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December 10, 2020

Where did I come from? Stories worth telling are worth passing down

Some years ago, my eight-year-old son asked me, “Where did I come from?” For those of us 55 and better, we may still recall this question our children asked us. Based on the way my son ate his meals back then, I was tempted to tell him that he came from cave dwellers.

The flu waits in the wings

You may grow weary of wearing a mask, staying at least six feet apart socially, washing your hands often, and using disinfectant on surfaces to minimize the chances of coming in contact with COVID-19. While health departments and Governor J.B. Pritzker ask for vigilance in your efforts to reduce the spread of coronavirus, another virus is only a few months away from entering the picture.

An unmitigated mental health crisis, part II

May (when this story was researched and written) was Mental Health Awareness Month. For this part of the story Sun Day has turned to Scott Block, executive director of the McHenry County Mental Health Board, Jane Farmer, executive director of Turning Point, Phyllis Seyler, program manager of NAMI-McHenry County, and Dr. Melissa Katz, clinical director of Samaritan Counseling Center of the Northwest Suburbs.

An unmitigated mental health crisis

You won’t need to listen very long before you hear this plea, “Get the country open again.” This is not a lone voice pleading the case for resuming a normal life. After staying home week after week building to month after month, we’re hearing more of a collective shout that has registered with people throughout the U.S. “Get the country open again,” has become a rallying cry.

The View of a senior’s morning at the supermarket

From the view of a senior shopper, the supermarket experience is all new. Many supermarkets are following “senior hours” generally a few mornings a week. Among the stores in McHenry County, Jewel and Mariano’s have scheduled “senior hours” into their operation.

Chicagoland is a hub for human trafficking

You think you know how simple it is to make a choice. You pick the chocolate chip cookie over the oatmeal cookie or you choose to watch one television show over another. Life is full of choices and it seems so simple. However, what appears as “choice” may actually be a form of force or coercion and now you know this article is not about your favorite cookie or TV show.

Putting your mind at ease from Seasonal Anxiety Disorder, sharing the holidays

It may be easy to put you in the holiday spirit by watching the classic movie Miracle On 34th Street or driving around neighborhoods on the lookout for lots of holiday decorations and lights. But pressure from the holiday season between Thanksgiving and Christmas over such things as financial stress and demands on your time can bring on the holiday blues.

New cancer technologies offer hope

Thoughts of a gigantic blender may pop into your mind should you see or need medical treatment on the new linear accelerator at Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital. The linear accelerator by Varian Medical Systems costs just under $3 million. It’s ensconced in a vault of the newly expanded $9.5 million cancer center.

Salvation Army red kettles ring in the season with new initiatives

A little girl opens her hand and her mom places a few coins on her palm. Her fingers curl up on top of the coins. The Mom and her daughter step forward. A smile from the volunteer bell ringer encourages them. Mom lifts her daughter just a few inches. The little girl’s eyes are now even with the top of the red kettle. From there, the girl puts her hand over the opening of the kettle and the coins slide in.

Pierce’s Promise

For 20 minutes, Kristi Cordle talked to her son, Pierce, on his cell phone in the middle of his shift. Kristi could tell he was upset and confused about something, but she couldn’t tell exactly what was wrong. She didn’t know then that he tried to “walk it off” in the hallways of the hospital where he worked. He couldn’t walk it off and so he told staff he was going outside to his car.

Let the flame of a candle light the way to change

Mary pulled a kitchen knife on her father. She couldn’t think of any other way to stop him from choking her mother. Mary doesn’t remember how she rationalized her action almost 30 years ago but she recalled going to school the next day. She aced her math test and put on the perfect smile.

“No one else outside the walls of my home suspected anything. After all, how could the girl with straight A’s and awards for citizenship, leadership, and perfect attendance raise suspicion of a problem at home,” Mary said.

A Way With the Census

The 2020 U.S. Census will not contain a question on citizenship, but is this enough to engage the Latino population? This is just one of the questions that face the McHenry County Complete Count Committee in striving for a complete count.

Quality Programs Define NAMI-McHenry County

A call for improvements in the world of mental health may seem a natural one after the recent mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton.

The reaction to mass shootings in general seem to be based on the status of gun control regulations and perceptions that mental illness leads to violent behavior. The responses are two-fold; tighten laws for access to guns and improve the mental health system.

Calculating the Valley Hi rebate is an ‘exacting exercise’

Procrastination is fairly common among taxpayers filing just before the April deadline every year. The government expects to see completed federal tax forms and state tax forms right up to the last minute, but there’s no history of filing early or late for the Valley Hi Rebate.

Retirement is a Story in Itself

More than four decades ago, I started writing news briefs for my college newspaper in a newswriting journalism class. In my junior year, I switched to broadcasting classes and declared my major as Radio Broadcasting. I began in the news reporting business in 1974 and finished a long run in early April when I read my final radio newscasts on 103.9 The Fox and on STAR 105.5 FM in Crystal Lake. Corporate consolidation affected my position.