You’re driving down the road somewhere in Illinois, maybe even Ringwood, Illinois, and you suddenly notice an amber light in the dashboard is burning brightly. Upon closer examination, you notice that it reads: Check Engine. No, you don’t have to panic. Depending on how your vehicle is otherwise operating, you may not even have to pull to the side of the road and call a tow truck to bring

One of the keys to safe winter driving is knowing when to stay home or when to avoid a particular route. A weather service, online or otherwise, is helpful in this regard. However, an excellent way to stay on top of conditions is to sign up at www.nixle.com. Nixle will provide up to the date emergency traffic and weather related information. If you have a child in school, it will provide school closing

The leaves are about to change into a kaleidoscope of autumn colors. Gentle breezes will bath the countryside in moderate and pleasant temperatures. But don’t kid yourself. It’s not going to last. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself transported, as though plucked from the comfort of your home and deposited on a distant planet where the landscape is so barren, windswept and frigid it barely

Are you ready for the snow, the ice and the cold? After all, this is not Palm Beach. Yes, we’ve seen some moderate weather for this late in the year. Maybe it will stay that way. Maybe the lowest temperature we’ll see all winter will dip no lower than 30⁰ Fahrenheit (we’ve actually had night-time temperatures below that already). Even as you read this, the upper Midwest is in the crosshairs

This time of year, there’s a good chance you’re planning to head out to the mall. After all, you may very well have gifts to buy for loved ones naughty or nice.As the season is often hectic, there’s a tendency among shoppers to think about their shopping before they enter the stores. In fact, the closer we get to the store, the more likely we are to feel distracted from our driving while contemplating

Denny Norton, the owner of Performance Unlimited, the premier auto repair shop at 5415 Austin Court, Ringwood, is coming to the end of a two-year term as president of the MC3 McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce business networking group. He was vice president for the two years prior to that and is stepping down from the prior position next month. During his tenure, the group has twice hosted Shop With

It’s Thursday evening and you’re driving westbound on Route 120 just a little east of the bridge going into McHenry. There you notice the sign for McHenry VFW and you suddenly remember, “Tonight is the night for the Shop With A Cop party.” You see that no one is behind you and you hit the brakes hard trying to make the turn into the VFW’s driveway. Problem is the brakes don’t react quite

There’s just something about that first snow, a blanket of white covering roads and landscape and sparkling under street lights at night. It brings out that youthful sense of wonder in even the most ardent individual who has sworn to have shoveled their last driveway. Of course, the wonderful world of snow leaves something to be desired when someone climbs behind the wheel and tries to drive on

MC3, the McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce business networking group, is holding its annual Shop With A Cop fundraiser Thursday, Nov. 15, to benefit the McHenry County Police Charities effort for children of families struggling economically. Denny Norton, the president of MC3 and the owner of Ringwood based Performance Unlimited, described the MC3 event as a party that benefits a good cause.To be sure,

A streaky wiper blade is, at the very least, an annoyance in the summer. In the winter, it’s potentially far more dangerous. And this is the time of year to make sure that you have a set of wipers in your car that will provide a clear view of the road ahead.“Of all your senses, when you’re driving, none is more important than your vision,” said Denny Norton, owner of Ringwood based Performance