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* INTEitS* MCHENRY PLAINDEALER SERVING THE CHAIN-O-LAKES REGION SINCE 1875" VOLUME 100 NUMBER 53 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1976 2Q PAGES 20' BMW •BRS1 I <v ' ' S v+« t w . >*z•** r,!& T ^ 15 MCC Students Vie For Achievement Awards Accuse Area Man *3. , In Rape Of Baby Ronald A. Pittman, 21, of 5114 Willow drive. Wonder Lake, is being held in county jail on $100,000 bond for taking in­ decent liberties with a child. According to authorities, Pittman has admitted to sexually attacking an eighteen- month-old Harvard girl while he was baby sitting for the youngster, who is the daughter of his girl friend. Harvard hospital reported the girl was brought to the hospital about 7:30 Monday night. Jan. 26. When the nature of her injuries was determined, hospital authorities im­ mediately reported the case Tuesday morning to the Department of Children and Family Services. An official said that from the injuries suffered by the baby, "there was no doubt rape had occurred". The Harvard Police department was notified of the incident by the Department of Children and Family Services last Thursday. Police Chief Gordon W. Alexander signed a complaint against Pittman and he was arrested and taken to county jail that same day. According to the State's At­ torney's office, a conviction on the charge of indecent liberties with a child carries a minimum prison term of four years. Final judging for the 1975 76 Student Achievement Recognition program at McHenry County college will take place Feb 17 at 7 p.m. Jim Gilmour. SARP campus coordinator at MCC has an­ nounced. Fifteen McHenry County college students have entered the program, which is being sponsored and administered by Continental Rank in Chicago for the seventh consecutive year The bank is providing $14,600 in award money Fntry applications still are being accepted and are available from the Student •Services office at the college To be eligible, students must be in good academic standing and enrolled in a community college with nine semester hours or 12 quarter hours completed by the deadline date A student may enter his own application or may be spon sored bv a member of the community or by a member of the facultv or administration at MCC Judges selected from the college district will review applications and conduct in dividual interviews The names of the MCC winners will be announced shortly after the judges' final decisions have been made As campus winners, the man and woman chosen from MCC will each be awarded $100 and a certificate of merit In March, they will compete for $250 cash awards in one of six district competitions with winners from the other forty-eight community colleges in Illinois Twelve finalists will be selected from the district judging to compete in the state finals in April for two $1,000 cash awards "This is not a scholarship program." Roger E Anderson. Continental Hank's chairman of the board, said "Rather, it is Icy Roads Cause Thirteen Weekend Highway Crashes Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Remarks in this column as expressed by William Howenstine have generated considerable interest in the fate of McHenry's old bridge. Present plans call for its demise after a long and honorable life. On one thing most people are agreed. The picturesque structure has lost its usefulness as a thoroughfare for cars. At one time it was not too difficult to pass mid-way across. Today, unless they are the most compact variety, it is im­ possible. Even so, letters to our Public Pulse column have indicated a desire to retain the bridge, possibly to be used by pedestrians or cyclists. We have not yet had a rebuttal from either city, township or county officials whose governmental agencies will finance the project. However, we have been led to believe that the financial problem may be reviewed for the public in the near future. Regardless of a feeling of sentiment and of keeping what we feel is important out of the past, the monetary aspect must be considered. ^ But putting aside both sen­ timent and money, we join others who wonder about the amount of benefit to be received from a good bridge erected at this point. This is in view of planning which we are told is long range, not for the immediate future. Keeping this in mind, we ponder the merits of a bridge one block from another, leading only to congestion on the one side and country on the other. East-bound traffic takes drivers to Lincoln road with its dangerous curves - a road that leads only to a rural area. West­ bound motorists are confronted with congestion regardless of where they turn to the south.Riverside drive and Green street have heavy travel, and it is difficult even to enter Richmond road from Pearl street if one is turning south. While we have questioned in the past the wisdom of building bridges across the river out of the city limits, the idea seems to gain credibility as we view present plans. Of the residents who have "Ye olde Freedom Fest is coming to town! Ray Jensen, general chairman for the Bicentennial committee of the First United Methodisl church of McHenry, invites the public to take part in the fun Friday and Saturday. Feb. 20 and 21 from S to 11 p.m. each night. Features include Ye Olde Eagle Inn, where good food wtl be served; Ye olde School House in session; and a skit, "Ye Olde Theatre". There will be much to see and participate in at the Methodist church, located on Main street. Debbie Jensen, above, will