McHenry County News FRE
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Volume 6 Issue 4
January 21, 2016
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Author Walter W. Reed to visit Woodstock
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By Anne Eickstadt, Correspondent
ith Tag Days and the Christmas Clearinghouse behind them, the Interact Club [the Rotary’s service club for teenagers] of the Woodstock Rotary Club is jumping headfirst into 2016. They are hosting a visit by author Walter W. Reed to the Woodstock Opera House on Saturday, January 30. Reed grew up in a Bavarian village near Wurzburg. He personally experienced the Nazi persecution of Jews, including, at the age of 14, being arrested on Kristallnacht. Kristallnacht or The Night of Broken Glass was a massive, coordinated attack on Jews throughout the German Reich on the night of November 9, 1938. The violence continued into the next day. On November 9, mob violence broke out as the German police stood by and crowds of spectators watched. Nazi storm troopers, members of the SS, and Hitler Youth beat and murdered Jews, broke into and wrecked Jewish homes, and brutalized Jewish women and children. All over Germany, Austria, and other Nazi controlled areas, Jewish businesses had their windows smashed and contents destroyed. Synagogues were especially targeted for vandalism, including desecration of sacred Torah scrolls. Hundreds of synagogues were systematically burned while local fire departments stood by or simply prevented the fire from spreading to surrounding buildings. About 25,000 Jewish men were rounded up and later sent to concentration camps where they were often brutalized by SS guards and in some cases randomly chosen to be beaten to death. On November 12, at a meeting of top Nazi officials. SS leader Reinhard Heydrich reported 7500 businesses destroyed, 267 synagogues burned (with 177 totally
Photo courtesy of Walter W. Reed
Holocaust survivor, Walter W. Reed, is promoting his new book ‘Children of La Hille’ relating his experiences evading the Nazis during World War II.
destroyed) and 91 Jews killed. The reaction to Kristallnacht from other countries was shock and outrage. It created a storm of negative publicity in newspapers and among radio commentators which served to isolate Hitler’s Germany from the civilized nations and weaken any pro-Nazi sentiments in those countries. Reed’s book, “Children of La Hille”, describes his experiences following that horrifying night. Frightened parents were forces to find refuge for
Pace bus strikes pedestrian in Woodstock By Samantha Fetzner Reporter
WOODSTOCK — A seven year-old girl was struck by a Pace bus at the Woodstock Wal-Mart on Tues. Jan 12. The girl was struck shortly after 3 p.m. in the afternoon to the Wal-Mart Supercenter location at 1275 Lake Avenue in Woodstock. She was taken by ambulance to the Centegra Hospital in Woodstock. From there, she was taken by a Flight for Life air carrier to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. She was walking in the parking lot when the bus struck her. She did have a parent with her at the time this occurred. According to police reports, the bus was traveling south in an aisle of the Wal-Mart parking lot when it struck the girl. The driver, Lynne Keller of Huntley, was operating the bus for the McRide Dial-ARide service at the time of the accident. The bus was dropping off a patron at the Wal-Mart, and five passengers were on board at the time of the accident. The bus can transport up to 13 people at one time
in addition to the driver. The Dial-A-Ride program helps serve disabled and elderly people throughout the county who are unable to obtain or safely provide their own transportation. The particular bus in use at the time of the accident, operated by Keller, originated from McHenry’s First Transit, a Pace contractor. Keller has already submitted for drug and alcohol tests, however the results were unavailable as of Thurs. Jan 14. There is no expectation that Keller was under the influence, but such a test is part of standard procedure by the company. Keller was issued two tickets for the accident and has court at the end of February. Pending the findings of a full investigation, she has been suspended from operating a Pace service bus at this time. The girl, who was admitted as having sustained critical injuries, has since been released from the hospital. She is expected to make a full recovery. Her name has not been released.
their children, far from the escalating anti-Jewish violence. To that end, a courageous group of Belgian women organized a desperate and highly dangerous rescue mission to usher nearly 1000 children out of Germany and Austria. Of these children, 93 were placed on a freight train, traveling through the night away from their families and into the relative safety of Vichy France. Ranging in age from 5 to 16 years, the children and their protectors spent a harsh winter in an abandoned barn with little food. Eventually, they found shelter in the isolated Chateau de La Hille in southern France. Sending the youngest to the United States, the remaining children were still relentlessly hunted by Nazi soldiers. Finally smuggled into the Swiss Alps to safe houses, all but 11 of these 93 children survived. Reed’s book, ‘Children of La Hille’, relates a stunning first-hand account of this amazing rescue and the heroic efforts of those who helped them along the way. It describes heart-stopping near misses as the roundups intensify, forcing the children to hide in the woods to escape capture. It tells of scrambling to keep one step ahead of the Nazis, afternoon swims in a nearby pond and lively plays performed for local farmers. Walter E. Reed, originally named Werner Rindsberg, will present his book at the Woodstock Opera House on Saturday, January 30. His presentation will begin at 1:00 pm. Admission is free. The Interact Club does ask that attendees bring a non-perishable food item for the Woodstock Food Pantry and/or cash donations for Rotary’s ‘End Polio Now’ campaign. Information on Kristallnacht can be found online at www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/ knacht.htm More about the Woodstock Rotary Club and Interact can be seen at www.rotarywoodstock.org.
Neighbors of Crystal Lake South bleachers looking for over $315,000 in restitution By Samantha Fetzner Reporter
CRYSTAL LAKE — According to documents in relation to the Crystal Lake South bleacher law suit between neighboring property owners and District 155, the neighboring owners are looking for more than $315,000 in restitution for legal fees incurred with the suit. The total amount sought by said neighbors is $316,474.80. Those fees span just over two years of time. The lawsuit was filed in October 2013 and the fee request is for work through Nov. 9, 2015. The residents filed suit against the District because the bleachers were a nuisance and did not conform to numerous aspects of the zoning in the area. The bleachers impeded upon the perception of property values in the area as well. The fees involved spanned for over 24 months and accounted for six separate attorneys on behalf of the plaintiffs. The six attorneys on behalf the property owners charge a varying rate between $400 and $295, with additional fees ranging $125 to $175 per hour for some of the attorney’s paralegals. There were three paralegals working on the case. The District’s contention is not the reimbursement itself, but rather the rate
value being applied. They have also called some of the specific invoices and bills into question. Tom Burney, who was the lead attorney for the property owners, cited the grand total as being largely due to the length of time and appeals filed by the District’s defense team. The defense is looking for a more concrete comparison of this case to similar issues to back up the rates being charged. District 155 defense attorneys are seeking to reduce fees for attorneys to a flat $250 per hour and $80 per hour on the paralegal side, which is in line with what the District has been charged for their ongoing zoning process. They are proposing a massive reduction to just over $78,000 by reducing the fees and eliminating some of the bills altogether. According to the plaintiffs or property owners, the attorneys are being modest by not charging for travel time or mileage. Their response to District 155’s counter offer also cited that the amount of billable hours and proposed dollar amount were significantly less than those charged by District attorneys for the same exact case. A hearing over the financial amount in question will be held early the week of Jan. 18.