Mediacom Update
In December, Trustee Popelka and I reached out to the Village Presidents of Ringwood and Hebron to discuss Mediacom's performance and service to our communities. By working together, I felt we could bring more attention to the issues we've been having.
A collaborative letter was sent to Mediacom outlining our concerns. Every local, state and federal elected official was copied along with the FCC and ICC to bring awareness to their lack of investment in redundancy, which could alleviate prolonged outages, and expansion to areas that are not serviced.
Also, I shared my concern regarding the lack of alternate cable routes and internet options in smaller communities with other governmental leaders at a recent meeting to discuss McHenry County's future needs. They agreed that in this day of working and learning from home, higher levels of government need to provide funding opportunities to assist in the expansion and creation of a more reliable internet. At the meeting's conclusion, the need for additional fiber infrastructure was number two on the list of future needs; road infrastructure was number one.
We recently invited Comcast to provide service to a subdivision without cable internet, and after their review they declined to make the investment. We will continue to have an open dialogue and working relationship with any provider that wants to service our community.
Mark Eisenberg
Village President
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New Nippersink Library Hours |
The Nippersink Library now has 'Grab and Go' hours which will start Monday, March 1. During these hours, the library will be open to the public to allow for browsing and borrowing of materials. Masks are required at all times and social distancing practices will be observed. Library programs remain canceled at this time, meeting rooms and study spaces are unavailable, and all toys and play spaces have been packed away for the foreseeable future. View the Grab & Go hours plus new limited curbside pickup hours here. View their website & Facebook page.
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CD & L Dental Care offers affordable, personalized, and gentle dental care to give you healthy teeth and gums for life! View their flyer here for current specials or view their website and Facebook page for more information. Located at 2020 Route 12 Suite K. Call 815-675-2600. |
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Connection Survey ends Friday |
The survey for the Connection Trails Master Plan closes this Friday, the 19th. Please go to this link and take the survey located on the top of the the page so Spring Grove can have it's voice heard and be included in the plan. One major trail idea is to connect the Richmond Prairie Trial through Spring Grove to the Chain of Lakes State Park. Thank you!
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Snowmobile trails in Spring Grove are marked and maintained by local clubs. Snowmobiles are allowed to travel in the village right-of-ways to get to the trails (at a speed not to exceed 15 MPH). They must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and come to a complete stop before crossing a road. The operation of snowmobiles in the village is prohibited between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Sunday-Thursday and midnight to 7:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. For trail conditions call the McHenry County Hotline at 815-334-7669.
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Photo of the Week
Art Peterson spied these early brr birds in his tree last week! When Robins arrive this early, amidst snow and freezing cold, they don’t have access to their usual warm weather diet of insects and worms. Now is when they need berries to survive. If you want to help them out, you can leave them berries, raisins, and sliced and diced apple chunks. They could also use unfrozen water. And remember, spring is near! If you have a photo of Spring Grove you would like to share, email it here.
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RBBA 2021 Registration Now Open |
RBBA Registration for the 2021 Season is now open for T-Ball (both boys and girls) Softball (girls) and Baseball (boys) from the ages of 4 through 14. Currently, due to COVID-19, RBBA is not requiring payment at the time of registration; however it will be required by March 15. You can register your child at the RBBA website here. If you have any questions, please contact RBBA Player Agent, Brittney Bowman here.
RBBA is also looking for sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring RBBA's 2021 Season, please contact Brad Kranich here.
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Hidden Hearts Event Continues |
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New Leaf Home Furnishings has hidden paper hearts throughout the store with monetary values to apply to purchases in February. Also, this month they have double punch days. Loyalty Card members must check their email the first week of February to find out which days! Located at 2449 Pierce Drive. Join them and see what's new on Facebook.
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Governor Pritzker announced expansion of those eligible to receive the vaccine under Phase 1b to include individuals under age 65 with high-risk medical conditions and those with disabilities. The expansion will begin February 25 and was implemented based on the expectation that vaccine delivery will substantially increase in the coming weeks.
If you are in Phase 1B and Phase 1C, complete the enrollment form and once a clinic becomes available to each group, additional information on how to schedule an appointment will be directly emailed to you.
The Illinois Department of Health has FAQs regarding COVID-19 vaccinations. View information about getting tested here. View more information here.
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We are in Phase 4 mitigation which means indoor dining can expand to parties of up to 10 people (with at least 6 feet between groups), and bars that don’t serve food can reopen under the same guideline. Capacity of meetings and gatherings can increase to 50 people or 50 percent of room capacity.
But, now is not the time to let up our guard – keep physically distancing, washing your hands, and wearing your mask so we keep moving forward, and not take any steps back. A complete list of Phase 4 guidelines can be found by clicking here.
Anyone who develops loss of taste and smell and has a fever, cough or other respiratory symptoms might be coming down with COVID-19. That person should be tested as soon as possible and contact health professionals for the next steps.
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 Ice House |
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Ice house next to the newly built dairy circa 1905 |
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The ice house can be seen in left back of photo. It was there years before the fish hatchery was built |
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Refurbished dairy circa 1915 with ice house on right |
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Ice house photo taken from the south with the pond seen at right circa 1920 |
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Before the Spring Grove Fish Hatchery came to Spring Grove in 1914, the large swampy pond off the Nippersink Creek proved to be the perfect place for the Wieland brothers to build a dairy next to, once the train came through Spring Grove in 1900, at 2306 Hatchery Road.
The valuable ice that formed in the pond would be cut and stored in the ice house that was built adjacent to the dairy. The ice would be insulated against melting with straw or sawdust and would stay frozen for as many as ten months. The ice house far surpassed the size of the large dairy itself!
Ice cutting and harvesting was dangerous work. For a great description of the process, click here.
The area farmers would deliver their milk to the Wieland Dairy in their wagons, which would be then bottled and shipped to Chicago. The bottles would be packed in ice during warm weather for the trip. The Wieland bottling department was moved to Chicago in 1921 and the milk was then shipped in tanks until the 1930s.
The Fish Hatchery expanded in 1932, by buying acreage from the Wielands, and built four new ponds by removing over 1200 truckloads of dirt and peat. One of those ponds was built in the area where the ice house stood, as can be seen from the aerial photo below. The wood was probably reused in some fashion as it was the 1930s, and the Great Depression was on. So far, no one has found any evidence in memoirs left behind, or stories told, of what exactly became of the ice house and when it was removed or destroyed.
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