Lancaster farming. (Lancaster, Pa., etc.) 1955-current, May 23, 1998, Image 54

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    818-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, May 23, 1998
o—B
A meeting of the Elm-Penryn
4-H Community Club was held
at Pleasant View Retirement
Community on April 20, with six
members, two leaders and sever
al parents present.
A discussion of old business
included a reminder of the coun
ty 4-H fair book cover contest. In
other old business, the club ser
vice project was held on
Saturday, April 4 at the Penn-
Elm Lions Club Park in Elm.
Despite the very cold, windy
weather, five members, three
leaders, parents and other fami
ly members worked with Lions
Club members to scrape dried
dead worms and old gum off the
pavilion floor, dig turf around
many trees, and pull weeds in
order to shovel, scoop, and
spread mulch around the trees,
playground, and pavilion in the
park. When the service work
had ended, the club was treated
to hot cocoa, fresh fruit, and
homemade cupcakes which had
been prepared by the parents of
several 4-H members.
Additionally, another 10
Cofnmunity Club members had
worked at a prior meeting to
design and make posters to be
us«d in club displays (also a part
of community awareness)
Club members present at the
April club meeting voted to hold
an ice cream social at Pleasant
View Retirement Community for
the 4-H round-up event. 4-H
members will be working at the
May club meeting to put togeth
er multimedia presentations
and demonstrations about the
many projects the club offered
during this club year Members
plan to invite their family,
friends, the residents of
Pleasant View, and the public to
this event
Following the demonstra
tions, 4-H members, family and
friends plan to enjoy a “make
your own sundae” ice jream
social A vote will be taken at the
next meeting as to the datc/time
of this event Members who
would like to do a demonstration
and/or who want to help plan
the 1998 Elm-Penryn 4-H
Community Club Round up/Ice
Cream Social need to be present
at the May 18 meeting.
In new business, a vote was
taken to choose the next
Community Club service pro
ject. After several ideas and
some discussion, members chose
to give their service to Pleasant
View Retirement Community.
Several types of service were
offered, including transporting
residents to events within the
complex, to help where there
was a need, helping residents
with crafts, volunteering at the
Pleasant View Auxiliary
Chicken Barbecue, or to provide
a week of voluntary service.
Cindy Stahl will be contacting
Pleasant View about these possi
bilities and dates in which they
may be available to the
Community Club members.
In other new business it was
announced that the last sched
uled meeting of the Elm-Penryn
4-H Community Club before the
club round up will be held on
Monday, June 15, at 6:30 p.m. at
Pleasant View Retirement
Community. If you are a current
member of the Elm-Penryn 4-H
Community Club, the parents of
one of our members, a kid age 7
to 17 or their parents, mark
your calendars now! The June
15 meeting will be a planning
meeting for next year’s projects
and club meetings and where
the club meetings should be
held. Projects for the 1998/99
club year are already being dis
cussed.
Jason Landis gave
stration on his rocketry project
from last year. He brought his
project book and some of the
materials need to complete this
project. He also told us about the
ill-fated launch of one of his
rockets.
The meeting was adjourned
to work on the county 4-H fair
book cover contest entries. Jason
Landis provided refreshments.
Stop by the June 15 club
meeting or contact Cindy Stahl,
Elm-Penryn 4-H Community
Club organizational leader, at
(717) 664-2055 before June.
Four Teens
Represent Delaware
At National 4-H Conference
The theme of the 1998
National 4-H Conference was
"network for action" and that's
exactly what the four Delaware
delegates did during this annu
al, mid-spring conference in
Chevy Chase, Md.
"This was not a workshop or
seminar, but a working confer
ence," noted state 4-H program
coordinator Joy Sparks. "Our
delegates, representing the
interests and concerns of all
Delaware 4-H'ers, were part of
teams formed to plan and imple
ment change. These consulting
groups were charged with brain
storming ideas for new pro
grams and ways to improve
existing ones, with the focus on
bringing action back to the
state "
Delaware delegates include
Eddie Russell of Dover, Jamal
Elliott of Wilmington, Jess
Tatman of Felton, and Dawn
Cannon of Greenwood. Russell
and Elliott joined a school-to
work consulting group on how to
better prepare 4-H'ers and all
youths for the workforce.
