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VOLUME 97 NUMBER 58 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1973 , < 18 PAGES & ONE SUPPLEMENT THE MCHENRY PLAINDEALER "SERVING THE CHAIN-O-LAKES REGION SINCE 1875 County Board Airs Assessment Muddle McHenry Remains High In Tax Rank Less than $100,000 behind first ranked Crystal Lake, McHenry retained its second place lead in collections from Retailers Occupation, Service Occupation and Use taxes in the last three-month reporting period. McHenry accounted for $467,742.57. Crystal Lake receipts amounted to $567,488.57 and Woodstock was third with $370,571,76. According to types of business, McHenry ranked first in two classifications, Automotive and Filling Stations and Miscellaneous. It was second in General Mer­ chandise, Food, Lumber, Building and Hardware. Crystal Lake was first -in General Merchandise, Food, Drinking and Eating Places, Apparel, and Lumber, Building and Hardware. Woodstock rated No. 1 in Furniture, Household and Radio. Total tax receipts for local communities were as follows: Sunnyside, $4,803.40; Spring Grove, $17,336.43; Richmond, $39,334.54; Lakemoor, $3,733.32; and Island Lake, $1,828.83. The total for McHenry county was $2,574,225.15. Tools, cash Diversified Summer School Taken In Car . -- . -- --. wash Burglary Plans Set Forth By Board COMPARING EDUCATION - Seventeen-year-old Marika Under addressed a Social Studies class at Hilltop school last week and compared education in her native Sweden with 'readin, 'ritin and 'rlthmetic, U.Sj\. style. STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORP Seventeen-year-old Marika Linder is a bright, attractive Swedish girl who is spending this year with the H.M. Juul family at Ingleside and getting a first hand look at education, American style. Last week she visited Hilltop school, McHenry, and compared schools in her native country with those in the United States. Miss Linder came to this country under the Youth for Understanding program for teen-agers. This exchange program was founded in 1951 to promote world peace and understanding through a family living experience. The idea of having Marika come to McHenry was that of nine-year-old Julie Thomas, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.Larry Thomas of 602 N. Kent and a granddaughter of the Juuls. Through her teacher, she arranged for the young ex­ change student to show slides of Norway for Mrs. Darlene Considine's Social Studies fourth grade class, which has been studying the Scandinavian countries. A tool box containing con­ struction and mechanic's tools valued at $750 and $77 from coin boxes was taken from the Coin Car Wash at 4705 W. Route 120, McHenry. Owner of the business place, William Jones of 4911 E. Lake Shore drive, Wonder Lake, discovered the theft when he arrived to open Thursday morning. The theft occurred sometime between 6 p.m. Wednesday night and 9 a.m. Thursday morning. No signs of forced entry could be found. Numerous articles were taken from the home of David Gagnon, 3212 Sunrise View, McHenry Shores, last Sunday afternoon. Taken from the premises were a television set, reel to reel tape recorder, an amplifier, a cassette tape deck, turn table, speakers, head­ phones, several cassette tapes and $50 in cash. The Sheriff's department is continuing the investigation. Pay ton Chevrolet at 908 N. Front street, reported this week that someone had popped trunk locks on five cars in the parking lot. Spare tires were taken from four of them. Value of the tires was listed at $232. A new battery was stolen from a car owned by James Pinkstaff, 714 N. Lillian street, this week. Mrs. Pinkstaff had returned home and put the car in the garage. When she tried to start it a short time later she discovered the battery gone. David Henkin of 3021 W. Crescent, McHenry, received an early Valentine in the unexpected return of his bicycle Feb. 13. The vehicle had been stolen from the driveway of his home Jan. 30. This week Tuesday it was found, intact, behind the National Food store. CHANGE COUNCIL MEETING Due to the next regular meeting of the McHenry City Council falling on a legal holiday, Monday, Feb. 19, (Washington's birthday), in accordance with ordinance regulations the meeting will be held the following night, Tuesday, Feb. 20, at 8 p.m. in the council chambers. Preliminary Plans For May Trade Fair Told It may be no surprise to anyone that the sales tax, which got its foot in the door during the depression days of the 1930's, is still the leading state tax revenue producer of last year in twenty nine of the fifty states. Tops in sales tax revenue came from automotive, $219,630,000 and food, $189,885,000 in Illinois. Right on the heels of sales tax as a revenue producer