Girl Scouts

the countys Girl Scout Council no loonger will acept any checks during its annual
cookie sale-a-thon.
During its last sale-a-thon, the council lost $4,284 due to worthlesschecks.
That may not sound like a lot, but its a serious loss for us, said Linda Goree, the
Girl Scoust county executive. It cuts into our profits, but al so wastes too many hours of
our timme.
Next year, Goree said, thecountys Girl Scouts will accept only cash
Two factors agravated the prov problem during the scouts last sale-a-thon, Goree
continued. first, more pepople paid by check. Second, a larger percentage of the checks
teh Girl Scouts received bounced.
Some people pay by check beause they dont have the cash, Goree said. Or,
they want to place a large order. We have people who place orders for $100 or more, and
thosse poeple are especially likely to pay by check. we also receive checks for a little as
one or two dollars.
Scout leaders call people who signed the checks that bounce and, in most cases,ask them
to mail neW checks to the cty. office. The scout leadesr are unable to reach everyone,
however. Smoe People have moved. Other s do not have telephonesor do not seem to
answer their tele phones.
usually its an honest mistake, ad andpeople are embarrassed when we call them,
Goree said. THey want to take care of the problem right away. Other people say they
want to pay but dont have the money, and we can usually work something out with them.
Unfortunately, there are other people who get mad at us, like its our fault or something,
and refuse to pay. Or, they write new checks that also bounce. It puts our leadess in a
terrible situaton. A Girl Scout leadershouldnt have to deal with problems like that.
Also, its not a good situation or example for our girls, and thats the reason for our ne w
policy, why well no longer accept any checks.
Mens Longevity Being a middle-aged man and single can be deadly, too
sociologists at your college warned today
The sociologists, Margo Matos and LeeAnne verkler, found that middle-aged men
who remain single double their chances of dying.
For 10 years, Matos and verkler tracked one thoussand men in the state. All of the
men were 40 old years at the start of the study, and half were married. Matos and Verkler
fuond that 11.7 percent of the men who remained unmarried died before their 50th
birthday, compared to only 5.9 percent of themen who remained married.
Some of the maried men were divorced or widowed during the study, and 7.1
percnt of those who remainedd alone for at least half the period also died.
We arent sure of all the reasons, verkler said. Thats what well look at next.
WE think poor diet plays a role. Also the use of alcohol, smoking, a lack of exercise and
low incomes. Men who live by themselves seem to do more drinking and smoking, and
many dont PREprepare good meals for themselves. Plus theres the absence of social
support. It ehlps to have someone to talk with, someone who shpares your li fe and is
there to provide help when you need it.
Matos and Verkler found that men also live longer if they have a roommate. It
doesnt matter who the persn is, a parent, child orfreind, Verkler said. Weve found,
however,that none of the alternatives are as conducive to a long life as a stable marriage.
those are the man who live the longest, the men who are happily marrried.
Outstanding Teacher
Wilma DeCastro is an English teacher at Kennedy High Schol and, six months ago,
was named the citys Teacher ofthe Year. Today she resigned.
All my life I wanted to be a teachher, DeCastro said. Ive really enjoyed it, but I
have two little girls and Cant afford it any longer. I want a good live for may family,
and now wecant afford to buy a decent house in a good neighborhood, a newcar, nice
clothes, or so many of the other things we want. wee skimp on everything, even food.
There years ago, DeCastro began to sell real estate during her sumer vacations. For
th e last year, she has continued to sell real estate part-time, primarily weakends
I cant do it any longer, she said. I cant wrok two jobs, do a good job at both of the
jobbs, and a.lso have time for my daughters, so Ive decided to go into real estate full
time. I can triple salary my salary. INN a few years, if I work hard, I should be able to
do even better than that. eventually, Id like togo into businss for myself.
Greg Hubbard, superintendent of the citys school system, said: Of coures were
sorry to see her leave. Wed like to keep her, to be able to pay all our teachers mr more,
espec ially our best teachers. But theres no moneey for higher salaries. NO one wants
to pay higher taxes.
DeCastro is 28 and started teaching at the high schoo0l six years ago. she aws
named Teacher OF The Year because of her popularity, but also because she inspired
several studentsto start a literary maga zine that has won adozenprizes
Heroic Girl
while walking to school this moningmorning, an 11-year-old girl noticed a gunman
robbuing two clerkS in a convenence store on Colonial Drive
The girl, Kathryn Kunze of94 Jamestown Drive, raran to a nearby telepone, dialed
911, then returned to the store and noticed an empty car par ked naearby withits motor
running. she reachedd inside, shut off the cars motor and took the keys.
