Leaders of a Woodstock renters group addressed the City Council for the second time in a month, this time calling for a mediation process between aggrieved tenants and their landlords. Spouses Bill Zieske and Denise Halverson made the suggestion at the council’s Oct. 1 meeting, proposing city-led mediation sessions as an alternative to litigation with […]
The Woodstock City Council will consider implementing a fee waiver variance for the use of the Woodstock Opera House, a response to a request from a group planning to honor Orson Welles. The city of Woodstock has had a moratorium on granting free use of public facilities and services since 2009, the result of budget […]
Ask Bob Blue to define Autumn Drive — the annual event that snakes through rural Woodstock and Marengo near Garden Valley and Franklinville roads — and you won’t get a single answer. “It’s not an art show, it’s not a craft fair, it’s not about food, it’s not a music festival, it’s not a garage […]
A program facilitated by a certified teacher, but dictated by students, Project Lead the Way, is giving Woodstock High School students a head start in engineering education. Project Lead The Way, a national program providing “rigorous and innovative science, technology, engineering and mathematics education,” was adopted by WHS several years ago to better educate young […]
As the sponsor of a feature-length independent film in Austin, Tex., Other World Computing may appear on the big screen. The computer technology innovation company, with headquarters in Woodstock at 2650 Bridge Lane and a branch in Austin, donated 24 of its Mercury Elite Pro solid state drives to Ralph Smyth Entertainment to assist in […]
Public safety charities now are permitted to solicit donations from passing motorists on Woodstock streets after the City Council recently approved an ordinance regulating the practice. A change to state law requires Illinois municipalities to allow certain charities — ones that “protect the public safety,” according to the wording of the law — to collect […]
With a last name close to “Standard” – as in Standard Oil Company – Michael Stanard always dreamed of housing his business in a gas station. After learning the building at 129 E. South St. was for sale, the former location of a 1950s Conoco gas station, Stanard was able to accomplish that dream. The […]
When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. That’s what 4-year-old Alexandra “Alex” Scott did when she was diagnosed with pediatric cancer. She opened a lemonade stand in 2000 to raise money for childhood cancer research, and her vision is living on as Woodstock School District 200 elementary students host lemonade stands to raise awareness and […]
A drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility for adolescent boys and young men could come to Bull Valley if officials approve a special-use permit for the group home, but some residents are asking that the village deny the request. Lemont-based La Voie Inc. is seeking to open the facility at 9414 W. Route 120, in a […]
A collector of all sorts of antiques, from paper antiques and art pottery to old kitchen tools and Depression glass, Pam Moorhouse has an important decision to make: which one to bring? On Thursday, Oct. 3, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., the Woodstock Public Library will have its own version of the popular PBS television […]
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.
