Six months in, what do you think of 2021? Considering where we were 12 months ago, the new year has to receive high marks, if only by contrast. Social and economic life around Woodstock has been expanding for weeks, unlike July 2020 when … well, we don’t need to remind anyone what COVID-19 did to […]
By Cheryl Wormley Are you ready for fireworks? I am! And so are the Woodstock Fourth of July Fireworks Committee and the Mad Bomber, the fireworks company that has brightened the skies over Emricson Park on July 4 for more than three decades. Both are gearing up to carry on Woodstock’s reputation for having the […]
I strongly object to bringing the bag tax back to Woodstock. We have lived without it for over a year and can live without it in the future. The city stated in an article June 17 that the tax would bring in about $5,000 a month. At 10 cents a bag, that’s about 50,000 bags. […]
Public thanks is due to the wise folks of Woodstock and elsewhere in Illinois who have chosen to be vaccinated against COVID-19. With age, apparently, comes wisdom, as the vaccination rate (at least one dose) is more than 87 percent for McHenry County residents ages 65 and older, the population that is most vulnerable to […]
By Larry Lough With July 4 less than two weeks away, Woodstock faces a dilemma – a true dilemma, in which both outcomes have a downside Do we hope for continued dry weather so the spectacular July 4 fireworks show doesn’t get rained out. Or do we pray for the rain our lawns and gardens […]
By Paul Lockwood “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” – Ben Franklin Was Ben Franklin right? Am I healthy? Somewhat. Wealthy? Not really. Wise? A little bit smart, maybe, but wisdom has typically eluded me. I’ve always been kind of an early bird. Not in the sense […]
I was deeply disappointed by your coverage, or lack thereof, of the Pride parade on Sunday [June 13]. Six small photos on page 18? This joyous event was significant for Woodstock in many, many ways and deserved front page coverage. If it is planned for [the June 23] edition, a note under those tiny photos […]
Let’s think of Woodstock’s three-month-long experience last year with a single-use bag fee as a rehearsal. Now that we have experimented with encouraging shoppers to carry reusable bags, let’s do a reset when the fee – you might call it a tax – goes back into effect Aug. 1. The interruption in collections was, of […]
About assigning worth to every human being Because of my former employment with the Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association, much of what Julie Peters writes in her columns resonates with me. Her April 14 column [in TheIndependent], however, impacted me for a different reason. In it, she alludes to society deeming some of its members as […]
By Cheryl Wormley “The Independent is the sum total of the people working on it.” I’ve said that lots of times and in lots of different ways in the past 34 years. Sometimes I said it to the staff when we were down a staff member or two. Then it was meant to reassure. Yes, some […]
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.
