While many Woodstock residents are wrapped up in the Lighting of the Square and holiday shopping, the community’s farmers are racing the calendar and gambling on the weather to stay in their favor in order to finish the 2013 harvest. Just outside the city limits – in any direction – lie hundreds of acres of […]
Woodstock’s first nine-hole disc golf course may become a reality by July 2014. At its Nov. 19 meeting, the City Council agreed to accept money raised by Jeff Kaufmann, a Woodstock resident who has campaigned to raise money for the construction of a disc golf course at Raintree Park. The new agreement is contingent upon […]
The city of Woodstock and the police union have approved a new three-year collective bargaining agreement following about nine months of negotiations. The contract, approved unanimously by the City Council at its Nov. 19 meeting, includes yearly raises of 2 percent, 2.5 percent and 2.5 percent in fiscal years 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16, respectively, and […]
Entrepreneurs looking to open medical marijuana businesses in Woodstock will have to apply for special-use permits after the City Council approved an ordinance regulating dispensaries and cultivation sites in the city. The amendment to Woodstock’s Unified Development Ordinance outlines specific zoning areas in which medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation sites — set to become legal […]
The city of Woodstock and the village of Spring Grove will share the services of Woodstock’s building inspectors after the village approved an agreement between the two municipalities at a recent meeting of Spring Grove’s Village Board. Under the terms of the agreement, Spring Grove will contract with the city for the services of Woodstock’s […]
At his father’s Halloween floor-store event in Arlington Heights, 4-year-old Keith Murphy went missing. Despite frantic searching, his mother could not find him, so on-site guests stopped their shopping to pitch in. Finally, a newspaper photographer spotted Keith, curled up, sound asleep in a roll of carpet. From then on, he was literally rolled up […]
Just three weeks after releasing his debut single and music video onto YouTube Nov. 1, Scott Rusch’s song “Hey Girl” has attracted more than 30,000 views and more than tripled the singer’s Facebook “Likes” to 1,500. The 2010 Woodstock High School graduate and current senior at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, better known to Woodstock […]
With a $10,000 grant from the ComEd Green Region Program, the village of Bull Valley’s Still Farm restoration is underway. Village trustee Emily Berendt said the village was excited to receive the grant, which has already helped volunteers and professionals begin a 5- to 6-acre restoration of oak savanna on a 52-acre property. She said […]
Every day in Woodstock, scientists – dressed as high school students – head to the lab to analyze blood drops, examine fingerprints and solve crimes. They might not sport cool shades in the scorching Florida sun like Horatio Caine, but they use the same science, psychology and processes that the fictional star of “CSI: Miami” […]
His book may be about the Baltimore Ravens, but author Dean Smith has written a story that “appeals to any football fan.” “Never Easy, Never Pretty,” a book about the Ravens’ Super Bowl XLVII win, chronicles the rollercoaster season, features interviews with players, broadcasters and executives, and shows how a football team becomes part of […]
Larry Lough is editor of The Independent and reports local news.
Janet Dovidio has been a freelance correspondent for The Independent for eight years.
Susan W. Murray wrote for The Independent, covering various beats, from 2005 to 2008.
Tricia Carzoli is a freelance writer and photographer that on community news.
