Today Cedar Hill (Duncanville, Tex.), Vol. 40, No. 52, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 6, 2006 Page: 4 of 20
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*- . V
Page 4 • Cedar Hill Today • Thursday, April 6, 2006
L
A
‘Cheerleader Nation’ a little too real for me
LOYD
BRUMFIELD
NEWS EDITOR
I’ve got nothing against cheerleading.
Really, 1 don’t. They work extremely hard
perfecting their craft for long hours for
weeks — even months — on end. Their
highs are very rewarding and their lows
often involve serious injuries from crashes
and falls.
They work every bit as hard as the
most gifted athletes.
So, please, no hate mail. 1 have great
admiration and respect for cheerleaders.
But we, as a nation, have gone too far.
I’m ashamed to admit this, but I recent-
ly got caught up in a reality television
show called “Cheerleader Nation,” that
airs on the Lindsay Wagner Channel —
otherwise known as Lifetime.
It’s actual reality — not fake reality
that encourages people to stab their fellow
contestants in the back as in “Survivor”
and others, but it’s a little too much infor-
mation.
It’s one thing for consenting adults to
air their dirty laundry for the entire nation
to see, but it’s not healthy for teenagers to
do the same. On this show, we see the
results up close and personal as teens be-
rate their parents and their fellow team-
mates either to their faces or behind their
backs for the cameras.
“Cheerleader Nation” revolves around
the varsity cheerleaders at Dunbar High
School, apparently in a wealthy suburb of
Lexington, Ky. Kentucky is known for its
cheerleaders — the University of Ken-
tucky routinely wins national champi-
onships — and Dunbar is among the best
of the best.
The Bulldogs are in the hunt for nation-
al titles every year.
Anyway, we meet many members of
the squad, their parents and their coaches.
There’s sisters Megan and Alexa, Ayrica,
Ryan (the daughter of Donna, the team’s
coach), Kaitlyn, Ashley and Chelsea,
among others.
All of these girls come from wealthy
families and live in big, brick, two-story
houses.
Most are white, but Ayrica and at least
one other girl are black.
We see them deal with not just the
pressures of cheerleading, but dating, col-
lege fears and parental expectations, as
well.
See NATION Page 5
\>
On the road, finding myself
STEVE
SNYDER
Today Staff
Know what to expect
from your investments
DARRYL
FENTON
Financial Focus
If your investment port-
folio is even moderately
diversified, you probably
own both stocks and bonds.
And that’s a good idea,
because diversification is
essential to your success as
an investor.
But you also should
know what to expect from
different types of invest-
ments - because the more
you know, the more likely
you are to make the right
moves.
Unfortunately, some people’s expectations
get distorted, due to what may be happening
with their investments.
For example, a couple of years back, many
investors saw the value of their bonds rise
sharply; causing some to look at these invest-
ment as “growth” vehicles. But is that an accu-
rate assessment?
Probably not - although some recent statis-
tics are quite interesting. From December 1999
through February 2003, long-term government
bonds rose about 13 percent, while the S & P
500 - one of the most well-known stock market
indices - fell by about the same amount.
This is the second greatest period ever of
superior bond returns relative to stocks - and
one of the few in the past 80 years, a time in
which stocks have consistently outperformed all
other investments.
And so, while you can’t base all your invest-
ment decisions on what has gone before, it’s
generally a good idea not to plan on selling your
bonds before they mature and make a profit.
Instead, plan for what bonds do provide: current
income in the form of monthly or quarterly
interest checks.
As long as you own your bond, you will
always receive the same amount in interest
(assuming the issuer doesn’t default), no matter
how much the bond’s current value fluctuates.
Many stocks also provide current income, in
the form of dividends. But if you're like a lot of
people, you buy stocks for their growth poten-
tial. In other words, when you buy stocks, you
anticipate the price going up, so that when it’s
time to sell, you can make a profit.
And, although past performance is not an
indication of future results, over the long term,
stock prices historically have risen. In fact, from
1926 through 2005, large-company stocks pro-
vided an average annual return of more than 10
percent, while small-company stocks returned,
on average, more than 12 percent, according to
Ibbotson Associates, an investment research
firm.
In the short term, stocks go down as well as
up, so you shouldn’t be shocked at losing prin-
cipal over a single year, or perhaps a couple of
years in a row.
But if you buy an array of high-quality
stocks and you hold them for the long term - at
least five to 10 years - you increase your
chances to achieve some growth.
Ultimately, by knowing what to expect from
your stocks, bonds and any other securities you
may own, you can draw up a long-term invest-
ment strategy appropriate for your individual
needs, goals, risk tolerance and time horizon.
You may want to work with a financial profes-
sional to determine why you own what you do,
what you might anticipate from your holdings
and what changes you may need to make.
Nobody can predict the future. But you can
plan for it - by having a clear set of expecta-
tions, based on a thorough knowledge of your
investments.
Darryl Fenton is an investment representative
with Edward Jones based in Cedar Hill.
There’s
a good
mid-20th
century
saying,
whatever
the source,
that says,
“Wherever
you go,
there you
are.”
That
certainly
applies to
vacations. And so does,
“When life gives you lemons,
make lemonade.”
I had another chance to find
both out during my recent
spring vacatiop.
The first saying applies to
moods we bring with our-
selves, among other things. For
ihstance, a certain national
park might be 80 degrees and
sunny, but if I’m in the wrong
mood, I might not enjoy hiking
or picture-taking opportunities
that day. At the least, I might
not be prepared to do so at the
start of the day.
The second saying applies
to weather on vacations, espe-
cially nature-oriented ones.
Unfortunately, 10-day pre-
vacation forecasts show how
inadequate they are. Even five-
day ones, for early spring on
the Colorado Plateau, the
famed red rock country around
the Colorado River and the
Four Corners area of the
Southwest, are often found
wanting.
I had two and a half days
straight of primarily overcast
weather in desert and semi-
desert Country. The majority of
he overcast periods had rain,
ranging from sprinkles through
showers to steady rain. I even
hit a brief sleet storm at
Arches National Park in east-
ern Utah. That night, I hit
snow and fog on the way to
Arizona.
But one learns to make
lemonade out of that.
A previous snow in western
Utah made for beautiful snow-
tinged views and pictures of
Bryce Canyon National Park’s
orange hoodoo formations.
Dramatic storm clouds over
now' brick-red red rocks in the
middle of a thunderstorm
offered other photo opportuni-
ties. And, although none of the
weather incidents broke up in a
way to produce dramatic rain-
bows, there’s always that possi-
bility in the Southwest.
Back to the first saying,
though.
Vacations do have a way of
revealing who we really are, at
times.
For example, 1 almost
always appear and usually
am — cool, calm and collect-
ed. However, vacations can
bring out a bit of a worrywart,
and also a bit of a controller,
in me. (I suspect some people,
such as our managing editor,
Robin Gooch, may see this in
me more in non-vacation life
than I’d like to admit, but that’s
another story.)
I have a tendency to pretty
heavily book my vacation
time, so I can worry about
whether I have left enough ,.
time to get from place A to
place B. I can also be a control
freak about things such as how
much time I have to spend at a
certain event or place.
However, the amount of
preplanning and schedulejam-
ming 1 do allows for a ^ptajin
level of flexibility, which gets
me back to that cool, calm and
collected self.
And I occasionally allow
myself time to do nothing but
just relax or even meditate for
a little while.
Rental cars are another area
for the worrywart to pop up.
An SUV, with more to go
wrong, makes that true in
spades. And it doesn’t help
that rental car companies seem
„to purposely find some of the
most devious places to hide
owners manuals.
On my rental, the manual
was in a small pop-open com-
partment on the bottom of the
deck behind the byck seat. I
finally found it when I really
needed it, namely to figure out
how to let down the under-
body-stowed spare tire. Bet-
ween that and having to drive
80 miles across a remote part
o^Utah to find a town of
enough size with somebody to
do tire repair, I got a bit of
added vacation stress.
Add to that a modest (not
worth tracking down the rental
car company) but ongoing u
problem that was ultimately
based on a GM design Haw,
and the vacation had another
bit of stress.
But, stress simply is — in
and of itself it’s neither good
nor bad. How we handle it,
how we work to reduce it or
move beyond it, is the good or
bad.
And, eventually, I did that
well enough to not indulge my
worrywart or control-freak
characteristics too much or too
long.
I also find myself on some
vacations wondering if I’m
See MYSELF Page 5
X
- . • :s mm I :
‘Illegal’ is the
problem word
Dear Editor:
I have but one thought on
the immigration fracas going
on: What part of ILLEGAL do
you not understand? The imm-
igration bill in congress is to
address ILLEGAL immigra-
tion, not the LEGAL immigra-
tion. Those who wish to be-
come American citizens have
every right to become LEGAL
American citizens by follow-
Letter To The Editor
ing the proper LEGAL chan-
nels that everyone else has fol-
lowed for decades.
