McHenry County e-News

McHenry County

11/5/2010

McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler

Dear McHenry County Resident,

This past Tuesday, McHenry County citizens went to the polls to elect representatives at the national, state, and local level. With this election, the County Board will be welcoming five new County board members next month.

In McHenry County alone, we had 47.16% of registered voters cast a ballot! Exercising our right to vote is one of the greatest liberties that we enjoy as Americans.

This Thursday, November 11^th is Veterans Day. Please take a moment over this next week to reflect upon all of the sacrifices individuals have made over the years so that we can enjoy basic liberties such as the right to vote.

Sincerely,

Kenneth D. Koehler

County Board Chairman

County Road Construction Projects Update

Alden Road Bridge - Stage II construction on the east side of the road is complete, the temporary traffic signals have been removed and the bridge is open to two-way traffic. Work has started on the west side curb and gutter, sidewalks and driveways. Although some time has been lost due to weather and the labor strike, the project is still currently expected to be completed in November of 2010.

Walkup Road - Stage II curb & gutter and pavement widening are now complete south of Crystal Springs Road. Pavement milling and placement of Binder Course on the full width pavement is starting this week. This will involve large work areas with flagger controlled traffic and could result in significant traffic delays for the duration of about one week. Landscaping is proceeding behind the curbs in the completed areas where no Multi-use Path construction is to occur next spring. Work on the retaining walls is continuing. In approximately two weeks we expect the roadway section from Live Oak to south of Crystal Springs Roads to be essentially complete for the work to be done this year. Traffic Signal work will be done through the winter and the pavement widening work at Crystal Springs Road will be done next spring along with the final paving, Multi-use path paving, and any landscaping left to be completed. The contractor is utilizing additional working hours and plans to make every effort to complete the project on time. For more information check here:

Harmony Road Resurfacing - This project is complete except for the removal of temporary pavement markings.

Sheriff's Office to Host IDNR Snowmobile Safety Certification Course

McHenry County Sheriff's Office will be hosting the IDNR Snowmobile Safety Certification Course on Saturday, November 13, 2010 from 8:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. This course is open to children 12 years of age and older and for those who do not have a valid driver's license. Those who do not have a valid driver's license need to have this certificate to legally operate a snowmobile in the State of Illinois. Those who possess a valid driver's license may also attend to expand their knowledge of snowmobile safety.

The IDNR Snowmobile Safety Certification Courses cover maintenance and repair of snowmobiles, proper and safe operation, history of snowmobiling, first aid, protection of the environment, and the state laws. Persons completing the minimum eight hours of instruction and successfully completing the final examination will receive a State of Illinois Certificate of Competency and a graduate patch.

The course will take place at the McHenry County Government Center in the McHenry County Sheriff's Office - Training Division. Please pre-register with Cathy Hardt at (815)334-4739 or cdhardt@co.mchenry.il.us. Class size is limited and pre-registration is required.

For further information on snowmobile safety courses you can go to IDNR's website: http://www.dnr.state.il.us/safety/snwmob.htm.

Housing McHenry County - Reality....Challenge... and Opportunity .

The McHenry County Housing Commission is offering a Community Education event entitled "Housing McHenry County - Reality... Challenge... and Opportunity". The event will be held:

Tuesday, December 7, 2010 - 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 pm

McHenry County Administration Building

667 Ware Road

Woodstock IL, 60098

The keynote will be nationally recognized housing professional Dr. Elliot Eisenburg presenting "Housing and the Economy - Creating Jobs and Revenue". Dr. Eisenburg is Senior Economist for the National Home Builders Association (NAHB) in Washington, D.C. He has been featured in Business Week, Forbes Fortune, most national and local newspapers and in many other publications. The first event in an educational series, the forum will elevate community awareness centering around housing issues in McHenry County.

For additional information contact the McHenry County Housing Commission at mchenrycountycomdev@co.mchenry.il.us.

Planning and Development Update

Stormwater Management Ordinance Improvements

Stormwater Management Ordinance Improvements were adopted by the County Board on October 19. McHenry County staff will be meeting with municipalities to further discuss implementation of the amendments.

Unified Development Ordinance

The consulting contract for the Unified Development Ordinance was approved by the County Board on November 4. The 22-month project is expected to begin immediately and will update and consolidate the County's zoning, subdivision, sign and miscellaneous development regulations into a comprehensive land development ordinance.