in our state was the state income tax, producing $1,017,163,000 in 1972. Of this amount, $843,251,000 came from individuals and $173,912,000 from corporations. anu~ in artnin ilic iiUidC mcc id wii again in '73, with experts saying the sales tax and income tax will be running neck and neck for first place. ' One sure bet is that our :money will be making it all "possible. • Some folks go through -THEIR life making OUR ;life more pleasant. Ruby Shepard was just such a per­ son. (Continued on page 17) Preliminary plans for the second annual Trade Fair sponsored by the McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce were discussed at last week's C. of C. board meeting. The event, which promises to be double the size of last year, will again be held at Parkland school. Chairmen arc Ann Zeller, Rick Lane, Ken Sheridan and Tom Wall. Ruby Shepard, * Correspondent 30 Years, Dies Mrs. Ruby Shepard of 4519 Ringwood road, McHenry, a correspondent for the McHenry Plaindealer for about ihiriy years, died Feb. 13 at McHenry hospital. She was 80 years old. Mrs. Shepard was born in McHenry Jan. 24, 1893, daughter of John and Mercy Page Claxton, and lived in this area all of her life. She was a long time member of the Order of the Eastern Star chapter, McHenry, which will conduct services at 8 o'clock Friday night. (Continued on page 17) A financial report on summer school 1972 and plans for the 1973 summer period occupied much of the meeting of the board of School District 15 Tuesday night. Last summer the school district conducted the first fully state financed summer school program. This meant that tuition could be eliminated, fees were nominal so that all students could attend and there was free bus transportation. The administration was especially pleased that only $44 separated the income and expenses, and this was on the plus side. The 1973 summer school dates have been set as June 13 to July 24. Initial plans call for more diversified classes, such as theater, music, art, etc., plus title I (remedial classes). Paul Hansen, sixth grade teacher at Junior high, will again be assigned to the Title I program. Replacing Ed Sobotkiewicz and Charles Schlott will be Fred Kusch, assistant principal, and John Sanders, sixth grade teacher at Junior high. The board gave approval to the report ' on 1972-73 professional growth and in- service programs which have been started and have been under consideration for teachers. School District 15 has an arrangement with National college which allows graduate courses to be taught in one of the district's schools. To date, two such courses have been c o m p l e t e d , n a m e l y , Techniques of Individualizing Instruction and Instructional Media and Learning Resour­ ces. National college has a program offered in centers titled "Mini-Major" which consists of five courses. These five courses, when completed, can be applied to a Master's degree. District 15 is also working with the Chicago Consortium in the area of inservice activities for the district's teachers. On Feb. 2, two teachers and two administrators met with Dr. John Beck, executive director of the Chicago Consortium. As a result of this meeting, District 15 is seeking to set up consulting and after-school programs utilizing the per­ sonnel of the Consortium in the areas of individualizing in­ struction, reading (both general and remedial), and team teaching. Besides the consulting and inservice programs, District 15 is working with the Chicago Consortium in developing a graduate program leading to a Master's degree, which is to be given in McHenry. This means that interested teachers will have the opportunity to get their Master's degree without having to travel to universities. At this point, there is one stipulation which requires that two of the twelve courses must be taken on campus of the university from which the teacher chooses to earn his or her degree. However, Dr. Beck felt that even this stipulation might be waived. This means that, perhaps, those teachers who enter this program could receive a Master's degree without having to travel beyond this district. Good news greeted the board when it was revealed that the state had just notified the district that it will receive a March state aid payment. This was the month originally scheduled to have no payment and the revenue had not been budgeted. The result of this thirteenth payment for the fiscal year means that the state aid ac­ count will exceed the estimate by about $85,000. Approval was given to Steve Stahlman to teach Science in Parkland school. The board also accepted the resignation of Barbara Schoeff, who has held the position to which Stahlman was appointed, and granted Carroll Rudden a leave of absence. Ms. Rudden is a