Former Johnsburg superintendent discusses birding
MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2013
WWW.NWHERALD.COM
The only daily newspaper published in McHenry Co.
Local, A3
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MUSICK COLUMN • SPORTS, B1
Heesch makes successful debut with Cougars Sports, B1
It’s decision time for Blackhawks on goalie
Voters Filling the holes in the road to have choices aplenty By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com
Election Central Visit NWHerald. com/election to read more about the issues and the candidates in Tuesday’s election.
Voters on Tuesday will have choices to make – some voters more than others. Every McHenry County voter will be asked whether they want to create a new taxing body to aid people with developmental disabilities. Many voters will be asked to choose three McHenry County College trustees from a crowded field of nine candidates. All township seats are up for election. Voters in Grafton Township will have an opportunity to choose their leaders after four years of lawsuits, infighting and dysfunction. But about two-thirds of the 200-plus individual races on McHenry County ballots, which include school board, village boards, fire district boards among others are uncontested. The following is a list of a few of the races and referendums in Tuesday’s election: • REFERENDUMS – Voters are being asked to create a developmental disabilities board, or a “377 board.” If approved, the referendum would create an advisory board and a corresponding property tax that the board would disburse to agencies
H. Rick Bamman – hbamman@shawmedia.com
McHenry public works crew Pedro Padro and Clint Greve use a cold patch product as they fill potholes along Crystal Lake Avenue in McHenry.
Weather conditions make potholes more of an issue this year By JOSEPH BUSTOS jbustos@shawmedia.com
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s temperatures began to climb in March, and then dip back down, public works crews had to hit the streets to keep up with asphalt that was breaking up and leaving potholes. This year in McHenry, the Public Works Department has shoveled 100 tons of cold patch into holes in the ground. Usually there is one crew
that works in the town filling potholes, but it got so bad at one point that McHenry doubled its efforts. “It’s been a tough winter with the freeze-thaw we had,” said Jon Schmitt, the city’s public works director. Those temperature fluctuations have made potholes more of a problem this year. More water seeped into cracks in the road, froze and thawed as temperatures warmed up, leading to damaged pavement.
In Bull Valley, the roads are especially troublesome because there hasn’t been resurfacing in many years. Village Administrator Rich Vance says he receives about five calls a day from people complaining about the road conditions. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we have the worst roads around,” Vance said. Bull Valley is having a
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See POTHOLES, page A7
I WOULDN’T BE SURPRISED IF WE HAVE THE WORST ROADS AROUND.” Rich Vance, Bull Valley Village Administrator on road condition complaints
See ELECTION, page A7
Taliban likely to be a long-term threat, U.S. general says By ROBERT BURNS The Associated Press BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – The United States accepts that a diminished but resilient Taliban is likely to remain a military threat in some parts of Afghanistan long after U.S. troops complete their combat mission next year, the top U.S. military officer said Sunday.
In an Associated Press interview at this air field north of Kabul, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he is cautiously optimistic that the Afghan army will hold its own against the insurgency as Western troops pull back and Afghans assume the lead combat role. He said that by May or June, the Afghans will be in the lead throughout the
country. Asked whether some parts of the country will remain contested by the Taliban, he replied, “Yes, of course there will be.” “And if we were having this conversation 10 years from now, I suspect there would [still] be contested areas because the history of Afghanistan suggests that there will always be contested ar-
LOOKING FORWARD
Inside U.S. diplomat from River Forest killed in Afghanistan on PAGE A4 eas,” he said. He and other U.S. commanders have said that ultimately the Afghans must reach some sort of political accommodation with the insurgents, and that a reconcil-
FRIDAY
COMPANY TO STAGE TRIBUTE
FRIDAY: “Oblivion,” starring Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, opens in theaters. Universal Pictures
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64 50 Complete forecast on A10
The week’s happenings in news, sports and more. Page A2
Where to find it Advice Classified Comics
B10 C1-10 B9
Vol. 28, Issue 96 Local&Region Lottery Obituaries
A3 A2 A4
Opinion Puzzles Sports
A9 C5, C10 B1-8
for a suicide car bombing that killed five Americans – three soldiers and two civilians, including a foreign service officer and the first American diplomat killed overseas since the terrorist attack Sept. 11 in Benghazi, Libya. A fierce battle between U.S.-backed Afghan forces and Taliban militants in a
See TALIBAN, page A7
If Your Dentures Are Not Becoming To You, You Should be Coming To Us!
The Woodstock Musical Theatre Company will stage “The Fox on the Fairway” on Friday through April 28 at Woodstock Opera House, 121 W. Van Buren St., Woodstock. It will be presented at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and at 3 p.m. Sundays. Tickets – at $23 for adults, $20 for seniors and students – are available at 815-338-5300 or www.woodstockoperahouse.com.
Tom Cruise stars in “Oblivion”
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iation process needs to be led by Afghans, not Americans. Thus the No. 1 priority for the U.S. military in its final months of combat in Afghanistan is to do all that is possible to boost the strength and confidence of Afghan forces. Shortly after Dempsey arrived in Afghanistan on Saturday, the Taliban demonstrated its ability to strike. It claimed responsibility
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