Region 9 has seen troubling increases in both the 7-day rolling average test positivity rate and new hospital admissions for COVID-like illness (CLI) over the past two weeks.

IDPH places a county at the orange ‘Warning’ level when at least two of the eight main indicators used to evaluate COVID-19 disease transmission show increased spread. Each county is regularly assessed to determine whether it is meeting or exceeding each indicator target.

All ballot styles for McHenry County are available at all early voting centers with voters able to choose the site most convenient for them.

In Huntley, voters may vote early at the Huntley Park District offices at 12015 Mill Street, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In a plan approved by the village board, Woodstock Hotels Inc. will spend $11.5 million building a four-story, 100-room hotel on property along Route 47 next to Walmart. The convenience of having a hotel in town will have to be enough for the village for the first five years after the hotel opens near the end of 2021. The board voted to rebate to the hotel operator up to $2.9 million in taxes to help offset the cost of building the business.

Registered participants may drop off tires smaller than 48 inches in diameter from 9 a.m. – noon on November 7 at the McHenry County Division of Transportation, 16111 Nelson Road in Woodstock.

Participants must wear a mask and maintain social distancing and are responsible for unloading tires that are to be recycled.

Solid Waste Manager Kelli Boeckmann said the event is a good opportunity for residents to reduce the potential for mosquito harborage on their property.

Doctors, parents, grandparents, health officials, and village officials are hoping kids can find some fun again this Halloween by trick-or-treating responsibly while parents monitor their safety.

The grants from the state are focused on businesses in what is referred to as disproportionately impacted areas (DIAs) —identified in McHenry County as the Harvard and Richmond areas —or heavily distressed industries, such as movie theaters, performing arts venues, concert venues, indoor recreation facilities and amusement parks.

Plenty, if the word is gaming, meaning gambling, and placed on a sign for all the world to see on a business on the edge of downtown Huntley.

That’s what Michael Skala, manager of Goodfella’s Beef, found out Thursday when the village board of trustees turned around his proposal for sign changes on his few booths and carry-out restaurant in the Huntley Court strip mall along Route 47 just north of Coral Street.

Skala is in the middle of expanding his beefstand into the space formerly occupied by Honey Fluff Donuts, space that will allow him to realize the potential granted by the village in August, 2019, when the board approved a Class A liquor license and a video gaming license for the location.

“We cannot have our bouncies, like our pumpkin jumper or inflatable train,” said Liz Halat from Tom’s Farm Market in Huntley.

Cafe dining is outside only. And for chilly days to come?

“It does get cold, and we will provide extra seating in our greenhouse,” said Halat.

Enhanced sanitation is a sign of the season at Goebbert’s Pumpkin Patch and Apple Orchard in Pingree Grove.

The Village of Huntley will hold an election on April 6, 2021, for village president and three trustees. The seats are currently held by Mayor Charles Sass, and trustees Ronda Goldman, John Piwko, and JR Westberg.

Beginning Thursday, Village Clerk Rita McMahon has petitions available for potential candidates at the clerk’s office in the village hall, 10987 Main St.,

McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks says, “McHenry County residents were struggling under a heavy burden long before COVID-19 . They’re being hammered now.”

Franks, a Marengo resident, is reminding taxpayers of the fiscal efforts by the board in reducing county government’s tax levy for three consecutive years.  With COVID-19 hurting taxpayers, Franks says the combination of cost reduction and outside-the-box thinking are resulting in real tax savings that turned prior years’ reductions into permanent cuts for fiscal 2020, saving at least $28 million over the three-year period had the levy remained at its 2016 amount.

Testing is open to all and no appointment is needed. Anyone interested can get tested whether they have symptoms or not. There is no cost for the test. Anyone who has insurance is asked to bring their card.

A simple nasal swab will be used, and you will be called with results within 4 to 7 days.

In a move that one school board member called “baby steps,” the plan presented by Superintendent Scott Rowe would bring students in kindergarten through fifth grade back into the district’s five elementary schools, although only for the equivalent of one full day per week of in-person instruction from their teacher.

“It’s unfortunate that you have to protect your property from people who have no right to it in the first place, but that’s where we are,” said Deputy Chief Mike Klunk.

Over the past few months, the thieves have hit vehicles and open garages in villages across the northwest suburbs, and Klunk said there’s some indication they may be based in Rockford.

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The grants from the state are focused on businesses in what is referred to as disproportionately impacted areas (DIAs) — identified in McHenry County as the Harvard and Richmond areas — or heavily distressed industries, such as movie theaters, performing arts venues, concert venues, indoor recreation facilities and amusement parks.

When the crushing punch of coronavirus hit both public health and the economy, some residents were sent reeling with how they’d pay their annual property taxes in McHenry County. Relief came in April when the McHenry County Board approved a 90-day waiver for the first installment. But McHenry County has two installments and the second one was just as worrisome as the first because conditions caused by coronavirus hadn’t really improved much in Illinois.

According to Tim Farrell, Director of Public Works and Engineering for the Village of Huntley, the path project began in direct response to the announcement of the Illinois Department of Transportation’s (IDOT) Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP).

“The Village was awarded an ITEP grant in the amount of $192,000.00 for partial costs of engineering and construction of the multi-use path.