For the children in one local family, Woodstock Police Department Officer Lucas Schmidt might have saved their lives. Schmidt’s instincts that rescued those children earned him the McHenry County Chiefs of Police Association Officer of the Year 2022. Schmidt, who has been with the department since 2019, is in his second year as school resource […]
Columnist Paul Lockwood bought a police ride-along in a silent auction. This is the second part of his report on the experience with Officer Lucas Schmidt. With the COVID lockdown occurring only six months after officer Lucas Schmidt started at the Woodstock Police Department, the inability to do much hands-on training was a challenge. In […]
New school resource officers are now patrolling the hallways of Woodstock and Woodstock North high schools. Officers Lucas Schmidt and Spenser Svehla began their new assignments in January, replacing Detective Matthew Prentice and Officer Matthew Gustis in the high schools of Woodstock School District 200. WPD Detective Sgt. Josh Fourdyce, a former SRO himself, is […]
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.
