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National Library Week invites residents to join in on engaging festivities

HUNTLEY — The Huntley Area Public Library (HAPL) will mark its 35th anniversary with an exciting lineup of events that will take place starting from April 7 to April 13.

The theme for this year is “The Library is Your Literary Canvas,” which will allow residents to get creative and help design a new library card. Beginning on April 7, HAPL will have design forms available at all library service desks. Patrons can also download an online version of the form from the library’s website at https://www.huntleylibrary.org/nlw2024.

Cummings’ comeback proves satisfying

HUNTLEY — Maddie Cummings has a special incentive for a successful Huntley girls soccer season.

Cummings suffered a season-ending foot injury early last season against McHenry and missed the Red Raiders' regional tournament winning, 17-victory season.

“The hardest part was watching,” Cummings said. “I got clearance to play in August and trained with my club team, Crystal Lake Force.”

“Last year she was a missing piece for us, but this year she will be a focal point, a leader,” Huntley coach Matt Lewandowski said.

The cost of education? Consider the cost of ignorance

If my parents were alive today, Mom would be 101 years old. Dad would be 107.

Mom earned a high school diploma from Leyden High School, but Dad left school at 14 to get a job to help support his family during the Great Depression. Had it not been for such hard economic times, he would have earned his high school diploma, too.

That’s because our government a century ago felt that education was important enough to guarantee that young people have the right to be educated through high school, funded by taxpayers.

Easter egg fun draws hundreds

HUNTLEY — Huntley Park District hosted its annual Easter Egg Hunt March 30 at Deicke Park. Participants and their parents wait for the start at the 4-and-5-year old area.

About 1,100 participants sought some of the 18,000 eggs which were scattered around the roped off areas, for ages birth to age 8. The top prize was a season pass to a family of four to the Stingray Bay Family Aquatic Center.

Huntley's Easter Bunny arrived on a Huntley Fire Protection Department fire engine.

Sun City pickleball player heads to nationals

HUNTLEY — A local pickleball enthusiast will begin his 2024 season competing against the best.

John Schwan of Sun City has qualified for the Minto US Open Pickleball Championships which will take place in Naples, Florida, April 13-20. A record 3,000 amateur and professional pickleball players will compete in the “most prestigious pickleball tournament in the world,” according to a press release statement.

Schwan, 75, will compete in the men's age 75 to 80 age bracket in singles. He has been playing pickleball at the Sun City Pickleball Charter Club for three years.

Boys track team ready for FVC outdoors

HUNTLEY — It is on to the outdoor Fox Valley Conference portion of the track and field season as Huntley's boys squad. The initial FVC outdoor triangular meet is April 8 at Jacobs.

At the Illinois Top Times meet on March 23, junior long distance runner Tommy Nitz ended second as he recorded the best HHS finish, in the 3,200-meter run, with a time of 9:14.12. Nitz qualified for the IHSA Class 3A State Meet in the event last season.

Vinny Costa, also a junior, was fourth in the 60-meter dash, 7.01 seconds; senior Jeff Cruickshank was fourth in the high jump, 1.93 meters; senior Talon Sargent ended eighth in the 200-meter run, 22.78 seconds.

Woodstock man arrested after making hostile remarks towards public officials

WOODSTOCK — On March 29, at approximately 7 a.m., law enforcement from the Woodstock Police Department and the McHenry County Multi-Jurisdictional SWAT Team responded to the 600 block of Brink Street to serve a resident with a felony arrest warrant.

According to a press release statement, the male subject, who was identified as 39-year-old Brandon M. Smith, had previously made threatening statements to Woodstock officials and hinted at the possibility of possessing at least one firearm. This led to safety precautions needing to be put in place before serving Smith with the arrest warrant.

Hurricanes enjoy Special Olympics spring

HUNTLEY — The Huntley Community School District 158 Special Olympics team has enjoyed its first season, with an area event, a Huntley fun run as well as area Special Olympics Illinois track and field meet.

Head coach Carly Smith said the Hurricanes are comprised of eight athletes in grades six through eight with various disabilities.

The group will be at the Huntley Don't Be Fooled - By a Disability Special Olympics Illinois event fundraiser hosted by Huntley Police Department April 6.

Baseball squad starts fast with 4 wins

HUNTLEY — Huntley's baseball squad has had solid outings from the pitching staff in a 4-0 beginning.

Victories have been 1-0 over Hope Academy; 10-0 over Belvidere North and a close 7-4 comeback win over St. Charles East and a 4-1 victory over Maine South.

Senior Malachi Paplanus has two victories already, over Hope and Maine South.

