Today Cedar Hill (Duncanville, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 10, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 1, 2000 Page: 4 of 22
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4
Thursday, June 1,2000
’"•TapUB
Publisher
Robin Gooch
Managing Editor
Greg Cash man
Advertising Director
Kathy Ramsey
Business Manager
Jon Whitcomb
Circulation Coordinator
Kirk Dickey
News Editor
Kim Thompson
People Editor
Gigi McQueen
Staff Writers
Brian Porter
Sports editor
Lisa Bradley
Retail ad sales
Troy Peoples
Distribution Coordinator
Today Cedar Hill(USPS 096640, ISSN
0704-0428) is published every Thursday by
Today Newspapers located at 716-B N.
Main St, Duncanville, Texas, 75138-1029.
Seoond class postage paid at Duncanville,
Texas, 751381029
Postmaster: Send address changes to
the Today Cedar HW, P.O. Box 381029,
Duncanville, Texas 751381029.
DEADLINES
CLASSIFIEDS:
Display classified ads - 3 p.m. Tuesday. Line
ads - 5 pm Tuesday.
RETAIL ADVERTISING:
5 p.m. Monday. Advertising rates may be
secured upon request People - 5 p.m. Friday
EDITORIAL:
School news - 5 p.m. Friday
General news - 5 p.m. Monday
Deadlines are subject to change due to holi-
days, but will be published in advance.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Subscription rates are $23.50 per year in
Dallas County, $32.50 per year elsewhere in
Texas.
All subscriptions payable in advance and
non-refundable The publisher reserves the
right to change advertising and subscription
rates at any time.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Today Cedar Hilt is an independent news-
paper published weekly in the interest of
DeSoto. Any erroneous reflection upon the
integrity or reputation of any individual will be
corrected if brought to the attention of the
news editor Website address: todaynews -
net. E-mail address: todayOusac.net.
Digests run on a space available basis.
LETTER POLICY
Opinion Today is an open forum for afl view-
points. Letters to the editor and guest
columns are encouraged. Deadline is 5 p.m.
Monday in person at 1701 N. Hampton in
DeSoto. by maU to P.O. Box 381029,
Duncanville, TX 75138 or by fax to 972-298
6369. Letters must be signed, with a home
address and daytime telephone number for
verification purposes only. The content of all
letters wM be preserved within guidelines of
clarity, style, taste, etc. Letters should be of
interest to local readers and should be limit-
ed to 300 words. Call 972-296-4211 for fur-
ther information.
What if it
doesn’t work?
JOHN
When you
make a major
purchase, the
manufacturer
or seller almost
always makes
an important
promise to
stand behind
the product.
It’s called a
POLEWSKI r™,'5;
Federal law
JSISSUKT
Special to Today requiresthat
warranties be available for you to
read before you buy. Coverage
varies, so you can compare the extent
of warranty coverage just as you
compare the style, price and other
characteristics of products. The
promises that are in writing or are
made orally are called “express” war-
ranties.
Written Warranties
Although not required by law,
written warranties come with most
major purchases. Most companies
that put their warranty in writing pro-
vide a “limited warranty.” As you
might guess from the name, a limited
warranty promises that the seller or
manufacturer will provide some -
but not unlimited - rights. The sell-
er’s obligations to correct problems
will usually be limited to what it
promises in this warranty, so it is
important to know exactly what the
warranty says.
When comparing written war-
ranties, keep the following in mind:
• How long does the warranty
last? Check the warranty to see when
it begins and when it expires, as well
as any conditions that may void cov-
erage.
• Who do you contact to get war-
ranty service? It may be the seller or
the manufacturer who provides you
with service.
• What will the company do if the
product fails? Read to see whether
the company will repair the item,
replace it or refund your money.
• What parts and repair problems
are covered? Check to see if any
parts of the product or types of repair
problems are excluded from cover-
age. For example, some warranties
require you*> pa* fotlabor«h«ages.
Also, look for conditions that c#uld
prove expensive or inconvenient,
such as a requirement that you ship a
heavy object to a factory for service,
or that you return the item in the
original carton.
• Does the warranty cover “conse-
quential damages?” Many warranties
do not cover damages caused by the
product, or your time and expense in
getting the damage repaired.
Depending on the damage that could
potentially be caused by the failure of
the product, this may be either a
major or a minor point.
For example, if your freezer
breaks and the food spoils, the fact
that the seller is not liable for the
“consequential loss” of the spoiled
food is not a major problem. On the
other hand, if (like happened to one
of my former clients) a fire sprinkler
system fails and accidentally drench-
es millions of dollars worth of com-
puter chips, the consequential loss is
massive. In the fire sprinkler system
case, the defendant used the dis-
claimer of “consequential loss” cov-
erage in its warranty to argue that it
owed my client only the $25 neces-
sary to replace the faulty sprinkler
valve rather than the $4 Million loss.
• Are there any conditions or limi-
tations on the warranty? Some war-
ranties provide coverage only if you
maintain or use the product as direct-
ed. For example, a warranty may
cover only personal uses-as opposed
to business uses-of the product.
Make sure the warranty will meet
your needs.
•••
Spoken Warranties
If a salesperson makes a promise
orally, such as that the company will
provide free repairs, get it in writing.
Otherwise, you may not be able to
get the service that was promised.
Some written warranties or sales con-
tracts will state that no oral promises
were given or relied on in making the
purchase, and that the written war-
ranties (which may be much differ-
ent) are the only warranties that
apply.
Implied Warranties
There is also a kind of warranty
called an “implied” warranty, which
exists whether the seller of goods or
services tells you about them or not.
These “implied” warranties will be
the sMfeieqt of neg&;weelc‘& column. „
John Polewski is a trial lawyer
based in DeSoto.
Fighting in sports
should be accepted
By MATT DALRYMPLE
Today Staff
Shame on all the suit wearing,
rule making, suspension giving, fine
imposing officials out there that want
to rob professional sports of its most
essential element - testosterone.
Testosterone has to do with
aggressiveness, anger and a competi-
tive spirit. Everything that makes an
exciting sports event.
The hormone is present mostly in
males but is in females as well, but if
the “man” has his way then it will be
snuffed out of sports, thereby damag-
ing the games beyond recognition.
Major League Baseball wants to
impose rules that would levy heavier
penalties on those who want to fight.
An amusing side note to that is the
rule was handed down by
Commissioner of Discipline, a man
that’s hit more opposing players than
Mark McGuire hits home runs.
Let’s face facts, baseball is not the
most exciting game. Too often it
moves at a slower pace than the
Donnor Party. In a game that doesn’t
involve the constant bumping and
hitting like other contact sports, a
fight now and then isn’t a terrible
thing. Not to mention it gets the aver-
age fan to wake up.
Trying to eliminate fights in
www.barryscartoons.com
Know how your money grows
By DARREL FENTON
Special to Today
If you have a Roth IRA, a tradi-
tional IRA, an employer sponsored
retirement plan or some other tax-
deferred retirement vehicle, the
chances are pretty good that you’re
funding your plan either partially or
entirely with mutual funds. Mutual
funds are good choices because they
offer diversification and professional
management. But if your retirement
account is made up solely of mutual
funds, then you may be missing out
on another good funding vehicle -
individual stocks.
You may already be buying
stocks for your everyday investment
account. How do you know which of
these stocks might be good candi-
dates for your retirement plan?
• but
vK,
stocks in your retirement account, the
dividends will be allowed to com-
pound on a tax-deferred basis.
Furthermore, stocks that pay high-
er dividends tend to be well estab-
lished companies with proven track
records and solid long-term growth
potential. Clearly, these are the traits
you want in the investments that
make up your retirement account.
Conversely, you may want to
keep small-capitalization and aggres-
sive growth stocks in your regular
account. Many of these stocks pay
little or no dividends, so you won’t
pay taxes on your shares until you
sell them. Even then, you’ll just be
paying capital gains taxes, which are
currently capped at 20 percent - only
about half the top income tax rate.
There’s another reason you might
want to keep the small capitalization
and aggressive growth stocks out of
your retirement account: volatility.
