Woodstockindependent 12 9 15

1Dec. 9-15, 2015THE WOODSTOCK INDEPENDENT

INDEPENDENTTheWoodstock

Serving Woodstock, Wonder Lake and Bull Valley, Ill. $1.00www.thewoodstockindependent.comPublished every Wednesday Est. 1987

NEWS

PAGE 3

The Woodstock Chamber will move to City Hall

MARKETPLACE

Urban Gypsy opens on Jefferson Street

PAGE 10

EDUCATION

In lockdowns, codes differentiate security levels

Dec. 9-15, 2015

OBITUARIES 4

OPINION 5

EDUCATION 7

A & E 8

MARKETPLACE 10IND

EX

The Woodstock Independent671 E. Calhoun St.,

Woodstock, IL 60098Phone: 815-338-8040Fax: 815-338-8177

www.thewoodstockindependent.com

O B I T U A R I E S E N D Q U O T ECOMMUNITY 11

CALENDAR 14

CLASSIFIEDS 15

PUBLIC NOTICES 17

SPORTS 20

Enrique R. Vidales, WoodstockVernon E. Fehrman, WoodstockVirginia T. Betts, WoodstockLinda J. Lockwood, Crystal Lake

“The bar is set high for this group.”

— Paul Rausch, page 8

PAGE 7

Police investigating alleged home invasion on WalnutBy KATELYN STANEK

The Independent

Two people armed with hammers al-

legedly forced themselves into a house

on Walnut Drive in Woodstock, bound

a man inside and took off with his fire-

arms Dec. 2, Woodstock police said.

Police are searching for the suspects.

Officers were called to a home in the

1700 block of Walnut Drive at 5:34 p.m.

Dec. 2 in response to a call from a man

who told police a pair of home invaders

pushed him down a flight of stairs lead-

Suspects armed with hammers pushed victim down stairs, bound him and stole his guns, police say

Terry Leonard waits for a passenger with his Percheron gelding, Doc, at the Woodstock Opera House Dec. 6. This is the 19th year Leonard has given free carriage rides on the Woodstock Square. INDEPENDENT PHOTO BY KEN FARVER

Please see Home invasion, Page 3

City sets levy at about$9.18 million

By KATELYN STANEKThe Independent

�e Woodstock City Council ap-

proved an ordinance Dec. 1 setting its

2015 property tax levy at about $9.18

million, a figure which does not in-

clude an increase allowed under the

terms of the Property Tax Extension

Limitation Law, or PTELL.

But some residents said that move

doesn’t go far enough toward reducing

property taxes.

“Does anyone suggest a tax cut?”

Woodstock resident Barb Gessert

asked the council.

Mayor Brian Sager said no one had.

“�is City Council has taken a very

firm stand … that we want to have a

stable, non-extended PTELL budget-

ary situation,” Sager said.

Under PTELL, taxing bodies in some

Illinois counties are allowed to in-

crease property taxes by 5 percent or

the rate of inflation, whichever is less.

�is is the fifth consecutive year the

council has opted not to take a PTELL

increase.

At $9,183,872, this year’s tax levy is

about $62,000 higher than last year’s,

an increase officials said is attributable

solely to new growth within the city.

Before the measure was approved

by a 6-0 vote, several members of the

public questioned the council on its

budget priorities and criticized what

they said were out-of-control tax bills.

City Council OKs propertytax levy

» CITY COUNCIL

Please see Tax levy, Page 3Please see Carriage, Page 3

Horsing around the SquareFree carriage rides began Dec. 3

By STEPHANIE PRICEThe Independent

Terry Leonard and his horse, Doc, are

a welcome sign of the holiday season in

Woodstock.

For 19 years now, Leonard and his

four-legged partners have provided

complimentary carriage rides on the

Square. Leonard transports his white

vis-a-vis carriage from his farm in Har-

vard to Woodstock every December. He

loads Doc, a 10-year-old Percheron geld-

ing, into a trailer and the pair travel to

the Square three weekends in December.

�e familiar sight of the old-fashioned

carriage with Leonard dressed in a black

overcoat and the accompanying sounds

of the horse’s hooves striking the cob-

blestones and jingling bells on the har-

ness, add to the ambiance of the holiday

season on the Square.

“�e colder the temperatures, the

happier Doc is,” Leonard said. “He

works 14 days a year and gets 351 days

off. It’s good for him. He’s just like a per-

son. He’s an eating machine. If he didn’t

get any exercise, he’d get fat.”

�e free carriage rides on the Wood-

stock Square begin at the Opera House,

121 E. Van Buren St., and patrons enjoy a

ride around the Square. Over the years,

the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce

& Industry sponsored the service; how-

ever, this year the city of Woodstock is

picking up the tab. �e hours for the

rides have been extended into the eve-

ning this year, as well, to accommodate

the local restaurants’ dinner crowd,

Leonard said.

“A lot of people will take a carriage

ride before or after dinner, so we ex-

tended the hours a bit,” Leonard said.

Pulling the carriage and passengers

2 THE WOODSTOCK INDEPENDENTDec. 9-15, 2015 NEWS

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Motorcyclist injured in crash with car


A motorcyclist was transported to

Centegra Hospital-Woodstock with se-

rious injuries following a Dec. 6 crash

on McHenry Avenue.

Woodstock Fire Rescue/District was

dispatched to the 700 block of McHen-

ry Avenue at about 8:30 p.m. for a colli-

sion involving a car and a motorcycle.

Responders requested transport by

Flight for Life for the motorcycle driver;

however, heavy fog and low visibility

prohibited the medical helicopter from

flying, Capt. Brendan Parker said.

�e names of the drivers were not re-

leased by authorities as of Dec. 7.

�e driver of the car was not injured,

Parker said. �ere were no other pas-

sengers involved in the crash. Authori-

ties closed the section of the road while

investigating the crash.

Woodstock Police had not released

additional information about the acci-

dent as of Dec. 7.


A passerby extinguished a small fire

that started among Christmas lights

strung on the Woodstock Square.

Woodstock Fire/Rescue District Capt.

Brendan Parker said the passerby spot-

ted the fire at about 4:11 p.m. Dec. 2. Using

a fire extinguisher from his car, the per-

son dosed the small fire which started on

the string of Christmas lights near Star-

bucks, 129 E. Van Buren St., Parker said.

“Associated Electric came out to

check the light strands, and we think

moisture might have gotten into one

of the connections and started the fire,”

Parker said.

�e perimeter lights on the Square

recently were turned on for the Christ-

mas season during the annual Lighting

of the Square ceremony Nov. 27.

Passerby extinguishes fire in Christmas lights on Square


ing to his basement and restrained

him with materials found in the

home while they pried open a safe

containing a rifle and two pistols.

He said the suspects took the guns

and fled his residence, according to

a statement from the Woodstock

Police Department.

Deputy Chief John Lieb said it is

possible the alleged attackers cur-

rently are armed.

“�at potential exists, but we

don’t know what they did with the

reported theft,” Lieb said.

Lieb said his department does

not believe there is any danger to

the public stemming from the inci-

dent.

A police statement said the sus-

pects, whose faces were covered

during the home invasion, are His-

panic males in their late teens to

early twenties with thin to medium

builds and are of average height.

�e statement said the suspects

were wearing all or mostly black

clothing.

�e victim, who police said is in

his mid-40s, was the only person in

the house at the time of the attack.

He sustained an injury to his foot

and ankle area when he fell down

the stairs, Lieb said, but he did not

require medical attention.

Although police were called to

NEWS

Tax levy Continued from Page 1

The Woodstock Independent (USPS #001287) is published weekly at 671 E. Calhoun St., Woodstock, IL 60098-3213. Periodicals postage paid at Woodstock, Illinois.POSTMASTERS: Forward address chang-es to The Woodstock Independent, 671 E. Calhoun St., Woodstock, IL 60098-3213.

The Woodstock Independent

60098 Phone: 815-338-8040

Chamber sells building, will move to City HallVisitors center will open in Square bookstore


�e Woodstock Chamber of Com-

merce & Industry has sold its building on

the Square and is preparing to move into

new office space at City Hall.

�e two-story building at 136 Cass St.

officially sold Dec. 1 for about $175,000,

said chamber president Kathryn Lopri-

no. �e property was listed Oct. 19 with

an asking price of $189,000.

�e new building owner is a chamber

member and purchased the property as

an investment.

“�e new owner will be looking to at-

tract a new tenant,” Loprino said.

�e chamber has owned the building

on the Square since the late 1980s and

leases the second-floor to a tenant. �e

basement is used for storage.

In October, the chamber held an all-

member meeting and attendees – about

20 of its 225 members – voted in favor of

selling the building. �e sale will enable

to the chamber to focus on its mission of

serving the business community rather

than tending to owning and maintaining

a building, Loprino said.

“Our main goals really are to clean up

our finances (regarding the sale of the

building) and relieve ourselves of own-

ership of the building,” Loprino said.

�e chamber will move to a small of-

fice space in the basement at City Hall,

121 W. Calhoun St. �e space was previ-

ously utilized by the city’s 911 services.

�e new accommodations are condu-

cive for an office and separate meeting

room, Loprino said. �e best part of the

deal is the chamber will use the site free

of charge.

As part of the arrangement, the Wood-

stock Visitors Center will be moved to

Read Between the Lynes Bookstore’s

new location at 111 E. Van Buren St. �e

Visitors Center, which contained fliers

about area businesses and events, has

been housed at the chamber offices. �e

chamber board of directors considered

several local businesses’ applications to

serve as the new Visitors Center site and

selected Read Between the Lynes. �e

new site will provide more accessibil-

ity to visitors by offering more hours of

operation than the chamber office had.

“�e chamber will continue to main-

tain the information for the Visitors Cen-

ter,” Loprino said.

�e chamber staff will move out of its

existing location in mid-January. �e or-

ganization is in need of member volun-

teers to help sort through the basement

storage area and/or move office supplies

and equipment to the City Hall offices.

Donations of boxes and manpower are

appreciated. Anyone interested in help-

ing should contact the chamber office at

815-338-2436.

�e past year has been filled with

several transitions for the chamber,

The Woodstock Chamber of Commerce & Industry sold its two-story build-ing at 136 Cass St. for about $175,000 Dec. 1. The building had housed the chamber since the late 1980s.INDEPENDENT PHOTO BY STEPHANIE PRICE

Loprino said. Early in the year, long-

standing executive director Shari Gray

took a leave of absence and ultimately

decided not to return to the post. �e

chamber hired an interim director, Pau-

la Schneider, who resigned two months

ago. Local volunteer Danielle Gulli, of

Woodstock, is temporarily serving in

the role. �e chamber will search for a

new executive director in the new year,

Loprino said.

