10 Questions for a Paralympian
On top of all that he's accomplished in his life, Tony Iniguez earned the right to represent the U.S. as one of 43 members of the 2008 U.S. Paralympic Track and Field Team in Beijing this year - and he did more than just race.

Couple makes motorcycle trips their business
Hitting the highway has been part of the American Dream since shortly after the first Model T rolled off the assembly line. These days, an Oswego couple is busy planning such journeys as vacation packages for motorcycle enthusiasts.

Aurorans cooking up large-scale food drive
Feeding the hungry is a problem during the best of times and the worst of times. It just happens that Aurora is readying its biggest, concentrated food drive ever during times that seem as bad as ever. Some three years in the making, the city Holiday Food Drive will begin Nov. 1 and last until Nov. 26 -- the day before Thanksgiving.

Soup's On! to aid charities
"Soup's On!," The Rotary Club of Naperville's new fall fundraiser to benefit Loaves & Fishes food pantry, DuPage PADS and Hesed House, will showcase the culinary creations of more than 25 area restaurants and merchants this weekend.

Celebration of the horse, of course
"Mama, is it time?" Lauren Davis asked. The Lisle 6-year-old, like many of the numerous kids waiting Sunday outside the main arena at Danada Equestrian Center in Wheaton, was anxiously awaiting her chance to ride her hand-crafted hobbyhorse - which she named Cookie - around the ring. A short time later, the children were called inside the arena, and they happily galloped and giddyupped on their stick horses.

Fox Valley's ties to Underground Railroad
Jihad Muhammad sees the march to freedom by African Americans, including those who fled slavery in the mid-19th century, as someone who has shared in his ancestors' hard-won gains. Patsy Mighell Paxton views this struggle from a separate vantage point -- as a descendant of white New Englanders who had turned their Sugar Grove Township farm into a safe house for escaping slaves.

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Skin condition ichthyosis isnt just a surface problem
The genetic skin disease ichthyosis, taken from the Greek root for fish, is aptly named. It slows or inhibits the skin's natural shedding process, making it dry, rough and scaly. In some forms, it causes the rapid production of skin cells.

Marmion Academy priest spent 3 months in Iraq
The Iraq War is not popular. That doesn't mean good things don't happen there. Last spring, before Fr. Paul Weberg deployed to Iraq for three months as a U.S. Army chaplain, I'd see him after school -- tall and thin enough to be mistaken for a marathoner -- running on the Marmion Academy track.

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Riverfront reprises musical version of horror classic
The Riverfront Playhouse at 11-13 South Water Street Mall in downtown Aurora, presents an encore presentation of Night of the Living Dead: The Musical by Jack Schultz through Nov. 1.

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A nutritional standout is in your roots
It's an annual earthly rite: the ripening of the land's hidden treasures. And now is the time to make the most of it. Farmers are digging out an abundant root-vegetable harvest and bringing it to area farm stands and farmers markets, where consumers can pick up a rainbow of flavors, textures and nutritional pedigrees.

10 questions with a Pace bus driver
Mia Rice remembers the days when neighborhoods weren't so crowded and traffic had yet to clog so many streets. But somehow, her job as a Pace Suburban Bus driver through the Fox Valley, still manages to relax her after more than seven years, and 100 miles of driving daily, she says.

Wheaton Franciscans to host Earth Summit

The Wheaton Franciscan campus is one of 50 sites around the world -- and the only location in Illinois -- to be selected to host Earth Summit 2008.

Artists flock to Fabyan's wide-open outdoor studio
When Aurora resident Katie Fowler pulled into the Fabyan Forest Preserve in Geneva on Saturday, she knew right where she was headed. With paint and brush in hand, the American Academy of Art student and her friend, Elisha Dasenbrock of Elburn, found a shaded picnic table on the green grass and set up their makeshift studio near the giant windmill bustling with people.

Keeping pregnant teens in school
The Advantage Program, a free program offered for two decades to pregnant teen students in both East and West Aurora districts, help them get back to school.

Getting caught by the speed van will cost you
I'm not what you'd call a fast driver.

Ready for the road?
From adolescence to adulthood, there are certain birthdays we tend to remember more than others.

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10 questions for a stand-up comedian
It takes a certain kind of insanity to get up on a stage in front of people and try to make them laugh. It takes a different kind of insanity to make stand-up comedy your main job for nearly 30 years, and counting.

'Late Night Catechism' back in session

The interactive show Put The Nuns in Charge!, which was performed at the Copley Theatre in spring of this year, has prompted the return of its predecessor to the same theater.

Colonial Cafe opens ballot box for Presidential Soda Straw Poll

Forget about the debates, presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain will be having an ice cream sundae duel that will be yummy in your tummy.

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