The Huntley Farmside

              Volume 40 No. 13
Your hometown newspaper
Thursday, March 30,2000
© 2000 Press-Republican Newspapers
Farmside photos by David Ewart With the passage of the $9.35 million Huntley Park District referendum March 21, the district plans to purchase the Huntley South Elementary School and convert it into a community recreation center.
Parks look ahead with passage of $9.35 million referendum
by Deborah Niemann
The Huntley Farmside
By a margin of more than 400 votes, residents approved the Huntley Park District's $9.35 million bond referen¬ dum in last week's general election.
The final tally was 1,489 "yes" votes to 720 "no" votes in McHenry County, and with 134 "yes" and 489 "no" votes cast in the Kane County por¬ tion of the district. The large "no" vote in Kane County is attributed to voters in the Sun City subdivision. That commu¬ nity already has its own pool and recreation center.
Betsey Warrington, recre¬ ation director of the Huntley Park District, said she was real¬ ly pleased with the results.
"We felt that our residents . deserve a pool and a communi¬ ty center and open land," Warrington explained.
In a 1995 and 1999 survey, residents said they would be willing to support a referen¬ dum, and last week they put their money where their mouths were.
I ^HOIITlEYPiWKDISTBICT
Just after the election, the Huntley Park District posted its thank you. to the community for passing the referendum IVIarch 21.
Warrington Said two items were put on the ballot because the Park District did not want to go back again in a couple of years and ask voters for more money.
Using the referendum dol¬ lars, the district will purchase the Huntley South Elementary School, which was the old high school and will be the recre¬ ation center in a few years.
Because the building is now in use and the School District has no place to put the students, Warrington said the Park District will buy the school for $4 million, then lease it back to the School District until they, have a new building for students. She expects that will take about two years.
See Referendum Page 2
Police search for man impersonating an officer
Fake cop stops a local high school woman
The Huntley Police Department is investigating a report of a man who is imper¬ sonating a police officer.
The incident occurred at approximately 2 p.m. on March 22, in the area of Ruth Road and Kiley Street, which is in the vicinity of the Huntley Public Library. A 15-year-old girl was approached by a man driving a dirty white four-door sedan. The unknown vehicle was described as having Illinois plates with a light bar (possibly red lights) on the roof and the word "Police" on the side of the vehicle in dark blue or black let¬ ters. The victim stated that there was no other writing or striping on the vehicle, just the word "Police."
The driver was described as white, approximately 6 feet, 3 inches tall, weighing about 240 pounds, dark hair, a receding hair line and wearing glasses. He was wearing blue pants and
a blue shirt, with the shirt being just a bit lighter than the pants. The shirt had a silver badge on the front with unknown type patches on the sleeves. He had a walkie-talkie/cellular phone clipped on his black belt. There were no other items on his belt. There is no indication at this time that he was armed with a firearm.
The man stopped the victim while she was walking down Ruth Road and asked her why she was not in school. He then told her to get into the bacjcseat of his car. The victim told police she complied, and she was driven to the intersection of Ruth Road and Kiley. There, she said she was asked more ques¬ tions about school. The man asked if she needed a ride some¬ where, at which point she refused, exited the car and walked to the library.
Anyone who may have any information about this incident, or who may have experienced any similar incidents, is encouraged to contact the Huntley Police Department at (847) 669-2141.
Fire chief elated voters approved tax increase to keep up with area growth
by Deborah Niemann
The Huntley Farmside
Last week voters agreed to increase their property tax rate from .1356 percent to .30 percent to help fund several projects for the Huntley Fire Protection District.
"I'm extremely elated for the residents and the fire fighters," said Fire Chief Dave Veath. "We took the facts to the residents of the district and they understood our situation and they elected to pass a referendum."
Veath said the additional tax revenue will be used to hire more full-time and part-time fire fighters for the two new fire stations that are being planned, and to replace the old¬ est ambulance, which is nearly 20 years old.
"The two new stations have
gone through planning and zon¬ ing and on April 6 go to the vil¬ lage for final approval," Veath explained.
He hopes to break ground by the middle of April. If everything goes according to schedule, the two new stations, which are being built at the same time, should be completed by the end of October.
Veath said the equipment from the old ambulance will go into the new one.
The new firefighters, equip¬ ment and stations were request¬ ed in response to the rapid devel¬ opment of new homes and indus¬ try within the district in recent years. Much more growth is expected, and the Fire District wanted to be prepared.
"I'd like to thank Everybody for coming out to vote for the ref¬ erendum," Veath said.