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r PAGE 10 - PI.AINDEACER - WEDNESDAY. DECF.MBER 27.1»78 Plaindeaier, Editorial Opinion The Cost Of College When Congress refused this year to vote tax exemptions for parents of students in private or church colleges, it instead enacted legislation which allows parents earning as much as $25,000 to receive small grants to help pay college costs There's an even greater opportunity for help from the federal government's Guaranteed Student Loan program-which provides parents low-interest loans This program is now open to all parents, regardless of their income For those with children who are now seniors, high school counselors have the necessary information for seeking aid. For those whose children are younger, the Early Financial Aid Planning service (of the College Scholarship service) can outline the various sources of aid Many Americans are unaware of the growing number of aid programs applying to college education, and of expanded fedfiEal aid programs. Some shoulder almost the entire cost of sons' and iters' college education when they could utilize one of several forms of aid Warm Winter The good news from the federal government's chief long-range weather forecaster is that much of the^iation will have a mild winter This contradicts earlier, highly-publicized forecasts that this winter will be another unusually cold one. The latest forecast is that the eastern United States (except Maine).and a southern belt extending as far west as Texas and southern New Mexico, will have unusually warm weather this winter That should ease fuel problems in an area containing half the U.S. population The big, middle America region, beginning west of the Appalachians and extending west of the Great Lakes (including most of Colorado and eastern Nebraska) and diagonally to southern California, has an iffy forecast There it might be milder; forecasters say chances are fifty-fifty. For the northwest, including northern California, most of Nevada, all of Utah, northern Colorado, western Nebraska, the Dakotas and half of Minnesota, the winter is to be colder than average Early snow storms and severe weather have already been experienced in much of this area Ail of which proves again that early forecasts, even venerable almanac forecasts, are subject to change Mother Nature is not entirely predictable Recalling January J00 Years Ago (Below Zero Weather-Good for Sleigh Riding. Bad for Fire Fighting) Just after a near normal New Year's day, 1879, Illinois was hit by a sub-zero blast that brought practically all activity to a standstill. New Year's eve watch ser vices were held in a dozen or more Chicago churches as well as in the smaller cities, in­ c l u d i n g S p r i n g f i e l d . B l o o m i n g t o n , K a n k a k e e . LaSalle. Effingham, and Mendota New Year's eve celebrations and balls were also held by a variety of Chicago organizations-the Railway Conductors. Carson and Pine's employees, the Germania Maennerchor and Turngemeinde, while "the German elite of the city" were rtained at a reception by and Mrs C. Hotz. he tradition of New Year s day calls by gentleman at the homes of ladies who had an nounced in the papers that they would hold "open house" w&s generally carried out The Springfield Daily State Jour­ nal. on Jan 1, carried a half- column listing headed "The Callers' Guide." The first name on this list was "Mrs. S.M. Cullom"/ wife of the governor) who w0uld "receive after 2 o'clock p.m." at the executive mansion. She was td have four assistant hostesses-two from Chicago, one from Dixon, and one from Springfield. Some of the other hostesses had as many as a dozen "assistants". The Chicago Daily Inter Ocean, having published a huge list of Chicago hostesses on Dec 31. ran a column of the names of Evanston ladies on Jan I, plus about a dozen from Highland Park and eight ad­ ditions to its earlier listing The New Year's report from Bloomington said "the sleighing was splendid" and in l^Salle "good sleighing added much to the enjoyment". A hit of what was to come was noted in Mendota which read: "It has been fine all day, but has turned quite cold this evening It will probably go down below zero". That prediction turned dut to be an understatement. Tem­ peratures on Jan. 3 were:' Chicago, zero to 17 below; Cairo. 10 below; LaSalle. 26 below; Peoria, 25 to 28 below; Dixon. 20to 28 below; Freeport, 26 below; Galesburg. 12 below; and Springfield. 