The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

I Pikarsky Gives Views On RTA ™ . . j ffiTT . . ... . . The estimated 150 visitors who attended Tuesday's McHenry County board session also had an opportunity to hear the views of Milton Pikarsky, newly elected chairman of the RTA board. Pikarsky had asked permission to address the board and interested citizens. He explained that the proposed gas tax is necessary to help support the needs of the Regional Transportation Authority. Pikarsky observed that the public fails to realize that while $6 billion is spent by the U.S. government each year for high­ ways, an estimated $60 billion is expended by all other high­ way systems for roads. One listener asked why people who use public tran­ sportation don't pay their own way. p' . „ Pikarsky'said such a system is not possible. Others must help, he continued, because they are benefitting indirectly for the» reason that public transportation alleviates use of highways. The new chairman continued, "For every 100 persons who drive on public highways, only six are by public tran­ sportation. If we could build this figure to as much as 12 pfer 100, it would greatly alleviate the gas shortage". Pikarsky called attention to a possible benefit in outlying areas such aS McHenry through use of Dial-a-Bus for those who wish to go to a shopping center. Although a time schedule is not possible to meet the exact needs of everyone, he said an equitable solution can be arranged which will accommodate the greatest number. To a question by Board Member Willis Simms as to the per cent of revenue the CTA will use, Pikarsky said there is a general misconception on this subject. Whereas 85 per cent of all transportation is by CTA. it will receive only 70 per cent of RTA revenue, he promised. Pikarsky also warned that unless something is done to establish, and encourage the use of. more public tran­ sportation, there will be a need for wider highways within the next decade. To the question of why the North Western railroad doesn't reduce fares to figures near other railroads. Pikarsky said this is one of the problems to be "ironed out". He reminded the audience that politicians are unable to tell people they can't use their cars. Nevertheless, he stressed, it 's a fact that a program of conservation must be overtaken. Board Member Walters of Hebron asked how farmers would fare in the gas tax proposal Another member, George Starr, questioned why local factory workers should subsidize people working in other locations. Pikarsky suggested again that conservation is the keynote, and a good public transportation system should relieve the energy shortage. He said that at this>time there °are 2,500 old buses in Chicago and if his board placed an order now for new ones, it would take from two to four years to get them He added that an order had been placed for 400 new buses for the CTA, and some of the buses on hand might be used in the suburban area. Pikarsky said there is presently an advisory board to the RTA It includes thirteen from Chicago, eight from Cook county and five others representing the other five counties. In a prepared statement, he said, in part, "The Regional Transportation Authority was created to deal with the public transportation problems of the six Illinois counties of Cook Lake, DuPage, McHenry, Will and Kane. While the City of (Continued on page 8) ARE YOU A WINNER? Lottery Numbers Page 7 THE MCHENRY PLAINDEALER "SERVING THE CHAIN-O-LAKES REGION SINCE 1875 VOLUME 99 - NUMBER 48 FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 1975 20 PAGES - FIFTEEN CENTS Vote Of 12-10 Approves Option On Landfill Site Public Appeal For Duck Feed Chris Stumbris, left, and Jo Lyn Glosson, fourth graders at Valley View school, display one of the canisters which are being placed in McHenry drug stores this week. The canisters seek help from local residents in collecting money which will be used to feed McHenry's duck population on the river during the extreme cold of winter. Dorothy Hollander is directing the activities of Valley View students, assisted by Alice Clark, McHenry county conservation coordinator, who also is a staff member at Valley View. STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD By a vote of 12 to 10, the McHenry County board voted favorably Tuesday on a second amendment which would allocate $5,000 for an option to purchase a landfill site south of the city of Woodstock. The amendment eliminates a stipulation that the land be left as it was found if the purchase is not consummated. This was included in the original amendment. County Board Chairman Walter Dean and McHenry members, Edward Buss, Willis Simms and Charles (Chuck) Weingart, voted in favor. Member Thomas Huemann was opposed. The original amendment vote resulted in 15 in favor and 6 opposed. At the December meeting, the proposal to make the $5,000 option payment on a 214-acre us in' and Meanderin' m The Plaindealer is well on its way to delving into McHenry's past and bringing it up to the present. It 's all part of our effort to bring to our readers as complete a history as possible as we approach the 100th year of our newspaper publication. All of our research has convinced us that we are very fortunate to live in a mid-west city of this size, near enough to the advantages of a metropolitan area, but far enough away to escape many of its problems. The tendency aijfrong many over the centuries has been to depreciate small town, rural areas. Cities were accepted as the center of progress, culture, fun and light. To a large extent this was true. City life, to be sure, was easier than life in the country fifty years ago. Recent decades have changed all that Not many generations ago. there were street cars, horse- drawn carriages, milk, newspaper and fresh bread deliveries, good shopping, safe streets with police