A new security yard sign

You know those signs that people plant in their yards to warn off burglars? The ones with the names of the security alarm companies (which can remain nameless here)? This showed up in my in-box tonight.

Here's a new sign of the times.

It even beats Chuck Norris' warning sign, which reads, "We don't call 9-1-1."

The only problem with this bullet pattern is, if the first 2-3 didn't stop the invader, it might be a good idea to go for the head or lower stomach. He might just be wearing body armor!

When was the last time you went to the range for practice? Did you fire only at the center of the target? Did you take careful aim and shoot slowly? Did you also shoot accurately, but rapidly? Did you reload and keep shooting? Did you reload by touch only, without looking at your handgun? Did you shoot with your off hand? Did you shoot around an object or just stand there and plug away?

And in a separate email came this wise message: "A community that makes enemies with the police had better learn to make friends with its criminals."

Democratic candidate in race for sheriff

The Woodstock Advocate received the following biographical information this evening from the campaign of Mike Mahon for sheriff of McHenry County.

Mike Mahon
A New Sheriff for McHenry County
Integrity • Leadership • Innovation • Excellence

Mike Mahon has been a Deputy Sheriff for Cook County since 1987. The majority of Mike’s career has been in investigative and supervisory positions. Mike’s hard work, sound judgment, integrity, and test scores have earned him numerous promotions during different administrations. He has held positions of increasing responsibility, including: Department of Corrections Officer, Investigator, Supervisor, Fugitive Unit Investigator, Internal Affairs Division Investigator, and Sergeant.

Currently, Mike works in the Sheriff’s Administration for the Office of Integrity and Compliance where he directs efforts related to strategic planning, program evaluations, personnel and productivity studies, and policy and procedure reviews. Mike lives with his family in Lake in the Hills, where they have resided for the last fourteen years.

For more information, contact Mike at 815-788-9540.

Illegal Sign

Woodstock has a pretty good sign code, and it is designed to keep the city looking nice and free of small advertising and directional signs.

Today the county sheriff's department was conducting written and physical testing of applicants for patrol deputies, and this sign was planted on the corner of South Madison and East South Streets.

Our Code Enforcement Officer has his hands full with illegal signs all over town. Should he have to take on McHenry County, too?

With GPSs, Google, Mapquest and clear written directions it shouldn't be that hard to find 501 West South Street, as long as visitors are informed that South Street doesn't run north and south; it runs east and west.

Should the Merit Commission of the McHenry County Sheriff's Department, of which the Woodstock Human Resources Director is the chairperson, have to observe the municipal sign code of Woodstock?

Would the Code Enforcement Officer be a little unpopular with Woodstock's HR Department, if he hauled the Merit Commission into Woodstock's Administration Adjudication Court? It's a position in which he shouldn't be put.

Political spin

This email has been going around for a while, with frequent substitutions for the famous person's name. snopes.com declares it to be False and also provides examples in which other names have been used. Those persons include Hillary Rodham, Tipper Gore, Ted Stevens, Harry Reid, Joe Biden.

Here goes; remember, it's false.

"It just all depends on how you look at some things...

"Judy Wallman, a professional genealogy researcher in southern California , was doing some personal work on her own family tree. She discovered that Congressman Harry Reid's great-great uncle, Remus Reid, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. Both Judy and Harry Reid share this common ancestor.

"The only known photograph of Remus shows him standing on the gallows in Montana territory. On the back of the picture Judy obtained during her research is this inscription: 'Remus Reid, horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1885, escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889.'

"So Judy recently e-mailed Congressman Harry Reid for information about his great-great uncle.

"Believe it or not, Harry Reid's staff sent back the following biographical sketch for her genealogy research: 'Remus Reid was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed.'

"NOW THAT's how it's done, Folks! That's real POLITICAL SPIN."

WPD officer distracted, hits pole

Here's the report on the crash in the Walmart parking lot last week, when a Woodstock police car ran into a light support.

On Friday, September 25, 2009, just before midnight, Ofc. Charles Vorderer, 29, was driving in the Walmart parking lot at 1275 Lake Avenue, in his 2007 Ford Crown Victoria squad car. He was driving east in the parking lot, when he crashed into a parking lot light support, damaging the right front portion of the police vehicle and injuring himself.

According to the police report prepared by a deputy (#1961) of the McHenry County Sheriff's Department, Vorderer was eastbound in the parking lot and was observing suspicious subjects in the parking lot behind his vehicle. While his vehicle was accelerating forward, he had his head turned and was looking at the subjects behind him. When he turned his head back to the front, the concrete light support was right in front of him and he hit it. Vorderer hit his nose and forehead on the steering wheel, and he was transported to Woodstock Memorial Hospital by a co-worker.

