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

THE MCHENRY PLAINDEALER "SERVING THE CHAIN-O-LAKES REGION SINCE 187S VOLUME 101 NUMBER 32 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1976 2 SECTIONS 22 PAGES 20* Process. Grant For Senior Meals The McHenry County college board recently approved the- application for a Title VII Nutritional grant. The recipient of the grant, if received, will be McHenry County Senior Citizen council, with McHenry County . college as sponsor. The "original request was examined and returned to the college for a few revisions. These changes were made and the application refiled Nov. 29. Approval is expected very soon. According to the Act, the purpose of the nutritional program is to meet the acute need for "better health among senior citizens through im­ proved nutrition." Monies from the grant will be used to prepare meals at*the college and transport these meals to senior citizen sites throughout the county on specific days. Target groups to be reached and eligible individuals are those persons who are aged 60 or over and who: 1 -- Cannot afford to eat adequately; (or > 2 -- Lack the skills and-or knowledge to select and prepare nourishing and well balanced meals; (or) 3 --Have limited mobility which may impair their capacity to shop and cook for themselves; (or) 4 Have feelings of rejection and loneliness which obliterate the incentive necessary to prepare and eat a meal alone. The Council has asked MCC to sponsor the Title VII Nutritional grant because 1 -- The college is centrally located; 2 -- Has cafeteria facilities capable of handling the food storage and preparation; 3 -- As Title III sponsor the college can coor­ dinate the activities of both Title III and Title VII and keep the duplication of services to a minimum. Commended Student In National Merit Program Two Drown Lake Claims McHenry Man Wilderness Scene A wilderness scene develops as the sun paints a shadow of a frozen pump. The temperature was 6 degrees, but the tracks in the snow prove that someone was thirsty, or just interested to see if the pump would work. This wintry scene is at the Moraine Hills State park on River road near McHenry. STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD Howard "Howie" Joseph Hansen, 25, of 709 W. Oriole trail, Pistakee Highlands, McHenry, died Friday, Dec. 24, when the car in which he was riding plunged through the ice pf Lake Geneva, Wi., and disappeared beneath the surface. Also dead in the same ac­ cident was Michael Portalski, 23, of Lincoln street, Ingleside. Two others, Fred Vroman, 24, of 4508 E. Wonder Lake road, Wonder Lake, and Thomas Lang, 27, of Pell Lake, Wi., narrowly escaped the same fate but managed to grab a piece of ice and raise themselves onto the hard surface. Both Hansen and Portalski went down with the Volkswagen. Walworth county authorities received an emergency call at 7:58 Friday morning of a car with four persons having broken through the ice on the north shore of Lake Geneva, just west of the city. They identified Vroman as the driver but were not able to say why the four men were on the lake. A rescue team from the Sheriff's office went to the scene and attempted to reacn one of the men who surfaced. However, they were unable to get near enough to him before he disappeared again. Authorities said they were unable to determine which of the two who drowned it was. Scuba divers were called to the scene and recovered the bodies at 10:15 a.m. about 20 feet from where the accident occurred, about 150 feet from shore. The water was about 8 feet in depth at that point A spokesman for the Walworth County Sheriff's department commented that two or three drownings occur every winter on Lake Geneva when cars break through the ice. Howard Hansen was an eighteen-year resident of the McHenry area and attended McHenry high school. He had been engaged in the building construction trade for several years. The deceased was the father of three children. Norman E. Johnson. 7608 North street. Wonder Lake, was taken to Memorial hospital. Woodstock, by the Woodstock Rescue squad following a three-car accident at 9:35 p.m. Saturday. Johnson, who was ticketed for failure to yield, apparently drove into the intersection at Ht. 47 and Charles road, and was struck by Kevin Cian- canelli. Batavia. Ciancanelli said he was southbound on Rt. 47 at 50 mph when the Johnson vehicle entered the intersection from the west, directly in his path He applied the brakes, but could not avoid a collision. After Ciancanelli struck the Johnson auto, the latter's car was pushed into the eastbound lane of Charles road, hitting a car driven by Martin D. Hammond. Hebron. Ciancanelli was ticketed for transportation of alcoholic liquor Besides Johnson, a passenger in his auto. Bernice Nelson, Wonder Lake, was also badly injured in the crash, and was taken to Memorial hospital in Woodstock for treatment of her injuries. Damage to the Hammond auto was estimated at $100. Ciancanelli's car sustained $100 worth of damage, but the Johnson car was demolished Carl A Jensen, 4317 W. Clearview. McHenry. was taken to McHenry hospital by the Wonder Lake rescue squad following a crash on snowbound Rt 120 Wednesday at 11:50 p.m. The driver of the other car. David J Dusthimer. Wood­ stock, was also transported to the hospital by the rescue squad after the two vehicles collided in the snow. Dusthimer said he had been westbound on Rt. 120 at 40 mph when suddenly he realized that an on-coming car was too close and a collision resulted. Jensen said he was eastbound on Rt. 120 on the snow-covered rbad, when he noticed the Dusthimer vehicle was more than half way into the east- bound lane. Jensen said he tried to pull over to the south shoulder, but couldn't do so in time to avoid an accident. Damage to each car was in excess of $500, and sheriff's police are still investigating the incident. Charges are pending. Thomas J. Marinich, 322 W. Dowell road, McHenry, was transported to McHenry hospital by the McHenry Rescue squad following a one- car accident on Bull Valley road Sunday night at 10:20. Marinich said he was east- bound on Bull Valley road at approximately 30 mph. when . something ran across the road in front of him. In attempting to avoid a collision, he swerved, striking a utility pole on the north side of the road. The identity of whatever ran across the road in front of him has not been determined, and no ticket was issued in the incident. Cindy R. Hacek. 208 N. Ridgeway, McHenry, was transported by the McHenry (Continued on page 12) MARK A. SNYDER A senior at McHenry Com­ munity high school, West campus has been named a Commended student in the Merit program by the National Merit Scholarship corporation (NMSC) according to Principal Robert Swartzloff. A letter of commendation was presented to Mark A. Snyder, son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Snyder, 2914 W. Lincoln, McHenry. Mark is among 35,000 Commended students nation­ wide who are being recognized for their outstanding per­ formance on the 1975 Preliminary Scholastic Ap­ titude Test-National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT-NMSQT). Commended Implicate McHenry Recent County Jail The McHenry County Police department has completed its investigation of the escape of three prisoners from the Woodstock jail Dec. 14. and Monday announced additional charges made as a result of the investigation and the in­ volvement of other prisoners housed in the facility at the time the escape was made. Joseph Justes, 2004 N. Central. McHenry. was one of several inmates charged with three counts of aiding escape, with bond set at $15,000. Court date for Justes has been set for Dec. 30 at 9:30 a.m. According to the sheriff's report. Justes participated in some manner by diverting the attention of the jailers, etc., to make possible the escape and concealing noises produced by the offenders while the escape took place. At approximately 10 p.m. Dec. 14, three men escaped from the county jail by breaking out the glass block window in the exercise room with a weight-lifting bar. Man In Break The three men. Sven P. Tiitsman, Crystal Lake, Phillip W. Mardom, Fox Lake, and Danny R. Congdon, Florida, were all apprehended by sheriff's police within eight hours after their successful jailbreak Besides Justes, others charged with abetting the break were, Edward W. Shriner. Blue Island. John R Krueger. Algonquin, and James Coats, Wind Lake, Wi. students represent less than 2 percent of the nation's secondary school senior class. Although Commended students scored below the level required for the 15,000 semi-finalists who (Continued on page 12) Job Help For 4,000 Since Dec. 6. 1974, more than 4,000 county residents have received career counseling, academic counseling, and job placement services at the C.E.T.A. center, all free. The center is still in operation at a new address. 225 W Judd street. Woodstock Office hours will remain Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p m. County residents who are unemployed or underemployed or who want to improve their future prospects should contact the C E.T.A center. 