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McHENRY AN EDITION OF THE NORTHWEST HERALD THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 26. 1985 Good Morning locat report County agency to meet . The monthly meeting of the Board of Directors of the McHenry County Association for the Retarded will be at 8 p.m.. Thursday at 4001 Dayton St., McHenry. Rummage sale to be held The Zlon Ladles Aid will be sponsoring its Annual Fall Rummage Sale in the social hall of Zlon Lutheran Church Oct. 3 and 4. The doors will be open Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday, 9 a.m. tol2p.m Neighbors picnic a success The Royal Neighbors annual picnic was a great success; games and prizes were plentiful. Four new neighbors were welcomed, Amanda Behrens, Bernice Freund, Eleanor Creutz and Betty Mi' nor. A new deputy, Larry Adams, has been assigned to this area. INDEX/SECTION A Area man survives quake By Alex Rodriguez Plaindealer News Service CARY -- When Bill Pentz walked out of the shower of his hotel suite In Mexico City, he didn't think it was an earthquake causing ceramic tiles to crumble into the bathtub behind him. 'I thought to myself, 'Boy, this Is shoddy workmanship for a Shera­ ton.' " Thirty seconds later, whep the en­ tire structure of the Maria Isabel Sheraton began shaking violently, Pentz was "convinced in my own mind I was going to die." Pentz said it took 30 seconds to realize what was happening. He re­ members now that, strangely his first priority was to get some clothes on and to get his wallet so he would be dressed and Could be identified when found dead. "The violent shaking was so great I could not have gotten out of my room," Pentz said. The quake lasted four minutes, and Pentz noted "a deathly silence" afterward occasionally broken by screaming down the hallway. Ex­ cept for minor whiplash, Pentz es­ caped unhurt. He stepped into the hallway, and with his business associate, left to meet their 9 a.m. appointment. On the way, they saw hotel guests with bedsheets wrapped around them crying into each other's arms; a surprisingly calm and professional Sheraton staff guiding people to safety; and an eerie Image of a woman wrapped in a bedsheet play­ ing a grand piano in the lobby. Pentz and his associate briefly drove by the area hardest hit. He remem­ bered turning to his friend and say­ ing, "We were damn lucky." RC collecting for quake victims Plaindealer News Service WOODSTOCK - McHenry County has made a "good start" toward helping victims of the Mexican earthquakes, according to the direc­ tor of the local chapter of the Red Cross. Polly Easton of the McHenry County Chapter of the American Red Cross said Tuesday that about 10-15 people have sent monetary contributions to the Woodstock chap­ ter. Those funds will be forwarded to Washington, and will be "used for what is needed, where it's needed," Easton said. "The Mexican Red Cross has come out in force and is doing a fantastic Job," Easton said. "The American Red Cross, being Mexi­ co's neighbor and one of the biggest Red Crosses in the world, is next to help out." Although the Red Cross has helped financially, it has still been unable to start its disaster information line to help locate people in Mexico for their friends and relatives in Ameri- Slick surfaces cited as cause in crashes ca, Easton said. Communications between Mexico and the U.S. are still mostly out of commission in the wake of the two quakes which struck Mexico last Thursday and Friday, she said. The official death toll from the quakes rose to 4,160 Tuesday, but some estimate that it will rise to 10,000 by the time all the dead are accounted for. So far, the International Red Cross has contributed $2.6 million in cash and supplies to aid the relief effort. Rainy weather contributed to a number of multiple car collisions investigated recently by McHenry Police. On Sept. 21, three cars collided at the intersection of Richmond and McCullom Lake Roads and two peo­ ple were taken to Northern Illinois * Medical Center (NIMC) for exami­ nation and treatment. Eric M. Lange, 24. of 7721 Oak Drive, Wonder Lake, had stopped to make a left turn when his car was struck in the rear. The drivers of the other two vehicles. Tom A and Nan­ cy Schweiger, both of Northbrook, said they were unable to stop on the wet pavement. Two passengers in the Lange vehi­ cle. Carol Lange, 24, and Jeanette L. Lowrimore. 35. of 1407 Riverside. McHenry. were taken to NIMC for examination of injuries. Both Schweigers were cited for driving too fast for conditions. The accident occurred at 10:30 a.m. FOUR CARS Two drivers involved In a four-car collision were ticketed by police Keith C. Wagner. 16. and Scott D. Leslie, 16, both of Crystal Lake, were issued citations for failure to reduce speed to avoid a collision following a chain collision involving two other cars. The other drivers were Don E. Mote, 27, of Carpentersvllle, and Richard K. Kollenkark, 46, of 3718 Hillcrest. McHenry. No Injuries were reported. THREE CARS Cynthia M Veen. 31. of 1916 Dot St., McHenry, was taken to NIMC by ambulance following a three-car crack-up in the 4500 block of Elm Street on Sept. 21. Jerome E. Hochberg. 