Sox bullpen falters for first time in extra-inning loss
Sports, C1
SATURDAY, APRIL 6, 2013
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AMERICAN PROFILE • INSIDE
Teachers use video to deliver messages
Museums chronicle the American experience
DROUGHT’S EFFECTS LINGER
Horse owners pray for rain
Role in slaying avowed
Wife guilty of charge related to shooting By SARAH SUTSCHEK ssutschek@shawmedia.com
Photos by Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
ABOVE: Tracey Cummings feeds her Belgian horse Callie a supplement called “Essential K” that supplies Callie with different nutrients at the Circle K Farm outside of Woodstock. BELOW: Callie eats hay at the farm, which grows its own hay, but because of the drought last year had to ration its bales over the winter.
As hay growing season nears, county’s weather still too dry By EMILY K. COLEMAN ecoleman@shawmedia.com Callie, a Belgian horse, enthusiastically inhaled alternative feed out of a bright, red food dish. She usually eats an all-hay diet, provided by the farm where she lives, but last year’s drought meant that the fields surrounding the barn and arena yielded only 15 bales in its second cutting instead of 200, said her owner, Tracey Cummings. A late third cutting that also had below-normal yields forced the Circle K Farm to start rationing its hay in the fall, Cummings said. Across the country, horse owners had to find solutions to scarce and increasingly expensive hay. Some horses were abandoned or sold. Some owners worked connections to find new suppliers, and others turned to alternative feeds to fill the gap.
“Everyone has a story,” said Sandy Remmers, who boards her horse at a private farm in McHenry. Remmers called in a family favor to help a fellow boarder locate four round bales of hay, which were delivered two weeks ago, she said. “You have to keep networking and digging, even go out of state,” Remmers said. “Find it wherever. Pull some strings.” Even for those who did get enough hay, it was expensive. Hay typically costs about $4 a bale in the area, but this year, it’s running more like $10 to $12 a bale. The Hooved Animal Rescue and Protection Society, based in Barrington Hills, spent $10 a bale “for what I consider mediocre hay,” founder and president Donna Ewing said. But the group didn’t want to get stuck without anything.
See HAY, page A9
WOODSTOCK – A woman whose husband shot and killed a man who responded to an online ad for sex with her has pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. Kimberly A. Smith, 30, of Woodstock entered a blind plea Friday to the Class 4 felony, meaning there is no agreement with prosecutors about her sentence. Because she has a prior felony conviction for fleeing and eluding from a 2007 case, she faces between one and six years in prison. She also is eligible for probation.
See WIFE, page A9
County rep to stay on RTA for bill battle By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com
“Horses are herd animals. They can eat 24/7. They just mow the grass. ... It keeps all their internal organs moving. It keeps them moving. When you go to alternative feeds, it’s very expensive.” Vern Scacci, horse owner at farm near Woodstock
WOODSTOCK – A legislative effort to do away with the Regional Transportation Authority is putting McHenry County’s appointment of its representative on hold. McHenry County Board Chairwoman Tina Hill said Friday that she would allow representative Al Jourdan to stay on, despite the fact that his term expired Monday, while he and the county fight a state bill aimed at merging the RTA with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. “I don’t want to change people in the middle of this, while he’s out there protecting the
See RTA, page A9
LOCALLY SPEAKING
DISTRICT 50
7 SEEK SPOTS ON SCHOOL BOARD A couple of candidates for the District 50 school board support freezing the tax levy, and a few others would consider it. In written responses to Northwest Herald questionnaires, the controversial subject split Harvard candidates, with sentiments ranging from strong approval to considerable opposition. For
Devon Gehrke
more, see page B1.
Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
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McHENRY: Warriors’ pitcher Devon Gehrke dominates in 10-0 win against Lake Zurich. Sports, C1 Vol. 28, Issue 94
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Kimberly A. Smith, 30, entered a blind plea to disorderly conduct. The plea was accepted by Judge Sharon Prather, who presided over the murder trial of Smith’s husband, Timothy S. Smith.
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At a glance Senate Bill 1594, sponsored by state Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan, seeks to merge the Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees Chicago-area mass transit, with Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.