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u I - 15 Q THE MCHENRY PLAINDEALER '^pt SERVING THE CH A IN - O-LA KE S REGION SINCE 1875 VOLUME 99 NUMBER 59 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1975 20 PAGES & ONE SUPPLEMENT Gravel Mining Controversy Continues Many Injured In Auto Crashes These photos were taken at the scene of a two-car accident at the corner of Rt. 31 and Johnsburg road last Friday afternoon. Six young people were taken to McHenry hospital as the result of the crash but none was seriously hurt. STAFF PHOTOS-WAYNE GAYLORD County deputies handled twenty-five accidents, in­ cluding one fatality, over the past weekend. Many were caused by snowy and icy road conditions. Six young people were taken to McHenry hospital Friday afternoon following a collision at the corner of Route 31 and Johnsburg road, north of McHenry. Driver of one car, Lisa A. Huemann of 2103 W. Church street, Johnsburg and her passengers, Kim P. Huemann of the same address, Anthony Huemann of 2503 W. Johnsburg road, Dirk and Dean Andreas of 3920 Hillcrest, all of Johnsburg, and Robert J. Wegener of 4220 Arrest Richmond Police Chief In Tavern Incident The Richmond chief of police and a member of the McHenry County Civil Defense unit have been released on bond by the Sheriff's office .after being charged with assault in an incident that occurred in Ringwood Sunday night. Arrested for aggravated assault and unlawful restraint was Robert C. Woods, 46, of 10204 Main street, Richmond, chief of police, whose bond was set at $6,000. George W. Madden, 41, of 3401 N. Ringwood road, McHenry, who belongs to the Civil Defense unit, was arrested for unlawful restraint and had bond set at $5,000. Both were released after posting bond. They will ap­ pear in court March 10. Sheriff's police were called to the Rusty Nail tavern, 4520 Ringwood road, by a patron who told them the tavern owner, Leadis Stayton, was being held by two men in a storage room. mm Two important requests have been made this past week by the city police department through its chief, Kenneth Espey. All business firms and residents of the city have been asked to clear sidewalks of snow. This is a safety measure, and the police are firm in their belief that no one should need to walk in the street because a sidewalk is not free of ice and snow. Espey particularly pointed to the danger for senior citizens in getting to the store. The chief's other reminder is of the Feb. 28 deadline for the purchase of city vehicle licenses. Starting March 1, and throughout the month, squad cars will be in all areas checking for the new city stickers. Officers will give citations to anyone not having the license in evidence on the car. Regulations call for them to be posted on the passenger side of the windshield. Neither the shoveling requirement nor the regulation that calls for display of vehicle sticker is done to inconvenience the public. One is a safety measure, the other is an in­ come-producing measure required by most municipalities. It really isn't fair that these regulations apply only to citizens who are, by nature, law abiding. Those who are not will be "nudged" by the police department. As though we are not com­ pletely confused by just the process of living --an art we have not yet mastered-- the politicians are adding to our bewildered state. Sometimes we think it might be better if they devoted fewer hours to dreaming up new ideas and just let us drift pleasantly for a time on our own resources. Bad enough that Washington's birthday was evacuated from its customary spot of Feb. 22 and placed on Feb. 17 --but no, there's more. This set folks to wondering what was happening on Lin­ coln's birthday. Of course, this was only a state holiday and it was the federal legislators who changed national holidays so Mr. Lincoln was not affected. But how were we supposed to remember? And then there is the matter of the option of businesses, financial institutions and schools. Each makes its own decision on the day to celebrate and the perplexed public finds it is the unwilling victim of bureaucratic bungling. As though the two birthdays weren't enough for one short month, February also marked the return to daylight saving time. And this bit of brilliance is all in the interest of making a minuscule saving of energy over the next two months. When the alarm clock sounded at 6:45 Monday morning, the buzzer continued to blare out in the blackness until we conquered the stupor of sleep sufficiently to reach it. Our first question was to ask whether Senator Stevenson (Continued on page 18) Upon arrival, officers were directed to the room. They