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^ :.W ^ , W' -*••.. -'.S- - V ) "" - rM ' • • ' • • . • • • • " ' • : 0 ' - - 1 ' ' . :'r: " •• , • • ' ' • ' v \&W, : : •% ; ' / > ; , ' 4 ; : t ; ? ' • • - , \ . r - ? • i f . ••• If- yj'fc SERVING THE CHAIN-O-LAKES REGION SINCE 1875 I Stoarfc Spinning iietaetpaper 1979-- Illinois Press Association Newspaper Contest VOLUME 104 NUMBER 22 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1979 2 SECTIONS 24 PAGES 20* FIRST PLACE-tn the McHenry high school Homecoming float competition went to the freshman class at East campus. Their float, shown above, also captured the "Most Original" category in the judging held last Friday afternoon. STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD The executive session of the Oct. 9 meeting of McHenry Elementary School District 15 school board tackled the dif­ ficult dilemma of an equitable approach to the review and selection of a principal from among the more than fifty-five candidates who have applied to fill the opening at Edgebrook school. Acceptance of ap­ plications closed Oct. 5, and a method of determination must be decided upon before action will be taken. It had been noted early in the meeting during discussion of budgetary matters , t)»ar" revenue received for the year to date amounted to $1,391,371.38, and that an ad­ ditional $240,190.62 was ex­ pected, bringing the total to $1,658,314.00. Presentation was made of, the 1978-79 audit by representative of the firm of Mueller, Sieracki, Kaun & company, and the board is to approve the audit for sub- Supreme Court Denies District 15 Tax Suit The Illinois State Supreme court has refused to hear the case of Elementary School District 15 versus the City of McHenry. The effect of this action, according to City Attorney Bernard Narusis, is to require the school district to pay the motor vehicle tax for each school bus as is required by City ordinances. The issue arose some two years ago when the City arrested a school bus driver for not having a vehicle tag. In fact, the district had already purchased the stickers, but did not affix them to the buses so that the case would go to court. It did. The district contended that the buses are owned by the school district which is a separate political entity and part of the state government. Therefore, the district main­ tained, the City has no right to impose any tax on the district. The City argued, and the courts agreed, that the established context is that all property in Illinois is taxable unless specifically exempted. The City also argued that tax exemption for the operation of school buses has not been sought by the legislature, even though the buses are operated by the state. The tax was not considered a preemption of state authority by the court. City officials felt that the tax was justified because the buses were heavy users of city streets and the tax money would be used to help maintain those streets. Considering the recent decision, District 15 Superin­ tendent Dr. Richard Farmer said, "It's exhausted, I guess it's the end of the road and we'll just have to cough up the money." mission to \the superintendent by Oct. 15. y* An overall look at the cost per Student this year, which amounts to $1,464, shows an 11 percent increase over last year. The annual review of ap­ plication for recognition and fall enrollment-housing report shows a drop of thirty-two students in the Kindergarten level, and an increase of thirty- seven students from first through eighth grades over last year. The administration's recommendation of the hiring of Penelope Talluto to direct the learning center at Parkland was approved by the board, as was the hiring of three bus drivers and four aides. Business manager Bill Landis presented a resolution suggesting the preparation of the tentative budget and establishing the fiscal year 1980-81, which was okayed. The procedure for preparation and adoption of the tentative budget iS as follows: establishing of the fiscal year by the board; designating of person(s) to prepare tentative budget; preparing of tentative budget; allowing for availability to public inspection; holding at least one public hearing; making necessary changes and adopting the budget. The budget calendar is as follows: Feb. 6, budget preparation sets distributed to principals March 19, sets due from building principals; April 8, budget details discussed at board of education meeting; June 10, tentative budget to board; July 8, tentative budget adopted by board; July 11, publish for beginning of thirty day inspection period; Sept. 9, public hearing on 1980-81 budget; Sept. 9, at regular ^meeting, process completed with adoption of budget at meeting. Fred Goehring, tran­ sportation director, was ap­ pointed transportation ap­ plication affirmation designee, performing a function previously handled by assistant superintendent for operational services. This duty had properly belonged to the tranportation director's office, but was shifted during a change in transportation directors. The board also accepted Carey Appliance's low bid of $3,900 for two freezers for the cafeteria, and tentative ap­ proval was also given to the purchase of playground equipment for the White House school in the amount of $2,000. A REMINDER--that the Lions Candy Day is Saturday, Oct. 13, as Mayor Joseph Stanek (center) signs the proclamation while Ken Sheridan (left) and Candy Day chairman Dennis Swedo look on. The annual event is held to raise funds to help the blind, the visually handicapped, the deaf and the hearing impaired. Glaucoma Screening Unit Visits McHenry, Oct. 17 One Arriving, One Departing | • 1 REV. JAMES GAYNOR On Sunday, Oct. 14, at 4 p.m. the Rev. James G. Gaynor will be cannonically installed as the pastor of the church of St. Mary of the Assumption. The Dean of the McHenry County Deanery, Msgr. Joseph Healey of Harvard, will conduct the installation ceremony. Clergy, Roman Catholic and others, will be present for the rite. The pastors of the Roman Catholic church are appointed by the local bishop. Father Gaynor was selected by the Most Reverend Arthur J. O'Neill, bishop of the Rockford diocese, and appointed on July 5,1979. Since that time he has been in charge of St. Mary's church. The formal installation consists of various men and women of the parish presenting vessels signifying the office of pastor. The installing .prelate then asks the congregation to assent to the selection of the bishop and pledge the pastor their love and fidelity. The service will conclude with Vespers and Benediction of the most blessed sacrament. The Christian Mothers Sodality of the church is honoring Father Gaynor following the ceremony with a reception in the Mary hall of Montini middle school. JUDGE JAMES COONEY James H. Cooney of Wood­ stock, announced that he will resign his office as Judge of the 19th Circuit court, effective Dec. 28, 1979. He has been a judge for 21 years, being elected County Judge of McHenry county in 1958. During the past eight years he had been chief managing judge of the courts in the county. Cooney initiated computer record keeping of court records in the McHenry county system, and is a member of the Illinois Supreme Court committee for Criminal Justice programs. In January he will join a law firm in Crystal Lake, as counsel to the firm. The office is expected to be filled by McHenry county electors in the primary and general election of 1980. Burglaries Target: Builders "To err is human, but when the eraser wears out ahead of the pencil you're overdoing it". "There is always an easy solution to every human problem - neat, plausible and wrong". Those two bits of wisdom, credited to J. Jenkins and H.L. Mencken, respectively, were handed to us Friday, Oct. 5, by a relatively new reporter who advised that the editorial room would be operating on this basis during our week's absence. As we prepare for a week away from our old Smith- Corona of vintage 1950, and the alarm clock of a more recent era, it occurs to us that the two adages have more than a few times applied to us as we sued the struggle of editing issues weekly. Contemplating a few days away from the strife that is sometimes inevitable in a newspaper office, we have come to the conclusion that experience is far superior to anything in this editing business. If the young reporter feels our absence.lt is only because we have learned over i i , > a the years to save a few erasers just because we have en­ countered the same problem so many, times. This doesn't always mean a , , good job, but it does frequently language on the part of the high provide an answer that seems school students as reasons for Parents Express Concern Over Busing Situation was approved by the school board. The plan is, essentially, the goals and objectives of the school for the coming year -- as far as curriculum, special education, etc. - which is required by the state. Andreas said the plan is revised and updated each year. Representatives of the music department came before the boardTo ask permission for the Two concerned parents came before the Johnsburg school board at the regular meeting held Oct. 9 and expressed their concern over having grade school age children riding on the same bus as high school students. The parents cited incidents of fighting, various forms of misbehavior and obscene to satisfy a questioning customer. With a particularly aggravating week behind us, we put the cover on Smith- Corona with few regrets. It is so old we have no