protection near at hand, entertainment and good restaurants. Those are the things cities were made of. Today? Traffic congestion has made city transportation a nightmare. Crime has peaked in cities and is rampant on their streets night and day. Services are excessively expensive if available at all. American life, has come full circle since the turn of the century. Nestled between completely rural areas and the rush of the cities, we in McHenry hope our 100th anniversary issue will take a look at yesterday and today. We want readers to know the struggles and the pleasures of another day; we would like to create nostalgic thoughts in old timers. One of our desires is to recreate, through photos, a view of the three business districts that existed at the turn of the century. We hope to compare them with current pictures of these same shop­ ping areas. We invite people with pic­ tures of particular interest to submit them to us, giving dates and other pertinent in­ formation. We will use as many as possible in a special edition that will run over 100 pages. Many letters have been sent to clubs, organizations, schools, churches, etc., asking for in­ formation. Those that have not been contacted are urged to submit a short historic resume. The Plaindealer especially hopes to obtain names of veterans of the Korean and Vietnam conflicts who reside locally. These will be used along with veterans' names in our files who served during previous wars. They will ap­ pear with the proud histories of each of the city's veterans' organizations and their auxiliary units. Old timers with information on particularly old businesses in the city, such as thfc old McHenry Brewery or the old Farmer's Mill, are invited to contact us. It is our intention to make this issue appealing to former residents. We hope they will write to us in the near future, recalling life in McHenry at another time. We're also in­ terested in having readers who (Continued on page 8) Chamber Views '75 Budget, Opens Membership Drive Treasurer James Wegener presented a budget to the Chamber of Commerce board in meeting last Tuesday. January marks membership month, during which time a drive for new members is in progress. Contacts are also being made with members whose dues are in arrears. To assure better communication in the community, a decision was made to send newsletters in the future to local school boards, the City Council and hospital board. Dollar Days were announced for Jan. 30, 31 and Feb. 1. A new policy calls for general membership meetings to be held quarterly. The first of these is scheduled Feb. 11 at the Longhorn Steak House. A particularly fine retail program is being arranged, consisting of a movie, "The Day Business Stood Still". The film was purchased by the Chamber primarily to be shown for school and community groups, depicting how vital business is to a city. Discussion was held on an important project of the future, a profile booklet listing in­ formation about the city, schools, businesses and job availability. These will be sent out upon request to persons and firms oytside the area. A look ahead was revealed in a discussion of Marine Sunday, set for July 13. Tom Low will again serve as general chairman. Looking back to the recent holiday season, James Wegener reported on the fine response to the home lighting contest, with a record numper of twenty entries. The resignation of Mike Tipps, a board member, was accepted. Mr Tipps is leaving the community. To fill this vacancy, and another which occurred recently, Dan Schmitt and Dr. Robert Peterson were appointed. New office hours were established for the Chamber. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, they are from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 to 3 p.m. On Thursday and Friday the hours are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 3 p.m. There is a 24- hour answering service by calling 385-4300. site at the intersection of Rtes. 47 and 176 was tabled at the request of Buss. A new agreement was drawn up by the state's attorney and this time Buss moved that it be adopted. Member George Hubbard said he wanted to be sure the amendment called for the board to have final approval on the purchase of the land. State's Attorney William Cowlin was called into the meeting and explained the contract and the wording of the option. "It is an option, and only that", Cowlin stressed, "bet­ ween the purchaser and seller that the purchase can be made at a certain figure". The option extends for six months. To Huemann's question as to how the contract will be paid, the Landfill committee report showed a schedule of payments starting in August of 1976 and continuing through 1983. The board has expressed a desire to lease the land to a private operator for sufficient money to retire the balance of payments. A member of the audience, many of whom attended in opposition to the site, asked what will happen if the property is not given approval lor use as a landfill site within the six-month option period The board stated either approval would need to be secured or an extension ob­ tained. Simms asked a McHenry County Plan commission representative if there is an estimated cost for soil borings to determine suitability of the land. The answer was about $10,000. Attorney Richard Zukowski, who represented the opposing group, pointed out that the option doesn't present the only cost. He suggested $15,000 for tests and the possibility that no definite answer may come from the EPA in the next six months. The Bauer figure (he referred to Bauer Engineering Co., Chicago) is only an estimate, Zukowski continued. "If the figures run $720,000 lor land, $60,000 for preparation, $15,000 for building, $175,000 for equip­ ment and $110,000 for engineer costs, this could run over $1 million", Zukowski exclaimed He referred to payment on a