What's massage; and what's not

Did you see the article last week, when the Northwest Herald took a stab at trying to explain what "real" massage is? Several "masseuses" were arrested and charged with various crimes, such as prostitution and giving massages without the requisite State License.

Cal Skinner sent a FOIA request to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), asking about the last two license checks in Crystal Lake on massage therapists. The IDFPR responded to him on December 19 that it had no documents responsive to his request. Does that mean that the IDFPR has never inspected a massage therapy practice in Crystal Lake? Ever?

One of the places mentioned in the Northwest Herald article was Marigolds [sic] Massage. Woodstock had a "massage" business by that name on Route 47 a couple of years ago; it got shut down pretty quickly.

The legitimate massage therapists in this area are outraged!

The ones I know have spent years building up a professional practice. Initial training is required, membership in a professional association is a good idea, and CEUs cost time and money. Massage is not just for relaxation.

Woodstock massage therapist Stacy Barden, owner of Harmony Falls, a Therapeutic Oasis, established her practice in 1996. She sent the following Letter to the Editor of the Northwest Herald:

"As the owner of Harmony Falls massage therapy clinic in Woodstock I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Northwest Herald and their reporters for once again missing a chance to tell the real story but instead selling out to sensationalism and continuing to publish inaccurate information.

"I do not own nor have I ever owned or operated a “massage parlor”.   My business at Harmony Falls massage therapy is a clinic, opened in 1996.  I am a Licensed Massage Therapist not a masseuse.  I complete continuing education classes in massage therapy and ethics every year.  I am a member of the American Massage Therapy Association and Nationally Board Certified.

"In addition to wellness patients the massage therapy patients that I work with are people with health conditions such as cancer, neck and back pain, organ transplants, injuries, broken bones, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s, diabetes, heart conditions and Lymphedema.

"The article titled “Massage therapist say arrests gave wrong impression to some” (printed on Thursday December 19, 2013) proceeded to repeat an already published article on prostitution arrests as the bulk of the new article.  Shame on you, Northwest Herald, for being too lazy to practice quality journalism, capture the opportunity to educate your readers on massage therapy and profile those who are licensed massage therapists in McHenry County.  I don’t foresee my continued support of the Northwest Herald  without necessary corrections to the article and photo.  Northwest Herald please take note my readership and support to your newspaper are dwindling quickly.

"To learn more about massage therapy please visit

American Massage Therapy Association, www.amtamassage.org 

Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals, www.abmp.com

National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, www.ncbtmb.org

Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, www.idfpr.com

"I would like to invite everyone to learn more about the benefits of massage therapy and to receive a massage in 2014 from a licensed massage therapist.

"Stacy Barden, BS, LMT, NCTMB, BFRP, Owner

Harmony Falls

728 East Calhoun Street

Woodstock, IL 60098

815-334-0842

info@harmonyfalls.net"

New lawsuit against Sheriff Nygren, MCSD, Dep. Nulle

Today a new lawsuit was filed in Federal Court against McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren, the McHenry County Sheriff's Department, Dep. Nulle, the Village of Wonder Lake and Wonder Lake Police Officer Harding. The lawsuit, Case No. 3:13-cv-50391, was filed on behalf of David Ohlrich, by Louis Meyer, of Meyer & Kiss, LLC, in Chicago.

Ohlrich was arrested a year ago, on December 25, 2012, after he was awakened by Ofc. Harding and Dep. Nulle. He was sleeping when his sister called paramedics about her chest pains. His sister met the paramedics and talked to them outside the house in Wonder Lake. Ohlrich was arrested on charges of domestic battery, even though his sister made no complaint and had no injuries. Charges against him were nolle prossed on March 18, 2013.

This paragraph attracted my attenion: "12. Defendant NYGREN is being sued in his individual capacity in a Section 1983 claim in that he was deliberately indifferent to the actions of Defendant NULLE, described more fully below."

Under Count III at Paragraph 44, the Complaint reads, in part, "The incident alleged in this Complaint was part of a pattern and practice of Defendant NYGREN in failing to properly supervise his officers."

Missing dog - Woodstock

Nikki

This morning I received my first-ever robocall about a lost pet.
It seems that Nikki is missing from the area of Gerry Street in Woodstock.

The robocall advised not to try to capture Nikki but, instead, to call 815.989.7577

Have you seen this dog?

Pet Name : Nikki

Pet Kind : Dog

Gender : Male

Breed : Smooth collie tri color black body, white neck and feet, face black and tan with white spot by his nose

Contact Name : Laura Rizzo

Phone Number : 847-989-7577

Missing City : Woodstock

Lost Date : 2013-12-19

Alert Date : 2013-12-23

Alert Status : Active

Want to know about other dogs that are missing or lost? Go to www.findtoto.com
Lose your dog? Post the news there.

Wm. Ross still in Nevada jail

November 6: woman's body found in McHenry-area vacant house.
November 7: William Ross jailed in the Clark County (Nev.) Correctional Center in Las Vegas.

Extradition starts. Supposed to be a no-brainer. Just prove the guy in jail is the one wanted in McHenry County for concealment of a homicidal death.

Maybe it's not so simple as announced.

The woman has not been publicly identified yet.
The cause of death has not yet been released.

How many stories have there been in our local paper? The last one was November 12.

December 22: Ross is still in jail in Las Vegas. According to jail records there, he is being held as a fugitive from another state on a complaint or warrant. Online records seem to indicate that he has a felony arraignment there on February 13.

What is a fugitive? Wikipedia: "A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known as a wanted person, can either be a person convicted or accused of a crime, who is hiding from law enforcement in the state or taking refuge in a different country in order to avoid arrest in another country."

If a person leaves an area before he is charged with a crime (or even before a crime is discovered), is he a "fugitive" or only a wanted person. Could a crafty lawyer spring him from the Nevada jail because of the wording there? How does the McHenry County Complaint that resulted in charges here, and his arrest there, read?

A caretaker had been maintaining the outside property for a year. What prompted him (or her) to enter the house and open a sealed room?

Is the McHenry County (Ill.) Sheriff's Department still open? What would be a reason for withholding the identity of the dead woman for so long?

Trouble on the NWH site?

If you are experiencing trouble on the Northwest Herald website, be sure to enter "www." in front of nwherald.com

The staff at the paper is aware of the problem and is working to correct it. I had trouble reading comments and cannot log into their site.

Thanks to the staff there for quickly re-directing me from Subscription Service to the News Room to the I.T. staff.

If you normally access the site by just typing nwherald.com, try with www.nwherald.com

If you are having trouble logging in to make comments, stand by while they fix that, too.

Beth Bentley - now missing 187 weeks

On this Sunday before Christmas, 187 weeks after Beth Bentley went missing, let's wish her spirit joy and peace, wherever it is.

She is missing, but not forgotten.

Model Railroaders - one more week

The Kishwaukee Valley and Eakin Creek Model Railroad Club's annual winter display at Sun City in Huntley (Ill.) will continue for one more week. 

If you want to see a fantastic indoor display of model trains, be sure to bundle up and head to Huntley.

If you are really interested in model trains, watch for their open house in 2014, when you can see and closely examine their outdoor "garden" railroad.

The winter display is in Sun City's Prairie Lodge Social Lodge at 12880 Del Webb Blvd. For hours and a telephone number, click on the link below.

For more information, visit the Club's webpage on the Del Webb Sun City website.