‘The Doctors’ tips for a healthy summer season
SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 2013
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HATS OFF • PLANIT STYLE, 4
CLASSIC CINEMAS • BUSINESS, D1
Four Cary brothers achieve Eagle ranking
Construction advances at Woodstock theater
Eric Mudra of Cary
Sowing a safety net
Tax break for seniors passes in Ill. Will lower property bills in ’14 By EMILY K. COLEMAN ecoleman@shawmedia.com
Photos by Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
Michele and Gary Aavang cover up a roll of silage Thursday after loading the feed for their beef cattle.
Agricultural producers hope farm bill includes crop insurance
Older homeowners will get a bigger tax break on their tax bills next year. The Illinois House and Senate overwhelming passed – with just two “no” votes in the House and none in the Senate – a bill that raises the senior citizen homestead exemption from $4,000 to $5,000. Gov. Pat Quinn signed the bill into law on Tuesday. The increase amounts to savings of about $100 for a senior citizen with a home valued at $200,000 in Crystal Lake. The change goes into effect immediately in Cook County, but for McHenry County and the rest of the state, the change affects bills sent out in 2014 and later. Several area legislators said the difference was because of
“I get calls every day from seniors literally in tears who are scared they are going to lose their homes.” State Rep. Jack Franks D-Marengo
See SENIORS, page A11 By JOSEPH BUSTOS jbustos@shawmedia.com
Afghan troops hold ground at high cost
As Michele Aavang and her husband, Gary, prepare for the upcoming planting season by repairing fences and equipment, they want to know how the farming system will operate beyond the next few months. “It’s hard to make plans for the future when you don’t know what the rules are going to be,” Michele Aavang said. Congress is in the process of considering a new farm bill. Aavang, the president of the McHenry County Farm Bureau board, hopes for one with a long life span. The farm bill passed in 2008 applied for five years. Congress then extended it for nine months, making it hard for farmers to plan ahead, she said. “As a whole, farmers ... are more than willing to take our share of the budget cuts,” Aavang said. “We all recognize the federal budget needs to be cut in all areas.” Aavang, who grows grain, soybeans, wheat and corn, and raises cattle, said five years is customary and is what most farmers expect. “Perhaps a farmer might be considering an expansion,” said Aavang, of Woodstock. “How do you make a decision? What are the basic ground rules? There are a lot of unknowns.” She said she hopes there is a safety net included in the bill, and farmers could
By KIMBERLY DOZIER The Associated Press
ABOVE: Gary Aavang watches as his cattle eat Thursday. Aavang and his wife Michele farm 2,000 acres of corn, beans, wheat and hay, as well as raising 60 beef cattle. LEFT: Gary Aavang works on a chemical sprayer Thursday at his Woodstock farm.
See FARM BILL, page A11
ON THE WEB: To view more photos from the recent visit to Michele and Gary Aavang’s Woodstock farm, visit NWHerald.com.
FORWARD OPERATING BASE CONNOLLY, Afghanistan – The Americans could be spotted waiting for the Chinooks in the 2 a.m. darkness only by the shape of their night-vision goggles, as they shared a cigarette with glowing embers in quick drags among the kneeling assaulters in the chilled dark. They would be on the first two helicopters to drop into the villages of the Khogyani district in the shadows of the Tora Bora mountains, kicking off a four-day operation against the Taliban by roughly 175 Americans and 1,250 Afghan troops, in a teeth-clenching test of U.S. mentoring and training.
Rising deaths Afghan casualty figures have been rising steadily, more than doubling from 550 Afghan soldiers and police killed in 2011 to more than 1,200 last year. This year is bloodier still, with 300 security personnel, mostly police, killed in March alone.
See AFGHANISTAN, page A11
LOCALLY SPEAKING
CRYSTAL LAKE
MCC INSTALLS NEW BOARD OFFICERS A largely ceremonial organizational meeting of the McHenry County College Board of Trustees swore in three new members to the college’s governing board as well as voting Ron Parrish as board chairman. He replaces Mary Miller, who was not nominated. Other officers were selected, including Linda Liddell as the vice chairman. For more, see page B1.
Jacobs senior Nick Ledinsky Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
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ALGONQUIN: Hits hard to come by as Jacobs’ Ledinsky and C-G’s Marszal dueled in a 2-1 Jacobs victory. Sports, C1 Vol. 28, Issue 118
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