third grade teacher in Edgebrook. Among non-certificated employees, Polly Ducy was named a teacher aide at Junior high and Peter Sarr was em­ ployed as custodian at Land­ mark school. The resignation of Jackie Price as teacher aide at Junior high was accepted. Members agreed to a one- semester trial operation of a (Continued on page 17) "Showcase" Harrison School For Public At Feb. 20 Meet The Harrison school board of education will be provided a look at the educational resources of the school at the educational board meeting Tuesday, Feb. 20, at 7:30 p.m. The staff and students of the school will be "showcasing" all of the resources of the school as they affect children. Everything from audio resources to the books on Zoology will be shown. The plan is for board members, parents and in­ terested citizens to come to the school lunch room and from there to be conducted by a student guide to sixteen areas displaying the resources. On a tape player, each teacher of that area will describe what is taking place. In almost all cases, students will be engaged in using the resources. Because of the nature of the program, visitors are asked not to bring children. A program more suitable for the children will be the Science Fair to be held Tuesday, March 13. Notices will be sent out soon regarding reservation space. During the meeting, one-year honorary memberships were approved for fifteen businesses that are either new or have new owners. It was emphasized that uoard meetings are now held the first Tuesday of every month at 8 o'clock at the city hall. Retail (Continued on page 17) Ringwood Girl Named To "Who's Who In Colleges" Debra A. Betts, senior at Augustana college, Rock island, nas oeen elected to "Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges". Selection is based on par­ ticipation in educational and extracurricular activities, and on the student's contribution to the student body and the college in general. Miss Betts, a speech therapy major, is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Betts, 4435 Rt. 31, Ringwood. Art Fair In The Air Looking ahead to two major projects under way now--the Country Art Fair and Fashion Show--are officers of the auxiliary to McHenry Hospital. They include, from left, front; Mrs. Theodore Van Buren, Mrs. John Kelsey, president, and Mrs. William Mars. In back are Mrs. Elmer Stange, Mrs. Stanley Steadman and Mrs. Frank Johnson, treasurer. (DON PEASLEY PHOTO) The controversial muddle over assessment procedures, and related subjects, were aired once again at the Tuesday meeting of the McHenry County board. With mo6t of the meeting focused in this direction, the gavel halted the much discussed topic at 4 p.m. with little ac­ complished. Supervisor of Assessments Stanley Cornue who was the target of intense questioning most of the day, declared, "You're a legislative body with no powers in assessing. I must take my orders from the state". Cornue had asked to appear before the board to discuss the possibility of instituting a new system to record property assessments. Approval was given to the system, which does away with details and substitutes computer programming for the present procedure. The cost, estimated to be close to $300,000, will be paid over a three-year period. The system promises to expedite the tax billing by making information more readily available. Cornue also renewed the subject of additional help within his office. Stressing the growth of his office, which serves 169 taxing bodies, the supervisor of assessments said he had received only one applicant who qualified and it is necessary that he have competent help for an important job. Cornue emphasized the delay in tax bills in recent years, adding that he is trying to get to the basic problem. He said he is being pushed by the state for rate studies. When he started his present job, Cornue noted that there were 55,000 people to be served compared to 110,000 today, all with the same equipment. He asked the board to again consider the employment of his son, Paul, because of his ability and knowledge. Member Edward Buss of McHenry asked Cornue if he would recommend someone else if the board chose not to reconsider. The supervisor replied that the job doesn't pay much - $600 a month - yet carries with it considerable responsibility. Buss, who heads the Finance committee, persisted. He asked Cornue if the wage scale should be changed, who would hire the assistant, Cornue or the board? To this, Cornue replied that the board could hire someone "if he qualifies". At this point, Buss noted that there is a present levy of $55,000 for Cornue's office and the new computer program will cost between $250,000 and $300,000. "The board wants to know", Buss said, "what will you do if