Illinois News Index

McHenry Plaindealer (McHenry, IL), 30 Jan 1981, p. 58

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denial were Aldermen Harker, Nolan and Pepping. McHenry Police Chief George Pasenelli reported to the Council that the police department had received a $106,000 grant from the state to start a Comprehensive Traffic Enforcement Program (CTEP) in McHenry. This does not mean speed traps or an attack on the community. It does mean community education and a program to reduce the number of ac­ cidents in McHenry. Parents of elementary school children concerned over possible cuts of school programs urged the board of Elementary School District 15 to schedule a referendum for a tax increase before June. This suggestion was made at the board meeting Feb. 5. Thomas F. Bolger,, president of McHenry State bank, was installed as president of the Independent Bankers Association of America. His advancement to the president of the 7,400 - bank organization was assured during an election of officers for the 1960-81 year which took place during the opening general session of the IBAA golden an­ niversary convention now in progress at the San Fran­ cisco Hilton hotel. The McHenry County Zoning board heard testimony about the proposed construction of a residential facility for II developm en tally disabled persons near McHenry. The site for the proposed facility is located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Ponca street and Valley View road. McHenry county collected 96.65 percent of all taxes levied for the year 1978. Sixteen of the 17 townships in McHenry county collected more than 99 percent of the real estate levy, the highlight of the high collections performance in 1978. The McHenry County Defenders confirmed their continuing opposition to the construction of FAP 420, the proposed new freeway which would pass next to Volo Bog State Natural area and the Glacial Park Conservation area of the McHenry County Conservation district. The Defenders claim the freeway ' would "threaten these unique natural areas, remove agricultural land from production, detract from production, detract from the scenic beauty of McHenry county and con­ stitute a waste of resources at a time when govern­ mental authorities are en­ couraging the public to drive less and slower." The City of McHenry Plan commission met with the Valleybrook subdivision developers, who are ex­ pected to petition the City for annexation in the future. The subdivision is comprised of 209 acres of land at the southwest corner of the Bull Valley road and Crystal Lake bl^ktop intersection. One of the highpoints of the proposed development is the "McHenry bypass" road which would connect with Curran road and swing through the acreage to the Crystal Lake blacktop. Associated Planners suggested additional con­ nections to the property to the west and south of the proposed development, saying there is a real "lack of continuity" in the development of McHenry's streets - McHenry is a radial City in which nothing con­ nects - all unconnected roads funnel traffic into the highest traffic use in the county Route 120. Reduced funding and its impact on school operation, provided the main theme for the Johnsburg Community Unit school board meeting. The district will be receiving $75,000 less state money than hoped for in the 1960-81 school year. At the City Council meeting, Mayor Stanek vetoed the motion passed at the Feb. 4 City Council meeting which would sub­ stantially raise the fines for non-moving violations (parking and vehicle tags) in McHenry. The mayor said that the merchants would be "adversely affected by the increase" and added that "Irate offenders may choose to shop where there are no meters." Of great concern to many of the people who attended the meeting was whether the Council would approve or deny a petition to allow the Residential Development Group (RDG) to build on land originally presented as golf course in Whispering Oaks. The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) recom­ mended denial by a vote of 7 to 0. Concerned with the in­ creasing amount of money spent on Workmen's Com­ pensation claims since 1976, the McHenry County board took action that should reduce the amount. The Purchasing and Insurance report disclosed a steady rise in claims from $48,745 in 1976 to $132,293 in 1979 and to an anticipated $175,000 this year. The committee ex­ pressed the belief that something should be done about a problem members regard as "serious and costly". Plans to form a Police Traffic unit in the City of McHenry have been ap­ proved by the Illinois Department of Tran­ sportation. The purpose of the unit will be to reduce traffic accidents and in­ crease enforcement of traffic laws in the City. Seventy-five po-cent of the approximately $106,000 cost of the unit will be reim­ bursed to the City from federal funds administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation's Division of Traffic Safety. Recommending that future development of the City of McHenry should "be held tightly and compactly" within the City's general boundaries, City Planner Robert Grossman reported on the updating of the comprehensive plan to a joint meeting of the Plan commission, the Zoning Board of Appeals and the City Council. The most remarkable change has been in the area of public lands. In 1968, McHenry deficient in the area of parks and recreational facilities. Now, McHenry is ahead of the national average. The pattern of commercial development, was very strong along Route 120. The problem along this road lies with some "tawdry and unattractive buildings." In 1977 Route 120 through McHenry was averaging 22,000 cars a day - the highest traffic volume anywhere in the county. MARCH In the first step in the move toward annexation, PARKl.Ht ilMnffMJA.mniV UMIT1»V1> mi Trade Fair In McHenry Brvce Klontz, chairman of the seventh annual McHenry Area Commerce and Industry Trade fair, looks at a large advertising sign with John Haemann, chairman of the Chamber, and Fred Meyer, superintendent of Public Works. The Trade fair was held Mar. 28-36 at Parkland school. STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD the McHenry Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) voted unanimously to recommend granting the Valleybrook petition for zoning. The petition concerns 209 acres of land abutting the south­ west corner of the Bull Valley and Crystal Lake road intersection. Hie City Council heard, considered and adopted three new administrative policies which were presented by City Park Director Peter Merkel. The policies will govern residency, registration and refunds as they relate to various park programs. Pursuing its policy to reduce the number of teachers in Elementary