32, of Ev- anston. told police his car skidded into the rear of the Veen auto when he applied the brakes The Veen car then struck an auto driven by Bruce E. Schneiderman. 27, of Woodstock. TWO TICKETS Both drivers involved in a two-car collision were issued tickets by po­ lice on Sept. 20. John R. Olsson. 23. of 1013 Kiver Terrace. McHenry. was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident after he tried to make it through the intersection of Elm and Front Streets on a yellow light. At the same time, however, Tra- cey M. Heckman, 16, of Crystal Lake, attempted to make a left turn. She was cited for failure to yield the right-of-way. TWO-CAR CRASH Sheila J. Malinowskl, 25, of 4714 N. Fox Lane. McHenry. was ticketed for failure to signal when required after her car was hit in the rear In the eastbound lane of Elm Street on Sept. 21 The driver of the other car, Dale W. Mathews. 25, of Woodstock, said no turn signal or brake lights were visible. Mathews was cited for driv­ ing too fast for conditions. CARS COLLIDE Anita J. Ballstaedt. 18, of 1812 Riverside Drive, McHenry. was charged with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident after her car struck the rear of another vehicle The other car. driven by Eugene J Kalsch. 27. of 2813 Beachyjew, McHenry, had slopped to make a left turn. No injuries were reported in this accident on Sept 23. By Mark Baus Plaindealer News Service Today's Weather Shown above are the three McHenry High School Karen Mullen, East Campus (left); April Schroe- students who achieved National Merit Scholar- der, East Campus (center); and Leigh Tevis, ship "Commended Student" status. They are West Campus (right). McHenry scholars commended Three McHenry High School stu­ dents have been designated "com­ mended students" by the National Merit Scholarship Commission. They are Karen Mullen and April Schroeder of East Campus-and Leigh Tevis of West Campus. The principals of the schools, D. William Dodds at East and Gregory Johnson at West said the three se­ niors will receive a letter of com­ mendation in honor of outstanding academic promise which was dem­ onstrated by placing in the top five percent of more than 1 million par­ ticipants in the 31st annual program. "Being named a commended stu­ dent, in the extremely competitive Merit Program Is a credit to Karen, Leigh and April, and to out school which played an important role in the development of these academi­ cally talented youths. The high test performance of the commended stu­ dents is indicative of exceptional scholastic ability, which is essential in a nation that prides itself on culti­ vating individual excellence," they said. v Participants entered the current Merit Program by taking the PSAT/NMSQT in October, 1984, when most of the students were Ju­ niors. Although their qualifying test scores are high, the 35,000 com­ mended students nationwide scored slightly below the level required for semi-finalist. Only the semi-finalists will continue in the competition for some 5,800 merit scholarships to be awarded in 1986. Earlier vthis month, Joan M. Mar- chese of West Campus was named a semi-finalist in the competition. percent of more than 1 million par- Participants entered the current semi-finalist in the competition. Local economy would benefit from hotel, chamber says D» VAIIU C HIMUMMI DvruinHihiroo "Visitor's monev By Kelly S. Thompson Plaindealer Staff Writer The full-service, 58-room hotel that will begin to be built later this fall will mean more than room ac­ commodations. It will mean Jobs, money and new businesses for the community. About $1.25 million is expected to be generated each year the hotel is in-operation, based on 70 percent occupancy, said Fran Olsen, direc­ tor of the McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce. For every 50,000 visitors, $2 mil­ lion, or $40 a person is anticipated to be generated in tax revenues and $14 million, or $280 a person, in direct expenditures. The average is taken from study­ ing both Illinois visitors and out-of- state visitors' spending habits. Illi­ nois visitors are likely to spend more money each trip. Their aver­ age is $300 a visit as compared to $124 for all other visitors, according to statistics provided by MACC. Broken down per dollar that would mean 35 cents on transportation, 19 cents on lodging, 22 cents for food, 12 cents for entertainment and 12 cents for souvenirs and gifts. So; two-thirds of their money would be spent in retail shops, ad­ mission fees and entertainment. The other one-third would be spent on restaurants. Visitor's money works faster and has more impact within the commu­ nity," said Olsen. Retail dollars are spent four times faster than manufacturing dollars and the turnover is seven times more. Besides incoming money, the hotel is expected to provide 20 full-time positions and 15 part-time positions. Another by-product of the hotel will be car rental services, shuttles to the airport, and other services, said Olsen. However, as yet no one has approached her about it. "They want to wait and see if the hotel is really built," she said. HOTEL - Page 3 WONDER LAKE - The proposed third phase of the