Geneva High School senior wins Chicago jazz contest

James Bartusek, a senior at Geneva High School, performs

at a recent competition in Chicago. (Submitted photo)

• James Bartusek, 18, a senior at Geneva High School, recently won the 18 to 22 year old category in the Union League Jazz Improvisation Competition in Chicago. Bartusek, a saxophonist, topped other finalists who performed Feb. 15 before judges and an audience at Buddy Guy's Legends. Bartusek received a $1,500 cash prize. Bartusek plans to attend Princeton Univesity in the fall. He started playing the saxophone in the fourth grade and plans to continue playing jazz at Princeton.

• Batavia School District officials now estimate that the district's deficit for the 2011-12 fiscal year will drop from $2.5 million to about $1 million. Officials said the drop is the result of some changes to the district's budget, including $572,000 in one-time tax increment financing funds from the City of Aurora and state funding of $1.4 million. 


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Batavia's Jenifer Camery receives NIU scholarship

NIU junior Jenifer Camery of Batavia is a recipient of the school's

Forward Together Scholarship.

• Jenifer Camery of Batavia is one of five recipients of the Northern Illinois University Forward Together Scholarship. Each recipient will receive a one-time scholarship of $4,000 for the 2012-13 academic year. The scholarship was created to honor the five NIU students who lost their lives on Feb. 14, 2008. Camery, a junior, is an elementary education major. She also leads the NIU Educators' Club and participates in the Dynamic Dance Allstars. Camery is scheduled to graduate in May 2013.


• Waubonsee Community College will host a Parents' Night from 6 to 
8 p.m., March 6 in the Event Room of the Academic and Professional Center on the college's Sugar Grove Campus, Route 47 and Waubonsee Drive. Parents of high school students are invited to the free event. The event will include speakers, refreshments and a raffle for a $50 gift card. For more information, call 630-466-7900, ext. 5756, or visit www.waubonsee.edu.


• Garfield Farm Museum will host an antique apple tree grafting seminar at 1:30 p.m., March 4. Reservations are required. The fee for the program is $30. The musuem is located on Garfield Road, just north of Route 38 in LaFox. For more information, call 630-584-8485 or visit www.garfieldfarm.org.


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A positive word at the right moment

Pam Russell, director of connections at the Congregational Church of Batavia, 

greets a congegation member.

   It's a busy time for everyone at the Congregational Church of Batavia, the church I attend and where I serve as vice moderator.
   Pam Russell, the church's director of connections, told me the other day about an experience she had this past Sunday morning that should remind us all of the power of a positive word at the right moment. 
   Pam's duties include guiding individuals and families through the process of becoming members in our church, and she always does a fine job at that task.
   Her job is a bit more challenging these days, because our longtime pastor, David Foxgrover, recently retired after serving our church for more than 22 years. We have been blessed with a talented interim pastor, Greg Skiba, who will work with us as we select a new "settled" pastor, and that's good news for the church.
   It's also good news that we have 10 new members planning to join our church on Feb. 26. And that's why Pam's story from Sunday is important to me.
   Pam told me that one of our new members talked with her after services Sunday and explained that she had arrived at church that morning having doubts about joining the church. As she sat in the pew waiting for the worship service to begin, she started a conversation with a woman sitting next to her.
   The new member asked the woman if she was a member of the church. Yes, she was a member, the woman answered, a longtime member as a matter fact. 
   The new member then asked her if the church pressured members to take an active role with the church's ministries and activities. No, the woman said, there's no pressure at all, but many people here say they've benefitted from becoming involved with the church's ministries.
   The new member later told Pam that the woman's comments eliminated the doubts she had and led her to commit to the church.
   The best part of the story, Pam said to me, was that the woman the new member had talked to had attended services that morning for the first time in several weeks, after recovering from a serious illness. 
   God brought the two women together that morning, and a positive word from one reassured the other about committing to a new church during a very challenging time.
   I find a certain amount of reassurance in that story.