warmer, you may be looking forward to boating and fishing. We are blessed with a number of great nearby waterways, including our own Fox River. Maybe you’re a hiker going trail to trail, or maybe you’ve found an interesting plant in your… Read More Don’t Pick Up Environmental Hitchhikers!
Six Fox Valley Career Center Fire Science students spent a day training with the St. Charles Fire Department in May. The students signed up for the City’s job shadow program, which invites local high school students to learn more about careers in public service. The students got a behind-the-scenes look at Fire Station #1 and a… Read More Fox Valley Fire Science Students Shadow St. Charles Firefighters
From the Community Mental Health Board As a trusted behavioral health organization committed to providing care in the community since 1955, Ecker Center for Behavioral Health offers an array of comprehensive services for children, adolescents, and adults. Ecker’s has two locations in Elgin and satellite offices in St. Charles and Streamwood. Treatment is carefully planned… Read More The Ecker Center for Behavioral Health