Wind Turbine Taskforce

The Wind Turbine Taskforce has been established and is conducting monthly meetings. The first step the Task force is taking is to define categories of turbines to be regulated.

McHenry County GIS Day

On November 16^th (from 3 PM to 7 PM), McHenry County will celebrate International GIS Day. A geographic information system (GIS) empowers the County to integrate digital information with maps. An open house will be held prior to the County Board meeting in the Administration Building in Conference Rooms A&B. This open house will showcase how the County GIS is used to:

· Improve public safety

· Reduce staff time

· Manage resources more efficiently

· Improve decision making

· Provide better information to the public

Please stop by and meet County staff and interact with the technology. There will be representatives from Administration, Assessments, Division of Transportation, Emergency Management, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Health, Planning and Development and the Sheriff's Department. You can learn more about the County GIS activities at www.mchenrycountygis.org.

For more information about McHenry County GIS Day, please call 815-334-4496 or email gis@co.mchenry.il.us.

McHenry County Department of Health Update

PERSONAL HEALTH SERVICES

McHenry County Department of Health (MCDH) has received an additional supply of injectable flu vaccine for children 6 months - 18 years of age through the state-funded Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program. Medicaid is accepted; for non-Medicaid children that meet VFC criteria, the cost is $15. Eligible children include those from 6 months of age to 18 years (accompanied by parent or guardian), All Kids/Public Aid recipients, families without insurance and families whose insurance doesn't cover vaccinations.

Parents must bring current vaccination records as well as any documentation of H1N1 vaccine received in 2009. FluMist, an intranasal form of the vaccine, is available for children over the age of 2. Clinic dates are Nov 15 (8a-10:30a), MCDH's Woodstock office (Annex A), and Nov 18 & 19 (1p-3:30p) at its Crystal Lake facility. Appointments required at 815-334-4500.

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ANIMAL CONTROL

Here's your chance to have your pet's photo taken with Santa. McHenry County Animal Control & Adoption Center will host a "Santa's Photo" event on Sunday November 7 from noon-3pm at its Crystal Lake location (100 N Virginia Street). Appointments are required at 815-459-6222. The cost is $10 for a 4x6 color photo of Santa and your pet in a Christmas card setting.

Pet adoptions are also available during these hours. Adoption fees are $80 and include all vaccinations, spay/neuter, FELV & FIV testing, microchip, de-worming, free 1st Veterinarian visit and discounted grooming. Animals available for adoption can be viewed online at www.mcdh.info (click on Animal Control). For more information, call Animal Control at 815-459-6222.

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PERSONAL HEALTH SERVICES

McHenry County Department of Health (MCDH) reminds residents when you move your clocks back 1 hour for daylight saving time this Sunday November 7, remember to also check your preparedness kit to make sure your emergency stockpile isn't missing any items or food hasn't expired. The American Public Health Association's "Set Your Clocks, Check Your Stocks" campaign is reminding people to refresh their emergency supplies before a disaster occurs. If you haven't created a stockpile yet, now is the time to create one - and don't forget to check the batteries in your smoke alarms.

Emergencies such as floods, fires and hazardous weather can occur at any time of the year. Following a disaster, local officials and relief workers cannot reach everyone immediately - it may take hours or even days - so your stockpile should have at least 3 days of food, water and supplies. Basic services such as water and electricity may also be interrupted. A checklist to get you started is available at http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit/index.html.

Other items to set aside include important family documents, cash/traveler's checks, prescriptions and pet supplies. For additional information, call the MCDH Emergency Response Program at 815-334-4510.

USEPA WaterSense

Did you know...

Leaks, on average, can account for more than 10,000 gallons of water wasted in the home each year, enough water to fill a backyard swimming pool.

Fixing Leaks Around the Home

Being handy around the house doesn't have to be difficult. Common types of leaks found in the home are worn toilet flappers, dripping faucets, and other leaking valves. These types of leaks are often easily correctable, in many cases requiring only a few tools and hardware that can pay for themselves in water savings.

Check for Leaks

To check for leaks in your home, first you need to determine whether you're wasting water, then identify the source of the leak.

