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Community Corner

Introducing (or Re-introducing) 'Out & Around'

Here's a little something on the goings-on in Geneva—the stuff that might not make a news story but people are talking about.

The "Out & Around" synopsis is in this column template, but I'm going to offer a brief introduction anyway.

The column is a tribute of sorts to Allen Mead, Dave Rogers, Kurt Wehrmeister, Renee Tomell, Wayne Woltman and past editors of The Republican, back when it was individually owned and operated.

That's not taking anything away from today's Republican, by the way, which continues to be an outstanding news source for the community. I mean that sincerely. Geneva Patch is a complement to print news, not a replacement. I'm an ink-stained wretch through and through, and there's a lot of great work being done that you should read.

Find out what's happening in Genevawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

One thing I can do that maybe the others can't is provide some hometown perspective from time to time.

Here's a little catch-up on miscellany around town:

Find out what's happening in Genevawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Festival of the Vine wrap-up—Laura Rush from the Chamber of Commerce reports that last weekend's Festival of the Vine exceeded expectations. The chamber figured to get 75,000 visitors, and attendance definitely passed that mark. (Yes, it's unscientific, but the chamber folks have been at this a long time and are pretty good at gauging crowd sizes.) On the business side: Galena Garlic stayed open until 11 p.m. both nights. The Latest Crave and Bistro Thai, both first-timers, had a great business at Flavor Fare.

Speaking of Flavor Fare, the Lencioni Award is Way Cool—It was great to see former Geneva Building Inspector Chuck Lencioni honored at Festival of the Vine. Chuck, whose recent loss is still being felt, pretty much was the inventor and driving force behind Flavor Fare. What a lot of people don't know is that Chuck's son Michael flew home from Baltimore at his own expense for the weekend just to continue his father's legacy of working the Gen-Hoe booth under the Flavor Fare tent. 

Great Geneva SchoolsGeneva elementary schools did really well in the annual Chicago Magazine listing of Chicago's Best Schools. You have to buy the magazine or purchase it online to see the results. (At least I couldn't find it for free.) But School Board President Mary Stith reports that of the top 10 elementary schools in Kane County, Geneva's were the top seven.

How Do You Feel About Route 31 Being Closed for the Marathon?—You probably saw the Geneva Patch item on the closing of Route 31 for Sunday's first-ever Fox Valley Marathon. I'm guessing that could be a problem for folks trying to get to, say, the 7 a.m. Mass at St. Peter Church. How do you feel about the road closing? Is it a good thing or not so great? Make a comment below, would you? We love comments on Geneva Patch.

Geneva Patch Gaining Momentum—I just got my first reports of site traffic for Geneva Patch, and I'm happy to say that we're making modest progress. It was fun watching the number of unique visitors go from "1" (me) prior to launch to 489 on Aug. 30, three days after we started. (I hope my boss isn't mad that I report these numbers.) Pretty amazing when you consider the marketing is pretty much all word of mouth. I won't be satisfied until we've engaged every one of Geneva's households, just as The Republican did when I was editor, back in the late 1980s and early '90s.

My goal is to do an "Out & Around" every day, so if you see me slacking, make a comment on the site as a reminder.

Don't forget that you can also post events and announcements straight to Geneva Patch. Got photos of your kid's baseball game? Have a wedding or engagement? Look for the green tabs in the upper right corner of the Events and Announcements pages, and load 'em up. This is your site. Experiment and enjoy!

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