The Wylie News (Wylie, Tex.), Vol. 52, No. 41, Ed. 1 Wednesday, March 10, 1999 Page: 9 of 18

                                
Wednesday March 10. 1999 THE WYLIE NEWS Section A Page 9
Opinion & Commentary
^ www.wytlMiews.eotn    puMisher@wylienrws.eoBi    THE \IVLJK SYMS
Local senior finds walking is just his speed
When Presley Donaldson trav
eled from his home in Irving to visit
his mother in New Mexico some 10
years ago. he had no idea the long-
term effect it would have on his life.
“1 ran into one of my school-
mates,” says Donaldson. 64, "who
told me he had started racewalking.
I had been jogging, but developed a
knee problem, so walking sounded
«
pretty good to me.”
Donaldson had been athletic his
tire life, having played football
id tennis for New Mexico State
back in the ‘50s.
l.ater, Donaldson joined the Air
Force where he spent 30 years as a
navigator. During that time, he lis-
tened to a young doctor from
Oklahoma who was getting famous
telling people the importance of
exercise.
Donaldson listened, began jog-
ging, and became one of the early
followers of Dr Kenneth Cooper.
But a with chronic knee pain
becoming a problem, he needed
another outlet for his health and to
satisfy his competitive side.
He stalk'd walking, and ncvct
looked back.
His first race was in 1990 at the
Texas Senior Masters 5K
Championships on the campus of the
University of Texas at Arlington
The result was far from spectacu-
lar. He was disqualified
"There are basically two rules in
racewalking," says Donaldson, “you
must land with the lead knee straight,
and one foot must remain in contact
with the ground at all times."
Donaldson lost contact with the
ground.
He then decided to get serious He
contacted racewalking specialist
Tracy Jo Wilson, who helped him
with training and technique. As his
technique and training improved, so
did his speed
The following year, he upped his
mileage to about 45 miles per week
in anticipation of his first national
championship race at the US Senior
Classic in Syracuse, New York He
won the 55-59 age group 1500 meter
tapp 120 yards short of a mile) with
a 7:12, and followed that two days
later with a 26:04 runner-up 5K
Both are still his fastest times.
Donaldson said he felt he had
something to prove.
“I was hungry for a win, and some
recognition” he says, “after all, I
was the new kid on the block. After
you get a few medals, you lend to
relax a bit.”
In addition to his impressive short-
er distance records, Donaldson is
also proud of the 202 20K he
clocked in Miyazaki. Japan at the
World WAVA Championships in
1993
Donaldson says that race was
like his Syracuse experience two
years earlier, when his training
wept well and he peaked at just the
nght time.
He credits Wilson's help for
much of his athletic success.
Donaldson says that a big mistake
many seniors make is not getting
proper coaching
“You must have someone to train
you unless you are an exceptional
person," he says. "The problem
with seniors is they don't want to
get someone to train them and they
get a bad knee.”
Donaldson is aware that to reach
the next level will lake more work,
and that may present a problem,
since he suffers from some hip pain
that started long before he started
racewalking His doctor can't find
anything wrong except a little
arthritis.
However, he still manages to
record approximately .30 miles per
week, and still calls on Wilson's
expertise "2-3 months before a big
race to have her correct all my bad
habits and get me back on the right
path again."
Harry Hull iv u IVFW bused free
lunce writer wul bead track/cmss-
countrx coach for the University of
Dallas
Copynithl O /wv b\ Horn Hull
Ml rifilus reserved
Even for good kids, rave
parties deemed unsafe
By John Cornyn,
Attorney General of Texas
Q: What’s a rave party? My kid
wants to go to one. She's a good
kid and hasn't ever been in trou-
ble. She says she knows the kids
that will be there and thut I worry
too much. Should I let her go?
A: Rave parlies have become
increasingly popular with high
school and college aged youth
around the country who may or
may not be involved in gangs.
Of main concern to law enforce-
ment are the parties organized by
groups of youth that call them-
selves “Party" or “Rave" Crews.
These crews have been known to
take on many of the characteristics
commonly associated with gangs
— a group name, hand signs, rivals
and competition which often leads
to criminal offenses.
These parties arc often held in
abandoned warehouses or buildings
without the owner’s knowledge.
Law enforcement agencies have
reported that some of these "party
crew" members are in fact known
gang members who are now claim-
ing that they are not in a gang but a
party crew. In other instances, crew
■fcibcrs claim that they are not a
W; when, m fact, their actions
meet the legal definition for “crim-
inal street gang '
These parties are dangerous lor a
number of reasons. Even if your
child has no intention of drinking or
doing drugs, there is the possibility
that she could be slipped a harmful
or deadly substance such as rohyp-
nol, the date-rape drug.
