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McHenry looks into aggressive DUI policy ‘Nearly zero tolerance’ for plea negotiations within city By EMILY K. COLEMAN
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ecoleman@shawmedia.com McHENRY – The city of McHenry is stepping up the prosecution of its driving under the influence cases, its police chief said. The city has adopted a “nearly zero tolerance” policy on plea negotiations, which has meant a “substantial” increase in the number of hours that city-hired prosecutors have to devote to preparation and in court appearances, Police Chief John Jones said. To cover the added hours, the McHenry City Council approved an additional $150,000 in legal contractual costs as a part of its fiscal 2014-15 budget. The city also switched law firms, giving all the offenses that are tried in Woodstock – driving under the influence, as well as driving while license is revoked and suspended – to the law firm that currently handles the city’s administrative legal issues,
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City Administrator Derik Morefield said. Zukowski, Rogers, Flood & McArdle have a larger staff and can handle the increased workload, Jones said. The attorney who handled the cases previously still will handle the city’s Branch 3 cases, which include citations such as speeding and improper lane use. Both firms are paid $150 an hour for the cases, Morefield said. Officers also are receiving advanced classes from Zukowski, Rogers, Flood & McArdle aimed at staying up-to-date on why some DUI
Photos by John Konstantaras for Shaw Media
Patti Dalton, 31, from Woodstock and a teacher at Harvard High School, gets a little help Sunday at the Mud Mile obstacle during the Tough Mudder at the Richmond Hunt Club in Richmond. The event draws 10,000 to 15,000 people to 10- to 12-mile obstacle courses.
Tough Mudder makes first visit to McHenry County
See DUI, page A7
By LINDSAY WEBER // editorial@nwherald.com
High-risk oil wells were not inspected
A
n open field, dirt, a team of highly trained professionals and a little bit of crazy. When combined, you get two things: 10.4 miles worth of a challenge and more than 13,000 adventure-seekers willing to tackle them. Richmond played host to McHenry County’s first Tough Mudder on Saturday and Sunday giving local and out-of-town participants an excuse to get a little crazy and very dirty. A Tough Mudder is an endurance event in which participants go up against a military-style obstacle course including
Report details By the numbers of 3,702 oversight of 2,100 oil and gas wells the Bureau Land Management failed to federal agency ofconduct inspections on that it
See TOUGH MUDDER, page A6
had specified “high priority” and drilled from 2009-12.
By HOPE YEN The Associated Press WASHINGTON –The government has failed to inspect thousands of oil and gas wells it considers potentially high risks for water contamination and other environmental damage, congressional investigators say. The report, obtained by The Associated Press before its public release, highlights substantial gaps in oversight by the agency that manages oil and gas development on federal and Indian lands. Investigators said weak
control by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management resulted from policies based on outdated science and from incomplete monitoring data. The findings from the Government Accountability Office come amid an energy boom in the country and the increasing use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. That process involves pumping huge volumes of water, sand and chemicals
Participants crawl through mud Sunday as they hit the Kiss of Mud obstacle during the Tough Mudder.
See WELLS, page A7
LOCALLY SPEAKING
McHENRY COUNTY
John Konstantaras for Shaw Media
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START YOUR SUMMER E OUT RIGHT!
FVC VALLEY CHAMP STILL UNDECIDED Fox Valley Conference Valley Division could be decided in the final games of the season. Jacobs is tied with Cary-Grove and Huntley, all at 11-4 with four games to play. McHenry is a game behind. Prairie Ridge (9-6) and Dundee-Crown (8-6) are lingering. For more, see page B1.
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underwater tunnels, monkey bars, freezing cold water and a quarter-pipe greased with water and mud for climbing. In this event, mud is key and no mudder is left untarnished. The event’s site, the Richmond Hunt Club, was able to bring a leg up, in terms of dirt, for those that participated. “The soil in this area holds and retains water better than a lot of other locations we’ve been to,” said Ben Johnson Tough Mudder’s head of communications. Translation? They have good mud.
McHENRY: Polish Legion of American Veterans Post 188’s Mother’s Day brunch was interrupted by a major fire. Local, A3
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