Schedule released for Hawks, Red Wings series
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GAME 4: HEAT 88, BULLS 65 The only daily newspaper published in McHenry Co.
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Another charter plan under fire D-300 considers proposal to expand blended virtual learning at Cambridge Lakes By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com ALGONQUIN – Representatives from the nonprofit corporation that runs an area brick-and-mortar charter school approached District
300 board members and administrators Monday with the task of justifying a new online charter during the worst possible time. Officials from the Northern Kane Educational Corp. unveiled a plan that would
expand its blended virtual learning program at Cambridge Lakes Charter School in District 300’s territory of Pingree Grove to school districts across the state through the “Illinois Online Charter School,” despite growing re-
sistance and skepticism toward virtual classrooms. District 300 and 17 others in Fox Valley vehemently rejected a proposal earlier this year from the nonprofit Virtual Learning Solutions, arguing the group’s proposal was
incomplete and didn’t address vital questions about curriculum and costs. But Northern Kane insisted its proposal was not like Virtual Learning Solutions, arguing the expansion of its emerging blended program
RESPITE FOR OPEN SPACES
that combines traditional classroom instruction with online education would complement districts rather than compete against them. “We see ourselves not as
See CHARTER, page A5
Probe nets AP phone records Gov’t obtained 2 months’ worth By MARK SHERMAN The Associated Press
Photos by Lathan Goumas – lgoumas@shawmedia.com
Glacial Park Conservation Area is seen Wednesday in Ringwood. The McHenry County Conservation District manages 25,000 acres of open space in the county. BELOW: A dandelion grows just off the walking path at Brookdale Conservation Area in Woodstock.
Slow economy allows for more preservation in the county By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com Lisa Haderlein remembers when the Land Conservancy of McHenry County was struggling to keep pace with the rapid, steadfast development of the early 2000s that transformed the county into suburbia. But the economic downturn and housing bubble burst of the late 2000s granted Haderlein and the local conservation group a breather. As development
halted, the Land Conservancy refocused its attention on how to preserve the numerous open spaces – including farmland, wetlands, woodlands and prairies – vital to the ecosystem and quality of life in the county, rather than pockmark their conservation efforts. “With the recession, things have slowed. It’s nice not to have that pressure where you are always reacting to the next mega development being proposed,” Haderlein said. “We can sit
back and look at the landscape and speak to the value the land has.” Haderlein, the executive director of the Land Conservancy, and others in agencies such as the McHenry County Conservation District and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, exist to preserve and acquire open spaces throughout the county. Across the country, almost 6,000 acres of open
See OPEN SPACES, page A5
ON THE NET: View a map of McHenry County’s open spaces at NWHerald.com.
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative’s top executive called a “massive and unprecedented intrusion” into how news organizations gather the news. The records obtained by the Justice Department listed outgoing calls for the work and personal phone numbers of individual reporters, for general AP office numbers in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn., and for the main number for the AP in the House of Representatives press gallery, according to attorneys for the AP. It was not clear whether the records also included incoming calls or the duration of the calls. In all, the government seized the records for more than 20 separate telephone lines assigned to AP and its journalists in April and May of 2012. The exact number of journalists who used the phone lines during that period is unknown, but more than 100 journalists work in the offices where phone records were targeted, on a wide array of stories about government and other matters. In a letter of protest sent to Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday, AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt said the government sought and
See PROBE, page A5
LOCALLY SPEAKING Prairie Ridge junior Claire Bowman
Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
McHENRY
CARY
CITY INCHES CLOSER TO AQUATIC CENTER
MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO $1M IN FRAUD
McHenry inched closer Monday to a new aquatic and recreation center. City staff received the go-ahead from the McHenry City Council to prepare the paperwork contractors need to submit proposals. The actual request for qualifications and proposals will need a vote from the City Council at a future meeting. For
A Cary business owner faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty Monday in federal court to wire fraud for stealing more than $1 million, federal prosecutors said. Clare Thomas Anderson, 44, owned Certifibre and Anderson International Global. He operated the businesses in Cary and Florida For more, see
more, see page B1.
page B1.
CRYSTAL LAKE: Prairie Ridge softball takes the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division title. Sports, C1
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