SERVING ANTHONY, VINTON, CANUTILLO, EAST MONTANA, HORIZON, SOCORRO, CLINT, FABENS, SAN ELIZARIO AND TORNILLO

nineteenseventythree

tw o t h o u s a n dsix33

YEARS

OCTOBER 19, 2006VOL. 33, No. 42

NEWSBRIEFS

The tragedy of war is that it uses man’sbest to do man’s worst.

— Quips & Quotes

San Eli flu clinicThe City-County Health Department willbe in San Elizario to host a communityflu clinic, Thursday, October 19, 2006.From 9 - 11:30 a.m., a clinic will be of-fered in room 600 at San Elizario HighSchool, 13981 Socorro Road. A second fluclinic will be available from 1 - 3 p.m. atGarcia Enriquez Middle School, 12280Socorro Road. Medicaid, CHIP, and Medi-care will be accepted and the cost for eachclinic is $20. Senior citizens will be of-fered pneumonia shots for $30.

SBA assistanceLow-interest loans to assist Texas residentsaffected by the floods that struck on June22 are being made available to El Paso,Hudspeth and Culberson Counties, ac-cording to Steven C. Preston, Administra-tor of the U.S. Small Business Adminis-tration. The assistance is made availablebecause the region was declared a disas-ter area. Loans up to $200,000 are avail-able for homeowners to repair or replaceddamaged or destroyed real estate; up$40,000 will be loaned to replace damagedpersonal property; and up to $1.5 millionis available to businesses or non-profitsto repair or replace damaged or destroyedreal estate, machinery and equipment, in-ventory and other business assets. Infor-mation is available by calling toll-free 1-800-659-2955 or by visiting the 7500 Vis-count Blvd., Suite 292, Monday throughSaturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Deadline to ap-ply for property damage is Nov. 28, 2006.Deadline to return economic injury appli-cation is June 29, 2007.

Nonviolence campaignCounselors at the Jane A. Hambric Schoolin the Socorro ISD have a mission to teachall 1,600 students not to engage in violence,which can be defined in many ways. Coun-selors Carol McKinny, Karina Cataldi andRon Reeves are going directly into class-rooms to teach life skills of anti-violence,including how to settle conflicts peacefullywithout foul language, shoving or hitting.Knowing the rules and what to do when theyare violated are high on the list.

Pueblo infoSavvy business people keep up with for-eign market trends, but they should alsowatch out for the latest advance fee busi-ness scams. Learn how to avoid losingthousands of dollars with Advance FeeBusiness Scams, a pamphlet from the De-partment of State. Find out the telltalesigns you’re being scammed, types ofscams and how they work, and who tocontact if you suspect a scam artist’s atwork. This publication costs $1.00. Foryour copy, send your name, address, anda check or money order for $1.00 to theFederal Citizen Information Center, Dept.351N, Pueblo, CO 81009. Or call toll-free1 (888) 878-3256, and ask for Item 351N.Have your credit card handy. And visitwww.pueblo.gsa.gov to place your orderonline or to read or print this and hundredsof other FCIC publications for free.

AUSTIN — Thanks to customer commentsand suggestions, the Texas Department ofTransportation is introducing a new windshieldregistration sticker expected to be distributedstatewide by early 2007.

“We are very excited about the new design,”said Rebecca Davio, di-rector of the Vehicle Titlesand Registration Divi-sion. “We listened to ourcustomers, used theirideas, and believe wehave a sticker Texans willbe proud to display.”

The sticker will debutin Randall County in Au-gust, followed byWilliamson and Hayscounties in September.After that, it will roll out incrementally acrossthe state.

“Texans told us they wanted a sticker with aclean, uncluttered design that was easy to ap-ply, and that is what we have developed,” saidMike Behrens, TxDOT’s executive director.

The new design features a blue adhesive

TxDOT introduces new registration stickerSpecial to the Courier

By Kim Sue Lia Perkes

NEW AND IMPROVED — Texashas redesigned the windshieldregistration sticker that all cars arerequired to display.

border, eliminating fingerprint marks that manycustomers found unsatisfactory with the trans-lucent border. The blue back is imprinted witha friendly reminder to “Check the date, loveyour state” to help Texans keep their registra-tion current. For the first time, the sticker fea-tures a Web address,www.texasinyourcorner.com, which offersmore information about vehicle registration.

“When Texans register their vehicles theyare helping the state andtheir local county,”Behrens said. “Registra-tion fees contribute al-most $1.3 billion dollarsa year towards buildingand maintaining state andcounty roads.”

The white window onthe new sticker’s front al-lows the sticker’s impor-tant information —month and year of expi-

ration, county of origin, license plate number,and part of the vehicle identification number— to be clearly displayed.

“The new design will make it easier for lawenforcement officers to immediately identify

See STICKER, Page 4

EAST EL PASO COUNTY — Is yourchild’s backpack too heavy? Is your child wear-ing it the right way? Coaches and Occupational& Physical therapists atSocorro ISD spent a day atEscontrias ElementarySchool to answer thosequestions for fifth gradersand their parents.

“We want parents to beaware the impact of wear-ing backpacks incorrectlyand the seriousness of car-rying heavy packs and pro-tecting children from unnec-essary injuries,” saysYvonne Bucher, Occupa-tional Therapist. “This is thefirst time in the district thatOT/PT has done this cam-paign. We would like tobring it to various campuses.“

As part of the NationalSchool Backpack Aware-ness Day, Sept. 20, parents,teachers, and administra-tors across the nationlearned just how much weight kids are carry-ing. According to the American OccupationalTherapy Association, the average student car-ries a backpack weighing almost one-fourth ofhis or her body weight.

During Escontrias’ weigh-in, nearly 100 back-packs were checked. Some were reported at be-ing at least 10 pounds. Along with the weigh-in,therapists helped adjust backpacks and taughtstudents the proper way to load the heavy items.

“It was beneficial to have the therapists hereto show and explain how to properly wear a back-pack and how to place books,” says Rolaura DeAnda, Escontrias PE Coach. “I can tell them,

Taking a load off students’ backsBy Irma Flores

Special to the Courier

but seeing the adjustments makes an impact.”This time only fifth graders’ at Escontrias

were assessed, but Bucher and De Anda hopeto bring this awareness campaign to otherschools throughout the district. It is recom-mended that children and parents follow theseguidelines to avoid health problems:

• Never let a child carry more than 15 per-cent of his or her body weight. This means achild who weighs 100 pounds should not weara backpack heavier than 15 pounds.

• Load heaviest items closest to the child’sback.

• Arrange books and materials so they won’tslide around.

• Both shoulder straps should be worn. Wear-ing a pack slung over one shoulder can cause achild to lean to one side, curving the spine andcausing pain or discomfort.

For information on backpack safety tips, visitwww.aota.org.

— Photo courtesy Socorro ISD

PACKING IT UP — Jesus Montelongo, Escontrias 5th graders,gets some tips on how to pack and adjust his backpack.