Imagine what the rober thought when he ran out of the storee, jumped into HIS car
and realized the keys weregone, said Sgt. Tammy Dow. she was one smart girl, and
Brave, too.
The Gunman went bavck into the stoer and asked the clerks there for the keys to
there cars. Bothclerks, however, said that they had walked to work and did not own a
car.
The gunman then walked to a near,by park, and the police Aarrested him there five
minutse later.
William j. Chuey, 27, of 57l0 michigan Ave was charrged with armed robbery.
Polic e officers later questioned the girl at school. I saw this man with a gun, just
like on telivision she said. Then I saw thecar. It was running, and I just figured it was
the robbers, so I took his keys and ran here.
Kathryns mother, said she was pproudand frightenedby her daughters
actions. IMm proud she thought so quickly, Mrs. Lauren Kunze said. But I dont
wnat her to trfy anything like that ever again.
Roadbed Trails
RAilroads have abandoned hundreds of m iles of old roadbeds in the state, and the
governortoday revealed plans to convert the roadbeds into trawils for bicyclists hikers,
horseback riders and runners.
The govenor said her budget for nxextt year will include an extra $10 million for the
Departmentof natural Resources, which will use the money to ac quire and maintainn the
trials The initial outlay is modest, the gov. said. But we hope the program will
expand so, in five or 10 years,well have hundreds of miles of these trials. Eventually,
the people using themshould be able to hike or ride from one end of the state to another.
A representative for the states railrods said that most will probably agree to sell
their abandoned roadbeds tothe state, provided they receive a fair pricee,
We arent us ing the roadbeds for anything, he said, and there arent many other
buyers. they were our leasst profitable routes, and thats why we abandoned them.
During a press Conference this mohningthis morning, the governor added: We
need more land for recreation, and this is the prefect solution. wee think we can acquire
the roadbeds for a reasonable price, annd well start with some of the mmost scenic.
Wellalso concentrate, at least initialy, on roadbeds near the states population centers, os
theyre conveni ent for a majority of the people using them.
THE governor said the
biggest expense, after acquiri;ng the roadbeds, will be improving their bridges.. Well
need better flooring and railings to protect the public, and that will cost some money,
she said. The railoads havve already tor n up the tracks,o selling them for scrap.
Repossessing Cars
Police Chief Tony sullivan Wants to ebgin seizing t he cars driven by drunken
drivers.
While testifyingbefore a legislative commmittee in the state capital this morning,
Sullivan said police oficers in the state need the authority to to seize the vehicles used by
motorists convicted three or more times of drunken driving. Sullivans pproposal would
al so apply to motorists convicted of driving with a license suspended or revoked because
of drunken drvingand to motorists convicted of driving undre the Influence of drugs.
Were runninng across too many repeat offjenders, sullivan said. They ignore the
laws now in eff ect, and its time to do something about it. It doesnt do any good to just
take away their lcenses. Theyll drivewithout one.
Sullivan said some motorists in the statehave been convicted of drunken driving more
than a dozentimes . Weve gott peopel whove served a year in jail, some whove served
five years, Sullivan said. It doesnt seemtodo any good. weather they have a liense or
not, they start to drink and drive again as soon as they get out. If wetake away their
cars, theyll havetostop. U nless theyre ultra-rich, theres a limit to howmany cars they
can afford to buy.
Tobacco Ban
Beginning next fall, students in the citys public shcools will have to leave their
cigarettes and other tobaco products at home.
The School Board last night voted 6 to 1 to BAN the possession and use of all
obacco tobacco products on school grounds.
The boards policy will apply to evferyone, said gary Hubbard, superintendent
of schools. its not just for ourstudents. The policy will also apply to our teachers, other
school personnel and, in addition, to any visitors using our facilities.
Students found smoking on school property will be reprimanded for a firs t ofense,
detained for a secnod and ex;pelled for three days for a third. School personnel will be
reprimanded by their principal. Other people wlil be asked to stop using the tobacco
products or to leave the school grounds.
Previously, hubbard said, we allowed stud ents to smokee inn some designated
areas both inside and outside our bldgs.: in our football stadium s, for example. Its
badfortheir health, and we decided last night that we werent being consistent. It doesnt
make any sense for us to tell students, in their classes, about the dangers of smoking,
andthan to allow them to smokeunder our supervision. Besides, We were geting a lot of
complaints from nonsmokesr.