Because ot the drugs and alcohol
that lend to be available at these
parties and the likelihood that youth
attending may he armed, there is an
increased risk of violence. There
are accounts of people, often inno-
cent bystanders, being injured or
killed at these parties as a result of
gang-related violence.
Every child should have the
chance to go to parties with his or
her peers; however, before letting
your child go to any party, make
Amplification
& Correction
In the March 3 issue of The
Wylie News sophomore Nathaniel
Bohannon’s first name was omit-
ted from a photo outline. We apol-
ogize for the error and any incon-
venience this may have caused.
Check out the 6mith Public Library's
wr.b m
http7/www ci wylie.tx.us/library
sure (hat you know where it is and
be sure that there will be plenty of
responsible adult supervision. Even
for good kids, rave parties arc not
worth the risk.
Q: We are having problems with
kids dressing up like gang mem-
bers and hanging out. What can
we do before it gets out of hand?
A: Youth gangs are one of the
most serious and costly problems
we face today. Parents, schools, and
communities all must take action to
reduce the danger of gang crime
and help get their gang-involved
youth back on track. The crucial
first step is to acknowledge that a
gang problem exists. Once you rec-
ognize that there is a problem, you
can begin to fight it.
Another step is to learn about
gangs and their activities. Parent
must be aware that emulating gang
dress and attitude puts their chil-
dren at greater risk of harm.
Equally important is not to
assume that every young person
dressed like a gangster is actually in
a gang. Look for other identifiers
such as the use of hand signs, gang
tattoos, colors, graffiti and criminal
behavior.
The community should send a
message to gangs that they will not
be tolerated. Call neighborhood
meetings, involve parents, schools,
business and church leaders, neigh-
bors and the media. Work with law
enforcement officers to prevent the
spread of gang-related activity.
It is important to remember that
gangs are not strictly a law enforce-
ment problem. Communities must
work together to prevent youth
from joining gangs in (he first
place. Make sure there are opportu-
nities and alternatives available for
youth other than gangs.
The Juvenile Crime Intervention
Division of the Attorney General’s
Office offers training sessions for
communities on ways to recognize,
prevent and light gang activity.
If you would like our Juvenile
Crime Intervention staff to present
a gang awareness training session
to your community, please contact
our offices at 512-463-4014.
Card of thanks
I would like to say thank you for
returning my wallet to my house
with everything intact and nothing
missing. That was a very honest
gesture and it's nice to know that
we still have honest people in the
world today. Thank you very much
and may God bless you.
Week of March 10-16
•VVISI) School Hoard
7:30 pm, WISH
Adnumstratum bldg
•Murphy City Council
7:30 pm. City Hall
•Sachsc City Council
7:30 pm. City Hall
•Pacesetter Drill Team
1 Boosters
7:30pm. WHS. room 412
•Wylie 4H
7 pm, Community Center
•Fast Fork 4H
7 pm, Community Center
•Wylie Fconontic Dev.
Corp.
6 pm, ION Marble
•Wylie P & Z
6:30 pm, City Municipal
Complex
Each Week
■■•MIT -WHS
5 pm, SIS Heatherwnod
j *mit - w is
9 am, SIS Heatherwood
•Wylie 2000 Forum
7:30 am. WISH Ad. bldg
•TOPS
7 pm. Peddicord Community Ctr.
Uf •MIT - Hartman
” 8:30 am, 1380 Parker Rd.
TH *wy|ie Kolar' i iuh
7:30 am, First Baptist, Wylie
•MIT - Birmingham
9 am, 509 W. Oak
•MIT - Akin
10:15 am, 1002 Heatherw ood
|T •MITWJH
9 am, 401 Fleming 41201
Texas children to benefit from early
childhood development initiatives
By: Laura Bush
First Lady of Texas
Nothing you do for children is
ever wasted. They seem not to
notice us hovering, averting our
eyes, and they seldom offer thanks,
but w hat we do for them is never
wasted. —    Garrison Keillor
Wouldn't it be nice if babies
came with an instruction manual ’
When my husband and I were first
manied, we had a couple of theories
on raising children The next thing
we knew, we had a couple of chil-
dren to raise and no theories.
Fortunately scientists and
researchers have now verified that
many of our generations-old prac-
tices and instincts about raising
children are correct. And they have
made wonderful new discoveries
about how children develop Today
parents can access a wealth of new
information about early childhood
development and about the best
ways to help children build strong
foundations for successful lives
Scientific evidence confirms that
a child's experiences from day one
to grade one have a direct and pro-
found impact on his future — and
on our future in Texas Many valu-
able experiences begin at birth and
what happens in the womb and dur-
ing the infant and toddler years has
an impact on a child’s choices later.
