Polar-palooza being held at Creek Bend Nature Center
The Forest Preserve District of Kane County will hold “Polar-palooza” from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Creek Bend Nature Center, 37W700 Dean St., St. Charles.
A family-friendly winter festival, it will feature arcade-style activities indoors and outdoors in which people earn tickets to redeem for prizes, according to the district’s website. Hot chocolate and cookies will be available.
Children must be accompanied by an adult. No registration is required. For more information, go to www.kaneforest.com/calendar/events/polar-palooza.
Gail Borden Public Library releases 2025 usage statistics
The Gail Borden Public Library District tallied 544,708 patron visits to its three locations in 2025, according to year-end statistics.
In 2025, 966,920 books and other items were borrowed, 109,260 questions answered by reference librarians and 57,782 people attended library programs, library officials said.
Additionally, volunteers put in a collective 8,476 hours; 6,192 new library cards were issued, 2,305 new passport applications were processed and 1,069 license plate renewal stickers sold.
South Elgin/Countryside fire district wraps up busy year
South Elgin and Countryside First Protection District reported on social media that 2025 was its busiest year ever.
The district handled 4,143 calls for service in 2025, up 1% from 2024, according to the post.
It fielded 2,905 calls for ambulance service; 448 good intent, nonemergency calls; 354 false alarms; 226 service calls; 103 calls for hazardous conditions; 101 fires; and six special incidents.
The fire district encompasses 24 square miles and serves about 30,000 residents in South Elgin and parts of Bartlett, Campton Hills and unincorporated St. Charles, according to its website.
Kane County wildlife staff banding raptors as part of project
Wildlife staff for the Forest Preserve District of Kane County embarked on a new raptor research project in partnership with Millikin University and the Illinois Raptor Center.
Staffers are banding and taking samples from common raptor species throughout the county, according to a district social media post. Upon safe capture, information such as body measurements, age and sex are recorded.
Raptor banding helps with the understanding of raptor movement and habitat selection and provides overall health assessments, the post said. It’s also providing information about the red-tailed hawk subspecies in the county.
Samples taken from individual birds will be used in a variety of regional raptor health studies, and red-tailed hawk research will be used to contribute to a larger, long-term collaborative study, officials said.
Electronic waste recycling effort starts in South Elgin
South Elgin residents can now recycle electronic items at no extra collection cost.
The service will take up to six items, including one TV per scheduled collection, according to a village social media post. Televisions must weigh less than 50 pounds.
Pickup will take place on the same day as trash/recycling service, but the village’s contractor, Groot Inc., must be notified at least 48 hours in advance of items being left out for pickup.
Electronic items that will be taken include laptops, printers, DVD players and computer hard drives. For a full list and more information, go to southelgin.com/news_detail_T42_R591.php.
To arrange a pickup, call Groot at 847-429-7370.
Sherman breast cancer patient honored at Bulls’ event
Gilberts resident Jessica Craig, an Advocate Sherman Hospital breast cancer patient, was among a group of Advocate Health Care cancer patients and survivors who took part Dec. 17 in the Chicago Bulls “Court of Dreams” event at the United Center.
Craig, 33, an oncology nurse at the Advocate Infusion Center in Crystal Lake, decided to get a mammogram after giving birth to her second child when she noticed changes to her breasts, a news release said. She was diagnosed in June 2024 with stage 4 inflammatory breast cancer that had metastasized in the liver, lymph nodes and bones.
Craig began chemotherapy and has been receiving treatments every three weeks at Sherman Hospital in Elgin. While she will need to undergo treatment indefinitely, her numbers have significantly improved, the release said.
At the Bulls game, Craig and the other patients participated in a scrimmage led by Bulls radio play-by-play announcer Chuck Swirsky and Bulls legend Bill Wennington. Bulls guard Tre Jones, whose mother is a breast cancer survivor, gave them wellness gifts and words of encouragement, the release said.