opened the door to find Stayton engaged in a discussion with two men later identified as Woods and Madden. According to Stayton, both had been drinking. Stayton told police he had gone out to move his car to allow patrons to park closer to the tavern. On his return, he stopped at his residence nearby to pick up a new buckskin coat and show it to friends in his place of business. After passing the coat among acquaintances, Stayton went to the storage room to leave it, tout was followed by Woods and Madden. They pushed him into the store room, whereupon Madden told him to put his hands on the freezer to be searched. In turning around Stayton observed Woods pointing a hand gun at him. Neither of the men was in uniform and neither had identified himself as a police officer. Nevertheless, Jhey were accusing Stayton of switching coats and perhaps concealing narcotics in the new coat taken to the storage room. Chief Woods and Madden both confirmed that they were suspicious of his actions and decided to inspect the coat. As a result of the incident, warrants were issued for the arrest of both men Sioux, McHenry, were taken to the emergency room where they were treated and released. Driver of the other car, Gary L. Foster of 113 Meadow lane, Cary, was not injured. According to the police report, Foster was north-bound on the highway when he noticed traffic slowing. He applied his brakes but his car went out of control and hit the rear of the Huemann car which was tur­ ning east onto Johnsburg road. Four women were injured in a two-vehicle accident Friday afternoon when their car was hit at the intersection of Route 12 and Bliven street, Spring Grove. Taken to McHenry hospital by the Richmond Rescue squad were Dora K. Botts of Round Lake, Emily Monroe of Round Lake Heights, Margaret M. Holt of Round Lake Park and Rosanel Higginson of Lake Villa. All were treated and released from the hospital" except Mrs. Botts, who was admitted for further treatment. They were passengers in a car driven by Evelyn E. Cook of Route 3, Lake Villa. The other driver, David P. Ullrich of 5908 N. Wilmot road, McHenry, was ticketed for failure to yield at an in­ tersection. He and his passenger, David A. Brink of 3106 N. Route 31, McHenry, were not injured. According to deputies, the Cook car was east-bound on the highway when Ullrich pulled away from Bliven street onto Route 12 and hit the Cook auto broadside. Ullrich said he stoppped at the sign, looked both ways and was partially blinded by the sun. He failed to see approaching traffic and pulled onto the highway, where he collided with the other car. A collision at the intersection of Alden and Nelson roads, north of Woodstock, Saturday afternoon resulted in a ticket being issued to Bordie A. Ketron of 4620 N. Stafford drive, Sunnyside. He was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. Neither Ketron nor his passenger, Steve Plucinski of Alden, was injured but the driver of the other car, Floyd J. Slater and his passenger, Julie A. Slater, both of 4216 McCauley road, Woodstock, were taken to Memorial hospilal by the Woodstock Rescue squad. According to the police report, Ketron was east-bound on Alden road when he lost control of his vehicle and began skidding across the road. While skidding, his car hit the Slater pickup truck which was west­ bound on the roadway. A collision at the intersection of Chapel Hill road and Linden avenue Sunday afternoon about 1 o'clock resulted in injuries to five people. Treated and released from McHenry hospital were Eugene B. Freund, Jr., of 952 Carter street, Genoa City, Wis., the other driver, Teresa L. Nelson of 3209 River Park drive, McHenry, and her passengers, William Nelson of the same address, Kenneth Neeley of (Continued on page 18) Driver Killed As Truck Hits Tree Sunday The county's third highway fatality was recorded Sunday morning at 3:38 a.m. when Gary E. Britton, 26, of Route 2. Elgin, was killed on Huntley Marengo road, about one-halt mile west of Huntley. Investigation revealed that Britton was driving a pickup truck west on the road and had just passed a car driven by his brother, David R. Britton of Huntley, when the truck went out of control. It ran off the south shoulder of the road, hit a tree, caromed off and came to rest against another tree. The victim was taken to Memorial hospital, Woodstock, by the Huntley Fire depart (Continued on page 18) Flea Market Proceeds To MCC Referendum On Wednesday, Feb. 26, the students of McHenry County college will hold a "Flea Market" in the student union at the interim campus in Crystal Lake. The hours of the sale