Home invasion Continued from Page 1Carriage rides Continued from Page 1

the residence in the early evening, the

alleged home invasion occurred around

noon Dec. 2, Lieb said. After the incident,

the victim was able to free himself and

go to work. According to a statement

from police, a conversation with an ac-

quaintance at his workplace convinced

the victim to report the incident.

Lieb said police do not think the vic-

tim and the suspects knew each other.

“According to the victim, we don’t

think he knew them,” Lieb said.

Members of the McHenry County

Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations

Division are assisting with the case.

People with information pertaining to

the incident are asked to call the Wood-

stock Police Department at 815-338-

2131.

Cindy Hemauer said she’s wary of the

impact property taxes have on home

sales in Woodstock.

“I’m concerned … when people see how

much we pay in property tax,” Hemauer

said.

“�is body has had a very focused ap-

proach to trying to manage, what we can,

the portions that we can, of property tax

bills to try to keep those down,” Sager re-

sponded.

“It’d be great to hear some members

of the public say, ‘Hey, this is good, pass

this,’” Sager said.

Dennis Sandquist later took the mayor

up on that suggestion.

“I would like to thank the mayor and

the City Council for holding the line on

taxes,” Sandquist said.

Although the tax levy was approved

this month, final real estate assessments

— and the exact figures that follow —

won’t be available until next March or

April, City Manager Roscoe Stelford said.

It’s likely the total levy will be revised

and reduced once those assessments are

filed, he added.

“Because we don’t have the numbers

yet, we have to give our best guess,” Stel-

ford said.

Taxes levied for 2015 are collected in

2016 and will finance the city’s budget in

fiscal year 2016-17.

is not taxing for Doc, Leonard said. �e

horse enjoys the work and learned the

ropes of the task from his predecessor,

Duke, who retired about four years ago

and passed away last year at the age

of 31. Teaming the older and younger

horses together gave Doc the opportu-

nity to learn from Duke, who was well-

trained and extremely adept at the job,

Leonard said. �e horses are like family

for Leonard.

“I had Duke for 18 years, and I walked

around for days crying when I lost him

last year,” Leonard said.

In response to people who think the

carriage rides are cruel to horses, local

veterinarian Patti Klein said such char-

acterizations can only be based upon

the owner of the horse and how the

animal is cared for. Klein worked for

the Hooved Animal Humane Society,

based in Woodstock, from 2006 to 2011

in various capacities including interim

executive director.

“�e horse should be fit to the size

carriage and the number of people it is

pulling,” Klein said. “You also have to

look at the number of hours the horse

is working. Some horses (in the city

of Chicago) are working 12 hour shifts

and working in heavy traffic areas. …I

wouldn’t equate Woodstock with the

city of Chicago, though.”

Klein said it’s also crucial to consid-

er how the horse is cared for when it’s

not working. In Doc’s case, he enjoys

life on the farm when he’s not working.

However, Klein was part of a rescue ef-

fort involving eight horses in 2009 in

Chicago, where the animals were kept

under a tent on a city street during off-

hours. When it rained or snowed, the

tent flooded and the water often froze

over.

“�ey found the horses standing in

water and sometimes on the ice, and

all their food was wet,” said Klein, who

eventually adopted one of the rescued

horses. “�e Chicago Animal Care and

Control shut down the company – not

because of the work the horses were

doing pulling carriages – but because

of how they were housed in the winter.”

Responding to such criticism is part

of the job, Leonard said. To say the car-

riage work is abusive to horses would

be comparable to saying horseback rid-

ing is cruel to the animal as well.

“(�e comments) are something we

have to deal with,” Leonard said. “Doc

has a good life. He works 11 days in

Woodstock and a couple weddings in

the summer, and the rest of the time he

has off.”

�e free carriage rides on the Wood-

stock Square began Dec. 3, and will be

available from 4 to 8 p.m. Fridays, Dec.

11 and 18; from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturdays,

Dec. 12 and 19; and from 1 to 5 p.m. Sun-

days, Dec. 13 and 20.

HOW THEY VOTED

To set the city’s property tax levy at $9.18 million:YesDan HartMaureen LarsonMark SaladinBrian SagerJoe Starzynski

RB Thompson

NoNone

AbsentMike Turner

4 THE WOODSTOCK INDEPENDENTDec. 9-15, 2015 NEWS

OBITUARIES

Enrique R. VidalesEnrique R. Vidales, 75, Woodstock,

died Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015, at Cen-tegra Hospital-McHenry.

He was born Jan. 16, 1940, to En-riquez and Josefa (Reyes) Vidales in San Antonio, Texas.

On April 13, 1960, he married Abun-dia Garcia.

He was a migrant worker, and his strong work ethic kept him busy on many area farms including the Norman and Edward Sass farm. He also worked as a grounds-keeper at the McGuire Estate. For the past few years, he worked at Marian Central Catholic High School as a custodian. He loved gardening and kept himself busy with a mowing and landscaping business. He was loved and will be missed.

Survivors include his wife; two sons, Henry (Laura) Vidales and Roger (Becky) Vidales; eight grandchildren, Tony (Katie) Vidales, Alicia (Justin) Koller, Justin Vi-dales, Tyler Vidales, Kara Vidales, Sam Vidales, Jack Henry Vidales and Natalie Vienup; two sisters, Maria (Julian) Gomez and Eloisa (Frank) Munoz; five great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his par-ents and two brothers, Ernest and Adolph.

A memorial gathering was held Dec. 6 at Schneider-Leucht-Merwin & Cooney Fu-neral Home, Woodstock.

Vernon E. FehrmanVernon E. Fehrman, 92, Woodstock,

died Monday, Nov. 30, 2015, at Valley Hi Nursing Home, Hartland.

He was born Oct. 16, 1923, in Wood-stock to William and Elsie (Krause) Fehr-man.

On June 4, 1949, he married Beverly Krabbenhoft in Wood-stock

He was a farmer all his life, continu-ing until he was 89 years old. He also worked 20 years for the McHenry County Highway Department. He enjoyed his family and friends and also a good fish fry. His laughs and sense of humor will be missed by all.

Survivors include a son, Daniel W. Fehr-man, Woodstock; a daughter, Martha (Dave) Freund, Woodstock; two grand-children, Amanda (Josh) Miller and Luke (Kristie) Freund; and five great-grandchil-

dren, Destiny, Aaron, Jordan, Cody and Alyssa.

He was preceded in death by his wife and a granddaughter, Cassie Freund.

Visitation was Dec. 4, at Schneider-Leucht-Merwin & Cooney Funeral Home, Wood-stock. The funeral was Dec. 5 at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Woodstock.

Memorials can be made to St. John’s Lutheran Church, 401 St. John’s Road, Woodstock.

Virginia T. BettsVirginia T. Betts, 78, Woodstock, for-

merly of Park Ridge, died Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015, at Centegra Hospital-McHenry.

She was born Sept. 1, 1937, to Walter and Augusta Scislowicz, Chicago.

Survivors include four children, Robert, John, Sharon (Ray) Ritthamel and Mi-chelle; a brother, Walter Scislowicz; six grandchildren, Kyle, Trevor, Jake, Daniel, Sam and Adam; a brother, Walter; two nieces, Gail and Susan; and two neph-ews, William and Steven.

She was preceded in death by her par-ents; her husband, Robert M. Betts; a sis-ter, Anne Mazer; and a brother, Edward Scislowicz.

Services were private.

Linda J. LockwoodLinda J. Lockwood, 68, Crystal Lake,

died Monday, Nov. 30, 2015, at Cen-tegra Hospital- Woodstock.

She was born Oct. 24, 2015, to Wil-liam and Harriet (Ludwig) Lewis in DeKalb.

On April 11, 1973, she married Rich-ard Lockwood.

She was a loving wife, mother and grandmother. She worked as a waitress. She loved watching and feeding wild birds outside and pet birds inside. She was loved and will be missed.

Survivors include her husband; a son, Jeffrey (Barbara) Lockwood; a daughter, Coreen (Clayton) Martinico; five grand-children, Hunter and Zakery Lockwood and Anthony, Daniella and Alexandria Martinico.

She was preceded in death by her par-ents; a sister, Geri Freeman; and her step-mother, Delores Noe.

Services were private. Arrangements were made by Schneider-

Leucht-Merwin & Cooney Funeral Home, Woodstock.

Two injuries in crash at Dean and 176


A Wonder Lake man and a Marengo

woman were injured Nov. 30 in a car

crash on Route 176 and Dean Street in

unincorporated Woodstock.

McHenry County Sheriff’s police said

James Caldwell, 28, Wonder Lake, was

driving a blue 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix

westbound on Route 176, just west of

Dean Street, at about 8:50 a.m. For un-

known reasons, the Grand Prix drove

onto the shoulder of the road and then

veered into oncoming traffic.

Caldwell’s car collided with an east-

bound 2008 Toyota Sienna driven by

Maria Binotti, 46, of Marengo.

Woodstock Fire/Rescue District per-

sonnel transported Caldwell and Bi-

notti to Centegra Hospital-Woodstock.

Caldwell was later transferred by am-

bulance to Lutheran General Hospital

for treatment.

Binotti was listed in stable condition

as of Nov. 30. Caldwell was listed in se-

rious to critical condition, according to

the Sheriff’s Office.

�e Sheriff’s Office said Binotti was

wearing her seatbelt at the time of the

crash. However, investigators do not

know whether Caldwell was wearing a

seatbelt. Alcohol is not suspected to be

a factor in the crash, authorities said.

�e McHenry County Sheriff’s Traffic

Crash Investigations Unit continues to

investigate the collision.

Firefighters and police officers respond to a crash Nov. 30 at the intersection of Route 176 and Dean Street. PHOTO: ALEX VUCHA

POLICE BLOTTER Amanda M. Lewis, 25, 717 Vine

St., Joliet, was charged Nov. 20 with driving under the influence, driving under the influence over, operating an unin-sured motor vehicle, and improper turn at Donovan Avenue and Jewett Street. Lewis posted $100 and her driver’s license as bond. Court date was set for Jan. 7.

