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View Local Compliance Education Act Aids Handicapped Suspicion Of Arson In Thanksgiving Blaze Arson appeared to be involved at an unexplained fire in a shed at 2817 N. Riverside drive, on Thanksgiving, the sheriffs office indicated. The McHenry Fire department was called to pot oat a fire burning m the doer and the roof of the building. Investigators noted, after the blase was extinguished, that apparently someone had opened the spigot on a barrel of fuel oil, let the fluid run to the door, then lit and left. The shed was the property of Peter Schneider, 3020 N. Riverside, officers said. STAFF PHOTOS-WAYNE GAYLORD When the board of Grade District 15 held its ational meeting during the holiday week, one of the main topics,was a view of the public law that deals with the Education for All Handicapped Children act. Fred Kusch of the administrative staff presented a review of the individualized education programs and told of the impacUhey will have on the staff todayvand in the future. The law. whi^h required that its priorities were to be im­ plemented by last October, asks that state and localities establish priorities for providing a "free appropriate public education to all han­ dicapped children." The .' first priority is to children who are not receiving any education, according to Kusch. The second is to the most severely handicapped children within each disability who are receiving an inadequate education. The law also stated that the same kind of "free ap­ propriate" public education must be available for all handicapped children between the ages of 3 and 18 within a state not later than Sept. 1, 1978: and for all handicapped children between the ages of 3 and 21 not later than Sept. 1, 1980. The pre-school and 18-21 age groups clause only applies in states where its application is consistent with that state's law or practice. The law is the outcome of information that lists one million children in the country who are excluded entirely from the public school system and who will not go through the educational process with their peers To implement the program. Kusch estimated three more teachers may be needed. He showed slides from the federal government explaining local application of the new law Kusch said at present there is a waiting list for the SEDOM classes because of inadequate space to teach them. Presently, there is 10 percent of the student body studying locally in special education compared to the national average of 12 percent. The law requires that an equal amount of money be spent on the handicapped child as one who is not handicapped The federal government provides funding in the amount of $300 for the cost of schooling each child per year. The administrator told the board he had also heard rumors of a state mandated breakfast for children. - During the meeting. Robert Thornton was inducted as a newly appointed board member to replace Lester Smith, who resigned. Tim Althoff was elected president pro-tern of the board. THE MCHENRY PLAINDEALER SERVING THE CHAIN-O-IAKES REGION SINCE 1875" VOLUME 102 NUMBER 35 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30,1977 2 SECTIONS 26 PAGES 20' High Accident Count IOver Holiday Weekend There was an estimated 910,000 damage when fire swept through an upstairs bedroom in the Paul Joza home, 418 N. Country Club drive, McHenry, early Tuesday morning. A member of the family said he fell asleep with a clgaret in his hand. He was awakened by 4he fire at 4if2 a.m. and railed the fire department Members of Company I remained on the scene until 0 a.m.. when the blase was brought under control. All furniture on the second floor of the and one-half story home was destroyed by fire. The blase broke out again early in the afternoon but was under control «t press time. More details Friday. f The heavy snow over Thanksgiving weekend with the Resulting icy road surfaces produced a high accident count according to the reports of the McHenry County Sheriff's department accident in­ vestigation detail. The total of reports completed reached more than forty-nine by ' Monday morning. A car driven by Michael L. Pingleton. 2300 W. Country lane, McHenry, sustained over $800 in damages when it hit a tree at the intersection of JFtingwood road at McCullom Lake road at 2:30 a.m. Nov. 27. No injuries were reported. Pingleton said he was driving south at 45 mph and braked for the stop intersection. However, because of the snow, his car skidded right through the in­ tersection and was stopped by the tree. A car driven by Edward J. Hamann, 3919 Clearbrook, McHenry, received $500 in damages when it skidded off Riverside drive, in the 2200 block at 4 p.m. Nov. 25. Hamann said he was driving south at 35 mph when his vehicle began to skid on the snowy pavement. He braked, but lost control and slid into the ditch where his car hit several small trees. Gerald W. Birch, 1806 W. Fargo. McHenry, said his car hit a slick spot on Barreville road, in Nunda township, when he lost control and ran off the roa4at3:10p.m. Nov. 27, it was reported. Birch indicated that he was driving south near 2713 Barreville, when the one-car crash occurred. Damage was reported at over $100. A van driven by a Wonder Lake man damaged a car at the intersection of Route 120 and Greenwood road in a backing, accident at 11:46 a.m. Nov. 26, according to deputies. Edward J. Leman. 