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CONSISTENT Cary-Grove’s Trevor Ruhland named Northwest Herald Football Player of Year / C2 NWHerald.com
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Nunda flood lawsuit tossed Resident: Issue still remains By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com
Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
Catherine Neuhalfen, owner of Savour and CaTara, walks through the art gallery space Tuesday at Savour in downtown Algonquin. Savour opened at the end of November and features an art gallery, chocolates, wine, flowers and cigars.
Downtown Algonquin looks to thrive with bypass in place By JOSEPH BUSTOS jbustos@shawmedia.com ALGONQUIN – The truck traffic on Main Street is gone. Fewer vehicles passing through town are clogging the downtown area. When the Route 31 Western Bypass opened, it made it easier for people get around Algonquin’s downtown. With the bypass in place, Tara Storm, who along with co-own-
er Catherine Neuhalfen opened CaTara Skin Rejuvenation in March, hopes having less vehicle traffic will bring more people to downtown. “We’re hoping the bypass will make it easier for people, we’re hoping it’s going to make more foot traffic,” Storm said. “On the weekends, you’ll see people walking in and out of these restaurants, and breakfast places.”
The Western Bypass was built to help divert through-traffic on Route 31 away from the downtown Algonquin area. This allowed the village to put together a downtown plan on how it would like to see the area redeveloped. To help encourage redevelopment, the village also has established a downtown tax increment financing district, which can help pay for projects outlined in the
plan. At the skin rejuvenation spa, Storm and Neuhalfen modeled the business to be more of a destination, with two facial rooms and a small photography studio to take before and after pictures. Next door, Neuhalfen, a lifelong Algonquin resident, recently opened a second business, Savour,
See ALGONQUIN, page A4
Voice your opinion: Have you been to downtown Algonquin since the Western Bypass opened? Vote online at NWHerald.com.
CRYSTAL LAKE – A lawsuit filed by McHenry County against the Nunda Township Highway Department has been dropped after more than a year-long legal battle. Mike Lesperance, highway commissioner for Nunda Township, was charged with violating two county ordinances for easement work he did without a p e r m i t , b u t Mike c h a n g e s t o Lesperance t h e U n i f i e d Highway Development commissioner O r d i n a n c e for Nunda r e c o n c i l e d Township that easement work with county requirements. The previous ordinance required permits for projects that affect more than 20 acres while the new ordinance changed the threshold to 100 acres. The area affected is roughly 45 acres, said Douglas Mann, the resident who raised concerns after the project was complete. Mann, who lives at 3007 Garden Lane in Crystal Lake, said flooding issues arose when easements on the north and south side of Running Iron Drive were overwhelmed with water and caused damage to
See LAWSUIT, page A9
U.S. adds whopping 321K jobs in Nov. By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER The Associated Press WASHINGTON – A resurgence in U.S. hiring accelerated in November and put 2014 on track to be the healthiest year for job growth since 1999. The gain of a robust 321,000 jobs – the most in nearly three years – put further distance be-
tween a strengthening American economy and struggling nations throughout the developed world. The job market still isn’t yet fully healthy. But its steady improvement raises the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will start raising interest rates from record lows by mid-2015. The unemployment rate remained at a six-year low of 5.8 percent, the Labor Department said Friday. “These were boom-like numbers,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. “They indicate that
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the U.S. economy is on very solid ground.” Friday’s report also raised hopes that Americans’ pay might finally be starting to increase after barely budging since the Great Recession began seven years ago. The average hourly wage rose 9 cents to $24.66, the biggest gain in 17 months. Fed Chair Janet Yellen has cited stagnant wages as a key reason to keep rates low. Higher wages could lead to higher prices, and the Fed might feel compelled to raise rates to limit inflation.
Still, over the past 12 months, hourly pay has risen just 2.1 percent, barely above the 1.7 percent inflation rate. And economists note that inflation remains below the Fed’s 2 percent target and will likely stay tame because of lower energy prices. That might give the Fed some leeway to wait. The Fed has kept its benchmark rate near zero for six years to encourage borrowing and spending. Investors welcomed Friday’s news: The Dow Jones
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Woodstock’s homeowners expected to pay same property tax rate in new year / A3 NATION
Careers in mind Porsche offers insight about careers in engineering for Prairie Ridge students at all-day event organized by school / A3
See JOBS, page A4
AP photo
Air conditioning, heating and refrigeration technology students Micahel Jennings (from left), David Ellerby, Terry Foy and Roger Saunders use a simulator in the classroom Nov. 4 at the Cape Fear Community College’s downtown campus in Wilmington, N.C. The Labor Department released employment data for November on Friday.
Protests continue New York City police: Chokehold victim Eric Garner complicit in own death / A7
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Puts country on pace for best growth since 1999