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Cary-Grove’s Alec Johnson is Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year / C1 NWHerald.com
THE ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN McHENRY COUNTY
HUNTLEY DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT
Project in final phases
HIGH
LOW
84 68 Complete forecast on page A10
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MCCD trustees sign off on plan Cost to save buildings at Camp Algonquin is too high for some By EMILY K. COLEMAN ecoleman@shawmedia.com
What really spurred the project were plans for a new Amtrak station to be built adjacent to Huntley’s main drag. Five years later, however, the Amtrak proposal is held up in Springfield, hotly debated alongside similar capital projects. Yet, the downtown redevelopment has progressed steadily, and is heading into its home stretch as the summer begins. Johnson said he likes what he sees. “It’s exciting to see, on a nice
WOODSTOCK – The plan to turn Fox Bluff Conservation Area into a destination for outdoor recreation and local history was given the thumbs-up this week. But with no money available to do the work, the McHenry County Conservation District can only take steps to keep what it hopes to save salvageable, Executive Director Elizabeth Kessler said. The district’s Board of Trustees signed off, in a 5-2 vote Thursday, on bidding out repairs to the former Camp Algonquin recreation hall, a move that followed the approval, also in a 5-2 vote, of the proposed master plan. That plan suggests increasing the staff presence in an effort to deter vandalism and making other in-house improvements to the three other buildings the plan proposes saving. Not every board member was convinced, though, the buildings were worth the cost to not just restore but shore up in the meantime. “The cost of the buildings are prohibitive to the project as a whole,” said board secretary Brandon Thomas of Huntley. “When you look at the budget, it’s about 50 percent of the total cost, and the buildings really aren’t worth saving. They’re in pretty bad condition. They’re outdated. A couple of them are nothing more than lean-tos at this point.” His concerns were echoed by board treasurer Bona Heinsohn of
See HUNTLEY, page A6
See CAMP, page A6
Matthew Apgar – mapgar@shawmedia.com
Angel Forbes of Huntley walks her pit bull, Pixie, across the street Tuesday where downtown construction has streets and sidewalks undergoing improvements in Huntley.
Business owners support upgrades despite frustrations By ZACH BROOKE zbrooke@shawmedia.com HUNTLEY – After a busy several months, Huntley’s long-anticipated downtown redevelopment plans is entering its final phases. For some area businesses, it can’t come soon enough. “It does affect business,” said Candy Driskell, manager of Vintage Resale, 11017 N. Woodstock St. Driskell says that many wouldbe customers drive away when they encounter the torn-up streets and sidewalks.
Still, Driskell, like many, said she is generally supportive of the project, if not the progress. First conceived around 2010, the redevelopment combined several smaller projects involving updates to outdated infrastructure, as well as making a more accessible and visually appealing downtown. The water and sewer mains were some of the oldest in the village, and due for upgrades. The sidewalks were uneven and in need of repair in many places, and they ran the risk of noncom-
pliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Limitations on public parking cramped the area and restricted access to the village’s natural gathering space. Above Main Street, utility cables lined the area and appeared like “a spaghetti bowl of wires overhead, really just not very pleasing, and not functional either,” Village Manager Dave Johnson said. At the corner of Main Street and Route 47, the Sawyer-Kelley Mill “had seen better days, and that’s putting it kindly,” Johnson said.
Charleston victims’ families forgive suspect By JEFFREY COLLINS The Associated Press CHARLESTON, S.C. – They forgave him. They advised him to repent for his sins, and asked for God’s mercy on his soul. One even told Dylann Storm Roof to repent and confess, and “you’ll be OK.” Relatives of the nine people shot down during a Bible study session inside their historic black church confronted the 21-year-old suspect Friday during his initial hearing. They described their pain and
anger, but also spoke of love. “I forgive you, my family forgives you,” said Anthony Thompson, whose relative Myra Thompson was killed. “We would like you to take this opportunity to repent. ... Do that and you’ll be better off than you are right now.” Roof was ordered held until a bond is set on murder charges. He appeared by video from the county jail, looking somber in a striped jumpsuit and speaking only briefly in response to the judge’s questions.
LOCAL NEWS
The victims included the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, a state senator who doubled as the church’s lead pastor, and eight others who played multiple roles in their families and communities: ministers and coaches, teachers and a librarian, counselors and choir singers and the elderly sexton who made sure the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church was kept clean. A police affidavit released Friday accused Roof of shooting all nine multiple times,
and making a “racially inflammatory statement” as he stood over an unnamed survivor. The families are determined not to respond in kind, said Alana Simmons, who lost her grandfather, the Rev. Daniel Simmons. “Although my grandfather and the other victims died at the hands of hate, this is proof – everyone’s plea for your soul is proof they lived in love and their legacies will live in love,
See CHARLESTON, page A7
LOCAL NEWS
Road program approved County Board OKs resolution to put funds toward non-dedicated roads / A3 SPORTS
Beaches closed Elevated bacteria levels close Main Beach in Crystal Lake, two other beaches / A3
AP Photo
Lydia Blessing, 4, places a handwritten note at a memorial in front of the Emanuel AME Church on Friday in Charleston, S.C.
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3,000 career hits Alex Rodriguez hits home run to become 29th major league player to reach milestone / C4
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