will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., with a general auction held at noon. The "Flea Market" is open to the public and the items being sold are created or owned by the students. Some of the items being sold are art work, sporting equipment, clothing, baked goods, photos, etc. The money the students collect from the sale goes toward his or her college ex­ penses, while the proceeds from the general auction will be donated to the college referendum fund by the Student Government. View Caseloads Supervisors Organize To Share Mutual Problems A group composed of the advisory committee of McHenry county's "CETA" program (Comprehensive Employment Training act), township supervisors, town clerks, and township auditors met recently at the McHenry county courthouse. The meeting was called to acquaint the officials with the purpose and progress made in this federally funded program for the employment of persons who have been unemployed for at least fifteen weeks and are ineligible for unemployment compensation; also to seek the advice and cooperation of the township officials on proposed work programs throughout the county. The McHenry County superintendent of Public Aid. Mrs Maxine Wvmore , was present at a second meeting and urged all supervisors to cooperate very closely with her department She stated that the next s ix months would be par t icular ly d i f f icul t . The supervisors readi ly agreed and indica ted the i r case loads were many times greater than in' past years Fourteen of the county > seventeen supervisors a t t ended the meet ing and decided t o Bulletin At 1 o'clock Tuesday afternoon, state police were closing Rt. 31 to traffic between Idyll Dell road and Rt. 176 because of several serious accidents. Severe drifting caused a ten-car accident at Rt. 31 and Gracy road, a four-car crash on Rt 31 and an eight-car accident on the Crystal Lake blacktop. Another standing-room-only crowd attended the McHenry County Zoning Board of Ap­ peals hearing last Thursday afternoon at McHenry city hall. Since more witnesses for Material Service corporation are yet to appear in addition to presentations by objectors, the hearing was continued to Thursday, March 6, at 2 p.m. The hearing concerns a request by Leo and Evelyn Diedrich and Material Service corporation for a conditional use permit to operate a gravel mining operation on Chapel Hill road, about one mile north of Lincoln road. The property in question concerns 121 acres, located on the east side of Chapel Hill road across from the golf course. In addition to the thirty-five persons who signed up of­ ficially as objectors at the last meeting, about twenty-five more did so at the Feb. 20 hearing. Also present was Bernard Narusis, attorney for the city of McHenry, which is officially opposing the zoning change. Jean Larsen, a geologist with Illinois State Geological Sur­ vey, testified for the petitioners regarding un­ derground water deposits in the proposed gravel pit area. She was questioned by At­ torney James Bishop who represents the law firm of McGuire and Bishop, attorneys for the petitioners. She stated that based on her findings and her study of topographical maps and in­ formation from well diggers' logs, the gravel mining operation would have no effect whatsoever on wells in the area. However, when pinpointing wells in the area from well diggers' logs, Mrs. Larsen admitted that 25 percent of the well information submitted by well diggers was not exactly accurate as to location. Pope Schoenberger, general manager for Material Service corporation, explained how the company planned to develop the project if granted a permit. He said the residence located on the property would probably be used as an office and the farm buildings for storage of parts and machinery. A trailer would be brought in for use as a scale to weigh trucks. Schoenberger said no other permanent type structures would be erected there. He said washing and crushing will be done by por­ table and semi-portable equipment and the whole project would be a "low profile type" project. None of the structures would be over 30 feet high , he added. Schoenberger explained that the company had planned their mining operations to comply with current McHenry county zoning ordinances and with Nominate Two From City To Health Board Eight candidates will be presented to the membership of the Comprehensive Health Planning Agency for McHenry County for election to the board of directors of that organization at its annual meeting Feb. 26, according to Mrs. Eleanor Skinner, nominating com­ mittee chairman. "We have worked for two months," said Richard Wissell, president of CHPA, "in