21 to 23 below. There were several costly fires in the state that week but the biggest was at the Honore Block in Chicago, a six-story building 192' by 150' at the corner of Dearborn and Adams streets. The building housed the city's post office, a number of government offices. the Chicago and Alton Railroad office, and offices of several law partnerships. Among the latter was the office of Robert Todd Lincoln and Edward S. Isham The fire starfed in the basement at about 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 4. and quickly swept up the elevator shafts to the top floors. Lincoln was in his office on the fourth floor and "had only time to throw a lot of valuable papers into the vault. before being driven out by the dense smoke." Luckily the flames were confined to the fifth and sixth floors and his law library-^"worth at least $10,000"-was saved except for water and ice damage. Some of the other events recorded in the newspaper files of a century ago in the Illinois State Historical library in Springfield included the election by the General Assembly of Gen. John A. Logan to his second term in the U.S. Senate The papers also noted that James Shields. oUhe Lincoln-Shields duel fame, was elected to the senate by •Missouri after previously, serving in that body from Illinois and Minnesota-Shields thus became the only man to serve as a U.S. Senator for three states/ A reunion of "survivors of the Black Hawk war" was held in Springfield on Jan 8 and 9, and the "annual encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic, Department of Illinois" was held in Galesburg on Jan 29. It's The Extras That Count It's the extras that count when it comes to safe winter driving -- extra time, extra space, extra precautions against winter's deadly tricks This is the contention of a man who should know. Raymond Prince, secretary of the National Safety Council's Committee on Winter Driving Hazards Prince's job is coordinating the committee's year 'round a c t i v i t i e s . i n c l u d i n g t h e council's annual winter driving test project at Stevens Point, Circuit Breaker Deadline "Persons who were 65, or over, in 1977 are reminded that they only ha/e until Dec 31 to apply for the Circuit Breaker for 1977", according to Marge Jones, executive director for the McHenry County Senior Citizens council The Circuit Breaker is a form of tax relief provided for by the state of Illinois for residents over the age of 65 whose total household income (including Social Security) is under $10,000 The grant compares one's household income with one's real estate tax bill or 30 percent of one's rent If the real estate tax bill or 30 percent of .the annual rent is greater than 4 percent of one's total income, a rebate will be issued The second portion of the Circuit Breaker relates to in­ come. only It is known as the "additional grant" and anyone who meets the original criteria will receive a rebate based solely on a percentage of total household income "All current Illinois residents who were over the age of 65 in 1977. with an income under $10,000 and lived in Illinois in 1977 should apply". Ms Jones said "Although the ex planation may sound com plicated, the benefit is hard cash worth taking the time to fill out the forms." The Circuit Breaker forms are available at all walk in centers and at the council office in Woodstock at 113 Newell street tP.O Box 722). The staff is available to help in filling out the forms Anyone who is housebound and needs assistance in filing may call our toll free line 1-800-892-6120, and ask for a member of the Outreach team to come their home Perspective WAGE-PRICE EXCEPTIONS in l«>\ \U> RK \ ( , A N President Carter ' s "volun­ tary" wage-price "guidel ines program is t>eginning to look l ike the rule that proves the except ion It the oracle of Delphi had been around today, he she wouldn ' t have had to s t i r the entrai ls of many sacr i f ic ia l animals to prophesy that the adminis t ra t ion 's program would soon have so many ex­ cept ions i t would look l ike a patchwork qui l t And so i t has come to pass ne president announced the ther da> that there would be rxcept ions made in the 7 | )< ' rcent wage increase guidel ines Fr inge bunefi ts , - .uch as pension and heal th plans wil l now be exempted : rom the l imit i f ra tes are in- • Teased and benefi ts aren t \nd the rule to hold pr ice in- reases to half a percentage [ joint below a business ' average - .creases in 1976 and 1977 tan •<iw be waived if the business an prove hardship or show it • asr i ! increased prof i ts Ho* inf la t ion 'czar Alfred Kahn and his small s taff are t 'o ing to monitor this crazyqui l t - s t i l l the mystery of the year It i s l i t t le wonder that skeptfcs abound Wil l iam Blake, the ( lass ie Engl ish poet and myst ic , once said If you Aould do aood for me you must <lo i t in the minutest par t iculars " That a las , is about the only way the federal government is going to make i ts program work and that means more bureaucrats And with them mandatory wage and pr ice controls , with the false shortages and inf la t ion bui ld up they always br ing The skept ics scenario goes this way af ter several months of f iddl ing and fussing, making except ions here and there . Mr Carter f inal ly throws up his hands and says. I d id my best , but you al l didn ' t do your share now we've got to have a mandatory program in order to be fa i r to everyone You can bet there won' t be any ta lk about the CAl 'SE of inf la t ion government def ic i ts Those skept ics are increasing in number A new pol l by Gal lup lor the U.S. Chamber of Commerce shows 77 percent of business execut ives expect a formal program of mandatory controls within two years up from ")") percent las t summer One big New York in vestment banking f i rm predicted las t week that the economy is "moving into a per iod of f inancial cr is is" and wil l s l ip into a recession la te in 1979 Clear ly . the ad minis t ra t ion fears that worse than they fear inf la t ion, con cerned as they are that voter worr ies about unemployment would be t ranslated into anger against incumbent Carter in an elect ion year Meanwhile , zooming interest ra tes wil l keep on cl imbing unt i l the Federal Reserve bank t ightens the actual money supply Some informed Washington observers predict a pr ime rate as high as 14 percent bv the third quarter of J979 Despi te sharply increased interest ra tes , the motley supply cont inues to grow at a 10 percent annual ra te The adminis t ra t ion 's fa i lure to bi te the economic bul le t laps over into i ts taci t acceptance of a 6 percent annual inf la t ion ra te , as the president ' s "guidel ine ' ' program target implies In effect , the White House is te l l ing consumers . Anything over 6 percent a year we' l l work on folks , but up to that point i t ' s bui l t - in ' ; i n s t i t u t i o n a l ' ' T h e i r argument is logical if you bel ieve inf la t ion is caused by sun spots or swarms of locusts f l " Wis The program is unique because it provides a proving ground where equipment and vehicle control techniques are tested under uniform' and carefully controlled ice and snow conditions. Too many drivers misjudge the extra distances needed to stop. Prince contends, citing findings that braking distances on snow and ice may be from three to nine times the normal distance on dry pavement. Prince cites this comparison: From a speed of only 20 miles an hour on glare ice at 25 degrees F. the braking distance averages about 150 feet -- close to nine car lengths. Compare that to the fact that, under reasonably good conditions, a car can be braked to a stop in this same distance - 150 feet - from a speed of 55 miles an hour on good drv pavement "In other words," Prince points out. "for equal stopping ability, speeds on glare ice should be cut to about one-third of those that might be con sidered reasonable under ideal conditions." Temperature also pays an extremely important role in the slipperiness of ice and packed snow according to skid-test findings At temperatures near f r e e z i n g < 3 2 d e g r e e s ) t h e braking distance on glare ice may be as much as 260 ft. (about 15 car lengths) from 20 mph, twice the stopping distance at zero degrees This factor, prince em­ phasizes. traps many an un­ wary driver who starts out on an icy or snowy pavement in the morning when the tem­ perature is cold He feels he has reasonably good control Later, the temperture rises He may suddenly discover that he is driving far too fast to stop or maneuver to avpid an ac­ cident This is one -reason for the skid tester's admonition to "get the feel of the road" c o n t i n u o u s l y t h r o u g h o u t t h e day I n r e l a t i o n t o s t o p p i n g , committee findings emphasize: Tire chains are your best aid in stopping on ice. where they cut braking distance by 50 percent