Tatman participated in a media
action team to learn the most
effective ways to get the word
out about 4-H programs and ser
vices. Cannon was Delaware's
representative to National
Youth Directions Council, link
ing the conference back to
states, assisting with network
ing and encouraging action at
the county and state level.
"At the conference, our teen
networked with more than 300
other delegates from every state
and Puerto Rico," said Lisa
Toccafondi, a New Castle
County 4-H program associate
who chaperoned the youths.
"The picked up great ideas from
each other and returned home
with such enthusiasm."
And the networking contin
ues today, via electronic net-
works.
Tips For Getting Kids To
Help With Housework
OAKLAND PARK, KS. - Tom
Schrader, founder of
Cottage Care, Inc., a nationwide
residential cleaning service,
thinks he's seen enough in his
20 years in the business to offer
some tips about getting kids to
help with housework. The
Overland Park, Kansas-based
company is a national franchise
operating in 21 states and
Canada.
"We've spoken so often to our
customers about what works for
them," says Schrader. "And over
the years, we've picked up some
tips from them about how they
finally got the kids to help at
home. Now, we'll often come in
and give a homeowner a great
cleaning job, then let them know
what we've learned from other
customers about keeping the
place nice until the next visit."
Here are some of those tips:
1) Mats Matter:
You'd be amazed how
much dirt a sturdy nylon mat
will catch. Put one at each door
way. They are reasonably priced
and can be found at any of the
major discount superstores in
the housewares department.
Spend a little extra on a larger
one to cover the area where kids
enter the most. Teach them
immediately that the first step
in the house after school is
where the dirt comes off...with
their shoes.
2) Delegating Will Hurt
You More Than It Hurts
Them:
One of the main reasons
Mom doesn't get enough help
around the house, is because she
wants things done her way. But,
kids really like to help, and it's
good for their self-esteem.
Assign chores around age group.
Let each child know that two or
three jobs around the house
belong to them. Things may not
be done perfectly, but everybody
Getting Started With Mutual Funds
HONESDALE (Wayne Co.)
Is one of your financial goals for
1998 to begin an investment pro
gram? No matter what you want to
invest money for, it is important to
educate yourself about investing.
One of the most popular types of
investments in recent years has
been mutual funds.
Debra Bryant, certified finan
cial planner, with Penn State Co
operative Extension will be teach
ing “Mutual Funds, The Basics &
Beyhond” on consecutive Tues
days, March 24 and 31. This
workshop is for people who are in
terested in getting started in mutu
al funds as well as people wanting
to know more about making
money with mutual funds. It will
be held at the Wayne County
Courthouse from 7 to 9 pan. each
of these evenings. Pre-registration
is required and the cost will be $5
per session.
Many people who are just get
ting started with investing have a
small amount of money to invest
and important goals they want to
achieve. According to the Mutual
Fund Investors Center people like
mutual funds because they make it
easy and less costly for them to
satisfy their need for capital
growth, income and/or income
preservation. A mutual fund also
allows small investors to have di
versified investments and benefit
from professional money manage
ment
A mutual fund is a company
that pools die money of many in-
wins.
3) Ages 8-12:
These kids are ready for
some real chores, the last per
son in the shower in the morn
ing (or in the bath in the
evening) should be handed a
spray-on bath cleaner. Steam
helps loosen dirt, so once they're
finished, show them how to
spray tile in the shower. After
they've brushed their teeth, they
can quickly go over the tile with
a sponge kept under the sink.
4) Ages 3-8:
Even at this tender age,
it's not too early to develop rou
tine and habits that could last a
life time. When a child is
through playing in a certain
area, part of his/her routine
should be to put his/her toys
away. Make a game out of it. If
Dad is handy, have him build
some benches for the "rec" room
that open to hold toys.
Otherwise, large rubber bins are
available at discount super
stores in a variety of colors and
models. Label them with stick
ers that are lively and that can
show a child what goes where.
