Penkava: Defending reputation of milk’s favorite cookie
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2013
WWW.NWHERALD.COM
The only daily newspaper published in McHenry Co.
News, A2
75 CENTS
PREP VOLLEYBALL • SPORTS, C1
HIGH-TECH FARMERS • BUSINESS, B5
Cary-Grove, Prairie Ridge advance at regional
App helps map crops and monitor irrigation systems
Prairie Ridge’s Taylor Otto
MCC board favors merit system Performance to determine raises for administrators, but not college president By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – After months of delays and disagreements from trustees, administrators at McHenry County College could be in line for a raise under a new merit-based system. The McHenry County College Board voiced support for
a merit-based raise system for the college’s 38 administrators, ending the practice of across-the-board pay bumps that many trustees wanted to change. Administrators, who received a 1.7 percent cost-ofliving increase in July as officials worked to fine-tune a performance-based compensation plan, could receive
an additional 1.5 percent increase to their base salary or nothing depending on performance evaluations, which are due Friday. Tony Miksa, vice president of academic and student affairs, said administrators would be ranked on a point system ranging from one to four in 15 different performance categories and receive
an average score. If the average is below two, those administrators will receive no extra compensation. A score between 2 and the overall average of all 38 administrators equals a 1 percent raise while any employee who scores higher than the overall average will receive a 1.5 percent increase. The total pot for raises is
roughly $134,000. Miksa said using the overall average score of the 38 administrators prevents supervisors from handing out the highest score possible with hopes of giving employees the biggest raise. “I really salute what you’ve done here,” board Chairman
See MCC, page A5
Docs tell parents to limit kids’ media use
Tony Miksa Vice president of academic and student affairs
PREPARING FOR WINTER WEATHER
Down to an exact science
By LINDSEY TANNER The Associated Press CHICAGO – Doctors 2 parents: Limit kids’ tweeting, texting & keep smartphones, laptops out of bedrooms. #goodluckwiththat. The recommendations are bound to prompt eye-rolling and LOLs from many teens, but an influential pediatricians group says parents need to know that unrestricted media use can have serious consequences. It’s been linked with violence, cyberbullying, school woes, obesity, lack of sleep and a host of other problems. It’s not a major cause of these troubles, but “many parents are clueless” about the profound impact media exposure can have on their children, said Dr. Victor Strasburger, lead author of the new American Academy of Pediatrics policy “This is the 21st century, and they need to get with it,” said Strasburger, a University of New Mexico adolescent medicine specialist. The policy is aimed at all kids, including those who use smartphones, computers and other Internet-connected devices. It expands the academy’s longstanding recommendations on banning televisions from children’s and teens’ bedrooms and limiting entertainment screen time to no more than two hours daily. Under the new policy, those two hours include using the Internet for entertainment,
Vicky Smith President of McHenry County College
McHenry County DOT fighting snow digitally By JIM DALLKE jdallke@shawmedia.com
H. Rick Bamman – hbamman@shawmedia.com
McHenry County Department of Transportation maintenance worker Haakon Helland applies lubricant to joints of plow equipment at the DOT garage in Woodstock. New technologies and innovative ideas are allowing the county to better fight winter weather.
Most McHenry County residents probably aren’t ready to see winter weather again. But luckily for area commuters, the McHenry County Department of Transportation is, and the agency is fighting snowfall more digitally and environmentally friendly than ever before. M c H e n r y C o u n - Your ty DOT Maintenance opinion Superintendent Mark DeVries’ desk is more of How prea command center than pared are you an office. His wide win- for winter? dows allow him to over- Vote online see the entire snow-reat NWHermoval operation, from ald.com. monitoring trucks in and out of the facility to tracking deliveries into the salt dome. Monitors inside the room run constant live shots of the radar, and he’s in frequent communication with National Weather Service officials. When winter weather approaches, trucks will pull up to mixing stations containing salt brine, calcium chloride and organic materials. Depending on the weather and the temperature of the road, the mixture will be adjusted to best battle the conditions. The truck driver will digitally enter
See WINTER, page A5
See MEDIA, page A5
LOCALLY SPEAKING
HARVARD
DEFENDANT IN DRUG RING ARRESTED The last defendant in an alleged drug ring run out of a Harvard bar was arrested over the weekend. A warrant was issued Oct. 17 for Antonio M. Figueroa, 31, 506 N. Second St. in Harvard, at which time he was placed on the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office most wanted list. For more, see page B1.
Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
HIGH
LOW
55 48 Complete forecast on A6
HUNTLEY: Developers haven’t shown interest in redeveloping 19th century mill in downtown. Local&Region, B1 Vol. 28, Issue 302
Where to find it Advice Business Buzz Classified
D2 B5 B6 D4-14
Comics D3 Local&Region B1-4 Lottery A2 Obituaries B4
Opinion Planit Style Puzzles Sports
A4 D1-2 D4 C1-6
Furnace Precision Tune-Up
94.95
$ 12995
Reg. $
One coupon per system. Must present coupon at time of tune-up. Not valid with any other offers or discounts. Expires 11/30/13
100% Satisfaction on Guarantee www.24hrhcs.com