WEDNESDAY
Oc to ber 7, 201 5 • $1 .0 0
s ncCeare a v ad ncer
NORTHWEST
In Ca
HERALD THE ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN McHENRY COUNTY
Purp
PURPLE TAB 2015
15 b 20 le Ta
y er raph earli mmog cancer 3-D ma breast cts ort dete 2 supp Page r uses inspired be rvivo pire, er su er Canc m to ins canc ra rmer prog er, fo 6 fight ever Page to ivor than surv hier From is healt nt patie 7 Page
A special section focusing on cancer awareness / Inside
eries surg tive recover s nstruc Reco lp patient otionally 9 he em and Page ically phys tererening e afsc in to liflung nccaer ncer s ead CTstteca cts stage ing ah breade est 4 rlige 10 eaPa Look Page er? ram: canc Prog 6 care r lung STARge er nc k font egra Pa ca ris Ce ge 12 At tive bora apPay er Colla th n es oach su diatio y tis l appr 14 thrsona 13 ise ra healpe Page Prec ectsus es Page prot an
HIGH
72 52 Complete forecast on page A8
ici
Phys
NWHerald.com
LOW
Facebook.com/NWHerald
@NWHerald
Schools in D-156 remain closed
Strike reaches 5th day as teachers union, school board continue negotiations By ALLISON GOODRICH agoodrich@shawmedia.com McHENRY – Classes for McHenry Community High School District 156 students will not resume Wednesday, even if a tentative agreement was reached Tuesday night. Another negotiation session between the teachers union and school board was scheduled for 7:30 p.m Tuesday and stretched on past press
deadline. It came after a 2½hour session Monday that followed a board meeting packed with people, most of whom came in support of the union. Others showed up in support of the school board. By about 5 p.m. Tuesday, it had been established school would not commence Wednesday, union spokeswoman Heidie Dunn said, reiterating statements she had given about classes being canceled
throughout the week. “Even if we came to a tentative agreement, we would have to vote on it before going back to school,” she said. “Because of the 7:30 p.m. start time, it will be too late to bring all the union members together.” Wednesday marks the fifth day without classes or extracurricular activities for an estimated 2,600 students – students such as Allyson Kamrat. The junior, who described
herself as “very academically motivated,” has thrown her support behind the union, from walking the picket lines with them to showing up at the board meeting to speak on their behalf. Kamrat said she has been trying to keep up with school work despite classes being out. “After this strike’s over, we’re going to have to get thrown back into the school schedule and hurry to catch
POLICE, MCC WOMEN RAISE MONEY FOR WOMAN WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY
up, or we’re going to lose more time reviewing what we’ve missed,” she said. Both sides repeatedly and arduously have expressed the desire to get teachers back in the classroom. However, both sides have indicated only “some” movement has been made in recent negotiation sessions. The two sides largely have been at odds over compensation and insurance contribu-
By KEVIN P. CRAVER
H. Rick Bamman – hbamman@shawmedia.com
A NEW BEST FRIEND FOR LAURA
CL resident gets puppy after dog was killed by drunken driver By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – Laura Johnson’s new best friend is fearless. She’s also covered in fur, weighs about 11 pounds, and loves romping through the grass. Nearly a year after her dog was killed by a drunken driver who jumped the curb, Laura Johnson has a new puppy thanks to a $1,200 donation from Crystal Lake police and a group of women at McHenry County College. “She’s just cuddly, and she likes everyone,” Laura Johnson said while snuggling with Abbie, a 7-month-old teddy bear puppy. “She’s not the least bit afraid of strangers. She just walks right up and says ‘Hey, play with me!’ ” Johnson, who is 34 but has the mental development of a 12-year-old because of a disability, depended on her poodle Scooby for companionship and as a way to get out and meet her neighbors. Scooby’s life was cut short on Oct.
‘‘
She’s just cuddly, and she likes everyone. She’s not the least bit afraid of strangers. She just walks right up and says ‘Hey, play with me!’ ” Laura Johnson, Crystal Lake
resident about her new puppy, Abbie
26, when police said Damian Dzitkowski drove his 2003 Pontiac Grand Am onto the curb in front of 566 Somerset Lane, where the Johnsons live, and struck Scooby and Laura Johnson. Dzitkowski, 22, of Chicago is scheduled to have a bench trial for the DUI charge Dec. 3. Crystal Lake Police Sgt. Mike Bennett, who responded to the call, said he never questioned whether he should raise money to help Laura get a new dog. He just started asking for
donations. Within five days, he said, he had collected $1,000. “I felt bad. The one thing she kept saying was her dog was her only friend,” Bennett said. “I can image how some people, their animals are the only thing they have. Their animals don’t judge them. They love them.” With $1,000 from the police and $200 from women at McHenry County College who used to work with Laura Johnson’s mom, Judith Johnson, the Johnsons decided in March the time was right to bring home a new dog. Laura and Judith Johnson made the 2½-hour trek to Prairie View Puppies in Fairbury after Laura Johnson found pictures of a new litter of bichon frise- and shitzu-mix puppies, known as teddy bears, on the breeder’s website. Complete with her pink collar and leash, Abbie now is a fixture at the Johnsons’ apartment complex.
