Apple Creek development off Dean Street in south Woodstock will get an extreme weather warning siren, the city’s sixth. The City Council last week approved the sale and installation of the siren by JS Communications Technologies of Antioch for about $38,000, higher than the budget estimate of $25,000 approved in the 2022-23 capital improvements program. […]
Julia Eastham news@the woodstockindependent.com Lock your door and take your keys when you leave the house. “Be sure your garage doors are closed and secure,” Woodstock Police officer David Dempsey advised. “Do not leave it open when you are away. Obviously, an empty garage … broadcasts that no one is home.” Those were among basic […]
Denial is a distinctly human trait, and a potentially dangerous one. Whether they say it with words or in actions, people are inviting trouble when they express the belief that “It can’t happen to me.” As we have seen in Woodstock, it can happen – and does. In recent months, a local couple lost what […]
Not everyone agreed with the decision by the city of Woodstock to continue its July 4 fireworks display on schedule just hours after a mass shooting at an Independence Day parade only 40 miles away. And not every community chose to delay the holiday festivities after the awful events in Highland Park that left seven […]
“We do not consider ourselves to be susceptible to a scam,” a Woodstock woman wrote about her and her husband, “and yet we fell for it! We were embarrassed. …” The woman related that in an email to Woodstock Police Chief John Lieb to thank him for his department’s professionalism in investigating the scheme that […]
Food Shed Co-op receives $200,000 federal grant Food Shed Co-op was among 134 recipients of grants totaling $22.6 million through the 2021 round of the Targeted Small Grants Program of the America’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative. According to a news release, Food Shed Co-op will receive $200,000 to supplement nearly $1.75 million raised in late […]
Holiday traffic enforcement underway Motorists are warned that a “Click It or Ticket” traffic enforcement campaign around the Memorial Day holiday has begun with the goal of urging seat belt use to save lives. The Woodstock Police Department announced it is stepping up enforcement through May 31, encouraging drivers and passengers to buckle up. Early […]
Last year’s retirement of a deputy chief with 22 years of experience has led to what Chief John Lieb calls an “evolution” of the Woodstock Police Department. When Jeffrey Parsons retired to become police chief in Pingree Grove, his departure had “a ripple effect” that brought on changes within the 39-member department, Lieb said. “We […]
Woodstock will spend $28,500 this year – and $22,500 every year thereafter – for what police say is an important tool needed to combat a trend of out-of-towners driving here to commit crimes. The expense this year, approved last week by the City Council, will pay for eight automated license-plate readers to be installed around […]
Woodstock Police have hit a technical roadblock in their search for a second person responsible for recent threats of violence in School District 200. Police arrested a student on a low felony charge of disorderly conduct involving a threat at Woodstock High School last month. And Police Chief John Lieb reported his department had obtained […]
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.
