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( > . v . 3 McHenry riLiicmyj « Since 1875 aindealer Wednesday May 16, 1984 Number 81 Volume 108 _ ShawFrMPrMi 2 Sections 38 Pages 25' N.w.Po,»r cro»P By Mike Lamb Plaindealer staff writer The horror of what happened in California when two boys were killed while playing with a live ammunition shell found in a residential area was all a bonder Lake couple could think about when their son and a neighbor boy came home with what appeared to be some kind of shell explosive. ^ The explosive they found turned out to be 105 mm. AG Projectile high explosive. Jim Richter and his friend Kris Romano, both 10-years-old, found the device a month-and- half ago while playing in a nearby woods. It was half buried in the ground and the boys thought it was an old thermos bottle. While building a play Army fort, the two boys decided to dig it out Sunday afternoon. They carried the two-foot long device home. When Jim Richter senior, the father of one of the boys, saw the two approaching his back yard with the device, he im­ mediately ordered the boys to drop it. , "After they dug it up, we knew it was bomb of some kind," said the mother of the boy, Karen. After examining it closer, Mr. Richter and some neighbors decided to contact the McHenry County Sheriffs department. The Sheriff's department arrived at the Wainright Drive residence at 5 p.m. and kept residents away from the shell, which was sitting in the Richter's back yard. Hie Kane County Sheriff's Department hazardous device technicians were summoned to the scene and arrived at 8 p.m. However, nothing was done until the U.S. Army 51st Ordnance Disposal Detachment at Fort Sheridan arrived. Military personnel then removed the explosive and transported it to Fort Sheridan. According to Major Swilley, commander of public affairs at Fort Sheridan, the device was definitelv live. "It's the kind of ammunition used by army and marine units," said Swilley. The major added that the shell would ha ve to be handled quite roughly for it to go off. "Just touching it alone wouldn't have set it off. It's the kind of ammunition that has to be fired to set it off. You could beat on it and beat on it and take a hammer to it and it could eventually explode. But you have to fire it to set it off." The Richter residence was evacuated by the Sheriff's department during the pick-up of the 105 mm. explosive. Karen Richter said her family was told their house could be leveled if the shell accidently went off. Presently, neither sheriff or military personnel know how and why the shell was in the nearby woods. Major Swilley however did say explosives of that kind are found from time to time. A search of the woods surrounding the Wonder Lake residence was reportedly conducted by area authorities Monday afternoon. Nothing more was found. DUI law for boaters studied By Anthony Oliver Plaindealer staff writer While Lake County's proposed "implied consent" law for in­ toxicated boaters has general legislation tip ite. present form. Last weex, ttVrLake County Board delayed action on the bill for SO days in order to study it in more detail. State Sen. Japk Schaffer (R., Cary) pointed out that minds does have a law which makes it illegal to operate a boat while intoxicated But, from an enforcement point of view, there is no "im­ plied consent" provision to require blood, breath or urine tests of a captain suspected of being intoxicated. Much like the DUI statute for motorists, a boater would be escorted to the nearest police agency, where a certified operator would give the breath test, under the terms of the proposed legislation. lite law would carry a penalty of $1,000 fine and-or a year in jail. This portion of the law has the support of law enforcement officers like McHenry County Sheriff Henry "Hank" Nulle and Lake County Sheriff Mickey Babcox, the leading proponent But, legislators like Schaffer and McHenry County Board Chairman Clint Claypool question some of the other provisions, i.e. the "board and search" authority. Claypool said the "board and searci" provisions may be "stretching the con­ stitutionality" of the law and Schaffer said they were a little extreme. - • "I'd like to see something done, but not to that extreme," Claypool said. "Speed and inexprience are also factors in accidents." Claypool added that he would not like to see two fishermen in a small boat made a target of the new law, simply Continued on pog* 11 Roof collapses outside bank (Plaindealer tAoto by Anthony Oliver) Police and onlookers gatherfd Friday night, shortly before 8 p.m., when the west portion of the roof at the First National Bank came crashing to tile ground. Witnesses sakl the roof first came off the north corner of the building and continued "like a wave" to the drive-in window. No injuries were reported. Editor's Not*: This marks the third and final installment of the Plaindealer's three-part# in-depth series on nuclear power and Commonwealth Edison. This final story features an interview with a Crystal Lake resident, who works at the Byron nuclear plant, located approximately 20 miles southwest ft| rtn rltlnrri or KOCKVOTa. a By Kurt Begalka Plaindealer News Service BYRON -- Gordon Smith acknowledges he has no qualms about working in a nuclear power facility. "I'm more apprehensive about jumping in my car in the morning and driving to Byron," said the 56-year-old