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VOLUME 101 NUMBER 42 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1977 2 SECTIONS 26 PAGES 20* TENSE MOMENTS IN COUNCIL MEETING-Alderman Raymond Smith explains to City Attorney Bernard Narusis the alderman's feelings on why the city should not attempt to recover fees collected by former City Clerks Terry Wilde and Earl Walsh in violation of provisions of the 1971 state constitution. Narusis' legal opinion was that the city should attempt to recover the money. However, the Council, by a 7-1 margin, voted to dismiss the matter and not attempt to recover the money, estimated to be approximately $17,000. STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD Free Book Loan In Trouble Only a small percentage of the stated school children will benefit from the new Illinois Secular Textbook Loan program (Public Act 79-9610), according to Edward W. Hall, regional superintendent of schools of McHenry county. Hall pointed out that while the new law, commonly called the Free Textbook act, was signed into law by the Governor well over a year ago (Sept. 11, 1976) the Illinois Office of Education has been forced by lack of funding to postpone statewide implementation of the program until the 1977-78 school year and even then only at a very minimal level. Hall noted that the $19 million originally appropriated by the state legislature to start up the program was reduced by the Governor to only a token $10,000 which only allowed a pilot program in nine schools, three public and six non-public. While the state board of education requested $27 million for this school year, only $3.5 million has been appropriated. "While the new law reads to provide the free loan of secular textbooks to all children in grades kindergarten through the twelfth -- public and non­ public -- the expectations of Diany parents in Illinois are inevitably doomed to disap­ pointment by the stark reality of inadequate funds," Hall stated. He went on to explain that "we are now informed by the Illinois Office of Education that a state approved list of textbooks will be released in ( Continued on page 8) ^ THE MCHENRY PLAINDEALER SERVING THE CHAIN-O-LAKES REGION SINCE 1875 Cold, Snow, Wind Mark Bleakness Of Winter City Closes Books On Clerk Fee Hassle Seize Wonder Lake Men In Summer Home Burglary Two Wonder Lake men were arrested and charged with burglary Sunday in connection with the attempted theft at a summer home, 7501 Center drive, Wonder Lake. Charles R. Holden, 8104 Widoff drive, and Frederick C. Hades, 5116 E. Wonder Lake road, were arrested and charged in the attempted burglary of a home belonging to Arthur R. Wedin, Chicago. At 3:05 Sunday morning, McHenry County Sheriff's police received a call from two young people from their home. They stated that someone was in the process of breaking into a summer home next to their residence. The Sheriff's department radio dispatcher kept the callers on the phone as they described the progress of the burglary and described the offenders' car which was parked in front of the home. Two police units were dis­ patched to the location, and As the temperatures, com­ bined with blowing snow, set records in our area last weekend, we have learned from one state of Illinois department that those people interested in the care of our animal population have been deluged with complaints. The Plaindealer office is no exception When a concerned public has no other place to turn, it is to the newspaper in the hope an outcry that reaches thousands of readers will be heeded. More than a few persons have been angered by the account of a dog that froze to death within the city of McHenry New Year's day. The particularly unfortunate part of the story is that the animal's owners could hot be charged because they were meeting minimum requirements. When a local traveler ob­ served a large dog huddled on top of his three-sided shelter because snow had blown into the west-side opening, she continued home and called the owner. The latter assured her the dog enjoyed being outside (the wind chill was 35 degrees below zero) and liked to rest on top of the house. As long as we have this kind of inconsiderate animal owners, we will have com­ plaints and requests to pass on the word that negligence to the point where animals are hurt or abused can result in criminal prosecution. There are quite a number of people who will willingly join us in an effort to make the charges heard And the suffering of intense cold is not confined to animals. The community's large duck population is dependent on a generous public to pull through a hard winter Mrs. Dorothy Hollander, who