The Huntley Farmside

              Volume 40 No. 9
Your hometown newspaper
Thursday, March 2,2000
© 2000 Press-Republican Newspapers
Inside
Business Expo
Huntley business leaders declare Y2K Business Expo a success.
Pages
Bowling Queen
Huntley High School stu¬ dents perform in the spring musical.
Page 2
Referendum info
Various agencies ask vot¬ ers for money to fund improvements.
Page 7
This is winter?
Roy
Unlundelien of Huntley takes advan¬ tage of warm weather by running at Huntley High School.
Photo by David Ewart
Subway shops raise money for Cystic Fibrosis
Watching their friend's struggle sent local students into action
By Donna Kupris Kelley
City editor
Inspired by Marengo high school senior Scott Strandberg's struggle with cystic fibrosis, three area Subway sandwich shops raised $741 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation by selling hearts for $1 each.
Kathy La Rose, owner of the Marengo, Woodstock and Huntley Subway sandwich shops sponored a competition among her three stores — who could raise the most money for the foundation.
"It was really neat to see how hard they worked to raise the money," said LaRose. "They care so much about the boy they go to school with [Scott Strandberg]."
Despite other stores having twice the volume of customers, the Marengo team raised the most money, $321, and will receive gift certificates to a local mall.
Heidi Ghristensen beat out all other teams' members by selling the most hearts for the Marengo tfeam. She will be awarded an AM/FM cassette player.
The Woodstock Subway raised $318, while the Huntley team raised $101.
All the money goes to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to fund gene therapy research.
Huntley Fire Department takes issue to voters
by Donna Kupris Kelley
City editor
Because the population the Huntley Fire Protection District protects is growing so quickly, the fire dis-
Referendum
2000 is
March 21
trict is asking voters for an increase of the Ambulance Service Rate from. 1355 to .30 percent in the March 21 referendum.
The local con¬ struction boom brought a need for two new fire stations; if the Ambulance Service Rate increase is approved by the vot¬ ers, the additional revenue would be used to hire additional firefighters and paramedics, and replace an aging ambulance.
"The men and women of the Huntley Fire
District are dedicated, highly-trained profes¬ sionals who need the additional resources to provide the services this community expects us to provide," said David Veath, fire depart¬ ment chief. "Manning these new stations will reduce our response time for the entire dis¬ trict, while keeping the insurance cost down," Veath said.
During 1998, Huntley firefighters and paramedics answered 959 calls. That number increased to 1186 in 1999.
A potential 11,750 homes could be built in approved Huntley anexation agreements, according to Carl Tomaso, village adminis- trater.
The fire department's current staff has nine full- and 24 part time employees. The fire district needs a combination of 18 full and part-time firefighters and paramedics to man the two new stations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, according to Veath.
The tax increase is based upon a home's assessed value, and works out to about $83 a year for a $150,000 home.
Once the new fire stations are built and manned, the fire district will have the Insurance Services Office re-evaluate the current ISO class 5. The additional stations may lower the rating to a class 4 or 3, which could bring residents substantial savings on their homeowners' and commercial insur¬ ance, according to Veath.
Cast your vote March 21 at your local polling place.
Residents who are unsure of where to vote may call the county clerk office. Kane County residents call (630) 232-5950, and McHenry County residents call (815)334- 4244.
For more information about the fire department referendum, call the staff at (847)669-5066.