Saturday Soapbox: No news is good news
After a couple of rather disastrous recent elections, Kane County finally seems to have gotten one right. Despite a turnout 50 percent higher than in the 2004 primary, Clerk John Cunningham's office and voters reported no major glitches. It might have helped some that nearly 10,000 Kane residents voted early, three times the number who voted in early voting's inaugural run in spring 2007.
When quantity matters
Seems the students at Elgin School District U-46's Gifford Street High School have found themselves on an unplanned diet. The district is now addressing complaints that the pre-packaged meals for the alternative school, which has no kitchen facilities, were simply too small. Seems students have been receiving meals packing about 1,800 to 2,000 calories per day. That's adequate for 6- or 7-year-olds. But an active high schooler could require up to 3,600 calories. Fill 'em up.
First graduate
Kane County's first mental health court graduate says he learned what the non-violent participants in the county's alternative drug court did -- graduating isn't that easy. "I kind of viewed the program as an easy out instead of going to jail," the first grad said. "I was wrong." Instead he had a regimen of counseling and treatment to help him treat and live with his bipolar disorder. "I have become someone I never thought I could -- someone ready to face the world."
A popular ban
Politicians seem to understand one issue, if few others. Many people detest being called at home by telemarketers. That's why it looks like a federal "do not call" law is about to become permanent with bipartisan support. More than 150 million people put their phone numbers on that "don't-call-me" list when it first became available on a temporary basis. Now, we're guessing, those same people would like to find a way to ban calls from those politicians, their spouses and their minions at election time.
Open space wins again
Even with the economy in a downturn, voters continue to make clear that they value open space, parks and recreation areas and facilities. Voters in the Fox Valley Park District approved a $44.8 million bond sale at the polls even as St. Charles Park District residents were giving a thumbs-up to a $25 million bond sale. Both measures were designed to fund land acquisition, park development and new or improved facilities. And those follow recent votes up and down the Fox Valley that indicate recreation and open space issues are second only to transportation issues in the hearts of taxpayers.
Counting on you
If you wonder if your vote really does count, ask the candidates in the McHenry County Board District 1 race. Only six votes separate the candidates -- and that might change pending a final count of mailed absentee ballots.
Open/shut case
After angry calls and e-mails shut down district phone and e-mail service Wednesday, Community Unit School District 300 Superintendent Ken Arndt likely was glad he wasn't on a ballot this week. He was quick to acknowledge he erred in not closing schools ahead of a fierce storm, but some felt he compounded the error by closing schools on a snowless Thursday to ensure roads were clear. That may have riled some, but as any political soul could tell him, it's far better to err on the side of caution. Or at least that's what parents were saying the day before.