Maj. Gen. Richard J. Hayes Jr. (right), the Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard presents Master Sgt. Christopher Winling of Lake Villa with Joint Force Headquarters in Springfield, Illinois, a certificate after Winling recited the oath of office, as the Illinois National Guard (ILNG) Assistant Inspector General for the Office of Inspector General Oct. 8 during a ceremony at Camp Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Robert R. Adams, Illinois National Guard Public Affairs Office)

Crystal Lake

Six area businesses nab Business Championship Awards

The McHenry County Economic Development Corp awarded six businesses for accomplishments in growth and innovation. CIDEAS in Crystal Lake, won in the small division class (less than 24 employees.) Black Diamond Plumbing, which recently moved from Crystal Lake to McHenry, and Matrix IV, from Woodstock, tied in the medium division (25-100 employees.) Sage Products in Cary and INTREN in Union received the award in the larger division (more than 300 employees.)

MCC finalist in Tomorrow’s Technician magazine’s School of the Year.

O’Reilly Auto Parts and WIX Filters sponsors Tomorrow’s Technician magazine’s annual contest for School of the Year. MCC spokesperson, Mike Albamonte says that the school is committed to preparing MCC students to become the best professionals in the automotive field. All of the automotive graduates landed jobs in the industry. Albamonte receives an average of three calls a week requesting MCC graduates for employment as automotive technicians.

Holiday Hills

Rift causes malaise in village governing

Tension was heightened last week between Holiday Hills trustees and Village President Dan Drury when trustees called a special meeting on Oct. 27. Drury was unable to attend the meeting because he was working a 24-hour shift as a firefighter/paramedic. The Trustees complain that Drury failed to put items on the agenda; Drury, in turn, pointed to items submitted past the due date. In his absence, trustees passed several new measures. They limited public comment to once, at the end of a meeting. They voted that resources be assigned to investigate alleged document theft. The trustees also suspended operations of the villages new website and they adopted a written ordinance defining rules and regulations for subcommittees. The last regular meeting lasted less than five minutes because Drury and the Trustees began arguing and the trustees adjourned the meeting.

Marengo

Super Aggregate proposes annexation

Jack Pease, owner of Super Aggregate presented his annexation plan to the City of Marengo at the last board meeting. He wants to annex 80 acres and re-zone 355 acres for manufacturing and procure a special-use permit for mining to develop a quarry west of Route 23 and south of Pleasant Grove Road. Sand and gravel will be extracted over the next 20-30 years. Pease plans to make the quarry virtually invisible from the street, and conduct the extraction in an environmentally clean manner. The business will bring the city sales and property taxes, annexation fees and possibly mining extracting fees. The board agreed to move forward with the re-zoning and annexation agreement.

Woodstock

Service providers meet to discuss the homeless

With winter approaching, representatives from several local service agencies met in Woodstock to address the needs of the homeless. The group identified food, shelter, and clothing as priorities. Because there are few warming centers in Woodstock, the homeless population migrates to the library and train station to keep warm. The group proposed longer hours at PADS location, Redeemer Lutheran Church, in Woodstock. Possibly the old fire station can be used as a warming station. The cultural and social awareness commission plans to provide a resource guide to the homeless. The county has several warming centers at different churches that operate on different days of the week. The homeless can be transported to these different centers.

Lake Villa

Soldier joins Illinois National Guard Inspections Generals Office

Master Sgt. Christopher Winling of Lake Villa, with Joint Force Headquarters in Springfield, took the oath of office as the Illinois National Guard (ILNG) Assistant Inspector General for the Office of Inspector General Oct. 8, during a ceremony at Camp Lincoln in Springfield.

As the Assistant Inspector General, Winling will work for The Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard providing an objective assessment of efficiency, discipline, readiness and resources in the Illinois National Guard. Winling enlisted in the Illinois Army National Guard in 1988.

In Winling’s has deployed to Germany 2002, Iraq 2005 where he received a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, and to Afghanistan in 2011.

–McHenry County News Briefs–