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ism PROPOSED GRA m PIT EXPANSION GOOD FOR THE CITY OF MtHENRY? By surrounding Valley View Elementary School on three sides, this may very well force it to be closed. Who wiH pay for a new school? You the McHenry tax payers for approximately $3,000,000. " If there is no expansion in the proposed sites, would McHenry Sand & Gravel close? No!, be­ cause it is common knowledge that they have other holdings to develop. Therefore there are no jobs at stake. Was McHenry Sand & Gravel here first? No! The surrounding subdi­ visions preceeded this proposed expansion by eight years. Valley View School was in existence 6 years prior to McHenry Sand & Gravel purchasing the twenty acres along the east side of its playground. Because this area was projected to be residential, Valley View School was built at its present location. The Year 2000 City & County Comprehen­ sive plans also called for this area to be developed residential. How can this land best benefit McHenry?* • with a one-shot gra­ vel pit or with a revenue generat­ ing residential community? One good answer lies with real estate taxes. McHenry Sand & Gravel only contributed $68,000 in 1984. On the other hand, the existing subdivisions contributed over $200,000 in 1984 and are projected to contribute over $600,000 when fully developed. Who will pay the difference in the future? You and me! As this is the fourth expansion of McHenry Sand & Gravel (in our community), how long before McHenry is a gravel pit? What will happen to the natural beauty of our community? And what fu­ ture businesses and residents can McHenry attract? We are con­ cerned, aren't you? Why did the McHenry City Coun­ cil oppose a gravel pit two miles east of town and quietly sit by while expansion is proposed in a western residential site, directly adjacent to McHenry residents and our school? Is this consistent city management? These and other important issues very much concern many McHenry citizens. The future development and beauty of our City is at stake. If you agree with these con­ cerns, please, support our efforts by contributing toward our legal expenses in our battle at the McHenry County Zoning Board Hearings. ICJU6.E. P.O. Box #17 McHenry, IL 60050 ONI Y THIS Will ALLOW OUR VOICES TO BtHtAROI Cd* (Continued from page 1) Inter-hospital planning agreements, such as the one influencing the direction of the Regional Cancer Care Center as the only institution to provide radiation therapy, results in a reduction of health care costs for the community. Health care professionals at Sherman, Good Shepherd, and St. Joseph Hospitals work closely together to develop the best possi­ ble treatment program for each individual cancer patient in the area. With the exception of radiation therapy, Sherman and Good Shepherd both offer complete, full-service oncological programs. All three hospitasl further recognize the treatment of cancer includes more than treating the tumor itself; each includes supportive services designed to treat the whole patient. "The emotional side effects of cancer are very, very tremendous," said Kobza. "People tend to cope the same way they cope in other situa­ tions in their life. Cancer brings with it fear of pain, death, financial loss, loss of self-esteem, and loss of independence. It affects the entire family." In 1981, Kobza started in this are? the 'I Can Cope' group, an educa­ tional program for cancer patients and their families that originated in Minnesota. These groups meet throughout the area. Area hospitals also offer to the public information and educational programs on the prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. Dr. James Gagnon, oncologist at the Regional Cancer Care Center, said the only proven forms of cancer treatment are surgery, radiation, ; and chemotherapy. State's new seatbelt law close to WE'VE PAID TAXES UNTIL it hurt, and we've adhered to all the edicts of Uncle Sam, Big Jim, and all his predecessors in Springfield whether we agreed with them or not. We consider ourself a good citizen who watches the 55 mph mark on the speedometer and wouldn't dream of asking tor anything other than unleaded gasoline. We've done some other things right, also, a few of them new Illinois seat belt law. If nothingTnore, it is cruel and unusual punishment to be mandated to ride like a mummy down the main street of town. Our eye is on every other driver to see how many of them are following this cockamamie law that places us in a strait jacket type of confinement every time we step inside a car. OUR INITIATION INTO THIS new form of insanity was early Monday morning. As we pulled and tugged to make ends meet it seemed the indulgence of the weekendhad added a few pounds. Then we discovered we were plugging one end into the passenger s side. Some of us have less-than-mechanical, less-than-practical thinking processes. After a few choice thoughts that were unprintable, we had a little personal visit with ourself. "Just calm down," we admonished. "You've been able to cope with life pretty well until now, just take it in stride like you did when they passed Prohibition. BUT ANOTHER PART of us l drink, and besides you were well alive at all, when Prohibition came in. retorted, "You don't even under the drinking age, if We couldn't recall the year. Jjj^nucJ^forjielfajdmc^ USUI &, anderin BY KAF something else. Maybe just a self-analysis, concentrating on our better self to keep us in line with this new, hated legal imposition. As all these thoughts passed through our t^lnd, the car progressed toward the drugstore, where we were forced to become dismantled just to drop off a film. Then on across the intersection to send a letter at the post office and a repeat procedure. BY THE TIME we arrived at church we were well in need of prayers just for what we were thinking. In the afternoon, we ventured out once more, believing in our naivete that practice might make the procedure so routine as to go unnoticed. This was not to be. As we approached the post office the second time that day, we came dose to hitting the car of a young lady driver whose signal indicated she was turning