fear that anyone else will disturb this friend of many years. Except for enjoying an enormous amount of good food and avoiding the telephone and alarm clock, we have only two vacation desires. After a long career with the Platndealer, we look forward eagerly to visiting with the founder's grandson during his visit to McHenry. And in very quiet moments of nature study, we hope, at last, to find out why those little caterpillars are so enthusiastic at this time of year about making their way from one side of the road to the other. K.A.F. "wanting their kids off the high school bus." According to Dr. Andreas, District 12 superintendent, the situation occurs when all grades of students from outlyipg areas of the district, i.e. Ringwood, have to ride the same bus because of cost considerations. "The District cannot afford to run one bus out to Ringwood for each grade," Andreas said. Andreas added that while he empathized with the parents, he spent some 45 minutes with' both the transportation com­ mittee and Ann Radke, tran­ sportation director, studying the schedule and trying to alleviate the problem. Board member Charles Boak said that rearranging the bus schedule for seven students would inconvenience an estimated 160 other students. The 1979-80 program plan students to raise funds to buy about 100 new band uniforms. While the board could see the need for new band uniforms, the proposal to have students sell wine and cheese trays was denied. The board felt the sale of such items would, inevitably, deteriorate into door-to-door sales - which is against board policy. Board member Jim Preston suggested that the music department form its own "booster club", which could raise money for the uniforms and would be similar to the athletic booster club. In other school board action, two policy changes regarding "professional conferences and visitations" and "sick leave (extended absences)" were adopted. Originally, conferences and visitations were included in the school budget. With the budget (Continued on page 18) Construction sites and model homes were the targets of recent McHenry area van­ dalism and thefts. On Oct/ 8, the Ralph Ruth Landscap ing company , McHenry, reported to the Sher i f f ' s depar tment tha t someone had stolen five 12-volt batteries from tractors and trucks at 5011 Pinehurst court, McHenry. At the same location, James Thennes, a contractor, reported the another 12-volt battery missing from one of his vehicles. Also on Oct. 8, the Hughes Excavating company, of 3605 Riverside drive, McHenry, reported the theft of 12-volt batteries from three trucks as well as twelve 12-foot chains, 12 binders and five shovels. James Bitterman, McHenry, reported that the gauges of all the vehicles at a construction site at 2819 Pleasant, were broken. A spokesman for the Mar- shall-Wiedenhoeft Construction company repor ted tha t someone had punched holes in 20 sheets of sheeting at the same site, and at another site one block away, damaged some styrofoam sheeting. Two model homes on Chapel Hill road belonging to Ad­ venture Homes were broken into on Oct. 9. From the first home, some carpeting, which was later found, and a free standing electric fireplace were stolen. From the second home, a free standing wood burning fire place was taken, but was later abandoned. At the Copper Mine lounge on McCullom Lake road, someone informed Guy Hansen that two men were trying to steal his motorcycle. Hansen confronted the two men as they were trying to load the motorcycle into the back of a van, but had to retreat when one of them came at him with a chain, according to the police report. Two days later, Hansen saw the two men in a different bar and called the police. Joel Alford, 22, of Belvidere, and Kenneth Carlson, 29, of 1601 Riverside drive, McHenry, were arrested for attempted theft and criminal trespass of a motor vehicle with bond set at $6,000 each. Jerry Weber, of 707 East boulevard, McHenry, reported (Continued on page 18) One of the leading causes of blindness in Illinois will be dealt a serious blow Wed­ nesday, Oct. 17 when the Lions Mobile Screening unit comes to McHenry. Glaucoma is an eye disease without noticeable symptoms in its early stages, but one with inevitable progress toward blindness unless it is detected and treated in time. Glaucoma is most prevalent among adults. The tests will be given free of charge from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the unit, which will be parked at McHenry Market Place, West Route 120. Staffing the unit will be local Lions volunteers headed by Dr. Leonard Bottari, and medical .