Banner Graphic, Volume 12, Number 93, Greencastle, Putnam County, 28 December 1981 — Page 12

A12

The Putnam County Banner-Graphic, December 28,1981

People in the news Royal marriage not on rocks, Phillips declares LONDON (AP) Despite reports that he was having an affair, Capt. Mark Phillips says he and his wife, Princess Anne, are "close enough" that they never doubted one another. Phillips, 33, who is married to the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth 11, denied in an interview published today that his marriage was on the rocks, as newspaper reports had said. Some reports claimed Phillips developed a close relationship with Angela Rippon, 36. the first female news reader for the British Broadcasting Corp. She was writing a book about horses with Phillips. In an interview with a British magazine, Woman’s Own, Pnillips said the reports were "pure and utter fabrication.” “It caused a lot of hurt at the end of the day,” Phillips was quoted as saying. "The whole thing was so ridiculous ... Angela was writing a book about me. Luckily, Anne and I are close enough so there never were any doubts between ourselves.” Phillips said Anne, 31, and Ms. Rippon, who is married to businessman Christopher Dare, became "quite good friends" when Ms. Rippon stayed at their home southwest of London. Phillips said he agreed to the book because it was a good idea and he needed the money. Phillips runs a farm at Gatcombe Park. Anne’s state allowance was increased in March to $190,000 a year.

Questions & Answers ABOUT Individual Retirement Accounts

WHAT IS AN INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNT (IRA)? It is a specially designed savings account to encourage individual contributions toward one's retirement. You pay no taxes on contributions to an IRA or on the interest earned by your IRA until you retire. HOW DOES THIS HELP ME? Because your taxes are deferred, you can accumulate many more dollars much more rapidly than with currently taxed dollars. For example, if you are in a 25% Federal income tax bracket and contribute *2,000 to an IRA, you immediately save *SOO in taxes, and that *SOO constitutes usable or investable funds for you. Your net savings accumulation with an IRA can easily be 50% to over 200% higher than would be the case with taxed dollars, depending on your tax bracket and the length of time you have an IRA. WHO MAY HAVE AN IRA? Until January 1, 1982, only those employed individuals not already covered by a pension plan may have an IRA. However, beginning January 1, any employed person not yet 70% years old, whether or not covered by a company retirement plan, may have an IRA. If both a husband and wife are employed, each may have an IRA. HOW MUCH CAN BE INVESTED IN AN IRA? You may invest all earned income up to a maximum of *2,000 per year in an IRA. A nonworking spouse also may contribute *250 to an IRA, making it possible for a husband and wife, one of whom is not employed, to deposit *2,250 each year in tax deferred accounts. Note: only earned income may be used. Of course, you do not need to deposit the maximum permitted. You may deposit what you want when you want. You may make several small deposits several times a year or just one or two large deposits. You can skip a year if you wish. WHAT WILL MY ACCOUNT EARN? Your IRA at Greencastle Federal will earn the investment yield of a one-year U.S. Treasury Bill, adjusted quarterly to reflect current market conditions. An IRA opened today would begin earning an annual investment yield of about 14.5%.

' V \ } GREENCASTLE FEDERAL SAVINGS AND LOAN ONE NORTH LOCUST, GREENCASTLE, IN 46135 PHONE 653-9793

MARK PHILLIPS: 'Ridiculous 1

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) Evangelist Billy Graham says his 29-year-old son, whom he plans to ordain in Tempe next month, “has a presence about him.” “He is a very powerful speaker and Bible teacher and very authoritative in the pulpit,” the evangelist said about William Franklin Graham 11, who is to be ordained Jan. 10 at the non-denominational Grace Community Church. The younger Graham heads Samaritan’s Purse, which donates money to struggling churches, and World Medical Missions. Both are based in Boone, N.C.

WHEN ARE BENEFITS PAID? Benefit payments must start no earlier than age 59% nor later than 70%. They also may be paid in the event of permanent disability or, upon death, to a named beneficiary. You may elect to take your payment in one lump sum or in installments. MAY WITHDRAWALS BE MADE PRIOR TO RETIREMENT? You may make premature withdrawals, but there is a substantial penalty for so doing. The tax benefits are granted by the government in order to encourage saving for retirement. If that "contract" is broken, you must include the amount received as ordinary income in the year of receipt, and you also must pay a penalty tax equal to 10% of the amount received. WHEN MUST THE DEFERRED TAXES BE PAID? Retirement benefits are taxed as ordinary income when you receive them at retirement. Most individuals are in lower tax brackets at retirement, and, also, the double exemption for persons over 65 years of age can work to your advantage. CAN AN EXISTING RETIREMENT PLAN BE TRANSFERRED TO AN IRA? Yes, and this can be done free of any current Federal income taxes if the transfer is effected within sixty days. If you move from one city to another, you may "roll over" (transfer) your IRA to another financial institution. Or, if you have vested benefits from a previous employer's plan, these, too, may be "rolled over" without any penalty or current tax obligation. IS IT COMPLICATED TO OPEN AN IRA? No, it is not. The Association has several officers who will be pleased to sit down with you and discuss your personal situation. Opening an IRA takes only a little more time than opening an ordinary savings account. IS MY INVESTMENT IN AN IRA SAFE? Yes, it certainly is. The Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, an agency of the Federal government, insures your IRA savings up to ‘IOO,OOO over and above other insured savings accounts at the Association.