A Woodstock-area juvenile, 16, was charged Nov. 20 with disorderly conduct at 112 Grove St. The juvenile was turned over to court services. Bond and court date are to be set.

Javier Gomez, 44, 1753 N. New-land Ave., Chicago, was charged Nov. 20 with driving while license suspended and improper turn at Judd and Madison Streets. Gomez posted $150 bond. Court date was set for Dec. 17.

Jamial S. Thomas, 32, 350 Lincoln Ave., Woodstock, was charged with two counts of domestic battery at his home. Thomas was turned over to the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office. Bond and court date are to be determined.

Dalton M. Bennett, 18, 828 Rhodes St., Woodstock, was charged Nov. 22 with driving while license suspended and expired registration at 823 Lake Ave. Bennett posted $150 bond. Court date was set for Jan. 28.

William Paterson III, 23, N6535 Birch Road, Elkhorn, Wis., was charged

Nov. 22 with driving while license sus-pended and disregarding a stop sign at Nebraska and East Jackson streets. Pater-son posted $150 bond. Court date was set for Nov. 7.

Kory K. Lindsey, 21, 52 N. Crystal Ave., Elgin, was charged Nov. 23 with no valid driver’s license at McConnell Road and Route 47. Lindsey posted $150 bond. Court date was set for Jan. 7.

Kevin M. Schaupp, 44, 627 E. Cal-houn St., Woodstock, was charged Nov. 24 with two counts of domestic battery at his home. Schaupp was turned over to the McHenry County Sheriff’s Depart-ment. Bond and court date are to be set.

Luis E. Rocafuerte-Ortiz, 49, 230 Washington St., Woodstock,was charged Nov. 24 with no valid driver’s license and operating an uninsured motor vehicle at 230 Washington St. Rocafuerte-Ortiz posted $150 bond. Court date was set for Dec. 17.

Theodore J. Miller, 47, 401 W. Judd St., Woodstock, was charged with driv-ing while license suspended and operat-ing an uninsured motor vehicle at Route 47 and Wanda Lane. Miller posted $150 bond. Court date was set for Dec. 18.

STREET SMARTS

Average gas price

$1.99 /GAL.

Reflects average price of regular unleaded gasoline at Woodstock gas stations the morning of Dec. 7.

.10

With the first snowfalls of the season comes a reminder to be a good neigh-bor and shovel snow away from in front of mailboxes and any fire hydrants near your home. If your mailbox or post is in-advertently damaged by the city’s snow-plowing efforts, the city will replace the mailbox with a standard box as soon as snowplowing efforts for the storm are

completed. To report broken mailboxes to Public Works, call 815-338-6118.

Vernon E. Fehrman

Virginia T. Betts

Any charges are merely accusations, and de-fendants or suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

GET RID OF ALL YOUR JUNK?

I

CALL TODAY!

815-338-8040

DO YOU WANT TO


CHERYL WORMLEYPublisher, Co-OwnerPAUL WORMLEY

Co-OwnerKATELYN STANEKManaging Editor

THE WOODSTOCK INDEPENDENT

Woodstock, IL 1987

THE EDITORIAL BOARDCheryl Wormley Katelyn Stanek Sandy KucharskiStephanie Price

Woodstock is full of great events hosted by nonprofits, but the one dedicated to making sure no kid goes without a Christmas celebra-tion is particularly close to our hearts this time of year.

Woodstock Christmas Clearing House, a charity that provides gifts and holiday meals to families in need, is the type of hometown effort Woodstock can be proud of. Started in 1970 by a group of local Girl Scouts, it has since grown into a huge effort overseen by the Rotary Club of Woodstock. It brings Christmas cheer to more than 1,000 families in our area. For many, donating to the charity is an after-�anksgiving tradition.

Others take it a step further, though, and this is the time of year to encourage our neighbors to join in that tradition‚ the tradi-tion of volunteering for Christmas Clearing House.

Tag Days, when people collect money for the charity, have already passed. Donations can be mailed to P.O. Box 53 year round. If you want to get in on the action, join fellow volunteers for Warehouse or Delivery Days.

People who’ve taken part in Warehouse and Delivery Days know it’s a little bit like pulling a shift in Santa’s workshop, albeit more orga-nized, we assume. Volunteers at Warehouse Days bag toys and food for families in need. You don’t even need to sign up or fill out a form‚ just show up in the holiday spirit, ready to work.

Toys will be bagged from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 16, at the former Farm & Fleet building at the southwest corner of Route 47 and Highway 14. Food will be packed from 6 to 9 p.m. �ursday, Dec. 17, at the same place.

Christmas Clearing House organizers always are looking for more volunteers , es-pecially those willing to lend their sleighs‚ er, cars and trucks‚ for Delivery Day on Saturday, Dec. 19. From 8 a.m. to noon, workers will pile bags of gifts into vehicles destined for needy families living within the boundaries of Woodstock School District 200. Like Ware-house and Delivery Days, there’s no need to sign up to drive or load gifts into cars Dec. 19. Just show up and be ready to help.

And like always, red suits and reindeer are optional.

Your chance to be an elf

this Christmas

Opinion

» OUR VIEW

weigh inEmail letters to the editor to [email protected] or mail them to 671 E. Calhoun St., Woodstock, IL 60098.

» YOUR VIEW

Priceless, Woodstock PDPaying your respects to a

fallen fellow officer: nice.Billing the taxpayers over

$800 … to pay your respects:

priceless.Tom Hoppe,Woodstock

“Once you replace negative thoughts with posi-tive ones, you'll start having positive results.”

QUOTABLE

— Willie Nelson

Practice fire safety this holiday season

When decorating for the holidays, homeowners should remember to be safe and practice fire safety.

Shorts in electrical lights or open flames from candles, lighters or matches can ignite trees and deco-

rations placed too close to the heat source. When buying a real tree, make sure it is as fresh as possible and water it frequently to prevent them from drying out. If purchasing an artificial tree, be certain it has a fire resistant label. This type of tree can catch fire, but will resist burning.

Set real and fake trees far away from fireplaces, portable heaters, heating vents and televisions. Read

instructions on light packages, and don’t string more than the number of strands permitted.

December is the peak month for home candle fires. Homeowners can prevent such fires by using battery-powered candles. Never use candles on an evergreen tree and never leave them unattended.

Turn off all lights when going to bed or leaving your house.

Retailers shine at Ladies Night Out

The Woodstock Independent sa-lutes the 23 business owners and

merchants who promoted and hosted the very successful Women’s Night Out Dec. 3. It was a festive and fun evening for all with much laughter and frivolity.

Everyone who enjoyed the eve-

ning can thank Jaci Krandel, owner of Jaci’s Cookies, for spearheading the event.

Woodstock is a magical place, es-pecially during the holidays. Shop, dine and enjoy the entertainment.

INDE THOUGHT

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

6 THE WOODSTOCK INDEPENDENTDec. 9-15, 2015 OPINION

Subscription rates/year: $35 in Woodstock and Wonder Lake, $37 in McHenry County, $42 for snowbirds and $50 outside McHenry County.

Letters to the editor: We welcome letters of general interest to the community and reserve the right to edit for clarity or length. Letters should be fewer than 400 words, and writers are limited to one letter per month. Letters are due at noon Wednesday and must be signed and include the writer’s address and a telephone number for verifica-tion purposes only.

Corrections: The Woodstock Independent strives for accuracy. To suggest corrections or clarifications, email [email protected].

INDEPENDENTTheWoodstock

Noon WednesdayPRESS RELEASES AND [email protected]

LETTERS TO THE [email protected]

Noon ThursdayDISPLAY ADVERTISING [email protected]

Noon Friday LEGAL [email protected]

CLASSIFIED [email protected]

Cheryl Wormley [email protected]

Katelyn Stanek MANAGING [email protected]

Stephanie Price ASSOCIATE [email protected]

Sandy Kucharski ASSOCIATE [email protected]

Jason Reinhardt GRAPHIC [email protected]

Jen Wilson ADVERTISING MANAGER

[email protected]

Cas Creighton [email protected]

Kathe Lazzarotto [email protected]

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Columnists John Daab, Paul Lockwood, Lisa Haderlein, Dan Chamness, Debbie Skozek, Tony Casalino, Erich Thurow, Kathleen Spaltro, Leslie Cook

Editorial Cartoonist Jim Pearson

Photographers Michelle Krenger, Ken Farver, Alisa Ellegood

Proofreader Don Humbertson

Reporters Tricia Carzoli, Elizabeth Harmon, Megan Ivers, Sarah Kusz, Elizabeth Stroh

Administration/subscriptions Rebecca Mc-Daniel, [email protected]

s ta f f dead l ines & contact s

I’m thinking the only people who don’t like the truly mild, highs-in-the-40s days so far this December are snowmobilers and ice fishermen and kids and kids-at-heart-adults who take to the hills for sledding and like to ice skate. I am one of the latter, but I’ll take the seemingly unusually warm days as long as it turns cold by Christmas and stays cold all of Janu-ary and most of February. Now, I don’t want gray, cloudy cold. I want sunny, bites-your-nose kind of cold.

I remember a similarly warm early December. It was 1987 – �e Indepen-dent’s maiden year. At the time, my three sons were 16, 12 and 9, and I was working fulltime for the first time in their lives. With a two-week winter break fast approaching, I saw a need to plan activities for them since they would be home alone each day except for Christmas and New Year’s.

�e previous four winters, the weather had cooperated during the schools’ winter vacations, freezing the water on the ponds and providing snow on the sledding hill at Emricson Park.

Ice skating, playing hockey and sledding would have occupied all three of my sons and their friends for hours. But as of Dec. 16, there was no ice and no snow. I know, because I

wrote about it in a column in that week’s Indepen-dent.

I’ve often up-lifted �e Inde-pendent’s role in recording the his-tory of our com-munity. I checked the Dec. 23 and 30, 1987, issues of �e Indepen-dent for reports of weather. Alas, the front-page photo of the Dec. 30 issue and the photo’s caption provided the information I sought. It read, “Christ-mas 1987 may not have been white in Woodstock, but a storm just a few days later once again covered the Park on the Square and the rest of the city with several inches of snow. “

My guess is the children of Wood-stock, including my sons, made good use of the snow and cold the rest of their holiday vacation.

Although our mild December seems unusual, it mirrors December 1987. We may think things are changing, but are they?