The diagram of the crash scene shows the squad car at a slight angle and traveling across striped parking spaces toward the light support and a grassy median, almost parallel to the line separating opposing parking spaces.

The primary cause of the crash is listed as "Distraction - from outside vehicle." Sorry, but that doesn't quite cut it. It would be more accurate to say that the driver diverted his attention from the direction of travel.

There is no mention of any citation issued. Since there is apparently no Vehicle Control Agreement in effect between Walmart and the City of Woodstock and its Police Department, state traffic laws generally cannot be enforced on Walmart's private property.

The crash report was furnished to me by the sheriff's department on the same day as my FOIA Request was submitted. The response to my Tuesday request for the report from the Woodstock Police Department was that I would have to obtain it from the sheriff's department. I won't attempt to read into it that they don't have a copy of it; of course, they do. And they have their own internal reports of the crash and photographs.

Next time I'll remember to word my FOIA Request to include photographs and internal reports, which are certainly subject to FOIA. This crash could have been reported in the Northwest Herald on Sunday, September 27. If it had been, it never would have been mentioned here.

What a mess!

I just came through Crystal Lake in hard rain, and the lights were out on U.S. 14 at IL 176, South Ridgefield Road and at College Entrance 1 Road at MCC. What a mess!

The worst intersection was at 14 & 176, by the Shell station and McDonald's. As locals know, it's not a 90-degree intersection. Drivers were treating the intersection as a four-way stop, since the lights were out, and drivers were tentative about entering the darkened intersection.

It didn't help a lot that a police car was sitting in the Shell station near Route 14 with his overhead lights flashing. Where was the officer? In the car and dry?

I remember directing traffic one afternoon at a similar intersection in Colorado. I was on the way home from my office, not in uniform, and the lights were out after a heavy rainstorm. There were two through lanes in each direction and left-turn lanes in each direction. The first thing I did was get all the traffic stopped. Nobody moved.

Then I let traffic go in one direction at a time. Nobody else moved. When a local officer showed up, he sat in his car and watched. It was his town, not mine, and I finally walked over to ask why he hadn't come out to help. His answer was that he was waiting for back-up!

Traffic control can be handled safely by one officer, as long as he takes charge of the intersection. He doesn't have to be whistle-happy and should only use the whistle to command attention, not to hurry traffic along. Crisp, clear, military-style arm and hand gestures gain the respect of drivers and they pay attention.

Drivers seldom see "professional" traffic control away from military bases. Occasionally, a retired M.P. will carry those skills into a civilian department.

Why an officer wasn't out in the intersection in a bright yellow slicker with a flashlight with a long, orange cone on it tonight, I don't really know. "Officer safety," perhaps. The heck with traffic flow.

Woodstock fan weighs in on Grace Hall

Woodstock fan Dave Wallace wrote today, and I am happy to share his letter with you - with his permission, of course.

Good Afternoon,
On a very recent mini-vacation, my wife and I took the opportunity to drive through Woodstock and look at Grace Hall. I was initially surprised that we got there before the wrecking ball and now glad that I have been able to add another link to my history “puzzle.” While I did not attend Todd School, I did attend the summer camp, Camp Tosebo, and am now one of the owners of that property located in Manistee, MI. We are very proud of the history we have been able to preserve, especially since the Camp closed over 30 years ago. It was very nearly bulldozed for the development of fancy vacation homes. I found your articles on the saga of Grace Hall disturbing to say the least. Having done planning and zoning in my town for 12 years, I believe I have some understanding of how some local governments lose sight of their community when promoting progress. I realized that when I visited Woodstock, unless I went to the Senior Center or the Historical Society, very few residents would even know what the Todd School was, let alone where it was. But it was in their town for 105 years and that should count for something. I consider Caryl Lemanski to be a good friend – she was working at Camp Tosebo when I went there, and her father Tony “Coach” Roskie was probably the most respected, admired, and beloved man during his 41 summers at Tosebo. I’m sure that many will say that Caryl’s view of Grace Hall is influenced by her family’s connection, but I would suggest that her view is similar to why Woodstock still has a Town Square or an Opera House. It helps define what the town has been about and what it strives to be. Too bad such a nice chunk of green space is so unimportant….
Well, enough for now. Glad someone has the desire to give Woodstock the other side of the story. Take a look at www.tosebo.com and see what the developers didn’t get their shovels on.

Dave Wallace
Holt MI
Ddw.hft@gmail.com