WASHINGTON (AP) Sen. Nancy Landon Kassebaum was mailed an unusual holiday greeting by William Gibbons, the trustee overseeing bankruptcy proceedings of the Rock Island Railroad. At a recent hearing, Mrs. Kassebaum, a Kansas Republican, expressed frustration over Gibbons’ apparent reluctance to sell portions of Rock Island track so other carriers can continue service on the line, which goes through her state. “There are times one would like to fashion a dart board with his picture,” the senator said. Gibbons saw the comment in a newspaper and sent her a letter, enclosing his photograph. “I suggest that you affix it to your dart board and practice,” Gibbons wrote. “Who knows? You may even become proficient. Best wishes for a pleasant holiday.” Other senators unwrapped less prickly holiday items. In time for New Year’s Eve, the 99 colleagues of Sen. Alfonse M. D’Amato, R-N. Y., were presented with New York wine. Among senators who also plugged their state products by sending them as gifts were Paula Hawkins, R-Fla., who sent oranges; Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who gave red salmon; and Roger Jepsen, R-lowa, who sent lowa fruit cake. • INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Amtrak officials in Indiana always thought their Chicago-to-Indianapolis passenger train was fast, but they didn’t know it could outrun the stork. Victoria Jones, 20, was traveling alone on Amtrak’s “Hoosier State” run to visit her mother at Indianapolis Friday when she went into labor north of Lafayette, Ind. Fifty miles north of Indianapolis her contractions were coming about 15 minutes apart. “I thought I was going to be a doctor,” said Harold E. Dietrich, an Amtrak trainman. “I was more shook up than she was.” By the time the train was 27 miles farther down the track at Crawfordsville, Mrs. Jones’ contractions were coming every five minutes. That’s when Amtrak officials called ahead to have an ambulance waiting at Union Station at Indianapolis, said David

Burn victim 'great'

Eight square feet of artificial skin covers wounds

BOSTON (AP) Walsh lost 40 pounds of flesh. An explosion flashed through an aeresol can factory and burned the skin off 80 percent of his body. Twenty-four people were hurt, and four of them eventually died. But Walsh was lucky. He was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he became one of a small group of burn victims to be treated with artificial skin, an experimental manmade substitute that permanently covered his wounds, reduced his suffering and perhaps saved his life. After two months in the hospital, Walsh went home for Christmas. His skin was red. His walk was slow and shuffling. But he said he felt “great” and told his father he wanted a 2-inch-thick steak for dinner. Walsh’s dramatic recovery is the reward of a steady series of advances pioneered over the past decade by doctors at Massachusetts General and elsewhere. “All of us expected him to get well, and we’re not surprised that he did this well,” said Dr. John Burke, chief of trauma services and co-inventor of artificial skin. That does not minimize the accomplishment. Burns often are described as the worst possible injuries. Victims are susceptible to infection and breathing and circulatory problems. Nationally, about 130,000 people are hospitalized with burns each year, and 10,000 of them die. On the morning of Oct. 22, Walsh, 25, an electrician from Norwood, happened to be working there at the aeresol can factory in Holbrook, a suburb of Boston. The fire burned 80 percent of his skin, including his face, and he breathed flame that scorched his throat and lungs. First he was taken to Brockton Hospital and was moved the same day to Carney Hospital. Walsh’s father, Donald, got to Brockton in time to look into the ambulance. “I said, ‘How are you doing?”’ the elder Walsh recalled. “And Mark said, ‘OK. My hands are bad.’ That was the last time we heard him talk until Thanksgiving.” After four days, Walsh was transferred to Massachusetts General. By then, his biggest danger was infection. Skin is the barrier that ordinarily protects the body from bacteria. Walsh's skin was gone, and his dead flesh was an ideal breeding place for germs. Unlike the practice of a few years ago, doctors now try to cover the burned flesh with grafted skin as quickly as possible. The day he arrived at Massachusetts General, doctors took him into surgery. It would be the first of six operations over four days that lasted a total of 24 hours. The doctors’ goal was to cut away the dead skin skin and fat and cover his wounds with new skin.

House Call

What's best way to diagnose MS?