El Paso to receive $20.6million in federal funding

See FUNDING, Page 5

EL PASO COUNTY — Several federalagencies have awarded the following fund-ing to the El Paso community, according toCongressman Silvestre Reyes:

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)awarded:

• $13,841,693 federal contract to El Paso’sUrban Associates LP. Through this contract,Urban Associates will construct “Crash FireRescue Stations” at Holloman Air ForceBase.

• $241,987 to El Paso Community Col-lege as a DOD Procurement Technical As-sistance Cooperative (PTAC) agreement.This agreement will help provide servicesand training to over 400 El Paso businessesinterested in contracting with the U.S. gov-ernment.

The U.S. Department of Educationawarded:

• $3,090,000 to the Ysleta IndependentSchool District through the Smaller Learn-ing Communities Program. This programcreates small learning environments in largepublic schools to help ensure all students areprepared for college. YISD will use thisfunding over three years for Project FOCUS— Focused Outcomes Creating UniversalSuccess, a collaboration between YISD highschools.

• $395,215 to El Paso Community Col-lege (EPCC) through the High SchoolEquivalency Program (HEP). The EPCCHEP will provide community-based aca-demic and support services to 170 eligiblecommuter students to help them earn a GEDand either gain employment or further theireducation.

The U.S. Department of Health and Hu-man Services awarded:

• $900,000 to the Region 19 EducationService Center through HHS’s PromotingResponsible Fatherhood program. This pro-gram funds efforts to empower healthy mar-riages, foster responsible parenting, and pro-vide economic stability.

• $500,000 to the El Puente CommunityDevelopment Corporation. HHS awardedthis economic development grant through theCommunity Services Block Grant Program,which supports efforts to reduce poverty,revitalize low-income communities and pro-mote self-sufficiency among low-incomefamilies and individuals.

• $490,460 to the El Paso Center for Chil-dren, Inc. through HHS’s Healthy MarriagePromotion program, which aims to helpmarried couples gain voluntary access tomarriage education services, where they canacquire the skills and knowledge necessaryto form and sustain a healthy marriage.

• $484,701 to Model Cities — El Pasothrough HHS’s Healthy Marriage Promotionprogram, which aims to help married couplesgain voluntary access to marriage educationservices, where they can acquire the skillsand knowledge necessary to form and sus-tain a healthy marriage.

• $300,000 to the United Way of El PasoCounty for HHS’s Communities Empower-ing Youth program. This program improvesorganizations’ abilities to provide social ser-vices, develop and/or diversify fundingsources, and create effective collaborationsto better serve our disadvantaged youth.

• $250,000 to the El Paso chapter ofAVANCE, Inc. through HHS’s PromotingResponsible Fatherhood program. This

Page 2 WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER October 19, 2006

One perspectiveBy Francis Shrum

PUBLISHED:Published each Thursday byHomesteader News, Inc. Appreciationto our many contributors. Office openMonday through Thursday.

COPYRIGHT:Entire contents © 2006 HomesteaderNews, Inc. Individual authors retain allrights. Pictures, drawings and writtenmaterial appearing in the West TexasCounty Courier may not be used orreproduced without written permissionof Homesteader News, Inc.

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PublisherRick Shrum

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SERVING ANTHONY, VINTON, CANUTILLO, EAST MONTANA, HORIZON, SOCORRO, CLINT, FABENS, SAN ELIZARIO AND TORNILLO

nineteenseventythree

tw o t h o u s a n dsix

33YEARS

He had mefrom the firstline.

“I need theearth-life, the ordinary countrysidemoment…”

With a line like that, who needs apublicist or a promotion machine? Itjust kind of hangs there and you can’tget past it without thinking about it.And then you do get past it and hecomes up with another one.

One of the perks of this job is thatpublishing companies want you towrite about their books, so they sendthem to you, free of charge, bettingthe price of a volume that you’ll givethem some publicity.

I seldom do.

A good readIt’s not that there is something

wrong with the book or that I don’tappreciate the fact that they packagedit up and sent it in a neat bubble-linedenvelope with my name on it.

There’s some satisfaction in that.Some of the stuff that gets sent to

me is just not my kind of stuff. In fact,some of it probably isn’t anybody’skind of stuff and I wonder briefly howit even made it into print.

Some of it is pretty good, though,and I just don’t have time to readeverything that comes my way. Thisis because I’m usually already read-ing something that was publishedyears ago and was really successfuland surely doesn’t need me to pro-mote it now. Half the time the author

is a dead guy and I’m a grateful fanhe gained posthumously.

So many books, so little time.But back to this guy with the great

opening line. He’s still living and he’salready famous, so why did his pub-lishing company send me his book?I don’t have a clue, but I’m sure gladthey did.

His name is Elroy Bode. He livesin El Paso. He has authored eightother books besides the one I re-ceived and has things written on thedust cover by other successful au-thors who say things like “Bode isnot a writer. He is a natural resource.”Or “…brilliantly insightful book bya writer long appreciated as a Texastreasure…”

Now, I’ve heard of Elroy Bode foryears, heard people talk about hisinsight. I’ve even heard him com-pared to Ralph Waldo Emerson. ButI’d never got around to getting oneof his books.

After that opening line I knew I wasgoing to read this thing cover to cover

but I couldn’t help myself so I justopened the book at random and read:“I remember the first time I sat downand tried to think. It was not easy. Idecided that I had never done anygenuine thinking and that what I hadalways called thinking was probablysomething else: talking or listening orreading or daydreaming or just beingintent on some task or other. I had beenmentally occupied, sure, but I hadprobably never, ever, thought.”

Now, how is it, I ask you, that thisman could have stumbled onto thisfabulous secret that seems to escapeall leaders of the free and not-so-freeworld? Imagine if this one paragraphcould be read and understood by thecaptains of industry, leaders of theworld’s major religions, and a dicta-tor or two? It would probably changethe course of human history. It wouldcertainly improve our media cover-age if this single concept was hon-estly considered by the folks who puttogether the content of what we areforced to accept as news.

Bode’s book is a four-part seriesof numerous essays, the first partbeing dedicated solely to El Paso, inwhich, as an extension of my homeregion, I had special interest. Oversome 44 pages, he has captured asnapshot of all that I know and loveabout El Paso County, from the crueland cleansing heat at two o’clock inthe afternoon to the way it feels to sitalone in a car and absorb the still-rural community of Clint.

Word of warning, however. In theclosing chapter of his book, Bodeshares the stark and unvarnishedstory of his son, Byron — the trag-edy his life became after such a prom-ising beginning, his disappearance,and finally, his resting. For any par-ent who has felt the helplessness oftheir child’s affliction, this passageis both comforting and heart-rending.

The book is called In a SpecialLight. It’s published by Trinity Uni-versity Press out of San Antonio.

Don’t give this book to anyoneunless you love them.

Andrea AkerSweet 16 signals “vroom, vroom”

for many youngsters, yet the road tofreedom comes with a lot of finan-cial responsibility. Just how muchmay surprise teens and parents alike.

Mike Sullivan, director of educa-tion for Take Charge America, a na-tional nonprofit credit counselingagency, says the cost of a car is onlypart of the picture.

