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D e ce mber 25 , 2015 • $ 1 .0 0
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44 35 Complete forecast on page A14
NWHerald.com
THE ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN McHENRY COUNTY
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Nonprofit to offer free counseling
Grant to allow Family Alliance services for people going through life transitions Health Board allows Family Alliance to offer free counseling to people going through WOODSTOCK – Family transitions – such as job loss, Alliance Comprehensive Care financial issues or memory Services is offering new ser- concerns – without having a vices at its Woodstock and mental health diagnosis, FamHuntley locations for people ily Alliance Executive Direcgoing through life transitions. tor Kim Larson said. A $25,000 grant from the “What we did last year is McHenry County Mental [the Mental Health Board]
By HANNAH PROKOP
hprokop@shawmedia.com
Voice your opinion
one in the home,” Larson said. “And in the process of that, Have you ever sought counseling we identified this other really huge gap.” for a difficult life event? Vote online Nicole O’Dea, a licensed at NWHerald.com. clinical social worker with Family Alliance, said the alliance was getting calls from funded us, and we just asked adults in the community who for caregiver counseling for needed counseling services people caring for their loved but would have to pay for them
Police shooting recordings released
out of pocket because they did not have a mental health diagnosis. Many people couldn’t afford that cost, she said. “If people don’t get the support early on, I think that there is a risk,” O’Dea said. “They’re more at risk of developing more serious mental health conditions.” Larson said they’re trying
to catch these potential problems before they become more serious. She said she expects they’ll see about 100 people for life transitions counseling in the grant year, from Dec. 1 through Nov. 30, 2016. As part of the grant, Family
See COUNSELING, page A4
CHRISTMAS SERVICES CELEBRATE HOLIDAY’S MEANING
Radio traffic tells of Chicago officers’ request for Taser By MICHAEL TARM The Associated Press CHICAGO – Recordings of Chicago police radio traffic surrounding the fatal shooting of a black teenager by a white officer show at least one responding officer asked for a Taser and – given that squadcar video lacks audio – offer a partial glimpse of officers’ discussions as events unfolded. The recordings obtained Wednesday by WMAQ-TV through a Freedom of Information Act request show that one officer pursuing 17-yearold Laquan McDonald on Oct. 20, 2014, asked if others in the area had stun guns, which are used to subdue suspects with nonlethal force. The year it took to charge Officer Jason Van Dyke for fatally shooting McDonald led to allegations of an attempted cover-up, a federal civil rights investigation of Chicago police and a series of protests, including Thursday along the city’s Michigan Avenue shopping district. “Someone have a Taser?” one officer is heard asking on the radio, then describing McDonald. “This guy is walking away but he’s got a knife in hand.” A dispatcher responded that one was on its way, then immediately asked if any units closer to the scene could help. “All right, anybody have a Taser – help out. ... Looking for a Taser, armed offender,” she said. None of the officers who spoke appeared to be anxious until one radioed, “Shots
Matthew Apgar – mapgar@shawmedia.com
The Rev. John Dillon gives a sermon to the children in his congregation Thursday at Ridgefield-Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church in Crystal Lake.
Spreading the word By CAITLIN SWIECA cswieca@nwherald.com
E
ach year, pastor Tom Rogers knows the congregation at his Christmas services already know the story behind the holiday. Because of that, Rogers, the pastor of Woodstock’s Redeemer Lutheran Church, said there’s a challenge in writing his sermon for holiday services each year. “There are some things I think people want that are traditional,” Rogers said, “but what can you do to help people see it in a different way?” This year, Rogers said he is using a short video to tell part of the Christmas story. Then, his sermon will ask churchgoers to consider how the
“There’s hope and promise that comes with the baby in the manger.” John Dillon Ridgefield-Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church reverend good news of Jesus’ arrival will manifest itself in their lives. “God sent Jesus to speak for God,” Rogers said. “Especially when the new year comes around, it gives us a time to reflect as Jesus comes into the world: What is God saying to us?
See SHOOTING, page A11
SPORTS
Moving up St. Louis Cardinals select Prairie Ridge graduate Michael Heesch in Rule 5 draft, where he will play for Triple-A affiliate / B1
LOCAL NEWS
WHERE IT’S AT
Probable cause?
Advice...................................B6
Search warrant in question against Sycamore man accused of marijuana trafficking / A3
Comics..................................B7
Classified...........................D1-3 Local News.......................A2-4 Lottery...................................A2 Nation&World..................... A9
NATION
Obituaries...........................A11 Opinions.............................A13 Puzzles..............................D3-4 Sports................................ B1-5 State..................................... A9 TV listings........................... D4 Weather..............................A14 Wheels...............................C1-8
Christmas twisters Tornadoes hit southern states; at least 14 people killed, dozens of homes damaged / A9
McHenry County sermons bring Christmas message What does [Jesus’] birth mean?” The message of spreading joy, Rogers said, especially is relevant in the current climate of fear and uncertainty. At the Ridgefield-Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church, the Rev. John Dillon said he’s been building up the theme of his Christmas sermon throughout Advent, preaching weekly about the promises of the prophets from the Old Testament. “One of the reasons I think people get so excited about Christmas and we have a lot of occasional visitors is because we all have this desire for a new beginning, for things to get better,” Dillon
See SERMON, page A4