Loyal Independent subscriber Marcia Duncan stayed with Jim and me a couple nights this past week. Marcia is Jim’s cousin-in-law. Her husband, David, and Jim were first cousins. Her visits are always much anticipated and enjoyed beyond belief. She came bearing gifts – fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini from her brother’s garden. Saturday night as […]
Many taxpayers, especially those not particularly fond of paying more taxes, wonder why the City Council needs to increase property taxes every year through 2025 to pay for resumption of an “enhanced” street improvement program that will significantly upgrade city streets at a cost of $58.6 million. Didn’t the city establish a 1-cent sales tax […]
Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. Woodstock City Council has borrowed that concept in its recent discussions about the structure of city government, to wit: Create an organizational chart for the city you want to be, not the city you are. At the urging of recently installed Mayor Mike Turner, […]
By Cheryl Wormley In full disclosure, I have Grandma Brain. Jim and I have had the joy of hosting grandkids for Grandpa and Grandma Camp for the past three weeks. First, 11-year-old Charles came for four days, then brothers Auggie, 13, and Teddy, 10, were with us for a four-day and -night stay. Next came […]
I want to address what some parents said at a recent District 200 Board of Education meeting about why they don’t want their children to have to wear masks in school. Masks are uncomfortable. They make it hard to breathe. Masks are irritating. Children can’t speak or see each other smile. Masks make some children […]
City must be more responsive to historic preservation concerns I am contacting you to say that I support the rationale of the [Historic Preservation] Commission for not certifying the appropriateness of the “restoration” work on the Woodstock train station. I have watched with dismay in the past as the previous mayor and past councils essentially […]
By Cheryl Wormley Weekly new COVID-19 cases in McHenry County were five times higher last week than the last week of June. Five weeks ago our county had just 19 new cases. Last week, 233 people tested positive. You may remember that I frequently ended columns last year encouraging mask wearing and social distancing, I […]
If you’ve heard that COVID-19 has come back, don’t believe it. The fact is, it never went away. But you know what has come back? Masks. We had a couple of comfortable months approaching normalcy with reduced social restrictions thanks to the half of the population that has been vaccinated, causing new cases and deaths […]
“Most other competitions are individual achievements, but the Olympic Games is something that belongs to everybody.” – Scott Hamilton, U.S. Olympic gold medalist in figure skating “The best kids are going to become the best. But the best thing about it is that you’re going to learn lessons in playing those sports about winning and […]
By Cheryl Wormley Some weeks, I struggle to come up with a topic for Declarations. Not so this week. In fact, I have three things vying for attention. Thanks, Sydney Sydney Wood, our summer intern, finished her eight weeks at The Independent yesterday. It’s been a joy working with her. She wrote 17 articles, took photos, attended […]
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.
