*&•' % - « « . •' *•• ^ -ft' 31 *"':•; JeL^r ' • r ? - * * • • / A Christmas Mystery Local residents have long complained about pollution in the Fox river. That i-mm$M J&% * • isB6f- *** v jr m ' 1 i m m • ••" -me* * , in m^F Jf Si V' " High Cost For Cleanup Of Fox way County board to report oh the clean water project. Part of that report included the possible expenditure of $36 million by the county, over the next twenty years to improve the quality. According to Negy, the Northeastern Illinois Planning commission (NIPC) will develop a plan to clean up the Fox and Kishwaukee rivers by May of 1978. The final plan will be submitted to Governor Thompson and upon his approval will be forwarded to the U.S. Environmental Protection agency for funding. Cost estimates may be high, Negy emphasized. The commission's projected figure is $688 million to be spent on the Fox river basin during the next two decades. Of thatfigure, $142 would be spent in the county. If cost sharing is undertaken by the federal and state governments. NIPC estimates the county share at $36 million. The county would also contribute to the Kishwaukee river project. -JtJM v-K ••»" ffiKfS.'rA SERVING THi CHAIN-04AKES SI Million Offer Campus Sale Proposal To Public The mystery of Christmas for a youngster has always been the comment was "Whiskers". Becky, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bob luxurious beard of Santa Claus. If we are lucky, the magic of his Welter of McHenry, later became friendly enough with the kindly soft, silky growth on demand will remain one of the delights of gentleman in the red suit to ask fer toys and candy. childhood. Above. 2-year-old Becky experiences some of the magic STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD as she feels Santa's beard in his hut In the city park. Her only -r Residents of High School,. District 156 will have the opvr port unity to decide whether or' not they wish Ur sell East campus, probably for $1 million, and support a bond issue in the amount of $2,200,000 to build an addition to West campus. ^ That action was taken at a meeting held Tuesday night at which members expressed the opinion that the public should make the decision. The date for the referendum was set for Saturday, Feb. 25. The board's decision resulted from a new offer made by iy Corcoran, executive tor of McHenry hospital, LeRoy Olsen, president of the board of directors, for purchase of East campus at a price of $1 million. As an ex pression of good faith, a check in the amount of $5,000 ac companied the offer. If the referendum fails, provision is made that the deposit would be returned and the offer to purchase ter minated. According to law, should the voters approve the sale of the school and the sale of bonds, the matter would then be handled by public auction during which the hospital would submit a bid in the amount of $1 million. Should a bid in excess of that amount be made, the hospital has stated that it might then wish to reexamine its bid. A period up to thirty months was designated in the hospital's letter for construction to be completed, during which time the sthgel district .would be in I the East campus •fcf. initial discussion, Member Henry Nell asked what this proposition would do to the plan announced earlier in the month to establish two four- year high schools. After considerable input, it was generally conceded that by calling the referendum for late February, there would be sufficient time before the mid- March termination of the two four-year schools study to proceed with those plans if the referendum fails. President James Althoff pointed out that any referen dum held solely for information (in this case to obtain the feeling of the public on selling East campus) is illegal. (Continued on page 3) MM Referendum Vote Dec. 23 The public will vote on the request of High School District 156 for a $.15 tax rate increase in the Operations and Main tenance fund Friday, Dec. 23, from noon to 9 p.m. Polling places ' are McHenry high school East campus, Lakemoor Community center, Mc- Cullom Lake beach house and Harrison grade school,- Wonder Lake. Musin9 And Each special holiday there emerges from a dearth of news a "meanest person" story. It usually happens at Christmas time, when the high spirits of most people make such deeds seem almost unbelievable. It's also the time when the public is preoccupied with preparations for the holiday and least on the defensive against unscrupulous business solicitations. We can't take credit for the "meanest man" story but we do have one involving a "brash boy " whose contribution to the holiday spirit was the destruction of mail. The McHenry post office had received twelve calls from patrons along River road in one day early last week, each complaining of missing mail. One was sufficiently irate that he accused the rural carrier of dumping the mail. Then one lady whose mail had not reached her decided to take matters into her own hands She did what the postal service advises everyone to do - - she got involved. Using a "plant" in her box, she kept close watch and ob served a juvenile approach it, take out the "letter" and tear it in pieces. Immediately, the lady called the Sheriff's office and fortunately a deputy was in the immediate area. He responded and made the arrest. Officer in Charge Joseph Thome of the McHenry office said he hopes the Postal In spection department will carry this case further. Thome said the hardest part of solving cases like this is a reluctance to become involved in the fear of retaliation. And in the area of business, Atty. General William Scott warns residents that a common holiday fraud involves sending unsolicited merchandise to an individual and later billing him for payment. Under Illinois