Fox Valley briefs
New county Web site
McHenry County recently launched its newly redesigned Web site, co.mchenry.il.us. The site will be managed more actively and updated in a timely manner by all county departments. Users should find the redesigned Web site to be more customer friendly, easier to navigate and more transparent. It also will have an improved search engine, flash technologies and more content on each Web page. For details, call Adam Lehmann at (815) 334-0309.
Gift for homeless kids
Wisdom Adhesives, an Elgin-based manufacturer of environmentally safe industrial adhesives, announced that the Wisdom Family Foundation has made a $10,000 donation to the U-46 Educational Foundation. The money will be used to support homeless children and families in the district's Project Access program. "This extremely generous donation from the Wisdom Family Foundation will make a tremendous difference in the lives of U-46's homeless students. It will allow them to have the same opportunities as every other student, and will help to give them every opportunity to succeed," said Maggie Dempsey, U-46's Project Access coordinator and homeless liaison. The foundation was established last year to support children and families in the greater Elgin area. Project Access encourages homeless children to stay in school by: making all before and after school programs accessible to each child; providing tutoring and school supplies; coordinating efforts with community agencies to provide basic needs for families and students; acting as advocates for children and families; and creating awareness of and encouraging sensitivity to the issues that the families/students confront daily. During the 2008-2009 school year, Project Access assisted more than 600 students.
Swine flu and you
The McHenry County Department of Health has a call center and Web page for those seeking information about the swing flu outbreak, symptoms and prevention. The call center's phone number is (815) 334-4510, and the Web site is mcdh.info. The department also will send out mailers detailing similar information. There is a similar call center at Centegra Health System. That number is (815) 236-8347.