By Thomas V. Bona
Cindie Reshel got a housewarming party three years after she bought her house. Thanks to a federal home weatherization program, she just got a new furnace, insulation in her attic, a chimney repair and other help, all for free. The decades-old federal weatherization program typically helps about 220 low-income households a year in Winnebago and Boone counties. But thanks to an extra $4.2 million from the federal stimulus package, three times that many will get fixed up in each of the next two years.