Sunday was the children’s Christ-mas program at First Presbyterian Church. All, and I mean all, of the chil-

dren from 3-year-olds to fifth-graders learned songs and speaking parts and donned costumes for the annual production. �ere was a new script, and the children made it come to life. �e costumes, though only a few years old, reminded me of Christmas-es long, long ago – back to my sons’ childhoods and back even farther to my own.

�e angels had halos and wings. �e shepherds wore drab-colored robes. �e wise men wore bright colors, golden crowns and carried gifts. Mary wore blue, and Joseph didn’t speak or sing. �e lambs, all preschoolers, stole the show, wearing headpieces with lamb-like ears and noses.

Although the script was fresh, the songs had a modern twist and the costumes were relatively new, the message was the same – the birth of Jesus as recorded in Luke 2. We may think things are changing, but are they?

I have room for one more example. While eating chili and tamales for supper Sunday night, I asked for suggestions for this week’s Declara-tions. Daughter-in-law Gwen offered several possibilities, so the credit for the theme of this Declarations goes to her. Her idea: write about how send-ing Christmas greetings has changed

through the years. I was about 10 when our fam-

ily received its first family-photo Christmas greeting. It was from the Hafenrichters, church friends. Everett Hafenrichter, an amateur photogra-pher, was one of many who began using family photos to say Merry Christmas.

Wanting to share highlights of the year brought about mimeographed or otherwise reproduced letters. Some accompanied family photos. Some were enclosed in holiday greeting cards, and others were stand-alones.

�is week, I received our first emailed PDF Christmas letter of the year. It was graphically beautiful with dozens of photos and narrative about our South African friends’ lives this year.

Gwen suggested she expected to receive Christmas greetings on Facebook this year. She added, she had posted her family’s highlights on Facebook all year long and is consid-ering returning to the age-old prac-tice of “just sending greetings cards.” We may think things are changing, but are they?

» COLUMN

We may think things are changing, but are they?

Cheryl Wormley is publisher of The Wood-stock Independent.

Declarations

CherylWormley

Soil, part IIFollowing my November column,

two dear friends who are farmers called to talk with me about some of the information in my column. �ey wanted to let me know that farming and the issue of soil conservation is more complex than I may have led readers to believe.

So, here is some additional infor-mation.

McHenry County is an ideal place for agriculture. It has some of the best soils, climate and access to wa-ter in the entire world.

Most local farmers consider them-selves stewards of their soil, and they do what they can to practice good conservation of the soil resources they farm. Farming is, after all, their business, and the soil is a vital part of a successful farm.

So, why would a farmer till a field

in the fall? To alle-viate soil compac-tion. Compacted soils hold less wa-ter and have less air between soil pores. Excessive soil compaction decreases water in-filtration and stor-age, decreases root growth, restricts the area available for root growth and can reduce crop yields.

According to the University of Min-nesota Extension, the primary cause of soil compaction is the weight of farm equipment, which has increased along with the size of equipment used. Equipment size is a function of the modern agricultural industry that has fewer people producing more grain on less land.

�e winter freeze-thaw cycle does not alleviate compacted soils, and

tilling in the spring prior to plant-ing is often not practical because the ground is too wet due to spring rains. Not to mention that driving heavy farm equipment on wet soils causes compaction.

�us, fall is the most practical time to till compacted soils.

What about cover crops? Why don’t more farmers around here plant them? One word: climate. In northern Illinois, cover crops must be planted by mid-October to germi-nate and establish roots before win-ter. However, as we know, corn and soybeans are still being harvested in November.

Another reason cover crops are not planted is that much of the farmland in McHenry County is rented, not owned, by the person farming it.

It costs $30 an acre to plant a cover crop and takes two to three consecu-tive years of planting a cover crop to realize the benefits of improved organic matter and structure in the soil. Given that most farm leases are

for only one year, it is not practical for a tenant farmer to sow a cover crop when he or she may not be farming the land the following year.

Ultimately, the choice of whether or not a cover crop is planted lies with the landowner. If landowners gave their farmers a longer-term lease, for instance, then the farmer could factor the cost of the cover crop into the rent paid, and the crops would benefit from the improved soil quality.

I will have a more in-depth discus-sion about farming and conservation on the “Speaking of Nature” radio program at 6 p.m. �ursdays, Jan. 7 and 14, on 101.3 FM, WHIW-LP.

Please save Sunday, Jan. 31, for �e Land Conservancy’s 25th anniversary celebration at D’Andrea Banquets in Crystal Lake. Details will be coming soon.

» COLUMN

Lisa Haderlein is executive director of The Land Conservancy of McHenry County.

The Nature of Things

LisaHaderlein


With grants, VDELC class gives back

By JAN DOVIDIOThe Independent

A Verda Dierzen Early Learning Cen-ter kindergarten class will use grants from the District 200 Education Foun-dation to help the community.

Kindergarten teacher Amy Mock, who titled her application “Giving Back,” again had her class’ projects approved for a grant. �is is Mock’s fifth year re-ceiving the grant, which funds all or part of three different outreach projects.

One such outreach project is an an-nual hot cocoa and cookie stand at the school. �is year’s event took place Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. �e grant paid for the hot cocoa and cookies. Serving is handled by 24 students ages 5 and 6 with the help of parent volunteers. �is project raises about $350 per year, which was donated to Christmas Clearing House.

�e second part of “Giving Back” is a collection of food donations for the Woodstock Food Pantry. Donations are collected from VDELC families throughout the month of January, when the food pantry’s supplies are low after

its holiday distributions. �e grant pays for the bus that brings the children to the pantry for their delivery, which has averaged 100 pounds each year.

�e third project is for Helping Paws animal shelter in Woodstock. Mock will call the shelter to ask about the most important needs, which are usually paper towels, newspapers and bleach. VDELC families once again contribute to this project. �e grant funds the bus trip to deliver the donations.

“�e students especially love this trip,” said Mock,” because they get to interact with the animals up for adop-tion. �ere have even been added ben-efits. One chaperone parent returned to the shelter to adopt a pet they saw on the field trip. I, too, have adopted from Helping Paws.

“I do these projects each year be-cause the lessons the students learn are invaluable,” Mock continued. “�is project is a success because at a young age the students are learning the impor-tance of helping others in need. Maybe this concept of helping others follows them throughout the rest of their lives.”

�e foundation annually provides about $25,000 in impact grants to sup-port approximately 75 programs in Woodstock School District 200 schools.

News of recognitions and milestones can be sent to Janet Dovidio at [email protected].

HIGHLIGHT

EducationHow do school lockdowns work?

ISBE to host public forum for special education


�e Illinois State Board of Education will hold a public forum for Woodstock School District 200 regarding education-al placement decisions for students with disabilities.

ISBE’s Division of Special Education Service will host the forum at 7 p.m. Mon-day, Dec. 14, at the Clay Professional De-

velopment Center, 112 Grove St. District 200 was selected for a focused

monitoring review of educational place-ment decisions for students with disabili-ties. An ISBE team leader will explain the monitoring process, and attendees can share their input. �e purpose is to inves-tigate compliance with federal and state special education laws and regulations.

�e forum allows parents and/or guardians the opportunity to share their experiences about the process of deter-mining the educational placement for their children. �e ISBE team leader will lead the public forum along with a parent member from the team.

No school board members or school administrators will attend the forum. All information gathered during the focused monitoring forum is confidential, and those who contribute information will re-main anonymous.


A recent residential burglary in Wood-stock prompted Woodstock School District 200 officials to lock down area schools as a precaution.

And, while Woodstock Police quickly apprehended and arrested all three men suspected of the Nov. 18 break-in on Oak-wood Avenue, the security measures ini-tiated by the district may have left some parents wanting more clarification about District 200's emergency procedures.

“We consult with police before activating a code, and building [administrators] can initiate [security codes] on their own,” Dis-trict 200 Superintendent Mike Moan said.

While most police departments use the term “lockdown,” school districts follow a green-yellow-red code language that is easier for students, particularly younger children, to understand.

Code Green refers to normal security measures. With the exception of designat-

ed entrances, all school doors are locked during the school day. Parents, visitors and volunteers must report to the main of-fice before proceeding to classrooms and are required to wear identification badges while in the schools. .

Code Yellow is a heightened level of se-curity, Moan said. Students are permitted to move throughout the building. Howev-er, all doors remain locked and anyone – including parents — seeking entrance into a building must present identification.

Code Red is the highest level of security for District 200. All doors are locked, and students remain in their individual class-rooms. �e students are not permitted to leave those classrooms, and no outsiders are allowed into the buildings, including parents. No one will be permitted in or out of the building until district and police of-ficials deem there is no longer a threat.

“We have set procedures in place,” Moan said. “As information comes in from the police, school administrators can change their stance from a more protective level

to a lighter level.”When the district does move to a higher

level of security, it will notify parents of the measure via the district's automated message system with telephone and email messages. Updates about the status of the emergency and/or special messages for dismissal and student pickup procedures will be sent in the same manner.

Information and updates will be posted on the District 200 website.

District officials ask parents not to go to the schools in the event of a lockdown, evacuation or critical event.

“In order for our crisis plans to be effec-tive and to keep students as safe as possible, the cooperation of parents and the public is of the utmost importance,” the district's se-curity measures state.

�e district has designated two types of emergency messages for parents.

Instant alert messages sent through the District 200 automated messaging system will be sent to inform parents about im-portant events or developments. �e mes-

sages are sent by phone, email and text to hundreds of contacts within a matter of minutes, district officials said.

An emergency message will be sent for any situation in which parents need to be notified immediately, such as school clos-ings, severe weather and other emergen-cies. �ese messages are sent to a family's primary phone number and up to five ad-ditional numbers, by email and by text.

In addition to receiving telephone and email messages, parents and guardians can receive text messages from District 200 by texting the word “alert” to 22300. A current cell phone number must be on file.

“As information comes in from the police, school administrators can change their stance from a more pro-tective level to a lighter level.”

— Mike Moan, superintendent

8 THE WOODSTOCK INDEPENDENTDec. 9-15, 2015

A & EMadrigals deliver good cheer this season

By SANDY KUCHARSKIThe Independent

‘Tis the season for joyful singing by

talented musicians decked out in their

finest apparel. High school madrigal

singers fit the bill in Woodstock, per-

forming and spreading good cheer

throughout the area during the holiday

season.