In general you may want to but
those stocks that pay higher div
dends in your retirement account. If N^These types of stocks are often sus-
you kept these stocks in your regular ceptible to large price swings caused
trading accounts the dividends would
incur taxes at your regular income
tax rate, which could be a$,high as
39.6 percent. But if you put these
by market downturns. Over the long
term, these periods of volatility do
tsryj.tp, fWPthxivL ljut wfaq yqy’re
close to retirement, y6u ddn’f want to
take the chances of hitting a “down”
cycle.
On the other hand, you don’t want
all the stocks in your retirement
account to look exactly alike.
Diversification is just as important in
a retirement account as anywhere
else, so you’ll want to spread your
dollars among stocks in a variety of
different industries.
No matter how you choose to
invest your dollars once they are in
your retirement account - in stocks,
mutual funds or a combination of the
two - try to put away as much as you
can afford, or as much as is allowed
in your particular plan.
Remember that your contributions
are all tax-deferred which means that
your money will grow much faster
than if it were placed in similar-
yielding investments in a taxable
account.
And when it comes to saying for
retirement, the faster your money
grows, the better.
Darrel Fenton is an investment
representative with Edwa^Jpftes in
Cedar Hill
Skin cancer a serious summer problem
sports is like trying to force
monogamy on Bill Clinton. No mat-
ter how much things look like they’re
going to change, they haven’t.
Athletes will always fight and
President Clinton will always cheat.
The trend in sports is to try and
eliminate all violence. It doesn’t take
a great sports mind to see that the
rules will continue on this trend
towards more friendly family view-
ing sports events.
Sooner or later a rule will be
made that prohibits hockey players
from fighting... as much.
What if testosterone was taken out
of football? It would just be a game
where a bunch of sissies threw
around an awkwardly-shaped ball.
I fear the day that testosterone is
taken out of basketball. The sports
world would see a relapse of the
hook shot and the shorts so short
they put the Dallas Cowboys
Cheerleaders’ to shame.
Sports, by nature, are riddled with
testosterone and asking participants
not to feel violent is like asking the
cast of “Baywatch” to actually act.
When the testosterone begins to
flow, scraps are bound to take place.
It’s part of the game. Sports are more
popular now then ever before, why
try and change a good thing?
Skin is the largest organ in
human’s body and plays a valuable
role in survival It not only covers the
internal organs and protects them
from injury and bacteria, our skin
regulates our body temperature and
helps rid our body of excess water
and salts. It also provides for pain,
temperature and touch sensation - all
three of which are clearly present
after we experience sunburn.
As the summer months draw near,
the American Cancer Society is
encouraging people to remember the
importance of their skin and to pro-
tect it from the sun’s damaging rays.
“Most of the 1.3 million cases of
skin cancer diagnosed yearly in the
U.S. are considered to be sun-related.
Those most at risk for skin cancer are
people with light skin, fair hair, light
color eyes and those who bum easily.
However, darker-skinned people can
also develop skin cancer, including
malignant melanoma, the deadliest
form,” says Dr. Ramsdell, MD,
spokesperson for the American
Cancer Society Texas. To reduce the
risk for skin cancer, the American
Cancer Society recommends avoid-
ing midday sun between 10 a.m. to 4
p.m. when the sun is at its strongest.
When outside, protect your skin by
wearing protective clothing, includ-
ing a hat and using a broad-spectrum
sunscreen with a skin protective fac-
tor (SPF) of 15 or higher that will
block both UVA and UVB type rays.
For more information on UV
exposure, skin cancer and ways to
protect yourself and your family,
visit the American Cancer Society’s
web site at www.cancer.org. Select
skin cancer from the “Types of
Cancer” drop down menu and then
go to skin cancer prevention.
There people can take the Sun
Quiz. From explanations of the UV
index to why tanning booths are not
safe, the website provides detailed
answers to questions about skin can-
For those without Internet access,
the American Cancer Society is
available 24 hours a day and 7 days a
week through their toll-free informa-
tion hotline at 1-800-ACS-2345.
Cancer information specialists are
trained to provide the latest informa-
tion related to skin cancer as well as
all forms of cancer.
FACTS ABOUT SKIN
CANCER
Skin cancer is the most common
of all cancers. One out of every five
people in the US will develop skin
cancer during their lifetime.
