Prayer and arguments in board's meeting

There were plenty of high notes and a few more low notes at the Carpentersville village board meeting Tuesday night.

The board's first invocation was delivered by Pastor Dexter Ball from the Faithwalk Harvest Center.

Ball is one of about a dozen local clergymen who will give an invocation at the beginning of the meeting.

Trustees had hoped the short prayer would bring peace and unity to the fractured board.

On Tuesday, that lasted about an hour, until trustees and the village president argued over a bills list containing attorney fees.

The discussion got even more heated in hour number four when the board discussed whether Trustee Paul Humpfer should remain on the board given his recent conviction of domestic battery and the fact that he is likely not currently living in the village.

Trustees ultimately voted 5-2 against a resolution declaring Humpfer's board seat vacant, and then voted the same way in limiting Village President Bill Sarto's powers in trying to remove Humpfer.

For now at least, the village board seems ready to move on to more pressing village business, like how to pay for an extensive street improvement program and a much-needed overhaul of the village's public works facility.

In other village board meeting news, village fire chief John Schuldt honored a reluctant hero.

The chief presented Ed Szydlowski, a village engineer, with the Fire Chief's Award of Merit for his actions on April 19.

That morning, Szydlowski was driving back to village hall when he noticed smoke coming from a home on Kings Road.

He pulled over and saw a woman yelling for help from an upstairs window.

Szydlowski entered the house and helped the woman down the stairs and out the door to safety. He and another passer-by then cleared the stove of its burning contents.

Schuldt joked that Szydlowski did not want the recognition.

He said Szydlowski was upset when the papers found out about it, and then the other engineers started ribbing him about it, which made him even more upset.

Staying safe: Today is the last day of Building Safety Week, which the village board proclaimed Tuesday night.

The proclamation is dedicated to the building and fire prevention inspectors, architects and engineers, and others in the construction industry -- the unknown guardians of public safety.

These are the people who prevent countless fires and accidents, protecting residents in the buildings where we work, live and play, the proclamation reads.

The week also implores those in the industry to develop and enforce codes to safeguard residents in buildings throughout the community.

Furthermore, residents are urged to consider projects that will improve building safety at home and in the community and to recognize the local building and fire prevention inspectors and the important roles they play, every day and in times of disaster.

• Larissa Chinwah covers Carpentersville, East Dundee and West Dundee. To reach her, call (847) 931-5722, or e-mail lchinwah@dailyherald.com.