“Our pitchers have done a really nice job so far,” Red Raiders head coach Andy Jakubowski said. “We need to get better with our first pitch strike ratio but to give up four runs in three games – they have done a tremendous job.”

Red Raiders set for girls soccer success

HUNTLEY — Huntley's girls soccer team is optimistic for another successful season.

Huntley is coming off a regional title, a 17-4-3 record and 5-1-3 (third) in the Fox Valley Conference.

Junior Midfielder Gabi Farraj is back after a seven goals, two assist season. Other potential goal scorers include: sophomore forward Maizie Nickle, eight goals, one assist; senior forward Alex Szydlowski, who had seven goals and three assists; sophomore midfielder Maddie Cummings had three goals. Another player returning is junior defender Jaci Laramie.

Putting Style on a Pedestal

Thankfully, in the office where I work as a communications specialist for a public library, I am surrounded by people who love the written word as much as I do. As our team creates copy for newsletters, brochures, and even social media, we get to ponder and discuss the placement of commas, apostrophes, and semicolons. We debate, and sometimes we argue. When all else fails, we go to the ultimate source: the Associated Press Stylebook.

The AP Stylebook is a substantial volume for journalists, students, and writers that, to me at least, deserves its own podium, open to the page about nonessential clauses, marked with a rich leather bookmark, a single light trained on its text.

McHenry County’s Community-Owned grocery store to open for business in May

WOODSTOCK — McHenry County’s first community-owned grocery store, Food Shed Co-op (2390 Lake Shore Drive), will finally celebrate its “Opening Day” in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to be held on May 15, at 9 a.m.

As previously reported, the idea for the co-op was first conceived in 2014 by an organized collective of McHenry County residents that calls itself the McHenry County Food Cooperative. A groundbreaking ceremony was held last July to celebrate the initial construction phase of the grocery store.

Members of the public are invited by the Food Shed Co-op Board of Directors to celebrate the opening of the grocery store, which will feature brief remarks by co-op and community leaders, a symbolic ribbon-cutting, giveaways, and door-buster deals, according to a press release statement.

Huntley High School enters an exclusive partnership to help fast-track students interested in medical careers

HUNTLEY — Graduating seniors attending Huntley High School can now accelerate their medical careers by earning a medical assisting certification thanks to an exclusive partnership the school has entered into.

According to Huntley Community School District 158’s Director of Communications and Public Engagement, Denise Barr, the partnership is with First Institute of Crystal Lake, and the program is being offered to students interested in fast-tracking their medical careers.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics states that medical assisting is one of the fastest-growing careers in the country.

If Acme’s here, can Coyote be far behind?

While riding my bike this morning, I passed a construction site where a new house is being built. At the entrance to the project was a line of orange barricades marked “Acme Barricades.”

And I thought, “Acme Barricades? Wile E. Coyote must be building this house.” Because if you’re a kid like me who grew up in the 1950s and 60s, Acme could mean only one thing: the Acme Catalog from which Coyote ordered every gadget imaginable to outwit Roadrunner — gadgets that failed spectacularly every time.

Red Raiders win boys FVC boys indoor

HUNTLEY — The Huntley boys track and field team dominated the Fox Valley Conference meet as the Red Raiders won the title at the HHS field house March 12.

“The kids were nothing short of amazing,” Huntley head coach Chris Maxedon said. “We took first in nine of 15 events. Our team score was 146 points, and second place scored 48 points.”

Junior Zach Rysavy had an outstanding meet in the jumps as he won the triple jump with a new FVC Meet and field house record 13.72 meters effort.

‘Coach Pop’ touched many via track, humor

HUNTLEY — The influences of beloved former track and field coach Joel Popenfoose could be felt by many at the final indoor track and field meet this season.

Area teams – Kaneland, Jacobs, Hampshire, Burlington Central and Lake Zurich, gathered to compete at Huntley's Field House one more time before heading outside, but more importantly, saluted a legendary coach.

Popenfoose, aka “Coach Pop” and the great memories was evident through the classic rock songs playing, the t-shirt with his picture and one of his favorite characters – big foot.

Townhome under construction engulfed in flames in Hampshire

HAMPSHIRE — On March 16, at approximately 3:30 a.m., the Hampshire Fire Protection District responded to a structure fire in the 1000 block of Briar Glen Court.

At 3:35 a.m., Hampshire Fire Department Engine 1413 reported that a three-story, six-unit townhome under construction had three of its units fully engulfed in flames.