“Additional insurance premiumsfor a young driver can put a finan-cial strain on parents who are livingpaycheck-to-paycheck,” he said.“Premiums for another vehicle canbe very high, especially when theprimary driver is a new, young driver.Even if the teen driver doesn’t havehis or her own vehicle, there is stillthe added cost of gas and mainte-nance on the family vehicle from theadditional use.”

According to the 2005Autoextra.com “Kids’ First Car Sur-vey,” 76 percent of students aged 16

Teens, cars and a dose of realityto 22 have their own cars. About 54percent of those students paid$10,000 or less for their vehicle.Sullivan says some teens may needhelp putting that cost into perspec-tive.

“Many students work minimumwage jobs. It would take more than1,900 hours of work — an entire yearat a full-time job — just to purchasea $10,000 car on that wage,” he said.

Sullivan describes five “must-dis-cuss” financial issues for parents andtheir teens who want a chance to getbehind the wheel:

New or UsedRegardless of whether you buy

used or new, it’s important to do yourresearch and shop around for the bestprice. Keep in mind that the totalprice of the car is generally higherthan the ticket price. Consider gasmileage and maintenance costs asyou make your decision. Don’t for-get to call your insurance agent to get

quotes for coverage on the vehiclebefore you buy; the differences ininsurance cost for different vehiclescan be surprising. If you decide tobuy used, research prices in theKelley Blue Book. The Web site,www.kbb.com, allows you to com-pare new and used car values bymake and model. Lower miles onused cars are better if you plan to re-sell and you may still be covered forsome maintenance under the war-ranty. You also need to research howthe previous owner treated the ve-hicle. You can do this by requestinga report from www.carfax.com.When making a deal, get everythingin writing — you don’t want any sur-prises that could force you to pay outeven more cash for repairs or newparts. It is always a good idea to havea trusted mechanic look over a usedcar before you buy.

LoansCar loans are an effective way to

build credit, yet most companies willrequire a co-signer for teens, becausethe age group generally lacks credithistory and collateral. If the loan is

in the teen’s name and the teen can’tafford to make the payments, the per-son who co-signed is responsible.Parents and their teens need to dis-cuss who will make the payments andthe importance of making paymentson time in order to avoid negativecredit ratings for both the teen andthe co-signer which can, in turn, pre-vent both parties from qualifying forcredit cards and other loans.

Gas/MaintenanceThe U.S. has been battling record

gas prices for more than a year.Lengthy commutes to school orwork can suck up cash quickly.Sharing your ride and the costs ofgasoline with other commuters canlighten the burden. The type of ve-hicle you drive is only part of thegas mileage equation; good gasmileage is also dependent uponproper maintenance. Low tire pres-sure and improper oil levels de-crease gas mileage, which cancause you to shell out even moremoney in gas. Regular mainte-nance is vital to keeping the car ingood condition for years to come,so be sure to include the costs ofmaintenance in determining yourcar budget. In order to avoid un-

necessary or “trumped up” carmaintenance costs, be a well-in-formed consumer. Read your carmanual to better understand re-quired maintenance. Establish arelationship with a mechanic ifpossible for regular maintenance.Get several bids for any major re-pairs and check with the BetterBusiness Bureau and related agen-cies before you turn your car overto just any auto repair shop.

InsuranceShelling out $2,000 for insurance

a year isn’t uncommon for teenswith their own cars — and that fig-ure could already include discountsfor good grades and driver educa-tion courses, which are musts forteens who want to get behind thewheel. (Note: driver educationcourses cost about $100.) If a teenwill be sharing the family car, thereis the option of being added to aparent or guardian’s existing insur-ance policy. Regardless, it won’t becheap. Piggy-backing off an adult’spolicy can cause the premiums todouble, depending on your loca-tion. Insurance rates will rise if ateen owns a high-performancesports car, or a vehicle that lackssafety features. Young males alsopay more per year than their femalecounterparts. Choosing a higherdeductible will lower insurancepremiums but if a teen gets into anaccident , he/she will be forced topay much more money out ofpocket to get the problem fixed.

Not Just a TicketOne little ticket can lead to huge

financial burdens, especially foryoung males who are more likely toget into accidents, according to theinsurance industry. Excessive speed-ing or reckless driving can cause pre-miums to soar hundreds of dollars ayear. While one ticket may be cov-ered by defensive driving school insome states, insurance companiesmay drop drivers with multiple tick-ets and/or accidents.______________________________________________________Founded in 1987, Take ChargeAmerica, Inc. is a nonprofit organi-zation headquartered in Phoenix,Arizona. TCA offers a variety of ser-vices including financial education,credit counseling, and debt manage-ment. To learn more about TCA orits programs please call 1-800-823-7396 or visit: www.takechargeamerica.org.

Town of AnthonyPUBLIC NOTICEA PUBLIC HEARING will be held at 7:00 p.m. onTuesday, October 24, 2006 during the Regular TownCouncil Meeting at Anthony Town Hall, 401 WildcatDr., Anthony, Texas. Purpose of the public hearing is toallow any interested person to appear and testify at thehearing regarding the following proposed ordinance(s):

1) Ordinance No. 437. An ordinance amend-ing Ordinance No. 423 — Adjusting Waterand Sewer Fees within the Town of Anthony,Texas.

Ordinances are too extensive to print. Ordinances arealways available for viewing or copying upon request fromthe Town Clerk at the above address. Those that areunable to attend may submit their written comments tothe Town of Anthony, P.O. Box 1269, Anthony, Texas79821. Persons in need of assistance to attend areencouraged to contact the Town Clerk at 886-3944.

Myriam P. UribeTown Clerk

WTCC: 10/19/06

October 19, 2006 Page 3WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER

NOTICE TO PUBLIC OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACTON THE ENVIRONMENT AND NOTICE OF INTENT

TO REQUEST RELEASE OF FUNDS

Town of Anthony October 9, 2006P.O. Box 1269Anthony, Texas 79821(915) 886-3944

TO: All Interested Agencies, Groups and Persons:

Seventeen (17) days after this publication, the Town of Anthony intends to request that theOffice of Rural Community Affairs (ORCA) of the State of Texas release federal fundsunder Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (PL 93-383), forTCDP FY 2006 Project No. 726011.

Texas Community Development Program Contract #726011Sewer System Improvements Project:

Installation of approximately 1,500 linear feet of 15" outfall sewer line (or pipe burst)to replace a portion of an undersized transmission line along SH 20/US 280 (DoniphanStreet) and the installation of manholes and related appurtenances. The project alsoincludes reconnections for thirty (30) existing households.

(See project map.)

Construction Cost: $194,000

Finding of No Significant Impact

It has been determined that such a request for release of funds will not constitute an actionsignificantly affecting the quality of the human environment and, accordingly, the townhas decided not to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement under the National Envi-ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (PL 91-190). The reason for the decision not to prepare sucha statement is based upon the fact that all environmental concerns could either be mini-mized or mitigated.

The Town has made an Environmental Review Record for the proposed project, whichdocuments the environmental review of the project and more fully sets forth the reasonswhy such a statement is not required. The Environmental Review Record is on file at TownHall and is available for public examination and copying, upon request, between the hoursof 9:00 A.M. and 4:30 P.M., Monday through Friday.

