The Independent-News, Volume 120, Number 36, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 19 January 1995 — Page 4

4

- THE INDEPENDENT-NEWS - JANUARY 19, 1995

VIEWPOINT

1995 INDIANA GENERAL ASSEMBLY Subject: Gov. Evan Bayh’s State of the State Address. BACKGROUND: Gov. Evan Bayh presented his seventh State of the State address to the Indiana General Assembly this week. In this annual talk to legislators, the governor outlines his vision for the future and details what initiatives he would like to see passed during this year’s session. This year’s highlights included •equests to restore a cut in Indiana's automobile excise tax and provide property tax relief estimated at S6OO million over the next five years. Along with renewing calls for reforms in the state’s welfare system, the governor will pursue stronger measures against parents who refuse to pay child support, as well as legislation to provide harsher penalties against juvenile offenders and enact a “truth in sentencing” law that will require violent criminals to serve at least 85 percent of their prison sentences. Speaking on the governor’s address this week are House Majority Leader Brian Bosma (R-Indiana-polis) and Assistant Minority Leader Chet Dobis (D-Merrillville). Bosma has been a member of the Indiana House since 1986, while Dobis was first elected to the House in 1970. State Rep. Brian Bosma [RIndlanapolis]: Overall, Republicans were excited with the governor’s State of the State address. He mentioned and endorsed at least seven of our 10 “Contract with Indiana” points, so we felt he did a good job of picking up on what we signed on to last October. Specifically, he cited reforming health care insurance, and mentioned some of the Medicaid reforms that Republicans had been talking about. Welfare reform, which he also addressed, is one of the top items on Republicans’ list. The governor’s proposals are in fact similar to the one introduced in the House by state Rep. Jeff Espich of Uniondale. The governor also mentioned giving money back to Hoosier taxpayers, where it belongs, through an auto excise tax cut and property tax controls. These are both items that Republicans are strongly supporting. Truth in sentencing and expediting criminal appeals were also endorsed by the governor. This will mean that criminals will spend more time behind bars as they were sentenced to do. We are happy that the governor has chosen to endorse many of the points in our “Contract with Indiana.” We welcome his support, and hope that the members of his own party will be as enthusiastic as he is about these reforms. With his support, we are extremely confident that we will be able to enact these measures into law in Indiana. State Rep. Chet Dobis [D-Mer-rillville]: I was particularly impressed with the governor’s State of the State address, particularly its focus on the middle class citizens of the state of Indiana, the people who wake up every morning, go to work, send their children to our educational institutions and pay property taxes. Gov. Bayh used the speech to continue one of his administration’s major themes: a government that operates more efficiently. He’s demonstrated his commitment to that goal by making more than $2 billion in spending cuts since 1989, with $685 million of those cuts coming in the last two years alone. By making this commitment, Indiana has been able to avoid raising income, sales, cor-

porate or gasoline taxes since 1989. It appears Gov. Bayh will be able to avoid a major tax increase through both terms in office. Since the revenue picture is looking better in Indiana, we are going to be able to restore the automobile excise tax cut that took effect in 1990, then had to be temporarily suspended in order to provide more funding for our schools. We also should be able to provide more property tax relief for the people of Indiana. Welfare reform has become a popular item across the country, and Gov. Bayh needs to be credited for taking the actions necessary for getting federal approval for one of the first true reform programs in the nation. While the program does get tough on abusers, it also takes the proper steps to assure that the most needy in our welfare system don’t fall through the cracks. । For more information: Kate Healey 317-232-9885 or John . Schorg 317-232-9621.