3502 Church drive, Wonder Lake was ticketed for improper backing. Leman said he had stopped at the intersection on Route 120 and wanted to go west. He started to back to get in position when his van struck a car driven by Mark E. Streit, 404 Spruce ime,: Crystal Lake. (Continued u jngo 16) Musin9 And Meanderin9 Remember when Santa made his arrival admist the familiar Ho! Ho! Ho? Don't be too sure of it this year! If the big fellow in the red suit and bushy beard hasn't been too busy to keep tabs on the news, he may chance that cheery greeting to Woe! Woe! Woe! Along with the customary pre-Christmas bills that take their toll on our budgets starting about Dec. 1, another, more insidious duty to be im­ posed is the 5 percent RTA gasoline tax. With the legal impediment hurdled through publication of the required notice, there seems to be little short of a miracle to prevent each of us who drives from paying. Early estimates are that we in the six-county area will pay an estimated 21 - cents more per gallon. The only glimmer of hope lies in a suit before the Illinois Supreme court. Even this action won't stop levying the tax, pending the outcome. In the meantime, we receive daily reminders of all the worthy things the RTA is ac­ complishing. The most recent tells us that Santa Claus will be coming to town by public transportation this year. Good, we thought. With enthusiasm that knew no bounds we read further to learn that starting Dec. 3, he'll be riding throughout the Regional Transportation's six- county region to promote public transportation use during the holiday season when "traffic is snarled" and riding buses is one way to avoid "traffic congestion". Doesn't that sound good? We're part of that six-county region so we read a bit farther. RTA will have four Santas randomly riding buses throughout the area. Holiday shoppers will even be given a pre-Christmas gift of a free ride on any RTA bus Santa is aboard. In addition, he'll hand riders a free RTA shopping bag for their convenience. / Until now we were a winner, but the promotional release didn't stop there.Quickly our eyes perused the schedule to see when Santa would be paving us a visit. Alas - no Santa! Our first thought was that our eyes had deceived us. Our second thought was that the RTA had deceived us, and this made a lot more sense. Haven't we been deceived by the RTA from the very beginning? Why don't we qualify for RTA's gift from Santa? We qualify by having "snarled t r a f f i c " a n d " t r a f f i c congestion" but our stocking is empty. We're all grown up now, but it doesn't take much of a memory to conjure up pleasant dreams of Santa leaving gifts, and they came true. This year of 1977 we'd settle for no gift from Santa. But please, just don't reach into our stocking and take our gasoline money. KAF First In State • .. .X Safety Award To County Farm Bureau McHenry County Farm Bureau will receive the first place award for the most outstanding safety program conducted by a County Farm Bureau Women's committee during the Illinois Agricultural association annual meeting at St. Louis this week. Mrs. Rosemary Bartman, Marengo, was chairman of the committee during the mem­ bership year the award was earned. The new membership year started Oct. 1. Mrs. Ella Martin, present Singers Offer Christmas Windows Into The World chairman of the McHenry County Farm Bureau Women's committee, will accept the award in beha!f of the McHenry County Farm Bureau at the breakfast for all women at­ tending the four-day con­ vention. The convention opens Wednesday and continues through Saturday afternoon. "This is the third year in a row our Women's committee has earned this honor and it is a tribute to the dedication of Farm Bureau women to make life around the farm and home safer for all members of the family." said Larry Harris. Farm Bureau manager. Harris explained that the women conducted safety- o r i e n t e d p r o g r a m s methodically throughout the year. "They coupled active presentation of these programs with an aggressive effort to disseminate safety-awareness news stories," continued Harris. One of the best programs was a "Crime Prevention in the Home" workshop where speakers demonstrated equipment that should be in­ stalled to help prevent suc­ cessful home robberies. A representative