Bears GM Phil Emery begins coaching search
wedNesday, JaNuary 2, 2013
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Huskies’ banner season comes to an end Sports, B1
It’s a boy
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Roots, whole grains get their day in the sun
Huntley couple welcomes county’s first baby of 2013
For some, Route 31 project troubling Ex-McHenry mayor urges the public to get involved By JANE HUH
jhuh@shawmedia.com
Josh Peckler – jpeckler@shawmedia.com
Daniel Canache of Huntley looks down at his new baby brother Christopher, who is being held Tuesday by their mother Daniela at Centegra Hospital – Woodstock. Born at 12:10 a.m., Christopher was the first baby born in McHenry County in the new year. By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO
sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com
W
OODSTOCK – Christopher Canache came into the world early Tuesday morning as the first McHenry County baby born in the new year. Parents Daniela and Pedro Canache of Huntley welcomed their second son at Centegra Hospital – Woodstock, a mere 10 minutes after the region celebrated and greeted 2013 at midnight. Centegra officials visited the parents
Tuesday and presented them with a gift basket for having the first McHenry County baby born in the new year. “It’s great to have a new baby. Anytime would have been great,” Pedro Canache said. “It’s a different experience because everyone here at the hospital were excited because we got the first baby of the new year.” Pedro Canache said his wife, Daniela, started feeling contractions around 4 p.m. Monday, while they were eating
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Anytime would have been great. It’s a different experience because everyone here in the hospital were excited because we got the first baby of the new year. Pedro Canache
See BABY, page A8
Christopher’s father
Cliff avoided: Congress staves off tax hikes By ALAN FRAM and DAVID ESPO
The Associated Press WASHINGTON – Past its own New Year’s deadline, a weary Congress sent President Barack Obama legislation to avoid a national “fiscal cliff” of middle class tax increases and spending cuts late Tuesday night in the culmination of a struggle that strained America’s divided government to the limit.
The bill’s passage on a bipartisan 257-167 vote in the House sealed a hard-won political triumph for the president less than two months after he secured re-election while calling for higher taxes on the wealthy. Moments later, Obama strode into the White House briefing room and declared, “Thanks to the votes of Republicans and Democrats in Congress I will sign a law that raises taxes on the wealthiest
loCallY sPeaKiNG
2 percent of Americans while preventing tax hikes that could have sent the economy back into recession.” He spoke with Vice President Joe Biden at his side, a recognition of the former senator’s role as the lead Democratic negotiator in final compromise talks with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. In addition to neutralizing middle class tax increases and spending cuts taking effect
with the new year, the legislation will raise tax rates on incomes of more than $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples. That was higher than the thresholds of $200,000 and $250,000 that Obama campaigned for. But remarkably, in a party that swore off tax increases two decades ago, dozens of Republicans supported the bill at both ends of the Capitol.
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AP photo
President Barack Obama makes a statement regarding the passage of the “fiscal cliff” bill as Vice President Joe Biden looks on Tuesday in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington.
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404 NEW 2013 VEHICLES AVAILABLE!
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MareNGo: Library board members are reading the fine print attached to the $500K state grant. Local, A3
Where to find it Advice Classified Comics
For information about the Illinois Route 31 project and to send input, go online to ilroute31. com.
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WOODSTOCK
The McHenry County Board will vote Thursday to approve a new committee structure as it prepares to welcome nine new members – the largest freshman class in at least 20 years. All 24 seats were up for election because of redistricting after the 2010 U.S. Census. Besides new blood, new leadership is playing a factor in the shakeup. For more, see page A3.
Josh Peckler – jpeckler@shawmedia.com
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McHENRY – William Busse and Dr. James Mowery are troubled by a proposed plan for the ongoing Route 31 improvement project, which is more than halfway into its phase one stage. Both men commute along Route 31, near Bull Valley Road, to get to work. Busse works at First National Bank, at the corner of Routes 120 and 31; Mowery, at Centegra Primary Care, near Bull Valley Road and Route 31. “This is a draconian plan,” said Busse, who served as McHenry mayor from 1985 to 1993. “It’s way over-engineered. Local businesses and property owners need to say ‘Let’s wait a second and work out a solution to [accommodate] higher volume of traffic without knocking buildings down.’ “This design will change the character and the landscape of McHenry.” The Route 31 project length spans seven miles, from Route 176 in Crystal Lake to Route 120 in downtown McHenry. The objectives of the project is to solve “congestion (existing and future), safety for multimodal users, accessibility for all users, and existing design deficiencies,” according to the Illinois Department of
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