into the bank parking lot. No, she was not. Rather, she was signalling to enter a well-defined, yellow area were there was no parking. THE THOUGHT OCCURRED that in her illegality she probably would go free, while we, legally strapped to our seat, would certainly bring down the wrath of some cop should we say, "To heck with it," and drive unrestrained just one more time. We looked over the information in the daily newspaper for some excuse that might exclude us from the strap wearers but It's a silly one Like every other morning, I drove to work Monday. I obeyed the speed limits. I'm pretty sure I didn't roll through any stop signs; I signaled my turns. But, I was breaking the law every inch of the way. And I didn't realize it until a couple hours later, safe inside the office with a stack of mail on my desk. I didn't buckle up. I broke the law--the new law, the silly seat-belt law. Of course, no one could be blamed for forgetting to buckle up on Monday, being it was the first day the law took effect. The state will give us a month to get used to the law before it begins issuing $25 tickets for failure to comply. Come Aug. 1, I'll drive to work again, and odds are I won't buckle - up. Odds are many people -- probably half of Illinois' drivers -- won't buckle up. And we'll all be breaking the law. No one expects all drivers in the state to wear seat belts. State officials figure 60 percent of our motorists might comply with the law, and they'd be happy. Sixty percent, while it may be a good winning percentage in baseball, is hardly an overwhelming en­ dorsement for seat belts. That 60 percent probably is an inflated figure, too. When I went home for lunch Monday, I tried to count home many people were wearing seat belts. I saw about 50 cars, and nine drivers were wearing belts. It's Just the first day, I thought Maybe on Tuesday, 60 percent will wear belts. Maybe Aug. 1. Maybe the first hot day in January. Maybe never. If the state were really serious about the seat-belt law, it would push enforcement of it. Like requiring officers to ticket each and every violator they see. Or think they see. Can you imagine the public outcry if that half of the driving public that ignores the seatbelt law were ticketed with the same regularity as other traffic-law violators are? The seat-belt law would be gone faster than you can think of a way to get around it. It's a good law, but, obviously, it's not that good a law. Police say they won't ticket someone for simply not wearing a seat belt. They'll have to be breaking some other law, like the speed limit. So, if you get pulled over for speeding and the cop doesn't like your looks or he's had a bad day or he's hard-nosed, he'll be able to nick you for another 25 bucks. That makes speeding a $75 ticket. Most drivers feel bad enough having to pay a speeding ticket; it would be cruel to heep another $25 on top. It seems police officers will be able to use a considerable amount of discretion with this silly new law. That's comforting to know. The state wants it both ways. The state wants to protect us from ourselves, so it passes a seat-belt law. But police have more im­ portant things to do than give tickets for seat-belt infractions, so the state won't require them to enforce the law like other traffic laws. I like that kind of committment It's a law the state can pay lip service to and we can pay for if we're unlucky enough. I've said it before: Wearing seat belts is a good idea, a darn good idea. Seat belts save lives. Seat belts prevent injuries. Seat belts lessen the extent of injuries. Wearing seat belts makes sense. When I'm driving, I try to wear my seat belt. If I go anywhere of any distance, I buckle 19, just like the law says. But, when I go up­ town or drive to work or run a quick errand, chances are I won't buckle up. I know, I know. That's dumb, but that's the way it is. Most ac­ cidents happen on the short trips. Most accidents happen at slower speeds, speeds at which seat belts are most effective. But, who thinks about having an accident when you're on your way to a loaf of bread? I don't. Who thinks about buckling up then? I don't Like every other law, the seat-belt law is tangled up in politics. Automakers don't want to install air bags in new cars, and if a cer­ tain number of states pass seat-belt laws, they won't have to. That's the bottom line for this law. Fine, have a seat-belt law. But don't play games with us. Enforce it or write it off the books. Being that it is realistically unenforceable, only one alternative is left » 8gv J " 1 1 9 JUL* 1 1-WW insanity could find none. We were sure no doctor would threaten his reputation for honesty by saying the practice would be harmful, although it is a likely fact that our blood pressure rises appreciably every time we get behind the wheel. ALSO, WE'RE HARDLY at the age when we might ioin the motorcycle or motorized pedalcycle driving public, both of which are exempt. A change of occupation also was considered, then rejected for the fact that we are officially retired. Besides, we would probably fail to pass the civil service examination for rural mail carrier. They, too, are exempt. But, wonder of wonders, there remains one out for us and there is little doubt that we qualify. It is not necessary to use seatbelts if one is driving in reverse. Bless our dear, departed dad who once observed our early attempt at driving and remarked, "You drive better backward than forward." WHAT WOULD THE powers-that-be say if we suddenly thrust upon the streets of McHenry a driver backing up the Green Street hill amidst a traffic iam. Legal we might be and so happy to be free of the encumbrance which has made our life, and the lives of so many friends, miserable. One of these friends smugly told us Monday morning that she wasn't wearing her belt because she couldn't find it. When they became a nuisance her husband must have removed them. But by afternoon our paths crossed again and she sadly added to her Day 1 account of life with seatbelts. To her regret she had mentioned her dilemma to another family member who promptly found the missing items neatly tucked away for posterity. Dick Peterson