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Something would certainly be amis* if Santa didn't evoke a gleam in the eye of a youngster. This little girl was property impressed (taring the Christmas party at the library tar Head Start children. The second portion of the Lancer corporation petition for rezoning involving a planned unit development (PUD) received the approval of the McHenry Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) at a continued session for deliberations Dec. 16. The third part of the Lancer proposal, involving multi- family housing, is to be con­ sidered as if it were a new petition in a hearing scheduled for 3 p.m. Jan. 6. Neil Hunter, speaking for the corporation, asked for a new hearing because the firm wants to change the description of the land to be used in the R-4 housing. Its location in the Bridge, tilrilding Targets For McHenry Drivers' Cars EARL MURRAY Police Commission Chairman STAFF PHOTOS-WAYNE GAYLORD GEORGE PASENELU Police Chief McHenry The McHenry Police com­ mission has chosen former Waukegan Police Chief George Pasenelli to be McHenry's new chief of police. The com­ mission announced its unanimous selection at Monday night's City Council meeting. The selection was necessary due to the upcoming retirement of Police Chief Kenneth Espey. Chairman of the commission. Earl Murray, stated that Pasenelli was chosen from a field of twenty-three can­ didates. Eighteen of the ap­ plicants were tested and in­ terviewed personally by the commission. The field was narrowed to three, Pasenelli, and Lt. Krantz and Sgt. Joyce of McHenry's Police depart­ ment, who were then sent before the Police Consultant's bureau for all-day testing. According to Murray, the commission held two regular meetings, ten special meetings, and worked approximately 150 man-hours, before reaching a decision. High test scores, police background, and strong recomendations, led to the selection of the forty-six year- old Pasenelli. Murray and the otheV commissioners, Anthony Pintozzi and Pete Adams, then presented the new chief to the Council and everyone in at­ tendance. Mayor Stanek introduced Pasenelli and his wife, Birdie, to the Council, stating how glad he was to have him join the city. The Pasenellis have three children. Pasenelli is a twenty-three year veteran of the Waukegan Police department. Pasenelli was police chief under former Musin And Meanderin Because there is so much that is happy and good about Christmas, all of us view the shabby side of the holiday with more contempt than would otherwise be the case. As an example, McHenry will not have a home decorating contest this year. • The reason? There haven't been enough new entries in recent years to warrant it. And the reason for that? Vandalism! Over the past fifteen or twenty years, reaching a climax in the past five, thefts and destruction of displays that often resulted from a family effort have been widespread. With each one, good people in the spirit of the holiday season decided to put their talent toward something more rewarding. The result has been many lighted windows and nice, simple displays, but few of the Spectacular kind that provoked i'oohs and" "aahs"in recent years. We are reminded of this fceamy side of the holiday with Stories emanating from the Sheriff's office of beautiful spruce trees being cut down on private property in our own community. In one case, the weight was apparently too great and the thief could not even profit from the tree's destruction so it was dropped along the way. But no one should allow these acts, despicable as they are, to destroy a spirit too good to relinquish so easily. There are many joyous things happening all about us. For instance, it was far back in October that we had our own initiation to this wonderful spirit that had long before begun to permeate a segment of the McHenry population. One day a lady came into our office with almost fifty pair of crocheted and knitted socks. She represented a group of ladies who sew at the Senior Citizens' center. The socks were made for residents of Valley Hi Nursing home, which will be receiving them with pleasure this week. The clincher was that these generous women, who knew we made a small contribution to the home, wanted us to take credit for their gifts. Now that's the true Christ­ mas spirit! Then there's the case of gifts for others less .fortunate. Hardly a day goes by that we aren't asked by readers for names and places to donate. FISH is probably the most popular, and this is un- (Continued on page 8) Mayor Sabonjian, but when Sabonjian was defeated last spring by Bill Morris, the new mayor removed Pasenelli and made him a captain. Prior to being chief in Waukegan, Pasenelli was assistant police chief from 1909 to 1974. Before that he was commander of the Detective bureau. The commission and the mayor said they were grateful to the other men who applied, especially the members of McHenry's police force. They were pleased to know that the force has as capable people as it does, enabling two of its members to score so well in the testing. Cathleen M. McDonough, 1420 Appaloosa terraea, McHenry, may have been one of the first motorists to be in­ volved in an accident ftn tha new Lincoln road bridge at McHenry, according to a report of the McHenry County Sheriff's department. At 10:30 a.m. Sunday, ac­ cording