By definition, madrigal singing is

four-part harmony for several voices

typically arranged in elaborate coun-

terpoint and without instrumental ac-

companiment. Performers typically

wear Renaissance-period clothing,

and much of the music they perform is

from the late 16th and early 17th centu-

ries. The high school madrigal groups,

however, also add contemporary and

chamber music to their repertoires.

Woodstock High School madrigal

singer Micah Muhlenfeld defined it as,

“A group of trained singers who work

really hard on their voices, working to-

gether to help each other.”

Woodstock High School, Woodstock

North High School and Marian Cen-

tral Catholic High School each have a

madrigal group. Because of the level

of difficulty of the music and the time

commitment, participants are typically

the cream-of-the-crop among choral

students.

It’s the hardest and most prestigious

choir program at our school,” said

WHS junior Ryan Baier, who sought to

follow in his sisters’ footsteps, earning

a spot in the group as a sophomore.

He said the group holds early morn-

ing practices three days a week dur-

ing zero hour, and also various after-

school practices.

Directors work with the musicians

as a group during rehearsals to per-

fect elements such as timing, dynamics

and tone, but when performance time

comes, the madrigals perform a capel-

la and without the assistance of a di-

rector. Starting pitches and tempo di-

rection comes from the nodder, one of

the singers who is in charge of leading

the group and keeping them in time.

WHS choral director Paul Rausch

refers to his madrigal group as the

best performing group in the school.

Rausch, who has invested 32 years into

building the WHS choral program, said,

“The bar is set high for this group, and

the kids buy into that when they join.”

The balanced sound and vocal quality

of his madrigal groups have been de-

scribed by fellow choral directors as

collegiate, mature and beyond what’s

typically expected from a high school-

level choir.

Muhlenfeld, a WHS junior, became

hooked in fifth grade when he saw the

madrigals perform at his school. Since

he was a sophomore, he has performed

with the group at various venues,

from the same Woodstock elementary

school where he first saw the group

perform to St. Patrick Cathedral in Ire-

land, where Handel’s Messiah was first

performed.

He said, “The hardest thing to learn

when I started was to cope with [sing-

ing with] everyone around you.” He met

the challenge through weekly group

practices and also small group re-

hearsals with singers in his part. Each

The jester, left, portrayed by Megan Frasik, performs a dance with the fool, Avery Keesee, at the Woodstock North High School Madrigal Dessert. INDEPENDENT PHOTO BY KEN FARVER

year he looks forward to the madrigal

dinner where, he says, “It all molds to-

gether to see what we’ve been working

so hard toward.”

The madrigal dinner is a popu-

lar outlet for the groups to showcase

their talents, typically featuring a mix

of choral music from medieval to Re-

naissance as well as Christmas carols.

WNHS madrigals, under the direction

of Megan Kim, hosted capacity crowds

Dec. 5 and 6 for their seventh annual

Madrigal Dessert.

WHS madrigals, directed by Rausch,

will host a Madrigal Dinner Friday and

Saturday, Dec. 11 and 12. The dinner, to

be held at Bull Valley Golf Club, is a

sold-out event, perhaps a testament to

the quality of the entertainment.

“We practiced all this time and it all

comes together perfectly, sounding

amazing,” said Baier.

LADIES NIGHT ON THE SQUARE

Left: Penny Dolan, left, and Patty Bar-rett don elf hats during Ladies Night Out on the Square Dec. 3. Retailers, restau-rants and entertainers hosted specials, gave live performances and held give-aways during the annual event. Top: Jaci Krandel greets a customer at Jaci’s Cookies, 124 Cass St. Bottom: Tami Carlson, left, and Erica Moore review their palm readings during Ladies Night Out. INDEPENDENT PHOTOS BY KEN FARVER

9Dec. 9-15, 2015THE WOODSTOCK INDEPENDENTA & E

WOODSTOCK’S ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHTSThe Entertainer

» MUSICWNHS/NMS YULETIDE ON THE NORTH SIDEDec. 10, 6 and 8 p.m.Woodstock North High School Auditorium3000 Raffel Road$2 adults, $1 students and senior citizens815-334-2132The Northwood Middle School and Wood-stock North High School choirs will perform.

WHS/CREEKSIDE BAND CONCERTDec. 10, 7 p.m.Woodstock High School501 South St.$2 adults, $1 students and senior citizens815-338-4370The Creekside Middle School and Wood-stock High School bands will perform.

LIVE MUSIC AT EXPRESSLY LESLIE’SDec.11, 18, 6 p.m.Woodstock Square Mall110 Johnson St.FreeDec. 11: Courtney Reinhard will perform.Dec. 18: The Off Square Music singers will perform.

OPEN MIC NIGHTDec. 11, 31, 7 p.m.Stage Left Café125 Van Buren St. $3 donationoffsquaremusic.org815-338-5164Open Mic is sponsored by Off Square Mu-sic. Various artists will perform in 15-minute slots.

WHS MADRIGAL DINNERDec. 11, 12, 7 p.m.Bull Valley Country Club1311 Club Road$28 adults, $25 senior citizens, $22 stu-dentsThe Woodstock High School Madrigal choir will perform and dinner will be served.

WHS CHORAL CONCERT WITH CREEKSIDE CHOIRDec. 14, 7:30 p.m.Woodstock High School 501 W. South St.$2 adults; $1 students and senior citizens

815-338-2370The Creekside Middle School and Wood-stock High School choirs will perform.

STAGE LEFTOVERS HOLIDAY CONCERTDec. 16, 7 p.m.Unity Spiritual Center of Woodstock225 W. Calhoun St.$5 suggested donationDonations to the Woodstock Food Pantry also accepted The Stage Leftovers will be joined by many musical guests for a holiday concert.

JAZZ JAMDec. 18, 8 p.m.Stage Left Café125 Van Buren St.815-337-1395$5 donationJazz Jam is sponsored by Jazz on the Square. Artists will perform jazz music.

WOODSTOCK FARMERS MARKETDec. 19, Jan. 2, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.McHenry County Fairgrounds Building DFreewoodstockfarmersmarket.org.Performers 9 a.m. to noon: Dec. 19 – Big Fish; Jan. 2 – 9 a.m. Courtney Reinhard, 10 a.m. Andrew Sedlak, 11 a.m. Sam Jones.

ED HALL’S CHRISTMAS GUITAR NIGHTDec. 23, 8 p.m.Woodstock Opera House121 Van Buren St.$30 adults815-338-5300Five internationally acclaimed guitarists – Pat Donohue, Harvey Reid, Stephen Ben-nett, Jeff Friedlander and Ed Hall – will perform.

FIRST SATURDAY MUSICJan. 2, 7 p.m.Unity Spiritual Center of Woodstock225 W. Calhoun St.$3 donation815-382-5264Visitors can participate in the open mic night or enjoy the show. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.

» DANCE‘THE NUTCRACKER BALLET’

Dec. 12, 13, 2 p.m.Dec. 13, 20, 6 p.m.Dec. 18, 8 p.m.Dec. 19, 7 p.m.Woodstock Opera House121 Van Buren St.$25 adults, $18 students815-338-5300The Judith Svalander Dance Theatre will present the classic holiday tale of a girl’s magical, enchanting journey. Proceeds from the 6 p.m. Dec. 20 performance will benefit JourneyCare.

» MOVIESPreviews of films currently playing at the Woodstock Theatre unless otherwise noted.

‘CREED’The former World Heavyweight Cham-pion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed. “Creed” is directed by Ryan Coogler (“Fruitvale Station”) and stars Sylvester Stallone (“Rocky”) and Mi-chael B. Jordan (“Fantastic Four”).RATED PG-13, 132 MINUTES

‘THE GOOD DINOSAUR’An epic journey into the world of dino-saurs where an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend. “The Good Dinosaur” is directed by Peter Sohn (“Finding Nemo”)and stars Jeffrey Wright (“The Manchurian Candidate”) and Frances McDormand (“Fargo”). RATED PG, 100 MINUTES

‘HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY-PART 2’As the war of Panem escalates to the de-struction of other districts by the Capitol, Katniss Everdeen, the reluctant leader of the rebellion, must bring together an army against President Snow, while all she holds dear hangs in the balance. “Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2” is directed by Francis Lawrence (“Hunger Games: Catching Fire”) and stars Jenni-fer Lawrence (“Silver Linings Playbook”) and Josh Hutcherson (“Hunger Games: Catching Fire”).PG-13, 137 MINUTES

‘IN THE HEART OF THE SEA’Based on an 1820 event, a whaling ship is preyed upon by a sperm whale, stranding its crew at sea for 90 days, thousands of miles from home. “In the Heart of the Sea” is directed by Ron Howard and stars Chris Hemsworth (“Thor”) and Cillian Murphy (“The Dark Knight”). PG-13, 121 MINUTES

‘KRAMPUS’A boy who has a bad Christmas ends up ac-cidentally summoning a Christmas demon to his family home. “Krampus” is directed by Mi-chael Dougherty (“Superman Returns”) and stars Adam Scott (“Step Brothers”) and Toni Collette (“Little Miss Sunshine”). PG-13, 98 MINUTES

‘THE NIGHT BEFORE’On Christmas Eve, three lifelong friends, two of whom are Jewish, spend the night in New York City looking for the Holy Grail of Christ-mas parties. “The Night Before” is directed by Jonathan Levine (“Warm Bodies”) and stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“500 Days of Summer”) and Seth Rogan (“The Interview”). RATED R, 101 MINUTES

Christmas cheer comes to the Opera House

It's beginning to look a lot like

Christmas at the Woodstock Opera

House! I hope you enjoyed the Irving

Berlin classic "White Christmas" pre-

sented by TownSquare Players, pianist

Lorie Line's "Christmas in the City"

holiday tour show and "A Christmas

Carol," presented by the Woodstock

Musical �eatre Company.

If you're still looking for some

holiday cheer on the Square, be sure

to visit the Opera House's Christmas

Tree Walk in the Community Room.

�e room has been transformed into

a holiday forest

featuring more

than 30 trees

decorated in tradi-

tional and unusual

ways by groups

from Woodstock

and beyond. New

this year are trees

decorated by the

Hooved Animal

Humane Society

and the Great

Lakes Credit

Union.

Traditions continue this month

with the return of Judith Svalander

Dance �eatre’s presentation of

Tchaikowsky’s holiday fantasy “�e

Nutcracker Ballet.” Clara, the Sugar

Plum Fairy, Mother Ginger and all

the ethnic dancers from the story will

fill the stage on weekends from Dec.