■WKW" 1 ' | VOICE OF THE I | PEOPLE

“Letter To The Editor” Last week the editor of the Inde-pendent-News invited us to use his editorial space for our comments while he was taking a little forced time off. I hope that invitation s extends to this week too. I As a long-time subscriber to The I Independent-News, I want to ex- • press my admiration to Bob Urbin ; for publishing our weekly newspaper. Week after week after week ... until those weeks became ; years and then, before we knew it, decades. It is a never-ending and often thankless job. i First, the editor must fill the paper with a number of pages • divisible by four. There is no such > thing as a three-page paper or a 17 page paper because of the sheer • mechanics of the thing. So, each 1 : week the editor scratches his head < as he tries to decide if he has enough copy to fill 12 pages ( or maybe even 16) or to cut back to eight pages and offend the people i whose items were omitted. Secondly, he is put in the : position of being the mouthpiece for the Town Board, School Board, Chamber of Commerce, Park Board * and various organizations in an : area that covers Walkerton, North i Liberty, Koontz Lake, Tyner, Teegarden, Fish Lake, Hamlet and everything in between. We have grown to expect The : Independent-News to appear, magically, each week. After all, it is the only place where we are > going to read a letter to the town of > Walkerton from a truck driver who i admires our Christmas decorations. It is the only spot where, through a Happy Ad, we learn that, “Lordy, lordy,” one of our neighbors is turning 40! And it is the only publication where we can catch the warmth of Gladys Sheneman’s weekly North Liberty column. In a day when we have a window on the world through CNN, ESPN, । network news and USA Today, The ■ Independent News gives us what we want -- the unique news about our own community. Through blizzards, mechanical breakdowns, health problems and deaths in the family, Bob and his staff have given us a weekly paper that it would be hard for us to do without. So this week, Bob, I have to say, “Thanks,” on behalf of all your ■ readers for providing us with our । local paper. Week after week. Year after year. We appreciate it. Jo Hershberger

IToYourGoodHeaHhl by Paul G. Donohue, M.D.

DEAR DOCTOR DONOHUE: Cancer of the pancreas is a vicious type of disease, as I’ve never heard of a case that responded favorably. Also, it apparently attacks at younger ages than most cancers. What symptoms are there to alert a person to the presence of this disease? if DEAR READER: I can agree with most of your comments, except for the age of pancreatic cancer patients. They are not usually young. It is rarely found in patients under age 50, in fact. In 1993, pancreatic cancer claimed 25,000 lives, a number far too large, even for such an uncommonly insidious malignancy. I call it insidious because of the fact that it is not commonly discovered before it has grown large or has spread. A gnawing pain, which radiates to the back, is one sign (another good reason to report any unexplained chronic back pain). Weight loss and skin yellowing are other hallmarks, the latter testimony ’o the fact that the cancer has blocked the person’s bile drainage ducts. Itching is a common symptom. The pancreas is a large and important gland and any disturbance is bound to have widespread symptoms. We are wise to recognize and report them promptly. Pancreatic cancer, as doleful and dreary as it can be in its onset and progression, is more amenable to control the sooner it is confirmed. If the cancer is small, it can be completely removed. Otherwise, chemotherapy and radiation can be used to reduce its size and attendant pain. They don’t add much, though to an actual cure. Cancer in general is part of report No. 123-WS, which I’m sending you. Others who want this report can write to: Dr. Donohue — No. 123-WS, Box 5539, Riverton, N.J. 08077-5539. Enclose S 3 and a self-addressed, double-stamped No. 10 envelope. ©1995 by King Features Synd. C-A-L-L YOUR INDIANA LEGISLATORS HOUSE 1-800-382-9842 SENATE 1-800-382-9467

WARNING TO ALL PARENTS A form of tattoo called BLUE STAR is being sold to school children. It's a small piece of paper containing a blue star. They are the size of a pencil eraser and each is soaked with LSD. The drug is absorbed through the skin by handling the paper. There are also brightly colored paper tabs resembling postage stamps that have the pictures of the following: Superman * Mickey Mouse • Clowns ■ Disney Characters ' Butterflies ’ Bart Simpson Each one is wrapped in aluminum foil. This a new way of selling acid, by appealing to young children. If your child gets any of the above, DO NOT HANDLE THEM! These are known to react quickly and some are laced with strychnine. SYMPTOMS: Hallucinations, severe vomiting, uncontrolled laughter, mood changes and change in body temperature. Please feel free to reproduce this article and distribute it within your community and work place. From: J.O. Donnell-Danbury Hospital Outpatient Chemical Dependency Treatment Service. Please copy and post at work, give to friends, send a copy to local schools. This is very serious - young lives have already been taken! This problem is growing faster than we can warn parents and professionals.