Public Comments on Findings

All interested agencies, groups, and individuals disagreeing with this decision are invited tosubmit written comments for consideration by the town at the address set forth above.Such written comments must be received at the address specified within sixteen (16) daysafter this publication. All such comments so received will be considered and the town willnot request the release of funds or take administrative action on the project prior to the datespecified in the preceding sentence.

Release of Funds

The Town of Anthony will undertake the activities described above with funds from TexasCommunity Development Program Grant No. 726011 issued from Community Develop-ment Block Grants Funds under Title I from the 2006 Program Year, under the provisionsof the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. The Town of Anthony is cer-tifying to the ORCA that the Honorable Art Franco, in his official capacity as Mayor of theTown of Anthony, consents to accept the jurisdiction of the federal courts if an action isbrought to enforce responsibilities in relation to environmental review, decision-making,and action; and that these responsibilities have been satisfied. The legal effect of the certifi-cation is that, upon its approval, the town may use the Block Grant funds and it will havesatisfied its responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. TheOffice of Rural Community Affairs will accept an objection to its approval only on one ormore of the bases and the procedures described in 24 CFR Part 58.75. Objections are to beaddressed to the Office of Rural Community Affairs, P. O. Box 12877, Austin, TX 78711.

Objections to the release of funds on bases other than those stated above will not be consid-ered by the Office of Rural Community Affairs. No objections received later than thirty-three (33) days after this publication will be considered by the Office of Rural CommunityAffairs.

Art Franco, Mayor Date Published:Town of Anthony October 19, 2006

Page 4 WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER October 19, 2006

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whether a sticker is valid or in com-pliance,” said Commander JesseFlores of the Motor Vehicle TheftDivision for the Texas Department ofPublic Safety.

A small outline of the state withthe Texas flag highlights the whitewindow on the sticker’s front. “Tex-ans told us they wanted a state sym-bol placed somewhere on thesticker’s front,” Davio said.

However, she added, many stateresidents found the current Texas flagsticker a little overwhelming. “Theyalso told us the sticker’s flag colorsappeared faded and looked unattrac-tive on their vehicles,” Davio said.

The new sticker, which is a thirdsmaller than the current one, alsogives Texans something else theywanted. “We eliminated the punchtab so you can easily peel the stickeroff from any corner on the back ofthe registration receipt,” Davio said.

Texas places two stickers on a pa-per sheet, and then completes the onefor your type of vehicle while “void-ing” the other. The windshield stickeris for passenger vehicles while thesmaller sticker applies to other modesof transportation, such as motor-cycles, trailers and farm equipment.

New instructions make it clear thesticker marked “VOID” on the regis-tration receipt should be thrown away.

TxDOT introduced this custom-ized registration process in 2004,which allows stickers to be printedon demand. It replaced pre-printedsticker books that forced the state toestimate how many stickers it wouldneed each year. The sticker bookscreated a cumbersome inventory con-trol system, and the state’s 254 taxassessor-collectors were held person-ally liable for the value of the stick-ers — more than $1 billion. At theend of each year, excess stickers weredestroyed.

In 1993, Texas switched from aplate to a windshield sticker for pas-senger vehicles to deter license platetheft. In one year alone more than150,000 rear license plates with reg-istration stickers were stolen in thestate.

“The windshield sticker reducedlicense plate theft,” Davio said. “Thenew windshield sticker processmakes it more difficult to steal yourcar and get away with it.”

StickerFrom Page 1______________________

If you and your loved ones are likemany Americans, you probably takeat least one prescription drug. Giventhe costs of these drugs and our needfor more medicines as we get older,it’s important that you’re making thebest use of the benefits offered byyour health insurance plan.

Learn what you can do with thefree Pharmacy Benefit package fromthe U.S. Food and Drug Administra-

Understanding your pharmacy benefit can be beneficialtion, the National PharmaceuticalCouncil, and the Federal Citizen In-formation Center. It features helpfulhints on how to effectively use yourbenefits to pay for the medicines youneed to stay healthy.

Whether your health insurance isthrough an employer or the newMedicare prescription drug coverage,it most likely requires a year-longenrollment. So if you’re having prob-

lems getting your prescriptions filledor your plan won’t cover your medi-cations, it’s important you know whatto do regarding that plan. First, talkwith your doctor to find out if a dif-ferent medicine or a generic versionwill work for you. Find out moreabout generic drugs with this infor-mative package, including how theywork like brand-name drugs in dos-age, safety, and effectiveness.

However, if your doctor feels aspecific medication is necessary foryou, you have the right to appeal toyour insurance provider. Get usefultips on how to file an appeal in thePharmacy Benefit package. There’s

even a sample appeal letter that youcan use as a guide.

Getting the most from your plannot only involves troubleshootingproblems that may arise, but alsomanaging the benefits and risks ofyour medicines. Before starting anew prescription, ask your healthcare professional when, how, andhow long to use it; what to do ifyou miss a dose; and what side ef-fects and interactions to watch outfor. It’s also a good idea to keep anup-to-date list of all the medicinesthat you’re taking and share it withyour doctor and pharmacist. Usethe handy chart in the free Phar-

macy Benefit package to help yourecord this information.

Be an informed consumer by or-dering the free Pharmacy Benefitpackage today. There are three easyways to get your free publications:Send your name and address to Phar-macy Benefit, Pueblo, Colorado81009.

Visit http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/rc/n45pharmacybenefit.htm to placeyour order online.

Call toll-free 1 (888) 878-3256,weekdays 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EasternTime and ask for the Pharmacy Ben-efit package.

Get even more information andtake advantage of online governmentresources at http://www.FirstGov.gov and http://www.Espanol.gov — your officialEnglish and Spanish web portals tothe Federal government.

October 19, 2006 Page 5WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER

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FABENS — Fabens High School English teacher Regina Arcideswill take her students to discover the magic of Greece on an EF educa-tional tour. Arcides said that she will take seniors and juniors from heradvanced courses.

The nine day tour includes a stop in Athens on a cruise with otherports of call at Aegina, Poros, Hydra, Delphi, Olympia, Epidaurus, andCape Sounion. Adryana Marquez, 17, a former student of Arcides’ En-glish III class, said she thought they were kidding when first told aboutthe trip.

The students of Fabens High School are asking for community dona-tions to help raise funds for their trip. These donations will be used tohelp students who may have shortage of funds and to help pay forlunches and tips to tour guides and bus drivers, a usual practice onthese types of tours. For more information, contact Edna Peña atepena@fabensisd.net or Regina Arcides at garcides@fabensisd.net. Anyhelp is greatly appreciated, organizers said.

Fabens High studentsprepare for trip of a lifetime

Special to the CourierBy Alex Varela

www.wtccourier.com

AMARILLO — About 27 millionAmericans have overactive or under-active thyroid glands, said AndrewB. Crocker, Extension gerontologyhealth specialist, but more than halfof those are undiagnosed.

