Week in Review: Downtown Business Destroyed in Fire, Holiday Light Contest and Talk of a School Bond

Firefighters responded to a blaze last Monday night that .

Fortunately, thanks to alert patrons at the neighboring  , the flames at Last Detail were put out quickly, and no one was hurt.

But it certainly was a terrible pre-Christmas blow to owner Judy Simmons, who has owned the store, one of three shops, for seven years. Click the link above to read more.

Also last week:

— Danville Patch announced its , where one lucky city out of 840 nationally will get $100,000 for its local public schools. Readers will get to vote on who goes to the national finals and, ultimately, who wins! We also have a , so if your house is all decked out, post your address on the map so others can drive by and enjoy.

— A proposed school bond got Patch readers talking. The agreed to explore whether the community would support a $238 million bond measure on the June ballot. Judging by the comments, it's going to be a tough sell. Commenters brought up the expensive solar panels the district installed and payments for teacher furlough days and questioned why the district is focusing on facilities instead of student/teacher performance.

— On Wednesday, Danville's Town Council selected Candace Andersen as Mayor and Newell Arnerich as Vice Mayor at a meeting that featured the town's 30th Annual Mayor's Installation and Community Service Awards. If you want to know who is making a difference in making Danville a great place to live, read this story.

Got a story idea? Know of something important happening this week? Let us know! Post it in the comments below or email David.Mills@Patch.com. You can also post your own events and announcements.