administers the program carried out by Valley View pupils, speaks highly of the response to canisters placed in local stores. Because the 1975-76 winter was milder, $180 remained to feed the ducks when cold weather set in last fall. Two weeks" ago this fund was depleted, but there was en­ couragement in new canisters filled to overflowing. ^ With the severity of January, it is doubtful that any money can be withheld to start the next fall season. For this reason, canisters will remain for contributions. Several hundred of these feathered friends who refuse to leave 4heir> hometown evr in sub-zero temperatures have been rewarded by humans who believe that friendship is a two- way proposition. K.A.F. just before they arrived, the dispatcher was advised that the offenders' vehicle was leaving. Police spotted the vehicle coming off of Center drive, stopped the car and took the driver into custody. Another police unit arrived at the summer home and another person ran from the home into a field. The suspect driving the car was Holden, who was charged with having fictitious plates on his car as well as the burglary charge. The investigation continued at the Wedin residence, and soon Rades was taken into custody and charged with burglary. At press time, bond had not been set, and the initial court date had yet to be established. 180,000 Loss In Barn Fire A barn valued at $80,000 was destroyed by fire early Sunday. Located at 3709 Miller road, north of Johnsburg, the barn was the property of Harry Pierce. Companies from Richmond, Johnsburg, McHenry and Wilmot responded to the call at 9:40 a.m. and brought flames under control after an hour. No one was injured in the blaze, which was believed to have been caused by an elec­ trical failure. Nab Federal Parole Violator On McHenry Road A federal parole violator, who had been wanted since the beginning of December, was apprehended last week by the McHenry County Sheriff's police. William D. Ingalls, 30, whu previously resided in Wis con Sill and also in California, was wanted on a parole violation stemming from an original (Continued on page 8) "I feel it was an honest mistake. I am willing in my mind to close the books on the incident with no further action taken." -- Alderman Raymond Smith. "The City Council did determine that these fees be turned over to the city, which they now are. I believe the matter is over and should be dropped." -- Alderman William Bolger, One by one the aldermen spoke, near unanimous in the view that former City Clerks Terry Wilde and Earl Walsh had done nothing wrong by personally keeping certain fees which belonged rightfully to the city. And, when it came to a vote, by a 7-1 margin, the Council chose to dismiss the matter from the books, and disregard City Attorney Bernard Narusis' opinion that the city is obligated to try to recover fees. Alderman Smith spoke for the majority of the Council when he said: "We've done everything under the sun to degrade these people (Mrs. Wilde and Walsh). I feel dragging someone down isn't necessary. "I don't think the citizenry of McHenry want to 'get' anyone out of this," Smith added. "If someone wants to sue us because we're not attempting to recover the money, then we'll tackle that problem when it arises." Legally, the Council's decision not to attempt to recover the lost fees makes the city vulnerable to a lawsuit. However, it is not a realistic extension of Monday night's decision, as a person would have to spend his own time and money to recover funds, not for himself, but for the city. The matter of city clerk fees came before the Council again Monday night after Mayor Joe Stanek received a legal opinion from the attorney general's office That opinion was originally sought back in August when the discussion of fees first came up. But the opinion from Scott's office didn't arrive until last week. It was Scott's opinion that all city fees belonged to the city rather than the city clerk's office, based on the im­ plementation of the new state constitution. ' At Monday's meeting, Stanek explained the gist of the at­ torney general's opinion, and also gave background on why the opinion was originally sought. "Some months ago, it was in the interest of the city to replace the auditor," the mayor began. "The new auditor came upon an account labeled, 'Terry Wilde -personal account'. It was at that time that I became aware of the practice, and was very sur­ prised." "I brought the matter in front of the finance committee." he added. "I believe Alderman Bolger was the only ono aware that the clerk was getting these fees. "I believe Terry and Earl had no intention of doing Latest