5) Does Clutter Make You
Shudder?
Clutter is inevitable when
kids are school age. They come
home with some of the most
amazing items. Rather than
have feelings hurt by tossing out
their precious schoolwork, go to
your same discount superstore
and buy under the bed storage
boxes. Let the kids decide what
schoolwork they'd like to save -
special projects they are proud
of - and have them save them in
these boxes.
6) My Child, The Artist:
When kids bring home art
work, display the really good
pieces on the refrigerator with
colorful magnets. Decide what
the lifespan will be for each pic
ture - then if it should be saved
in a box or not. When the little
vestors its shareholders to
invest in a variety of different se
curities. Investments may be in
stocks, bonds, money market se
curities or some combination of
these. The investments are profes
sionally managed by a miltual
fund manager or team of man
agers. Each investor holds a pro
rata share of the total portfolio en
titled to any profits, but also sub
ject to any losses in the portfolio,
as well
Mutual funds are not federally
insured and your investment is not
guaranteed like it is with bank
CDs and passbook savings. You
can lose money on these invest
ments. Whether you lose or make
money on mutual fund invest
ments is dependent on die type of
securities the mutual fund invests
in, the movement of the financial
markets, and the skill of the mu
tual fund manager. Despite the un
certainty in mutual fund investing,
they are considered good invest
ments for die beginning investor
who wants to begin investing in
the stock market
For the individual investor, mu
tual funds provide the benefit of
having someone else manage your
investments, take care of record
keeping for your account, and di
versify your dollars over many
different securities. Many funds
have minimum investment
amounts that are low enough for
most people to be able to afford
them.
To reduce your risk, it is im-
darlings use your walls for a
canvas, use concentrated dish
soap.
7) Make Family Time
Chore Time:
Designate a time each
week where the family can sit
together in the kitchen or den
and visit about what's happen
ing at school, work, etc. Each
person can be handling a task
during the discussion such as
polishing silver, folding laundry
or organizing a drawer.
8) Don't Get Shocked:
A portable hairdryer really
comes in handy for quick dust
jobs like cobwebs. Tfeach the
older kids these shortcuts, but
remember to also teach them
about safety with electric
devices. This is a good time for
them to learn these facts.
9) Hello Mr. Dustbuster:
Another great appliance
that older kids can handle. With
kids comes crumbs. Let them
know right away that you do not
want to find any evidence of
their snacks around when you
come home from work. Have
large garbage cans lined with
bags accessible in the kitchen.
Leave an extra bag at the bot
tom so they can quickly replace
it when garbage is full.
10)But
Nothing:
Let the kids know that
their areas, bedrooms and bath
rooms are their responsibility.
Buy each one their own set of
Mom
cleaning tools, and let them
know they are to use them
before any play time after
school. Go to an office supply
store and purchase desk trays
and pencil holders to reduce
clutter in their rooms. They
trays can be marked "homework
to be done" and "completed
homework" to avoid morning
panic over lost papers.
portant to diversify your invest
ments (don’t put all your money in
one basket, but rather in several
baskets). Mutual funds offer this
diversity their assets are in
vested in many different types of
securities.
Five Key Principles For
Mutual Fund Investors
The Mutual Fund Investors
Center offers these five principles
to help you become a successful
mutual find investor
• Don’t pay for advice you
don't need. Through direct-mar
keted mutual funds, millions of
people have found that they don’t
have to pay for advice they don’t
need. By learning how to manage
their own investments, they have
the opportunity to reap all the
benefits that mutual funds pro
vide, including investment per
formance. wide selection of in
vestments, superior customer ser
vice and die flexibility they need
to reach their goals.
• Learn the basics before you
begin. If you want to build an
investment portfolio to achieve
your goals throughout your life
time, you’ll need to leant the bas
ics.
You should also want to refer to
financial magazines or newspa
pers that feature articles on mutual
funds or publish annual rankings
of mutual fund performance. Con
tact the mutual fund companies to
learn about their funds and ser
vices. All of them provide excel
(Turn to Pag* B 19)
But