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Page 7 NORTHWEST HERALD Section B Saturday, Stpttmtxr U, 1965 American Ninja mi Fn. 5:40.7:40,9:40 Sit.-SUA 2.3 *0.5 40. HQ. 9 40 M Thurs 6:20,8:20 merlcan side of Niagara falls short 35% to 50% Savings, 50% off Selected custom draperies. 40% to 50% off Custom vertical blinds. Our 'Viewscapes' collection. Includes shadecloth. textures and fabrics in elegant fashion colors 50% off Horizon' aluminum mini blinds in 70 delightful decorator shades to coordinate with any color scheme 50% off 'Horizon' wood blinds in natural wood tones or custom satins to accent the decor of your den or kitchen Consulta Call for a free in-home appointment with a JCPenney Decorator No obligation, of course Illinois: Brickyard 622-2779 Ford City 581-5621 851-6910 Golf Mill 299-1042 Lakehurst 473-1811 • 1965. J C P«nn«y Company Inc Lincoln Mall Louis Johet Mall Northbrook Court . North Riverside Park Orland Square Spring Hill Mall Woodfield 882-5558 YoTklown 620-4562 'Hidden Charm' 100% Antron* nylon plush. Reg $36 Sale 19.99 sq. yd Plus, save $9 to $18 sq. yd. on a wide selection of quality broadlooms in over 200 fashion colors, plushes, patterns, solids and multi-colors. Our installed sale prices include: • First quality broadloom carpeting • Good performance padding • Professional standard tackless installation Sale prices effective thru Saturday. September 28th. Percentage off represents savings on regular prices. 481-2030 815/439-1442 480-7477 447-8010 460-1552 428-6970 Northwest Indiana: Marquette Mali Southlake Mall 879-7361 738-2357 Advice Youth Cou rt teaches kids about law system NEW YORK (UPI) - The scene is a real courtroom. The judge wears a robe, he uses a gavel. The defendants are very nervous. Are they men and women? No. The court officials at the Newburgh, New York Youth Court are sophomores, juniors and seniors in high school. The defendants can be from age eight to sixteen. \ The idea of youth courts has been around since the 1960's. Chil­ dren's Express reporters went to Newburgh, N. Y. recently to see how it works. We were met by Richard Mandel, co-director of the Youth Court there. "It's modeled on the criminal court," Mandel explained. "High school students play the roles of judge, bailiff, prosecutor and defense attorney. Offenders under sixteen who are arrested by the police are given the choice of coming to the youth court or else going through the regular criminal court process." Youth court handles cases of breaking and entering, shoplifting, drugs, assault, trespassing, graffiti. But the youth court sentences are a little bit unusual. They're not fines. If you're younger, like 10 or 11, you might have to write an essay. If you're a little older, you have to do work for the community. The number of hours depends on the crime. For misdemeanors, you can do up to 50 hours of community service. For violations, up to 10 hours. The advantage of going to youth court is that offenders get no criminal record, but they do get punished. "Today is my first time as judge," Tim told us. "Essentially what I do is listen to both the prosecutor and the defense attorney's side of the case and I decide what the sentence will be. If there's a negotiated sentence, I decide if I'm going to accept that. I'm pretty much the referee of the court." The teenagers switch jobs every week. You can be a prosecutor and see how a prosecutor works. You can be a bailiff and see how a bailiff works. It gives kids a chance to learn about law and be able to take some responsibility. They have training sessions where they do role-playing and pretend to have court cases. Most of the cases that youth court handles are called arraignments, which is where the people on trial have admitted they are guilty and it's only really figuring out what the punishment will be. "Right now we're playing roles to get used to them," Tom explained. "We come every Wednesday night and there's a teaching session. We have guest speakers come in, lawyers talk to us. At the end of this year, we graduate and become full-fledged." The courtroom was an imposing place. "I was a little shaky in there," one defendant told us. "I didn't know what they were gonna do. Some people were smoking a joint in the school bus and it was passed to me. I took some, gave it back. Someone told on me and I was suspended and my name was given to the police. "I did a wrong thing. If I go to family court, I have a criminal record. I chose to go to youth court." According to the defense attorney, this offender was a good student. So he got an ACD (Adjournment Contemplating Dismissal). That means you have to go six mqnths without another crime. If you do commit another crime, you get charged for the first and the second one. . • "I think (my charge) was fair because it was my first offense and they took everything into consideration," the defendent said. "If I get in any more trouble, I'd really be messed up." Another guy was charged for writing graffiti on public property. It was his second offense. He had to do 35 hours of community work plus clean up the graffiti that he did. "We try to fit the punishment to fit the crime," Evan Lacon said. He counsels the youth after they've been sentenced and tells them where they have to go and what they have to do. "An adult court would