participate. >> STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD Seek Business Classification For Property A hearing on a local zoning petition will be heard by the McHenry County zoning board of appeals in the McHenry city hall Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. All persons interested in the petition may attend. Four persons, Edward and Ethel Blake, anq Edward and Edith Marinangdl, are asking for reclassification on certain real estate from "F" Farming district to "B-<3" Business district under the county or­ dinance. The land is located on Mc- Cullom Lake road, east of Rt. 31, and contains 15 acres. Deputies investigated twenty-five accidents over the weekend, many caused by blowing and drifting snow and icy roadways. Of the twenty- five mishaps, thirteen occurred in the McHenry area or in­ volved area people. Five vehicles were damaged in two separate accidents which occurred within six minutes at the intersection of Route 120 and Chapel Hill road Sunday1 morning about 11 o'clock Ruth Skogsbakken of 5322 Washington. Skokie, said she was traveling very slowly on the highway because of poor visibility in the area caused by blowing snow . Her car was hit from behind by an auto responded with views on retaining the bridge for some other purpose than car travel, only one has indicated op­ position. Josie R. Smith of Crystal Lake road, a long time bridge builder, questions the safety angle of the present bridge from the standpoint of strength. Mr. Smith, who has con­ structed four bridges across the Fox river at various points in Illinois, believes the last time extensive repairs were made on the Pearl street bridge was about sixty years ago. He remembers, too, that during the time the bridge was shut off to travel (there was no state bridge at that time) farmers east of the river brought their milk as far as Hunter Boat company where it was put on a boat and brought across the river for delivery to the Borden company. If nothing more, the con troversy over the old bridge is renewing many memories. K.A.F. operated by Donna L. Dippon of 608 N John street. McHenry A car driven by Nancy Streske of 6501 N. Pioneer road. Ringwood. came upon the scene and failed to see the stopped vehicles because of the poor visibility and hit her. Passengers in the Skogsbakken auto. Susan and I^aurie Schiller and I^aurie Bidlak, all of 533 N. Draper road. McHenry, and Gregory, Jeffery and Victoria Raab of 5221 E. Lake Shore drive. Wonder Lake, were not injured in the collision. However two passengers in the Dippon auto, Eric and Christopher Dippon, were taken to McHenry hospital by the McHenry Rescue squad. -V Fight House Blaze In Sub-Zero Temperature BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENING The McHenry County Health department, ih conjunction with the Heart association, is offering free blood pressure screening at the McHenry State bank Feb. 5 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wonder Lake Companies I and II were called out in sub­ zero weather Monday morning to fight a fire at the home of William Haucek at 5617 Sylvan drive, on the north end of Wonder Lake. Twenty firemen responded to the scene at 8:15 and remained until 10:30 to extinguish the blaze. According to Fireman Joseph Novak, the fire apparently started in a closet on the second floor between the floor boards. Bedrooms on the second floor sustained extensive damage. The downstairs area had water damage. No estimate of the damage was available. Some memberd of the Haucek family received cuts and burns while they were trying to remove their belongings from the house before firemen arrived on the scene ^ Also taken to the hospital were two passengers in the Streske auto. Bernice Straske and Diane Reed Five minutes after this ac­ cident took place, an east- bound car driven by Warren D Clayton of 192 Elmhurst, Crystal Lake, arrived in the area and was blinded by the blowing snow He failed to see a car driven by Michael W Cunningham of 300 Parkview. Rochester, which had stopped because of the three-car collision that occurred in front of him Clayton hit the rear of Cunningham's auto A ten-vehicle accident oc­ curred Sunday morning about 10:45 on Route 173 near I*ange road, west of Richmond Visibility in the area was from zero to fifteen feet due to snow squalls and blowing and drif­ ting snow, deputies noted According to the Police report. Robert O. Witt of Harvard hit a car driven by Donald C Engels of I>ake Geneva. Wis., and then the Witt truck was hit by a car towing a snowmobile which left the scene following the collision Engels' car. in turn, hit a car driven by James J l.alor of Hebron, which was then pushed into cars stopped on the high­ way operated by Nancy Gluff of Harvard and Ricky A Combs of Hebron Mitchell E. Piech of Hebron was stopped behind a line of cars when he was hit from behind by the Gluff auto Geraldine J. Neilsen of Harvard told officers she stopped for a line of cars when she was hit from behind by a car driven by Brian E Slotky of Deerfield Slotky and four of his six passengers were taken to McHenry hospttal by the Rich­ mond Rescue squad, as was Ms Neilsen At about the same time, a car driven by Einar E I,eino of GenosCity. Wis . came upon an unoccupied car owned by Michael A Heiscr of Deerfield which was parked on the roadway from a previous ac­ cident One of the three passengers in the l*ino auto was taken to Harvard hospital by the Hebron Rescue squad Robin J Butler of 517 Kent road. McHenry, was ticketed for failure to yield at a stop or yield