Huntley hosts higher and healthier fireworks show

HUNTLEY, Il - Huntley’s Labor Day Weekend fireworks show will be watched by people in their cars instead of on blankets beneath the stars.
Set for Saturday, Sept. 5, the show is planned as a socially distanced event with higher and bigger explosions that can be seen from miles away.

Labeled by the village as a “drive-in fireworks show,” the display will be centered in Deicke Park but with expectations that residents as far away as the Walmart parking lot, Sun City and the Sew Hop’d Brewery will be enjoying the show while observing proper social distancing inside their automobiles.

Huntley Speaks Out: September 4, 2020

Will you return to a movie theater to see a movie? What will bring you back? Posed to folks watching a Little League game at Diecke Park on Thursday, September 3, 2020.

Winter prospects bring chills to Huntley restaurateurs

HUNTLEY, Il - In the middle of August with temperatures climbing into the 90s, MyHuntleyNews.com asked a group of Huntley restaurant managers to look ahead to the winter months when the wind chill will surely fall below freezing and arctic gusts will whip snow sideways across parking lots and patios.

For the most part, when they did look ahead, the forecast wasn’t clear or balmy.

On Coral Street, glancing through his front windows and imagining the patio filled with diners seated at tables below umbrella propane heaters, BBQ King general manager Collin Beck finally shook his head.

Parents scramble to keep kids home, again

HUNTLEY, Il - An African proverb says It takes a village to raise a child, and it will take the entire Village of Huntley — in various configurations and combinations — to educate the children of District 158 as schools reopen but students stay at home to protect against exposure to COVID-19.

While teachers will teach in front of webcams and Zoom screens in classrooms empty of students, parents told MyHuntleyNews.com they will rely on their siblings, their own parents and in-laws, cousins, groups of rotating neighbors, other government programs, juggling schedules with their spouses or partners, and hiring strangers to keep their kids focused on remote learning programs while the parents attempt to bring needed income back to their households.

Teachers, administrators work to make virtual learning a reality

Huntley, Il - Videoconferencing has just experienced a seismic shift in its customer base and a growth spurt that brought millions of new users logging in from their home desks, dining room tables, the family couch, or their beds.

Young users have been drawn away from a spring and summer of video games, YouTube, Instagram, a loop of cartoons and super-hero movies, or relationships based on an endless texting thread. Some may have been reading books.

Zoom, Google Hangouts, or any other group conferencing software just added a new use to virtual meetings among coronavirus shut-in adults with millions of students from kindergarten through college rejoining their classmates and teachers by jumping into the deep end of virtual learning.

Calling on all election judges to step forward

MCHENRY COUNTY, Il - You’re probably in the process of figuring out what method of voting works best for yourself because the General Election is less than two months away and vote by mail ballots will be mailed to voters beginning on September 24. The options for voting in Illinois are mail in (absentee ballot), early voting, or voting on Election Day, November 3.

The problem for county clerks running a smooth election process for the General Election is not in the number of voting options.

Extra police patrols crack down on impaired driving

HUNTLEY, Il - The Huntley Police Department is waging an end-of-summer campaign to crack down on drunk and impaired driving to make roads safer and help save lives.

Paid for through federal highway safety funds administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation, the department began a high-visibility “drive sober or get pulled over” enforcement campaign, according to a news release. The increased partolling started Aug. 20 and runs through Sept. 8.

“While celebrations marking the last days of summer may look different this year than in times past, the potential remains for an increase in the number of impaired drivers on the roads,” Deputy Chief Michael Klunk said in the release.

With the pandemic still circulating, drive-in theaters make a comeback

HUNTLEY - Huntley and area residents filed in to a portion of Huntley Walmart’s parking lot Friday (August 21) evening when it was turned into a drive-in theater. With a 75-car limit, tickets to the event sold out fast. Cars were kept to an eight-foot distance, staggering the vehicles for an optimized view of the 33-by-19-foot screen, which presented Wonder Woman.

The Huntley location is among 160 Walmart Supercenters across 26 states to host movies amid the pandemic. Aimed at attracting families, the screenings include both classic films and newer box office hits.

Schools turn to tech to kill COVID-19

Teachers re-entering District 158 schools to prepare for the Aug. 21 beginning of remote learning may find the buildings as clean as they have ever been.

The school district purchased electrostatic cleaning machines that will spray chemicals designed to kill the coronavirus. The electrostatic feature of the gear makes the disinfectants cling to all sides of surfaces like lint clings to a woolen sweater.

And while students won’t be crowding cafeterias any time soon, the machines will be used to battle COVID-19 as teachers return to the building, according to Dan Armstrong, District 158 communications director.

Local farms open during pandemic with a bumper crop of precautions

HUNTLEY, Il - Indulging in freshly picked produce from the farm stand is a summer rite of passage. But as with many seasonal traditions during the pandemic, new rules have taken root to keep this summer ritual safe.

Hand sanitizer, masks, and social distancing are now standard at local farms, and some farmers are reaching beyond the basics and doing what they do best: putting their personal spin on both service and safety.

In addition to Plexiglas barriers and hand-washing stations, Goebbert’s Pumpkin Patch and Apple Orchard in Pingree Grove now offers curbside service and delivery to Huntley residents.

COVID-19 lockdown devastating county economy

MCHENRY COUNTY, Il - The coronavirus has caused the deaths of at least 114 people in McHenry County this year, while business restrictions designed to contain it have laid waste to the local economy, county board members were told Wednesday.

In a special session called by Board Chairman Jack Franks, board members heard “stories from the trenches,” as Franks put it. The most shocking story may have come from Jim McConoughey, president of the McHenry County Economic Development Commission.

“About 26.5% of our small businesses in the county are closed,” McConoughey said, citing a survey of business banking activity conducted by Womply, a software and data firm specializing in small businesses.

Some alternatives to move students out of the house

For families who have exhausted attempts to figure out how to keep their children on remote learning while having to work themselves, the park district and a private school offer help.

The Huntley Park District is offering students in kindergarten through eighth grade Remote Learning Camp, starting Aug. 21, the same day that remote learning begins for District 158 students. The camp is organized by grade in groups that won’t exceed 15 students per room at the Park District’s recreation center.

Huntley Speaks Out: August 18, 2020

What do you think of the District 158 decision to open the school year with remote learning?

We can prevent a one two punch

You may grow weary of wearing a mask, staying at least six feet apart socially, washing your hands often, and using disinfectant on surfaces to minimize the chances of coming in contact with COVID-19. While health departments and Governor J.B. Pritzker are asking for vigilance in your efforts to reduce the spread of coronavirus, another virus is only a few months away from entering the picture.

Many health departments across Illinois are talking about action plans for their annual educational approach to influenza (flu).

Upcoming Labor Day weekend provides another economic checkpoint

HUNTLEY, Il - With the emergence of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Labor Day observance may be subdued nationwide, but creativity, adaptability, and resilience in places such as the Village of Huntley will keep the focus on honoring worker contributions. Yet, continued reports of positive cases of COVID-19 in Illinois have given us so many reasons for pessimism for an economic recovery and job picture.

That’s why any victories with the economy give us a ray of optimism for a rebounding job market.

THE DOORWAY TO OUR COMMUNITY