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Jan u ar y 9, 2016 • $1 .0 0
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Wolves shut down Hampshire to earn key FVC Fox Division win / C1 NWHerald.com
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Police guard against scams
MCC PROGRAM HAS SAVED STUDENTS COLLECTIVE $250K, OFFICIAL ESTIMATES
Officials say fewer county residents becoming victims By CAITLIN SWIECA cswieca@shawmedia.com
In several McHenry County districts, the portion of students who go on to attend an in-state community college and who need remediation is approaching half, mirroring the statewide rate, according to postsecondary remediation data available for the first time this year. Taking a fourth year of math in high school is not required in Illinois. The data show Woodstock School District 200, which has 60
After the Better Business Bureau released its list of the most widespread scams of 2015 this week, some McHenry County police officials say McHenry County residents may be getting better at identifying the deceptive practices. McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy Aimee Knop said calls from residents informing police that someone tried to scam them have recently outnumbered calls from people who actually fell victim to those scams. “We offer quarterly scams presentations to seniors, and raise awareness through social media and other programs,” Knop said. “We feel that it actually may be helping because we see more people being aware that it’s happening.” Knop said the most common area scam involves someone calling a person’s house and telling the person there is a warrant out for their arrest and they will be arrested unless they send payment. Another common scam involves a scammer gaining access to a computer and displaying a message that the device has a virus, one that ranked No. 2 on the BBB’s list. The other common source of scams is Craigslist, Knop said, where someone will agree to pay money for a product and the product never arrives.
See MCC, page A4
See SCAMS, page A4
Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
Juletta Patrick (left), assistant vice president of academic standards, Tony Capalbo, associate dean, and Tammi Kostos, math department chair, meet Wednesday at McHenry County College to prepare a presentation after MCC was announced as one of 10 finalists for an award after reducing the need for remedial math by 63 percent.
Math program helps cut need for remedial classes By ALLISON GOODRICH agoodrich@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – In 2010, more than half of high school graduates who went to McHenry County College had to take a noncredit developmental math class before progressing onto college-level courses. Five years later, that reliance has been sliced by 63 percent and MCC officials say it’s largely because of an articulated math program that gives high school seniors the chance to take those remedial courses while still in high school.
“We’ve gone from 57 percent down to, for the Class of 2015, 21 percent, which is not huge – it’s incredible.”
are being offered so students can bypass them in their first year of college. “We’ve gone from 57 percent down to, for the Class of 2015, 21 percent, which is not huge – it’s incredible,” said Tony Capalbo, asTony Capalbo sociate dean of college and career MCC associate dean of college and readiness. The MCC program, which is career readiness the root of why the local college is MCC’s program serves more up for the 2016 Bellwether Award, than 300 students within six high is working against a very evischools – in Huntley, McHenry, dent problem, apparent not only Woodstock and Harvard – where throughout the nation and the MCC developmental math courses state, but locally, too.
Hoverboard catches fire in FRG home By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com FOX RIVER GROVE – A hoverboard caught fire as it was charging overnight in a Fox River Grove home Friday, prompting fire officials to remind residents of the danger the trendy rideable gadget poses. Fox River Grove Fire Protection District Lt. Matt Figas said the hoverboard, purchased from China before
Christmas, was in the living room of a home in the 500 block of Essex Lane. “It was plugged in to charge, they heard a pop or a bang, smelled smoke and went downstairs and the hoverboard was on fire in the living room,” Figas said. Residents used a fire extinguisher to put out the blaze and left the home. They called 911 about 4:45 a.m. as smoke continued to billow through the home, officials said. No
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one was injured in the fire, but the carpet was burned and the hoverboard destroyed. Figas said based on other accounts from across the country of hoverboards igniting, it’s possible the battery pack overheated and exploded. “It would have caught quite a few things on fire,” Figas said. It was the first hoverboard fire Fox River Grove firefighters have responded to, and officials in Harvard, Crystal Lake,
McHenry and Woodstock said they were not aware of similar reports. However, hoverboards have gained a reputation for exploding and causing fires or falls. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Elliot Kaye in December issued a statement saying his agency AP file photo would be working “nonstop” Seattle Seahawks wide receiver B.J. Daniels rides through a hallway to find the root of the fire hazat CenturyLink Field on an electric self-balancing scooter commonly ard in hoverboards, and how
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Mayor Brian Sager reflects on past year, highlights city’s plans for 2016 / A3 SPORTS
Bleacher case hearing set Property owners asking for more than $300K to cover attorney fees / A3
See FIRE, page A4
called a “hoverboard” on Oct. 5. A hoverboard caught fire Friday as it was charging in a Fox River Grove home.
Seeking Olympic spot Cary-Grove grad Josh Freeman off to strong start in indoor season at SIU / C2
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