By Cheryl Wormley I’m back from two weeks in Florida. My husband, Jim, and I flew down Feb. 14 to stay with my sister Lois and brother-in-law, Russ, in their Marco Island condo. The days were delightfully warm – in the 80s. The Gulf of Mexico was warmer than Lake Geneva in June, and the […]
Illinois is known across the land for political corruption. I always get a hearty, knowing chuckle when I tell Rotary Club luncheons that I have worked for three unindicted Illinois governors (True: Ogilvie, Thompson, Edgar). The four others across that era were all measured for striped suits (Kerner, Walker, Ryan, Blagojevich). Recently, the attorney for […]
Woodstock has made a lot of good friends from other places lately. For example, Mike Guzman of Houston, Texas, and his buddy, Bryan Stenstrup of Orlando, Florida. And Javier Rueda and Wendy Pita of Chicago, along with Javier’s mother, Rubiela Benitez, from Colombia (the South America nation). Not to mention Kevin and Stephanie Simper, also […]
By Cheryl Wormley Trust is earned. It can’t be purchased or negotiated. Trust develops over time as a person, business, or institution proves over and over again that it is reliable and truthful. I don’t know exactly when The Woodstock Independent became a trusted source of news and information. I expect it was fairly early in the […]
By Larry Phillips Angelo’s for lunch on the Square, Blue Streak football on Friday nights; Chicago Dogs at Tommy’s Red Hots, the $3 special, Dairy Queen for summer ice cream delights. El Niagara for Mexican fare, muy bien, Farm & Fleet, intriguing to browse and shop; Groundhog Day filmed in 1992, a timeless event, Hunting […]
Web of government agencies burden on Illinois taxpayers Illinois’ shocking number of types of government and units of government is a tax crisis. In all, Illinois taxpayers are funding 45 types of government that have a total of 8,923 units with taxing authority, the reason why Illinois taxpayers are paying the nation’s highest state and […]
No rivalry in local sports rivals the competition in games, meets, and matches between crosstown high schools Woodstock and Woodstock North. As School District 200 Superintendent Mike Moan describes it, “The atmosphere is electric” when the two schools are involved in mostly friendly competition on the court or field of play. But there is no […]
By Cheryl Wormley Ever been asked what happens in Woodstock after Willie’s prognostication? Or more to the point, what happens in Woodstock after the Groundhog Days festival? This year, the answer to the first question is we begin to think spring! When Willie sees his shadow, I, and maybe you, subliminally, hunker down for six […]
By Rick Bellairs 30 years! Who knew? When people approached the city of Woodstock 30 years ago about filming a movie in our town, who would have guessed we would still be talking about it, let alone celebrating it? 2/2/22 Woodstock celebrated the 30th anniversary of the making of the movie Groundhog Day. The festivities […]
Woodstock School District 200 had to wait only a month to employ its new “snow days” policy. Classes were called off on Jan. 25 when the morning temperature was forecast to bottom out at -15F. That met the emergency day threshold of Supt. Mike Moan, who had said classes would be canceled only if air […]
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.
