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A .j ' *• "<v • * - f. Street Intersection The Street and Sidewalk committee of the McHenry City Council will meet with Supt. of Public Works Fred Meyer and state officials to determine what can be done about traffic congestion at the intersection of Rt. 120, Rt. 31, and Waukegan road. The situation was discussed at a marathon special City Council meeting Thursday night. Alderman William Bolger, who has been the pioneer in the move to correct the abominable situation which now exists, had a map drawn of the intersection and discussed various'problems and solutions with the other city officials. Unfortunately, no solutions were derived from the discussion, with Bolger noting that, "The more you look at the m>oblem, the less there seems to be an easy solution." Bolger first discussed the problem of vehicles eastbound on Rt. 120, which take the cutoff onto Rt. 31, and then attempt to turn onto eastbound Waukegan road. One of the solutions men­ tioned was to eliminate a left turn onto Waukegan from the Rt. 120 cutoff. Another suggestion was to make Waukegan road one-way. Which one-way Waukegan would be made could not be determined. There were negative points no matter which way Waukegan road ran. Bolger mentioned the possibility of allowing only local traffic on Waukegan road. Supt. of Public Works Fred Meyer noted that some of the things which were suggested needed approval of the state of Illinois because of two state highways being involved. Bolger mentioned the possibility of a left turn lane on eastbound Rt. 120 for cars seeking to turn onto northbound Millstream. Bob O'Neill of Overton Pontiac (a business at the corner of Rt. 31 and Waukegan road) said that a left turn lane for eastbound Rt. 120 may not work because of large trucks which need the added room to turn from northbound Rt. 31 to westbound Rt. 120. O'Neill also suggested put­ ting a stop light up in front of the business solely for the traffic northbound on Rt. 31. A stoplight for northbound traffic on Rt. 31 just before the in­ tersection with Waukegan road, would keep cars from blocking the intersection. There was also discussion on the * problem of vehicles westbound on Waukegan who attempt to travel west on Rt. 120. Exactly what - the city of McHenry is going to do remained unclear after the discussion ended. All that is certain is that the Street and Sidewalk committee will examine the situation further. In other action, the Council decided to examine the ( Continued on page 18) i î b x WAUKEGAN RD. g Elm St. (Rt. 120) F ro nt S t. * 180 TIAIS • St THE MCHENRY PLAINDEALER "SERVING THE CHAIN-O-LAKE S REGION SINCE 1875 VOLUME 102 NUMBER 28 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1977 2 SECTIONS 24 PAGES 20* High School Sets Ne# Referendum Date Madrigals, Swing Choir In Fall Festival Members of the MCHS madrigal group and swiag choir are shown la rehearsal preparing them for participation In the annual McHenry County Choral festival scheduled Monday, Nov. 7, at 7:86 pntrtn --Hai< high school. From loft, front row, are Penny Broanaa, Lorl RohoiHon, Shelly VonBruoncbonhelm, Judy Vyduna, Paula Carhone, Kathy Graef; Bandy Poller, Kathy Ahem, JoHe Tftbo, Julie Boeldt and DehUe Freeland; In hack, from loft, are William Tsalson, director of music at East campus, John Ulrich. Dave Thornton, Dave Wright, Scott Anderson, Greg Dicker, Roger Garbeez, Rob Thomas, George Mason, Chuck Dicker, Tim Oakley and Carl Ames. STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD Musin9 And Meanderin The City Council held a long, special meeting Thursday night dealing with several unrelated matters. As might be expected, the outcome of discussions met with various reactions. From our point of view, we were disappointed that the unbelievably bad traffic situation at the corner of Waukegan and Front streets will continue indefinitely. It was not that our city fathers were disinterested; they couldn't agree on any plan that would alleviate the congestion. It will go to the state now, with no detailed outline of what will be asked for. The higher we go, the more red tape we are confronted with, leading us to believe it will be a long time before there is relief. Some city leaders expressed opposition to making the street one-way, although no one ap­ peared from Waukegan street to oppose such a move. We have talked to several drivers who wouldn't venture west from Third street under any con­ ditions before a late evening hour when traffic becomes lighter. Waukegan street residents themselves are well aware of the situation and probably use any other means of travel to avoid the tieup of traffic. It was revealed at the meeting that this intersection is not the most hazardous if we are to judge by the number of accidents in one year's time '1976). But we don't believe this is much of a criteria for a judgment, considering the trepidation with which drivers who are acquainted with the situation approach the corner. It's not uncommon to keep one hand on the horn and one foot on the brake--just in case. Because the worst offenders at this intersection are drivers who push into the intersection from the east and block both north-bound lanes, this would have seemed the most sensible solution. The alternative -- until the state gets around to con­ sidering our plight and coming up with an answer - could be to spend a little money on stationing a police officer at -thtslocation. A few tickets, extracting some folding money from drivers, might be the tonic needed to bring their travelling manners into A-l condition. KAF A large number of local students will participate in the McHenry County Choral festival also featuring choral students from Hebron, Marengo, Marian Central, Richmond, Woodstock, and Harvard, to be held at Harvard high school Monday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m. A change in format has been planned for this year's festival. Two madrigal groups and two swing choirs chosen from the participating choirs will be featured on the program in addition to the massed chorus made up of 550 students from the participating schools. This year's guest director will be Father Charles. R. Zellmer, president-elect of the Wisconsin Choral Directors' association. He has served as an adjudicator and clinician for schools in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota and is presently the choral director at Brown Deer high school near Milwaukee. The guest clinician for swing choirs is Tom Terrien, a native of Milwaukee, who is presently the choreographer for the Wisconsin Singers from the University of Wisconsin- Madison and the New College Singers of the Madison Area Technical college. He has choreographed shows for ABC- TV and has been the choreographer of the Kids From Wisconsin for the past nine years. Tickets for the event can be obtained from any of the participating music depart­ ments or their directors, with special family prices. McHenry High School District 156 will go to the public this year to seek support referendum that would the tax rate in the ition and Operations, Iding and Maintenance funds. That was the decision made at the first board meeting held since defeat of the Oct. 22 vote seeking a $.40 cent hike in the Education fund and $.15 in the Operations fund. The decision to take their message to the public again came Tuesday evening following a lengthy discussion that included a referendum analysis and possible alter­ natives to deal with a projected operating deficit. Member Henry Nell made a motion, seconded by Catherine Alvary, to call the vote Friday, Dec. 23, from noon to 9 p.m. The referendum discussion started with an announcement by Board President James Althoff that consideration of budget cuts and revisions would be withheld until the Nov. 15 meeting. Althoff also said ho would like to clarify a report that the district would likely receive $380,000?because of a tax rate revision, litis figure, he said, is incorrect. He pointed out that a maximum amount would be $214,462, of which $176,000 would be for the Education Flu Shots For Seniors The McHenry County Senior Citizens' council, the McHenry County Department of Health, McHenry county hospitals and the medical van sponsored by Church Women United have made a cooperative effort to provide flu shots for senior citizens in McHenry county. TJJ»ere will be a minimal charge to help defray the actual cost of the vaccine. On Monday, Nov. 7, shots will be available at Memorial Hospital for McHenry County in Woodstock from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. They will also be available on that date at ( Continued on page 18) Organize Lake Area Crime Prevention Action The. Crime Prevention bureau of the Sheriff's police has announced an open meeting at the American Legion home in Wonder Lake on Nov. 7 for residents of Wonder Lake, Greenwood and Ringwood. It is concerned with the Neigh­ borhood Watch and C.B. Mobile Eye programs the Sheriff's police are hopeful of starting in the area. The meeting will also be a time for people In the sub­ divisions to gather and find out what problems are common to the subdivisions and try to find ways to solve them. There will be an open discussion on the operations of Give Community Center Views The Park and Recreation committee of the McHenry City Council will attempt to determine what should be contained in a community center for Petersen park. Discussion, pro-and-con, on a proposed community center occurred Monday night at the regular Council meeting, with several city officials voicing their opinions on the con­ struction of a center. Mayor Joseph Stanek has long been a proponent of a community center in Petersen nark. He had hoped that the Council would allocate about $60,000 in revenue-sharing funds for each of the next two or three years so that the city would then be in a position to begin work on the center. The aldermen disagreed, and last Thursday unanimously voted to allocate just $28,695 toward a community center. Only Alderman Vince Adams was absent for the vote. That, along with the $35,000 allocated for the center, gives just $63,695 toward the center, far short of the estimated $250,000 cost. ^ However, despite not having allocated the money for the center, Stanek believed it was still important to have an idea of what should be in the center. "There's nothing I'd like better than to get some plans going," Edward Datz said. Raymond Smith took the position that since the Council apparently didn't agree with Stanek's thinking and only allocated $28,000 instead of $80,000, "that since the money has been pushed back, the planning should be pushed back." "I think it's moving too fast," Walther Schaedel said. "If we go into a $400,000 project, I think we're biting off more than we can chew.'* He then suggested the possibility of a park district, and expressed the opinion that the persons who appeared at a recent revenue- sharing meeting were not representative of the com­ munity as a whole. At that revenue-sharing meeting, a majority of the monetary requests were for a community center. Schaedel did not believe that the majority of the people want a community center. * George Harker thought a park district was unrealistic for several reasons. He added that he hoped to "get architects' ideas on paper of a modest structure that would ac- ^C^addleftK^e^r^er know what we want in a building and the coot of ft until we get down on paper what we want to do." He added that he what we want to do, then we fmry find out what it coots." William Bolger expressed concern over vandalism in Petersen park, and wondered if the building should be located elsewhere. When the discussion ended, Stanek requested the Park and Recreation committee to determine what should be in­ cluded in a community center, and asked that all aldermen offer input into the plan. In other action, the Council discussed plans for an addition onto the public works building, located on Green street, south of Edgebrook school. Stanek suggested that when the construction of the addition Is put out for bid, that die city request bids in unit coots rather (Continued on page 18) fund, $33,000 for Operations, Building and Maintenance and $6,000 for Working Cash. The boiard president added that even this amount would not be available in the immediate future. When the matter of a District 156 deficit was mentioned, Business Manager Mike Kelly pinpointed it at $475,000. One of the important points of opinion focused on the possibility of closing either East or West campus and conducting classes only in one building on a temporary basis. Althoff contributed figures he had received from a Cleveland, Ohio, school that revealed the expenditure of $7,000 to close one school and $84,000 to reopen. He made no ex­ planation as to the reason for the coots. By way of offering help in the area of conserving light and heat. Nell suggested turning the thermostats down at 3:30 each day, allowing no one outside school to use the buildings at night, and allow only minimum usage by students. Supt. Robert Swartzloff was asked to make up a list of recommendations for cuts to be presented to the board Nov. 15. Nell then suggested that only state mandated classes might be taught, plus only those other offerings that can be afforded. He recommended a cutoff point after all funds are allocated. The board expressed agreement and a curriculum will be presented for con­ sideration in two weeks. Swartzloff commented that this would be a big assignment in that period of time but he would comply. "Can't we also discuss a new referendum"? the ad- ministator suggested. "We owe that much to our students and a new effort is needed". A large number of people attended and some expressed their reasons for voting as they did in the last referendum. Those who approved were in agreement that a poor school system hurts the entire com­ munity and in the long run does not save money. They referred to a depreciation of real estate where schools are; not of high quality. One lady who voted in op- ! position identified herself as "a J school board member". She < told of seeing a young girl of > high school age working at a '• shopping center whose• language was far below the - level of her age and she was unable to make change. The * woman pointed to this kind of student as a poor example of high school education. Mrs. Alvary spoke up in ; explanation of the work ex­ perience program in which J business people cooperate with j the schools in offering em- •! ployment to high school students. She said this is their only way of gaining experience and they learn on the job. During the discussion of possible cuts, someone in the audience asked whether one of them might be athletics. In the ensuing exchange of opinions, some referred to the program as self-sustaining. Board members corrected this assumption by stating that (Continued on page 18) Construction Site Thefts . , - - Vt$ •. 5> ' . . /?•>"; \ • Continue; One Man Arrested the Sheriff's department in the unincorporated areas of the county, and why things are done the way they are. The meeting will begin at 8 p.m. All area people are urged to attend this "Help us Help You" program of the Sheriffs department. Throughout recent months, police have received reports of thefts from construction sites. Early Friday morning Sheriff's police made their first arrest of the year in connection with theft of building materials, charging a 32-year-old Wonder Lake man with a theft. Luen Toy of 9110 Pine avenue was arrested at about 5 a.m. Friday in connection with the theft of building materials from a home under construction at 9103 Pine avenue, Wonder Lake. Toy was released on $1,000 bond. He was scheduled to appear In court Thursday morning. According to a police report, a call was received alerting police to a man having been seen loading material into an auto at the construction site. A description of the vehicle was obtained, and a car fitting the Best In His Field Mike Burmaan, senior at McHeary high school, proudly displays the No. 1 card, sigaifylag him as the wianer of the North Suburban conference cross country meet. Barmann's victory Tuesday over fifty- five other runners, con­ tinued his incredible streak of successes. Last Satur­ day ke defeated over 1M runners in winning the state district cross couatry meet. (Complete details on Page 6) ' -> ! STAFF PHOTO WAYNE GAYLORD description was observed and stopped at the intersection of Rt. 120 «id Thompson road. In the vehicle allegedly were several rolls of felt construction paper. Police determined, through the builder, North American builders of Algonquin, that three rolls had been stolen. Loy was then arrested. While police were successful in solving one burglary several others, plus acts of vandalism, occurred during the week. Halloween was Monday, and last week, fourteen masks, some valued at more than thirty-five dollars, were stolen from Halloween Masks and Make-up, 2981 W. Rt. 120, McHenry. Investigation revealed that, during the night, someone forced open a side door to gain entry, with the thief taking just the fourteen masks. Area residents were more fortunate Halloween night because, although many crimes were reported to County police, only one call came from a local resident. That call came from Ann Pauley of 7614 Deep Springs road in Wonder Lake. She reported that while watching television at about 9 p.m., she obeerved a male youth run up and kick the lower portion oC her storm door, breaking the ore he could be identified^ Elsewhere, twenty gallons of gasoline were syphoned from the auto of Henry Zenner Jr., Wednesday night. Zenner, who resides at 303 W. Burr drive In McHenry, said his car was parked in front of his home! when the gasoline was taken; A 12-foot aluminum boat waa reported stolen to Sheriff** (Continusd on page 18) h