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McHenry County News DISPLAY ADVERTISING & CLASSIFIEDS: 815-654-4850 • CIRCULATION: 815-654-4854 • E-MAIL: McHenryNews@RVPublishing.com
VOLUME 8 • ISSUE 48
11512 N. 2nd ST. • MACHESNEY PARK, IL 61115
District 200 school staff host Campus Connection night for apartment complex residents
SUBMITTED PHOTO McHenry County News
From left - Dwight Dalton, Lori McConville and Nancy Schietzelt, all members of the Board of Directors of The Environmental Defenders of McHenry County, gather with dozens of others on Nov. 11 for a members-only reception and store warming at The Defenders’ newest book store, The Green Read, to open Saturday, Nov. 24.
Environmental Defenders’ new book store, The Green Read, to open on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 24 The Environmental Defenders of McHenry County’s new and second book store will open to the public on Saturday, Nov. 24 – Small Business Saturday. The Green Read is located at 61 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake. Initial operating hours will be Wednesdays -10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays – 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Fridays – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. With this development, The Environmental Defenders is returning to its roots in Crystal Lake where its first office was established in the 1970s.
THURSDAY, NOV. 22, 2018
The Green Read is a special and unique place that welcomes everyone in to peruse a large variety of gently used books while helping The Defenders meet its mission of preserving the environment through reuse. The Environmental Defenders is excited to join all the wonderful businesses in downtown Crystal Lake and to broadening its reach geographically. It is hoped that the Environmental Defenders will attract new members through this storefront while broadening the awareness of all that we do that benefits our beautiful county.
Officer of the Year A big congratulations to Detective David Sharp for being named the Woodstock Police Department’s 2018 “Officer of the Year.” Every year, the Woodstock Chapter of the Moose Club honors local “Hometown Heroes” for their above and beyond service to our communities. Detective Sharp was selected by members of the WPD as the 2018 Woodstock Police Department’s “Officer of the Year” for his outstanding and tenacious work investigating a decades-old sexual assault investigation
Family and community engagement is a key strategic goal for Woodstock Community Unit School District 200 during the 2018-2019 school year, and staff are always looking for creative ways to make those vital connections. Keri Pala, principal of Mary Endres Elementary School, along with several other District 200 staff members, attended a family engagement conference this summer in Cleveland and came back with some inspiration to improve the relationship with a specific school population. More than 70 children from the lowincome, Shelia Street apartments off Route 47 attend or will attend Mary Endres, Verda Dierzen Early Learning Center and Northwood Middle School. While educators know how important it is that families are involved in their children’s education, school staff haven’t typically seen parents from the complex at parent/teacher conferences or other family activities “We learned that you need to meet them where they are and establish trusting relationships. So how do we build those trusting relationships?” Pala said. “Our goal was to meet them on their turf and show that we care about them.” Pala discussed the challenge with fellow principals Tricia Bogott from Verda Dierzen and Bethany Hall from Northwood. They decided to host a family event at the complex on Nov. 1 with
food, games and information. More than 40 District 200 staff members from the three schools volunteered for the event. Staff hand delivered invitations promoting the event to residents, posted them in the complex and sent fliers home with students. More than 100 residents attended Thursday’s event, which organizers considered a huge success. Through a combination of state grant dollars, funds donated to District 200 and donations from school families, staff also collected dozens of winter coats, boots, gloves and other warm clothing and distributed them to students who lack sufficient outerwear as winter approaches. Campus Connection Children also learned how to make slime and took home new games such as Battleship, Clue and Sorry as they enjoyed some out-of-school bonding with teachers and other District 200 staff. Representatives from Aunt Martha’s Health & Wellness were also there to speak with families about healthcare available for the uninsured and underinsured while Women, Infants and Children (WIC) representatives shared information on family nutrition. Bogott said the reaction from parents, staff and the children was extremely positive. “We had a parent afterwards come up to tell us how much it was appreciated and how much was it needed,” she said.
WOODSTOCK PD PHOTO McHenry County News
that involved numerous juvenile victims. Working with the McHenry County States Attorney’s Office, Detective Sharp secured an arrest warrant for the suspect who is accused of committing these horrendous crimes. The suspect remains incarcerated at the McHenry County Adult Correctional Facility on a 1 million dollar bond. Congratulations again Detective Sharp and thank you for your dedication to WPD and your past service in the United States Navy. Thank you for choosing WPD.