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s* l»A«E 2 - PLAINDEAtffto - FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30.1S83 News and Views A time for resolutions I The time for resolutions is at hand. Despite the fact that they have been made each year, and that at no time have they been kept, the inclination to start the • ' new year with a clean slate can't be resisted. M There has been difficulty this year in arriving at a few goals. This is not to say there aren't many areas in which im- • • provements are in order, but to choose too many proves discouraging from the start. rit M' usin' &, anderin BY KAF Since the greatest part of our day is spent at the news desk, it is fitting that any resolution should have a favorable impact r on those with whom we are associated through work. f Therefore, we promise to keep a calm, patient attitude toward all callers, even those whose requests cannot be answered to their satisfaction. To the violator of the law who wants his name withheld from , the paper; to the contributor ! who with unrelenting regularity pushes the deadline a few hours; to the amateur photographer who wonders why his off-focus picture can't be printed-to all of them we promise a smile, a kind word, and a suggestion to "try again". Resolutions go back a long way. Even our first President gave us a New Year's message when he copied a set of rules for a happy new year in his exercise book as a lad. They read as follows: "Turn not your back to others especially in speaking, jog not the table or desk on which another reads or writes, lean not upon anyone. "Use no reproachful language against any one neither curse nor revile. 9 "Play not the peacock, looking everywhere about you to see if you be well deck't, if your shoes fit well, if your stockings sit neatly, and clothes handsomely. "While you are talking, point not with your finger at him of whom you, discourse nor ap­ proach too near him to whom you talk especially to his face. "Be not curious to know the affairs of others neither ap­ proach those that speak in private. "It's unbecoming to stoop much to ones meat. Keep your fingers clean and when foul wipe them on a corner of your table napkin." George lived a long time ago. Much has changed but his dissertation on manners would fit a lot of people we know this year of 1983. Limited transport service provided for senior citizens The McHeiy-y County Senior Citizens' Council has received a grant to provide limited tran­ sportation service to McHenry County seniors. Seniors in the McHenry-Lakemoor-W onder Lake area who need tran­ sportation to attend a Meet & Eat Center, to go to a doctor or hospital, or go shopping, etc. can make arrangements by calling 1-800-892-3273 and asking for the transportation information worker. Service will be on weekdays between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., starting the week of Dec. 19. The transporation vehicle has a hydraulic lift, making it available for seniors who are wheelchair bound. Serivce will be provided on a donation basis, which will go toward meeting the local share of one-fourth of the cost. The transportation vehicle's schedule will be Monday and Wednesday in the McHenry area. Persons who wish tran­ sportation should make ap­ pointment 24-48 hours ahead at the McHenry County Senior Citizens' Council in Crystal * Lake, 455-2157. <0 Pi i McHenry « isinctir: laindealer McHenry Herald (USPS 335-200) Established 1875 . 3812 West Elm Street Phone 815 -385-0170 McHenry, Illinois 60050 Published Every Wednesday & Friday at McHenry, Illinois Second Class Postage PAID at McHenry, Illinois by McHENRY PUBLISHING COMPANY POSTMASTER Send address changes to McHenry Plaindealer 3812 W. Elm St., McHenry, Illinois 60050 Subscribers are requested to provide immediate notice of change of address to the McHenry Plaindealer, 3812 W. Elm S^., McHenry, III. 60050. A deduction of one month from the expiration of a subscription will be mode where a change of address is provided through the Post Ofnewdepartment Thomas C. Miller-Publisher Adele Froehlich-Editor Stoarb Winning ihtospaper MEMBER NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION 1 Year In McHenry /"* County SUBSCRIPTION RATES $19.00 1 Year $27.00 New druqk driving laws go into effect Jan. 1 At midnight on New Year's Eve, a -package of tough new laws against drunk driving will go into effect here in Illinois. If you're driving home from a party after the New Year is rung in, you should bear in mind thj£ a drunk driving offense wont be treated lightly. Jail terms and mandatory community service will be imposed if you are convicted of driving while in­ toxicated, next year. Most of us have heard the warnings about driving while intoxicated so many times that we tend to ignore them. None of us can afford to treat drunk driving this lightly. The slogans may seem like old hat. But Illinois' new laws and the facts about drunk driving are im­ possible to ignore. Statistics show that one