Of those diagnosed, 80 percent arewomen. Underactive thyroid is anage-related condition: by 60, as manyas 17 percent of women and 9 per-cent of men are affected.

“In short, if the thyroid does notwork properly, neither do you,”Crocker said. “If left untreated, thy-roid disease may cause elevated cho-lesterol levels and subsequent heartdisease, infertility, muscle weakness,osteoporosis and, in extreme cases,coma or death.”

Part of the body’s endocrine system,the thyroid gland is located just belowthe Adam’s apple, he said. The thyroidhormone influences nearly every or-gan, tissue and cell in the body.

The most common diseases of thethyroid are hyperthyroidism (overac-tive) and hypothyroidism (underac-tive), Crocker said. The gland’s ac-tivity level is related to the amountof hormone it produces.

Sometimes the thyroid can become

Properly working thyroid necessary for healthSpecial to the Courier

By Kay Ledbetterenlarged, he said. An enlarged thy-roid gland is often called a ‘goiter,’he said. Patients also may developlumps or masses in their thyroidglands, which may appear graduallyor very rapidly.

A health care professional shouldevaluate all lumps or masses associ-ated with the thyroid gland.

Symptoms of hyperthyroidism are:heat intolerance, sweating, weightloss, altered appetite, frequent bowelmovements, changes in vision, fa-tigue and muscle weakness, sleepdisturbances and tremors.

Common symptoms of hypothy-roidism are: fatigue, forgetfulness,depression, dry coarse hair, moodswings, weight gain, hoarse voice,dry coarse skin and constipation.

While thyroid disorders are easy todiagnose, signs and symptoms may beoverlooked because they resemble somany other conditions, Crocker said.

The diagnosis of a thyroid abnor-mality is made through physical ex-amination and medical history, he said.Specifically, a health provider willexamine the neck and ask the patientto lift up his or her chin to make thethyroid gland more prominent.

“You may be asked to swallowduring the examination, which helpsto feel the thyroid and any mass thatmay be in it,” Crocker said.

Other tests a health provider mayorder include:

• An ultrasound examination of theneck and thyroid.

• Blood tests to determine the levelof thyroid hormone in the blood.

• A radioactive thyroid scan“If a lump in your thyroid is diag-

nosed, your health provider may rec-ommend a fine needle aspiration bi-opsy,” Crocker said. “This is a safe,relatively painless procedure. Thistest gives the health provider moreinformation on the nature of the lumpin your thyroid gland and specificallywill help to differentiate a benignfrom a malignant thyroid mass.”

Abnormalities of thyroid functionare usually treated with prescriptionmedications, he said. Insufficientproduction of thyroid hormone mayrequire a supplement.

Hyperthyroidism is treated mostly bymedicine, but occasionally it may requirethe surgical removal or inactivation of thethyroid gland, Crocker said.

“It is a good idea to have yourhealth provider check the thyroidhormone level in your blood on yournext office visit,” he said. “If he orshe does not mention it specifically,be sure to ask about it.”

More information can be foundfrom the American Thyroid Associa-tion: http://www.thyroid.org.

program funds efforts to empowerhealthy marriages, foster responsibleparenting, and provide economic sta-bility. Funding will be used forAVANCE-El Paso’s StrengtheningMarriages Program.

• $50,000 to the Child Crisis Cen-

ter of El Paso through the TargetedCapacity Building Program for Youthhelp, which provides funds for at-riskyouth, help for the homeless, mar-riage education and preparation ser-vices, or social services to those liv-ing in rural communities.

The U.S. Department of Housingand Urban Development (HUD)awarded:

• $33,136 to Project BRAVO, Inc.through the HUD Housing Counsel-

ing Program. Through this program,counselors provide guidance and ad-vice to help families and individualsimprove their housing conditions.

“This significant investment offederal dollars in the El Paso com-munity emphasizes the success ofour efforts,” said Reyes. “I applaudour community for its hard workand thank the federal governmentfor recognizing the potential in ourcommunity.”

Page 6 WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER October 19, 2006

Classified Ads

By Steve EscajedaSpecial to the Courier

It’s no secret that if you can make it in NewYork, chances are you can make it just aboutanywhere.

And that’s the way it is, some places set thetone for success. It’s the same in sports. If youcan compete at a higher elevation, like in Colo-rado, you have a distinct advantage over otherathletes who train at sea level.

With the air being so thin, athletes runout of gas before they know it. So train-ing at high altitude gives athletes greaterendurance.

But not every athlete can enjoy the benefitsof this thin air training because they don’t livenear the thin air.

And that was a problem for Washing-ton Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas. Arenastrains in Washington D.C., which thoughmay be full of hot air, is a long way fromthe thin air.

But Arenas thought, no thin air — no prob-

lem. He figured since he couldn’t go where thethin air was, he thought he’d bring the thin airto him.

At a recent training camp practice, Arenastold reporters, “I’m having my house convertedto the Colorado altitude, so I am always abovesea level.”

Excuse me. Did I hear that correctly?Yes, I’m afraid I did.Seems Arenas has hired a company to simu-

late that thin air environment in his home.Arenas feels that by simulating the high al-

titude environment in his house, it will givehim more endurance during the season andgreater strength in the fourth quarter when otherplayers begin to slow down.

Now I’m not sure whether Arenas has reallygot something here or has not gotten enoughair to his brain lately. All I can say is that theguy is a little bit eccentric and seems to bewalking on the wild side again.

We won’t know whether his new “thin air”plan will pay dividends until late in the sea-son. But we do know one thing, his interiordecorator is about to have a fit.

MLB pumps up

The recent information released by MajorLeague Baseball about the players that formerArizona Diamondback pitcher Jason Grimsleysaid he saw take human growth hormones, hashad numbing effect on the fans.

Names like the great Roger Clemens andMiguel Tejada have now been thrown into themix with the likes of Barry Bonds and JoseCanseco and Mark McGwire and the finger-pointing Rafael Palmeiro.

I think that with each passing day the fansare slowly becoming immune to the wholething. It’s like now they’re beginning to feelthat the 90s were an even playing ground be-cause every player was juicing.

Even Pete Rose made the admission thathe took certain things while he was play-ing. Rose recently said that he took“greenies” back in the day.

Of course, “greenies” is another word foramphetamines. Rose said he took them as alittle pick-me-up during spring training.

Yeah, I’ll bet! Oops, sorry Pete.

Things are bad enough for Pete Rose rightnow. This is no time to start admitting that hewas a druggie while collecting all those hits.

Doesn’t he realize the world’s perception ofhim is hovering around Richard Nixon level?

If I were he, I would keep my mouth shutand help as many little old ladies across thestreet as possible.

As for Clemens and Tejada, each deniedGrimsley’s charges — kind of.

Each said they had never failed a test for ste-roids. Of course that’s all they said. Neithersaid they had never taken anything to enhancetheir ability on the field.

And besides, the whole Grimsley thing hadnothing to do with steroids. His problem waswith human growth hormones. And by thelooks of Clemens and Bonds, growth in musclesize and girth has not been a problem.

So baseball has received yet another blackeye, and it won’t be the last.

