NWH-1-16-2014

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IN PLANIT PLAY: • Lee Greenwood coming to Woodstock • Movie reviews: ‘Nut Job,’ ‘Jack Ryan’

STAND-UP GUY Randall Road plans move ahead ‘Full House’s’ Coulier to visit CL for comedy gig

THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2014

WWW.NWHERALD.COM

75 CENTS

County Board committee OKs $15.9M for improvements By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – The McHenry County Board is getting ready to plop down almost $15.9 million to design and buy the land needed for the Randall Road widening project. In three separate votes

Report: Benghazi attack avoidable

Wednesday morning, its Transportation Committee recommended approval for spending up to $9.1 million for the design, $1.75 million for the company to negotiate buying the needed right-of-way, and up to $5 million to cover the land purchases themselves. The money will come from

the county’s state and local motor fuel tax, with just under $2.8 million for the design coming from the county’s share of the Regional Transportation Authority sales tax. The project, which the county’s latest five-year highway improvement plan prices at $115 million, will add capacity and

improve about 3.5 miles of the major commercial thoroughfare from Ackman Road through Lake in the Hills to County Line Road at the Algonquin Commons shopping center in Algonquin. Plans call for widening the entire stretch to three lanes in each

See RANDALL ROAD, page A4

By the numbers • $15.85 million: Total amount recommended by the McHenry County Board’s Transportation Committee to design and buy land for a project to widen Randall Road from Ackman Road to County Line Road.

How that total breaks down: • $9.1 million: To pay for the design of the project • $1.75 million: To pay a company to negotiate buying the needed right-of-way • $5 million: To cover the cost of the land needed

Finding a cure for cabin fever

Senate panel faults intelligence, State Dept. and military By KIMBERLY DOZIER The Associated Press WASHINGTON – Both highly critical and bipartisan, a Senate report declared Wednesday that the deadly assault on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, could have been prevented. The account spreads blame among the State Department, the military and U.S. intelligence for missing what now seem like obvious warning signs. For the first time in the much-politicized aftermath, the report also points at Ambassador Chris Stevens, who was killed in the attack. It says that the State Department ended a deal with the military to have a special operations team provide extra security in Libya, and that Stevens twice refused an offer to reinstate the team in the weeks before the Sept. 11, 2012, attack. The military also takes criticism in the report for failing to respond more quickly on the night of the assault. On the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks in the U.S., armed militants stormed the diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, setting the building on fire. Stevens, information technology specialist Sean Smith, and CIA security contractors Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty, both former Navy SEALs, were killed over the course of two battles that night. Stevens died of smoke inhalation after he was taken to a “safe room” in the besieged compound.

Photos by Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com

Jerrad Rickard (left) watches his daughter Beatrice, 2, wife Betsy and son Gabe, 6, play an indoor game Tuesday at their Crystal Lake home. The Rickards have four children younger than 10 years old and have found creative ways to keep their kids entertained during the winter months. BELOW: Beatrice Rickard (left) and her brother Gabe play an indoor game with their family Tuesday at their Crystal Lake home.

Parents get creative to keep kids happy and active during winter months By CHELSEA McDOUGALL cmcdougall@shawmedia.com

B

etsy and Jerrad Rickard have four children under 10 years old. Let that sink in for a second. Four children. Under 10. Betsy, a former educator who stays home with the children, knows better than anyone that the winter doldrums can make even the most well-behaved children squirrelly. “In my house it’s like a tornado, it’s like an earthquake,” said the Crystal Lake mother of three boys and one girl. “It’s loud and there’s wrestling and just nonstop movement, and loud voices and questions. Everybody is vying for mama or daddy’s attention

every single second it seems. “That’s why I think you have to be proactive with getting them involved in doing something.” Winter’s snow, ice, slush and subzero temperatures can be especially trying for families like the Rickards, when sometimes everyone just wants to hunker down and hibernate. But as Betsy knows, keeping your children happy and active also is key for keeping one’s own sanity. “So thankful to have gotten outside this morning. After 68 hours of being cooped up in the house, I was seriously ready to start murdering people,” she quipped on Facebook just after the

See CABIN FEVER, page A4

See BENGHAZI, page A4

LOCALLY SPEAKING CL South’s Austin Rogers (left) and Jacobs’ Kenton Mack

Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com

FOX RIVER GROVE

BUSINESS

FRG WANTS CASTLE SUIT THROWN OUT

ECONOMIST: GOV’T STIFLING GROWTH

Fox River Grove officials want a federal court to throw out a lawsuit filed by Bettendorf Castle’s owners because the owners have yet to seek permission from the village to run home tours. Because Michael and Judy Strohl haven’t applied for a special-use permit, their suit against the village should be dismissed, officials say. For more, see page B1.

Economist Robert Genetski said government burdens on the economy are holding back growth. He predicted a continued sluggish recovery until the government gets out of the way. Genetski spoke Wednesday at Home State Bank’s annual economic forecast luncheon at Boulder Ridge Country Club in Lake in the Hills. For more, see page B6.

CRYSTAL LAKE: CL South boys basketball makes huge turnaround against Jacobs. Sports, C1

WEATHER HIGH

LOW

33 15 Complete forecast on A6

Where to find it Advice Business Classified Comics Local&Region Lottery

C10 B6-7 E3-14 C9 B1-5 A2

Obituaries Opinion Puzzles Planit Play Real Estate Sports

Vol. 29, Issue 16

B5 A5 E8-9 Inside E1-2 C1-8


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