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i Census Tells Story Of Growth r-3£ Cowity Alden T. T. Dunham T. Grafton T. Greenwood T. Hartland T. Hebron T. McHenry T. Marengo T. Nunda T. Richmond T. Riley T. Seneca T. IMS 1976 1966 AVER. 1976 AVER. PERC POPULATION POPULATION HOUSEHOLD HOUSEHOLD POP. CI 145,662 111,555 2.97 3.3S 36.6 1,246 929 3.21 3.53 34.1 44,466 31,948 3.66 3.53 36.2 1,676 1,672 3.11 3.48 55.8 5,666 6,614 2.74 3.13 -3.5 2,261 1,576 3.29 3.47 43.5 12,616 16,765 2.64 2.97 11.6 1,725 1,536 3.61 3.32 12.3 6,712 5,618 3.13 3.48 33.8 6,771 4,777 3.66 3.53 41.7 1,491 1,663 3.29 3.79 37.7 1742 1,515 2.86 3.32 15.6 31,109 22,989 2.92 3.28 35.3 5,161 4,926 2.76 3.15 4.8 17,438 12,873 3.63 3.38 3S.5 2,784 2,316 3.66 3.42 26.2 1,288 1,630 3.69 3.56 26.6 1,982 1,188 3.45 3.59 66.8 (Figures were provided by <- Preliminary census figures recently released by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, show an increase of 57.7 percent in the population of the City of McHenry in the last 10 years. According to the preliminary counts, which are subject to change, the McHenry population within the corporate limits in i960 was 10,665 - 3,903 more than in 1970. The number of households nearly doubled in the last decade, rising from 2,197 in 1970 to 4,075 in 1900. These figures represent an increase in the number of hoseholds of 85.5 percent. But, across the board decreases in the number of people occupying those households are indicated throughout the township and the county. In every instance, except the Village of Sunnyside McHenry Township Supervisor which rose .02 of a person, the figures showing the number of persons per household fell. In the City of McHenry, there were 3.16 people per household in 1970 while in 1960 the figure dropped to 2.71. McCullom Lake in 1970 had 3.29 people per household but in 1960 had 2.99. In 1970, Lakemoor had 3.28 people per household but in 1960 the figure had fallen to 2.95. The population per household in Wonder Lake in 1970 was 3.10 which fell to 2.78 in 1960. The Village of Sunnyside showed the only gain in the township marking 3.42 people per household in 1960 as opposed to 3.40 in 1970. For McHenry township as a whole, the gain was 8,120 people and 3,606 households in the 10 years from 1970 to 1960. Again, as in the Walter Dean and the McHenry municipalities, the population per household for the township dropped from 3.28 in 1970 to 2.92 in 1960. These figures tend to support the idea that, for whatever reason, people are having fewer children. The county gained 34,107 residents according to the preliminary figures which list the* 1,960 population at 145,662. In 1970, the population of McHenry county was 111,555. Looking at percentages, the Village of Sunnyside led the township in the growth department by more than doubling in size in the decade just past. Sunnyside showed a 116.9 percent gain, rising from 367 people in 1970 to 796 people in the preliminary count of 1960. The village also recorded a 126.5 percent gain in the number of households, going from 113 in 1970 to 256 in 1960. County Planning office) McHenry was second with a net gain of 57.7 percent. Taking third (dace in the comparison, Wonder Lake increased in size by 26.7 percent - from 3,265 in 1970 to 4,138 in 1960. Wonder Lake also showed an increase of 20.6 percent in the number of households, up 341 over the 1970 figure of 1,657. The Village of McCullom Lake showed a population increase of 7.6 percent in I960. The 1970 figure for the village was 873, while in 1960 it was 939. The Village of Lakemoor showed the only decrease in population, according to the preliminary figures. In 1970 the population was 475 and in I960 was 443 - a drop of 6.7 percent. No 1970 figures were available for the Pistakee Highlands but the 1980 population is estimated at 3,603. Weed Eater Goes To Work Harold Bowlin Is at the helm of the "weed-eater" - an underwater weed cutting machine. The $4,666 machine was recently purchased by the McCullom Lake conservation club to help keep weed growth In the lake under control. With the machine, weeds can be cut In lt-foot widths, five feet below the surface of the lake. STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD THE MCHENRY PLAINDEALER ------- ---- ~ VOLIME 105 NUMBER 4 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 1980 1 SECTION 24 PAGES 25" MCHSTA Refects Offer Insidiously we move toward Fall. Suddenly the sun comes up later and we begin to notice it makes its way to the western sky in a bigger hurry. When it dips before 8 o'clock, as it now does, there is the realization that Summer is winding up. June days stretch i last day qf school in _ tfrroear the July 4 iday. Then the pace tckens in the few weeks til the Fiesta day celebration, and from that point on, it's mostly looking backward. An occasional football makes its appearance even as baseball winds up for another season. On Center street, the once crowded field where Pigtail action brought nightly competition so recently, along with youthful exuberance and a bundle of talent, is strangely quiet. Keenly fought contests are at an end. Winners have been regarded and losers lick tipir wounds with the op­ iumism of a successful 1961 season in prospect. News that we remember happening just yesterday out to have made headlines months ago. We were reminded of this by an office visit from Mrs. Joseph M. (Lila) Schmitt Monday afternoon. She had a container of ash from Mount St. Helen's eruption in May. Could it have been so long ago? It was. In fact, this was the second eruption, following the initial ex­ plosion in March. Mrs. Schmitt's family lives in the small city of Grandview, Wash., in the Yakima valley, about 150 miles from Mount St. Helen. While the June 12 eruption, during her visit there, travelled