It’s just a shame that the heroes we grew upwith are turning out to be frauds. Almost makesyou believe that Charles Barkley was right —athletes are not role models.

Maybe the oxygen is too thin in Arenas’ world

LEGAL

SOCORROINDEPENDENT

SCHOOLDISTRICT

Invitation toBid/Respond:

Sealed bids/pro-posals/CSP to fur-nish the District withthe following prod-ucts and/or ser-vices will be ac-cepted at the fol-lowing times:

WEDNESDAY,OCTOBER25, 2006

GLASSREPLACEMENT

SERVICESCSP NO.

199-1025-7005ACCEPTED

UNTIL2:00 P.M.

PAPER

SUPPLIESCSP NO.

199-1025-7010ACCEPTED

UNTIL2:30 P.M.

Proposals will bereceived at Busi-ness ServicesDept., 12300Eastlake Drive, ElPaso, Texas 79928until the specifiedtimes. Detailedspecifications areavailable from theabove office be-tween 8 a.m. and 4p.m. Mondaysthrough Fridaysand on the SocorroISD website:www.sisd.net.WTCC-10/19/06________________________________________________

SOCORROINDEPENDENT

SCHOOLDISTRICT

Invitation to

Bike lanes reduce danger for both drivers and bicyclistsAUSTIN — By studying the inter-

actions of drivers and bicyclists onTexas roads, transportation engineers atThe University of Texas at Austin haveconfirmed that having painted bikelanes on streets and roads helps bothcommuters stay in safer, more centralpositions in their respective lanes.

“Without a marked bike lane, thereappears to be a lot of uncertainty abouthow much space each person needs —even when adequate road space is pro-vided,” said Randy Machemehl, theNasser I. Al-Rashid Centennial Pro-fessor in Transportation Engineeringand director of the university’s Centerfor Transportation Research (CTR),where the study was conducted.

The Texas Department of Trans-portation (TxDOT) provided$114,000 for the study conducted ontwo- and four-lane roadways wherebike lanes had been added. The re-sults are posted at the CTR’s Web siteat: www.utexas.edu/research/ctr/pdf_reports/0_5157_1.pdf.

Cities such as Austin, Houston andSan Antonio where the study wasconducted are considering how toincrease bicycle lanes as part of meet-ing federal requirements of the Clean

Air Act. Before the study, little wasknown about the best approach foradding bike lanes to existing road-ways for commuter comfort.

TxDOT follows recommendationsfrom the American Association ofState Highway and TransportationOfficials to have five-foot-wide bikelanes. However, existing roadwayscan be too narrow to retrofit that way.

By studying videos of thousands ofpassing events involving 31 paid, vol-unteer cyclists, and combining thatwith data from other studies, CTRresearchers determined the best approachfor narrower, retrofitted roadways.

Often, four-lane roadways provide24 feet for traffic moving in one di-rection. The surface could be re-striped to provide a 10-foot-widemotorists’ lane and a 14-foot-wide,outside lane that is unmarked forshared use. Or the outside lane couldbe marked to clearly show bicyclistshave the outer four feet.

Ian Hallett, a CTR graduate re-search assistant, and David Luskin,a former CTR research scientist,found that cyclists on a road that pro-vided an unmarked, four-foot lanetended to hug the curb dangerously

close. Safer cyclist behavior occurredwith a striped lane the same width.

Motorists in the outside, 10-foot-wide lane generally behaved simi-larly. Without a marked bike lane,they veered away from bicyclists,crossing into the next motorist lanenearly nine out of 10 times.

Often, they veered so far in an ap-parent effort to avoid a collision thatthey swerved a full four feet into thenext motorists’ lane.

“You could put a whole car be-tween the bicyclist and them,” saidHallett, an avid bicyclist who’slogged thousands of miles in Austin.

With a striped bike lane, six of 10motorists swerved, but those whoswerved only encroached about 40percent as far.

To ensure that the study findingswould be broadly applicable, theCTR engineers chose volunteer cy-clists of different ages, gender andcycling experience to observe duringmore than 8,000 passing events. Thevideotaping occurred last year be-tween February and March.

Taking advantage of Luskin’s sta-tistical expertise, the pair then com-bined the behavioral information from

the 120 hours of video with resultsfrom a national study of a similar mixof cyclists. That 1998 study for theFederal Highway Administration in-volved asking hundreds of cyclistshow safe they would feel in variousroad situations shown on film.

“We went out in the field and ac-tually observed what cyclists do outthere, and what the situation was formotorists as well to expand on oth-ers’ work,” Luskin said.

The researchers have provided thestudy’s combined results on com-puter software to inform transporta-tion officials’ decisions aboutbikeway changes.

Previous studies had suggested otherbenefits of marked bicycle lanes. Somehad shown that bicyclists stop at in-tersections more often and obey gen-eral traffic rules better when roadwaysare marked to include them.

Bicyclists are also less likely to rideon sidewalks when on-street bike lanes

Bid/Respond:

Sealed bids/pro-posals/CSP to fur-nish the District withthe following prod-ucts and/or ser-vices will be ac-cepted at the fol-lowing times:

THURSDAY,OCTOBER26, 2006

PIANOSCSP NO.

199-1026-7012ACCEPTED

UNTIL2:30 P.M.

Proposals will bereceived at Busi-ness ServicesDept., 12300Eastlake Drive, ElPaso, Texas 79928until the specifiedtimes. Detailedspecifications areavailable from theabove office be-

tween 8 a.m. and 4p.m. Mondaysthrough Fridaysand on the SocorroISD website:www.sisd.net.WTCC-10/12/06________________________________________________

COUNSELINGSERVICES

D A M I A NM A U R E I R A ,LCSW - Profes-sional Counseling/Therapy: Youth,Adults, Marital,Family. Health in-surance and feescale accepted.657 Winn Rd. inSocorro, Texas.Call 858-3857 forappointment.________________________________________________

STORAGE

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• Small, Medium &Large Units

• Yard Space418 S. Kenazo

852-9371________________________

SELF-HELP

Persons who havea problem with al-cohol are offered afree source of helplocally. AlcoholicsAnonymous - call562-4081 for infor-mation.

Tiene problemascon el alcohol? Hayuna solucíon.Informacion: 838-6264.________________________

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exist. When they ride on sidewalks,studies have shown that it increasestheir accident risk 25 times. This oc-curs primarily because motorists pull-ing onto roadways tend to focus onstreet traffic. As a result, a driver mayfail to see sidewalk bicyclists and col-lide with them when the cyclists crossa driveway where motorists are merg-ing into roadway traffic.

“Bike lanes reinforce the conceptthat bicyclists are supposed to behavelike other vehicles, and make lifesafer for everyone involved as a re-sult,” Hallett said.

SERVING ANTHONY, VINTON, CANUTILLO, EAST MONTANA, HORIZON, SOCORRO, CLINT, FABENS, SAN ELIZARIO AND TORNILLO

CLASSIFIED AD FORM15 words - $5 per week; 35 words - $10 per week

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nineteenseventythree

tw o t h o u s a n dsix

33YEARS

October 19, 2006 Page 7WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER

King Super Crossword

ComixOUT ON A LIMB By Gary Kopervas

AMBER WAVES By Dave T. Phipps

THE SPATS By Jeff Pickering

R.F.D. By Mike Marland

By Don FloodWell, in case you were wonder-

ing, it’s official: We’re goingdownhill.