12 to Dec. 20. �is elegant and fes-

tive dance presentation has come to

represent the joy of the holidays to

people around the world.

Finally, Wednesday, Dec. 23, the

Opera House will host the 20th an-

niversary performance of Ed Hall and

his William Tell Productions’ “Christ-

mas Guitar Night.” Performing this

year will be Prairie Home Companion

star Pat Donohue, New York acoustic

guitar artist Harvey Reid, master harp

guitarist Stephen Bennett, award-

winning guitarist and songwriter Jeff

Friedlander and our own virtuoso Ed

Hall.

�ere is an awful lot of entertain-

ment and fun to be had in Woodstock

for the holidays. I hope you can enjoy

much of it with family and friends

this year.

For information and to purchase

tickets, call 815-338-5300 or visit

www.woodstockoperahouse.com.

» COLUMN

Now Playing

TonyCasalino

Tony Casalino is chairman of the Woodstock Opera House Advisory Commission.


MarketplaceFiled in the McHenry County Recorder’s Of-fice Nov. 16 to 24:

Residence at 7520 Hickory Grove, Wonder Lake, was sold by the Virginia Miller Trust, Wonder Lake, to John Coward, Won-der Lake, for $120,250.

Residence at 10410 Arabian Trail, Woodstock, was sold by Kurt and Susan Valentin, Johnsburg, to Dale and Jean Miller, Woodstock, for $359,900.

Vacant land, 6.84 acres, 708 McHen-ry Ave., Woodstock, was sold by Gateway Community Bank, Roscoe, to Ryan Peters, Woodstock, for $40,000.

Residence at 1121 Pond Point Road, Woodstock, was sold by the Federal Nation-al Mortgage Association, Dallas, to Rebeca Villafranca, Woodstock, for $42,000.

Residence at 7425 Center Drive, Wonder Lake, was sold by the Judicial Sales Corporation, Chicago, to the Secretary of Housing & Urban Development, Chicago, for $106,400.

Residence at 652 E. Calhoun St., Woodstock, was sold by the Federal Na-tional Mortgage Association, Dallas, to Jose Ortiz and Graciela Bernal, Woodstock, for $46,200.

Residence at 17808 Kishwaukee Val-ley Road, Woodstock, was sold by Kenneth Winkelman and Deborah Labaz, Woodstock, to Aaron Sabel, Woodstock, for $85,000.

Residence at 15308 Rose Lane, Wood-stock, was sold by Kidder Custom Homes Inc., Tamuning, Guam, to Jason and Jessica Groth, Woodstock, for $340,000.

Residence at 2010 Olmstead Drive, Woodstock, was sold by Allan and Kathleen Jensen, Woodstock, to Laurie Kogler, Wood-stock, for $175,000.

Residence at 7302 Falls Lane, Wonder Lake, was sold by Eva Goranson, Wonder Lake, to Borys Gronkowski, Wonder Lake, for $112,000.

Industrial building at 1950 Duncan Place, Woodstock, was sold by JES Wood-stock CE LLC, RES Woodstock CE LLC, and Woodstock CE LLC, Woodstock, to Com-monweath Edison, Oakbrook Terrace, for $2,250,000.

Residence at 4519 Lathrop Drive, Woodstock, was sold by The Bank of New York Mellon, Coppell, Texas, to Mike Coo-per, Twin Lakes, Wis., for $45,500.

REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS

Urban Gypsy opened for business Dec. 3 at 107 N. Jefferson St. The family-owned business is run by, left to right: Shannon (Leonard) Berry, Maureen Leonard and Nancy Leonard. INDEPENDENT PHOTO BY STEPHANIE PRICE

Clothing a family affair at new bizNew shop opens during Ladies Night Out


Women’s clothing is a family busi-ness.

Nancy Leonard has a lifetime of ex-

perience in the women’s clothing re-tail business.

Her mother, Harriet Lenhart, opened Lenhart’s Ladies Apparel in Harvard when Nancy was just 16 years old. Harriet, who passed away at the age of 90 in March, operated the Harvard store for 28 years.

Following in her mother’s footsteps, Leonard opened her own Lenhart’s on the Woodstock Square in 1986. Leonard operated that store for 14 years with the help of her own daugh-ter, Shannon Leonard Berry. �e pair closed the clothing store in 2000, but remained in the business as sales rep-resentatives for several clothing lines. Along the way, Leonard’s daughter-in-law Maureen Leonard began “rep-ping,” too.

While the ladies enjoy traveling and meeting with clientele, Nancy and Shannon Leonard missed the Square and the retail end of the business. For that reason, the trio decided to open Urban Gypsy, a combination store and office space at 107 N. Jefferson St.

�e cozy, lower-level space serves as the business headquarters for women’s clothing-line sales endeav-ors, but the front end is a retail outlet featuring several of the same cloth-ing lines the Leonards sell, as well as clothing samples which they pay for themselves and use for demonstra-tions when meeting with retailers.

Urban Gypsy opened to the public Dec. 3 during the annual Ladies Night

Out in Woodstock. “We picked the name because, be-

ing traveling saleswomen, we thought gypsy fit,” said Nancy Leonard.

�e store is filled with quality-made sweaters, shirts, vests, pants and ac-cessories such as hats and scarves. �e higher-end clothing is made with unique designs and fabrics, such as faux furs and soft knits. �e samples are in perfect condition but offered at discounted prices.

�e store is unique in another way as the retail end will only be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. �ursdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and by appointment only on other days.

“We’re more than happy to open the store for someone who wants to come in earlier in the week,” said Leonard. “We really needed a venue to sell our products, and our clothing-line com-panies are really happy that we’ve opened a retail space.”

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/urbangypsy.wood-stock.

NEW BUSINESS

“We really needed a venue to sell our products, and our clothing-line companies are really happy that we’ve opened a retail space.”

— Nancy Leonard, Urban Gypsy

URBAN GYPSY

Address: 107 N. Jefferson St. Web: www.facebook.com/urbangyp-sy.woodstock


Eagle Scouts complete projects at Peace Park

By JAN DOVIDIOThe Independent

Two new additions to Children’s

Peace Park & Paths, a meditative laby-

rinth and garden area in the Dick Tra-

cy Way Park Playground, come cour-

tesy of Eagle Scout projects.

Colby Law and his team of Scouts cre-

ated a stone entry path to the labyrinth

walkway, planted the adjacent border of

sedums and raised money to purchase

the bench at the labyrinth entry.

Andrew Stripp raised funds and

oversaw construction of two infor-

mation kiosks at the Children’s Peace

Park’s entry points. He met with local

designer Michael Stanard for ideas. A

matching gift from Woodstock Morn-

ing Rotary allowed Stripp to purchase

two locked display cases that will in-

clude park information.

Both Eagle Scout candidates are

students at Crystal Lake South High

School.

“�ese ... park additions are valuable

community-based projects that are

appreciated by the Public Works De-

partment,” said Public Works Director

Jeff Van Landuyt. “Collaboration with

many different sectors creates more

involvement in the community. �e

more projects we partner with others,

the more ownership the community

takes in its surroundings.”

Children’s Peace Park & Paths is

located along Lake Avenue near the

Woodstock Police Station.

A $10,000 grant from the McHen-

ry County Community Foundation

helped cover the costs of installation

in 2012. A 40-foot peace sign-shaped

garden was the work of Woodstock

School District 200 Challenge Corps

students.

A 60-foot meditative walking laby-

rinth that connects with the peace sign

path was overseen by the Bull Valley

Garden Club’s Peace Park Committee.

CommunityWoodstock resident to appear on ‘Let’s Make a Deal’

Woodstock resident Lori Behan will be a contestant on the CBS game show “Let’s Make a Deal” which will air Mon-day, Dec. 14.

WBBM-TV will air the episode at 9 a.m. Dec. 14. Check with your televi-sion provider for details.

MCED to host an innovator session Dec. 15

McHenry County Economic Develop-ment is hosting an informational meet-up session at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 15, at 620 Dakota St., Crystal Lake, for entrepreneurs, business men-tors and potential investors who are interested in being a part of a Maker’s Movement in McHenry County.

The Makers Movement is a nation-wide program to attract innovators, entrepreneurs and investors to Chicago to share ideas and find investors and business mentors.

Registration is requested at 815-893-0895. For information, contact Pam Cumpata 815-893-0895.

ACTS, CASA and NISRA partner for Bunco Bash

Three McHenry County nonprofit orga-nizations – Adult & Child Therapy Servic-es, Court Appointed Special Advocates and Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association – are taking registrations for their seventh annual Royal Bunco Bash set for 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15, at the Holi-day Inn, Crystal Lake. Bunco starts at 7 p.m.

Bunco is a fun, easy dice game and no prior experience is needed to play. The evening will begin with a practice round to teach those who have never played before.

Ticket cost is $35 per person, which includes three games of bunco, a cash bar, desserts and several different raffles.

Golden Tables are available for a group of 12 for $660 which includes premiere seating, a dedicated server for the table, two drink tickets per person, two bucket raffle tickets per person and a special raffle only available to Golden Table attendees.

For information, visit royalbuncobash.com.

IN BRIEF


Santa Claus has taken a short leave

of absence from his duties in the North

Pole to spend time visiting with Wood-

stock-area children.

�e Big Man in Red is scheduled to

appear at the Santa’s Hut, located in the

Park in the Square, starting Wednesday,

Dec. 9. Santa will be available to meet

with children, hear Christmas wish lists

and pose for photographs with young

visitors on selected days throughout

the month of December. �e visits with

Santa are free to the public.

�e Woodstock Lions Club has pro-

vided the Santa’s Hut for the community

for the past 60 years.

�e Santa’s Hut hours are from 5 to

7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, �ursdays and

Fridays, Dec. 9, 10, 11, 16, 17 and 18; and

from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays,

Dec. 12, 13, 19 and 20.

Santa’s Hut stands ready to accept visitors on the Woodstock Square. INDEPENDENT PHOTO BY STEPHANIE PRICE

News of recognitions and milestones can be sent to Janet Dovidio at [email protected].

HIGHLIGHT

Santa’s Hut opens in the Square

STOP THE AD TAX


2016 Woodstock calendar now available

Copy Express Inc. announced the publication of its 2016 wall calendar featuring local scenes by Woodstock photographer Gail Moreland.

The calendars are available at Copy Express, 301 E. Calhoun St., Wood-stock, and at the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce, 136 Cass St. The first calendar is free. Additional copies are available for $5 each.

