Metra officials were in Woodstock this March just as they were in March 2024, with their maps and charts, explaining plans for a new layover yard and maintenance facility off Lamb Road on the city’s far west side. The plan would bring jobs to Woodstock and increase commuter rail service to the city. When Metra […]
April, National Poetry Month, is here again, a time to celebrate verse and its importance in our culture. Introduced in 1996, the occasion is observed each year by the Academy of American Poets, and poets celebrate with workshops or, sometimes, poetry readings or slams. Retailers, too, see an uptick in poetry book sales, according to […]
You should have everything you need to cast an informed vote in next week’s election of a voting majority of the seven-member Woodstock City Council. Mayor Mike Turner, who is a voting member of the council, is running unopposed for re-election, just as he did four years ago when he was first elected mayor after […]
It happened a couple of weeks ago at a four-way stop in town. The other driver and I arrived at the intersection within a few seconds of each other. Being to the right, I legally had the right of way, but I decided to let him go first. Except … he didn’t go. And neither […]
See whether you can guess what is significant about this sentence: “After a lunch of broccoli and zucchini, I started to vacuum before calling the cemetery committee about my absence from the meeting tomorrow.” It contains seven of the 13 most commonly misspelled words on a list released last November by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary folks […]
I was on U.S. Sen. Everett Dirksen’s Washington, D.C., staff in 1969. The honorable senator from Illinois, a Republican, was the minority leader of the Senate. As the receptionist, I answered phones, greeted visitors, and opened mail. Constituents – the folks back home – were No. 1. So every phone call was directed to the […]
When I think about people – friends, casual acquaintances, or even random strangers I spent just a few minutes with – I think about how they treated me, how they interacted with others, and how they spoke about the people who matter to them. I think about how they made me feel. Actions speak so […]
“Thank you for being you.” – Diane Baker-Lockwood My wife said this to me recently. It’s a simple statement, but it meant the world to me. Allow me to provide some context. On a late fall evening in 1982, the 22-year-old version of yours truly – a nerdy, outgoing AM radio news director at the […]
There’s an expression you may have heard of called “Midwest Nice.” It’s a lighthearted poke at us folks in the middle of the country for almost being too nice sometimes. Things like four drivers being so polite at a four-way stop that traffic comes to a dead halt, or someone holding a door open at […]
What have you been thinking about these days? What do you discuss with friends in casual conversations? For many people, those subjects have changed in recent weeks. That change has been reflected on the Opinion pages of this newspaper. As a local newspaper, The Woodstock Independent has been an outlet for readers to sound off […]
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.