the man we select is not your choice?" Member Robert Olson interrupted and said he thought further discussion would be best in executive session. However, others said they thought it should be done in open meeting. When Cornue told the board that he had not attended the Kissell hearings (held last year to learn more about local assessing procedures) Member Robert Vorisek asked why he had not attended. "Why did you let George Watson Lowe (chairman of the Board of Review) take the abuse", he continued. Vorisek pur­ sued the subject as he expressed his opinion that Cornue did not intend to implement the suggestions made in the report. "The Kissell commission has no authority to establish rules", Cornue retorted, "it can only recommned." "We met with the Kissell committee previously and explained our procedure. How can you apply certain rules for only one county? This must be done through state laws", Cornue con­ tinued. He explained that there is no state law which definitely sets down procedure. He said his office tries for 50 per cent of the fair value but it is the assessor's judgment which is important in the final decision. Vorisek asked Cornue if he had any ideas how the local taxing procedure might be improved, gained through the Kissell report. "Can't you offer your own ideas to implement it (the report)?" Vorisek continued. Cornue only repeated that new regulations must come from the state. Vorisek said he felt there was lack of supervision on the part of the supervisor of assessments which has caused Lowe to take abuse for Cornue's office. Cornue left the meeting at this point without any of the problems resolved. Buss then turned to a notice his committee received from the state concerning information on the personal property tax from 1970 to 1972. He noted that no such tax was assessed last year. Buss said it will be costly to compile the information and the county will gain nothing since all of the tax money is earmarked for local governmental units. Board Chairman Walter Dean designated the Finance com­ mittee and supervisor of assessments to work on this personal property tax report. Vorisek questioned whether the board would have Cornue's cooperation, and asked for his resignation. This was seconded by Willis Simms of McHenry. Member Thomas Huemann of McHenry then suggested that this would not be fair in the absence of Cornue, and asked that he return to the meeting. Huemann then initiated a series of questions for Cornue to answer: Huemann: "What course would you follow in the future if we named you to equalize assessments". Cornue: "State laws must be followed". Huemann: "Is there any policy for assessors to follow"? Cornue: "Most of them are spelled out by law. If they were used by all there would be no problem. Each assessor must appraise each subdivision as to value." Huemann: "Does the Kissell report have any merit"? Cornue: "I had heard all the protests and objections before". It was at this point that Huemann asked if he would be willing to cooperate with others in the assessment problem. Cornue responded that the board was a legislative group and had no powers in assessing. Member George Starr asked Cornue how he appraised a subdivision, using this example. There are 100 lots. If two are sold for $2,000 each, what do you do with the other 98 lots? Cornue answered with his own example, pointing up the fact that because one lot brings a particular price does not mean that an adjoining lot will bring the same. Many factors, he em­ phasized, enter into what an individual lot will bring in price, and therefore one answer to Starr's question is not possible. Buss reminded Cornue that he had stated the Kissell report had no authority, then pointed to the fact that it was printed on stationery of the State Department of Local Government Af­ fairs. Cornue said this was done only because the state government set up the Kissell commission through this state agency. To the auestion of whether Cornue would issue policies «r directives to the assessors, Cornue replied that county assessors would be holding a meeting to which the public will be invited. "A verbal policy will be issued", he continued. "Assessors can keep record if they wish". Buss, in one final question on that subject, asked, "Will you follow the Kissell report"? Cornue said he wouid not. On the subject of tax bills, Cornue said from the way it looks at this time, they will not be out until July. In other business, there was much discussion on the priority to be given particular items for the new courthouse. The Rev. Marx Jones, a board member, objected to the purchase of an electric voting board for $10,000, although he admitted microphones would be needed, at the same cost. The (Continued on page 17) «>