The Village is pleased to announce a contract has been approved with Flood Brothers Disposal for unlimited refuse, recycling, and landscape collection services. This new contract will result in decreased rates and an increase in service for residential customers. Flood Brothers will begin collection services on January 1, 2021 and will provide the same scope of services we had with Groot, PLUS each household will now be able to set out eight (8) bags/cans of landscape per week from April – November at no additional charge.
During the week of November 9, you will receive information from Flood Brothers to set up a new billing account with them. Automatic payment services with Groot will be automatically cancelled. If you have yard waste stickers after November 30 that you did not use, they can be returned to the Village for a refund until December 31, 2020. New refuse and recycling totes will be delivered starting as early as December 14. Groot Industries will collect their totes during the last collection days in December. Thank you to Groot for their many years of excellent service!
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The McHenry County Department of Health is sponsoring a no-charge tire recycling event for pre-registered McHenry County residents on Saturday, November 7, from 9 a.m. - noon at the McHenry County Division of Transportation, located at 16111 Nelson Road in Woodstock. Tires must be smaller than 48" in diameter. Participants must wear a mask and maintain social distancing and are responsible for unloading tires.The following restrictions apply:
- For McHenry County residents only. Pre-registration is required by calling 815-334-4585.
- You must provide the type and number of tires to be dropped off when registering.
- Tires must be removed from the metal rim and free of water, mud and other debris.
- Tires accepted: Passenger Vehicle Tires, Motorcycle Tires, Small trailer and Smaller Sized Tires, Narrow Sprayer Tires, Utility/Farm Tractor Tires, Light Truck Tires, Semi Truck Tires, Rib Tires, Compact Tractor Tires and Hay Rack Tires.
- Industrial, heavy equipment, flotation and commercial business tires will not be accepted.
- No other types of recyclable materials or waste will be collected.
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RSGA Rotary "Operation Warm" a Success! |
This fall, Richmond Spring Grove Area Rotary distributed over 143 brand-new coats to school Districts 2, 157 & 19. This is the second year they have partnered with Operation Warm, a national nonprofit dedicated to providing warmth, confidence and hope for children in need through the gift of brand-new coats. RSGA Rotary is committed to Community Service projects that have a positive impact on families in our local community. Read more about Operation Warm here. Do you have an idea for how Rotary can serve our community? Or maybe you are interested in joining or learning about upcoming RSGA Rotary projects? Contact the Rotary here.
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Trick or Treating will be held on Saturday, October 31, with recommended hours from 3 - 7:00 p.m. Those going door-to-door should wear face coverings at all times (over the age of 2). Those interested in participating in trick-or-treating are asked to turn on porch or outdoor lights. Those who are not interested, please keep outdoor lights off. Read more about precautions that should be taken this year.
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Photo of the Week
Dogs are a joy! Knox the golden retriever has a stare down with one of the bulls at Thread & Gage Farm on Richardson Road and Rocky says, "NOT in MY pool!" as he intently throws branches out after the F1 tornado. Photos sent in by Dean Buralli, owner of Knox, and Jane & Jay Davis, who live in Oak Valley Estates. If you have a photo of Spring Grove you would like to share, email it here.
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Halloween Drive Sober Campaign |
The Spring Grove Police Department is stepping up impaired driving enforcement for Halloween. Motorists are reminded of the importance of planning for a sober ride home and keeping watch for little goblins walking along the road after dark. Read some simple tips to help keep everyone safe this Halloween:
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The Spring Grove Firehouse will not be a polling place for the upcoming General Election on November 3. If you have voted there in the past (or live in Burton Township), this year you will vote at Spring Grove Elementary School.
Absentee ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3 or put in a ballot drop box. A ballot drop box will be available at the McHenry Township building at 3703 N. Richmond Road in Johnsburg during early voting hours.