On January 16, 1883, the Pendleton Act was passed, which reformed federal civil service ... January 22, 1903, the U.S. and Colombia signed a treaty agreeing to have the U.S. dig the Panama Canal ... January 20, 1925, Miriam (Ma) Ferguson was installed as the governor of Texas ... January 22, 1932, the Reconstruction Finance Corp, was established to stimulate banking and business since there were 12 million people unemployed because of the Depression ... January 17,1950, masked bandits robbed Brink’s Inc. in Boston, stealing $2.8 million, $1.2 million of which was in cash ... January 21, 1954, the U.S.S. Nauiilus, the first atomic-powered submarine, was launched in Groton, Conn. ... January 18, 1969, extended four-party Vietnam peace talks began ... January 22,1973, in Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that a state may not prevent a woman from having an abortion during the first three months of pregnancy, and could regulate but not prohibit abortion during the second trimester; the decision in effect overturned anti-abortion laws in 46 states ... January 17,1977, convicted murderer Gary Gilmore was executed by a Utah firing squad in the first exercise of capital punishment anywhere in the U.S. since 1967; Gilmore had opposed all efforts to delay his execution ... January 21, 1977, President Jimmy Carter pardoned most Vietnam War draft evaders, who numbered around 10,000... January 20, 1981, minutes after President Ronald Reagan's inauguration, the 52 Americans who had been held hostage in Iran for 444 days were flown to freedom following an agreement in which the U.S. agreed to return $8 billion in frozen assets to Iran ... January 20, 1986, the U.S. officially observed Martin Luther King Day for the first time ... January 22, 1987, the Dow Jones average soared 51.60 points, a oneday record.

I Your Health by Lester L. Coleman, M.D. H

Q. Friends recently told me that they have a condition called prolapse of the heart. Can you tell me what this is? A. This is a real and significant heart problem. In recent years, the diagnosis of this condition is being made more frequently. With modem techniques, mitral valve prolapse (MVP) can be verified readily. This condition of one of the heart valves occurs more frequently in women than in men. To understand it, I will describe, in simple form, the anatomy of the heart. The heart has four chambers. The blood which has been circulating throughout the body is returned to the right auricle. The blood then passes through a tricuspid valve and goes into the right ventricle. Now the blood is pumped through another valve to the lungs, where it picks up its oxygen supply that is so vital to

the health of the body. After this, blood flows to the left auricle. Here it passes through the mitral valve and enters the left ventricle. This is a powerful muscle of the heart that pumps the blood into the arteries throughout the body. The valves serve a remarkable function in preventing the backflow of blood. The mitral valve sometimes fails to perform this important function because its “flaps” may become enlarged and weakened. Doctors listening to the chest can hear a strange but readily identifiable clicking noise which suggests prolapse of the mitral valve. The exact cause of this condition is unknown. Many people go through life without the slightest alteration of their activities even with a prolapse of the mitral valve. Only when there is marked interference with regularity of the heart beat, severe palpitations and chest pain does medical and surgical treatment become necessary. ©1995 by King Features Synd.

Health & Nutrition by Judith Sheldon

SOYBEANS: A “MIRACLE” FOOD? Researchers are learning more about soybeans every day. Besides being an excellent high fiber, low fat food source, soybeans may also provide protection against many conditions including cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis. According to an article in the Lifetime Health Letter of the University of Texas — Houston Health Science Center, September, .1994, there seems to be a link between consumption of soy products and a lowered risk of developing cancers of the breast, colon, lung, and prostate. A diet rich in soy products also appears to be helpful in lowering cholesterol. Four of the most popular varieties of soy products are tofu (soybean curd), soy protein, soy milk, and miso. For information about soybeans, including recipes and cooking tips, call the United States Soybean Board at 1-800-TALK-SOY. MOUTHWASHES are found in just about every American home. Indeed, most people consider them an important part of mouth hygiene that includes brushing and flossing. However, in the May, 1994 issue of Dentalnotes, a publication of the Academy of General Dentistry, John C. Brown, D.D.S., a spokesperson for the AGD, noted, “Before you use a mouth rinse, you should know what they will, and won’t, do for you. You should also know how to use them. When using an anticavity or an antiplaque rinse, be sure the teeth are as clean as possible (in order to) reap the full preventative benefits of the liquid fluoride.’’ To keep your mouth fresh and healthy, brush with a fluoride toothpaste, floss twice a day, and see your dentist regularly. ©1995 by King Features Synd.