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A 't f c r » V « , !<•< *, > W irt
T he P oru and O bserver • J uly 31, 1996
(Elje JJortlanh (Observer
Life goes zoom:
Yes to curfews
society contains more than a few
The alarm clock reads 3:00 a m .
Haw s, and consequently, dancing is
when the sound o f broken glass
highly underrated. A more realistic-
pierces the night silence in a quiet
look includes such pastimes as theft,
neighborhood that could be your
vandalism, and assault, among oth­
own. Asared-handed amateur thief
ers.
moves abruptly, he is confronted by
Setting boundaries is the idea
a revolver; on the other end of the
that a curfew proposal embraces. In
gun stands a homeowner f rightened
the America of old. long before
for his life. In self-defense the gun is
drinking age laws were even con­
fired, and a thirteen year old child
sidered. parents and families were
falls to the ground, having paid the
held fully responsible for the well-
ultimate price for a wrong choice;
being of their children; they partic­
giving new meaning to the phrase, a
ipated in supervision, families set
night out.'
and determined their individual cur­
If this scenario sounds familiar,
fews. Somewhere between then and
it might be because it isn’t entirely
now. families and the structure of
fictional. Tragedies of this kind (and
the family unit, has changed. How
others) have taken place in Portland
realistic is it to expect a parent who
communities and will continue to
must work nights, to successfully
occur unless the underlying prob­
en lorce their teen's curfew? Or. what
lem is addressed and challenged.
about the parent who isn’t concerned
The need for establishing curfews,
about what time of morning Johnny
whether national or state-instituted,
comes home, and what he's been
is dire.
doing? No reason exists why kids
As a young person myself, I must
shouldn't be at home and off the
admit that my immediate reaction
streets during extreme hours of the
to Clinton’s proposed curfew law
night. The need for curfews exists
was one of indignation and opposi­
because we care for the safety of our
tion. "How dare a single, or group
children.
of adults, dictate my night activities
Even if the proposal never be­
by restricting the tune until which I
comes law. it is every parent's obli­
may stay out?” Not that I had an
gation to do what they can to ensure
actual conflict with having to be
the safety of their daughter or son,
home at a certain hour, I w ouldn't
curfews are an excellent way to do
necessarily have to modify my per­
so. Though perhaps viewed inaccu­
sonal schedule in the least. Howev­
rately as a restriction, parents should
er, all this remained irrelevant, for 1
not feel like the block bully simply
felt I at least wanted to be able to do
because they wish to follow their
so, if I should so desire.
instinct of protection.
My feeble argument soon fell
It becomes clear that curfews are
apart under scrutiny. Yes, in an
less about parental power than they
ideal world, kids across the lund
are about safely and protection. So
should be able to go out and dance
tonight, when the alarm clock reads
themselves dizzy 'till dawn without
3:00 a.in., will we know where our
any interference from legislation.
children are'.’Let's please make sure
Unfortunately, I have observed that
we do.
Five o f the most common money mistakes
bi
D r . M ichael V. Wu.ki.NS
While information pertaining to
your personal finances is available
from alm ost every inform ation
source, the fact is that people are still
making some very' common, yet very
costly mistakes with their money.
It is with this in mind that Wilkins
& Associates have gone through the
process o f eliminating the ‘flufF in
order to present to you a list o f five
(there are so many more) o f the most
common mistakes people make with
their money;
5. The fifth most common mistake
people tend to make in terms o f what
to do with their money, is listening
to th e ir friends (and relatives). This
is not intended to be negative, never­
theless, we often go to our friends or
family who have absolutely no knowl­
edge o f detailed financial matters,
for detailed advice on what to do
with your hard earned money.
We suggest that you keep in mind
that if you have a legal problem you
seek the advice of a good attorney, if
you need a root canal, you seek the
services of a good dentist, and if you
want sound financial advice, you seek
the advice o f a good financial man­
agement consultant.
4. The fourth most common mis-
take people make with their money is
trying to accum ulate money by
‘stashing' it aw ay, at home, or some
other not so convenient hiding place
(i.e. under the mattress, strong box­
es, jars, etc.).
Think about it, if you
, ,
took your money and hid it
by burying it in the back-
yard (or front yard, if you
prefer), ten years from
now, when you dug it
up (or left instruction
a
and a map for your ben-
\
eficiary to dig it up)
■ *
you w illhavetheexact
\
same amount, that you
buried.
