The Huntley Farmside

              Inside Grafton Tojvnship minutes • Father's Day section
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The Himtlev Farmside
Thursday, June 17,1999
A Press Publications newspaper«/ serving the Huntley community
Volume 39, Issue 10
Rioto by Pat Kolle
Lonely soccer goalposts stick up from the soccer field covered by water in Old Tuners Park on Church Street in Huntley. Picnic tables and a portable restroom were also casualties of Sunday's heavy rains that left the park looking more like a lake. Several park items were found floating in new locations.
Storms soak Huntley
Steve Brosinski
Press Publications
A heavy downpour flooded basements, left crops covered with water and caused the vil¬ lage's sewage treatment plant to work overtime.
Sunday's 5-inch rainfall caught members of the First Congregational Church, 11628 E. Main St., off guard and almost got in the way of this week's vacation Bible school.
Pastor Ronald Woodruff said about 19 inches of water poured into the church basement
"Whenever you get a deluge, this is likely to happen," Woodruff said. "Primarily, I think it's because the city's stormwater system can't handle the capacity."
Several church members helped out removing water from the flooded basement. Within hours, much of the basement
"My brother measured 5 inches on
his rain gauge and there was still
more rain afterwards."
Maiyann Botterman
Huntley resident
was almost dry with the aid of a gas-powered gas generator. The biggest problem now is the odor left behind from the dirty water.
The downpour didn't inter¬ fere with church services or Sunday school because the rains began to fall after the second service and there aren't any basement rooms used on Sun¬ day.
Church Street was barricaded for hours due to the flood waters.
The downpour puddled on open fields and caused worries
for farmers and homeowners. Maryann Botterman said she saw the water rise out of the ground near her home on Har¬ mony Road.
"We had a bunch of it yester¬ day, and it's still here," Botter¬ man said. "My brother mea¬ sured S inches on his rain gauge and there was still more rain afterwards."
Just north of Huntley on Reed Road, Botterman's nephew, Gary, was wondering if his com
see Storms—page 2
Peaker opponents dispute business leaders' claims
Steve Brosinski
Press Publications
Opponents of the proposed peaker power plant fired back at claims made by the McHenry County Economic Development Coiporation that a power plant in Woodstock is necessary.
Representatives of Create Awareness for Responsible Environment held a press confer¬ ence to answer comments from business leaders made at a recent MCEDC-sponsored meeting.
"There has been a great deal said about the unreliability of McHetU7 County power and that peaker plants will solve that problem," said CARE consul¬ tant Diane Tumball.
"Any of these problems has to do with power line distribu¬ tion lines, and not the lack of
power.
The McHenry County Zon¬ ing Board was supposed to rule Wednesday on Buffalo Grove- based Indeck's request for a per¬ mit to build a power plant in Woodstock. Another company has asked for a permit to build a second facility on Route 47.
The Farmside went to press Tuesday and was unable to report on the board's decision.
Tumball said large compa¬ nies have agreed to cut back on electricity in order to save money.    '
"I know of no company that had to close its operating plants. They have a big monetary bene¬ fit going into the service con¬ tract," Tumball said.
To contact CARE, call (815) 344-7437.
Park District mulls over bike path plan
Steve Brosinski
Press Publications
Someday it might be possible to peddle from Huntley and go to the far reaches of northem Ulinois.
Huntley Park Distiict offi¬ cials are discussing the possibil¬ ity of hooking up to a 147-mile bicycle path with several north¬ ern Illinois counties. Recreation Director Betsey Warrington said the district is looking at the pro¬ posal as part of the village's revised comprehensive plan, which is slated for release in July.
"The ideal situation is that it would connect to many trails," Warrington said.
The district will talk about the proposed trail at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 23, at Deicke Park.
Warrington said if the district approves the agreenient, then it may seek grants to pay for the purchase of property along the Kishwaukee River, though a probable route through Huntley would mostly be on streets.
The McHenry County Con¬ servation District has already
see Path—page 2