Algonquin and MCC communities talk about passions this week
Last week's 7½ hour Crystal Lake City Council meeting -- where it was decided to table McHenry County College's expansion plan -- felt like a sporting event.
The standing-room only crowd. The long bathroom lines. The nail-biting close.
As discussions continued well into the night, my stomach groaned. I wished, how I wished, there was popcorn for sale.
The council listened to over two hours of impassioned pleas from McHenry County College students and residents supporting and opposing the plan.
Afterward, College President Walter Packard and specialists from consultant firm Patrick Engineering calmly answered questions on environmental impact, traffic, safety and noise considerations.
Very few at that meeting left at half time. Instead, they stayed, well past dinnertime and even bedtime, to hear the outcome.
Whether the college will eventually be allowed to carry out plans for a $26 million athletic center that includes a minor league stadium isn't clear yet.
But MCC's tremendous impact on the surrounding community is.
Nearly everyone who spoke last week mentioned the positive effect of the college on their lives.
Council member Jeff Thorsen, who attended MCC from 1981-86, said his business classes there were conducted more thoroughly than others he took at Northern Illinois University. Even though he voted against the expansion plan, he took a strong stance as an MCC supporter.
Thorsen was just one of scores. Senior citizens who have taken enrichment classes, along with full-time students and concerned taxpayers praised the college's enjoyable, insightful and challenging programs.
Though discussion of the issue is at a pause, passion in McHenry County isn't. And that, just like the best sporting events, is inspiring.
Red ribbons:
Students and faculty at St. Margaret Mary Catholic School in Algonquin are also fired up for a cause, but theirs
has nothing to do with a minor league baseball stadium.
They're celebrating Red Ribbon Week, which focuses on drug and alcohol awareness and prevention. They began their celebration with a kick-off assembly on Monday, where Village President John Schmitt read a proclamation encouraging all McHenry County citizens to recognize and participate in the campaign.
Other highlights of the week celebrity guest readers, and students trimming a tree with red ribbons as a symbol of their commitment to making healthy choices.
Slam dunk
The Lake in the Hills Parks and Recreation Department is looking for third- and fourth-grade girls and boys to play basketball. Practices and games take place at May Chesak Elementary School on Saturday mornings between 8-11 a.m. Practices begin Nov. 3. Games will finish in January.