225 W Judd street. Woodstock, or call Chuck Hawkins at 338-7100. PUBLIC HEARING A public hearing is scheduled at the McHenry city hall for 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Dec 30. It concerns an appeal by Richard Jager over denial by the city liquor commissioner. Mayor Joseph Stanek. to reissue the liquor license of Jake's Dead End Lounge, 3311 W Elm street District 156 Faces Uncertain Future Weingart To Head Fair SUPERINTENDENT RICH ARD SWANTZ When will the Rt. 31 bridge between McHenry and John- sburg, over Dutch Creek, be widened? That's the question drivers have been asking. It's also the question still unanswered for the County board. Because this is a dangerously narrow bridge and the scene of several accidents in the past six months, County Supt. of High­ ways JR. Rakow has written to the district engineer, asking for a definite commitment. Fortunately, recent mishaps on the bridge have not been serious, but many will recall fatalities at that point and hope the highway is improved before there is another tragedy. And speaking of accidents, Capt. James M. Murphy of the Illinois state police has little sympathy for what he calls overworked alibis like 'M skidded" or "I couldn't stop". He calls them poor excuses for accidents. Capt Murphy is well aware that with few exceptions this type of accident is the direct (Continued on page 12) Association Charles Weingart of McHenry was re-elected president of the McHenry County Fair association board of directors at the December reorganization meeting. He has served in that office since succeeding Don Hansen as president in 1970. Les Finder, veteran Marengo vocational agriculture in­ structor and an equally ex- Sixth Year perienced member of the board, was elected vice- president. Finder, who has served as a superintendent for the Swine department for many years, succeeds Lyle Given in that office. Other officers who were re­ elected included Jack Hayes, treasurer, and Dorothy Schultz, secretary. • (Continued on page 12) The only thing certain about the future of McHenry High School District 156, is that the future is very uncertain The uncertainty surrounds the creation of a new high school in Johnsburg, and the ramifications the new school will have on McHenry's school district. In a recent interview, Richard Swantz, superin­ tendent of School District 156, discussed the situation as it presently is involving McHenry-Johnsburg high school. "As it now stands, we're anticipating losing 565 students to Johnsburg high school in August, 1978," Swantz said. "Of course, that date could be pushed back, because as of right now, the building hasn't even been put out for bid, and no plans have been drawn up." If Johnsburg's school isn't ready for an August, '78 opening, they won't have to hold school in churches and old warehouses. "We certainly won't turn the Johnsburg kids away if their school isn't ready," Swantz commented. "If the building isn't finished, we'll just push everything back a year, and keep the students for another nine months. "Besides," Swantz added, "It tjust might be to our advantage to keep the students another year." The advantage to McHenry in keeping the students.another year, comes stri§tf^from the obvious financial crunch that i§_ going to come down on McHenry high school with the loss of 565 students Swantz explained the cost situation this way. "Right now, Johnsburg has their own school district (District 12). They just don't have a school to put their kids in Therefore, that school district is paying us $1,702 per year in tuition for each of the 565 kids. "Multiplying $1,702 by 565 kids comes to $961,630 that Johnsburg is paying McHenry to let their students attend high school here. "When the new school opens, we will no longer get that $961,630." Swantz continued. "We anticipate laying off thirty-five teachers with the reduced enrollment, which at $12,000 average annual salary, comes to a savings of $420,000 "Where", Swantz asket^ "is the other $541,630 we must save going to come from0" The $541,630 is going to come from cutbacks in programs and facilites, ranging from eliminating all athletics to moving to one high school, and from reducing student course selection to eliminating all field trips No matter how it's sliced, half-a-million dollars is going to be dropped from McHenry high school's budget. And that takes in a lot of programs that heretofore had been considered untouchables "The money is going to come from within our existing budget," Swantz said "We have compiled a list .ixty- eight areas of possible tat" uiks within our present school (C'ontinuecf on page 12) County School Figures Catholic Enrollment 5 Percent Below '75 Catholic elementary and Marian Central Catholic high secondary schools in McHenry *§^ool also dropped in county are educating 2,736 enrollment back to its 1974-75 pupils during the 1976-77 school level of 673 students. County year. Figures released by the wide, the enrollment in McHenry county board of C Catholic elementary and Catholic education show that secondary schools is down by 5 the seven parochial elementary percent from a year ago. schools dipped from 2,157 In presenting the statistics to pupils in 1975-76 to 2,063 the board's School commission', children in the current school Father James Moses, y«ar (Continued on page 12)