to her statement, she was driving west on the bridge and as she went aroun4 the curve on the bridge, she saw an oncoming car in her lane. To avoid it she pulled to the right and hit the north rail. When deputies looked for ^evidence of the crash on the bridge,' ho marks could be found. However, the Mc­ Donough vehicle sustained $1,200 in damage and cement dust on the bumper bore out her story of hitting the structure. Scott A. White, 4804 West street, McHenry, also hit a structure, and then left the scfne, according to deputies who investigated. According to a witness, White left the Branded Steak House at 4419 Northwest highway. Crystal Lake, about midnight and aa he left the struck the entrance structures of the restaurant. He told deputies later that he thought no damage resulted, so he didn't stop. An investigator found him at home and took his story. Damage to his vehicle was estimated at $25 and to the building entrance, $200. James A. Metz. 710 Emerald (Continued on page 8) Variety Of Offenses Place Two In Trouble With Law development would be changed from the southeast corner to nearer the center part of the firm's acreage south of Route 120 and east of Dfaper road, and would affect other property owners. It had been hoped the ZBA recommendations on Petition No. 1 involving commercial use for land lying along Route 120, and for Petition No. 2 covering the PUD near Boone Creek would be ready for presentation to the McHenry City Council at the Monday night meeting, Ron Wilkins, ZBA chairman, ad­ vised. However, the Council made no mention of the petitions Monday night. The ZBA is recommending ap­ proval of both proposals as amended to conform to the views of the ZBA. , Hunter agreed to limit the proposed possible reductions of lot sizes in the PUD section of his development. Originally requested was the freedom to reduce all the lot sizes by 25 percent from the $10,000 square foot minimum. When ZBA 'members questioned this proposal, Hunter agreed to hold the reductions down to 20 percent for half of the lots, (or 8,000 square feet), 10 percent for one-fifth of the lots (or 9,000 square feet) and for the remaining 30 percent of his lots, no reduction at all. With the various open spaces being provided, Hunter pointed out, the density (population) would not change. Hunter claimed that his development would create more open space. The small, inexpensive house results from inexpensive land. That is not the case here, Hunter asserted. And in answer to a question from the board, he said that the smallest lot would be 8,000 square feet.:4 Hunter also claimed that the PUD (concept) Is of tremen­ dous benefit to all. There are less streets for the city to maintain and plow and more park land for open space. Board Member Clint Claypool noted that he had traced the costs of utilities and streets in developments and found thev had gone from $50 (Continued on page 13) (Continued on page 13) A McHenry youth was charged with three offenses as a result of an incident reported Dec. 14. according to the McHenry Police department. The charges included possession of a firearm without the required identification documents, unlawful use of weapbns (carrying a loaded 12 gauge shotgun while not on own land) and aggravated assault (on Dec. 14 was alleged to have pointed gun at David W. Tucker who was said to have reasonable apprehension of receiving battery.) Named in the charges was Nicholas H. Chrisopulos, 5304 W Hhore drive. McHenry, who will have a hearing on the charges in Circuit court at an unspecified date. In a hearing before Judge James H. Cooney in Circuit court Dec. 7, Thomas V. Damiano, Jr., 2806 Beachview. McHenry. was sentenced to 110 days in the county jail and placed on eighteen months' probation after being convicted of theft under $150. The court gave him credit for 101 days already served and ordered him to pay court costs. The (Continued on page 8) Advance Deadlines Two Holiday Weeks Because Monday, Dec. 26, and Mondav, Jan. 2, will be observed as holidays, Plaindealer deadlines for the first issues after both Christmas and New Year will need to be advanced. General news, display and classified advertising deadlines will be Friday, Dec. 23 and Dec. 30, at 10 a.m. All correspondents' copy must be in the office by Thursday noon each week. u The Plaindealer office will be closed Saturday, Dec. 24 and Saturday, Dec. 31. Regular office hours will be in effect Saturday, Jan. 7,9 a.m. to 12 noon. Next to Santa CUbs, puppets ran a close second in popularity with library. Various degrees of emotion are displayed on theiryoung children at Christmas time. It was no different for Head Start class faces, bat ea all there shines throagh the spirit of the holiday members in McHenry as they enjoyed the Christmas party at the season. The Faces Of Christmas STAFF PHOTOS-WAYNE GAYLORD Christmas is for children, and there was no denying that fact this past week as local youngsters took center stage for attention. In at least two cases, they were members of McHenry Head Start classes. The McHenry Public library held its second annual Christmas party for them Dec. 14 in the Community room and it was*attended by fifty youngsters Kathy Thomas delighted them with her puppet show, after which Santa made his appearance with bags of candy and candy canes. The party also included cookies, soft drinks and ice