Because we live in a southern
state where the sun is stronger, the
number of skin cancers diagnosed is
higher than in most other states.
This year an estimated 3,400
Texans will be diagnosed with the
most deadly form of skin cancer -
malignant melanoma.
Exposure to UV radiation
through sunlight or tanning booths
increases the risk of all skin cancers.
Besides skin cancer, the sun’s
UV radiation also increases the risk
of cataracts and certain other eye
problems, and can suppress the
immune system.
People with a lot of moles or
who have moles that are large have
an increased risk of malignant
melanoma. Risk of malignant
melanoma is greater if there is a
family history (mother, father,
brother, sister, child) of the disease.
People that have been treated
with medicines that suppress the
immune system may also have an
increased risk of melanoma.
Exposure to certain chemicals,
such as arsenic and coal tars, or to
high dose x-ray treatments have
been associated with skin cancers.
Sunscreen is necessary even on
cloudy days when 70-80% of the
harmftil rays can go through cloud
cover.
The sun’s rays can bum in up to
3 feet of water and can reflect off
sand, water, concrete and similar
surfaces.
Certain medications can make
your skin more sensitive to sun
damage.
Both basal and squamous cell
cancers are typically found on
exposed parts of the body such as
the face, neck, forearms and scalp.
Malignant melanoma, the most
deadly form of skin cancer, may be
found on skin that is always cov-
ered.
Ask the AG: International fugitive list available for all
By JOHN CORNYN
Special to Today
Q: I saw an article in the paper
about a Web page that lists wanted
criminals who have fled to Mexico.
Can you tell me more?
A: The Office of the Attorney
General works closely with law
enforcement agencies throughout
Texas to facilitate the apprehension
and prosecution of foreign nationals
who commit crimes in Texas and flee
to Mexico. We also maintain a close
working relationship with Mexican
law enforcement officials m these
cases.
Article 4 of the Mexican Penal
Code allows Mexican nationals to be
tried in their homeland for crimes ,
committed abroad. Under Article 4,
Texas prosecutors, with the help of
the Office of the Attorney General,
present a case to Mexican authorities
who then apprehend, try and sen-
tence the alleged criminal. Mexican
criminal trials are conducted without
juries, and parole and early release
are not options. Article 4 prosecu-
tions ensure that criminals cannot
commit crimes in the United States
and then flee to Mexico to escape
punishment.
Using the Web
To assist prosecutors and law
enforcement officials in Mexico and
Texas and to inform the public about
Mexican nationals who may have
committed crimes and fled the coun-
try the Office of the Attorney
General has created an International
Fugitives Web page. It is accessible
through the “Criminal Justice” sec-
tion of the agency’s Web site at
www.oag.state.tx.us. This page can
assist Texas law enforcement offi-
cials as they work with Mexican
authorities to find, arrest and prose-
cute suspects in Mexico. In addition,
the general public can help in our
search for these fugitives.
The page provides pictures of
each of the fugitives and information
on the crimes for which they are
wanted. Each suspect’s possible loca-
tion is provided as well.
Many of the fugitives are thought
to travel between Mexico and the
United States on a regular basis.
The Web page is getting a lot of
publicity in Mexican newspapers
throughout the country, increasing
the chances that the fugitives will be
caught and brought to justice. People
with information on these suspects or
their whereabouts can now report it
to this office by sending an e-mail to
ftigitives@oag.state.tx.us or by call-
ing the International Prosecutions
Unit at (800) 252-8011, Residents of.
Mexico can report information to the
Office of the Attorney General of
Mexico by calling 01-800-70690.
Working Together
If laws are going to be enforced
along our borders, law enforcement
officials in Texas and Mexico must
work together. The International
Fugitives Page and Article 4 prosecu-
tions are helping both countries make
sure that violent criminals receive the
justice they deserve, regardless of
homeland. By working together, we
can help to ensure the safety and well
being of our citizens.
John Comyn is the Attorney
...General qf Texas.
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Gooch, Robin. Today Cedar Hill (Duncanville, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 10, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 1, 2000, newspaper, June 1, 2000; Duncanville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth623646/m1/4/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Zula B. Wylie Memorial Library.