scale of $150.000 to be paid off annually over a period of the first five years, then dropping to $110,000. Zukowski warned that if the landfill operation is operated on a lease basis and the private operator should become insolvent, the county would have to run the landfill business. A recent letter sent to each board member disclosed that about 25 per cent of all domestic, commercial and industrial refuse from sources in McHenry county is disposed of in landfills located in Lake county These sites, according to the survey, currently have no I.E.P.A. ope/ating permits and therefore coutd-be closed at any time The survey revealed, further, that the I.E.P.A. has closed, through enforcement of landfill design and operating stan­ dards, three of the five landfill which were in operation in (Continued on page 8) Legality Of School Bus Proposal Under Scrutiny The proposed plan for care and storage of school buses, a cooperative program between the two McHenry districts, was discussed at the District 15 business meeting Tuesday night M. David Cain and Mrs. Dorothy Vick represent District 15 on the committee studying a feasible plan. Following a review of the proposal, Cain expressed some reservations on the legality of establishing a non-profit cor poration to contract with the school districts. This plan, according to its outline at the High School District 156 meeting a week earlier, would allow the program to develop without need for a referendum. Cain told board members some lawyers contacted said they would need additional information before expressing an opinion on the legal angle. One question concerned who would be designated to receive the value of property should the non-profit corporation exist beyond the lease or the con­ tract. A visitor at the meeting spoke up at this point to parallel a situation within his subdivision association He pointed out that if a non-profit corporation should be dissolved, money must go to another non-profit group. After further discussion, the matter was tabled for more study at the suggestion of Board President Henry Nell. Carl Ames, transportation director, reviewed the matter of buses driving through Whispering Oaks. An agreement had been made between the city Street and Sidewalk committee and the school that buses remain off these streets. However, after (Continued on page 8) Marian Students Take Part In "It's Academic" Arrests Of Eight Clear Up Several Burglaries In Area Students from Marian Central will join New Trier West and Warren Township high schools to compete in a first round match of "It 's Academic," Sunday, Jan. 19, 10:30 to 11:00 a.m. on Channel 2. John Coughlin hosts the series, which features three teams representing different Chicago-area high schools competing against each other every week. A three-member team and up to three alternates are selected to represent each school Members of the Marian Central team are Sam An­ derson1 , McHenry, Dan Pierce and Ellen Stolfa, with alter­ nates Mike Miller, McHenry, Tim Frenzer and Larry Wenkel, Wonder Lake. Mrs. Shirley Scheiner is the moderator. The winning school will receive a 20-volume set of an encyclopedia and a $200 scholarship. Runners-up will receive a two-volume biography. Sir Walter Scott: The Great Unknown, by Edgar Johnson, and a $100 scholar­ ship. Several burglaries in the area have been cleared up with the arrest of three youths and five juveniles by Sheriff 's detectives. During investigation of a burglary at the home of Roy Beaman, 2411 Country lane, McHenry. which occurred the night of Dec. 31, information was developed which led to the arrest of William G. Mueller of 4500 Parkway, McHenry. He was charged with burglary and his bond was set at $2,500. Two juvenile accomplices were referred to juvenile authorities for their participation in the offense. Recovery of two guns, a tape player and other property taken in the burglary was made by County Detec­ tives Macheroux and Borgeson. Mueller is to appear in court Jan. 9.. Michael B. Donovan of 3112 Pheasant, Wonder Lake, was arrested for burglary in con­ nection with an entry at the James Kunkel residence, 19134 Route 14, Harvard. Dec 27. His bond was set at $5,000, with court appearance scheduled this week. Detective Larry Macheroux uncovered information which led to the arrest of Donovan and three juveniles who were also involved in the burglary. The juveniles were referred to juvenile authorities for their offenses. Four guns and stereo unit taken in the Kunkel burglary were recovered by officials. A Jan. 2 burglary at the Charles Fritzsche home, 602 W Columbus, McHenry, was solved with the arrest of Dwane Bowling of 375 Cedar Lake road, Round Lake. His arrest took place after Round Lake Beach police and Lake county (Continued on page 8) / Visit McHenry In Youth Exchange Erika Barragan. 15, left sitting, and Vivian Gaymer, 16, both of La Paz, Bolivia, South America, are shown with their hosts in McHenrv, Betty Zamastil, a freshman, left standing, and Monica Kosta, a junior. Erika and Vivian are spending ten weeks in the homes of the Donald Zamastils, McHenry, and the Argir Kostas. Wonder Lake, respectively. Their visit was arranged as part of the American Y outh Exchange program, in which East campus high school has participated for two years. STAFF' PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD Thousands' of miles from their native country, two young South American girls have adapted well to their first holiday away from home and their 'first glimpse of snow not found in the mountains The personable? young ladies are Erika Barragan and Vivian Gaymer, both of La Paz, Bolivia They are becoming acquainted with life in the United States in a ten-week program known as American Youth Exchange. Erika, 15, is hosted by Betty Zamastil of 1301 W. Miller road. McHenry. and Vivian, 16, is the (Continued on page 8)