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jfjbtf* * ? r - > • MCHS Students Join To Improve Environment Take two teen-agers with ambition - add inspiration and enthusiasm - and you may have the start of a better environment! It all started a few weeks ago when Carson Besserud, 2414 W. Lincoln, and Mark Thonn, 4114 Sunset lane, juniors on West campus, started out to buy film for some pictures in connection with their study in an Environmental Science course. What happened on the way to the store resulted in an anti­ pollution project which has extended to other parts of the county. Enroute, the young men observed a county worker picking up trash along the road. In the interest of their class study they questioned him and found the county has five such trucks, each manned by two. Every truck covers two and a half miles a day. Impetus came later, at the county office when the boys learned that it costs $19,500 to clean up 200 miles of road. Deciding to pursue what they realized was a bigger problem than they had guessed, Carson and Mark started the tedious task of finding persons in official capacity on the township, county and leveleta learn «nt they rftifcftt do ftbout it. Their efforts were discouraging. From some they received no information. Others recognized a serious problem but said there was little the boys could do. Placing more signs and raising fines, they were told, wouldn't help, for "anti-littering should start in the home". One official suggested there should be deposits on cans to discourage throwing them out of car windows. But some teens are not to be disheartened, and Carson and Mark were two of them. Agreeing with the official's observation that cleanliness begins at home, they enlisted the help of other students in cleaning up the commons area of West campus. The boys were enthusiastic about cooperation received. With the encouragement of their Environmental Science teacher, Kenneth Ludwig, twelve local students were joined by students from Crystal Lake and Marian high school in a meeting held in Woodstock. Goals were established as follows: 1 - Get students from each school organized and decide on particular local clean-up areas; 2 - make door- to-door visits to obtain community support and cooperation. Crystal Lake students have already undertaken the task of cleaning up part of Veterans Acres. Marian participants will get under way soon with their project. Next weekend Carson, Mark and their friends will undertake the task of gathering up the trash wi a rapidly increasing trash heap on the east side of the Crystal Lake blacktop. The boys have learned the name of the property owner but have been unable to contact him in Chicago. After the clean-up they intend to keep a watchful eye for state possible future offenders. And meantime, they wtH continue their house-to-house drive to encourage others to clean up around their immediate areas. East campus students are aiding the effort by posters to be placed in the windows of business firms. The organization in which this commendable work is taking place is known as SCOPE (Students of the County Operating to Preserve the Environment). Carson serves as president of the county- group and Mark heads the local chapter. The next time you drive down Crystal Lake road and enjoy cleanliness where a trash heap now stands, remember to credit the far-sightedness of some youthful good citizens. SERVING THE CH A IN-O-LAKES' REGION SINCE 187S VOLUME 98 NUMBER 78 FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 1974 Tell Road Improvement Plan Unit Samples Lake Water For Conservation Club Members of the 180th Preventive Medicine Army Reserve unit visited the McHenry community last Saturday, and at the request of the McCullom Lake Conservation club assisted in determining the cause of swimmer's itch which has plagued many during the past summer seasons. The unit, under the command of Col. Goeppner, is located at Kedzie and Devon, Chicago. Under the professional talent of Lt. James Brice, Marine biologist for the unit, they took samples of water from various parts of the lake. Lt. Brice will analyze them and make recommendations to the club on the best ways to dispose of the parasite. Residents from areas surrounding the lake wefe asked to help supply the men with hip boots, sinkers and boats. Col. Goeppner and Lt Brice agreed to help with the project because they feel the experience is valuable to the men in addition to benefiting the community. Lt. John Gacek of Lakeland Park, a member of the Conservation club and active in the reserve unit, initiated the volunteer program. With early treatment of the water in McCullom Lake, the club feels this may be a fine slimmer for swimmers. If the adage, "it takes a lot of living to make a house a home" is true, then a twist of the old saying is equally fitting in 1974. Today, it takes a lot of looking to give us an optimistic view of the world around us. In an atmosphere dominated by bad news - scandal, crime, fuel shortages, inflation, etc. it's easy to lose sight of the good things around us. But they are there. Monday morning a reader called in high spirits over a small incident that came to her attention when she was delivering newspapers to the monthly Defenders paper drive in McHenry. She was especially impressed by the good humor and industriousness of the young people working on behalf of their particular organizations. As we write weekly of the agony of wastewater plans, Regional Transportation Authority and other plans for the future regarded with skepticism by local residents, we are discouraged. Then we read further of state-wide and nation-wide pollution problems, strikes, and another set of troubles. But if we are to maintain our