of the McHenry Tax Formula For School Costs Is Major Concern Extensive discussions on national farm legislation changes and how to develop a state income tax formula to help finance Illinois school costs are among main matters to be discussed at St. LOuis this week when more than 3.500 farmers from Illinois' 102 counties gather for the 1977 Illinois agricultural association annual meeting. Other matters expected to be of major concern include energy, and ownershio of (Continued on page 16) County Sheriff's department took part in that program. W o m e n ' s c o m m i t t e e members distributed and publicized the use of yellow and Mack grain bin safety stickers and enlisted the cooperation of elevator operators, grain dealers and McHenry FS personnel. A c a r d i o - p u l m o n a r y resuscitation program was sponsored to help farmers learn more about good health care and how to lessen the chances of a heart attack. Another project focused on the use of ear plugs and other RTA Board Comes To County The December board briefing and board meeting of the Regional Transportation Authority board of directors are being held in McHenry, county tras week. The RTA board held its briefing at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 28, in the McHenry county courthouse. County Board Room-203, 2200 N. Seminary avenue, Woodstock. The board will hold its" regularly monthly board meeting Thursday, Dec. 1, at the same time and same place as the briefing. A major topic of discussion Thursday will be RTA's McHenry County Public Transportation plan which has been developed after more than a year of planning by RTA and McHenry county planners. "This is the first regular monthly RTA board meeting thfit has been held outside (Continued on page 16) safety devices. At the county fair, the committee provided a hearing test machine to con­ duct free tests at the Farm Bureau booth. Literature and free ear plugs were given away as the women stressed damage to hearing that could result from being around noisy farm machinery over an extended period of time. "The Women's committee worked with many groups and provided a regular flow of information on safety- awareness activities," sum­ marized Harris. "The com­ munity recognizes their leadership, and the Farm Bureau Women's committee is being asked by a growing number of organizations to take part and to spearhead varied safety-awareness programs." Mrs. Bartman particularly enjoyed one; project that became popular because she is a mother raising children. At Christmas time in 1976, the Farm Bureau Women's committee conducted an in- (Continued on page 16) Allan Cook will sing "Christmas Was Meant For Children" to these three young children, Jennifer, Lee and Cindy Lockwood, when the McHenry Choral club presents its annual holiday program Dec. 3-4 in West campus auditorium at 8:15 p.m. Mary Ann Wegener, another soloist, will be heard in "Let There Be .Peace On Earth" to carry out the theme, "Christmas Windows Into Hie World". STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD When the McHenry Choral their audience to more than club goes on stage at West twenty countries in song. The campus auditorium next annual Oiristmas program will weekend, members will take (Continued on page 16) Conduct-Theft Arrest Greets former Resident Victor R. Gustafson, 70, 808 Crescent, Wheaton, a former McHenry resident, was arrested in an incident at Rhino's. 1406 Riverside drive, about 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27, according to the McHenry Police department. Gustafson was charged with disorderly conduct and with theft under $150, and was released on a $35 bond. According to the arrest report, police were called to the tavern to investigate a com­ plaint of theft. Gustafson reportedly had taken $18 from a Robert R. Prather. When of­ ficer Robert L. Zujewski arrived, allegedly the suspect resisted efforts to take him into custody and swore at the of­ ficer. police stated. SANTA PHONE Children in the McHenry area are invited to talk to Santa by phone Dec. 6-7 between 7 and 9 p.m. Phone 385-1566. 'Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Even with the wind chill factor near the zero mark Fridav night, many braved the cold to see the Chamber of Commerce official welcome to the holiday season. The line of march iaelnded the city's new winter prince and princess, Michael Gunty, II, Wonder Lake, and Danielle White, McHenry, both S, who were especially honored in a brief ceremony at the triangle near city halL The photo above was taken during this special recognition, which also iadnded the lighting of the tree. Highlight of the parade was the appearance ef Santa, who later took his place In the red hut In city park, where he win continue to great youngsters until Christmas. x STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD