FRIDAY, MAY 23, 2014
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TRACK AND FIELD • SPORTS, C1
CANDID CANINES • BUSINESS, E1
Rival runners ready to face off at state
Demand rises for pros to photograph pets
Jacobs' Lauren Van Vlierbergen
D-47 sets high goals for future test scores Aim is top 10 percent rank in reading, math By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com
Photos by H. Rick Bamman – hbamman@shawmedia.com
Marine veteran Nick Montijo leads Hank to the Bravehearts barn for grooming. Montijo was injured in Afghanistan in 2009, has taken an interest in horse therapy and recently received his therapeutic riding instructor certification. Montijo will work as a horse therapy leader at Bravehearts in Harvard, passing on what he has learned to other veterans.
Finding peace with rides Marine veteran’s interest in horse therapy led him to Bravehearts By SHAWN SHINNEMAN sshinneman@shawmedia.com HARVARD – A city boy gripped by memories of war, Nick Montijo didn’t expect to find what was missing on a Northern Illinois farm. But when a Veterans Affairs program brought him to Bravehearts Therapeutic Riding and Educational Center in Harvard two summers ago, it would help him rediscover something lost during his deployment in Afghanistan. With the horses, Montijo found peace. “I was having some really bad days for awhile,” said Montijo, a Marine veteran who lives in Milwaukee. “The farm brings me some inner peace that I haven’t had forever.” Earlier this month, less than two years since he first stepped foot at Bravehearts after knowing virtually nothing about horses, Montijo earned his certification to be a therapeutic riding instructor through Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) International. A kid who only saw horses at state fairs has grown up to become a man who will pass along the animal’s healing nature to his veteran peers. Bravehearts, which also has a lo-
Montijo works Hank in one of the outdoor arenas at Bravehearts in Harvard. Montijo was injured in Afghanistan in 2009.
On the Web For video of Marine veteran Nick Montijo at Bravehearts, visit NWHerald.com.
cation in Poplar Grove, offers specialized horse therapy programs for veterans, among other programs. For Montijo, it hasn’t been an easy road to this point.
LOCALLY SPEAKING
Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
Complete forecast on A10
By KERRY LESTER The Associated Press SPRINGFIELD – House Speaker Michael Madigan on Thursday resurrected a proposed ballot measure to impose a tax surcharge on millionaires that had earlier failed to win broad support, in a move Republicans criticized as abdicating to voters the job of dealing with tough issues such as tax increases. Madigan’s latest effort comes as the House grapples with another tax issue – whether to make Illinois’ temporary income tax permanent or approve a 2015 budget that doesn’t rely on that revenue but could cut billions from programs such as social services and education. Democratic Rep. Greg Harris of
See MILLIONAIRES TAX, page A8
A survey on Johnsburg’s downtown didn’t generate a whole lot of surprising results, village trustee John Huemann said. The results of the survey were presented to the Johnsburg Village Board at its meeting Tuesday, triggering little in terms of discussion, trustee John Huemann said. For more, see page B1.
ALGONQUIN: Hampshire softball overcomes a two-game losing skid with 6-2 victory against Jacobs. Sports, C1
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Madigan resurrects millionaires tax proposal
OFFICIALS REVIEW DOWNTOWN SURVEY
Hampshire’s Ellie Lapi
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See THERAPY, page A8
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JOHNSBURG
Jacobs’ Taylor Belo
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Physically injured in Afghanistan in 2009, Montijo found himself hospitalized three years later for what became a tougher postwar demon – post-traumatic stress disorder.
At its worst, he struggled to get out of bed for weeks on end, isolating himself from friends and family. In 2012, he started a six-month hospital stay – two months as an inpatient and four more doing inpatient programming to reintegrate into society. That summer, Montijo was introduced to Bravehearts during his visit with the Milwaukee VA. His paperwork had fallen through, so Montijo could only groom the horses and stand on the sidelines while some of his peers rode. In April of last year, still struggling after his programming had expired, Montijo reached back out to Bravehearts. This time, he wanted to ride. As he did, his anxiety slowly faded. “I was so used to being up tight and constantly vigilant,” Montijo said. “Coming out here to the peaceful, calm atmosphere of the farm, I let my guard down.” The relaxation is forced, at times. The horses sniff out Montijo’s mood. When he’s high-strung, they react accordingly. He has to stabilize, refocus. “Nick honestly has a way with them,” said Jen Hazlewood, volunteer director at Bravehearts. “He
CRYSTAL LAKE – Crystal Lake School District 47 has some lofty goals in the next few years and will make significant investments in new curriculum tools to help reach its targets. Superintendent Kathy Hinz said by 2017 she wants the district to be in the top 10 percent nationally at each grade level in reading and mathematics as assessed by the Measures of Academic Progress test that is used across the country. The district has reached the 90th percentile already in some categories such as first-grade math, but other grades will have large improvements to make. Reading scores in most grade levels ranged in the 60th percentile while math scores were slightly higher in the spring 2013 MAP assessments. Testing for 2014 was recently completed and scores are not yet available.