County residents shrug off uncertainty to snap up deals

From the Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008 edition of the Northwest Herald:

County residents shrug off uncertainty to snap up deals
By DIANA SROKA - dsroka@nwherald.com
Grace James’ shopping spree Friday morning was practically a sporting event.

On Thursday she pre-gamed, scouring sales circulars and typing up a shopping list organized by store title, price and estimated cost savings.

By 3 a.m. Friday, James and her 7-year-old son, Brendan, joined a line outside the Best Buy store in Algonquin. Grace James kept the shopping list on hand. Brendan James draped a red blanket over his shoulders the way boxers wear a warm-up cape.

Then at 5 a.m., the doors opened, and they made a mad dash for the mp3 players.

“I’ve never done this before,” James said as she swiped her credit card to pay for three brightly colored iPod Nanos. But the sales were so good this year, she said, she couldn’t pass them up.

James was just one of many McHenry County shoppers who either woke up early or camped outside area retail stores overnight in hopes of snagging deals during Black Friday and “door buster” sales.

Retailers call the day after Thanksgiving “Black Friday” because it’s considered the first day they start making annual profits, or go into the black, accounting-wise. But the tumultuous economy has retailers trying especially hard to make sure that the nickname rings true this year.

According to recent Gallup polls, Americans plan to spend a lower amount this year on Christmas gifts than they have in any year since 1999. The latest figures show Americans anticipate spending an average of $616 this Christmas – down 29 percent from last year’s anticipated spending of $866.

It was clear Friday morning that local businesses were dead set on beating those projections.

Stores at Huntley’s Prime Outlets mall opened at midnight. The first 500 shoppers who showed up in pajamas received free Jockey pajamas as part of the “Midnight Madness Pajama Jam.”

Meanwhile, Kohl’s and J.C. Penney opened at 4 a.m. with special morning prices, and electronics stores such as Best Buy advertised steep savings on TVs, computers and mp3 players.

Best Buy was among the electronics stores that carried a limited number of sale items. This prompted shoppers to form lines around the store as early as 7 p.m. Thursday so that they could guarantee sale prices on items.

Tony and Pam Silvestri were focused on giving their daughter a laptop computer for Christmas, so the Huntley couple, dressed in layers and Carhartts, spent the night camped outside the Best Buy in Algonquin until the store opened at 5 a.m.

“My daughter is 17 and going to college next year,” Pam Silvestri said, while standing in line about 4:30 a.m. “This is the only way we could afford it.”

The Silvestris estimated that they saved about $500 on the computer and a digital camera by shopping so early.

Some shoppers thought the sales were so good that they couldn’t help but indulge themselves.

As Nicole Schlotfeldt waited for the McHenry Kohl’s store to open at 4 a.m., she recited the mental list of items she wanted to buy: toys, clothing and cookware.

Gifts for her or for others? “Both,” the McHenry mother said with a smile.

For others, that 4 a.m. spot in line was just the first of many lines that shoppers planned to stand in.

Emily Jensen of Lakemoor also stood outside the McHenry Kohl’s, which was the first of several stores she planned to visit.

“You gotta do your 4s, your 5s, your 6s,” she said.

Fox Lake gears up for Christmas parade

From the Saturday, NOv. 29, 2008 edition of the Northwest Herald:

Fox Lake gears up for Christmas parade
FOX LAKE – The village of Fox Lake's 52nd annual Christmas celebration begins today.

The parade starts at 11 a.m. from the Grant Community parking lot at 285 E. Grand Ave., Fox Lake. The parade route will follow Grand Avenue into the Towne Centre Shopping Plaza.

The parade theme this year is "Storybook Christmas," and participants will decorate their floats using characters from their favorite books. The Fox Lake Fire Department will serve as the parade's grand marshal, led by former chief Stu Hoehne and Chief Ronald Hoehne.

After the parade there will be a holiday party for children at the Fox Lake Lakefront Park building, at 71 Nippersink Blvd. Children ages 10 and younger are invited to have hot dogs and beverages, and to pick up a free holiday stocking. Santa also will be on hand for visits and conversation.

Black Friday" shoppers flock to local stores

From the Friday, Nov. 28, 2008 Web edition of the Northwest Herald:

Black Friday" shoppers flock to local stores
By DIANA SROKA - dsroka@nwherald.com

Tony and Pam Silvestri didn't bother going to sleep last night. On their drive home from Thanksgiving dinner, the Huntley couple saw a crowd forming outside the Algonquin Best Buy store. They figured if they wanted to give their daughter a laptop computer for Christmas, they had better get in line, too.

"My daughter is 17 and going to college next year," Pam Silvestri said, while standing in line around 4:30 a.m. "This is the only way we could afford it."

The Silvestris were just two of many shoppers across McHenry County who either woke up early or camped outside area retail stores in hopes of catching "doorbuster" sales.

Known as "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving is considered the first day retailers start making annual profits, or go into the black, accounting-wise. But due to the challenging economy, this season retailers are trying especially hard to entice shoppers.

According to the Associated Press, preliminary reports from several major retailers including Macy’s and Toys “R” Us said that crowds were at least as large as last year’s. The Thanksgiving shopping weekend of Friday through Sunday accounted for about 10 percent of overall holiday sales nationwide in 2007, according to ShopperTrak RCT Corp.

The group hasn’t released estimates for Black Friday sales this year, but experts believe it will remain one of the season’s biggest selling days, even as shoppers remain deliberate in their spending.

Stores at Huntley’s Prime Outlets mall opened at midnight. The first 500 shoppers who showed up in pajamas received free Jockey pajamas.

Best Buy advertised steep savings on TVs, computers and mp3 players. Shoppers who purchased Apple iPod Nanos received $20 gift certificates.

The Silvestris estimated they saved about $500 on the computer and a digital camera by shopping so early. Carri Overheidt, of East Dundee, walked out of the Algonquin store with a Sony home theater system and estimated her savings at $130.

Lines formed outside the outlet stores in Huntley before midnight. When doors opened, thousands flooded the stores like the Bath and Body Works store, hoping to get even better deals than can traditionally be found at the discount stores.

"Madhouse," said Lesie Marcordes, manager. "[There was] wall-to-wall people."

• The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Johnsburg Junior High gets donation

From the Thursday, November 27, 2008 edition of the Northwest Herald:

Johnsburg Junior High gets donation
JOHNSBURG – Johnsburg Junior High School has received a $1,000 anonymous donation to increase security at the school.

The donor requested that the money be spent to buy an additional camera system for the school, Principal Travis Lobbins said.

The school bought a security system with 16 cameras last year, Lobbins said; however, it doesn’t allow school officials to see every aspect of the building. Officials have been looking into buying an additional 11 cameras, which could cost about $6,500, he said.

“This anonymous donation was an effort to help us get to that point,” Lobbins said. “It’s a great sign of our community supporting us and helping out any way they can.”

Lobbins said the Johnsburg District 12 school board likely would address the request for more cameras at its Dec. 9 meeting. The donation will help defray the cost of the proposal.

“It’ll take a bit of the sting away,” Lobbins said.

– Diana Sroka

Village set for lights, contests, Santa

From the Thursday, November 27, 2008 edition of the Northwest Herald:

Village set for lights, contests, Santa
By DIANA SROKA - dsroka@nwherald.com

RICHMOND – Jon and Jane Bodi usually outline their Richmond home in colored lights for Christmas.

Then they make sure to string a different colored set of lights on each tree or bush near the house. They add a few plastic yard decorations here and there. And then they put a large, lifelike Santa Claus on the roof near the chimney.

And before they knew it, last Christmas their home won first place in the Clark Griswold House Decorating Contest during Richmond’s Christmas of Yesteryear.

“We’ve always done quite a bit,” Jane Bodi said. “We light up the whole neighborhood. ... It’s a tradition thing.”

The annual winter festival – and another round of the Clark Griswold House Decorating Contest – returns to Richmond this weekend.

Festivities start at 5 p.m. Friday, when Santa Claus will arrive in downtown Richmond aboard an antique firetruck. He will join residents at the gazebo on Route 12 and Broadway Street for the annual Christmas tree-lighting ceremony.

After the tree lighting, there will be caroling, crafts and holiday snacks at Memorial Hall, 10308 Main St. From 6 to 8 p.m., children can visit with Santa, and the first 100 children who meet with him will receive a pair of 3D glasses.

The festival, sponsored this year by Richmond Business Partners, will pick up again Saturday at 11 a.m. with free wagon rides. In Memorial Hall, there will be more time with Santa, children’s crafts, and refreshments until 3 p.m.

Meanwhile, downtown, festival organizers are sponsoring a shopping game dubbed the Candy Cane Caper, to encourage people to do their holiday shopping in Richmond. Players will get a list of items to search for inside downtown businesses while they’re shopping for gifts. Participating businesses will have a sign in the window letting shoppers know there’s a clue hidden inside.

“It’s something to get people to come into the stores,” organizer Jeanne Doyle said. “It’ll get them moving around town.”

There will be breakfast with Santa from 9 a.m. to noon Sunday at Memorial Hall for $5. Wagon rides, crafts and Candy Cane Caper will continue from noon to 3 p.m., and Santa visits will continue until 2 p.m.

“It feels like a small-town Christmas,” organizer Nannette Dorfler said. “It brings back warm childhood memories.”

Residents also are encouraged to enter their homes into the second annual Clark Griswold House Decorating Contest by Sunday. Winners will receive gift certificates up to $150 and will be selected Dec. 16.

To enter the contest or for information, call 815-678-4124.

What: Christmas of Yesteryear.
Where: Downtown Richmond.
When: 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
For information: Call 815-678-4124.
To download children’s coloring contest pictures or for information, visit www.richmondil.com/christmas/.

Knights raise funds to help needy

From the Sunday, November 23, 2008 edition of the Northwest Herald:

Knights raise funds to help needy
By DIANA SROKA - dsroka@nwherald.com

McHENRY – The basement of St. Patrick Catholic Church in McHenry operated like a swift and efficient assembly line Saturday.

By early morning, two rows of volunteers had lined up, each with an empty cardboard box ready for filling.

In went four cans of corn. Four cans of green beans. One container of apple juice. Next box. Move up in line for the turkey gravy, cranberry sauce and yam, until the last stop: a frozen turkey.

More than 80 volunteers spent their morning packing 240 boxes of Thanksgiving dinners for needy families in the area.

The effort was headed by Knights of Columbus Council 1288, a Catholic, fraternal men’s organization. Last year, the group raised enough money to feed 60 families, so this year, organizers sought to feed 100, organizer Chuck Caner said.

“We don’t care if they’re Catholic or if they even have a religion,” Caner said. “If they’re in need, we want to help them out.”

They asked members of local parishes to donate to the cause to meet their goal and were pleasantly surprised.

By Friday, more than $27,000 had been raised – enough to feed 240 families for Thanksgiving and another 300 families at Christmas.

“It’s actually been quite emotional for us,” he said.

Volunteers from Church of the Holy Apostles and St. Mary and St. Patrick Catholic churches in McHenry, Family Services of McHenry and other local organizations spent Saturday morning packing up boxes with everything from potatoes and stuffing to pumpkin pie and brownie mix.

“It’s pretty good,” said Family Services volunteer Melissa Sanders of Crystal Lake, as she grabbed another empty box to fill.

Even volunteers were surprised by the amount of money that was raised.

“I don’t think anybody was expecting this,” said Milica Glaw of McHenry. “They managed to collect quite a bit of money and help a lot of people this year.”

Early holiday gift: $2 gas

From the Saturday, November 22, 2008 edition of the Northwest Herald:

Early holiday gift: $2 gas
By DIANA SROKA - dsroka@nwherald.com

Gas prices took such a toll on Mary Moravec’s home budget that she wasn’t counting on giving many gifts this holiday season. But as the mother of two pumped $1.99 a gallon Meijer gas in McHenry on Friday, things started looking up.

“I didn’t plan on having too much of a Christmas,” said Moravec of Richmond. “But now I think I might.”

Moravec was one of many McHenry County drivers who saw gas prices plummet below $2 a gallon late this week.

The statewide average price for a gallon of regular gas ranged from $1.96 to $2, according to AAA and state gas price monitors.

But across McHenry County and nearby, many drivers got even better deals at the pump.

A gallon of regular unleaded gas was $1.89 Friday morning at Woodman’s on Randall Road in Carpentersville.

“We just changed it this morning,” said Terry Donovan, manager. “It was $1.93 yesterday.”

At the Clark station on Washington Street in Woodstock, a gallon of regular gas was $1.99 Friday, and it was $1.97 at the Thornton’s gas station on Route 14 in Cary.

Prices haven’t been this low since March 2005, according to AAA, and last month, the statewide average was $3.18 a gallon, according to www.illinois.gov/gasprices.

But more important to consumers, experts predict that gas prices will keep dropping.

“We think prices are going to continue to fall through the end of the year and into 2009,” said Beth Mosher, AAA Chicago spokeswoman. “Right now, oil prices are so low and they’re falling.”

Lower retail gas prices are a reflection of declining crude oil prices and higher inventories, Mosher said.

Donovan said what that meant for his store was that if oil sources began producing less oil or if consumers began driving more in response to the low prices, the cost at the pump could climb again.

“If OPEC and oil-producing countries decide to diminish the amount of crude oil that’s on the market, then of course the price will go up,” Donovan said. “Availability will be less.”

Mosher said she couldn’t predict just how low prices would get but said drivers likely wouldn’t see a spike around the holidays.

It’s good news for Moravec, who said she would use the savings to buy gifts for her daughters.

“I didn’t think we’d see $1 anything again,” she said.