Sheriff's office to hand out car seats
The No. 1 cause of death for children in this country is automobile accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
And in as many as half those case, the children killed were not wearing proper safety restraints.
The McHenry County Sheriff's Office hopes to help dozens of local families avoid that kind of tragedy by giving away more than 200 car seats this spring.
The giveaways are possible thanks to a grant awarded this month by the Illinois Department of Transportation Division of Traffic Safety. It is the first time the sheriff's office, or any McHenry County police agency, received the grant to help families get car seats they otherwise could not afford.
"This is a problem in McHenry County," sheriff's Deputy Aimee Knop said. "A lot of families can't make it a priority. If they have $10, they would rather buy food for their children instead of a car seat."
The car seats -- including infant carriers, convertible seats and boosters -- will be distributed to needy families through county social service agencies, schools and health-care providers.
As part of the giveaway, certified car seat technicians will install the seats and teach recipients how to properly use them.
"The sheriff and sheriff's department has made this a large priority," Knop said. "We would rather interact with people this way than at a traffic crash."
Taking the plunge: A quick dip in a cool swimming pool usually is just what the doctor ordered on a warm summer afternoon.
But when that pool is filled with ice water, the doctor might be needed for something other than prescribing the best way to beat the heat.
That's a risk McHenry County Sheriff's Administrator Rich Weinhandl, County Auditor Pam Palmer and perhaps other county officials are willing to take this year if county employees' annual fund drive for Special Olympics meets its goal.
The fundraising effort hopes to collect $19,000 this year to help send children from across the state to this year's Illinois' Special Olympics competition.
"There are 20,000 kids in Illinois that participate in Special Olympics," said Denise Ruvolo, a sheriff's employee and coordinator of the fund drive. "We want to make sure every one of those kids gets to go."
If the drive reaches $19,000 -- a slight increase over last year's result -- Weinhandl, Palmer and others will volunteer for a "Polar Plunge" in a dunk tank filled with ice water at an employee picnic to celebrate their success.
"They're not excited about it, but they'll do it for a good cause," Ruvolo said.
The fundraising effort already is under way at the McHenry County courthouse and administration building, with ongoing food and candy sales, raffles and cookbook sales. The drive also includes a softball tournament and the county's participation in the statewide Special Olympics Torch Run.