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Home Destroyed In Noon Blaze James Frank, 2205 N. Channel lane, watches with his hands on his hips at right, as firemen enter the back door of his burning house to remove more furniture from the downstairs level. The home was completely destroyed by the blaze, which reportedly started in an upstairs bedroom. Firemen from Companies One and Two responded to the fire, which was reported at 12:30 p.m. Thursday. Firemen were able to save much of the furniture which had been downstairs. No injuries were reported in the blaze. STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD Two Four-Year High Schools In McHenry will high McHenry high school operate as two four-year schools starting with the 1979-80 That fact became' evident with a vote of 4 to 2 by the board of education in Musin' And Meunderin The Wide - she is beautiful, bright and busy ah yes. she is busy' And busy is one of the reasons she tends to procrastinate Brides are the most mi portant people in town on the day of their wedding and they want everyone to know about this biggest day in their entire lifetime The Plaindealer also wants the world to know about it -- on t ime Procrastination has long been a source of minor friction between some brides and our society writer, who sincerely believes only Mom and Dad and the bridal couple care about every detail of her dress weeks after the knot has been tied But we believe* in fairness, especially where it concerns these lovely young ladies of our community So we have made a compromise - they can plan their wedding to the least detail and we will tell both their family and friends, as well as readers who know them not, just how lovely the wedding is in return, we ask that we be allowed to tell all these people within a week after the ceremony two weeks, if necessary, for out of state weddings That doesn't sound like such a big order, does i t9 Some brides rightly include fil l ing out the wedding form as tfmportant as ordering the cake and going for the last fitting These brides are not disap­ pointed Usually our society writer sends out wedding forms with all the instructions a couple of weeks before the big day if she has been informed of the date through an engagement notice But sometimes there are slipups, which the >fell- (Continued on page 20) Ends Year's Reign 1Concerned Taxpayers' Voice Opposition To Annexation A group of "concerned taxpayers" in McHenry is opposing the proposed an­ nexation of the Backhaus property, located on Crystal Lake road, to the city The group, headed by Shamrock Beef Cattle cor­ poration. has begun circulating petitions throughout the city, asking that the City Council deny the Residential Development Group's request for annexation of the property In a meeting held Monday at the Shamrock office, representatives of the McHenry County Defenders, the Bull Valley association, the League of Women Voters and other concerned citizens discussed the annexation and the effect it could have on McHenry The property in question is 385 acres of former farm land, on which RDG is asking for zoning to allow them to build 1638 units The group is concerned with the increasing traffic congestion in the city, and the impact the proposed an­ nexation will have on the traffic problem Another problem that the group believes will be com­ pounded will be school finan­ cing ^The City Council doesn't have anything to do with the schools," said one represen­ tative, "and they don't care about them anyway." Another member of the concerned group cited the present condition of the Fox Ridge subdivision, which is being constructed by the RDG developers "The houses are on top of each other, many of the new homes are poorly constructed, the roads are very narrow and already are full of chuckholes," according to the represen­ tative The group will be represented by an attorney at Friday's scheduled joint conference An advertisement, paid for by the group, indicates that the annexation will lead to a doubling of the McHenry population in a very short time Concerns of the group, in addition to the traffic congestion, include the need for increased fire and police protection and road main­ tenance and repair "We feel that to grow too fast is to invite economic disaster," explained a spokesman for the group "Does McHenry want to be just bigger, or better0 " The petit ion being circulated questions the density of the proposed annexation which requests that zoning allow single family residences on lots 9,000 square feet in size, with a frontage of 70 feet "The single family residences could and most probably will be so bunched as to cause additional congestion, ' according to the petit ion, "and decrease the environmental integrity of the c mmunity " The concerned taxpayer gh>up also sees no relationship between the proposed an nexation rezoning and McHenry s public health safety or welfare The petit ion states, "Our analysis indicates very li t t le positive effect from such an annexation, also. the detrimental effects and probable increase in taxes are more than we are