as compared with regular highway tires - Where studded tires may be used legally, they help Tires with new studs on the rear w h e e l s r e d u c e b r a k i n g distances about 19 percent on ice and about 13 percent after 2.50U miles of wear When it comes to getting started and keeping going On ice -conventional snow tires develop about 28 percent m o r e t r a c t i o n a b i l i t y t h a n regular tires studded snow tires provide about three times and chains about seven times F o r Y o u r I n f o r m a t i o n Dear friend* There it o n» w book and a new movement Small is Beoutiful'. Emphasis is on quality of lit* not quantity of material possessions All possessions require maintenance, earetaking Often oy/ possessions own us they demand so much of our time and money Perhaps a sim­ pler way of life con bring us closer to oHappy New Year. Respectfully <2?. PETER M.JISTEN & SON FUNERAL HOME McHtNUY, ILLINOIS 3850063 ARE YOU NEW IN McHenry Area? >8tt6S8S8SSSS! Do You Know Someone New? WE WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND A ROYAL WELCOME TO EVERY NEWCOMER TO OUR AREA!!!!! CALL JOAN STULL 385-5418 mmmn KNOW YOUR AREA-ROYAL WELCOME DOES IT BEST the traction of regular tires. - On loosely packed snow -- conventional snow tires develop about half again as much pulling ability as regular tires, while tire chains provide about four times the pull of regular tires Other findings of interest include: - Small vs. large cars -- In general a sub-compact car will stop in a shorter distance in a panic stop on ice than a com­ pact car, which in turn is likely to require a shorter distance than a standard car Lighter cars, however, have notable difficulty getting started, particularly at warmer ice temperatures - Radial tires -- Contrary to the impression of many motorists, radial tires are not necessarily a substitute for snow tires for driving on snow and ice. The performance of radial tires varies widely and is dependent on tread con­ figuration. i.e., a snow tread will perform as a snow tires, a regular tread will perform as a regular highway tire In spite of the help provided Line COMMERCE McHENRY CHAMBER OF < 386-4900 FAMILY SERVICE ft MENTAL HEALTH CLINIC 3409 W Waukegan Road McHenry 38S-G400 PARENTAL STRESS LINE OF McHENRY COUNTY Meeting Place: McHenry County 24 hour* a day, 7 days a week Call 312-463-0390 STATE CHAMBER GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS HOTLINE 217-522-5514 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION 202-755-8660 Hours 7:30a.m. to5:30p.m. week days (Ever had a problem involving the federal government and not know where to call? And then been given a run a round or referrals by persons who meant well but didn't know how to help? Ten specialists available at this center.) NATIONAL RUN-AWAY SWITCHBOARD niinois Phone: 800-3"2-6004 (For confidential conversation on problems dealing with run away children) MOVING HOTLINE Phone 800-424-9213 (Complaints about interestate moving by companies, buses or trains. Sponsored by Interstate Commerce commission) CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION Phone 800-638-2666 (For questions or complaints on products ranging from toys to ovens) NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION Phone 800-424-9393 ( Answers questions about automobile safety defects or whether a particular model has ever been recalled. Valuable for those interested in buying a used car) ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES Child Abuse Center McHenry County (312) 546-2150 CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION 800-638-2666 (Operates five national lines. Answers inquiries about, or reporting on. the safety of products from kitchen appliances to children's toys) NATIONAL SOLAR HEATING AND COOLING INFORMATION CENTER 800-523-2929 P O Box 1607, Rockville. Md 20650 • Dispenses information on solar systems for heating and cooling to anyone from architects to home owners looking for a sun powered hot water system) CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVISION 1603 N North Avenue McHenry, 111. John T Licastro (Calls from 9 30 a m to 5 p.m. -- 385-1703; interviews Saturday, 9:30 a m to 12:30 p.m.) blRTHMI<;HT Prrgnanl? Nerd Hrl|»? (.oumtrlinp Sertirr. .'t8.V2W*, 24-hour An- •wrrinjt Service. YOUTH SERVICE BUREAU FOR McHENRY COUNTY 846 N. Seminary Avenue, Woodstock Phone: 338-7360 24-hour Crisis Intervention and Confidential Counseling for youth and families. Are you concerend about your angry feelings toward your children? 