trying to put together a slate of nominees which would include both providers and consumers of health care from every section of McHenry county." According to the by-laws of CH­ PA, at least 51 percent of the membership of the board must be persons who are not providers of health care ser­ vices. The nominees are Virginia Williams, a nurse from McHenry; Richard Wissell, director of the McHenry County Health department; LeRoy Olsen, president of the Board of Trustees of McHenry hospital, Barbara Smith, a member of the Crystal Lake Hospital auxiliary; Ronald Anderson, a member of the Woodstock Rescue squad, Charles Baran, a utilities employee and a (Continued on page 18) Lakeland Park Seek Nominations For Property Association Deadline for making nominations is approaching. Nominations should be made with the chairman, James Blake, 4801 West Bonner drive, or nominating committee members, Thomas Connor, Mrs. Carol Cynowa, Thomas Peters and Michael^ Wallace. The name of nominee, address, and telephone number should be given The Board members whose terms are expiring are eligible for re-election. The nominating committee for the Lakeland Park Property Owners association is seeking nominations for four members to serve on the board of directors. The terms of that number of the present board expire. The nominating committee is preparing the slate of nominees for election at the annual general meeting scheduled Sunday, April 13, at 2 p.m. at the Lakeland Park Communtiy house, 1717 North Sunset drive. zoning ordinances now being proposed by the county. He said the" first stages of operation would include stripping one area and using that material to build berms along Chapel Hill road to screen mining operations from public view. He said the berms would be graded, landscaped and planted The proposed plan as presented at Thursday's hearing indicated there were nine areas which would be mined in numerical sequence in a process of "simultaneous rehabilitation." When one area has been mined, the next area would be stripped and that material would be used to cover and reclaim the previous area. Schoenberger said the company would restrict itself to digging 30 to 40 feet deep or two feet above the water level and would not go below the water level; would not dig within 150 feet of the property line along Chapel Hill road; would not dig within KM) feet of other property lines; would restrict operations to one shift, 5 days a week, probably running from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. with infrequent Saturday operation and would establish a lake on the property not to exceed a depth of about 10 feet deep which would support aquatic life. There is an old gravel ex­ cavation already on the property and operations would begin in that location, Schoenberger noted. A settling pond and a fresh water pond utilizing from three to five acres were shown in the nor­ theastern section of the property Schoenberger said there would be no dust from the pit since it is a "wet operation" and "you would not be con­ scious of the noise level at all at the property line". Schoenberger stated the property could be mined out and developed "not exceeding fifteen years, probably a great deal less time. That's what our calculations are," he said. When an objector asked Schoenberger what guarantee there would be that the com­ pany would stand by its proposed plans, he said none except that the company had to follow certain rules and regulations in order to get a mining permit from the State Department of Mines and Minerals. This department makes frequent inspections of mining operations to make sure specifications on the permit are kept up, Schoenberger said A letter of commendation his company had received for a minining operation it ran near Plainfield was presented. The letter indicated the company had reclaimed the land, did the work in a workmanlike manner and complied with rules and regulations regarding the operation. Attorney Narusis objected to having the letter read into the record since it was a "selective document designed for one purpose and one purpose only." (Continued on page 18J Present Gravel Pit Layout form a supervisors' association They agreed to meet monthly for the purpose of sharing their experiences and problems and to assist each other in finding answers to some of the more complex situations. Dorr Township Supervisor Thore Emricson was elected president, Supervisor Joseph Schmidt of (Continued on page 18) Pope Schoenberger, general manager of Material Service Corp., presents demonstration layout of proposed gravel pit at Thursdav's hearing. STAFF PHOTO-BARBARA GILPIN i