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PL AIN DEALER- HERALD GOOD MORNING! I N D E X S H A W F R E E P R E S S M E D I A . I N C . 25 CI NTS M c H e n r y , I l l i n o i s F r i d a y , November 23, 1984 Debate team wins SCHOOLS SECTION 2, PAGE Public'biased'against adoption alternative Editor's Note: The following is the second Installment in a special McHenry Plalndealer Herald series on adoption. To­ day, alternatives facing the unwed mother are studied, as well as society's views on adoption as one of those alternatives. By Angela Burden plaiadMler Herald News Service David Keene Leavitt, a California lawyer who specializes in adoption laws, recently presented a program to the American Bar Association in Chicago at the invitation of Woodstock lawyer H. Joseph Gitun, who chaired the meeting. Leavitt noted that "accidental and irresponsible procreation is an exploding crisis throughout the United States." Regardless of the attempts to deal with this crisis, according to Leavitt, "the torrent of accidental babies continues.. .almost a whole generation of children is born out of wedlock to mothers who often did not want or plan for a baby, and did not wish to raise one, but must." Hie adoption specialist said that options available to unwed, teenage mothers are few and obvious: 1. raise the chUd but of wedlock; 2. marry the father and keep the child; 8. place the child for adoption; or 4. place the child in long-. term foster care until the mother is "ready" to take care of it • He said that society's most favored alternative is marriage to the birth father. However, statistics show that such marriages have a large chance of failure within five years. Although divorce may leave the mother alone with her children, little support from her ex-husband, and abandonment of her own pre-pregnancy goals, marriage is still perceived as offering at least "some" reasonable chance of a stable, secure family for the child. Few mothers are interested in placing babies for long- term foster care at birth, according to Leavitt. "Mothers are seldom so insensitive to a newborn infant's needs for immediate, loving, intimate, secure and permanent parenting," he says. Without marriage, Leavitt said, the most likely alter­ natives are placement for adoption or keeping the child out of wedlock. He said that during the past 10 years, society has developed a bias against adoption, adopting parents, and mothers who part with their children. * "If is time to re-explore the world of adoption: take a new look at who gives babies away, why they do it, what problem they seek to solve by placement, and what ADOPTION: Searching for love -? satisfaction they properly require In the process. "We must tear away the veil of distortion, mythology and fear which has contaminated adoption in the public mind, and examine anew the appropriateness, necessity, rationality, reward and benefit of adaption to all the par­ ticipants, says Leavitt. He and Gitlm agree, that a mother does not always wish to place her newborn baby with a licensed adoption agency or give it to relatives or close friends. In most cases the mother would like to place her child for adoption with "strangers" who will love, protect and cherish the child and remove it permanently and completely from the mother's own family and., circle of friends. Both Gitlin and Leavitt emphasize that the placement for adoption of a newborn infant by its mother with strangers seldom "just happens." It almost invariably reguires the assistance of doctors, lawyers, or mutual friends of both parties. Adoption by Strangers could not occur without an in­ termediary or third party assistance. Without help, it would be almost impossible for a mother to find a good family of strangers for her child. Her obstetrician or lawyer is most likely to know of good adoptive parents. According to Gitlin, the doctor or lawyer can investigate likely adoptive parents and give the mother the facts, tney are often able to ask questions wmich would be em­ barrassing for her to pose personally. Although they would be fact-finders, the decision would be left to the mother, Gitlin said. Contrary to myth, women raised in disadvantaged families on welfare seldom place babies for adoption. Many PUBLIC--Page 5 Business . Sec 2, Page 4 Church.... Sec. 2. Page 6 Life Today Page 6 Neighbors.. Sec 2, Page 1 Volume 109. Number 27 Obituaries Page 5 Schools.. Sec. 2. Page 8 Sports Pages 21, 22 2 Sections. 32 pages two Hebron-Alden-Greenwood firefighters keep tie fire from spreading as others worked the other ^srlaM News Seiwice -V . 