willing to tolerate " The concerned group expects a large crowd to be on hand for Friday night 's joint conference The City Council decided to hold the conference in the East campus cafeteria to ac commodate the expected crowd The time is 7 45 p m Appraise County's Natural Resources At July Hearing McHenry county residents will have a chance to help appraise the natural resources of the county and develop a conservation program to im prove them, according to Betty Hegner, McHenry County Soil and Water ^ Conservation district (SWCD) chairman A public meeting to express opinions about problems, trends and needs for natural resources in the county will be July 13 at 7:30 p m in the Farm Bureau building, 11909 Mc- Connell road. Woodstock "What we learn at this meeting will help the U.S. Department of Agriculture ( USD A » direct programs in the natural resource field," Hegner explained "Also, we can ac­ tually help determine the needs and establish goals for the department 's programs." she foresees The meeting will be spon sored by the McHenry countv SWCD and the USDA Soil Conservation Service <SCS> This opportunity to help plan USDA programs is a result of the Resources Conservation act signed into law last November The law requres public par ticipation in determining needs and goals for soil and water conservation 8-Year-Old Drowns In Home Pool Friday A tragic swimming pool he was noticed at the bottom of accident in nearby Prairie the pool Grove claimed the life of an 8- The young boy was pulled year-old Crystal Lake youth from the water and police and Friday \ rescue units were notified The boy was transported to A year of memories are recalled with a smile by pretty Debbie Sundby, the 8-year-old McHenry miss who has held the title of Little Miss Peanut for the past year. A successor will be selected Tuesday. July 18, at 7 p.m. in the Legion home in a contest sponsored by the McHenry Kiwanis club. Youngsters between the ages of 6 and 8 years will vie for the title. They must reside within the McHenry High School District 156 or Johnsburg District 12 boundaries to be eligible. The first thirty to enter before July IS will be judged on poise, pertness and personality. An entry coupon appears elsewhere on Page 2. STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD At 3^:55 p m., units of the Sheriff's department and the Nunda Rural Fire department .responded to a reported drowning at a residence on Justen road in Prairie Grove Witnesses told police that Jason J Herman. 8. 1905 Sherman boulevard. Crystal Lake, was one of a group of nine children who were playing in a private swimming pool, when McHenry hospital where he died at 5:29 p m A Wonder Lake man was injured Friday evening, when the motorcycle he was riding left the roadway while nor thbound on W Wonder Lake road Raymond H. Nowak. 5006 W Wonder Lake road, told police he was northbound and moved (Continued on page 20) The act requires USDA to appraise the natural resources on all private land, develop a five-year program to meet the needs and evaluate progress every year The first five year program and appraisal must be submitted to Congress by Dec 31, 1979 The Resources Conservation act requires a determination of i l l quality and quantity of soil , water and related resources, such as wildlife habitat. (2) the abili ty of these resources to meet current and future demands; < 3> changes in resource conditions because of past uses. <4> the costs and benefits of alternative soil and water conservation practices and (5) alternative irrigation techniques and their effects on conservation and the en vironment (Continued on page 20) Businessman Dies Friday Frederick C Wahl a McHenry businessman for many years, died unexpectedly early Friday. July 7, in the emergency room of McHenry hospital He had been ill for several weeks Mr Wahl. who resided at 2311 N Orchard Beach road, lived most of his life in this area. first as a summer resident and his (Continued on page 20) special meeting last Thursday night Questioned later. Supt Robert Swartzloff said that in some areas, such as com petit ive events, the school would function as one high school in two separate facili t ies He said cost restraints, more than enrollment figures, would make this necessary initially loiter, i t is expected the two schools may operate in dependently Bussing will be necessary for parts of the curriculum that call for specialized facili t ies These could include shops, pool and Science Swartzloff, In commenting on the decision, said, "I believe we are moving toward the most prevalent type of education in this country". Further, he reiterated a recommendation made Thursday to the board, that reliance not be placed on N1PC for projected enrollment growth He feels solid projected growths must be obtained, as well as locations where population pockets will be located The Life Safety survey will be put in motion again now that resolution of the future use of the building has been deter­ mined^ Thursday's discussion was set forth to discuss the merits and disadvantages of three options - two four year com