No change to trick-or-treating day in Hampshire
By Denise Moran For The Courier-News August 17, 2012 12:46PM
Updated: September 20, 2012 10:07AM
HAMPSHIRE — Trick-or-treat hours will remain on Halloween, despite a resident’s request that they be changed to the last Saturday in October.
Rebecca Penkaty came first made the Saturday suggestion in early October 2011 but was told it was too late to make any changes in the trick-or-treat day. She came before the village board again Thursday night to ask for the change.
“Trick-or-treating on Saturday would be a more opportune time,” Penkaty said on Thursday. “Trick-or-treating on a weeknight is hard for parents these days. It’s hard to get homework done, make dinner, and then go trick-or-treating. We could all use a little more convenience.”
But the board voted unanimously to keep trick-or-treating hours on Oct. 31.
“I don’t see why we should change it,” said Trustee George Brust.
“Halloween comes once a year,” said Trustee Jan Kraus. “I don’t want people coming to my house on a Saturday.”
An argument brought up last year about possibly changing trick-or-treating hours to a different day suggested that Hampshire residents might end up having trick-or-treaters coming to their house on both the village-designated Saturday and Halloween when the holiday does not fall on the last Saturday of the month.
Penkaty thanked the board for its consideration. She said she plans to bring up the request again next year.
In other business, the board:
Heard from Kara Vicente, Community Unit School District 300 assistant superintendent for middle school teaching and learning, who introduced Kurt Rohlwing, the new principal of Hampshire Middle School.
“I’ve been here for one month,” said Rohlwing. “It’s been a great experience so far. Hampshire is a great town. I love being here, and I’m looking forward to working in Hampshire for a long time.”
Rohlwing lives in Woodstock. He most recently worked as the assistant principal for four years at Marlowe Middle School in Lake in the Hills.
He has also worked as a teacher at Huntley High School for three years and as a teacher at Wauconda High School for five years.
Heard from area resident Dolores Brazas, who asked the board to pass a resolution stating that a section of public right-of-way near her home should only be known as Route 20.
“I live in unincorporated Kane County,” Brazas told the board. “Hampshire High School is two miles west of my home.”
The section of road between Allen and Big Timber roads is marked as U.S. 20, but Kane County maps show it as Brier Hill Road.
“Brier Hill Road is a township road,” Brazas said. “U.S. 20 is a state highway.”
Brazas said it is important to clarify the name because of the drivers who travel to the high school and Gary D. Wright Elementary School along Big Timber Road.
“It’s less confusing to call it by how it’s marked,” Brazas said.
A letter from Mark Armstrong, Kane County supervisor of assessments, to Brazas stated that “road names can be changed either by a subdivision plat or by a resolution passed by the appropriate corporate authority. The corporate authority in question is the village of Hampshire as the right-of-way is within their corporate limits.”
The board listened to Brazas’ request but did not take any action on the matter.
Heard from Brust, who said the 2012 Hampshire Coon Creek Country Days raised $570 for the Burlington-Hampshire Food Pantry, the primary beneficiary of the annual event.
Village President Jeffrey Magnussen said that for the first time, the Hampshire police force defeated the Hampshire Fire Protection District in the annual Guns & Hoses Tournament held on the first night of the festival.
Brust presented state Rep. Bob Pritchard, R-Hinckley, with a video of the 2012 Coon Creek parade. This year marked the first time Pritchard has marched in the parade.
Pritchard came to the meeting to review the 2012 Illinois legislative session.
“We need to modernize the taxing structure,” Pritchard said. “We will be voting on pension reform in three months. The bill increases to $800 million next year, so something must change. There could be a shift in pension reform to local schools and universities. We need local relief such as changing the foundation formula, funding transportation, and removing mandates.”