3 f • • Fire ripped through a shop hangar Monday afternoon at Gait Airport in Greenwood, reportedly destroying two small private planes, but injuring no oiife;.; '*• • : Two mechanics were : reportedly draining fuel from - one of the planes when the blaze I broke out at about 2:30 p.m. iMonday. • Firefighters from Hebron- • A l d e n - G r e e n w o o d F i r e '.Protection District, Wonder ; Lake Fire Department, • Woodstock Rural Fire : Protection District, Woodstock ; City Fire Department battled - the fire, which was punctuated by several explosions. A tanker and an ambulance from Co. 1 of the McHenry Township Fire Protection District were called to stand by at Wonder Lake's station house. Larry West, chief of the Hebron-Alden-Greenwood department, said flames were coming through the roof of the hangar, when his men and vehicles arrived at the scene. "I don't know what made it go," airport owner Art Gait said at the scene Monday afternoon. "They were draining fuel from one of the planes. They weren't using any flames or anything." Gait said that in addition to the two planes, the shop hangar housed numerous tools and supplies. He said he could not make an assessment of the Tax abatement is considered in light of city's sound~budget Plalndealer Herald photo by Anthony OHver sides of what used to be a shop hangar at Gait Airport last A|onday. By Anthony Oliver . Plaladeeler Herald etaff writer It was something that, as Aid. William Busse said Monday night, the council should give "serious consideration." That "serious consideration" involved a tax cut for city residents in light of the city's sound financial condition. Busse, 2nd Ward and Finance Committee chairman, reported that revenues were 28 percent over budget. In simple dollar terms, „It means $242,000, or about what 10 middle income Americans make each year. Busse said the unexpected increase in revenues stemmed from higher sales tax and state income tax revenues coming into the city. He presented a she-month report of the fiscal year and said the Finance Committee was looking to the future "with amount of damage. Bob Russell, one of the mechanics, said they were draining fuel from a Cessna 206 to make repairs to the fuel tank when the fire was touched off. Russell and Gait said they thought a charge of static electricity may have ignited the fire. The Cessna 206 was reportedly owned by the Mathews Co., a Crystal Lake manufacturer of farmequiment. The other plane, a Cessna 210, was owned by a doctor from McHenry, ac­ cording to airport employees. Airport employees said replacing the destroyed planes alone would cost "easily in the hundreds of thousands of dollars." and McHenry State Bank had worked out a verbal agreement to purchase the $500,000 in- revenue bond issue to ice the purchase. A special meeting has been called for Nov. 29 at 7:90 p.m. where bond documents may be presented for council approval. -The council voted unanimously to approve amendments to the city building code. The Building and Zoning Committee has been working on updating the codes for abottt 18 months. -Mayor Stanek proclaimed Nov. 18-24 as Family Week in McHenry, in conjunction with a national proclamation. -The council voted to extend the license for Another Galaxy video arcade for another year. No problems were reported by the police department. -The council voted to ap­ prove construction of an en­ closure on the front entrance to city hall. 'Recognition' is denied to Dist. 15 employee groups This report is to fell the council how we are doing overall and as the basis for con­ sideration of abating some taxes, Busse said. One possible area to be cut is the "police protection fund." This fund generates $55,000 in revenues for the city. It is not to be construed, however, that the cost of running the police department comes from this fund and cutting this levy does iorT Mayor Joseph Stanek pointed out that if anv abatement were made, it would have to be done within the next few weeks. Action on a tax abatement is expected in the near future. In other business: the city council awarded the proposal for permanent connection of city water to the Lakeland Park system to Gluth Brothers Co., of Woodstock. Sealed proposals were opened with Gluth Brothers the lowest at $10,300, Illinois Hydraulic (Elgin) at $11,960 and Althoff Industries at $14,568. The protect involves making permanent connections at four locations. In a related matter, Aid; William Busse reported that First National Bank of McHenry By Marion Olsen Plalndealer Herald News Service • Requests by two groups of school employees seeking volun­ tary recognition for collective bargaining purposes were denied by the District 15 elementary school board this week. The McHenry Schools Transpor­ tation Employees Association, representing both District 15 and 156 transportation employees, and a group representing District 15 cooks and custodians were told, "...All of the decisions should be made by secret ballot election as provided in the law," in a motion made by Board Member Frances Larsen, seconded and carried unanimously by the board. The denial will lead to an elec­ tion conducted by the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board where employees may decide by secret ballot on the issue. A majority vote in favor of 'RECOGNITION'--Page 5 A new social program for both couples and singles is beginning in McHenry. For more information, see Church, section two, page six. Plalndealer Herald photo by Donna Saatl A look at the past 'Old Fashioned Day' was celebrated last week at Landmark School, with students learning a little about what life was like in the early days of McHenry. One of the experiences the children had was learning how to write with a quill pen, and Ink made of beets. More pictures on Page 7 of this issue. <3 HIGHLItH?