punish them by sending them away or putting them on probation for a long time," Lacon went on. "This is much better than that." We thought youth court was a great idea. In the constitution it says that people should be judged by their peers. That applies to youth, too. With these youth courts springing up, youth are finally getting a chance to be judged by their peers. It's finally fulfilling youth's rights. ? "It's very effective, too," Lacon said. "Sometimes children relate much more to people who are nearer to their own age telling them that they've done something wrong." Also, the program provides a chance for the high school students to do something meaningful for the community. They get to make decisions and learn about handling life. By Jamie Zelermyer, 11, Sarah Young, 12, Adam Horowitz, 13, Tameka Thomas, 10, Vanida Maney, 11. Assistant Editors: Julie Wallace, 16, Josh Empson, 14. DEAR READERS: I recently printed a letter that read (in part): "A busload of us senior citizens went to Niagara Falls for an outing. The Falls on the American side were grossly neglected and looked terrible, but the Falls on the Canadian side were beautiful, bright with flowers and well-maintained. The comparison made us Americans feel somewhat ashamed and therefore sad. I know it would cost our government a few dollars to restore our side of the Falls, but it would be well worth it to restore our national side." --Sad Senior After it appeared, I received a sharp rebuke from the mayor of Niagara Falls, demanding a public apology for having printed that letter. He also released his letter to local papers and from th^re it made the national wires. • Readers, I take no pleasure in reporting that to date I've received approximately 1,900 letters agreeing with "Sad Senior"--and fewer -than 200 in defense of the American side. Some excerpts: ' DEAR ABBY: You do not owe the mayor an apology. He owes you one. I teach a Sunday School class and one of my pupils (8 years old) said, "I just came back from a trip to Canada, and their side is much prettier, and does not have any trash like the American side." Children have no reason to make such a statement if it were not true. It's time to clean up, Mr. Mayor. CHARLENE BAKER, MANCHESTER, KY. DEAR ABBY: My husband and our 10-year- old son visited Niagara Falls. I had looked forward to this all my life. What a Mr. Moms raise kids instinctively: study disappointment! The Canadian side was magnificent. The New York side was ugly and run-down. --^ MRS. JOHN CAPO, SATELLITE BEACH, FLA. DEAR ABBY: Don't apologize! I was in Canada a few weeks ago and saw Niagara Falls from both sides. The Canadian side was just beautiful. It had lots of bright flowers and neat parks. The American side looked poor in comparison. SUSAN NOVAK, ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. DEAR ABBY: When we visited Niagara Falls, the gardens on the Canadian side were an inspiration. The pride of the Canadian gardeners was evident in the immaculate care given every twig and flower. On the American - side, a surly government worker charged us $l<50 to park our car ankle deep in mud. B.E. TUCKER, LAKELAND, FLA. DEAR ABBY: Having just returned from both sides of the Falls, we thought the Canadian side was a neon nightmare with a commercial sideshow look. The New York side's convention center area is still under massive construction, but if one takes a short drive over to the park area, he can stand between the Falls and hear the thundering water and feel the spray. How thrilling to see natural beauty win over the artificial look of the Canadian side! LOYAL NEW YORKERS DEAR ABBY: As a resident of Niagara Falls, N.Y., for over 70 years, and having lived in Canada for 10 years, I feel qualified to compare the two sides of the Falls. I personally prefer the naturalness of our park, the upper rapids and the islands. GEORGE BOAK.N.Y D E A R A B B Y : Y o u r t h o u g h t l e s s , unauthoritative slap at Niagara Falls, N.Y., has greatly diminished your credibility. WILLIAM E. TREICHLER JR., S A N B O R N , N Y . DEAR ABBY*: So the Canadian side has more flowers. Big deal! Flowers aren't everything. People go over to the Canadian side to get a better view of Niagara Falls, and what are they looking at? The American side. Hooray for our side! RED, WHITE AND BLUE IN N Y. DEAR ABBY: For the mayor of Niagara Falls: Instead of criticizing the messenger who brings the bad news^I respectfully suggest that all Americans should try to think of solutions for a national problem. ELIZABETH MCALLISTER, ATTORNEY-AT-LAW, WESTBROOKVILLE, N.Y. In Conclusion, Dear Readers, I was shocked to learn that Niagara Falls, the "honeymoon capital of the world," is under the jurisdiction of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historical Preservation. Pity. Niagara Falls, one of the wonders of the world, is a national treasure, well deserving of federal funding. By Ken Franckling UPI feature writer ; CONCORD, N.H. - Patrick Welch was busy paying the bills one day when his toddling daughter, Emma, began coughing as she played at his feet. The 30-year-old former woodsman saw she was turning red and having ttouble breathing. He picked up Emma and patted her on the back a few times. It didn't help. • *"Sd l acked her up by the ankles, hit her a few times on the back, and out came a penny. It could have been disastrous, but I didn't panic," Welch said. "I sensed what to do." . Welch is one of the growing breed of fathers -- single or married -- who are staying home to raise their children, either by choice or eco­ nomic necessity. As the number of Mr. Moms grows, experts are find­ ing that nurturing, traditionally a maternal role, is . not a female prerogative. For the past five years, Dr. Kyle Pruett, associate clinical professor of psychiatry at the Yale Child Study Center In New Haven, Conn., has studied. 