toward Portland, the previous discharge in May brought ash in another ion and it had to be shovelled from their mm* p ash is much heavier I has more grain than one might expect. It may look like ash to most of us, but to some enterprising residents of the area it has taken on the appearance of gold. Never sell the resourcefulness of Americans short. They can turn a disaster into something valuable. Something like 2 tablespoons of ash sells for $3 in Seattle. And it doesn't stop there. Tee shirts carry the rqepsage of Mount St. Helen, aa:jk> buttons of all kinds. - Rufnper stickers haven't bpsb forgotten either, and thole drivers for whom the iruth is not all important can the impression that they We^e there. Commercialism is everywhere, and as we move toward Fall we can be assured that this fact will not change with the season. ) KAF Fishing In The Rain Low Bids For Knox Park "Good news", announced Mayor Joe Standi at the Aug. 7 City Council meeting. "The bids for improvements to Knox Park have come in low." Pete Merkel, recreation director, explained that proposals from contractors totalled $435,529. Originally the estimates added up to $527,000 for the swimming pool, bathhouse, tennis courts, baseball diamonds, picnic ground equipment, fences and drives for the city's new southside park. These improvements had been planned to take ad­ vantage of a $200,000 Land and Water Conservation Fund (LAWCON) matching grant offered through the Illinois Department of Conservation. The Council accepted the bids and forwarded them to Springfield to meet the Aug. 25 grant deadline. Stanek noted that bids did not cover a number of labor items which the city was per­ forming in the park. These included excavating for the new facilities and grading and road making. It was also explained that the grant will reimburse the city for a portion of the total expenditures which will be made from developer donations, extraordinary park donations, and revenue sharing funds which the city already has on hand. Listed as successful bidders were William Tonyan and Sons - $109,000 for the bathhouse and $154,500 for the pool; Curran Contracting - $27,799 for tennis courts, $6,275 for fencing and $7,162 for ac­ cessory paving; Scully Hunter and Scully - $25,538 for water and sewer; Bestline Fencing - $9,228 for baseball field fencing; Carey Electric - $58,995 for lighting the tennis courts and ball diamonds; Recreation Concepts • $19,510 for playground and picnic equipment. A proposal for a supply of gravel at a cost of $17,400 was also okayed. The city will have to do its own hauling, and the material will be used for roads and site improvement in the park. Mayor Stanek said that there should be no problem with the grant, which (Continued on page 22) Both the McHenry High School Teachers association and the McHenry High School District 156 board Negotiating committee announced Monday that bargaining had broken down again in an attempt to reach a contract settlement. Mediator in the talks is Eew Moore, from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation service in Rockford. A spokesman for the MCHSTA said the teachers unanimously rejected the board of education's 10 percent economic package which includes benefits such as insurance. According to teacher negotiator Kathleen Everitt, "This offer would not result in a 10 percent salary raise for each teacher." She further stated that "teacher sentiment reflects the belief that in other years the board's offer would have been acceptable. However, because of the cost of living increase over the past two year contract period, the teachers find the board salary proposal unac­ ceptable." Ms. Everitt pointed out that the current board salary proposal is the lowest offer in McHenry county. Set­ tlements in the county for this year she continued, range from an 11 percent increase in Alden Hebron to over 16 percent at Prairie Grove, with the county average increase being approximately 13 percent. Ms. Everitt further stated, "Although the teachers are currently asking for a 15.5 percent total package, they have informed the board of their willingness to lower their proposal if the board would raise theirs." The board, she added, flatly rejected this offer. "In othar words", ac­ cording to Ms. Everitt, the association is still open to a compromise settlement but the board refuses to move from its April position of 10 percent. She continued to say, "Many teachers feel that this is just one example of how the board team has engaged in stall tactics to delay the settlement of a fair contract." Ms. Everitt concluded, "Because agreement has been reached on other contract items, I and the other negotiators are hopeful of reaching a fair settlement before the school year begins. Refei ferring to the 10 percent package increase, the Negotiating committee explained that a 10 percent increase would up the school board's expenditures by $187,000. This issue remains (Continued on page 22) The rains came, and they continued most of Monday, but failed to dampen the enthusiasm of four of the most dedicated fishermen at the McHenry State park dam. Under a light drizzle, they patiently awaited a nibble. Were the fish biting? The photographer decided to find out for himself, and within minutes he had caught a sunfish. The pan fried catch was everything he expected it to be, with one reservation - it's hard to feed a family of four on one fish! STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD Valleybrook Addition Receives Council Nod Brought to the City Council as a concept nearly nine months ago, the Valleybrook annexation public hearing neared fruition with a verbal agreement between the Council and Faestel In­ vestments, Inc., of Crystal Lake. The meeting, held this past week, concerned a 209-acre tract of land at the