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Transactions filed in the McHenry County Recorder’s Office Sept. 9.

■ Residence at 3040 Courtland St., Woodstock, was sold by Gene P. Mortimer, Crystal Lake, to Christopher Owens, Woodstock, for $164,900. ■ Residence at 2466 Fairview Circle, Woodstock, was sold by D. R. Horton, Inc.-Midwest, Vernon Hills, to Jeffrey Paulson, Woodstock, for $285,330. ■ Residence at 2008 Greenview Drive, Woodstock, was sold by D. R. Horton, Inc. - Midwest, Vernon Hills, to Debra Siegmeier, Woodstock, for $301,540. ■ Residence at 209 W. Greenwood Ave., Woodstock, was sold by Habitat For Humanity of McHenry County, McHenry, to Reette Martyne, Woodstock, for $191,000. ■ Residence at 8709 Shady Lane, Wonder Lake, was sold by Timothy N. and Karen S. Batdorff, Wonder Lake, to WL Smooth Sailing LLC, Wonder Lake, for $107,000. ■ Residence at 8907 Ramble Road, Wonder Lake, was sold by Kenneth McGill, Plainfield, to Larry E. Hamlin, Joliet, for $52,000. ■ Residence at 1170 Greenwood Circle, Unit 10F, Woodstock, was sold by Jeffrey Paulson, Woodstock, to Christopher Salemi, McHenry, for $108,000. ■ Residence at 797 Irving Ave., Woodstock was sold by The Adam and Staci Krejci Joint Declaration of Revocable Trust, Crystal Lake, to Michael A. Musengo Jr., Woodstock, for $219,900. ■ Residence at 401 Tanager Drive, Woodstock, was sold by David M. Klein, Gladstone, Mich., to Richard W. Davis, Woodstock, for $250,000. ■ Residence at 311 Marawood Drive, Woodstock, was sold by Todd Hanne, Crystal Lake, to Robert Hopkins Jr., Woodstock, for $371,000.

INDEPENDENT PHOTO BY TRICIA CARZOLI

By Susan W. Murray NEWS@THEWOODSTOCKINDEPENDENT.COM

The combination of COVID-19 and the state of Illinois’ delay in awarding licenses for cannabis operations has impeded progress for the partnership that hopes to build a craft-grown cannabis operation on property at the southeast corner of Route 120 and Queen Anne Road.

While Paul Letizia and his fellow nine investors will have finalized the purchase of all 95 acres in December, the project’s timeline of 24 months has stretched out to eight years.

Earlier plans for the property included a refurbished mini-golf course on the site of the former Deer Run Golf Center, a two-acre veterans’ memorial garden, and a live-music stage – all part of a “family-friendly rustic entertainment center” known as Uncle Bud’s Junction.

Additionally, the old Deer Run clubhouse was to become a restaurant, but Letizia said that concept had been put on hold.

Instead, the property will open on April 1 as The Junction Paul Community and Letizia Arts Center, with a ribbon-cutting on Memorial Day.

The community center in the spiffed-up clubhouse will be open to anyone, Letizia said, and could be used for yoga classes, art shows, craft fairs, and Thanksgiving dinners for military personnel.

Letizia also hopes to host weekly events on the property, such as classic car shows, outdoor movie nights, and beekeeper programs.

Eighty percent of the proceeds realized from events will be given to local veterans’ organizations, including TLS Veterans, Letizia said.

The veterans memorial garden, a two-acre flower garden named the Junction Garden of Hope, will also debut in the spring. The flower garden will be located near the old mini-golf course, with a half-acre vegetable garden nearby.

Letizia, who plans to hire veterans to work the gardens, envisions the flower garden as a place of beauty and Continued on NEXT page

McHenry County is joining other local governments in seeking input on the updated Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy plan for McHenry, Boone and Winnebago counties.

The ultimate goal of the CEDS is to help the three-county area have a stronger and more diverse regional economy. While the plan’s most critical function is to provide a regional economic development framework, it also serves as a required vehicle through which several federal agencies evaluate requests for federal economic development grants.

Anybody who lives, works or who is associated with McHenry, Boone and Winnebago counties is welcome to provide input by submitting comments to info@ r1planning.org by Sunday, Nov. 15, with “CEDS Comments” included in the subject line. While participants are not required to list their address, they are asked to include their municipality and county where they live or work.

“Whole Grain Supply Chain” will be the topic this coming weekend in the virtual speaker series, “Forefront: Ideas in Food and Farming,” presented by the Center for Agrarian Learning at McHenry County College.

The program, 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15, will explore the importance of regenerative agriculture and whole grains, and describe how those practices improve soil health, human health, and local economies.

Three speakers will discuss their personal experiences and challenges working with and growing specific grains. They are baker Rachel Bernier-Green of ’Laine’s Bake Shop; farmer Andy Hazzard of Hazzard Free Farm; and food-system dietitian Erin Meyer of Basil’s Harvest The speakers will also share details of their combined work with the Artisan Grain Collaborative.

The session is free to attend, but online registration is required at mchenry.edu/ forefront. Registration ends 48 hours before the event.

Continued from Previous page healing for vets – the first step in creating programs for those in the midst of the “transition from military to home.”

The public will be invited to buy bricks in honor of, or as a memorial to, family members or friends who served in the military.

Mike Iwinicki, superintendent of McHenry County’s Veterans Assistance Commission, met with Letizia in the spring to discuss the project and hopes to re-engage with the Junction’s partnership as the garden nears its opening date.

For veterans adjusting from the military to civilian lives, Iwinicki said, there would be “a therapeutic value in working in the gardens.”

“Anytime you give someone the opportunity to have options and learn skills, that’s a great thing,” Iwinicki said.

Letizia has also been in touch with McHenry resident Raleigh Showens, one of a squad of eight military veterans who handle golden retrievers as part of Lutheran Church Charities’ Kare 9 Military Ministry.

The veteran handlers take their dogs to visit homebound vets and to tour VFW posts, VA hospitals, and Traumatic Brain Injury Care Centers, providing comfort and spreading “mercy and compassion,” according to the group’s mission statement.

Letizia’s idea is to have Showens and his golden retriever, Spike, make regular visits to the vets who will work in or visit the memorial garden.

“A little break with the dogs helps bring quiet and soothing,” Showens said.

Alana Sattler, a 2012 graduate of Illinois State University, is the executive director of the veterans’ foundation. Sattler brings eight years of experience in communications and marketing for nonprofit agencies to her position, as well as a passion for helping veterans.

Five of Sattler’s high school friends joined the military after graduation. After four years of service, two committed suicide and one suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, Sattler said.

“They didn’t know how to be civilians again,” she said.

“This is a necessary thing for McHenry County,” Sattler said. “There’s a place where veterans can go that’s safe.”

Letizia and his partners do not expect to hear until January whether they will be awarded a license to cultivate, dry, cure, package, and dispense cannabis.

In the meantime, they’re exploring the option of growing in Niles, Mich., with extracting and crafting on the Route 120 property. Transportation would need to move to another location, Letizia said.

For now, community and veterans’ programs are the center of attention.

“I’ve always wanted to start something like this,” Letizia said. “The community center will focus on three things to live by: grace, integrity, and love.”