Filings Assure Contests In Four Wards With the latest filings for the April 19 city elections, com­ petitive races have been assured in each of the four aldermanic wards. In ward one, the latest candidate to file, newcomer LeRoy Guntner will face Elizabeth Nolan. The second ward finds a battle developing between incumbent Edward OaU aiiJ Clint Claypool, while ward three has Anna Mae Cuda facing Vincent Adams. The fourth ward, composed mainly of Lakeland Park residents, finds Ernest Schooley bidding for election against Cecilia Sferritella. In the mayoral election, incumbent Joseph Stanek will face second ward Alderman George Harker, while Barbara Gilpin and Bill Brda remain unopposed at this time in the races for city clerk and city treasui ct. . *•:" Deadline for filing cer­ tificates of nomination is less than two weeks away, Feb. 14, for the April election. City Attorney Bernard Narusis studies the opinion given by Attorney General William Scott, which was discussed at Monday's City Council meeting. Narusis explained that Scott's opinion made it mandatory for the city to recover money collected by the city clerk's office. The Council decided otherwise, however, closing the book on the incident by allowing former clerks, Earl Walsh and Terry Wilde, to keep the fee money. * STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD anything wrong," Stanek said. "But I felt we had to bring this to light. Then, we engaged in debate on^how I handled it, and how it should have been directed to committee originally where it could have been easily resolved. "Before the finance com­ mittee - meeting, Terry resigned, and then Earl Walsh refused to testify because he was not in a court of law," Stanek explained. "Now you (the aldermen) have the opinion before you. It basically says that these fees belong to the city with the exception possibly of fees for the voter Registrar." t The mayor then asked the1-* Council for its opinion on the matter, and Bolger im­ mediately spoke up. "There is no question that before 1971. when the new (Continued on page 8) Battle Storm Conditions To Keep Public Moving "The men worked hard and with no letup to get the job done." Those were the words of Fred Meyer, superintendent of public works, describing the efforts of his men, as they battled successfully to keep city streets passable during the abominable conditions last Friday. "We had between six and nine men working from 1:30 a.m. Friday to 3:30 p.m. to get the snow cleared off the streets,Mey-ei 'said/- "Four men also worked four hours Saturday and Sunday pushing snow off the roadways." Miraculously, no city streets were closed during the bliz­ zard-like conditions, and no serious accidents were recorded as a result of the drifting snow. The city's efforts to keep all streets open was in sharp contrast to the situation throughout the reminder of the county, with Rt. 31, Rt. 120, and Rt. 47 being closed at various times Friday. Fortunately, city workers were able to concentrate their efforts on the snow, with only a couple of frozen seivices, and no major water breaks. At times, as many as seven pieces of equipent were on city streets moving snow. "I've seen it a little worse than what he had Friday," Meyer explained. "The worst areas were in Whispering Oaks, Edgebrook Heights, ana the McHenry Country club area." Local residents apparently also heeded warnings not to worry about shovelling driveways, as no heart attacks were recorded as a result of Friday's storm. Also, McHenry residents didn't face the prospect of Ji loss of electrical powers, as the communities of Barrington, Cary, Fox River Grove, and Woodstock Persons in Woodstock lost both heat and electrical power Friday night. • IMTUU* It was winter at its worst last Friday as McHenry joined most of the Mid-West in a valiant attempt to keep up with a minimum of activities that normally would have been accomplished with ease. For many, it was not "business as usual," for it became impossible to leave the city in several directions when some highways were closed. Public and parochial schools shut down for a long, three- day weekend. At left above, State Trooper Tom O'Brien of District 2 blocks intersection of Rt. 31 and Bull Valley road as the drifting results ii. conditions immediately beyond control of mechanical units. There were numerous accidents on the stretch of highway connecting McHenry and Crystal Lake. The bleakness of the situation is best viewed at right. This scene, captured by the photographer from his car, shows the wind blown snow as i> .virls across Bull Valley road between the Crystal Lakt blacktop and Rt. 31 Friday. STAFF PHOTOS-WAYNE GAYLORD