cream. A bonus were the toys, mittens, gloves, hate and scarves collected at the library for the children. Each one received candy, cookies, toys and puzzles, generously provided by service clubs, organizations and businesses in the community. Head Start children were also entertained the same day by high school students at East campus. Freshmen band members provided the Christmas music while Spanish II classes sang caf-ols and Isics (Independent Study Community Service) presented the youngsters with toys and gifts. Forty-four Hcadstart students, from the ages of 3-5, participated in the festive affair. t • 'i-•' :••••/ _ , • f:. ,w • ' J,4v? . -V' •' f (Continued on page 8) For the second time in recent months, the board of High School District 156 will ask public support of a request for a $.15 tax rate increase in the Operations and Maintenance fund. The vote will be held Friday, Dec. 23, with the polls open from noon to 9 p.m. Precinct palling places are Precinct 1, McHenry high school East campus; Precinct 2, Lakemoor Community center; Precinct 3, McCullom Lake beach house; and Precinct 4, Harrison grade school, Wonder Lake. The Operations and Maintenance fund is established for the purpose of paying for utility costs such as heating and electricity. The salaries of custodial and maintenance staff come from this fund also. No money from the fund is used for new building or additions to existing buildings. For the owner of a home with a market value of $30,000, which is assessed at $10,000, a fifteen-cent increase would cost the taxpayer $15 a-year, or four cents a day. Tnis year, with a county equalizer of 1.0745, a $10,000 piece of property is assessed at $10,745. With a projected equalizer for the coming year going to 1.20, the same property will be assessed for tax purposes at $12,000. Persons may vote in this election if they are U.S. citizens and 18 years old. The voter must have resided in the state and in the school district for twenty-eight days immediately preceding the school election and be registered to vote in general elections from a residence located in the school district Absentee ballots may be secured at the office of the superintendent of schools, 3926 W. Main street, until 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 22. Much of the discussion at the last three meetings of the McHenry high school board of education has dealt with the financial problems facing McHenry high school. In addition to scheduling a referendum for Dec. 23, the board made cuts in the Operation and Maintenance fund and restricted further use of the school buildings by non-school groups. In September, the board cut $800,000 from the 1978-79 budget, almost $50,000 of which is from the Operation and Maintenance fund. These cuts included eliminating two custodial positions, eliminating one maintenance person and reductions m energy use. At the Dec. 6, meeting, the board took the action in relation to the use of school facilities by outside groups. School facilities will hot be made available for any non-school activity with the exception of McHenry County college adult education program. Existing contracts and agreements will be terminated if at all possible and as soon as practical. After the failure of the Oct. 22 referendum the board received new information regarding its financial situation from its two primary funding sources. On Oct. 25, members learned that it is likely there will be a significant increase in the multiplier of approximately 12 percent. It is also estimated that new home development in the high school district should provide an additional 3 percent growth. Shortly thereafter, the Illinois Office of Education announced that funding may increase for general state aid. The most recent projections indicate a minimum increase of 6 percent in this area. Two consultants were employed by the district to review and corroborate the financial projections. They were Dr. BUI Mann, vice-president of Financial Affairs at Harper college and Dr. Bob English, dean of Business Services at Morton college. Michael Kelly, the district's business manager, explained to the board what is projected for the next five years. James Althoff, board president, stated that if these changes in assessed valuation and state aid are true, it would appear that through the 1979-80 school year the district would not need an increase in the Educational fund. At that point it would be necessary to ask for a tax rate increase. They voted unanimously to rescind previous action to seek a tax rate increase in the Educational fund Dec. 23. The board viewed the Operations and Maintenance fund as a different story. Although some budget costs could be moved to the Educational fund, they said there is no way to alleviate the $92,000 deficit that will occur in the 1978-79 school year. The board felt that maintenance must be continued at both East and West campus so that they can function as well as possible. Therefore, the deficit in the Operations and Maintenance fund will continue to increase over the next five years until it reaches approximately $900,000. VOLUME 102 NUMBER 41 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1977 2 SECTIONS.24 PAGES 20' THE MCHENRY PLAINDEALER "SERVING THE CHAIN-O-LAKES REGION SINCE 1875 Effective Feb. 1st New Police Chief Named For McHenry ZBA Gives Lafrcer Approval