As First Lady of Texas I want to
help bring the latest early childhood
development information to the
people of Texas; not only to moth-
ers, fathers and caregivers, but also
to educators, health care profession-
als. policy makers, foundations and
businesses I am thrilled to advocate
four early childhood development
initiatives that will help Texans
make the right choices for young
children
•    Ready to Read Initiative —
focuses on preschool-age children
The initiative will help establish
early childhood programs based on
a model head-start program in
Dallas This program is generously
supported by the Texas Instruments
Foundation, and it helps inner city,
four-year-old children prepare for
learning and reading in school.
Standardized test results show that a
majority of children who attended
the program are performing better
in school than those who did not,
and they are performing above the
national average of most children
their age Governor Bush has asked
the Legislature to appropriate $2
million over the next two years to
fund these projects.
•    Reach Out and Read — a pedi-
atric literacy program in which doc-
tors and nurses actually "prescribe"
reading to parents and their children
during well-child exams.
Volunteers read to children in the
waiting rooms, and after each visit,
young patients gel to take home a
free book Texas currently has more
than a dozen Reach Out and Read
programs throughout the stale, and
we are asking hospitals and clinics
to create pilot projects modeled
alter this successful program.
•    Take l ime for Kids — a Texas
Department of Health Initiative fea-
turing educational programs, public
service announcements and a par-
enting magazine. The public aware-
Assistance available for
first-time home buyers
By County Judge
Ron Harris
First time homebuyers have a
chance to obtain a home mortgage
with an interest rate of 6.7% and an
additional 3 percentage points of
closing cost and down payment
assistance.
There is $1.6 million worth of
bond money left for the program.
The mortgage availability for this
series, will end July 15, 1999
The Collin County Housing
Finance Corporation was estab-
lished through the Texas Housing
Finance Corporation and the mem-
bers of the Commissioners Court
serve as the board of directors of the
not-lbr-profil corporation.
Eligibility guidelines arc:
■    Available for first time home
buyers (a first time homehuycris
deli’ cd for this program as some-
one who has not owned a home in
the past three years.)
■    The home must lie purchased
in Collin County.
■    Good credit.
■    Use Fannie Mae, VA and
F'HA-insurcd mortgage loans.
■    Income guidelines
Families of two or less maximum
income of $54,400 and families of
three or more a maximum income
of $62,560.
■    Maximum purchase price
guidelines for new homes are
$122,684 and existing homes is
$114,416. Participating lenders at
this time are Mellon Mortgage.
Dallas; AccuBanc Mortgage
Corporation, Plano; Sunbelt
National Mortgage, Dallas; and,
Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.,
Plano.
The Collin County Housing
Finance Corporation has been a
conduit to assist first time home-
buyers with getting into an afford-
able home. The current program
can still help many homebuyers if
they act quickly and prior to the
July 15, 1999, expiration of this
specific issue of funds.
Please contact your realtor,
builder or any of the participating
mortgage companies for additional
information on this opportunity for
first time homebuyers.
ness campaign is designed to give
parents helpful information on top-
ics such as immunizations, hearing
exams, nurturing and reading with
children Governor Bush has
included $2.2 million dollars in his
proposed budget for the Take Time
For Kids parenting magazine
• Family literary — Texas com-
munities are encouraged to estab-
lish family literacy programs
through local collaborations.
Grants will continue to he available
from the First Lady’s Family
Literacy Initiative for Texas, which
has already granted approximately
$600.(XM) to 30 Texas family litera-
cy projects. These programs will
have access to a new Family
Literacy Resource Center at the
University of Texas' Center for
Reading and Language Arts The
center will provide technical assis-
tance and information on research-
based practices, assessment and
accountability for any family litera- -
cy programs seeking guidance
All of us have the tremendous
responsibility to call attention to
the science and seriousness of early
childhood development. Major
threats to children today are not a
matter of chance but are a matter of
choice — choices that Texans make
for infants and children, and choic-
es that children, in turn, make later
in life. Working together, we can
shape the destiny of Texas children
with our own hands and hearts.
If you would like to volunteer to
read in your < (immunity, call the
National Institute for Literacy at
1.800.228.8813.
Card of thanks
“MY GRATITUDE”
By Ollie Killon
In this world we 're living in
it's often hard to find
young people w ho are thoughtful
so loving and so kind.
When special days come around
you 're sure to hear someone say,
"Here comes Myra with her gifts
she s always thoughtful that way:”
Not a birthday does she miss,
she always sends us cards.
And, with this large family
it has to be very hard.
She always has a pleasant smile
and time to lend a hand.
Why anyone wouldn't love her
I would never understand.
She's very small in frame and
her stature not tall.
Hilt, she has a big heart of love
for Mom, Sisters, Aunts and All.
I had this poem written
to thank you for all you do.
And, to just let you know
that I’m really proud of you.
Sincerely,
Joey Martin
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Donnita Nesbit Fisher
Managing Editor
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