of every two Illinoisans will be involved b an alcohol-related car accident at some point in time. While increasing awarenessxpf the tragedy of drunk driving, government officials at all levels are working hard to combat this crime. The federal Commission of Drunk Driving, or which Illinois Secretary Qf State Jim Edgar is a member, released its findings this month. They recommended a national drinking age of 21 and man­ datory license suspensions and prison terms for drunk drivers with increasing penalties for repeat offenders. Here in Illinois, we . are already complying with these recommendations. We are one of 19 states with a minimum drinking age of 21. And we have been toughening our drunk driving laws for several years now. In 1982, in a concerted effort to get drunk drivers off the road, the -Illinois legislature passed tough new laws aimed at in­ creasing DUI arrests by making it harder or a drunk driver to refuse to take a breath test. The new laws worked -- drunk driving arrests went up by more than 50 percent in the first year that they were in effect. This year we wanted to do more than get drunk drivers of the road. We wanted to keep them off. We passed, and the governor has signed, an im­ portant package of bills to strengthen penalties for drunk driving and diuscourage repeat offenders. The five-bill package was backed by both Secretary of State Jim Edgar and the Illinois Motor Vehicle Laws Com­ mission. One of the most important provisions approved this year is a stipulation that persons who are convicted of driving without a license following a DUI license suspension or revocation will have a minimum sentence of a seven-day jail term or 30 dayi of community service work. The same mandatory sentences will apply to people leaving the scene of a fatal or injury ac­ cident or persons guilty of reckless homicide. Judges currently have the option of imposing jail or community service sentences, but often choose a lighter puiushment such as court supervision including an alcohol rehabilitation program. We wanted to make sure that drunk driving laws would be strong enough to deter would-be drunk drivers. Driving while in­ toxicated is a very serious crime and should carry a significant penalty. While court supervision may not be a stiff enough deterrent to driving while intoxicated, another problem is that all too often it is used as a sentence for repeat offenders. To limit the use of court supervision, the new laws specifically state that drunk drivers may be sentenced to court supervision only once in any five year period. Repeat DUI convictions within five years will requrie at least a 48- hour jail term or 10 days of community service work. To help make sure drunk driving conviction records are accurate, the new laws will require court supervision sentences be reported to the Secretary of States Office. Currently, many such sentences are not reported and repeat drunk drivers may be tried as f i r s t - t i m e o f f e n d e r s . Prosecutors and judges have previously had trouble getting complete and accurate lists of court action on DUI cades. Now, they will be able to get those records just like other traffic violation records, from the Secreatry of State. Finally, a law has been passed which seeks to stop drunk driving at the source, rather than penalize for it af­ terward. The law makes possession or transportation of opened alcohol illegal for all passengers in a vehicle. Currently, only the driver is prohibited from possessing alcohol. Under the new law, alcohol may be transported in a car only if it is in its original container with an unbroken seal. These new laws should help us prevent drunk driving and keep convicted drunk drivers off the road. Each law will go into ef­ fect this January. $93,106 budget passes in Wonder Lake By Kurt Begalka Shaw Free Press Media The Master Property Owners Association recently passed a $93,106 budget. Expenses in the budget exceed revenue by an estimated $8,000. MPOA treasurer Don Coumbe said that of the $91,397 in dues to be billed to property owners, "he expects $6,324 of that to go un­ collected. He added that many subdivisions eventually paid up in 1983. There is only $2,500 in unpaid dues to date. The difference between ex­ penditures and revenue must come from a projected $14,000 in cash reserves left at the end of this year, Coumbe said. . > The settling basin fund has expenses totaling $21,400 engineering study. Tom Rischling, dam committee chairman, said the masters will save money. This is in addition to $1,500 saved on repairs to the concrete wing wall of the Wonder Lake Dam. The Wisconsin engineering firm of Donohue Associates, Inc., submitted a bid of $900 to do a preliminary feasibility study of a settling basin in the Nippersink Creek. The study will then determine sediment composition and yield, stream flow and the required size of the basin and the frequency of drawing. The cost and ef­ fectiveness of such a basin also will be studied. "Hopefully