20 families in which the lather was the primary care-giver. He found that, when compared to standardized tests on problem solv­ ing and social skills, the children performed above the norm. More­ over, the fathers, within a matter of days or weeks, relied on their own intuition to look after their infants, rather than second-guessing, "What would my wife do now?" The families in the New Haven study ranged from welfare recipi- . ents to professionals. "In one-third of the families, the father did not have much of a ehoice. He lost his job and his wife didn't," Pruett said. "There was no difference in performance by the kids of fathers who decided two years before conception that they were going to do it." - Welch and his wife, Ellen Pope, made their decision prior to Em­ ma's birth on Jan. 30,1964. Welch, a former heavy equipment operator for Great Northern Paper Co. in Millinocket, Maine, stayed home to take care of Emma, do the laundry, the cooking, the cleaning and the grocery shopping when Pope returned to her job with a statewide environmental group, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. In part, Welch figured the role • reversal would give him more time .to do creative things like read and play the piano. "I certainly anticipated having .more free time. I thought I'd han­ dled the jobs better than I have, handled the boredom better than I have, but in fact, it has been some­ what tedious, monotonous. I've found myself struggling with depres­ sion -- not real bad depession, but I didn't think I would have as much trouble. "It was sobering to find I didn't have as much appreciation for what housewives go through. Trying to be creative with food is more than a Challenge. It is hard to be putting interesting stuff on the tble night after night and not get into a real rut. I have a real respect for wom­ en," Welch said. f 'There's a network of women who get together, and there is no such network for househusbands. It can Patrick Welch, 30, holds his year-and-a-half-old daughter, Emma, as they bid good-bye to Welch's wife, Ellen Pope, who is on her way to work with a statewide environmental group. The former Maine woodsman is now in a role- get kind of lonely." David Tankoos of New Haven, Conn., found just the opposite in his 16-month stint of caring for daughter Katie. Tankoos took on the Mr. Mom role when his wife, Liz, went back to work in June 1983, two months after their child was born. Tankoos had burned out of his 10- year job at a residential treatment center for emotionally disturbed ad­ olescents and wanted a breather. "Before we had the child, I swore I'd never change a diaper in my life. But some things become second-na­ ture. Once I got used to the routine, it was easy," Tankoos said. "Sometimes you play it by ear. One other woman brought me under her wing at Katie's swimming class­ es. We had lunch regularly with three other women. I was a father in a 'mother's group.' "The fact that they took me in was interesting. That helped deal with the day-to-day frustrations and anxi­ eties. Katie was never sick, rarely even had colds. With Liz's support and the support of friends, it worked out well," he said. Now, Tankoos is back at work, this time as a sales consultant for a publishing house. His wife is home, taking care of Katie full-time, on a leave of absence from her job. "We have a good relationship. Ka­ tie has had no bias. We are much closer than many fathers are close to their daughters. It's been very beautiful," Tankoos said. "When she gets older, I want to see how she feels about other men, in terms of being friends." The Pruett study found that hav­ ing the fathers providing primary care had no effect on the children's sexual identities. "They are all very comfortably masculine or comfortably feminine children. It would not be obvious to (Please turn to page 5) UPI photo "••'M '!J,*, Tf... I.," . Ghostbusters (PC) Fri. 5:20.7:30.9:30 Sat. Sun. 1:15,3:20.5:20.7 30,9:30 M .TIirs. 6,8:15 Return of the Living (R) fri t. lOSlt-Sii 130. t 10 M Thurs 6 Day ef the Dead (NR) No one under 18 admitted 3:15. N51 Thiirj 7 45 Creature mi Fn. 6:20,8:15,10:10 Sat.San. 2:15,4:10 6:20.8:15.10:10 M.-Thurs. 6:20.8:15 Pee Wee's Big Adventure (PC) Fn 6:10.8 9:45 Sat. SMB. 2:30.4:20,6:10.8.9:45 M Thurs 6:10.8 AmadeusiN) Fn. 5.8 Sit Sun 2.5 8 M TW..rr ? Oft reversal, joining an ever growing number of Mr. Moms. Ellen, who works for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, brings home the bacon while Patrick brings up baby. Including our 'Luxury Linert Collection' of casement and open weave fabrics; Waldorf' satins and Bonnie' sheers 35% to 50% off our entire Designers Choice collection Special sale prices on custom draperies include fabric, labor, lining, and installation