Today Cedar Hill (Duncanville, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 30, 2001 Page: 4 of 20
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Page 4* *C edar Hill TodayThursday, August 30, 2001
OPINION
A few random
musings about
STEVE
SNYDER
Today Staff
Some random
observations about
the inanities of
life.
• I noticed that
Wells Fargo now is
advertising Texas
Rangers check-
books. Now, if
you’re a strong,
nationally known
bank, do you really
want your financial
image associated
with the StRangers, the way they’ve
played this year?
• Does Jerry Jones really want
another 1989 and ground-up rebuild-
ing for the Cowboys? He seems to
have forgotten that he wasn’t calling
all the shots on that first rebuilding.
And Jerry, with another 5-11 season, if
not 1-15, staring you in the face, do
you believe that even in Dallas you’re
going to get a lot of takers on a new
stadium with a $1.5 billion price tag?
Maybe the face lift cut off even
more oxygen to Jer-man’s brain. And
let's not forget some of his other plans.
How many years ago was it that he
first promised natural grass at Texas
Stadium? Well, I guess as general
manager, he doesn’t have time to be
head groundskeeper as well.
• Vet more sports thoughts. Should
the Dallas bid for the 2012 Olympics
face the same human rights scrutiny as
Beijing’s 2008 bid did? Some interna-
tional human rights groups say yes,
pointing out the death penalty, includ-
ing it being allowed for persons under
18 and with less than full mental abili-
ties. In short, there argument is that
American preaching on human rights
sometimes is a case of the pot calling
the kettle black.
Second, is a September start for the
Olympics feasible here? And how will
traffic be with an estimated additional
million people in the Metroplex by
then?
• Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk for the
Senate? It would be an interesting
race... especially if Phil Gramm runs
again after all and Kirk decides to
challenge. Of course, if Gramm drops
out, a full pack of Democrats will be
jumping into the primary, salivating at
the chance to run for an open seat.
• A 30-day working vacation for
Bush? Just like it would be nice if we
all had the same benefits and insur-
ance as the Prez and Congress, equali-
ty on a few of these other fringe bene-
fits might be nice too.
• And that highly touted federal
budget surplus? Only way that’s hap-
pening at the end of the current fiscal
year Sept. 30 is by the Treasury
Department dipping into Medicaid
funds. Seems to me like our current
See MUSINGS, Page 5
yippee??/
its LABOR
MY.'
SHE
IS SO
CUTE?
BUT NOT
TOO BRIGHT
-LABOR PAY
ISN'T TILL
MONDAY.
i AM NOT
CUTE?—AN'MY
MOM S HAVIN'A
BABY?
www.barryscartoon3.com
.-a
Attorney General’s office works
to protect consumers’ interests
A look at the Texas
Civil Court System
We’ve got a lot
of courts in Dallas
County. There are
Justice of the
Peace Courts,
County Courts,
County Courts at
Lqw, District
Courts (of several
kinds) and a Court
of Appeals. It can
be confusing to
figure out who
does what.
At the lowest level are the small
claims courts. These courts are meant
to handle the smallest claims (no
claim over $5,000 is allowed) and are
by far the most “user friendly” for
nonlawyers. The rules are simple,
there are no fancy legal documents
filed (in fact, the parties can state
their positions orally), and the eviden-
m
JOHN
POLEWSKI
Special Today
tiary rules and discovery that make
litigation in other courts so time con-
suming and expensive are either
relaxed or don’t exist at all. Your
judge may or may not be a lawyer.
Because the proceedings in these
courts lack the precision and rules
you would see in other courts, either
party may appeal a small claims court
decision for an entirely new trial to
the next level of Texas courts. These
courts, called either County Courts or
County Courts at Law, were originally
created to handle cases of a limited
size as well. During my 18 years of
practice I have seen this change, with
the top level of cases County Courts
in Dallas County could handle going
from $100,000 to $200,000 and final-
ly to unlimited size. These changes
came by special statutes passed so
that the County Courts at Law could
See COURTS, Page 5
Question: I heard about your set-
tlement with Publisher’s Clearing
House. I bought magazines for years
hoping I would win. Can I get any of
my money back?
Answer: My agency sued
Publishers Clearing House (PCH) in
1999, charging that the company mis-
led consumers into believing they had
already won a sweepstakes contest or
that buying magazines would improve
their chances of winning. Our investi-
gation showed that most of the victims
were elderly senior citizens.