fhai, iYi" rei all doubts and eommei v&peuBcs luiaiiug -v aii jcrouDis anci commeawi $18,000 for a contractor, $1,000 tO^Master President Ed Beard transfer silt by track, $400 ia<-<">said. "If it goes down inj- contingencies and $2,000 for an • favorably, we will not proceed/' In an effort to save an estimated $500,000 required to place gabbions in front of the dam, the MPOA voted to join the Illinois Association of Lake Communities. Frank Higgins, director of Wonder Center subdivision, has been in communication with the group. It is composed of 13 lake associations, a dozen of which have dams. The lakes are scattered throughout Illinois, including Lake Carroll near Shannon and Apple Canyon Lake outside of Galena. The IALC is fighting the Illinois Department of Tran­ sportation, Division of Water Resources, to eliminate the Maximum Fl - inches rain in 24 hours. The PMF refers to the 100- year flood - the flood of record which is used as a standard by the state. For the lake basin, that figure is 5,641 cubic feet of water per second, or the equivalent of 5.5 inches of rain in 24 hours. A1 Collins, former McHenry County Board member, has led the fight opposing the standards placed on the Wonder Lake Dam by the state. Donohue reported that the dam is able to withstand 10,000 cubic feet per second of water, The state wants it to withstand 62,000 cubic feet per second. Higgins reported that IDOT's requirements differ greatly from other states. Wisconsin will accept 50 percent of the ications said, as does government. basis, he federal RTA boasts lower fares, more service Outside McHenry County By Cliff Ward Shaw Free Press Media The Regional Transportation Authority board passed a $851.5 million balanced budget for 1984 Friday that includes fare reductions and increased ser­ vice for area rail commuters. For McHenry commuters, the County rail new budget means more midday and early evening service during the week and late night trains on Satur­ day and Sunday. However, no decision on restoring afternoon service to Woodstock, which was cut in 1981, has been made, according to Larry Leonard of the RTA's public information office. Leonard said he thought the Pay . /e?/ Comforters from $22 100% cotton flannel sheets from $11.50 Pillows from $1.50 Sheet sets from $8.99 Mattresses from $29.95 Satin Sheets • Waterbed Sheets • Bath Towels Blankets *Ruffles -Kitchen Linens *More by •Cannon •Sealy •Wamsutta •Englander & others IARGAIN BASEMENT Open Saturday only 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. 10004 Main St. (Hebron Mall) Hebron LINEN OUTLET/:; board has "a definite idea" of what new train schedules will be, but at this point was con­ cerned with getting the budget passed. The budget calls for the first across-the-board 10 percent fare cut for commuter rail riders in RTA history, one which will save a rider from Woodstock an estimated $194.40 annually. The fare cut is scheduled to go into effect Feb. 1, 1984. Also, riders will be able to take advantage of a $25 monthly "link up" program, which will allow them to ride feeder buses and CTA shuttle buses to and from stations. This pass will save the average daily rail commuter an additional $180 THE HAPPIEST OF NEW YEARS TO ALL MY CUSTOMERS ft FRIENDS FRAN'S HIDDEN CURL 1212 N.GREEN ST. (Ofc. 8) McHENRY annually, according to RTA figures. System-wide, he said, the RTA expects a fare-box recovery of 50.97 percent of costs, and a $38 million surplus when the interim board hands over the reins to permanent board, which is expected to happen in October 1984. . The nine-member interim board, which includes rural Woodstock resident Jeff Ladd, was named in November after the General Assembly passed the RTA reform act that dismantled the old board in return for a state subs ^v and other considerations. At the public hearing last Wednesday at the McHenry County C6urthouse, an RTA staff member said that under the 1984 budget, the 1:30 p.m. train will go all the way to Harvard, but specific stops along the route have not been determined. A 3:30 p.m. train that would stop at Woodstock is also reportedly under con­ sideration, he said. Both af­ ternoon stops in Woodstock were discontinued by the RTA in 1981. Ladd was unavailable for comment. KlectHdty toquirod? Art timers. computers or It Site of Unit Needed toted Upon Number In Fomlly f McHENRY OPTICIANS Numaar aJ laftanlna Tanks? Matara4 bofonoratlan «f Twl Our Gift to You... Tamil tatad on Amwnt at HWafUiadT Unllmltad Daily Potantlol Grain Wlw FREE FRAMES with the purchase of lens! Coeecltwy It faft Watar AvallaMa During HafanaraManT I* toft Watt r Uiad Ta flafanarata Irtna •ackmraah and Mnta CytltT Offer good Dec. 19th thrujafk 1st / 'choose from select group Marking fart* Ol Valva Oparata In Jolt Watar At AII Ttmat «advclin Cwilt lanktf It iaft Watar A.ollobla 14 " " 1 " •-- !• ITIIIMIIIM frl mill i McHENRY OPTICIANS , 1301 RIVERSIDE DR. (Across from the fox hole hotel) McHENRY, ILL 385-9240 DAILY 8:30-5:30 SAT 8:30-2 WED 8:30-1