Or as the Drudge Report subtlyput it: MEL GIBSON BLASTSIRAQ WAR, SAYS AMERICANCIVILIZATION ON DECLINE.

This was in BIG TYPE, the kindmany journalists are reserving foryour larger-than-average newsevents, such as the Second Com-ing.

And for good reason. When itcomes to the decline of Americancivilization, “Mad Mel” probablyknows what he’s talking about.

Besides, if Gibson says any-thing, it’s news. He’s one ofAmerica’s leading philosophersand teachers.

This past summer, for example,Gibson was stopped for drunkdriving. Most people wouldn’t seean arrest as a forum to instruct oth-ers, but Gibson immediatelylaunched into a discussion of glo-bal politics, specifically who wasresponsible for all wars — quite auseful thing to know.

And at a time when others mightbe cursing their bad luck, the big-hearted Gibson took the opportu-nity to comment in graphically fa-vorable terms on a female policeofficer’s bosom, no doubt con-cerned about her poor body image.

When Gibson talks, we need tolisten, and I’m sure the DrudgeReport will keep us supplied withimportant news updates:

MEL GIBSON SAYS LITEBEER ‘LESS FILLING.’

MEL GIBSON SAYS: ‘TIMETO BEAM UP TO THEMOTHER SHIP.’

Actually, Gibson’s comment onthe decline of American civiliza-tion angle was the good news.

Speaking at an event to hype hisnew movie, Gibson also said, “Idon’t mean to be a doomsday guy,

but the Mayan calendar does endin 2012, boys and girls.”

(Note: Father Mel really did saythat, including the “boys and girls”part.)

Gibson’s right. The Mayan cal-endar does end in 2012. (On Dec.21 — no Christmas shopping thatyear, folks.) There are varioustheories about why, with the mostlikely being they ran out of swim-suit models. (That’s the downsideto sacrificing all those young girls.)

But whatever the reason, it doesmean the end of the world. I knowthis to be true because I was ableto verify this information on theInternet.

This is a major bummer, espe-cially if you’ve been putting awaymoney in a 401(k).

But it’s one thing to know theworld’s going to end in 2012, it’squite another to adjust your finan-cial priorities.

Here’s a sampler of tips fromMel Gibson’s End Times FinancialPlanning Guide:

401(k) plans — Who cares?Annuities — Yeah, right.Saving for kids’ college fund —

Take a vacation instead.Fixing the roof — It’ll last a few

more years.Tires — For now it still makes

sense to buy good tires, but switchto a cheaper brands around 2010.

Don’t blame me if the end comesand you’ve got lots of unneededtread.

Truth in column-writing notice:Some folks say 2012 will insteadbe the beginning of a golden age,sort of the like the Age of Aquariusthat the Fifth Dimension sangabout, except better because nowwe have big screen TVs and iPods.

But, really, who are you goingto believe, Mel Gibson or a bunchof nutballs?______________________________________________________(c) 2006 King Features Synd., Inc.

End is near — Mel Gibson says so

WHAT A REELIEF!ACROSS

1 Brno bloke 6 “_ Show” (’94 film) 10 Ferber or O’Brien 14 Hum bug? 17 Buy back 19 Till 20 Approaches 22 _ -Locka, FL 23 Luanda’s land 24 “_ fixe” 25 Start of a remark 27 Curly poker? 28 Way out 30 Actress Sorvino 31 Donizetti’s “L’elisird’_” 32 Tizzy 33 French novelist 36 Sell out 37 Part 2 of remark 42 Richard of “LoveMe Tender” 43 Wine valley 44 Cabinet wood 45 Pack the freight 47 Upset 51 Panache 53 Weldon or Wray 56 Horatian creation 57 Christened 58 Role for 80 Down 60 Ida of “HighSierra” 62 Wear out thecarpet 63 Vaccaro or Lee

65 Barbara’s rank 66 Holler 69 Part 3 of remark 73 Sausage segment 74 Knock for _(astonish) 76 Ran amok 77 Dashboard feature 79 Explosive mixture 81 No pleasure trip 82 Complains 84 You can retire on it 87 “Casualties ofWar” setting 88 Pigeonhole 90 Resilience 92 Carpenter’s tool 93 Celebrations 95 “Rule Britannia”composer 96 Unadorned 98 Part 4 of remark104 Mr. Hiss105 Paradisiacal106 Romain de Tirtoff107 Nero’s instrument108 From the top109 Big rig110 Deity113 End of remark115 George of“Scarface”118 Journalist Fallaci120 _ Na Na121 Sharon of Israel122 Comrade123 Expire124 Shorten a skirt

125 Valuable126 Linen in thebeginnin’?127 Rhythm of life

DOWN 1 Learn fast? 2 Paradoxicalphilosopher 3 Maugham’s “TheRazor’s _” 4 Corporate VIP 5 Actress BonhamCarter 6 Pack it in 7 Sturm _ Drang 8 “Graph” ending 9 Caldwell or Akins 10 Don a uniform 11 Want 12 Astronauts’ agcy. 13 School subject 14 Colombia’s capital 15 Screenwriter Nora 16 Consumed 18 Adage 21 Percussioninstrument 26 PR concern 29 Robert of “Quincy,M.E.” 30 “The Ghost andMrs. _” (’47 film) 32 Nab a gnat 33 Heaped 34 Funnyman Foxx 35 Be obligated 37 _ -European

38 “You _ it!” 39 Chartres part 40 Ming thing 41 Pie _ mode 46 Feel awful 48 Genetic info 49 Apiece 50 Daub 51 Ward (off) 52 New Jerseyborough 53 Pacificarchipelago 54 Shortly 55 Michael of“Cabaret” 58 Stream 59 Expect back 61 Damper 62 Conspire 63 Eight bits 64 Llama turf 66 James of “Brian’sSong” 67 - mater 68 Corn Belt soil 70 Core 71 Skin feature 72 Present 75 Cartwright ranch 78 “Just _ thought!” 80 Ms. Taylor 82 Mont _ 83 Relaxation 84 Logroll 85 Sicilian smoker 86 Stained 89 Middling mark

90 Morlocks’ prey 91 Rib _ 92 Amphitheaterfeature 93 Expanded 94 Writer Rand 96 “Hail to thee, _spirit!” 97 Massachusettscity 99 Thin covering100 SwimmerGertrude101 Elfin102 Strong suit103 Foment104 Simian108 Saucony rival109 Charon’s river110 Sheffield slammer111 Burden112 Granola fruit114 Rink legend115 Brit. fliers116 Dryden’s “_ forLove”117 Neighbor of Ga.119 Shiba _ (Japanesedog)

Answer Page 6

Page 8 WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER October 19, 2006

Social Security Q&A By Ray Vigil

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Q: I work long hours and haven’tbeen able to visit my local SocialSecurity office. I wondered if thereare ways to do business with SocialSecurity on nights or weekends?

