KANELAND—The silver-and-black-clad Knights are making good on committing to excellence in 2013.

Geneva—The Kane County Cougars will host a pair of events in February as anticipation for the 2013 season grows and the organization prepares for its first season of affiliation with the Chicago Cubs.

Public reaction to the latest mass shooting is, as usual, tragically wrong. People refuse to accept the fact that the men committing these crimes care nothing for our laws.

Paddy J. Barrett, 64, passed away suddenly on Thursday Dec. 27, 2012, at his home.

Ralph R. Umbdenstock of Kerrville, Texas, passed away on Monday, Dec. 31, 2012, in San Antonio, Texas, where he had been briefly hospitalized with pneumonia.

MAPLE PARK—Do you have a high school senior who is planning on pursuing a career in the field of agriculture? If so, be sure to check out www.hintzsche.com to access an overview and application for the Hintzsche Scholarship for Agriculture.

MAPLE PARK—The following candidates submitted nomination petitions for the April 9 election:

KANELAND—The following Kaneland students were recently recognized by Fox Valley Career Center as Students of the Month for November 2012:

SUGAR GROVE—The year 2013 could be a fruitful one for the village of Sugar Grove.

Several village trustees expressed their strong interest in creating an interchange to Interstate 88 off of Route 47 near Waubonsee. The trustees are working with the state to get a grant to begin the project.

ELBURN—Coming to a resolution on the Elburn Station development next year is high on the priority list for a number of Village Board members.

Elburn Lions Club rallies to bridge gaps in literacy
ELBURN—Immersed in communities since 1917, the Lions Club International Foundation is the world’s largest community service organization with an emphasis on supporting the blind and visually impaired.

PLANO—Kaneland boys basketball is slowly but surely gelling again.

At the 50th running of the Plano Christmas Classic, that reality stood as an ominous warning to some teams and a statement of fact to the teams that bested the Knights.

Wasco—Wasco Girls Fastpitch Softball (WGFSL) began registration on Tuesday.

WGFSL is a recreational softball league open to all area girls from kindergarten through 12th grade. Games are played in the evenings and some Saturdays so parents can attend and readily participate.

The recent tragedy in Newtown, Conn., while all the details are not yet known, has highlighted two issues nationwide.

What a shame that 20 little ones—mostly 5- and 6-year-olds—and six adults had to lose their lives so that a few macho men can have guns to play cops and robbers and play soldier, sneaking up on some harmless animal.

VIRGIL—S.S. Peter and Paul Catholic Church will host its Snowball Dance (one of Kane County’s oldest dances) on Saturday, Jan. 19, 7 p.m. to midnight at the church, 5N939 Meridith Road in Virgil.