southwest corner of Bull Valley road and the Crystal Lake blacktop. The development includes "R-l" and "R-2" residential, and ap­ proximately 11.2 acres of "B-l" business zoning at the intersection. The bulk of the land is owned by Faestel but Charles Allen and Werner Ellman own smaller parcels and all are included in the annexation petition. The agreements reached Wednesday night include the construction of a Curran road extension through the development from the north­ west intersection of Bull Valley and Curran roads to the southeast at Crystal Lake road. The road will be a 36-foot road with 24 feet of driving surface and 6-foot paved shoulders on either side. The right-of-way for the entire Curran road extension is to be dedicated to the City either at the first an­ niversary date of the signing or one year after the first plat is approved. The major point of con­ tention throughout the entire five-month public hearing was who was going to pay how much for building a bridge on the Curran road extension across Boone creek and 340-feet of road through the park land-open space. As finally agreed upon, Faestel will pay $75,000 to the City when the annexation agreement is signed. The money is to have no strings attached, meaning that the City does not have to use it for bridge construction. In fact, the City of McHenry is not required to build anything at any time, ac­ cording to the annexation agreement. In prior sessions, Alder­ men Pepping, Wieser and Harker had been adamant that the developers pay for 50 percent of the cost of the bridge construction, and so they were at the beginning of the Aug. 6 meeting. Mayor Stanek pointed out that if the $75,000 could be forthcoming upon signing the annexation ordinance, the money could be used for other things - the Decker property was specifically mentioned. Both Aldermen Datz and Nolan felt the money should be set aside for future construction of the bridge and allowed to draw interest. City Attorney Bernard Narusis said if the City wanted to set the money aside for the bridge it should be a matter of self-discipline and not included in the agreement. Alderman Pepping said, "If we spent the money elsewhere, the chances of doing something with the road in the future would be diminished. I do not believe the City is so strapped for money that we need the $75,000 to consummate the purchase of the Decker property. I think the developers should commit to a percentage of the final cost of bridge construction." Negotiations are under way to acquire the Decker property, ostensibly for City park land, either through purchase or condemnation. The property is located south of the City near the site of the proposed sewer plant and the land would also provide access to the river for an outfall pipe. Mayor Stanek also noted that as part and parcel of the annexation agreement the developers would pay $50,000 to the City as an annexation fee. "No strings attached" also applies to this money. "There is no obligation (on the $75,000) to build?" asked Alderman Wieser. Representing Faestel, Attorney Richard Zukowski, of Crystal Lake, replied, "We are willing to concede that issue. You need never build a bridge." Zukowski also said that when the City is ready to build the bridge, the developers would pay for part of the remaining 340 feet of the Curran road extension which passes through the park land-open space. Mayor Stanek asked if there was any way the road could be built by a certain date. "No, sir," Faestel said. Construction of th* rnad is (Continued on page 22) National COF Post To Meyer Crystal Lake Woman Is Found Strangled A 65-year-old Crystal Lake woman was found bound, gagged and strangled with an electric light cord in her aparment last Saturday afternoon. Hie Crystal Lake police were called to the home of Lenea Jure, 391 Terra Cotta, Crystal Lake, at about 1:30 p.m. Saturday when a neigh­ bor and a relative were unable to contact the woman. According to Crystal Lake Police chief Samuel Johns, the apartment was in disarray and was "somewhat ransacked." Johns said the time of death was established at between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 8. Johns also said Ms. Jure was a well-respected person who "didn't hang around with bums." This, he added, made the investigation more difficult. Crystal Lake police are continuing the murder -in­ vest gat ion but had no suspects at the time of this writing. FREDERICK J. MEYER Frederick J. Meyer, McHenry, was elected to a four-year term as high treasurer of the Catholic Order of Foresters (COF)at the order's forty-first national convention held Aug. 4-6 in Minneapolis. He was elected by 250 delegates representing the order's 168,000 members in 28 states and the District of Columbia. Meyer, who became a member of COF's St. Mary Court 594 in 1933, began his career with the order as a part-time agent in 1945, serving in that capacity until 1961. The preceding year he was elected as trustee of the order's Illinois State court. At the time of his election as high treasurer, Meyer was superintendent of Public Works for the City of McHenry, a position he has held since 1960. has served on the lirectors of V.F.W. for 10 years. He was founder and president of the McHenry Little League from 1965 to 1962 and was inducted into the McHenry Little League Hall of Fame in 1976. For 34 years he has organized the order's state­ wide basketball tournament, and in 1976 he was inducted into the COF Basketball Hall of Fame. A member of the McHenry Rotary club, he received the McHenry Citizen of the Year award in 1956. Other honors accorded Meyer include the Chamber of Commerce award, McHenry Area Jaycees award, a Certificate of Appreciation from the McHenry Lions club and COF's Legion of Honor certificate and emblem in 1961. . (Continued on page 22)