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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013
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• TV show needs extras • Local Halloween events • Movie: ‘Captain Phillips’
NOT TO MISS IN McHENRY COUNTY In Pl@y DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH
Honoring the victims
Committee spars over TAG issue Yensen reprimanded for reporting agency’s activity By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com
Photos by Lathan Goumas – lgoumas@shawmedia.com
Women stand during a candlelight vigil for victims of domestic violence held Wednesday on the Woodstock Square. The annual event – sponsored this year by Turning Point, Direct Counseling and Mather’s Clinic – brings people together to honor survivors and victims of domestic violence.
Candlelight vigil calls attention to teen dating violence By SHAWN SHINNEMAN
One candle lights another as people participate in Wednesday’s candlelight vigil on the Woodstock Square for domestic violence victims. Organizers passed out candles to a crowd that far surpassed the attendance of last year’s event, several participants remarked.
sshinneman@shawmedia.com
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OODSTOCK – With the sunset presenting a purple to match the balloons scattered around Woodstock’s Square, Katelyn Kloepffer did what so many affected by domestic violence do not: she spoke. Kloepffer, 19, told her story Wednesday night to a swollen crowd gathered around the Square’s gazebo for a candlelight vigil for domestic violence victims. The annual event – sponsored this year by Turning Point, Direct Counseling and Mather’s Clinic – brings people together to honor survivors and victims of domestic violence. Though her and her siblings were never a direct victim of physical violence, Kloepffer, of Harvard, witnessed her dad abuse her mom throughout their 18-year marriage, she said. With her parents now in the process of a divorce and separated by an order of protection, Kloepffer decided to share her experience.
“Part of it is because of them, Turning Point,” she said after the event. “I found this new confidence in myself and telling my story.” Held in conjunction with Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Turning Point’s annual vigil has been taking place for more than two decades. This year, organizers decided to focus their attention
on teen dating violence – an issue that has hit home in the county since two teens died in a July murder-suicide that left a 1-year-old without parents. Jane Farmer, executive director of Turning Point, conducted a moment of silence for Jackie Flores, the 17-year-old victim of the Harvard incident. “Right there is a murder that happened in our own
backyard,” Farmer said after the ceremony. “We have to pay attention to that so we can end that cycle of violence.” Before the candles were lit, the crowd heard form a series of teenagers who read stats about domestic violence and talked about why the issue matters to them.
See VIGIL, page A6
WOODSTOCK – Paula Yensen said she was doing her job when she brought allegations against an agency requesting funding to the attention of the McHenry County Mental Health Board. But to two of her fellow members on the McHenry County Board Public Health and Human Services Committee, Yensen, D-Lake in the Hills, overstepped her bounds as Mental Health Board liaison. The Advantage Group, which helps young adults overcome drug and alcohol dependency, abruptly withdrew its request for a $49,000 emergency payment from the Mental Health Board at a Sept. 17 meeting. Yensen revealed at the following meeting the withdrawal came after she presented evidence to the board president that TAG had been actively supporting county
See TAG, page A6
Cougar sightings are rare in county By JIM DALLKE jdallke@shawmedia.com Some McHenry County residents claim to have seen a cougar in the area, and they don’t mean the pitching staff from Kane County. Facebook has been abuzz this month with comments from residents who believe they have spotted a cougar in the county, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is aware of one report of a cougar near Grass Lake Road in Spring Grove. But according to IDNR Administrator Dan Ludwig, the likelihood of a cougar actually being in the county is slim. “We handle a lot of these types of calls,” Ludwig said. “So many turn out to be coyotes or big dogs.”
See COUGARS, page A6
LOCALLY SPEAKING
RUTLAND WAITS ON BUS DECISION Rutland Township residents in Sun City, Huntley, likely won’t have a bus service come Nov. 30. On Tuesday, the Rutland board passed on the opportunity to fund a bus system, with the trustees wanting more information on options. Grafton Township has said it will stop serving Rutland residents in Sun City unless Rutland helps pay for service. For more, see page B1.
Lexi Harkins
Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
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CRYSTAL LAKE: CL Central co-op’s Lexi Harkins, Larisa Luloff lead girls golf team to regional title. Sports, C1 Vol. 28, Issue 283
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Paula Yensen, D-Lake in the Hills, told the McHenry County Mental Health Board that The Advantage Group, which was seeking funding from the board, had been actively supporting political candidates. As a nonprofit with 501(c)3 status, it is barred by law from doing so.
Voice your opinion Do you believe the rumors of cougar sightings in McHenry County? Vote online at NWHerald. com.