The Huntley Farmside

              Thursday, September 17,1998
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Volume 37 Issue 75
Poshard campaign tours Huntley area
Steve Brosinski
Press Publications
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Glenn Poshard made a campaign stop in Huntley Friday aftemoon as part of McHenry County "Democrat Day."
Despite trailing far behind Secretary of State George Ryan in the polls, the downstate Democrat said he is hopeful vot¬ ers in this Republican strong¬ hold will support him Nov. 3 on election day. Poshard said he was aware of two issues facing McHenry residents: manage¬ ment of rapid development and the need to preserve a communi¬ ty's historic roots.
As he strolled down Woodstock Street, one of the last remaining brick-paved streets in town, Poshard said, Huntley like many other com¬ munities is trying to strike a bal¬ ance between development and preservation of its past.
"1 think it's an absolute neces¬ sity for the town to maintain its history," Poshard said. "We have found that the preservation of history boosts the local econ¬ omy."
Poshard said he sponsored
federal legislation to restore the Old Slave House in Shawnee Town, an 1800s Underground Railroad plantation whose owner worked runa\yay slaves then sold them back to southem slave owners. The Slave House is an important reminder of a time when African Americans struggled for freedom, he said.
"Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun and 1 would like to get this going," he said.
Poshard said state leaders should adopt a policy of "smart growth" for several reasons. A smart-growth strategy would help in managing commercial and residential development, preserve wetlands, open spaces and watersheds, and forecast ways to prevent traffic conges¬ tion.
"We put forth a Smart Growth Committee to investi¬ gate the overall impact of growth in a community. A con¬ straction site job in one area, for example, will affect 10 other sites somewhere else," he said.
Poshard said the state's apparent inability to control urban sprawl has left a void that either developers or municipali¬ ties must fill.
"The state has taken almost
no leadership in this at all. We are not trying to usurp local con¬ trol."
Though he doesn't expect to win the county, Poshard said he's not relinquishing any votes to his GOP opponent.
"Obviously, it will be very hard for me to win this county. We spent a lot of time in Lake, McHenry and Kane Counties and found there are a lot of Democratic voters here," he said.
On education, Poshard said he would push for a $600 mil¬ lion property tax cut, largely through saving $400 million in closing six tax loopholes. He said millions could be saved by repealing the single-sales tax legislation, part of a multi-mil¬ lion dollar tax cut program the General Assembly passed this year. Another $200 million in property tax relief would come from new money, he said.
Poshard charged his GOP opponent with failing to ade¬ quately respond to allegations of wrongdoing in the secretary of state offices.
"I think the secretary of state has  shown he can't manage
see Poshard—page 2
Photo by Steve Brosinski
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Glenn Poshard (second from left) tours the Lake in the Hills Fen on Friday aftemoon after stopping in Huntley for lunch. Standing next to Poshard are Diane Ayers, Democratic candidate for District 6 of the McHenry County Board, Alan Wilson, stew¬ ard of the Fen and Jeannine Smith, Democratic senate candidate for the 64th Legislative District.
Owner praises firefighters for saving building
Steve Brosinski
Press Publications
Looking over the destraction caused by a fire to his 50,000 square-foot restaiurant and bowl¬ ing alley, Don Zielinski said things could have been much worse.
The fire started in the basement undemeath Flora's Cafe and Bowl Hi-Lanes. 10520 S. Route 47.
"It's devastating," said Zielinski, owner of the building since 1970.
Firefighters rushed to the building at 10:01 a.m. Saturday when a restaurant employee saw flames and alerted the Hunfley Fire -Department. Fire Chief Dave Veath said though the fire was extinguished by 11:30 a.m., crews stayed at the scene for another two hours.
"The Fire Department did a wonderful job.
They got the fire
under control right
away and kept it
confined to the
storage room."
Don Zielinski
Owner Bowl Hi-Lanes
"We are working with the insurance company to determine the amount of the loss," said Veath, who also said the fire's cause has not been determined. "I am extremely proud of the work that was done in stopping the fire and confining it to the basement area," he said.
Had the flames spread above to the wood-lacquer floor in the bowling alley, Veath said, the
entire building may have been lost.
On Monday, Zielinski spent the day cleaning up smoke dam¬ age in the bowling alley and bar, which he expects to reopen this weekend.
"The Fire Department did a wonderful job," Zielinski said. "They got the fire under control right away and they kept it con- see Fire—^page 2
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