A resident and a dog escaped unharmed Friday morning from a house fire in the 100 block of Meadow Avenue, which left the home uninhabitable. Members of the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District responded shortly after 8 a.m. Friday within three minutes of the call. Upon arrival, firefighters reported a working fire with smoke coming from the rear […]
Two people were seriously injured late Friday when an all-terrain vehicle crashed into a tree northeast of Woodstock. Medical helicopters were called to fly the victims out for treatment after the crash just before midnight in the 10500 block of Thoroughbred Trail. Both victims reportedly suffered serious head injuries. First arriving fire crews on the scene […]
Last week’s opening of a countywide shelter in McHenry for homeless people has left two empty buildings in Woodstock looking for new life. The Shelter of Hope, a 10,500-square-foot, 70-bed shelter at 1809 Route 31, replaced the Old Firehouse Assistance Center in downtown Woodstock and the westside McHenry County PADS shelter on Kishwaukee Valley Road. […]
Police say a 7-year-old boy has died from injuries he suffered last week in a two-vehicle collision at U.S. 14 and Route 120 (Washington Street).And the driver of the vehicle in which he was riding, Maria Diaz-Nunez of Rockford, has been charged with eight offenses, including failure to secure a child under 8 years in […]
When the Board of Trustees approved a 2020-21 fiscal year budget last week, it appropriated an additional $150,000 for an “administrative position” at the WFRD, likely a deputy chief, a position eliminated in recent years as finances got tight. Thanks to an April 2019 voter referendum that approved a 20 percent increase in the district’s […]
How would the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District deal with fire in a new five-story apartment building? What about dozens of homes built only 6 feet apart in a new housing addition? Those concerns have been raised in public meetings recently as city officials considered plans for the five-story Woodstock Square Apartments at Madison and Church streets […]
Woodstock’s homeless assistance center, operating in the former city fire station at South and Throop streets for the past four years, will close this week. A news release from the city on Friday said OFAC – Old Firehouse Assistance Center – would end operations Thursday, Nov. 21. City Manager Roscoe Stelford said that decision was […]
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.
