Journal Tribune, The (Newspaper) - December 20, 1990, Williamsburg, Iowa 2 The NEWSpapers of Iowa 1990 In the Christmas By Ken Sweeney Managing editor This weeks column contains a couple of those little gems that brightened my days recently and in the Christmas I thought I would share them with The first came from a personal experience I had a couple weeks I was in the lobby of the Five Seasons Center in Cedar Rapids ago when I was taken aback by a hand some looking older gentleman standing nearby who I imme recognized as the distinguished actor Douglas Fair banks I have to admit the only reason I recognized him he has changed a little since he played lead roles in the Hol lywood action adventures is that he has been in Iowa in recent years to promote and raise money for Variety a charily I think is worthy of our He apparently had been asked to serve as emcee at some function at Coe My conversation with him went something like this Me How are Fairbanks DF Not bad for an old Me How old is that 81 years Me Id say youre doing very well for someone 81 years DF Flashing that smile that 40 years ago drew mainly women to the movie Thank Knowing there was a Silver Bullets game going on at the I asked him if he enjoyed DF Not as much as he answered with a twinkle in his Me Assuming he lives in Southern Are you a Rams or Raiders DF It doesnt I just enjoy watching any team thats After exchanging some more pleasantries and going our separate ways he being escorted by a very nice looking blonde this thought struck me This man whose family dominated the silver screen for several generations is indeed a generous individual who not only gives his time to worthy causes but also does it with a sense of dignity and Maybe some of the other socalled stars of todays movies should emulate Im a night owl and one of the advantages or disad vantages of being one is having to watch some of the tabloid news programs that have sprung up in recent months on latenight Most of the stories are the stuff that is splashed across the pages of the supermarket The other a story was aired on which brought a lump to my throat and a tear to my It was about a man named Virgil Marinelli of who I would guess to be in his 30s or each year has his dark hair and beard dresses up in a red suit and goes out to deliver gifts to less fortunate children in who as an electrician earns a has often taken out personal loans to pay for the toys he distributes to the needy kids in his town and has literally gone bankrupt in order to make Christmas a little brighter for Even more amazing is the fact that his wife and two children support him by not expecting too much themselves at Virgils philosophy is that no matter how bad you have there are those who are much worse He likes to look at what he has rather than dwell on what he doesnt In my Virgil is a lot wealthier than many million this item which I ran across in the Minneapolis Star Tribune If youre looking for a organically clean way of packaging those mailed Christmas gift instead of using those foam particles which are not how about using the real thing I people have been using real popcorn for years as a cushioning substance in but a company in the Twin Clean claims its popcorn kernels are bigger and cheaper than most commercial Robin Clean Green says his company uses su air 430 degrees to almost instantly pop the And the cost for a bag is lower than those foam pellets that you never seem to be able to get rid Theres only one problem the popcorn is sold in a plastic Young says hes looking for a different The Journal Tribune Aft An Winning Publication STAFF Simmons General Manager Ann General Manager Thompson Managing Sweeney Advertising Hager Sports Petz The Journal Tribune USPS 28592000 208 West State Iowa 52361 Advertising Sandersfeld Angela Rathjen News Helle Production Hopp Family Living Hanson Box 690 POSTAL REGULATIONS Published each Thursday by the NEWSpapers of Iowa second class postage paid at the post office at and at additional entry office at Iowa under Act of Congress of March Phone 6681240 SUBSCRIPTION RATES PRINTED WITH SOY INK Subscription Rile Iowa and adjacent all other and outside Send address changes to The Journal Box IA School board Continued from page 1 Thompson said he had already met with bus drivers to discuss ways to reduce miles and fuel Other possi he would be moving the hot lunch facilities from Williamsburg Ele mentary to the high reducing custodial hours and reducing He also said the district needed to look at the cost of the Parnell School operation and ways to reduce expenses Board member Robert ac knowledging it would not be a popular said the board may be forced to drop the summer athletic it just makes sense to me that when you start dropping academic you have to look at your extra curricular activities as Murphy Last Williamsburg School District voters defeated a proposed in support tax levy which would have generated up to 10 percent of the districts regular program budget or in additional funds for in Thompson said he would continue to look for ways to cut costs in all Resignation denied The board also disapproved a request by German instructor Kim Glandorf to resign to accept a position in Des Moines for second Glandorf said the Des Moines position would offer better pay and benefits and her family is from the Des Moines She said she under stood the district would have to find a suitable replacement before they could release Board member Murphy first suggested instructing the superintendent to adver tise the position without actually approv ing the but board member Judith Blythe I personally dont think we should be put in a position of looking for a German teacher at this time of Blythe I think its standard practice to allow a person to be released for professional advancement if it will further their ca countered board member Robert who then moved to accept Glandorf s pending the ob of a suitable motion with Murphy and Richard Peirce vot ing against the Clip and return DRM 198990 audit report is released Receipts totaled for the year ended June a percent increase from for the Deep Community School Districts general according to an audit report by Rose and certified public Revenues included in local in state in federal funds and in interest General Fund expenditures for the year totaled a percent decrease from the prior which in cluded for general for central and for student service The school district ended the fiscal year with a general fund cash balance of In the Rose and Weinbrenner recommended officials review the seg of District Officials agreed with the recommendation and are investigating available City of Williamsburg Playground Equipment Fund We invite you to take this opportunity to make a contribution to the City of Williamsburg for the Playground Equipment Your gift will improve our city park and provide a safe place downtown for children to play while their parents The goal of the playground committee is to raise If we each we will easily reach our Enclosed is a contribution for Other Please make checks payable to City of Williamsburg Playground Equipment Fund Return check to Williamsburg City Hall Farmers Trust Savings Bank Box 5 Box 90 IA 52361 IA 52361 Security Savings Bank Box 180 IA 52361 ON THE SQUARE By Paul Thompson General manager They say Christmas