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Like father, like daughter

Artwork is a regular feature in Neighborhood 24 resident Bobbi Vinton’s home, but one wall in particular displays a collection that means more to Vinton than what an appraiser’s price tag might read because how does one appraise the work of his or her father?

Husband remembers wife with those who remained by her side

Perhaps remembered best for her skill in teaching theatre and her ability to stir up the courage in others to take the stage, Kate Williams passed away peacefully on Dec. 10, 2011 after battling an aggressive form of breast cancer since last April.

Hanson donates salary to food pantry

On December 16, Huntley Village Trustee Nick Hanson donated $1,000 to the Grafton Township Food Pantry. The money was part of a total $4,000 donation to be paid out in $1,000 increments.

Move over Eleanor Rigby

Could I see a show of hands of all of you Beatle fans? School District 158 has a surprise for you!

Sun City goes green

Get ready to mark your calendars for a night you’ll be talking about for years to come. On Monday, January 23, in Drendel Ballroom from 7-8:30 p.m. Sun City will host Dublin’s number one traditional Irish music group, The Irish House Party.

Sports clubs hibernate in winter? Not in Sun City

A neighbor of mine asked me recently if all Sun City sports groups “hibernated,” or canceled activities, during the winter. He assumed that clubs such as softball, tennis, bocce ball, biking, and anglers took the winter off, hunkered down to survive the winter storms and cold, and waited, perhaps impatiently, for spring.

Table talk at Kobe

Recently, 19 women from Neighborhood 33 joined together for lunch at Kobe’s Japanese Steak House. I asked them to participate in a short review of their outing. Each person was given a form to complete at the conclusion of their visit.

Cooking With The Geezer

The following recipe comes from one of our dear neighbors and a terrific cook, Emma Burns. It’s not too big a surprise to find out that Emma’s an expert in the kitchen, when you consider she’s Italian and learned from the best in her family. The surprise comes when you find out that the recipe has nothing to do with her Italian heritage.

Smart Phones

Each Christmas season, the movie “A Christmas Story” is played for everyone to enjoy. Most of us remember the days when a Daisy “Red Ryder” BB gun or American Flyer was the gift to have under the tree. This year every kid age 6 or older was more likely to have been looking for a smart phone. Over the 2011 Christmas weekend, 3.7 million Android phones were registered, and 108 million iPhones were sold in 2011 throughout the world.

PTAG keeps eye on property taxes

PTAG (Property Tax Action Group) consists of Sun City residents who are working to (a) keep property taxes down and (b) seek equity and fairness in assessments.

Annual Preventative Maintenance

As we start the new year of 2012, it’s appropriate to remind all residents of some preventative maintenance that should be done at the beginning of the year. Skipping this simple and inexpensive maintenance could result in hundreds of dollars of repairs in the future.

Centegra Health System offers freedom from smoking

The 2010 McHenry County Healthy Community Study reported that lung cancer is the leading cause of death in McHenry County among men and women ages 45 to 75. Centegra Health System and the McHenry County Department of Health partner to provide “Freedom from Smoking” classes that teach practical ways to end nicotine addiction.

5 money saving tips for 2012

Happy New Year! Let’s hope 2012 proves to be a frugally prosperous year for us all. While we ponder what our New Year’s resolutions will be for the ensuing year, here are a few money-saving ideas that may get you off to a good start.

Railroad Club announces train winners

On Friday, Dec. 23, the Railroad Club of Sun City held their drawing for three Rio Grande Ski Trains.

SunCPAC Q&As: January 12, 2012

Q: With other groups becoming involved in addressing property assessments and property tax issues, what is the future of the Sun City Property Assessment Council?

Ask an Angel: January 12, 2012

Q: I have several old prescriptions that I don’t take any longer, and I need to throw them away. What is the best way to dispose of them? Can I throw them in the trash?

Laughter by Paul: January 12, 2012

Tom was trying to get his history class to understand how the Indians must have felt when they first encountered the Spanish explorers.

Hang Your Hat: January 12, 2012

In the Dec. 15 issue of Sun Day, Diane Farina was a bit critical of a survey of Chinese food that listed the Gourmet House as the winner but did not mention the Plum Garden which was her favorite.

It is the season to think big for a good cause

Toys for her grandchildren: Check. Presents for her children: Check. An autoclave for Guatemala: …? Okay, that last one isn’t really on Rose Cimarusti’s Christmas list (and it’s a little harder to check off than a scarf for a friend), but this N.33 resident is trying to raise $3,500 in donations this holiday season, nonetheless, to afford Big Bertha, a Field Sterilizer, or autoclave, to aid in Refuge International’s help to impoverished Guatemalans.

‘You’ll shoot your eye out, you’ll shoot our eye out’

In last edition’s Happy Trails, I mentioned the Christmas classic movie A Christmas Story. Despite the numerous holiday movies in which family disaster occurs, this movie came to mind for two reasons. First, it’s one of my favorites. Second, I knew what this edition’s Happy Trails was going to be then, which is a rarity, as I tend not to know what I’m writing about until the day before I NEED to put something down on paper. That’s just a side note, though, to this story.

Thinking outside the ‘book’

On its own, the word “scrap” hardly brings to mind anything of value or worth. We think “scrap paper,” “scrap metal,” “scrap wood,” or something you might give to a dog or write directions on. But when Sun City residents Holly Veach and Sharon McLaughlin think of the word scrap, they see a treasure; they see family, friends, and memories, and preservation of same. They see Scrapping on the Spot.

Trouble to triumph

For Jim Vinton, the confines of Boys Town school and residence at first seemed like a trap. “I went to the counselor and asked, ‘What’s a guy got to do to get out of this place?’” Vinton said, after his first two weeks at the institution, where he lived and studied for most of his teenage years.

Deck the halls … and the yard and the trees and the roof and the stoop and the …

When they said “Deck the Halls,” Dave Mathis and his wife took the saying very seriously. Dave and his wife live in Neighborhood 11, and it’s unlikely you’d have a problem finding their home. It’s “decked out” in some 7000 LED lights with numerous holiday characters set up all over the lawns and framing the home.

A grand affair

Sun City resident Inge Sedey, Neighborhood 29, native of Germany’s Black Forest Region and piano instructor for 40 years, “can’t stop tickling those ivories.” She will participate for her seventh year at Elgin Community College Arts Center’s American Grands XVII Concert.

Board election rules set for change?

The next Sun City board of directors’ election will be much different from the one conducted in 2011.

Giving back has good rewards

Yes, Sun City, there is a Santa Claus! He exists in the “spirit of giving” not only during the holidays but all year round. Monetary donations to charity are always appreciated by the recipients. The GIFT OF YOUR TIME is also highly regarded by those in need of it. Seniors can enrich their lives through VOLUNTEERING and aid their health at the same time. Give yourself that “helper’s high!”

Baby, it’s cold outside

Baby, it’s cold out there, and many are still in need of blankets to help keep them warm.

A good, old-fashioned thank you in this modern age

Last week, right in the middle of what we at the Sun Day refer to as our “production week,” and what I refer to as “pull-my-hair-out week,” things got tough, and my computer apparently caught the worst or one of the worst (or what I came to think of as the devil of all) computer viruses, which ultimately left me broken down on the side of the editorial road. But you know what they say, when the going gets tough, the tough get going.