equilibrium, we must look for the optimistic signs as the lady did who visited the paper drive headquarters. And she is right, there are many reasons to be optimistic. Today we enjoy an unprecedented choice of foods and products to buy, and more money to buy them with than ever before. We enjoy more labor saving conveniences. And we have available to us more forms of recreation, entertainment and leisure than we have ever known - and more time to devote to pleasure. Even more important than material things are our accepted personal freedoms. In addition, we are blessed with an abundance of food, natural resources and natural beauty. In counting our blessings, those inherited from earlier days can't be forgotten. We benefit from modern transporation, electricity, telephone and many more. Amidst the turmoil of 1974 there is much to enjoy and much to be thankful for. If our thanks is not for the good humor of the young people conducting a paper drive, then it may be for something else of apparent insignificance, yet very important. The secret lies, as it always has, in our state of mind and in our sense of proportion. Few "outsiders" become so much a part of almost every household as the family doctor, regardless of his specialty. This, is true of dentists, and it is why the unexpected and untimely death of Dr. J.E. Sayler this week has taken a member of. the community who was a friend to many. "Doc" was a lifelong resident of McHenry, and a direct descendant of the first settler, Dr. Christy G. Wheeler, who came here in 1836. Maybe it was that ancestry more than anything else that accounted for his strong feeling and loyalty to his home community. lie combined the enviable qualities of gentleness with (Continued on page 18) Arrest Driver After Wild Chase In City Deputy Sheriff Edgar Fair has made four charges against a McHenry juvenile following an incident in the city Monday noon. The charges are improper lane usage, reckless driving, no valid driver's license and fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer. Deputy Fair had signalled the young driver to stop for traveling about 10 feet in the wrong lane in the vicinity of West campus high school. When he sped away, the deputy called for the assistance of city police and Officer Winters responded. The officers said the driver turned west into Whispering Oaks, traveling in excess of 60 miles per hour through the subdivision. He came out on Front Royal drive, passed through a stop sign and continued on Rt. 120, east onto Elm street driving over 65 miles per hour. At the corner of Front and Elm, authorities said he narrowly missed striking a woman's car broadside. Officers said in making the arrest they wanted to be sure the driver had no weapons on his person. A witness followed them to the station and screamed that it was police brutality. The juvenile will be given a court hearing May 3. Set Bond For Youths In Burglary Attempt Two men were arrested Sunday afternoon for burglary after Joseph Wetzler apprehended them at his business place at 4152 W. Idyll Dell road, McHenry. Taken into custody were Gary Cabot of 1114 Whitfield, Northbrook, and James Seckelman of 2635 Park lane, Glenview. Bond for each was set at $5,000 with court appearance scheduled for May 9. Wetzler caught the two youths while they were attempting to take a case of motor oil, an impact hammer and a hydraulic jack from his warehouse and put it into their car which was parked at an abandoned farm building nearby. Wetzler detained the offenders until deputies arrived to make the arrests. William Warady of 4420 (Continued on page 18) TERI ANN KHIDIRIAN HOLLY MARSHALL SEEK QUEEN TITLE -- The thirteenth and fourteenth candidates for the title of Marine Festival queen are these attractive young ladies. Teri Ann Khidirian, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Donald G. Schultz. is a class officer, a cheerleader and a member of the school chorus. The 16-year-old miss lists as her hobbies, dancing, water skiing, boating and modeling. Holly Marshall, 18, is the daughter of Leroy and Harriette Marshall. A pennant girl, she is a member of the Future Teachers of America and the school chorus, and took part in the recent musical. She enjoys dancing, bicycle riding and working with children. CCPATeJIs Changes In Officers The local branch of the Combined Counties Police association (CCPA) has announced a change in the association officers due to the resignation of Patrolman Daniel Davis from the McHenry Police department. Davis who served as vice- president, has been replaced by Patrolman Robert Winters, former secretary-treasurer of the local CCPA. Patrolman Kenneth Kunzer was elected to serve as secretary-treasurer of the police organization. Patrolman James Crawford is president of the McHenry CCPA branch. Dr. Sayler Dead At 59 Dr. James E. (Gene) Sayler, a practicing dentist in McHenry for thirty-four years, died unexpectedly in his home, 616 N. Center street, Tuesday night, April 23. He was 59 years old. The deceased, a lifelong resident of McHenry, was born June 9, 1914, son of the late James N. and Lillian Wheeler Sayler. Dr. Sayler was past president of the McHenry Country club, a charter member of the Chamber of Commerce and served for one term on the board of High School District 156. He was a fellow member of the Chicago Dental society, the Illinois Dental society arid the McHenry County Dental society. (Continued on page 18) Harrison Holds Vision-Hearing Screening April 29 Harrison school will be the site for all Wonder Lakers, District 36 and District 200, to register pre-school children for the Vision and Hearing screening. All children ages 3 to 5 years (3 years on or before Dec. 1, 1974) must be registered Monday, April 29, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is not necessary to bring children to this registration. v This screening is very beneficial because vision and hearing disabilities can and do impair the child's learning process. If these problems can be <j|etermined at an early age it (Continued on page 18) Persons interested in proposed improvement of Rt. 12» west, view map at informal meeting held this past week conducted by representatives of the Illinois Department of Transportation. PAUL F. RIDDLE About fifty people, including property owners, county officials, McHenry city officials and interested persons attended an informal meeting last week at Valley View school conducted by personnel of the Illinois Department of Transportation, Elgin office. Purpose of the session was to inform residents living along Route 120, between Greenwood- Charles road and Ringwood- Draper road, of proposed plans to improve that section of the highway. Paul F. Riddle, Alex Jordon, Paul Kaneps and Roger Mirs of the Elgin office advised those present of the state's procedure for undertaking such a project. They also answered questions of property owners and asked for comments on the proposal. An enlarged aerial map of 120 along the proposed improvement route was displayed on the wall. Proposed changes were indicated on the map and each property owner was encouraged to make comments and question officials on changes affecting his property. Riddle explained that there School Vote Recount Reveals Same Winners Following the instructional meeting of the board of Consolidated Grade School District 15 Monday night, a recount of votes in the recent election determined Dorothy Vick and Marilyn Munz, incumbents, to be the winners. The recount had been requested by the third candidate, Jon Gealow, who was only thirteen votes behind Miss Munz in the original count. The recount gave Gealow and Miss Munz one additional vote each, leaving the margin the same. The votes were 267 and 254. High vote getter was Dorothy Vick with 383. In the reorganization meeting, Henry Nell was re­ elected president and Dorothy Vick, president pro-tem; Anna . Mae Cuda, secretary, and M. David Cain, secretary pro-tem. Business Manager William Landis was named treasurer. The McHenry State bank w«is designated as depository for school funds. The instructional portion of the meeting, introduced by Principal David Burgdorf of Landmark school, showed early childhood learning experiences. He demonstrated use of the balance beam and an interesting innovation, System 80. A m o n g t e a c h e r s participating in the explanation were Ann Smith and Carole Nash. Madeline Dowe, teacher aide, served coffee and cookies to the board and about fifty parents and children in attendance. Suggest Public Urge New Law Opposing RT A Governor Walker has been sent a second request to meet with a Bipartisan McHenry County Citizens' group to discuss legislation which will allow McHenry and Kane counties to 'opt out' of the RTA. The request was sent by State Senator Jack Schaffer (R- McHenry county) and State Rep. Thomas Hanahan (D- McHenry county). The two area legislators are hopeful that, if the residents of McHenry county are given a chance to explain their side of the RTA story to Governor Walker, he will support legislation that will allow McHenry and Kane counties out of the RTA. Specifically their request is to the Governor to meet with a bi-partisan (Continued on page 18) were several important reasons why the Department of T r a n s p o r t a t i o n w a s considering the proposed project: 1. The existing pavement is 18 feet wide with 6-foot gravel shoulders on both sides. Current design standards require a 24-foot pavement and 8-foot shoulders on both sides. The 12-foot lanes have become standard, Riddle said, mainly due to the larger sized vehicles which use the roads today, particularly the semi-trailer trucks. (Sheriff Art Tyrrell told state officials that Deputy Sheriff James Fitzgerald of the Accident Investigation unit of his department took photographs of semi-trucks approaching each other on Route 120. As they passed each other side by side, there was a clearance of 12 inches between the two vehicles.) 2. The existing concrete pavement constructed in 1924 is rapidly deteriorating. A condition .ating survey which rates the surface condition of state highways from 0-very bad to 5-excellent, ranked this section of 120 as 1.7-poor. 3. The accident rate for this section of highway hais remained fairly constant fdf* the past several years at approximately 670 accidents per 100 million vehicle miles. State-wide average rate fof rural highways with no accesS control is 360 accidents per 100 million vehicle miles. County figures showed an average of 39 accidents and one fatality a year over the past three years. 4. The existing average daily traffic is 5,100 vehicles per day. By noting past population growth and traffic volume growth, projections for future population and traffic growth can be determined. Il is projected that 7,125 vehicles per day will utilize the highwdV by 1984 and 9,150 vehicles pw day by 1994. These projected traffic volumes ' can b€ adequately handled by the proposed two-lane, 24-fotit pavement. The Department of Transportation determined that an appropriate "typical section" for Route 120 should consist of a 24-foot pavement, 8- foot shoulders (4-feet of which are bituminous) on both sides and open ditch drainage. lUe road would also be flattened oflt at some locations in order to increase sight distance, resulting in a safer roadway. (Continued on page 18) THE MCHENRY PLAINDEALER This trash pile on Crystal Lake road continues to grow. n STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD w