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>y .iv:s« HIGHLIGHTS OF '79-In preparation for publishing a special supplement covering the highlights of 1979, Plaindealer staff employees work extra hours to complete the 48-page tabloid. At left, Helen Seborg makes corrections after copy is proofread; second photo shows Patrick Bauer screening a halftone; in third photo, Karen Funk sets an advertisement included in the section; and at right, Deanna Mullen and Laura O'Brien can be seen in the composing room at work on the front page layout. STAFF PHOTOS-ANTHONY OLIVER Today's issue of the Plaindealer carries a special tabloid supplement that is a review of news highlights of the year in the McHenry area. It contains 48 pages of pictures and news in capsule form - information that readers perused in detail when it occurred. Some will read it and remember other reviews and make comparisons. Y As long as we can remember, the news of the previous twelve months in brief form has captured the attention of subscribers. But changes there have been, reminding all of us that the McHenry of 1980 is far different than the city of a quarter century ago. A very complete review then covered perhaps six pages, including all the pictures of brides and golden wedding couples that had appeared through the year. To do the same today would make for a veritable history book. Today's supplement contains only pictures representative of news and sports highlights. And the character of the news is vastly changed. Homemakers have always looked for bargains, but how many would have thought of watching a monthly Market Basket in the home town to compare skyrocketing food prices in 1955? Civic leaders of yesterday will recall a couple of important goals announced at the beginning of each year. No one then would have thought of the number or diversity of goals expressed at the start of 1980. Developments and annexations, without doubt, had the highest priority on big news in 1979. Outside McHenry in any direction there is excitement on the part of devWopers over dreams of turning the countryside into beautiful homes. The man-on-the-street has not always shared that enthusiasm as he winds his way through traffic patterns that test his patience and ingenuity. But whatever the view, there is no denying that rural McHenry is turning urban. As it does, planning and zoning board members become some of our busiest and most influential citizens. New (m the scene also are Revenue sharing and grants. They appear frequently in the news-of 1979. These handy tidbits that^relieve the local tills in meeting expenses were probably noKeven a germ in the minds of policy makers a quarter of a century ago. Now they give local governments a voice in how tax mdfieyisspent. Schools have always presented probleiris because of the very fact they they deal with so many people in the community. But the problems have increased with the population and with social changes that mandate money not available to carry out those mandates. If strikes among teachers were known 25 years ago, it was. in more populous areas. Now McHenry is also a heavily populated community and this school problem has kept pace. These are only a few features of the news of 1979 included in this issue. It is an effort of the entire staff for the purpose of giving our readers an opportunity to reminisce. » K.A.F. Sue Cerasch At Capitol Briefing Sue Gerasch, a long time McHenry resident who now leaches American Literature at Antioch high school, was among 18 members of the Illinois Education association who were briefed by the White House in Washington, D.C. recently. Along with 185 other Illinois citizens, they were part of a continuing rrr>tfram bv 'he Wh»U' House 10 invoive in foreign THE MCHENRY PLAINDEALER SERVING THE CHAIN-O-LAKES REGION SINCE 1875 3toarb Winning iJrtofipaper Illinois Press Association Newspaper Contest VOLUME 104 NUMBER 53 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 1980 2 SECTIONS 26 PAGES 20' Whispering Oaks PUD Urge RDG Petition Denial The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) voted unanimously last Friday to recommend denial of a petition which proposed the development of about 60 acres of land in Whispering Oaks. The land was originally presented as a golf course. The land in question comprised 140 acres and was part of the Boone Creek planned unit development (PUD). Attorney James Green, representing the Residential Development Group (RDG), petitioned the ZBA to alter the PUD in order to reclassify 50.9 acres of the land as "R-3" residential and 13.27 acres as "R-5" condominium. The remainder, of the 140 acres would be left as open space. City Attorney Bernard Narusis pointed to three questions that concerned the validity of the petition which arose at the previous, Nov. 30, meeting of the ZBA. The first question regarded the record ownership of the land. In a letter to the ZBA, Narusis pointed out that the petition,; as originally presented, alleged that the record owner of the land was RDG. An objector to the. proceedings, former City Attorney John Looze, testified that the land was actually owned in trust and that the McHenry State bank was the trustee. Narusis said this did not comply with a state statute that requires the iden­ tification of the name, the address and the amount of beneficial interest of each- member of the trust. Looze further said that the omission rendered the entire zoning proceeding void from the beginning. Representatives of RDG requested leave to amend the petition at the end of the earlier meeting. The second question was whether the petitioners could be allowed to amend the petition this late in the proceedings considering that the testimony had been closed at the last ZBA meeting concerning the property. After considering case law and court opinions, City Attorney Narusis said, "It is my legal opinion that the petition can be amended at this time because an amendment will neither effect the legal description of the property nor the rights of the third party." The last question con- Guilty Verdict For Frank One of three men charged with the murder, aggravated kidnapping and armed robbery of Edward Caraher, Jr., William Frank, of Ingleside, was judged guilty of the murder and kid­ napping charges and not guilty of robbery by the 14- member jury. Presiding over the week- long trial in 19th Judicial Circuit Court, Judge William D. Block scheduled the sentencing date for Feb. 28. Block also revoked Frank's $525,000 bond. A co-defendant and state's witness in the Frank trial, Edward Wieting, of Ingleside, pleaded guilty earlier to a charge of murder and was sentenced to serve 30 years in prison by Judge Block. The last of the three ac­ cused men, Clifford Johnson, 48. of Lake Bluff, is scheduled to stand-trial Feb. 19. The three men were arrested in mid-September following a more than eight- month investigation into the murder by McHenry County Sheriff's police. Caraher's body was found by a county road crew last Jan. 23 in a snowbank along Vanderkarr road, near Woodstock. cerned a possible re­ publication of notice and reopening of hearings. Narusis commented that he did not think these steps were necessary. At this point. Attorney Green presented two af­ fidavits: one which established the McHenry State bank as trustee and the other which described RDG as the sole beneficial interest in the property. Board member Fred Kupstis was concerned about the precedent setting effect, in the event that the petition were granted. "I don't feel that this would be beneficial for the City, or the residents," Kupstis added. Suzanne Kauss said, "I have a problem wiih the ingress-egress situation and I agree with Fred." ZBA Chairman James Fouse said that the or­ dinance which set up the PUD recommended that no change should be made and that if the golf course were not built, then the land should remain open. "The change from the PUD and less open space would be detrimental to the area which is already set­ tled, Fouse said. Fouse commented that there is little or no more building going on in the area. Fouse also objected to the road situation. As presented, there would be about 250 units built on a cul-de-sac with no other point of ingress or egress for either two years or until 50 percent of' the development is com­ pleted. Fouse said. At the end of the 25-minute meeting, the board voted unanimously to recommend denial of the petition. Weather Phones Are Established In anticipation that in­ clement winter weather still awaits drivers of the state," the Illinois state police have again set up their weather phones. The road condition reports are pre-recorded and up­ dated four times a day, and more often as weather c o n d i t i o n s c h a n g e . Depending on Illinois con­ ditions, the road conditions for the surrounding states may be given: Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan. Io­ wa, Missouri and Ken­ tucky. The order just given is the order of preference in which the out-of-state road conditions will be read. For Lake, McHcnry. DuPage, Kane and DeKalb counties the telephone number is 312-742-7642. For the Chicago area the number is 312-283-6204 and the Illinois Tollroads it is 312-323-1111. These numbers will be in service until April 1, 1980. i It would be appreciated if these numbers would be called for just road con­ ditions and not to find out what the weather forecast is going to be. A good number of people will be using these numbers and there is a desire not to tie up these lines. The state police will also contact the T V. and radio stations in the Chicago area to update them on the road conditions. Award For Action At Crash Offer Used School Busses To Area Non-Profit Groups Sue Gerasch had the pleasure at meeting President Carter following a briefing in the East room of the White House culminated by a question and answer session he conducted. Miss Gerasch was one of 18 members of the Illinois Education association included in the briefing. and domestic policy con­ siderations. The eighteen IEA mem­ bers who participated in the briefing were leaders in local associations all across the state of Illinois," said IEA President Mel Smith. "All of us who participated