^personnel to perform the actual screening. Staffing is con­ tributed by the Lions of Illinois foundation and the University of Illinois Department of Ophthalmology. No appointments are necessary for the tests which take only a few minutes and are painless. In the test for glaucoma, a measuring in­ strument is placed on the eye to record the fluid pressure in the eyeball. An elevated pressure might mean glaucoma, or it might mean something else. Persons with an elevated pressure are referred to doc­ tors for a complete eye checkup. Since the Lions unit began its work in 1969, more than 330,000 Illinois residents have been screened. More than 1,500 people have been found to have * glaucoma in various stages of the disease, and as a result, have been warned in time to undergo treatment necessary to preserve sight. The McHenry Lions club announced that screening tests for visual acuity will also be given. For the first time diabetes and hypertension testing will also be available in the Lions Mobile unit. "The reason the foundation has just added diabetes and hypertension tests," club president A1 DeBaets said, "is because of the alarming increase nationally and locally in diabetic retinopathy, a disease of the eye which is now the principal cause of blindness in diabetics." The diabetes test, like the glaucoma, visual acuity and hypertension tests, takes only a couple of minutes, but there is some food-intake preparation required for the diabetes test. Either one of these two meals should be eaten about one-and- a-half hours before visiting the Lions unit: Meal I: A Sandwich Meal. Two slices of bread with at least one slice of meat or cheese. One piece of cake or pie. Coffee or tea with sugar, or milk, or a soft drink. Plus anything else one likes. Meal II: Dinner meal. One serving, potatoes, dried beans or corn; Two slices bread or roll. One piece of cake or pie. Coffee or tea with sugar, or milk, or a soft drink. Plus anything else one likes. The test itself consists of drawing a single drop of blood from the visitor's finger and processing the sample in a small diagnostic device. In a matter of seconds the blood sugar level is determined, indicating either the presence or absence of a potentially diabetic condition. All three tests offered on the Lions of Illinois foundation's mobile screening unit are free of charge. "Considering how serious glaucoma and diabetes can be if not detected in their early stages, this is a rare op­ portunity to safeguard your eyesight and general health," said DeBaets. However, DeBaets reminded those who already know they have diabetes or high blood pressure that there is no need to be tested by the Lions unit. They should continue their regular visits to their own doctors, "This screening", DeBaets said, "is to discover those not aware of having high sugar in their blood or elevated blood pressure." The Lions of Illinois foun­ dation is a non-profit organization that relies on the local Lions Clubs Candy Day contributions, individuals and businesses to finance its various programs. Her Wealth. .,. Experience Julie Brooks flashes a happy smile as she examines some of the souvenir gifts brought back from Portugal, where she lived in recent months as an AFS student. "A wealth of experiences" was the way AFS student, Julie Brooks, described what she brought back recently from Portugal to share with her family and friends in McHenry. There, she lived with her host family, Joao and Juliette Nunes, their daughter, Ilda, and son, Joac. Among some of the more memorable differences bet­ ween the two countries was the closing of businesses and schools between 1 and 3 p.m. every afternoon; the presence of many donkey carts, oxen and horses on the city streets; shopping every day at the market ; and TV with only two channels and programming from 6:30 p.m. to midnight. Julie's host sister, Ilda, proved a good friend, and she and Julie spent many hours talking and visiting the coffee and pastry shops after the usual late family dinner. These visits to the local coffee shops were a customary practice and usually lasted an hour or two. Julie found she had to become accustomed to sitting around and just talking with friends almost every evening for amusement. Occasionally, with Mr. Nunes' permission, the girls would go to the cinema or the disco, which opened at 10:30p.m. and closed at about 4 a.m. Julie found it interesting that the girls would have to wait, sometimes for what seemed hours, for the father to come home so they could ask his permission. The Nunes family spent their annual month long vacation by the sea in August. There, they lived in a large three-room tent which held many of tbe t household items, including regular dishes and kitchen articles. The large amount of goods, plus the tent, was packed in the family van and moved to the campsite which served as home for the duration of the vacation. (Continued on page 18)