By G. Timothy Johnson, M.D. Question: What is the best way of diagnosing multiple sclerosis? I ask this because my doctor says he suspects MS as a possibility in my 39-year-old husband, although he is reluctant to say anything to him directly because he is not yet certain of the diagnosis. He says there are many different tests that can point to the possibility, but none are definite. What test would you recommend? Answer: Your doctor have given you the truth of the matter. There is no definitive test to diagnose multiple sclerosis. Indeed, and often unforunately, the diagnosis is usually made only after months or even years of repetitive and often mysterious symptoms that are too often written off as a matter of emotions or “all-in-the-head” problems. However, after repeated and diverse attacks of central nervous system symptoms - visual disturbances, balance

problems, strange sensations, urinary distrubances, etc. - MS is increasingly suspected. There are many different tests that may help to confirm the diagnosis, including examination of the spinal fluid, brain scans with the new CATscanning techniques, and even a simple test known as the hot bath test which involved provoking symptoms by a bath at a temperature of about 40 degrees centigrade. Question: Is it true that individuals with diabetes should not wear contact lenses? Answer: If an individual has severe diabetes which is not well controlled there is an increased risk of damage to the cornea (the front layer of the eye) with the use of contact lenses. On the other hand, in wellcontrolled diabetics or in those with mild diabetes not requiring insulin, there should be no significant increased risk in the use of contact lenses. Question: Is it possible to

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KASSEBAUM: Ready,aim...

Vawter, station agent in Indianapolis. By the time the train arrived in Indianapolis at 10:05 p.m. Friday separated the contractions. “We pulled out all the stops to get her here as quickly as possible without breaking the speed limit,” said C.T Walter, the train’s engineer. Mrs. Jones was immediately taken to Wishard Memorial Hospital in Indianapolis upon arrival. But her infant son didn’t arrive until 2:56 a.m. Saturday. The 7-pound, 5-ounce boy was delivered without problem.

First the doctors gathered as much of Walsh’s remaining skin as he could spare and began covering his burns, including his face and hands. But they quickly ran out and turned to artificial skin. In all, they used about eight square feet of artificial skin to cover the young man’s neck, chest, abdomen and arms. This skin was invented by Burke and Dr. I.V. Yannas of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the past year or so, it has been used on 30 patients at Massachusetts General and the affiliated Shriners Burns Institute. Like real skin, it has two layers, the top silicone and the bottom made of proteins taken from shark cartilage. And like ordinary skin grafts, it is never removed. Instead, the patient’s own body eventually replaces it, just as natural skin is continuously renewed. “In the old days before the skin was available which was about a year ago we would have borrowed skin from somebody else,” Burke said. “But that has difficulties of immunologic rejection, and the artificial skin is not rejected.” To fight infection, nurses administered antibiotics intravenously and washed him with a solution of silver nitrate. For six weeks, everyone who entered his room wore disposable masks, caps and gowns. A respirator worked for his burned lungs, while a tube kept his breathing passage open. New blood and nourishment flowed into his blood vessels. Each day, therapists exercised his joints. Nurses changed his dressings. Machines monitored his breathing and other vital signs. Over his bed hung a picture of Walsh in a hockey uniform so that doctors and nurses would know what he looked like. “After all,” said Burke, “when you have somebody all bandaged up and you can’t see anything but his eyes and the tip of his nose, it’s hard to figure out who you’re dealing with.” Walsh was oblivious to all this. Although he would respond to simple commands, he essentially was unconscious. On the day after Thanksgiving, he woke up. He could not remember anything that had happened since the explosion. “I think I sort of missed all the pains,” Walsh said. “I guess the grafts are painful, but I don’t remember them. I felt the same way when I woke up as I do now. ” Walsh will need about a year of physical therapy to regain full use of his stiffened joints. But his doctor says he will be able to go back to work long before then. And despite his burns, his appearance will be normal. “He'll always have scars,” Burke said. “They won’t be dramatic, and l think he will be able to function in society without everybody knowing that he’s scarred, because his face and hands will be very presentable.”

develop “low blood” from long distance running? Answer: We still have a lot to learn about some of the physiological changes -- both normal and abnormal - that might occur with extreme forms of exercise. However, there is at least one report that I’m aware of. (in the Sept. 11. 1981, Journal of the American Medical Association) which suggests that extensive running can lead to a temporary drop in blood hemoglobin levels. That report cites the development of significant decreases in hemoglobin levels in marathon runners during a 20-day, 312mile road face - obviously more than most of us would undertake. The condition is described as a “sports anemia." Dear Readers: The Aug. 6, 1981, issue of the New England

Journal Letter contains an interesting letter from the Solid Waste Management Division of the Sacramento, Calif., Department of Public Works. In the; letter, a George Lynch in-: dicates that Sacramento County has eliminated the "sunken garbage can” as a health hazard! because it leads to severe stress, on the back of a worker forced to bend over and lift out a heavy load. While at first glance this matter may sound trivial (and I must admit it so appeared to me) it really is not when one pauses to think further about it. There are many occupational - and recreational - situations in which we force ourselves to bend over and lift heavy loads in a way that jeopardizes our backs. And to the degree that* we can eliminate these hazards, I in the workplace or elsewhere, we ought to do so (C) 1981 By The Chicago Tribune-New York