K
3. L ottery In-
vestm ent T ech­
niques. (L I T.) is very simple. For
those o f you who play the lottery,
think about the techniques you use
for choosing your lottery numbers
(your birthday, your spouse or chil­
dren’s birthday , ages, house number,
years o f marriage, or di voice, the list
goes on. and on...). Some people who
choose to invest in mutual funds,
stocks, bonds, and other available
investment vehicles, do so with little
or no investment knowledge.
Our basic recommendation re­
j
Mt. Hood enrollment goes up
The num ber o f stu dents en-
oiled for sp rin g term c la sse s at
4t. H ood C om m unity C ollege hit
i four-year high w ith an increase
if 12.7 p e rc e n t over the sam e
leriod last year.
A rep o rt re le a se d July 3 by the
Jffice o f R esearch and P lanning
how s
f in a l
s p r in g
te rm
leadcount at 12,938 students as
om pared to I 1,484 for sp rin g
erm last year.
Student fu ll-tim e equ iv alen cy
SFT E ) also increased, up 3.2
ver last sp rin g term .
mains the same seek competent fi­
nancial advice.
2. The Second most common mis­
take people make with their money,
is using insurance policies as in­
vestm ent o r savings vehicles. An
insurance policy is designed
to specifically help reduce the
risk o f a loss. You should be
reminded that insurance
policies are designed to
protect survivors, not
as an investment stake
J
The fact is that you
^ 3 should be cautious of
Lr
those eager salespeo-
pie who claim they can
do everything you
need with one sim ­
ple insurance poli­
cy. Our experience has shown us that
many people can actually save mon­
ey by keeping their investments and
savings plans separate from their in­
surance plans.
While there are some plans that
may allow you to accomplish both
savings (cash accumulation) while
providing a stable death benefit’ to
your beneficiary, you must seek com­
petent advice as to what may be best
for you and your family.
I. The number one mistake most
people make with their money, is. (Is
K
it just me, or do you hear the drum
roll, also?) putting th eir money into
Hanks! That s right, depending upon
the amount and your goals, you may
be losing a great deal by putting your
money into banks.
The fact is that many people, put
money into banks (i.e. savings ac­
counts, money market accounts, etc.)
simply because that is what 'they 've
always done’. On the other hand,
many people don't know w hatelseto
do, their parents, and their parents
did it, so that is what they learned.
Think about this, ifyou have over
five thousand dollars in a savings
account you are presently receiving
about two to three percent interest,
on your money Inflation has for the
past several years averaged about
four percent (you are already behind
one or two percent), and then you
are taxed on any interest that you
receive on that same money (you
have just discovered the art of losing
money).
It does not take a mental giant to
discover that you can do much better
by investing your money in various
other investment vehicles, which are
just as safe as banks, and guarantee
you a minimum o f 8% or more, for
the same benefits (and often more)
than a bank offers.
W a itin g
Enrollment rose in eight o f the
c o lle g e ’s 13 d iv isio n s, led by
Maywood Park Center, up 34.6 per-
cent, and Engineering and Industrial
Technology, up 16 percent,
Other divisions showing an in-
crease are Developmental Educa-
tion, up 9.9 percent; The Center for
Community and Economic Devel-
opment, up 9.9 percent; Business
and Computer Technology, up 8.2
percent; Health and Physical Educa-
tion, up 6.4 percent; Mathematics,
up 2.5 percent; and Communication
Arts, up .7 percent.
N a t io n a l r e v ie w t e a m p r a is e s O r e g o n ’s a c a d e m ic s ta n d a r d s
f national education ex-
released a report to the
o f Education praising
demic standards devel-
:gon students.
v was requested by State
t. Norma Paulus. “Our
high academic standards are neces-
sary but alone are not sufficient for
school improvement. G etting the
standards implemented will be the
greatest challenge, Roeber said.
He warned the Board that the stan-
dards will be so high that a substan-
tial number o f students will not meet
them. He said state and local educa-
tors need to ask themselves how they
will respond when this happens.
The panel, which reviewed the
standards in June, included curricu-
lum and testing experts, representa-
Prices Effecth
tives o f other states and national or-
ganizations such as the Education
Commission o f the States, National
Governors’ Association and Nation-
al Conference o f State Legislatures,
The Board is expected to approve the
standards in September.
Rayne and Lacey ages 6 and 3 (above) are among the many
children in Oregon in need o f adoptive families. Single adults,
both male and female, as well as couples are welcome to
consider adoption. All fees waived. Contact The Special Needs
Adoption Coalition at The Boys and Girls Aid Society. (503) 222
9661.
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