Hampshire Fire Chief Trevor Herrmann stated that two additional nearby buildings sustained damage because of fire exposure. Flames also spread to adjacent lumber piles. There were three 500-pound propane tanks next to the burning building as well, said Herrmann.

Redskins recall one Sweet hoops season

HUNTLEY — It's been more than two decades but memories are still strong for a Huntley's Sweet 16 boys basketball team, which finished with a 27-3 record.

Five of the 2000-01 Redskins still live and work in the area. Brett Borchart and Andrew Mohney reside in Huntley, while Pat Kalamatas, Dave Marshall and Nate Berndt live in Crystal Lake. As the NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments kicked off, the players and their head coach Jay Teagle shared memories.

“It was a lot of fun, the time flies by fast,” Kalamatas, a senior that season, said.

Treasurer Unveils New Property Tax Bills to Improve Transparency

WOODSTOCK, Ill. – Starting this year, McHenry County property owners will see a new tax bill that offers more transparency than ever about where their tax dollars go, and offers more ways to pay.
The list of taxing bodies into which property owners pay will now be listed in order based on their total dollar amount increase, as well as include the phone number for each organization. A pie chart next to the list will help taxpayers understand how much of their bill goes to each unit of local government.

The heartwarming success story of Huntley’s Animal House Shelter

HUNTLEY — On a summer break from attending college at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in 1996, then-Barrington resident Lesley Irwin, received a frantic phone call from a former high school classmate that would result in a remarkable turn of events for the Animal Science major.

Irwin’s friend had just witnessed a dog being thrown out of a moving vehicle on Lake Cook Road in Barrington. The terrified canine was a six-month-old female American Staffordshire Terrier that Irwin ended up adopting after the dog was treated for its injuries at a local vet.

Community mourns the loss of West Dundee firefighter after courageous battle against cancer

WEST DUNDEE — On March 10, West Dundee firefighter and paramedic Daniel B. Kilian, 46, of Gilberts passed away peacefully after an arduous battle with colon cancer.

As previously reported, Kilian was diagnosed with cancer back in January 2023. His rapid decline in health and other complications relating to the disease eventually resulted in Kilian having to stop all treatment regimes in January of this year. On March 4, Kilian received the devastating news that the cancer was terminal.

According to his obituary, Kilian spent the remainder of his life at JourneyCare Hospice in Barrington, where he was surrounded by his family.

Baseball season gets underway

HUNTLEY — A new-look starting nine will take the field for Huntley with high hopes for another stellar season in 2024.

The Red Raiders are poised to defend their Fox Valley Conference crown and once again vie for a regional title which they gained last season in a 29-8 campaign. Some familiar players return with college baseball in their futures.

"The Red Raiders return 10 players from last season's squad," Huntley coach Andy Jakubowski said. "We will have an athletic group of players who will put a lot of pressure on opposing defenses.

Middle school teacher arrested after making an ‘inappropriate comment’ to a child in a locker room

ST. CHARLES — Kane County State’s Attorney Jaime Mosser and St. Charles Police Chief James Keegan recently announced that 24-year-old Kevin D. Lee, of the 500 block of Waterford Lane in South Elgin, is being charged with three felony offenses involving sexual exploitation of a child, grooming, and burglary.

Mosser alleges that on Feb. 26, Lee was present without authority at the Norris Recreation Center in St. Charles. While there, Lee reportedly approached a child in a locker room and made an inappropriate comment to that child.

Green Means “Let’s Go!”

HUNTLEY — St.Patrick’s Day is just a few weeks away! March 17, to be exact. There is so much to do! Shop, eat, and learn some fun facts along the way this St. Patrick’s Day!

Fun fact and activity #1:

One belief “for the sea of green you see every St. Patrick's Day” according to The Daily Meal, “revolves around Saint Patrick himself … many works of art depict Saint Patrick [holding] a sprig of shamrocks.” Also, the color green “still remains as one of three colors in the Irish flag.”

Illinois Shakespeare Festival unveils 2024 Sutter Scholarship awardees: Huntley local hopes to shape the future of theatre

HUNTLEY — Illinois Shakespeare Festival (ISF) Artistic Director John C. Stark recently named three Illinois State University students as recipients of the Sutter Family Scholarship, with one awardee being a Huntley native.

The scholarship was created by Festival patron Craig Sutter in memory of his mother, G. Jean Sutter, and his father, H. Everett Sutter. The Sutter Family Shakespeare Scholarship provides support for a student majoring in acting at Illinois State University and provides recipients with an academic scholarship award of $500 per semester for three years—amounting to $3,000 total.

THE DOORWAY TO OUR COMMUNITY