is for If is the Im getting to be a rather old Christmas will be rather different in the Thompson house hold this With three children and an age difference of more than 11 years between numbers two and there have been packages under the tree for at least one offspring fromi Santa Claus for more than 20 arrived at that very unmagical age of 10 this the place in life where suddenly all the knowledge of the ages becomes centralized and personified in one human she informed us she wasnt writing a letter to Santa this year or sitting on his There was no tieed to put presents from Santa under the tree this Its all rather sad when that youngest child reaches the age of knowing all there is possible to know in the world and tells you not to perpetuate Santa Claus this Oh I guess the jolly old elf has enough houses to go to each 24 that he wont mind skipping ours this As for number I think well just get hera lump of Old dad wont have nearly as much fun this I al ways enjoyed bringing in packages after the kids were with that sometimes being the middle of the night by the time they wore out from listening for reindeer sounds on the always enjoyed devouring the cookies and milk left for Santa No wonder the guy is so With several million cookies and glasses of milk to be downed in America alone each Christmas the guy should weigh a making sure a few crumbs to be discovered by the young sters in the The trick was always how to make the carrots left for the reindeer appear as though they were partially eaten by I likes least he was kind enough to take the ones left at our house even if he doesnt like I remember one Christmas Eve when number three was about 3 years old that we had a close encounter with Santa We had from church services and were piling out of the car when I heard this very very clear ho coming from a nearby At first I couldn t locate the source of the but finally found it coming from the roof about two houses Here was a rather portly man in a standard red and white suit with a sack slung over one shoulder away on the roof of a neighbors house Number three spotted the old fella about the same time 1 did and her eyes suddenly were as big v as half To her young mind this was certainly the sainted old elf himself I noticed Santa was having a bit of a problem negotiating the roof even though it had very little pitch to it and sus that he might have done just a bit too much partying before arriving at this particular Not wanting number see her hero make a fool of we reminded her she would need to go quickly to bed for Santa to come to her house and rushed our home and to A few minutes I decided to check on how Santa was doing and went back Sure he was still on the neighbors still big time and still having problems putting one foot in front of the Suddenly the hoho changed to no and I saw Santa fall to the then gently slide over the Fortunately for him it was one of those winters that included a lot of early season snow and the old elf with the luck that a Santa should I smack dab in the middle of a pile of I waited around a couple of minutes to see if he was okay and heard another series of hohos as he pulled himself and his sack out of the brushed himself off and headed for the back door of the He obviously had spotted me because he stopped a few feet from the turned in my and with a big wave of his arm hollered out in a booming Merry Christmas i shook my head a couple of times and with a big smile on my hollered back as loudly as I And a very merry Christmas to Santa it is It is he boomed out as he entered the neighbors Number three was a little later in life than most kids in coming to that point of real knowledge about It was because at the tender age of 3 she had had a close ter with the real Other kids would poohpooh the Santa Claus but to number three he was very After shed seen him her right there on the neighbors roof Thank I got her inside before he hit the snow pile ISLT Extension reports These gifts take but show love By Nancy Beyer Extension Home Economist Try these environ mentally sound hol iday gift They require a precious re source But giv ing a little time is a gift of Bake oatmeal cookies for just about Doehrmann Continued from page 1 with accounting for Through the systematic embarkation a computerized I was able to keep track of the battalions Doehrmann I also work closely with keeping our It means a lot of paperwork and key but I now know where every piece of gear For his Doehrmann was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal during 1 st CEB s Marine Corps birthday Doehrmann is an exceptional 1st CEB commanding He has done an outstanding job for us and its an honor to present him with this Im proud to serve with him and have him in my As Doehrmann sat by a picnic table made of scrap the former farm boy from Williamsburg talked about the folks back Id Weed to thank the people of my county back home for supplying us over here with care packages and he Without their we wouldnt mean a thing over They are the force behind a 1986 Williamsburg High School said when his battalion in country everyone was but now things are getting We all had to get used to living in the he so we must make our selves comfortable We have a soda weight volleyball even a TV and VCR at the mess Its pretty cool here now like most of the Marines is putting forth his maximum effort and trying to make the best of a bad situa Write a special a fan Call a seldom visited aunt or Take a basket of kiwis and pears to the local ing Read aloud to your grand nieces or nephews their favorite not Give an Extension Gardening Cal endar with a couple packets of special The calendars are atour Gather all those old photos into an and add information about the family Put together a scrapbook of clippings concerning your children that youve probably spent years preserving but havent yet Fill a new address book with upto date addresses of In the letdown lull after the host a Saturday Morning Are Coffee for your neighbors a super clean house isnt Are you a sound financial manager Im looking for people who enjoy help ing listen respect differing observe want to use financial skills and communi cate nr pr or you are Whatever your be it banker or teacher or you are If you know the importance of sound finan cial management skills and feel in control of your financial you may be able to help others achieve financial Through the Financial Management Counseling you one with recordkeeping family financial communication realistic spending credit control and ways to You will have the satisfaction of help ing others achieve a sense of financial Your work will improve the economic health of youll probably become a better money manager yourself through the training and information updates you Anyone interested in working with the volunteer Financial Management Coun seling Service is welcome to Each prospective volunteer counselor will be If selected as a volunteer you will be using and follow ing the recommended financial manage ment practices of the Iowa State Univer sity Extension The four afternoon classes begin in midJanuary in Application blanks are at the Extension 1099 Court telephone WANTED Route carriers in Williamsburg im THE IOWA COUNTY ADVERTISER KIDS 10 up earn a little extra money to spend for Christmas gifts If phone 6681240
