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THE MCHENRY PLAINDEALER "SERVING THE CHAIN-O-LAKES REGION SINCE 1875 aitoarb Winning i}ttospaper 1978-- Illinois Press Association Newspaper Contest VOLUME 103 NUMBER 76 FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 1979 2 SECTIONS 32 PAGES 20* Wieser, Harker, Meurer Win A noticeable absence of voters in McHenry's Ward 3 on Tuesday would lead the observer -and possibly these election judges -to believe there was little interest. Such was not the case. Just short of 600 voters went to the polls at the city hall to settle a three-way contest from which Michael J. Wieser emerged the winner. He toppled the hopes of Raymond L. Smith to be seated for another term. The third challgpger was Anna Mae Cuda. STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD GEORGE L. HARKER MICHAEL J. WIESER RONALI) 11. MEl HER Well over a thousand voters went to the polls in four McHenry wards Tuesday to elect four aldermanic can­ didates. As a result of that voting, one incumbent was returned to office, two new faces will join the Council ranks, and another will be returning after a two-year absence. The area of greatest interest was Ward 3. where Michael J Wieser emerged victor in a three-wav contest. With 272 votes. Wieser unseated in­ cumbent Raymond L Smith, a long time representative of the third ward, who polled 212 votes. The other challenger was Anna Mae Cuda. who was supported by 100 voters. Mrs. Cuda also was a candidate two years ago. when she lost by a small margin to Vince Adams, who begins the second half of his first term. Another contest was settled in Ward 2. where George Harker retained his seat on the Council by defeating Michael Teta. The vote was 322 for Harker and 236 for his op­ ponent. In Ward 4. which includes mainly the Lakeland Park area, it was Ronald H Meurer over Len Abruzzo by a vote of 141 to 48. Neither previously had served McHenry cit^ government In Ward I, the only part of the city where the office of High School Board In Reorganization alderman was uncontested. Jack Pepping received 178 votes. Pepping held one of the aldermanic seats until his resignation two years ago, when Elizabeth Nolan was successful in her bid in a three- way race. Pepping became the only candidate this year when William J. Bolger decided against seeking reelection. McCullom Lake In the village of McCullom Lake. Thomas L Farrell and Eugene Huff, incumbents, and Ronald Krumsee, were placed in office for four years as trustees with votes of 29, 34, 33, respectively .James Box and Karen Parks, the incumbent, both running unopposed, were supported by 36 and 33 votes for two-year terms. Lakemoor Lakemoor. to the east, also experienced a quiet election, with only 66 votes cast Pacita Morrison, running for a two-year term to fill an unexpired term as clerk, received 63 votes. Edna Garbacz. incumbent, Walter Para and William Sinkler were placed in office as trustees for four years with votes of 53. 54 and 53, respec­ tively. Margaret Coughlin, running to fill a two-year vacancy as trustee, was supported by 59 voters Prairie Grove In Nunda township's village of Prairie Grove, a five-way contest ended with Richard Schlake. incumbent, high vote getter with 83 votes, and William Brims, incumbent, and Charles Schott, elected with 80 votes each The other candidates were Richard Meyers, who received 79 votes and Edward Hunter, 69. In a write-in. .ludy Brims (Continued on page 21) Edward J. Neumann, Jr., was named president of the board of education for High School District 156, replacing James Althoff, at the r e o r g a n i z a t i o n m e e t i n g Tuesday, April 17. Neumann had been reelected in the April 14 election along with in­ cumbent, Dan McNulty, and new member, Barbara Slater. The new board also selected James Tonyan as secretary, Judy Zid as president protem, and Ms. Slater as secretary protem. Named as treasurer, as in previous years, was Michael Kelly, business manager, who was instructed to renew his bond for $1 million. The board also agreed to retain meeting dates as the first and third Tuesdays of each month, education meetings on the first Tuesday and business meetings on the third except in July and August when the educational meetings are e l i m i n a t e d . C o m m i t t e e assignments were not made at this time, but it was agreed to keep committee strength at three members each and for board members to choose committee assignments in accordance with their interests as far as possible. McHenry State bank and the First National bank were designated as depositories for school funds. In fiscal matters the board approved abolishing the working cash fund at the end of the fiscal year and transferring any remaining balance to the education fund. In practice, the board reestablishes the working cash fund in the Fall before the tax levy is set. And b e c a u s e o f a d v a n c e i n ­ formation that tax bills will be sent out late again this year delaying tax payments until August and September, the board authorized taking bids for tax anticipation warrants up to $250,000 each for the education and building funds. A letter from Continental bank and Bersted foundation finally released the surplus $3,864.18 remaining from the district's operation of the alternative high school and gave the district authority to refund it to the McHenry County Alternative Education foundation, which presently operates the alternative school. Ms. Zid questioned the letter from the bank, the wording of which made it appear as if the district was trying to hang on to the funds of which the board had tried to divest itself at the D e c e m b e r m e e t i n g . S u p e r i n t e n d e n t R o b e r t Swartzloff explained that the bank had different people handling the situation presently. And he said that returning the money to the Chicago Community Trust fund from where it came would cause the bank serious tax and accounting problems. David Benrud and Ms. Zid discussed the problem of collecting student book fees, many of which are delinquent. As Kelly explained, the procedure involves a number of letters to the families, one being sent to each delinquent each quarter. Ms. Zid thought this system seemed very wasteful. Board members asked if the school could refuse to register a student until his fees were paid. Swartzloff said (Continued on page 21) Two Local Townships Topic Of Zoning Group The townships of Nunda and McHenry will be the subjects of discussion by the Zoning commission of McHenry county May 4 at 9:30a.m. in Room 112. The meeting will be held in the McHenry county cour­ thouse, 2200 North Seminary avenue. Woodstock, at which time the commission will review and make its recom­ mendations for the individual requested map amendments of the proposed zoning ordinance The public is invited to ob­ serve. but no further testimony will be taken at that time. . 34-Acre Park Added To City The McHenry City Council added a 34-acre park to the city with the approval of purchase of part of the Edwin V. Knox farm at a cost of $115,000, Monday, April 16. The Council also took a look at the proposed 4979-80 budget which will be acted on April 23. The new budget contains salary in­ creases for city employees ranging from 10 percent for other than police related ser­ viced to $2,000 raises for patrolmen. The Knox farm purchase agreement provided a promise of a 30-foot easement, location as yet undetermined, for access to the land back of the city garage on Green street and an acknowledgement to the sellers that business zoning would be appropriate for some adjacent land. The parcel, lying between Route 31 and Green street, is just south of Edgebrook Heights. By agreement, the new acquisition is to be called Knox park. Mayor Joseph Stanek characterized the purchase as a tremendous opportunity for the city and enthused over the possibilities for this southside recreation area. Alderman William Bolger, who was credited by the mayor as in­ strumental in negotiations, moved for its acceptance and Alderman Jerry Rogers seconded the action. One reservation about the property was expressed by Alderman Elizabeth Nolan, who said she might have to vote against the issue because of the acknowledgement of ap­ propriate business uses nearby. She referred to the litigation over zoning with Ed Buss, who has proposed moving his automobile dealership to a site on Route 31 not far from this new park. Attorney Barnard Narusis explained the provisions of the agreement for the Council noting that the surrounding property still lay in county jurisdiction and this indicated that the city would not oppose zoning for compatible business uses. Because soil deter­ minations had not been made, the easement location was also up in the air. Alderman Ed Datz asked who would be responsible for opening a street and wondered "who would pay for what" if later it was decided to put in a full street that would also serve adjacent properties. Alderman Datz, on behalf of the finance committee, distributed copies of the budget for the coming year so the Council could review it before the next meeting. Alderman Ray Smith, referring to a recent news story about results of negotiations for employee raises, asked if this was the same proposal that the public gets. The remark in­ dicated the dissatisfaction expressed by some aldermen about the information released concerning possible Council actions on payroll matters. The proposed budget was not released for public inspection at this time. Datz explained to the Council that the document projects a $2,400 favorable balance with substantial increases in in­ come, possibly reaching $1,561,000. Stanek questioned Datz's remarks as being premature. Datz said they were just brief explanations of what is included. About salaries, Datz said the budget provided for 10 percent increase for road, utility and city clerk employees, and across the board raise of $2,000 for patrolmen, $2,500 for sergeants with the chief receiving a salary of $24,000 and the lieuteneant $22,000. Communications employees are to receive 12 or 13 percent increase. No adjustment was planned for aldermen at this time although his committee was investigating some compensation for the zoning board of appeals members. Stanek said he doubted the legality of ZBA pay. Also being considered is an increase in fees for ZBA petitions and in liquor license fees. Bolger suggested a liquor license fee increase when an inquiry to Chief George Pasanelli indicated that generally taverns do pose an additional problem for police when considering disposition of (Continued on page 21) McHenry Shores Presidency To Grimes First Quarter Of '79 Grocery Prices Up 3.74 Percent Random thoughts invariably take us to the outdoors in April-- and the outdoors reminds us we are surrounded by ducks. Daily, a pair, and sometimes a single drake who has failed to make a conquest, appear in our neighborhood. With little ap­ prehension for mighty man,- they come forward for almost any little tidbit. Corn is a favorite and bread is welcome. Even with the swollen Fox to take a dip in, they seem to enjoy a pan of liquid with their food. And almost any thoroughfare is considered their domain. Oblivious of thousands of pounds of metal bearing down on them, they proceed in the busiest traffic, sometimes stopping to rest in an apparent challenge to man's modern mode of transportation. Surprisingly, the man at the wheel is usually understanding. Or maybe he envies this weak creature with the fortitude to stand up to something so superior in strength. Or maybe man just enjoys being reminded of the un- bothered simplicity of.nature