See PUPPY, page A5
See STRIKE, page A5
County Board votes against township consolidation effort kcraver@shawmedia.com
Laura Johnson sits with her new puppy, Abbie, near her Crystal Lake home. Johnson’s former dog was killed by a drunken driver late last year. The dog was like a best friend to Johnson, who has developmental disabilities. Crystal Lake police officers raised about $1,000 to buy her a new dog.
tions. The board has offered an altered version of the salary schedule, which would add “half-steps,” said Gary Kinshofer, lead negotiator for the board. Dunn has said the board’s proposal stretches out the salary schedule, so it would take teachers much longer to reach higher wages than in the past. “We’re really concerned
WOODSTOCK – A lack of hard information on the effects of merging townships, except for the fact that property taxes for many McHenry County residents would increase, doomed an effort to put referendums to voters to consolidate them. The County Board voted Tuesday, 13-9, against putting referendums on the March 2016 ballot to consolidate the county’s 17 townships into eight. The vote came after an hour of public comment, mostly from township officials opposed to the idea, and two hours of sometimes heated debate among members. In an unusual move, board Chairman Joe Gottemoller, R-Crystal Lake, started off the debate by apologizing for even starting it in the first place at the behest of a pro-consolidation group. “Had I known what I know today, I wouldn’t have done it,” Gottemoller said. Gottemoller said the fact that taxes would go up for property owners in the township with the lower of the two tax levies was a deal-killer for him, and he said it should be for other members. Because the levies of two consolidating townships are added together and then divided among their total assessed value, the residents of the township with the lower tax rate would see a tax increase. “We are standing here today looking at something that positively will raise taxes for half of our residents,” Gottemoller said. But supporters of the consolidation initiative argued that the resolutions before them Tuesday only moved the question for the voters themselves to decide. “I realize that change is a very scary thing for all of us. That’s not what we’re doing today. That’s not what we’re saying. All we’re saying is we want this on the ballot,” said board member Donna Kurtz, R-Crystal Lake. A group called McHenry County Citizens for Township Consolidation, with the blessing of several high-ranking county Republican officials, asked the County Board in March to put the consolidation initiatives on the ballot. The group argued consolidation would save taxpayer money and improve accountability.
SPORTS
LOCAL NEWS
STATE
WHERE IT’S AT
Boys golf
Job growth
Gun laws
Prairie Ridge’s Farnum shoots 7 under par for CLS Regional title / C1
Huntley to consider tax break for manufacturer mulling move to area / A3
After Oregon college shooting, candidates weigh in on topic / B3
Advice ................................ D3 Buzz.....................................C6 Classified..................... D6-10 Comics ...............................D4 Community ........................B1 Local News.................... A2-6 Lottery................................ A2 Nation&World...........B4-5, 7
How they voted The McHenry County Board voted Tuesday, 13-9, against putting township consolidation referendums on the March 2016 ballot. YES – Michael Rein, R-Woodstock; Michael Walkup, R-Crystal Lake; Chuck Wheeler, R-McHenry; Yvonne Barnes, R-Cary; Andrew Gasser, R-Fox River Grove; James Heisler, R-Crystal Lake; Donna Kurtz, R-Crystal Lake; Bob Martens Sr., R-Spring Grove; and Nick Provenzano, R-McHenry NO – Carolyn Schofield, R-Crystal Lake; Mike Skala, R-Huntley; Larry Smith, R-Harvard; Michele Aavang, R-Woodstock; Sue Draffkorn, R-Wonder Lake; Diane Evertsen, R-Harvard; John Hammerand, R-Wonder Lake; John Jung, R-Woodstock; Don Kopsell, R-Crystal Lake; Mary McCann, R-Woodstock; Anna May Miller, R-Cary; Robert Nowak, R-Lake in the Hills; and Chairman Joe Gottemoller, R-Crystal Lake ABSENT – Tina Hill, R-Woodstock
On the Web To see video from the County Board discussion about township consolidations, visit NWHerald.com. Gottemoller convened a five-member task force made up of three County Board members and two township officials to come up with a plan. But after three hearings and an open house, the task force only could agree on recommending two proposed consolidations – Richmond and Burton townships in the county’s northeast corner, and Chemung and Dunham townships in the county’s northwest corner. The remaining six consolidations on a map the task force could not reach consensus on advancing still made it to Tuesday’s agenda. The County Board rejected all eight on a single vote. Board member Carolyn Schofield, R-Crystal Lake, who chaired the task force, said township consolidation proponents “offered no data and no
See TOWNSHIPS, page A5
Obituaries ......................A5-7 Opinion...............................B2 Puzzles ...........................D3, 5 Sports..............................C1-5 State ................................... B3 Stocks................................. A7 TV listings .........................D5 Weather .............................A8