Take a look at your water usage during a colder month, such as January or February. If a family of four exceeds 12,000 gallons per month, there are serious leaks.
Check your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter changes at all, you probably have a leak.
Identify toilet leaks by placing a drop of food coloring in the toilet tank. If any color up in the bowl after 15 minutes, you heave a leak. (Be sure to flush immediately after the experiment to avoid staining the tank.)
Examine faucet gaskets and pipe fittings for any water on the outside of the pipe to check for surface leaks.

For more information on how to fix a leak or other WaterSense topics, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/watersense/water_efficiency/howto.html.

County Recorder Update

Celebrating 100 Years on Computer

Phyllis K. Walters, McHenry County Recorder, and her staff now have more than 100 years of indexed and imaged documents on the Recorder's computer system. Approximately 2.8 million documents containing more than 11 million pages of information dating back to 1909 are available to search, retrieve and print within seconds in the Recorder's Office, or on the internet.

"This is a major accomplishment for our office and we are on target to reach completion of all recorded document indexes and images, dating back to 1839, on computer by 2012," said Recorder Walters. While current documents are recorded on the day they are received and returned within 3 business days, the office continues to work back-in-time adding information prior to the year 1909.

While all recorded documents can be searched in the Recorder's Office, the office offers the following online services: Recorder's "free search" at www.co.mchenry.il.us/departments/recorder where indexed land records can be searched by grantor/grantee name, without images; LAREDO - a quarterly subscription service for those who access information often, images can be viewed and printed; and Tapestry - visit www.landrecords.net for a pay-as-you-go land records search.

More information on any of these services can be found on the Recorder's website (above) or by calling the office at (815) 334-4045, or (815) 334-4109.

Don't Pay More For Certified Deeds

The McHenry County Recorder's Office wants to notify county property owners of companies selling certified copies of deeds at over-inflated prices that they do not have to go through a third party, or spend a lot of money to obtain a certified copy of their deed. A certified copy may be purchased for $12, a statutory fee, by calling the County Recorder's Office at (815) 334-4128, or by visiting the office located in the McHenry County Administration Building, 667 Ware Road, Woodstock.

Once again, the County Recorder's Office has been receiving inquiries from concerned property owners regarding letters they received from a company offering to sell and mail them a certified copy of their deed for $59.50. While this practice is not illegal, it is unnecessary and expensive.

It is suspected that one company soliciting customers has requested certified copies from the Recorder's Office which is legal under the public information laws. The company then attempts to resell the information to homeowners at a substantial profit.

A form letter sent out by the company also requests credit card information to process the order, something that consumers should always use caution when giving out.

Recorder Walters encourages anyone with a question regarding their deed, or interested in purchasing a certified copy to contact the Recorder's Office at (815) 334-4110, or stop by the County Administration Building at 667 Ware Road, Woodstock.

VETERAN'S DAY - NOVEMBER 11, 2010

As we honor all service members and veterans of the United States Armed Forces on Veteran's Day November 11th, Phyllis K. Walters, McHenry County Recorder, urges all veterans to record their military discharge (DD-214) papers. These valuable documents are needed for veterans to apply for benefits including medical care and VA Loans to name a few.

Recording your DD-214 papers ensures that certified copies of these documents are always attainable at the Recorder's Office in Woodstock. All veterans should be aware that if a DD-214 is lost or misplaced it can take 21 days or longer to receive a new one from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

Illinois State Statutes allow County Recorder's to record military discharge papers at no charge; the McHenry County Recorder's Office also furnishes two free certified copies after recording. All other requests for certified copies of DD-214's must be accompanied by photo identification and signature verification.

Recorder Walters wants all citizens of McHenry County to know that significant precautions have taken place in her office to help protect private records from identity theft. All computer images of military discharge papers have been replaced with a marker page which lists only the type of document, veteran's name and number of pages contained in the DD-214. Another preventative measure was to install a computer software program to locate and redact identifiable Social Security numbers on recorded documents. These private numbers can now be hidden from view on the office's computer system and on the web, but the original document is not altered in any way. Walters says, "I have cautioned my staff on the realities of identity theft. The Recorder's Office will continue to take every precaution necessary and enforce strict procedures to insure the privacy and protection of all McHenry County citizens."

For additional information, please contact Phyllis K. Walters at (815) 334-4109.

McHenry County Board

Chairman - Kenneth D. Koehler

Vice Chairman - James L. Heisler

District 1

Yvonne M. Barnes

Robert "Bob" Bless

Anna May Miller

Marc J. Munaretto

District 2

JS "Scott" Breeden

James L. Heisler