intersection following a collision at the intersection of Route 31 and Three Oaks road, east of Crystal Lake. Friday ^ afternoon Ralph P Damelson of 6622 Onarga street. Chicago, was south bound on the highway when the Butler auto pulled out designed to recognize students who have made noteworthy achievement toward their career goals and have demonstrated leadership qualities through participation in campus and community activities." he said Judges for the lf75 7f Student Achievement Recognition program at McHenry County college have been named by Jim Gilmour, SARP campua coordinate at MCC Two are from the McHenry area. The Judges are Jaci Smith and Dick Witt. McHenry; Art Tyrrell. Wonder Lake. Verla Wehde and Dr. Jim O'Lauailin Crystal Lake. and Sue Dodds. Marengo The six judges will review applications and interview each candidate individually In order to select one man and one woman winner from McHenry Count v inline Sue Dodds, is editor of the Marengo Republican News, Dr Jim Oi^iughlin. Is a dentist in Huntley and an scttva member of the Crystal Lain Kiwanis club. Jaci Smith ia the McHenry East high schaal psychologist. Art Tyrrell Is county Sheriff. Verla Wehde is a board member for many church and community associations, and Dick Witt, Is head of the counseling department at the Crystal Lake high school in front of him Butler said he stopped st the sign and didn't see the other car before ha pulled Into the intersection. Danielson and his wtfa, Mary, were both taken Mcllenry hospital by Ih* Crystal Lake emergency, ambulance service for treat­ ment of minor injures. George R Lindsay of It23 Charles street. Woodstock, waa ticketed for driving while in­ toxicated after the car he waa driving hit a guard rail an River road near Black Par­ tridge road, southeast of McHenry The accident oc­ curred Saturday morning about 1:25 Neither Lindsay nor his passenger Stephen J. Sarabia of 5113 Fountain lane. McHenry, was injured in the mishap Damage to the 1974 auto was estimated at about $1,000 A one car accident on Rolling! (Continued on Page 17) Designate McHenry Official Bicentennial City Feb. 22 McHenry will receive its official designation as a Bicentennial cityVhen a civic ceremony is held at West campus Sunday. Feb. 22, at 2:30. The 40-minute program is sponsored by the local Bicentennial commission. Commission members feel this will be a good opportunity Danger Is Real Program On Tornados The danger is real! That's why the McHenry County Farm Bureau Women's committee is sponsoring a program to help one become familiar with how to spot potential tornados and how to protect yourself and your family1 should one occur. This meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Feb. 17 at the McHenry County Farm Bureau building The public is invited because people in small villages and towns need to know these precautionary measures, too, reminds Mrs. Rosemary Bartman. chairman of the McHenry County Farm Bureau Women's committee. John Shay. McHenry county Civil Defense director, will present (Continued on Page 17) for residents of the city to meet thein^, Congressman. John Anderson of Rockford. who is guest speaker for the occasion Mayor Joseph Stanek also will be present, as well as other dignitaries. An official Bicentennial flag will be presented to the city, and Mayor Stanek will read the proclamation designating McHenry as a Bicentennial municipality. One of the highlights of the ceremony will be the presen tation of nineteen flags from the time of Betsy Ross to the present Costumed persons will line both aisles of the school auditorium and proceed to the stage with the large flags. The West campus band under the direction of John Leighty. wit be heard in a patriotic mfdley. The public is extended a cordial invitation to attend There is no charge 'Continued on Page 17) Fun Fair For Play Equipment Ann Cain and Donald Weber, third graders at Hilltop school, look at poster advertisiag the school's annual Fun Fair, to be held Saturday. Feb. 7. from t to 4 p.m. Proceeds will be used to buv playground equipment. STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD There s fun for the whole family at Hilltop's annual Fun fair, to be held at Hilltop school Saturday. Feb 7. from 1 to 4 p.m The event is sponsored by the Hilltop Parent Teacher organization Proceeds from the fair will be used to buy school playground equipment The Moon Walk amende will be a returning attraction, alone with the popular White Elephant auction. The auction will begin at 2. w ith Mac Neff as auctioneer Anyone interested in donating items for the auction may bring them to the school office, but no clothing will be accepted *• There will be fourteen game booths which will include the Gold Fish' game. Zoo' Parade. Treasure Chest. Bozos Buc­ kets. Fish Pond. 5 Pin Bowl. Crazy Ball. Pitch Til You Win. Shooting Gallery, the Thing Game, Spin a Prize. Zodiac Wheel, Makeup booth and the Cake Walk For the hungry or thirsty, there will be a hot dogs taffy apples, candy, pop. and coffee fur sale There will also be a Country Bake shop filled with many homemade goodies General chairmen for this year's Fun Fair are Mrs Judy Mueller and Mrs Marti An derson v Committee chairmen are Mrs Janet Dowe. Mrs Sandy Hunt Mrs Jay Dober. Mrs. Marion Vornkahl. Mrs Joyce Adams, Mrs Ginny Howard, Mrs Cheryl l^ockwood. Mrs Ann Obara. Mrs Tony Yerkes, Mrs Kita Adams. Mrs Sheriil Weber. Mrs Carol Campbell, Mrs Betty Davidson. Mrs. Marilyn Lang. Mrs. Cass Rhode, Mrs Sandy Freels, Mrs l.ibby Podpora and John Nilles "