24-hour Parental Stress Line, 344-3944. ILLINOIS STATE CHAMBER HOTLINE Phone 217-522-5^14 Answer to questions on government regulations. m ibm A. G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. WEEKLY MARKET REPORT by these traction aids for both stopping and starting. Prince concluded, performance is nowhere equal that on normal dry pavement "Our best advice is to reduce speeds, drastically follow other vehicles at a far greater distance, and perform all maneuvers - slowing, steering or accelerating -- with a gentle, delicate touch Easy does it'" Achievement Trends In a report to the State Board of Education. State Superin­ tendent of Education Joseph M Cronin has noted that Illinois students continue to score well on achievement tests as compared to students in the rest of the nation. Cronin said, over th^ last nine years, students in Illinois have scored consistently higher than the rest of the nation on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and slightly higher than the rest of the nation on the American College Test (ACT). Topics covered in the testing p r o c e d u r e s i n c l u d e mathematics and computation, and life, physical and earth sciences The OPEC nations oiled up the slide Monday but stocks had begun their descent last week. Culminating in Friday's sell-off which was helped along by the $2 billion increase in Ml, stocks had already shown their inability to sustain buy interest. What had kept them alive for the prior six weeks was that exhausted sellers finally had to rest rather than any important, new buying. Well, as if rising interest rates, uncontrolled inflation, and business activity remaining too strong to cool things off were not enough, along came the OPEC Christmas present to their friends in the free work! ^ , The announcement of a 14.5 percent oil price increase, to be done in four stages by Oct. 1, shocked investors who were already losing confidence in the almost unanimously projected December rally. The increase was not only greater than expected but its planned ladder type escalation created fears that the steps up will continue for many years. Also, those who needed it received a thumping reminder of how much power OPEC has over our nation and its inflation fight. The dollar weakened, gold leaped up, and general confidence went down the tubes-in the real world, the stock market experienced a very serious decline, and the dollar could be in for more trouble as the foreign central bank's incentive to keep the dollar up, keep the Arabs happy, is now replaced by the fact that a cheaper dollar means lower prices for oil bought in their currencies. The severity of Monday's slump points out the weak technical underpinnings to this market. With volume up sharply, the following figures show how little support was provided by the bulls major argument, the big institutional buying power: Industrials down 17.84; Utilities down 1.42; Transportations down 5.31; New York Composite down 1.11; the Advance-Decline ratio a horrible 12 to 1 down. Interest rates rose sharply but give no signs of peaking Still to come is the Fed facing up to the fact they have made money dearer but have not reduced its availability which means even higher rates. Off so sharply and close to the prior reaction low of 780, a knee jerk technical rally could be close but the bear is getting nastier not mellower. Stay defensive...Stay liquid...Stay out A1 Goldman One Hundred Years Ago According to the Illinois State Historical Society Christmas in Illinois in 1878 was a bitter cold day Church attendance was low -Saloons were the only businesses kept open, and even they were deserted n e w s p a p e r s r e p o r t e d Navigation on the Mississippi river was halted, and there were reports of numbers of people crossing on the ice at St Louis Sen & , pirf* • t o O EARL R. WALSH « JACK WALSH INS. Firr Auto Farm Life Representing RELIABLE COMPANIES MI0W Rte 120 McHenry 1(S 3)00 DENNIS CONWAY AUTO LIFE FIRE State Farm Ins. Co. 33IV W Elm S» McHenry, I I I )(< 7111 DR. LEONARD B0TTARI J0J N Richmond Bd McHenry Eyes examined Contact Lenses Glosses t i t led Mon Tues Thurs Fn , < » p m Tues Thurs Fri , 7 * p m Sat • 30 to 3 00 Ph 315 41}l or US JJSJ McHENRY COUNTY OFFICE MACHINES SALES SERVICE 4 RENTALS Mon Sat« S 30 Friday t i l » 00 t l Grant St . 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