Village of Wonder Lake road improvement project was detoured temporarily after the board voted to open bidding for the project before accepting one con­ tract already obtained by the village The village board decided to em­ bark on the estimated $40,000 plus project after determining the village is running a surplus in its current budget, and will be able to renegoti­ ate a $40,000 loan obtained before the second phase of the project three years ago. Village President Duane Zeman moved Tuesday night to waive the bidding proceedure and accept a bid from Geske and Sons of Crystal Lake for sweeping and seal coating of 6.9 miles of Village roads. "This will complete something that, three years ago, we thought we'd never see happen," Zeman said during her proposal to the board. , Trustees Dan McGuire and Hank Sugden, however, questioned the le­ gality and propriety of waiving the bidding procedure and voted along with Trustees Lynn Mullen and Ma­ rie Janecke to open bidding. Trust­ ees Brian McLaughlin and Fred McKinstry voted to accept the Geske bid. Zeman later sited a state statute which allows village boards to waive the bidding procedure if the project is not financed by a special tax assessment. "When I asked to waive the bidding, I was within the law," Zeman said. "We've done this three or four times in the past. The use of their voting block (to stall the pro­ ject) was totally wrong. These guys never do their homework." Sugden said while it may be legal to waive the bidding, the majority of the board didn't want to rush into a $40,000 expenditure. "I'm not going to rush into a $40,000 project. We spent less tftne talking about a $40,000 expenditure than we did about a $200 salary for a police offi- CONTRACT - Page 3 Weather 2 Obituaries 4 News at a glance 2 Community Calendar .. 3 Sports 9,10 This is a two section, 26 page newspaper © ISIqrthwebt i-iewspapers Education costs going up District 156 board comparative data, will allow the dis­ trict to pursue the Association of School Busines Officials Certificate of Excellence in Financial Report­ ing. The award has been given to only six of Illinois' 1.000 school districts. "The award would improve our fiscal image when bond interest rates are sought and would also pro­ vide full disclosure to the public. "The district has been accused in the past of 'hiding something' and the report will dispel such miscon­ ceptions," Kelly said. The costs of the project could be decreased depending on the amount of work done "in house" by the district," Kelly said. In other business, the Board ap­ proved employment for new district employees. Hired as coaches were Jeff Varda. assistant golf: Joan Jensema: assis­ tant volleyball: Vickie Soda, assis­ tant cheerleading and Alexandra El­ liott. assistant pom pon. Also approved were: Barbara Mo- lidor was hired as an instructional aide: Starr Sanchez as office educa­ tion student Leonor Matheny and Stella Vogt as cafeteria workers: Beth Jenkins and Mary Reid as bus drivers and Richard L. Wynn. David R. Stippick and Gertrude Zuber as substitute bus drivers. The board also*. -Approved an increase in the tuto­ rial fees from $8 to $9.50 per hour. -Appointed David Benrud as dele­ gate to the Illinois Association of School Boards convention with Steve Cuda as alternate. WL spars on road Doggie detective? Can ordinary household dogs become super-sniffing detectives in times of need? Gloria Miller and her dog, Buff, who have offered to volunteer their services to the county, hope they can. See story on page 3. contract MOSTLY CLOUDY and cool Thursday. A 30 percent chance of showers in the morning. High In the middle or upper 50s. Partly cloudy and cooler Thursday night with a low in the upper 30s or lower 40s. Lottery By Marion Olsen Plaindealer News Service The McHenry High School District 156 Board of Education Tuesday ap­ proved a 1985-86 budget of more than $8.67 million to educate the district's 1,559 students. Expected revenues total $6.58 million. : After adjustments for receipt of taxes, an operating deficit of $301,218 will occur in the total of all funds with a deficit of $446,116 in the education fund, according to Mi chael Kelly, district business manager. Based on last year's audit, the average cost to educate one student was $3,876.78. That cost will increase this year, along with the increased budget, Kelly said. Last year's bud­ get was $7.42 million. The Education Fund will take the biggest bite of the budget apple, chomping off an estimated $5.5 mil­ lion. Other funds and their estimat­ ed expenditures are: Building and Maintenance, $962,300: Bond and In­ terest,$749,037; Transportation. $338,815; Illinois Municipal Retire­ ment Fund, $122,000; Site and Con­ struction, $852,762; and Working Cash, $66,412. In a related action, the board > unanimously approved a one-time only expenditure of up to $4,500 for the school auditor to report the dis­ trict's financial position on an "acrual" basis. The district's regular accounting procedure is done on a "cash" basis. The additional statement, going back five years and producing • i OKs deficit budget Daily game: 282 Pick Four: 6575 LOTTO grand prize; $6.5 million *