Copy Express, owned by Jim and Vicki O’Leary, has produced promo-tional calendars of local interest annu-ally since 1983.

IN BRIEF

COMMUNITY

�e transfer of assets at a person’s death can carry a big tax advantage to the beneficiaries — the “step-up” in basis on inherited assets to date of death value.

For example, if Dad buys stock for $100, this amount is called his “basis” in the stock. If he holds on to it for a few years, the stock may increase in value to $200. If Dad sells that stock, he has $100 in gain, ($200 selling price minus $100 basis) and that amount must be reported as capital gain income on his tax return.

Instead of selling the stock, perhaps Dad gives it to Son the week before he dies. In this gift situation, Son gets a “carry-over” basis on the stock, as if Son had purchased it for the same $100, even though the gift occurred when the stock had increased in value. When Son later sells the stock, any appreciation in value over the $100 basis must be reported as capital gain by Son.

Finally, if Dad still owns that stock when he dies and Son inherits it, Son gets a stepped-up basis to fair market value at the time of Dad’s death ($200). If Son then sells the stock immediately after Dad’s death, he has no gain to report ($200 sell-

ing price minus $200 basis). If he holds the stock and sells it after it appreciates more, his gain still will be less than in the gift situation, because the basis was stepped up at Dad’s death.

Why do we care?�is concept was in

the news last spring when President Obama called it a “trust fund loophole” that benefitted the rich and needed to be closed. On the con-trary, this is a provision in the tax code that benefits any person who transfers appreciated assets at death. It has nothing to do with trusts. So far, the law has not been changed.

�ere are several reasons this math matters. Obviously, you can benefit your kids by delaying transfer of highly ap-preciated assets until after your death. If you want to make a lifetime gift, consider

choosing another asset. You also may want to consider gifting the appreciated assets to charities.

�e second situation that demands careful consideration of the timing of an asset transfer is the family business. Some owners transfer the business during their life to the next generation. A transfer at death can save significant amounts in capital gains taxes on the later sale of the business.

Finally, there are many older estate plans in effect which include a trust for each spouse. At the first death, assets are left in the deceased spouse’s trust to avoid payment of estate tax on them at the second death. Unless the family wealth exceeds $4 million, the estate tax issue no longer matters. No estate tax will be due. But those assets sitting in the trust of the deceased spouse will not re-ceive another basis step up at the second spouse’s death. �ey will be transferred to the kids with a basis set in stone at the first death.

�at can mean that significant amounts of built-in capital gain will accompany the inheritance. �is situation can be cured

with proper amendments to the estate plan – if both spouses are still living. If the first spouse has already passed away, it may be possible to remove assets from their trust and allow them to get the sec-ond step up in basis.

A meeting with your attorney or ac-countant could save your children a hefty income tax bill after your death.

Note: �is column provides general infor-mation related to the law designed to help readers understand their own legal needs. �is column does not provide legal advice. Please consult a lawyer if you want legal advice. No attorney-client or confidential relationship exists or will be formed between the reader and the author of this column. Previous columns can be seen in the author’s blog at www.patriciakraftlaw.com.

Estate PlanningDemystified

Patricia C.Kraft

Patricia C. Kraft, attorney at law, has more than 20 years of experience in general prac-tice, including estate and succession plan-ning. She offers a free initial estate planning consultation at her office at 131 E. Calhoun St., Woodstock. Contact her at 815-206-2200 or [email protected].

Save your children a tax bill with proper planning» COLUMN

CHRISTMAS AT THE STICKNEY HOUSE

Susan Helms, Bull Valley, checks out handmade Christmas decorations being sold to benefit the restoration of the Stickney House, 1904 Cherry Valley Road, on Dec. 6. The Old Fashioned Victorian Holiday Open House included tours of ongoing restoration work to the historic Stickney House. INDEPENDENT PHOTOS BY WHITNEY RUPP

GET RID OF ALL YOUR JUNK?

I

Call today! 815-338-8040

DO YOU WANT TO

13Dec. 9-15, 2015THE WOODSTOCK INDEPENDENTCOMMUNITY

RELIGION NOTES

BLUE LOTUS TEMPLE & MEDITATION CENTER

Meditation: 10 a.m. Tuesday, Saturday;

CHRIST LIFE

EDEN BAPTIST

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN

FIRST UNITED METHODIST

FREE METHODIST

GRACE FELLOWSHIP

Wednesday

GRACE LUTHERAN

HERITAGE BAPTIST

MCHENRY COUNTY JEWISH CONGREGATION

Saturday

REDEEMER LUTHERAN

RESURRECTION CATHOLIC

ST. ANN’S EPISCOPAL

ST. JOHN’S LUTHERAN

ST. MARY CATHOLIC

THE BRIDGE CHRISTIAN

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

THE VINE

UNITY SPIRITUAL CENTER

WOODSTOCK ASSEMBLY OF GOD

Wednesday

WOODSTOCK BIBLE

Note to churches: Please notify The Woodstock Independent with any changes in service times, programs, etc.

FLASHBACKS

25 years ago

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The Wood-stock Independent

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20 years ago

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15 years ago

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10 years ago

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--

Five years ago

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14 THE WOODSTOCK INDEPENDENTDec. 9-15, 2015 COMMUNITY

9 | WEDNESDAY

SANTA’S HUTWoodstock Square5 to 7:30 p.m.

WOODSTOCK LIONS CLUB MEETINGMain Street PourHouse214 Main St.6:30 p.m.815-236-4759

10 | THURSDAY

SENIOR EXERCISE CLASSDorr Township1039 Lake Ave.9 a.m.$10 monthly exercise class fee, $2 lunch815-344-3555Senior citizens are invited to exer-cise, followed by coffee, program, lunch and bingo.


LEGO NIGHTWoodstock Public Library414 W. Judd St.6:30 p.m.815-338-0542LEGOs and Duplos are available for builders ages 2 years and older to enjoy.

WNHS/NWMS YULETIDE ON THE NORTH SIDEWoodstock North High School Au-ditorium3000 Raffel Road6 and 8 p.m.$2 adults, $1 students and senior citizens815-334-2132See the Entertainer, page 9.

WHS/CREEKSIDE BAND CONCERTWoodstock High School501 W. South St.7 p.m.$2 adults, $1 students and senior citizens815-338-4370See the Entertainer, page 9.

11 | FRIDAY

CARRIAGE RIDESWoodstock Square4 to 8 p.m.Free

DINNER WITH ABRAHAMUnity Spiritual Center225 W. Calhoun St.4:30 p.m.815-337-3534unitywoodstock.orgThe group focuses on the teachings of Abraham-Hicks on the art of al-lowing your natural well-being.


LIVE MUSIC AT EXPRESSLY

LESLIE’SWoodstock Square Mall110 Johnson St.6 p.m.expresslyleslie.comSee the Entertainer, page 9.

OPEN MIC NIGHTStage Left Café125 Van Buren St.7 p.m.$3 donation815-338-5164See The Entertainer, page 9.

WHS MADRIGAL DINNERBull Valley Country Club1311 Club Road7 p.m.$28 adults, $25 senior citizens, $22 studentsSee the Entertainer, page 9.

12 | SATURDAY

ST. JOHN’S CRAFT FAIR AND COOKIE WALKSt. John’s Lutheran Church401 St. John’s RoadCookie walk, 8 a.m. to noonCraft fair, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.Visitors can buy homemade cook-ies and candy by the pound and shop for arts and crafts.

HABITAT RESTORATIONDufield Pond11418 McConnell Road9 a.m. to noon815-337-9315Individuals, students, small groups and families with children older than age 6 can participate in restor-ing native habitat.

FAMILY DISCOVERY DAYRyder’s Woods651 Kimball Ave.9 a.m.The Land Conservancy will lead a guided hike discussing what Ry-der’s Woods is like in the winter.

KIDS DAY ON THE SQUAREWoodstock Square10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

‘THE NUTCRACKER BALLET’Woodstock Opera House121 Van Buren St.2 p.m.$25 adults, $18 students815-338-5300See the Entertainer, page 9.

SANTA’S HUTWoodstock Square2 to 5 p.m.


BLESSINGS FOR THE NEW YEARBlue Lotus Temple221 Dean St.4 to 7 p.m.

815-337-7378Buddhist monks will offer a Pali chant, invoking blessings for the year to come. Participants can bring devotional items to be blessed. Re-freshments will follow.

WHS MADRIGAL DINNERBull Valley Country Club1311 Club Road7 p.m.Sold outSee the Entertainer, page 9.

13 | SUNDAY

RESTORATION WORK DAYYonder Prairie14401 Trinity Court10 a.m. to 1 p.m.conservemc.orgThe Land Conservancy will host a work day to clear invasive species from a restoration site.


‘THE NUTCRACKER BALLET’Woodstock Opera House121 Van Buren St.2 and 6 p.m.$25 adults, $18 students815-338-5300See the Entertainer, page 9.


14 | MONDAY

SPOUSAL CAREGIVER SUPPORT GROUPFamily Alliance2028 N. Seminary Ave.10:30 a.m. to noon815-338-3590An open support group meeting will be offered for individuals car-ing for a spouse.

MCHENRY COUNTY HORSE CLUB MEETINGHooved Animal Humane Society10804 McConnell Road7 p.m.847-366-1315The general meeting of the club is open to everyone. Meetings will have various speakers and exhibits.

COFFEE WITH THE CHIEFWoodstock Police Department656 Lake Ave.7 p.m.Special agent in charge David Eb-erhardt will discuss “The Role and Mission of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service.

WHS CHORAL CONCERT WITH CREEKSIDE CHOIRWoodstock High School 501 W. South St.$2 adults; $1 students and senior citizens815-338-2370See The Entertainer, page. 9.

15 | TUESDAY

CITY COUNCIL MEETINGWoodstock City Hall121 W. Calhoun St.7 p.m.

DISTRICT 200 BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETINGClay Professional Development Center112 Grove St.7 p.m.woodstockschools.org

FREE COLLEGE FINANCIAL PLANNING NIGHTWoodstock Public Library414 W. Judd St.7 p.m.Call 847-888-3888 to registercollegefundingteam.comThe workshop will include an expla-nation of the FAFSA form and strate-gies for paying for college.

16 | WEDNESDAY


STAGE LEFTOVERS HOLIDAY CONCERTUnity Spiritual Center225 W. Calhoun St.7 p.m.$5 suggested donationDonations to the Woodstock Food Pantry also accepted.See The Entertainer, page 9.