in the briefing were im­ pressed with the candor and honesty with which ad­ ministration officials made (Continued on page 16) Two used busses are available to local area non­ profit groups, according to the board of High School District 156, Fred Goering, director of transportation, reported that three busses had been surplused when new units were received recently. An allowance of $500 per used bus was included in the purchase agreement with the provision that the busses could be disposed of locally. Goering indicated that one bus had already been sold but that two more are being offered until March 14, which is the deadline for the trade-in to the bus company. The offer is being made to church or fraternal groups that could use such tran­ sportation. The maintenance records and condition of each bus are open to would-be pur­ chasers, Goering said, and the price is $500. The board had voted earlier to make the busses available locally, if wanted, in lieu of taking the trade-in credit. Goering advised the board that most of the im­ provements at the bus garage have been completed but they still need the security lighting for the parking area. The engine heater plugs and wiring had been installed, but to-date the heaters had not been needed this year. In other business, the board prepared to start negotiations with the McHenry Hight School Teachers association in February. Formal approval was given to increase the daily rate for substitute teachers from $30 to $35 so that District 156 would be more competitive with adjacent districts. The board approved the resolution which calls for the annual school board election and authorized posting and publishing public notice for nominating petitions. Filing dates, the board indicated, will be from Feb. 27 to March 21, inclusive. The board, after a brief discussion, accepted the proposal from Donald E Bark, CPA/to perform the audit of the district's books and financial transactions. The cost was estimated to be in the range of $3,500 to $3,800. Last year's cost was $3,833. Bark has been retained as auditor for the district for more than seven years, school officials noted. In other business, the board approved an early graduation request for Kathlyn Merrick, from East campus" after completion of six semesters. Also ap­ proved were terminations from staff for Janice Martin, bus driver; Mary Lou Janke, E a s t c a m p u s c o o k ; a n d Karen Lescher, East campus English instructor, all resignations. Approved for employment were Mary Watrous, East campus English instructor; Kathryn Brittain, aide at East campus; Patricia Wyman and John Miller as West campus cusiuuians and Scott D. Young as custodian at both East and West. Following an executive session, the school board approved a three-day suspension for an uniden­ tified teacher for inap­ propriate action in con­ nection with assigned duties. At ceremonies held at the Illinois state police headquarters in Elgin recently, Ms. Kathleen M. LaGreca of McHenry was presented with an award of appreciation for her actions at the scene of a serious auto accident. On Jan. 8, 1979, Kathleen LaGreca while traveling on 1-80 drove upon a serious accident, where she then stopped and began to ad­ minister emergency first aid. One of the victims in the accident was choking on his own tongue. Ms. LaGreca kept the victim's tongue depressed, thereby enabling the subject to breathe. The weather conditions on the eighth were abominable. The wind chill factor was minus 37 degrees below zero. Ms. LaGreca was not dressed to be out in that kind of weather (light jacket, no gloves or hat), yet she remained at the scene for 35 minutes and then rode in the ambulance to the hospital, keeping the victim's airway open. Doctors and nurses at the hospital stated to the trooper handling the accident that Ms. LaGreca definitely- saved the boy's life at the scene, giving him as much of a chance at life as possible Unfortunately the victim died Jan. 15. Ms. LaCreca received the director's certificate of appreciation which is presented to individuals, agencies, or groups outside the Department of Law Enforcement giving support a n d a s s i s t a n c e t o t h e Department of Law En­ forcement toward the ac­ complishment of its goals and objectives Her award bears the signature of Dan K. Webb, director. Department of Law Enforcement Keeping Lonely Winter Vigil A lone duck rests comfortably in an unfrozen spot of the Fox river, off Riverside drive. In spite of zero temperatures recorded early this week, the community's large wild duck population has enjoyed easier living than experienced just a year ago. when the river was frozen until well Into Spring. Canistert in which donations to feed the ducks may be placed, now appear in several business locations in McHenry. Fortunately, a very warm Fall season delayed the appeal for money until well after the holiday. A spokesman for the Valley View students who make the canisters said feeding continued far into Spring in 1979, almost depleting the reserve money collected for the purpose of feeding the ducks. STAFF PHOTO-ANTHONY OLIVER >