law, the in dividual may refuse to accept an unsolicited package, or he may consider the merchandise a gift i»nd use it or dispose of it as he wishes. He is. not obligated to pay for this type of merchandise, nor is he obligated to return it_. "Beware oi pre-Christmas merchandise at bargain prices" is another Scott war ning This type of operation in volves a vacant store-front which comes to life just before Christmas with the sale of appliances, toys and other products, usually inferior or second rate. According to Scott, too often consumers dissatisfied with the products return after the holidays to a vacant store. The sellers, who have rented the store front for the pre- Christmas season only, have vanished, leaving the con sumers no recourse for ex change or return of mer chandise. Reason enough, it seems, for shopping at home and sup porting those men and women in business who contribute to the betterment of their com-: munity the year 'round. And speaking of shopping, are you one of those people who still need that one very special gift for a very special person? j Maybe Brookfield zoo has just what you want, they've announced a Christmas "parent animal" adoption , (Continued on page 8) Hold McHenry Youth For Burglary In Market Place Seventeen-year-old William Patrick Ashton, 17, of 4612 Home avenue, McHenry, is being held in McHenry county jail in connection with a burglary at Homsby's Family center, 4310 W. Rt. 120. " A silent alarm alerted city police at 11:23 Sunday night. Squad cars hufried to the business place and surrounded the building until the an-ival of the managers. Upon investigation, officers found that a ventilation shaft had been tampered with. Looking further, they r discovered entrance had been made by a rope, which broke, causing Ashton to fall onto a display counter and damage it. A search resulted in discovery of the youth in the manager's office in the rear of the store. They found a desk pried open in the office and tools on the floor near Ashton. He was taken into custody and charged with burglary and criminal damage over $150. Bond was set at $3,500 for the first charge and $2,500 for the second. Unable to post bond, he was taken to county jail. A burglary at Petersen's Sand and Gravel, Inc., 914 W. Route 120, McHenry, resulted in considerable loss in material stolen and property damage, the McHenry County Sheriff's department reported Dec. 16. The loot included $380 in currency, some oil in cans, a vacuum cleaner, a battery charger, a stereo, and some tools and gauges. The entry was made during the previous night by someone prying open the door of the scale house. Deputies said that some items had been loaded on a struck at the company's lot and the thief had.tried to drive (Continued oh page 8) Name McHenry Members To Important County Posts Chairman Richard Klemm of the McHenry County board announced appointments to committees which serve the needs of the county: McHenry members figured prominently in the listing. William Simms of McHenry was named chairman of the Audit & Court Services com mittee and A1 Collins was appointed to the same position for Planning & Zoning. Vice-chairmanships went to James Curran, Courthouse Operations; Edward Buss, Finance & Salaries; Charles Weingart, Liquor & License; Walter Dean. Public Safety; Donald Doherty, Purchasing & Insurance; and Thomas Huemann, Transportation. Huemann and Simms also serve on the Finance & Salaries committee; Doherty and Curran on Health & Agriculture; Curran and Weingart on Planning & Zoning; Dean on Purchasing & Insurance; Doherty on Special Zoning and Collins and Buss on Transportation. In addition to the regular committees. Collins was named (Continued on page 8) $83,350 Addition Public Works Bid "i ' . 'if ft p The City Council, in its regular meeting Monday night, voted unanimously to accept the bid of Wm. Tonyan and Sons for the construction of an ad dition to the Public Works building on Green street. The bid was $83,350, which was considerably lower than the other two bids received from Tonyan Construction company for $99,925, and Joseph Frett and Son for $90,725 The addition will double the building in size, and will be at the north end of the present building. - Mayor ^Stanek thought that construction would begin almost immediately, before the frost set in too deep. Alderman Datz was concerned with the completion date of con struction. "The bid' States construction will be done in ninety days, but will it be done by then?" Datz questioned. Superintendent Meyer stated that a completion date could be worked into the contract and that it would be looked into. The Council also decided to accept the Zoning Board of Appeals recommendation . concerning the seven lots along W. Rt. 120 adjacent to the Glossen farm. The lots will be reclassified B-l, commercial from R-3-A. The city will also enter into an agreement with the lot owners, sharing the cost of extending the city water main to those lots on a 50-50 basis. A! The city would not reclassify the zoning, unless the lots acquired city water which required the extension. The extension will cost each lot owner approximately $560, with the city paying the remainder of the cost. Willis Martin presented the mayor and each councilman with two maps, during his mapping program report. Martin stated that the two maps, a 400-foot scale, and an (Continued page 8) Pity The Poq$ Mailman • « ̂ ™ Mi enjoy the and gifts that arrive In quality dally, the mall carriers personnel witUn the office ere the busiest (and probably most tired) people In any community. TUs is the scene at tl*| McHenry post office at 6:38 Monday morning, shewing just i portion of the huge pile of mall that haijust arrived. Posts . > a- e • - - -- worKcn in mm separate mall WAYNEGA1 \ 7