as he proceeds on his frantic way in a hurried world. Probably the most un- (Continued on page 21) Grocery prices in McHenry increased 3.74 percent during the first quarter of 1979, a Plaindealer Market Basket survey reports. Area consumers did ex­ perience temporary relief the past month as prices dropped 1.67 percent. The one-month decline is attributed to a decrease in pork and produce prices. The survey, which averages the selling prices at the three major supermarkets in the area for 50 food and non-food items, is taken about the first day of each month. Hypothetically, if a consumer purchased one of each item on the survey at the average selling price (example: one pound of ground beef or sirloin steak, one can of peas, etc.) his grocery bill the beginning of January would have been $62.03. April 1, the same goods would have cost the McHenry shopper $64.35. March 1, the same items had a price tag of $66.44. For the month. 28 items went down in average price, 16 went up and six remained constant Showing the largest price decline was lettuce, down 28.^ percent. Early in March, let­ tuce was averaging 95 cents a head, and April 1, the price had dropped to 68 cents. Th£)l j largest price increase was noticed in the price of tomatoes. March 1, the average selling price of a pound of tomatoes was 52 cents and one month later the price had jumped to 95 cents, an increase of 82.7 percent The average price of a pound of carrots was another case tff a price decrease this month. Carrots went down 26.8 per­ cent. from 41 cents to 30 cents a pound Red Delicious apples also dropped in pripe, 9 7 percent from 62 cents a pound to 56 cents a pound, which is the lowest average price for apples in four survevs. Green cabbage dropped 21.4 percent from 56 cents a pound to 44 cents a pound Pork products experienced the largest price decline in the meat department. Pork loin rib chops dropped 14.9 percent, averaging $1.72 a pound compared with $2.02 a pound one month ago. Pork loin sirloin roast dropped 14.2 percent, from $1.62 a pound to $1.39 and a pound of smoked ham, center slice was reduced from $2.32 per pound to $1.82 a pound, a decrease of 21.6 percent. Chicken also dropped in price: 4.8 percent from 62 cents (Continued on page 21) Budget Addition For Court Plans After much discussion and debate about the proposed addition to the county cour­ thouse, members of the County board Tuesday approved an additional appropriation in the amount of $75,000 for cour­ thouse schematics. The money had not been allowed in the original budget, but it became evident later the would be expenditure necessary. It was pointed out that there would be a 10 percent in­ flationary-related building cost increase each year on the estimated $8 million building. For this reason, the board felt it was necessary to proceed quickly with plans. It was on the suggestion of Edward Buss of McHenry that the resolution was passed allowing for tht additional appropriation in the budget. There was a question as to the legality since budget ad­ ditions are specified to be allowed only for emergencies. However. after more discussion it was agreed that this might well be considered an emergency if the county should find itself out of cour­ thouse space. Member Thomas Huemann of Johnsburg told the board he had read the NIPC Land Use plan. He suggested it would be worthwhile for all board members to read it because the plan concerns control of growth of McHenry county. * Huemann explained that the (Continued on page 21) In its short history as a village, McHenry Shores vote<J into office its third president on Tuesday. David M.- Grimes, with 177 votes, unseated Rose Lillegard. the fiery village head who has guided the government for the past four years. She was supported by 142 votes. The Grimes-Lillegard contest was the only election for a top municipal official among local governments and brought to the polls a record 333 voters. Although the presidency was the only announced contest at McHenry Shores, a lively write- in competition emerged in the last days before the election. The term of Raymond LaFrancis expired and he did not file for another term. Neither did anyone else, but in the pre-election days a write-in effort was reported in behalf of Marilyn Zelvis. Another developed for LaFrancis, settled at the polls when Ms. Zelvis won with 44 supporters to 33 for LaFrancis The term runs for two years. S.A. Larson received 294 votes SOT the office of clerk. William P Wilson, Ronald J. Grant and Martin K. Koleno, running unopposed for four f^ar terms as trustees, received 287, 269 and 276 votes, respectively Stanley Weincouff, the only name on the ballot for a two- year term, was elected with 261 votes McHenry Shores was in­ corporated in 1972, with Howard Bieritz serving one term of 34 years as president. Mrs. Lillegard, who was elected clerk at that time, defeated Bieritz for the presidency four years ago. Conservation Family Of The Year Using several soil conserving techniques. Mr. and Mrs Peter C. Reiland, Jr., McHenry. have earned the 'Soil Conservation Family of the Year' award presented by the McHenry Mr. and Mrs. Peter C. Reiland, Jr., left, McHenry, receive the "Soil Conservation Family of the Year" award presented by Betty Hegner, vice-chairman of the McHenry County Soil and Water Conservation district. The Reilands operate a 500- acre farm which includes land mined for gravel and farmland with a rolling terrain. (Don Peasley Photography) County Soil and Water Con­ servation district Charles J. Budrick, Jr.. district chairman, announced the award Monday The Reiland family operates 500 acres which includes land mined for gravel and farmland w ith a generally rolling terrain A main achievement was to r e c l a i m g r a v e l p i t s i n a (Continued o.i page 21) DAVID M.GRIMES