17 | THURSDAY

SENIOR EXERCISE CLASSDorr Township1039 Lake Ave.9 a.m.$10 monthly exercise class fee, $2 lunch815-344-3555Senior citizens are invited to exer-cise, followed by coffee, program, lunch and bingo.

KIWANIS WOODSTOCK MEETINGGolden Eagle Bank975 Country Club RoadNoon to 1 p.m.An open meeting of the Kiwanis Club will be held.


18 | FRIDAY

CAREGIVERS SUPPORT GROUPFamily Alliance2028 N. Seminary Ave.1 to 2:30 p.m.815-338-3590An open support group meeting will be offered for anyone giving care to an older person.

LIVE MUSIC AT EXPRESSLY LESLIE’S

Woodstock Square Mall110 Johnson St.6 p.m.expresslyleslie.comSee the Entertainer, page 9.



‘THE NUTCRACKER BALLET’Woodstock Opera House121 Van Buren St.8 p.m.$25 adults, $18 students815-338-5300See the Entertainer, page 9.

JAZZ JAMStage Left Café125 Van Buren St.8 p.m.815-337-1395 $5 donationSee The Entertainer, page 9.

19 | SATURDAY

WOODSTOCK FARMERS MARKETMcHenry County FairgroundsBuilding D9 a.m. to 1 p.m.The market features a variety of food and craft items produced di-rectly by the vendors.See the Entertainer, page 9.

BARK FOR BOOKSWoodstock Public Library414 W. Judd St.10 a.m.Children can practice reading to Kalani, the therapy dog.CARRIAGE RIDESWoodstock Square2 to 6 p.m.Free


‘THE NUTCRACKER BALLET’Woodstock Opera House7 p.m.$25 adults, $18 students815-338-5300See the Entertainer, page 9.

20 | SUNDAY

SNOWMOBILE SAFETY COURSEMcHenry County Sheriff’s Office2200 N. Seminary St.8 a.m. to 4 p.m.Free815-334-4739The 8-hour course will include safe operation, rules of the road, snow-mobile law, first aid and more. Reg-istration required.

Dec. 9to 20

CALENDARUpcoming events in the Woodstock area Events are free unless otherwise noted

For ongoing events, visit www.thewoodstockindependent.comPHOTO: MORGUEFILE

BEST BETSELECTION

To submit calendar items, e-mail [email protected] or visit

thewoodstockindependent.com

dddd

17Dec. 9-15, 2015THE WOODSTOCK INDEPENDENTPUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICEASSUMED NAME

Public Notice is hereby given that on

November 25, 2015, December 2, 2015,

PUBLIC NOTICE








PUBLIC NOTICE

publication of summons

summons upon the











PUBLIC NOTICE







PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE



PUBLIC NOTICE


College Report Continued from Page 20

SPORTS

WNHS places first at cheer, dance invitational» DANCE TEAM

the Horizon League.

SwimmingAllison DeWane (Woodstock)

scored points in two individual

events and a relay as Western Illinois

University was dumped by Truman

State University 173-110. Individu-

ally, the Western Illinois swimmer

competed in the 200-yard freestyle

(third, 2:09.31) and 100-yard freestyle

(fourth, :58.36). She was also a mem-

ber of the Western Illinois 400-yard

freestyle, which finished second in

3:48.40.

Kaeley Simek (Woodstock) helped

Carroll University defeat Univer-

sity of Wisconsin-Oshkosh 156-48.

Simek, a sophomore, was a member

of the 200-yard medley relay, which

finished fifth in 2:10.70. She also

took 14th in the 100-yard freestyle

(1:09.54).

Ice hockeySierra Meiners (Woodstock, IL)

scored Finlandia University’s only

goal in their 9-1 loss to Adrian Col-

lege. She scored at the 14:08 mark of

the first period. It cut Finlandia’s lead

to 2-1 at the time. She also assisted

Finlandia’s only goal in their 6-1 loss

to Lake Forest College. Finlandia con-

tinues to look for their first win. �ey

are 0-9 overall and 0-7 in the North-

ern Collegiate Hockey Association.

FootballMason Sutter (Woodstock) played

in all 10 Valparaiso University foot-

ball games this year. Sutter, who

played tight end, finished the year

with 101 receiving yards on 10 catch-

es. �e freshman had one touchdown

catch. Valparaiso finished the year

with a 1-9 overall record. �ey were

1-7 in the Pioneer Football League.

BasketballCody Brand (Woodstock) has

helped the University of St. Francis

post a 9-0 mark thus far. �ey are 4-0

in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic

Conference. In a 77-55 win over Trini-

ty Christian College, Brand scored six

points and pulled down two rebounds

in 17 minutes of play.

Rhetta Bates (Woodstock North),

a Dominican University freshman,

scored five points in the DU Stars’

76-69 win over Rockford University.

Bates, who emerged off the bench and

played 23 minutes, also had five re-

bounds, three assists and two steals.

Dominican is 1-6.

WNHS FALLS TO P-R

Woodstock North’s Paige Schnulle, left, fights for possession against Prairie Ridge Dec. 2 at WNHS. The Thunder lost 58-27. INDEPENDENT PHOTOS BY MICHELLE KRENGER

Dan Chamness follows the college athletic careers of Woodstock-area athletes.


Woodstock North varsity dance com-

petition team placed first at the Crystal

Lake Central Cheerleading and Dance

Invitational tournament Dec. 6.

�e competition drew junior varsity

and varsity teams from throughout the

Chicago suburban area. Teams compet-

ed in several different cheer and dance

divisions, some based upon school size

and others by divisions.

Woodstock North’s 14-member

Dance Team took home the top prize

after performing two numbers. It was

the second tournament of the season

for the �under, which also finished in

third place Nov. 21 at the Viking Invite

at Fremd High School in Palatine.

�e team is scheduled to compete

Dec. 12 at the Lake Zurich High School

Invitational, Jan. 9 at the Palatine

Invite and Jan. 14 at Grayslake High

School, according to the team’s web-

site.

WNHS English teacher Sabrina

Nevler coaches the team. �is year’s

squad includes seniors Karigan Ko-

vac, Olivia Vepley, Daniela Galindo,

Carley MacDowell, Emily Sitkie and

Caitlin Wirfs; juniors Emilee Campisi,

Brooke Lummis, Hannah Schnulle,

Roselynne Cabrera, Breanne Gray and

Brandy Lummis; sophomore Amber

Ballou; and freshman Hailey Gavers.

14-member team will compete in Lake Zurich High School Invitational Dec. 12

19Dec. 9-15, 2015THE WOODSTOCK INDEPENDENTSPORTS


Blue Streaks drop points by foreit in losses

By LIZ STROHThe Independent

Woodstock High School wasn’t short

on wrestling competition this past

weekend, taking part in the 2015 Tom

DuBois Wrestling Classic held at Rich-

mond-Burton High School.

�e Blue Streaks took 8th place over-

all.

A total of 13 teams competed Dec. 5

for a tournament championship title.

Anxious to bring home a win, the Blue

Streaks’ Martin Halilaj and Nick Sun-

dberg took second place. Following

them in third was Devante Martyne,

while Eli Kruse took fifth and Paxson

Dechant took sixth.

“Nick Sundberg was disappointed by

his 3-6 loss in finals, as he is currently

ranked No. 4 in 2A at 182 pounds in il-

linoismatmen.com,” WHS coach Jon

Grell said.

“By taking that loss, though, we know

some specific things that we need to

work on this year so that he will be at

his best in late January and February,

where it matters most in high school

wrestling,” Grell continued.

WHS’ grapplers suffered a 43-18 loss

to Grayslake North Dec. 3, although

Sundberg and Devante Martyne won

by pin and Kruse won by forfeit. The

Streaks also had a pair of close loss-

es Dec. 4, falling twice, 39-36, against

Auburn and Genoa-Kingston high

schools. WHS freshman Nolan Adams

and Sundberg went 2-0 in the contests.

Woodstock High School gave up 30

points in forfeits against Grayslake, Rockford and Genoa-Kingston.

Sports“By taking that loss, though,

things that we need to work on this year so that he will be at his best in late Janu-ary and February, where it matters most in high school wrestling.”

— Jon Grell, WHS wrestling coach

Streaks wrestling takes 8th at R-B tournament

Abby Gilleland, a Marian Central

graduate, missed a triple-double by

three digs and one kill.

If the volleyball match with

Brigham Young University had lasted

five sets, the Ohio University senior

setter would have reached the single-

match milestone. In the 3-1 loss,

Gilleland had 53 assists, nine kills,

seven digs and two blocks (one solo).

She had a hit-

ting percentage

of .500. Gille-

land helped the

Bobcats finish the

year with a 25-8

mark. �ey were

13-3 in the Mid-

American Con-

ference. �e loss

occurred in the

NCAA Division

I Tournament,

which was held in

Provo, Utah.

Caitlin Brocker (Marian Central)

helped the Missouri University of

Science and Technology volleyball

team post a 22-11 overall record this

year. �ey were 13-5 in the Great

Lakes Valley Conference. �e junior

defensive specialist/libero, who

played in 28 matches and made two

starts, finished the year with 126 digs,

16 service aces and 12 assists.

SoccerGio Ovalle (Woodstock North)

soccer player scored four goals for

Benedictine University this year. �e

5-foot-9 sophomore midfielder had

the fourth-most goals for the Eagles.

Benedictine finished 9-10 overall and

6-4 in the Northern Athletics Colle-

giate Conference.

Robin Wenzel (Marian Central)

had two assists for Valparaiso Uni-

versity this year. She played in 16

games and made 12 starts. Valparaiso

finished 7-8-3 overall and 4-4-1 in

Gilleland, Bobcats make D-1 tourney

WHIP-PURS TOP BLUE STREAKS

Top: Woodstock High School senior Breck-en Overly evades a Hampshire High School defender dur-ing the Blue Streaks’ 50-33 home loss to the Whip-Purs Dec. 4. Left: Jenifer Crain, a WHS senior, drives to the basket Dec. 4. against Hamp-shire. This week, the Streaks were set to take on Grayslake North Dec. 8, Gray-slake Central Dec. 11 and Big Foot High School Dec. 12.INDEPENDENT PHOTOS BY KEN FARVER

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Please see College Report, Page 18

The College Report

DanChamness

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Woodstockindependent 12 9 15

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