“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.

For $50 annually or $30 semi-annually, readers will enjoy a growing amount of news content and more variety than our current news options. This enhanced coverage will include local, regional, national, and at times global news items.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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