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An increase in case rates and test positivity from October 4–October 10 have led to the change to an orange 'Warning' designation for McHenry County. During the week of October 4-October 10, test positivity increased to 8.6% from 6.9% the previous week, according to IDPH. Test positivity indicates a warning when the 7-day test positivity rate rises above 8%. “We are seeing cases among residents aged 45-79 increasing at a faster rate than other groups,” said Public Health Administrator Melissa Adamson. “As families and friends begin to plan holiday get-togethers, we need to remain vigilant and continue to wear a mask and limit our close contact with anyone who lives outside our home, even if that individual is a relative.”
So, please, keep practicing the 3 Ws: Watch your distance, wear a mask properly (covering your mouth AND nose) and wash your hands frequently.
A map and information of the status of every Illinois county can be found on the IDPH website here. View a map of the United States and other countries to view potential risks associated with traveling. Areas with increased risk of COVID-19 are based on case rates.
If you have health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 800-889-3931 or email questions here.
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Blast from the Past - Wieland Dairy - A Complicated History |
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Wieland Dairy
- Newly built, circa 1904. 2. Dairy farmers lined up to drop off their milk. 3.Undergoing renovations circa 1915. 3.1937 newspaper photo depicting the "Still Operation" - the side of the building looking very run down and next to the entrance to the Fish Hatchery.
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The Wieland dairy plant stood at 2306 Hatchery Road. It opened in 1904 and collected milk from Spring Grove dairy farmers, producing two train carloads of milk, butter and cottage cheese destined for Chicago every day. Mr. Wieland chose dairy farmers with high butter-fat content in their milk. Photos 2 & 3 show the large ice house where ice from Wieland Lake (now Hatchery Lake) was stored to ship with the milk.
John Helms was a young man employed at the dairy plant in 1910. It was his job to operate the truck between the factory and the train car. One morning while the men were busy loading the milk bottles onto his truck in the factory, he stepped outside. When they were finished they called to him that they were ready for him to come drive the truck to the train. He didn’t respond so after a few minutes they went out to look for him and found him lying dead. The coroner said his death was due to a fall. But his neck was broken in two places and his collar bone and shoulder blade were fractured... There was nothing in the immediate vicinity that he could have fallen from and injuries like that could only come from great trauma. His family thought it might have been a heart attack, but there was much speculation in the community and the exact manner of his death may always remain a mystery.
By the mid-1930s, Wieland merged with Bordon and eventually moved to the city. In 1937, the Saux Poultry Company of Wisconsin moved in. Chicken coops were piled up around the outside and trucks went in and out. The townspeople didn’t notice anything unusual, so they must have been surprised when the place was raided! The poultry company was in fact a front for the largest still and rectifying plant ever to be located in Northern Illinois! Prohibition was ratified in 1933, but illegal stills still produced liquor to avoid paying taxes. The cleverly hidden operation had an office decoy with stationery and various order blanks scattered around. In another part of the building a huge still, with a 5,000 gallon per day capacity, was discovered. The complete set-up of machinery and equipment cost some $50,000 in 1937. The room which housed the still was locked and insulated so the mash fumes couldn’t escape. They used the old drainage system from the dairy plant which drained into the Nippersink Creek. The huge still was dismantled and taken to Chicago along with the two young men captured in the raid. Oh, and a local Spring Grove man who used to manage the dairy plant took an extended vacation to Wisconsin before coming back to town months later when the story died down...
A horse slaughterhouse occupied the building in the 40s & early 50s. During the WWII when meat was in short supply, horse burgers were sold in area restaurants! Today it is occupied by Direct Source, a roll off dumpster disposal service company, who did a lot of improvements to the place.
If you look carefully, you can still see vestiges of the original dairy. Even with the front addition that was put on the building around 1915, the old dirt incline on the south side where farmers would drive up - first with their horse & wagon and later in their trucks - to drop off their milk cans, is still there. And who knows, maybe John Helms' ghost still haunts the grounds, hoping that someday, someone will solve the mystery of his death.
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