Many Beaches Closed After Poor Samplings Water samples collected from swimming beaches by the McHenry County Department of Health July 4 and 5 were obtained from several beaches on the Fox river and from some of the lakes in the county Those beaches at which there have been two consecutive un­ satisfactory samples and which (Continued on page 20) prehensive high schools, a vocational and an academic high school, and the present two-two system in which fresh men and sophomores attend one campus and the Juniors and seniors another Among the greatest disad- vantages to the present system were listed by the ad ministration as lack of four year continuity, the fact that East campus assumes a "junior high school climate, and that freshmen and sophomores do not have older models to emulate Cost was one of the biggest deterrents listed in presenting the advantages and disad vantages of the vocational training in one facili ty and academic in another Other deterrents to such use were listed as the balance of student population between schools; the fact that there are no other districts to observe as models, to emulate, and to seek help, the fact that it restricts comprehensive course selec tions and opportunity and the requirement for additional bussing While the cost for Life Safety was noted as a disadvantage of the two four year approach to education in separate facili t ies, there were fewer others listed One was the inequality of facili t ies In the absence of the president. James Althoff, Dave Benrud conducted the meeting As the discussion progressed, Benrud made members aware of the president s views on use of the buildings, which was to separate vocational and academic education The president pro-tern observed that he had some difference of opinion, preferring a career center for young people to obtaTn their vocational training Benrud continued as he told the board he had seen top students from these centers step into very fine jobs upon graduation During the discussion, however. Benrud admitted this would be a poor t ime for .mother referendum to create such a center Commenting on the proposal (C ontinued on page 20) Band Features Singer will be guest artist when the city stage band presents its weekly concert Thursday, July 13. at 8 p m in the city park The young soloist has chosen to sing Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days Of Summer", The Pickers Are Coming" from 'Shenandoah and "Yester day" The band will open the program with "Switch In Time". "Where Is The Love" and "MacArthur Park" Following the first appearance by the guest artist , the in­ strumentalists will play "Love's A Many Splendored Thing", "Come Together" and "Archie's Back' The program will be con eluded with "Diamond Girl", "Gospel John", "Walk On The Wild Side . ' 'Cameleon and "Basie CRAIG SPENGKl. Craig Spengel of McHenry. former soloist with the Notre Darne glee club and a talented performer in local musicals. Fiesta Days Back To The Water "We're bringing Fiesta Days back to the water!" The McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce proudly i^iade that announcement in telling of the Aquanuts Water Ski show in McHenry Friday, July 28 al6:30 p.m. at the city beach on Riverside drive. The Aquanuts, of Twin Lakes, Wis., are the 1977 Wisconsin state champions and were ranked third in the nation. They have an exciting show that the whole family will enjoy, including thrilling stunts, trick skiing, and graceful ballet. Admission is free. Dollar Days In McHenry July 13-14-15 THE MCHENRY PLAINDEALER SERVING THE CHAIN-O-IAKES REGION SINCE 1875 WEDNESDAY, JULY 12. 1978 1 SECTION 22 PAGES 20' VOLUME 102 NUMBER 99 Governor James R Thomp­ son declared McHenry county a major disaster area Friday after storms and flash flooding July .1 and 2. In addition, the "governor extended the disaster declaration through July 2 tbr „ Winnebago, Grundy, LaSalle and Lee counties already declared disaster areas for storms June 25 and 26 As a follow-up to his earlier declarations on the multi- county damage done Sy both the June and July storms, the governor asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to designate Grundy, LaSalle, Lee, McHenry, Whiteside and Winnebago as counties eligible for emergency loans to farmers to aid in their recovery efforts. Thompson also added McHenry county to his request of June 29 to the U.S. Small Business administration that businesses damaged by the storms be eligible for low in­ terest loans An estimated $15 million in damages was done to about 310 McHenry county homes by the July 1 and 2 storms. The disaster declaration for the counties of Grundy, LaSalle, Lee. McHenry, Livingston, Whiteside and Winnebago means that property taxpayers in the counties and those adjacent to them may ask an immediate reassessment by their property tax assessors Livingston county was not hit by the July 1 and 2 storms Thompson said Illinois Emergency Services and Disaster Agency Director E. Erie Jones has estimated the total damages from the two storms at $30 million in the counties hit | Declare County Disaster Area | /V