electrical engineer from Crystal Lake. During his 35-year career with Commonwealth Edison Co., Smith has moved six times. With seven children, Smith acknowledged that is no small feat. The 11-year resident of Crystal Lake decided he'd rather com­ mute than switch again. "I've put 77,000 miles on my car," Smith said with shrug. It also means getting up atvl:30 in the morning, but heMikes challenges. "If you have an optimistic attitude inSife, I think you undertake ̂ eyery challenge that come* along," Smith said. "It's very gratifying." nUCLEA? The Purdue University graduate started working for ComEd in Chicago, testing and servicing electrical equipment. He worked there 10 to 12 years before joining the marketing branch. Several years |ater he became a s^es supervisor in Northbrook before moving to Crystal Lake as the district manager. Smith was there for about four years and was transferred to Chicago for a brief stint in the quality assurance department. Smith became a construction supervisor in charge of electricital in­ stallation at Byron. The past three years he has headed the start-up division. As supervisor of the start­ up group, Smith oversees data on construction, engineering and testing for the new nuclear plant. Assisted by five workers, S m i t h e n s u r e s specifications are met. There has been a lot to oversee during his six-year tenure at Byron. The plant's two cooling towers rise to a height of 495 feet. The containment building for each reactor has walls four feet thick. ComEd estimates the plant's 441,000 cubic yards of concrete is enough to, construct a sidewalk four *et wide from Chicago to »w OrleAhs and back. Plaindealer news service photo Gordon Smith of Crystal Lake, looks back fondly on his 35-year career with Commonwealth Edison Co. The 56-year-old elec­ trical engineer has supervised the start-up group at the Byron nuclear plant for the past 6 ft years and has overseen much of the wiring required in such places as the plant's control room. Smith stands above the Unit U reactor still under construction at Byron. Unit I is completed and awaiting an operating permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Smith noted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's presence is felt at Byron. The NRC even operates an office in the building. "Every nut and bolt friust be exactly like it is on the drawing," he said. "It's not just pulling a couple of wires here and there." Several floors beneath ground level is a central control room. It resembles the bridge of the starship Enterprise. Panels of switches and knobs glow green and red in what Smith described as an , "Admiral Rickover subr marine" display. There is 8.3 million feet of cable and 48 million feet of wire throughout the plant, Smith said. Many of those wires lie in tiered support shelves beneath the control room floor or in panels behind the controls; all are accessible to workmen. There are cables for power, others for safety. "We have them all over the place," Smith added with a grin. "This is an electrical engineer's dream down here." Smith acknowledged he is frequently questioned by people on everything from the merits of nuclear power to their latest electricity bill. "I don't tell th.m anything special," Sr-iuh ^aid. "I tell them how 1 t . el c jut it." He views nuclear power as the most economical form of energy, noting the $3.7 billion Byron plant will produce enough electricity to serve 1 million people. Smith added that most nuclear waste is generated by hospitals and the military, not utility com­ panies. "The hooker is every month you are reminded we are there." Smith said. He Continued on pogo 11 A new aspect of the news is being introduced to McHenry Plaindealer readers with this issue. Wire service stories are now available to the newspaper, and will become a permanent part of our bi­ weekly editorial content. While we fully realise the importance of local news coverage, we also feel that there are stories in our region, state nation that • 4'iL «•' •' " " ! • ' ' ' have Impact and interest in the McHenry area. We will highlight these stories on a special page or pages, as they are in this issue, on Section 2, page 1. Wire service stories are a new feature which will offer more, not less news to our readers. They will not take the place of local and county news, which our readers have come to expect Live ammunition sheD found by two Wonder Lake youths Local resident has no fear working in nuclear plant A look inside. • • MCHS Distinguished Grad Section 2, Page 14 Wonder Lake Roads Section 2, Page 13 Regular features So 1 Hear Page 4 Crime of the week Page 9 service introduced McHenry youth arrested in connection with burlgary Plaindealer news service An 18-year-old McHenry youth is being held in McHenry county jail on $20,000 bond in connection with a burglary in McHenry last month. Michael Dunford, 18, 818 N. Green St., McHenry, was arrestee last week by in­ vestigators from the McHenry PoUce Department Sgt. Patrick Joyce said the from tm in­ vestigation into the April 17 burglary of a home at 3606 W. James St., McHenry. A coin set and jewelry were taken from the home. Dunford reportedly sold some of the coins at the Old World Coin shop and the items were later recovered. Police said the jewelry is still missing. Dunford and a juvenile ac­ complice were taken into custody May 8. The in- I'• '