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/ TIMOTHY KOZELSKY RICIIELLE ALLEN 3toarb Winning jlttospaper 1978^-- lllmiiis I'rrss Association NI'W«|KI|«H I 'otltvM THE MCHENRY PLAINDEALER SERVING THE CHAIN-O-LAKES REGION SINCE 1875 Two members of the 300-plus class of 1979 at McHenry Community high school shared honors as co-valedictorians at the fifty-ninth commencement exercise held last Friday ening on McCracken field, py were Richelle Allen and lothy Kozelsky, whp had itical 4.000 scholastic \dings. jrt Campus Principal 0. Gregory Johnson presented the two top students with their awards. He also gave honor awards to the other eight of the top ten students, who were Richard Sund, Lizabeth Raemont, Russell Crittenden, Mary Beth Adams, Mark Patterson, Sandra Fuller, Ruth Snyder and Audrey Panning. Miss Allen, selected as a speaker because of her scholastic standing and also diplomas to begin "the tran- sition from what others choose for us to what we choose-our- "Faikjre only occurs when hope is lost and when faith is abandoned. When someone gives up-that is failure". because she was senior class president, addressed the huge crowd concerning the changing pattern of life. She observed that her class would leqye with selves". She also spoke of the many strengths represented by in­ dividual class members and urged each of her classmates to A survey to learn the individual preferences of McHenry area shoppers is under way by the Plain- dealer A coupon to par­ ticipate appears on Page 2 of this issue. A recent Plaindealer survey of some of the McHenry area merchfthts has shown an alm^t unanimous opposition to sjufte stores being open on , some on Friday night and the dwindling few that are still open on both nights. The consensus seems to be that if a store owner does not wish to he open at night, fine. But. if some stores are going to be open on some night during the week, whatever the night, they should aU be open on the same night. This, many owners feel, would eliminate much of the confusion that faces people who want to shop at night • "We've had people come in and kinda raise hell because half the street wasn't open." said Ed Samen. at McHenry Drapery By far the greatest majority of store owners and employees felt that Friday night was a better night to be open than Thursday. "We went to Thursday night because Friday night was bad. wel^Xbursday. night was worse," said Steve Bjorkman. at Ace Hardware. The store owners also pointed to different reasons why they felt Friday would be a better night. Don Johnson, at Main Paint, said that not only was Friday payday for many people, "but the banks are open and people have money in their pockets." People are out any way. going to fish fries and the like, said Lorette Dixon of Karen's Hallmark Shop "I 'm not open anyway so it doesn't bother me," said Henry Ruck, of Ruck's Hardware, "but people have been trained for years to go out on Friday night Let them go back to the old way and I think everyone will be happier." he said A number of the merchants who did give Thursday nights a try_, have since gone back to Friday night. "We tried Thursday nights for a month- nothing. Our Friday nights have been good lately." said Jim Wegener, of McGee's Jerry Kalk, at McHenry s Favorite Sport Shop, said that over the 10 or 12 years that he has been in business, he has found Friday nights to be better than Thursday "I went along with the Thursday night opening because that was what the others voted on," Kalk said "The others" turned out to lie about one-fourth of the members of the Chamber of Commerce. Suzanne Kauss of the Toddler Shop said Ms. Kauss agreed that a single night would be better than the present arrangement. "If the others could get their act together. I might be willing to try it for 6 months or a year." she said At present her shop is not open either night. There was one merchant, however, who said she would rather stay open on Thursday night Bonnie Gaza, owner of the Fashion Shoppe. said that while (Cont inued on poge 22) VOLUME 103 NUMBER 87 WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 1979 1 SECTION 24 PAGES 20' Merchants Speak Out On Night Store Opening 305 Graduate At MCHS • « A small but Impressive Memorial day parade is shown near the Pearl street park immediately following a brief program honoring veterans of all wars. Spectators followed the colorful display of flags to the city beach, where a wreath was thrown upon the water. The marchers then proceeded to the three McHenry cemeteries to pay tribute to the war dead. STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORI) Remembering The War Dead What is your preference for an opening night for McHenry stores? ' That's the question a Plaindealer reporter asked when he visited a large number of stores that have made it a practice of opening only one night. The answer was over­ whelmingly in favor of Friday. Why? The general consensus was that business was better, which is the practical way merchants must view most choices. Even those who didn't favor a particular night believe business people should be open the same night. So do we, whatever that choice may be. When the Chamber of Commerce announced Thur­ sday night opening last Fall, many of the one-night-open store owners felt it was only fair to give it a try. So did we. The pre-Christmas season seemed a poor time to make a judgment. Then came the storms and cold of January and February, and it was quite obvious that few people would be night shopping at anv time. This. too. was the wrong time to ask merchants their feeling. But, as Spring approached and we drove through the city, vacillation was evident. Each Thursday night found another store closed. Some of these returned to Friday night opening, others were open neither evening. It occurred to us that this was not a good situation for shop­ pers, for it can be most an­ noying to have to phone a store to learn whether or not it will be open. The few merchants we asked quietly expressed an opinion, but we had the feeling no one wanted to "rock the boat". The survey seemed the only logical way to find out the feeling of most of the business community involved in a one- night opening each week. Although one or two for per­ sonal reasons, preferred not to be quoted, quite generally the business community was forthright in expressing their opinions. But most important is the buying public. Merchants are anxious to please shoppers. Does the average man-on- the-street agree that a return to Friday night would be best? Or does he-she feel other factors have entered into the slow_ (Continued on page 22) Business-Professional Community Loses Two "be proud of his or her own speciality". H e r c o - v a l e d i c t o r i a n , Timothy Kozelsky. pointed to the most valuable possession of each individual as "your life". - Observing that it brings forth new opportunities, new ad­ ventures and new experiences, he cautioned. "Take care of your most valuable possession, live your lives, love your lives, but most of all cherish your lives." In the post-sundown chill of the late May evening, the seniors marched in caps and gowns to the improvised stage to receive their diplomas as proud families and friends observed the impressive ceremony. The business and professional community of McHenry lost two prominent members with the deaths over the weekend of Dr. Howard S. Fike and Edward W. Koepke. Dr. Fike, a veterinarian who served the McHenry com­ munity for more than 30 years until his retirement in 1974, was also well known as a civic leader. Mr. Koepke owned and operated Ed's Service station in the city for the past eleven years. Dr. Fike. 67, a resident of McHenry since March of 1943, established the McHenry Animal hospital and practiced (Continued on page 22) "Cutest Baby" Contest Fiesta Week Feature Prevention Fund RTA Public Hearin9 June 7 Truancy Sources In Short Supply "We're about at the end of our rope for funds for this program (Truants Alternative program for West campus)" advised Superintendent Robert Swartzloff at the regular board meeting of High School District 156. He noted that administrators had been writing a proposal to fund a West campus Achieve program for submission to the Illinois Office of Education (IOE) under the federal Title I provisions. However, Swartzloff noted, after conversations with a Title I coordinator they learned that only $500,000 "seed money" for innovative truancy prevention program was available in Illinois and ACHIEVE was no longer considered innovative and there was no chance for approval. He said that this federal money was being used to explore other alternatives such as night or early morning attendance or individual tutoring of problem students using retired people. He ex­ plained that administrators had hoped to fund a program equivalent to one used at East campus. Swartzloff indicated that his people had explored other sources of funding through Police Chief George Pasanelli for possible Illinois Law En­ forcement commission grants and other similar programs. The Youth Service bureau, which gets some funds from the Mental health board, was another possibility, but this is not the type of program that would qualify, he said Swart­ zloff commented there was one other source to be tried before they gave up. and he will report on it next month A series of public hearings on the Regional Transportation Authority's Suburban Bus Productivity study will be held throughout the six-county region beginning May 31, the RTA has announced The McHenry hearing, scheduled for 7: :io p.m. Thursday. June 7. is scheduled at the city hall on Green street Persons wishing to testify at any of the eight scheduled hearings must register beforehand at the entranceway of the hearing site. Written material on the productivity studv mav be submitted no later than seven days after the conclusion of the hearing. Copies of the Suburban Bus Productivity study are available for public inspection in the offices of RTA. Room 1200, 300 N. State street. Chicago, and at RTA Regional Affairs offices MCHS Top Ten Seniors TIMOTHY KOZELSKY RICH ARD SI ND I.IZABETH RAEMONT RI SSELI. CRITTENDEN As part of the Fiesta days celebration, the McHenry Town and Country Newcomers club is sponsoring its second annual contest to find the area's cutest (Continued on page 22) MARY BETII ADAMS MARK PATTERSON SANDR A El I.LER Rl Til SNYDER • DR. H.S.FIKE