You read our community’s weekly newspaper last week, and here you are reading it again this week. Welcome! So far this year, the teachers of 241 students – fifth-graders to high school – in Woodstock School District 200 have asked to have The Woodstock Independent Tuesday. NIE stands for Newspaper in Education. Newspapers, like The […]
The fact that 9/11 falls on a newspaper publication day this year gave us all pause at The Independent. Staff members recalled what they were doing on September 11, 2001, when terrorists hijacked planes and crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York and into the Pentagon, while a fourth […]
For those of you who are not supporters of Tim Walz, don’t worry. This column isn’t about political preferences. It’s about the experiences of special needs parents. That’s what I write about in The Independent. When I’ve done my job, even people without special needs children can relate. So, hang in there. You may recall […]
When voters in heavily Republican McHenry County helped Democrat Lauren Underwood win a seat in Congress in 2018, many of her party members were hopeful it signaled a shift in the political landscape of this conservative suburban county. After all, Underwood, in winning her first political office in her first campaign, unseated Republican incumbent Randy […]
Imagine the loneliness of a 9-year-old girl whose mother is wrongfully incarcerated. That was Dr. Amanda Allard. She faced the depths of loneliness and found a way through it. Now, she’s bringing her powerful story and expert insights to the McHenry County Mental Health Board’s Community Connections Summit on Friday, Sept. 13, at McHenry County […]
There’s an expression, long attributed to the late Everett Dirksen, a former United States senator from Illinois: “A million here, a million there, pretty soon, you’re talking real money.” Woodstock is well familiar with this, the biggest example being the Old Courthouse Center, which started with an $8.4 million estimate and finished up with a […]
Is August too late for planting ? No, you “do” have time to plant leafy greens like lettuce, spinach , kale, and mustard for a fall harvest. Turnips, carrots , beets, and radishes can all be started from seed in August . Do “not” plant veggies that need a longer growing season such as corn […]
It’s August, which in Edinburgh means that the city’s population doubles. The streets overflow with locals and tourists from all over the world. The racket of loud crowds, bagpipes, and the shouts of a street magician on every corner is the soundtrack for the entire month. Locals and tourists flock to colorful circus tents scattered […]
“Comedians – we tend to talk about our failures and not about our successes.” – Bob Newhart, “Pioneers of Television” “Hi Abe, sweetheart. How are you, kid?…You’re thinking of shaving it off? Abe, don’t you see that’s part of the image? Right, with the shawl and the stovepipe hat, the string tie.” – Bob Newhart, […]
Woodstock updated its underage smoking ordinance at the August 6 City Council meeting to bring it into line with a 2019 Illinois state law that raised the legal age to smoke from 18 to 21. The Woodstock ordinance includes tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, and alternative nicotine products. It was just an administrative detail to get […]
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.