"In the first place, we
should insist that if the immi-
grant who comes to America in
good faith becomes an Amer-
ican and assimilates themself
to us. they shall be treated on
an exact equality with eveiy-
one else, for it is an outrage to
discriminate against any such
person because of creed, or
birthplace, or origin. But this
is predicated upon the person ,’v
becoming in every facet an
American, and nothing but an
American. There can be no
divided allegiance here. Any
person who says they are an
American, but something else
also, isn't an American at all.
We have room for but one flag,
the American flag. We have
room for but one language
here, and that is the English
language. And we have room
for but one sole loyalty and
that is a loyalty to the
American people."
Theodore Roosevelt,
1907
Don Camp
Cedar Hill
r
■
Him
8, , i” J(
■
4 *4
“Just Ask” is written by a member
. of our staff who fields questions from
members of the community ranging
from politics to social etiquette and
- from sports to better grooming habits.
£ If you have a question you can’t
' answer, just ask.
YOUR LETTERS
Send letters to Cedar Hill
Today, c/o News Editor Loyd
Brumfield, 1701 N. Hampton, Suite
C, DeSoto, TX, 75115, or P.O. Box
381029, Duncanville TX 75138
Fax letters to 972-298-6369 or e-
mail them to cedarhill@todaynews
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Include a home address and
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If we don’t know the answer, we’ll
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gotten to the bottom of your problem.
Nped to know the best way to
malre Bermuda grass grow? Just ask.
Ever wonder why the city manager
'doesn’t vote or why the mayor does?
Just ask.
Are you just dying to know what
ever happened to (fill in the blank)?
Just ask.
Whether your question is specific
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our staff will print your question with
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Call 972-298-4598, ext. 220 and
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So get those questions coming in.
After all, the old adage still holds
true: The only stupid question is the
one not asked. And if you don’t ask,
who will?
Go ahead. Just ask.
Cedar Hill Today Information
Cedar Hill Today Staff
Richard Collins
Publisher
Robin Gooch
Managing Editor
Kim Potty
Advertising Director
Ron Midldff
Circulation Coordinator
Loyd Brumfield
News Editor
Brian Allen
Staff Writer
Chris Hudson and David Goodspeed
Photographers
Wendy Lee
Retail ad sales
Heather,Hawkins
Classified ad sales
Troy Peoples
Distribution Coordinator
Betty Bell
Lifestyles Editor
Deadlines
Classifieds:
Display classified ads — 5 p.m.
Tuesday. Line ads — 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Retail Advertising:
5 p.m. Monday; 5 p.m. Friday for In
Common. Advertising rates may be
secured upon request.
Editorial:
School news — 5 pm Friday
Genoa] news — noon Monday
Deadlines are subject to change due to holi-
days and will be published in advance.
to change advertising and subscription
rates at any time.
General Information
Today Cedar Hill is an independent
newspaper published weekly in the interest
of Cedar Hill. Any erroneous reflection
upon the integrity or reputation of any indi-
vidual will be corrected if brought to the
attention of the news editor.
Digests run on a space available basis.
Letter Policy
The Opinion Page of Today News-
papers is an open forum for all viewpoints.
Letters to the editor and guest columns are
Subscriptions
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subscriptions payable in advance and non-
rrfundable The publisher reserves the right
Deadline is noon Monday in person at
1701 N. Hampton in DeSoto, or by mail to
PO Box 381029, Duncanville, TX 75138.
Letters must have an original signa-
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The content of ail letters will be pre-
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other town.
How to Contact Us
Location:
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SrotoC, DeSoto, 75+15
Phone: 972-298-4211
Flax: 972-298-6369
E-mail: cedaihill@todaynewspapers.net
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Today Cedar Hill (USPS 095640,
ISSN 0704-0428) is published every
Thursday by Today Newspapers, 1126
Explorer, Suite A, Duncanville, Texas
75137. Second class postage paid at
Duncanville, Texas 75138-1029. Post-
master: Send address changes to Today
Cedar Hill, PO Box 381029, Duncanville.
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o^pir
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Gooch, Robin. Today Cedar Hill (Duncanville, Tex.), Vol. 40, No. 52, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 6, 2006, newspaper, April 6, 2006; Duncanville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth623978/m1/4/?q=Lamar+University: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Zula B. Wylie Memorial Library.