t • NORTHWEST HERALD Section B Mvrfty, 14, IMS Regional ii mmmmm mmmmmrnmmmmm CUB's warning sign to alert consumers MCC horticulture students apply skills learned from Holland trip Alstromeria, l i l ies and roses are as Dutch as wooden shoes Four McHenry. County College students found that out when they immers ed themselves in the world of Holland's f loriculture during a 12- day study tr ip to Holland. The tour was part of the students ' independent s tudy of or namental hort iculture at MCC with John Wlttmus, who ac companied them on the tr ip The students studied floral ar t at MCC before going to Holland, then spent many hours there training with the masters in f loriculture. Students part icipating in the study ""tr ip were Arlene Fedall , who works at The Atrium flower shop in Crystal Lake; Emmarie Reed of The Pampered Plant in Harrington, Linda Narel , Fab b r i n i ' s F l o w e r s , H o f f m a n Estates; and Joyce Robbins, of Marengo Leading the group through Holland was Jos Tichelaar, a teacher at the Utrick Horticulture School, Utrick, The Netherlands An early stop on the tr ip was Aalsmeer, the si te of the world 's largest daily f lower auction Nine million cut flowers and 700,000 florist plants arrive each morn ing. many of them destined for ' United States' markets. According to Wittmus, floral design in Holland is truly an art form He adds that while U.S. florists are into round, high style arrangements, the Dutch designs are more natural, with definite in corporation of architectural design styles The students and Wittmus were able to talk about such topics with Dutch flower and plant growers, as well as wholesale and retail f l o r i s t s - r i g h t i n t h e i r greenhouses, warehouses and shops The group visited seed flower and dried flower farms and horticulture schools. They attend ed floral design workshops. A highlight of the trip was a visit to Parleis Noordeinde, home of the Dutch royal family and the Royal Gardens. Another high- point was the province of Friesland, where they drove through a polder, land reclaimed from the sea after dikes were built Interesting as well were the heather fields and Giethoorn, a town with canals instead of streets, many wooden bridges and gardens The end result of the trip for each student is to have a Droog Bloemen, which translates to a dried flower exhibition Part of Wittmus' requirements for com pletion of the independent study is to hold a Droog Bloemen at the florist shop at which they work. The students are to use the methods of display and design they learned about in Holland and use the type of floral materials the Holland markets use. Demonstra tions, a slide presentation and a fresh flower market are some of the things that must be included. The first Droog Bloemen is Arlene Fedall's, scheduled for Sept 27 29 at The Atrium in Crystal Lake The college is preparing a travelog program on the Holland tours that will be available to groups this fall and winter. For details contact John Wittmus at McHenry County Colleges 455- 3700. Program on cancer starts on Sept. 23 The Crystal Lake Ambutal will offer an "I Can Cope" cancer pro gram beginning Monday, Sept. 23, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Am butal. The program will run for six weeks and will provide an op portunity to study and share pro blems and concerns encountered in living with cancer. Topics in clude living with cancer, learning about cancer and its treatment, dealing with daily health, understanding and expressing feelings about cancer, maintain ing physical and mental fitness and identifying support systems and resources. The program is free of charge. Registration is re quired. Call Laura Kobza, 742-9800, ex tension 8238. FIRST AID CLASS A standard first aid course will be held from 6 to 10 p.m., Thursdays, Sept. 19 and 26, at the American Red Cross Building, 209 Benton St., Woodstock. For further information, call (815 ) 338-1050. More seven million Illinois consumers will find something un usual in their September utility bills -- a warning sign. ; An enclosure reading, "WARN ING: This utility bill could be haz ardous to your budget!" will reach nearly every Illinois household, courtesy of the Citizens Utility Board (CUB). | The enclosure points out that eiec •trie, gas and phone bills have in creased in recent years. One reason p that "...utility companies spend millions -- of our consumer dollars j-- to convince the government to araise our rates." The enclosure then Retails the role of CUB, a 125,000- member watchdog group. i "CUB is fighting every day," said ^Howard Learner, CUB president, rand we're winning." j Learner points to recent legisla tive passage of a new Public Util ities Act as a money-saving victory [for consumers. I The Citizens Utility Board is per- jmitted by law to include its litera- iturein iw«w*»c utility bills up to four annually. CUB pays for the of the enclosures, which be approved by the Illinois Commission. j Calling CUB "the fastest-growing jorganization in the state," Claude iWalker, CUB public relations direc •tor, said, "There are CUB members from Cairo to Zion, from Rock Is jand to Stony Island. This 'warning isign' will strengthen CUB's ability ito fight for lower bills and efficient jrcrvice" CUB, which recently celebrated Its first year, is currently interven ing in several utility rate hike cases before the ICC, including Common Iwealth Edison's service charge and Illinois Bell's rate "redesign." CUB jalso intervened in the Illinois Power the ICC's ruling in that case average household $150 w according to a CUB jstudy. j Anyone who doesn't receive the ("WARNING" enclosure in their Sep^ tember utility bills may call CUB at Si-800-222-2822. Homemakers group plans activity day at museum Homemaker association unitrf from throughout McHenry County are finalizing plans for a rural crafts and pioneer demonstration activity day at the McHenry Coun ty Historical Museum in Union on Sunday, Sept. 22. That day between 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. the museum will serve as the location for a variety of activities associated with life n rural McHqnry County at an earlier time. Along with demonstrations of rug braiding, quilting, basket weaving and corn husk doll mak ing, will be other demonstrations centering on handicrafts like tat ting and crocheting. And, although its been many years since butter and cottage cheese making were industries in this county, home methods of making both those products will be among the activities shown by the county homemaker association units. From other units visitors will learn the art of drying apples and the mysteries of early herbal oint ments and remedies. T h e M c H e n r y C o u n t y Homemakers Association, once known as the Home Bureau, began back in 1918 in the county intent on providing women a means of "adding to their knowledge, improving their ap preciations, and increasing their skills as homemakers." Through their efforts a Rural School Hot Lunch Project was begun in 1918. Today's homemaker's exten sion association members par ticipate in .a variety of activities meant to improve the quality of family life. They pride themselves on being the world's largest and finest homemakers professional educational organization in the world. r ' twif V NORTHWEST HERALD covers all the community news for McHenry County and Northern Kane County. What's more, the people who produce each edition of the Northwest Newspapers are actively involved in their communities and really interested in local events. Personal involvement: Just one of the reasons why readers look to the Northwest Newspapers for interesting news, informative advertising and fresh ideas to make smart shopping decisions.- You should be a part of it. 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