School District 15, based upon "economic necessity" the board met last week and proceeded with the necessary legal steps. Two resolutions were passed in this connection. Jill Hutchinson and Cynthia VanCleave of McHenry Community High school nave been notified that they qualified as Finalists by the National Merit Scholarship cor­ poration. This an­ nouncement came after completion of evaluation of all Semifinalists to deter­ mine the select group to be named Finalists. Representatives of the McHenry Classroom Teachers' association and the student body pleaded emotionally against proposed teacher cuts at the board meeting of Elemen­ tary School District 15. Dr. Richard Farmer, district superintendent, explained the need to reduce the projected $805,000 education budget deficit, which is still growing, and that such a separation would cause no stigma to the fired teachers. The board of Elementary School District 15 approved the sale of $900,000 in bonds for the working cash fund at the regular meeting. The successful bidder, from five who submitted proposals for the sale, was a group headed by the Northern Trust company of Chicago, who quoted an interest rate of 8.07 percent. The McHenry State bank was included in this bidding syndicate. Bids ranged up to 8.87 percent. According to bond specialist, Howard Voss, who explained the matter to the board, this bid was favorable because the Dow Jones average for municipal bonds had hit 8.89 percent on this date, the highest in history, with the rates rising daily. With the sketch plan ap­ proval received from the McHenry Plan commission, the developers of the proposed 209 acre Valleybrook subdivision now have the green light to proceed into annexation hearings with the City Council. Those public hearings are slated to begin April 14. Exciting races for President on both the Democratic and Republican tickets, which have been building in interest through other primaries, brought almost 30,000 voters to the polls in McHenry county. The turnout was 20 percent higher than two years ago and 4 percent above the last presidential prinuu-y in 1976. There were 24,678 Republican ballots cast and 5,236 Democratic. President Carter was a 3-1 winner over Senator Edward Kennedy. The impetus that had been building for Rockford's John Anderson, congressman in the 16th district, was felt in the county. Anderson was behind the state-wide win­ ner, Ronald Reagan, by 1,000 votes in the county. Throughout the state Reagan was winner by 11 percent. Alvin J. Querhammer of Crystal Lake won over James Flagg by 8,399 to 6,489 votes. Theodore J. Flora of Woodstock polled 11,468 votes to defeat Wesley R. Pribla with 10,828 votes. A McHenry man, Leonard Brady, won over Conrad F. Floeter to fill the vacancy of James H. Cooney in the 19th Judicial circuit. At the recommendation of the License committee, the City Council voted to sub­ stantially reduce the liquor license fee increases passed at the Feb. 4 Council meeting. The fee schedule passed at the early February meeting increased the Class A and F liquor license fees by about 43 percent. Class A licenses went from $700 to $1,000; Class F from $800 to $1,000; Class G from $450 to $700; Class H from $350 to $550; and Class B from $200 to $325. As approved by the Council, with only Alderman Schooley dissenting, the fees were reduced to $850 for Class A and F, $550 for Class G, $450 for Class H, and $250 for Class B. The McHenry City Council was briefed concerning the possible construction of a shopping center on the west side of the City. R e p r e s e n t i n g t h e developers, Thomas Niemira, told the Council of plans to commercially develop about 20 acres of land at the intersection of Martin road and Route 120. « The {dans include the con­ struction of a K-Mart. The board of Elementary School District 15 approved the dismissal of 20 teachers for the coming school year and the elimination of programs for Home Economics, Industrial Arts and Guidance at a special meeting March 18. The board indicated that this difficult decision had been made as part of an effort to reduce the accumulated $805,000 budget as of the end of this school year which was predicted to increase further next year if no action was taken. The board noted also that two administrators were cut and more cuts will be made from the non- teaching staff. Fran Olsen, a 44-year-old McHenry resident who has successfully combined the careers of housewife, mother and sales representative for many years, is the McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce's new executive director. C h a r l e s V y c i t a l , prominent McHenry business man, has an­ nounced he will be retiring soon after almost six decades in the family hard- ward business. Vycital's Hardware, 1226 N. Green street. The store was founded in 1906 by John J. Vycital, who died in 19S2. Charles joined the business in 1924 and soon afterward became bookkeeper. When the thirty-ninth annual session of Illini Girl State convenes on the campus of MacMurray college, Jacksonville, two McHenry girls will be a part of the activity. Shari Blankenhorn and Judy Snyder will represent West and East campuses, respectively. April 1, the Accident Investigation unit of the City of McHenry Police department will be in operation. The McHenry County Sheriffs police have con­ cluded part of an in­ vestigation, spanning several months, into numerous burglaries and thefts in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Four men from the Ingleside-Fox Lake area were arrested and charged with burglary. The four were part of a ring which was responsible for an estimated 100 burglaries in McHenry county. Hie same figure was applied to Lake county as well. APRIL City employees were cut in for a larger share of the revenue pie as total salaries increased an average of 14.6 percent after City Council budget voting. Finance committee chairman, Alderman Jack Pepping, told the Council that this could be accomplished without an increase in City taxes. A part of the reason for the sizeable pay in­ creases was the 18 percent rise in the cost of living in the first quarter of 1980 and the 12.5 percent rise in the cost of living in 1979. Beginning in June, the City will have a 90-day moratorium on metered parking in the City. The request was made by members of the McHenry chamber of Commerce At the end of 90 days, a representative of the Chamber will return to the City Council and report on how the experiment affected sales in the business com­ munity. The metered parking in the City will be replaced by two-hour parking About 25 McHenry residents were appraised of a proposed plan to spray approximately 270 acres of Whiipering ' Oaks ' atad /

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