A: Generally speaking, SocialSecurity’s normal office hours forconducting public business are Mon-day through Friday. However, mostSocial Security business today alsocan be conducted either on theInternet or over the phone. Thewebsite at www.socialsecurity.gov

lets visitors apply for benefits, useretirement planners, change address,sign up for direct deposit and muchmore. Information is available online24 hours a day. Most online servicesare available weekdays from 5 a.m.to 1 a.m., Saturday from 5 a.m. to 11p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m. to11:30 p.m. The Social Security toll-free number at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY1-800-325-0778) has representativesavailable from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. onbusiness days. And Social Securityalso has automated telephone options

which can allow callers to transactbusiness by phone 24 hours a day.

Q: I worked as a teacher for 27 yearsin a school system that had its ownpension plan and that did not requirestaff to pay Social Security taxes. ButI also worked during the summermonths for all those years at a job cov-ered by Social Security. Can the Wind-fall Elimination Provision (WEP)eliminate all of the monthly Social Se-curity benefit I should be entitled to?

A: No. While Social Security benefitsare usually lower because of WEP,they are never totally eliminated. Forexample, this year the maximum re-

duction under WEP is $328 permonth, and the reduction is often less(the average reduction is $198

Q: My niece recently gave birth to ababy born a few months prematurely.Is it true that SSI can provide finan-cial help in caring for the baby?

A: Social Security provides SSI dis-ability benefits to certain low birthweight infants, whether or not theyare premature. A newborn whoweighs less than 1200 grams (about2 pounds, 10 ounces) can qualify forSSI on the basis of low birth weight,if otherwise eligible. A child whoweighs between 1200 and 2000

grams at birth (about 4 pounds 6ounces) and who is considered smallfor his or her gestational age may alsoqualify. Even if a child who was bornprematurely does not fall into one ofthe “low birth weight” categories, heor she may still qualify for SSI if heor she meets the definition of disabil-ity for children for another reason.______________________________________________________For more information visit your lo-cal Security office, see www.ssa.govor call us at 1-800-772-1213. If youhave any questions that you wouldlike to have answered, please mailthem to the Social Security Office,11111 Gateway West, Attn: Ray Vigil,El Paso, Texas 79935.

The patented RealFeel Temperature® is AccuWeather's exclusive index of the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine, precipitation, and elevation on the human body.

7-DAY FORECAST FOR EL PASO, TX

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2006

Thu. 7:12 a.m. 6:29 p.m.Fri. 7:12 a.m. 6:28 p.m.Sat. 7:13 a.m. 6:27 p.m.Sun. 7:14 a.m. 6:26 p.m.Mon. 7:15 a.m. 6:25 p.m.Tues. 7:15 a.m. 6:24 p.m.Wed. 7:16 a.m. 6:23 p.m.

Thu. 4:55 a.m. 5:15 p.m.Fri. 5:49 a.m. 5:39 p.m.Sat. 6:43 a.m. 6:05 p.m.Sun. 7:40 a.m. 6:33 p.m.Mon. 8:38 a.m. 7:06 p.m.Tues. 9:39 a.m. 7:44 p.m.Wed. 10:40 a.m. 8:30 p.m.

SunRise Set

New

10/21

First

10/29

Full

11/5

Last

11/12

IN THE SKYWEATHER TRENDS THIS WEEK

Moon

Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.

Atlanta 87 49 pc 66 47 pc 68 53 s 68 47 tBoston 67 53 pc 60 44 r 57 43 s 60 47 pcChicago 47 37 c 53 43 c 57 41 pc 50 36 cDenver 58 35 pc 61 31 c 45 25 pc 42 23 shDetroit 58 39 sh 53 40 c 56 42 c 55 37 rHouston 73 51 t 76 61 pc 79 60 t 73 53 cIndianapolis 58 37 c 57 42 pc 59 46 c 55 35 cKansas City 59 41 pc 66 45 pc 52 34 r 53 32 pcLos Angeles 80 56 s 77 57 s 74 59 s 74 57 sMiami 88 76 pc 90 76 pc 89 75 t 87 75 rMinneapolis 48 34 pc 50 36 pc 46 31 c 45 31 cNew Orleans 77 57 t 74 59 c 79 67 t 80 59 sNew York City 65 55 pc 59 46 sh 59 49 s 60 49 pcOmaha 56 36 pc 62 42 pc 50 33 pc 52 32 pcPhoenix 84 58 s 85 60 s 86 61 s 85 61 sSan Francisco 73 53 s 74 53 s 73 53 s 72 53 sSeattle 60 47 r 58 43 c 59 44 s 60 43 sWashington 74 53 pc 58 44 pc 62 47 s 62 50 pc

CITY HI LO W HI LO W HI LO W HI LO WThursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Abilene, TX 68 52 pc 78 59 c 73 49 s 64 43 pcAlbuquerque, NM 63 40 pc 67 45 pc 64 43 s 64 43 sAmarillo, TX 65 42 pc 75 45 pc 62 37 s 57 36 pcAustin, TX 74 46 pc 71 61 c 81 53 t 72 48 cBrownsville, TX 79 65 t 80 73 c 89 73 t 80 63 cDodge City, KS 66 39 pc 72 42 pc 52 34 s 53 30 pcJackson, MS 71 45 t 71 47 pc 77 56 s 68 49 sLaredo, TX 77 61 c 80 67 c 88 68 t 77 58 cLittle Rock, AR 66 43 pc 69 51 pc 69 48 t 65 42 pcLubbock, TX 67 44 pc 78 48 s 71 41 pc 61 39 pcMemphis, TN 69 43 pc 70 49 s 72 53 t 64 44 sMidland, TX 71 53 pc 77 54 pc 77 48 s 65 44 sPueblo, CO 65 28 pc 70 37 s 54 29 s 49 25 pcRoswell, NM 71 41 pc 80 48 s 75 45 s 63 42 pcSt. Louis, MO 60 40 pc 63 48 s 60 46 pc 55 37 pcSan Antonio, TX 74 52 pc 75 67 c 85 59 t 73 53 cTexarkana, AR 68 44 pc 70 55 pc 73 50 t 63 44 sWaco, TX 72 49 pc 72 64 c 76 52 t 70 47 pcWichita, KS 62 43 pc 71 47 pc 55 38 pc 55 37 pc

CITY HI LO W HI LO W HI LO W HI LO WThursday Friday Saturday Sunday

REGIONAL CITIES U.S. CITIES

Rise Set

Mainly clear

Thu. night

49°

45°RealFeel

Mostly sunny andnice

Friday

RealFeel

54°79°

53°78°

Sunny and nice

Saturday

RealFeel

51°76°

49°77°

Sunshine andpleasant

Sunday

RealFeel

48°73°

47°76°

Sunshine

Monday

RealFeel

54°78°

54°79°

A full day ofsunshine

Tuesday

RealFeel

56°80°

58°82°

Plenty of sun

Wednesday

RealFeel

55°82°

45°80°

Partly sunny andpleasant

Thursday

75°

77°RealFeel