In June of this year, Texas and 25
other states settled the lawsuit with
PCH. Under the terms of the settle-
ment, Publishers Clearing House must
apologize for the harm caused by its
deceptive marketing practices. The set-
tlement also contains safeguards to
protect future consumers by making it
clear that making a purchase does not
help their chances of winning the
sweep stakes. In addition:
• PCH is prohibited from making
any deceptive or misleading state-
ments or omissions. PCH is also
barred from implying anything that it
would be prohibited from saying
directly.
Ask the AG
By John Cornyn
• PCH may not discriminate
between consumers who order maga-
zine subscriptions and those who do
not.
• PCH must pay $1 million in civil
penalties and $19 million in restitution
to consumers who were deceived by
its past marketing practices. In addi-
tion, the company will pay $14 million
to Texas and the states involved in the
litigation to cover the cost of the law-
suit and administering the restitution
program. '—•'** 1:JOY lJf,y "
If you believe you were harmed by
the marketing practices used by
Publisher’s Clearing House, you may
file a complaint through my agency’s
Consumer Protection Division (CPD).
For more information about the com-
plaint process and to obtain a con-
sumer complaint form, contact CPD at
800-621-0508.
You can also fill out the form
online by visiting the consumer pro-
tection section of our Web site at
www.oag.state.tx.us.
Question: When I received my
phone bill, I was shocked to find a $50
charge for a collect call from Mexico I
know I didn’t accept. The bill shows
that a company called ZPDI billed me
for these charges. I heard you have
taken legal action against this type of
collect call charges. Is there any way 1
can get my money back?
Answer: The Office of the
Attorney General has heard from hun-
dreds of consumers, primarily with
Hispanic last names, who were
charged $50 or more for collect calls
from Mexico. Many consumers report-
ed that the person making the call
claimed to be a relative and oftert used
" tKe same fast rtsirtie fe ‘
consumer that the call really was from
a long-lost relative. Only after accept-
ing the call did consumers realize they
didn’t know the caller.
In other cases, consumers were
billed for collect calls that supposedly
took place when there was no one
home to answer the phone. Charges
for these calls were high also, often as
much as $50.
After receiving and investigating
hundreds of complaints, my office
See AG, Page 5
Are you making the best
use of your 401(k) plan?
CEDAR HILL TODAY INFORMATION
DARRYL
FENTON
Financial Focus
Are you
getting the
most from
your 401 (k)?
Many people
aren’t.
To obtain
the maximum
benefits from
your 401 (k)
plan, you
have to make
two key
moves. First, you need to con-
tribute as much as you can
afford. And second, you need
to invest for long-term growth.
Let’s look at the issue of
contributions first. There are
very few hard-and-fast rules in
the investment world but it
almost always makes sense to
contribute as much as your can
afford to your 401 (k). After all,
you generally invest in your
401 (k) with pretax dollars, so
the more you put in, the lower
your annual tax bill.
Furthermore, your earnings
grow on a tax-deferred basis,
which means you’ll have more
of your money working for
you right away.
If you’re lucky, your
employer will match part - or
even all - of your 401 (k) con-
tributions, up to a certain level.
So, if you’re not contributing
enough to your 401 (k) to qual-
ify for the full matching
amount, you are literally
“walking away” from money
that’s being offered to you.
And that’s never a good mpve.
Now, let’s look at the other
important move you could
make to reap the greatest bene-
fit from your 401(k): investing
for long-term growth.
Many people mistakenly
treat their 401 (k) plans as
short-term investment vehicles,
and they become overly con-
cerned with the market’s daily
and monthly price swings. As
a result, when deciding with
401 (k) options to invest in,
they pour too many dollars
into very conservative choices,
such as money market
accounts.
If you start contributing to
your 401 (k) when you’re in
your 20s or 30s, you’ve got
several decades of investing
ahead of you. Because of this,
you may want to consider
putting the bulk of your 401 (k)
money into growth accounts,
which are made up largely of
stocks.
At first glance, that may
sound like a risky strategy,
given that stocks are more
volatile than other types of
investments. However, these
price fluctuations tend to
smooth out over time - so the
longer you hold stocks in your
See FOCUS, Page 5
m
Cedar Hill Today Staff
Richard Collins
Owner
Kathy Ramsey
Publisher
Kristi Crooks
Managing Editor
Greg Cashman
Advertising Director
Jon Whitcomb
Circulation Coordinator
Kirk Dickey
News Editor
John Shaw
Sports Editor
Angel Jenkins
People Editor
Matt Dalrymple, Daphne Brown and
Pat Walker
Staff Writers
Chris Hudson and David Goodspeed
Photographers
Betty Bell
Lifestyles Coordinator
Cherise Burnett
Retail ad sales
Amy Rollins
Typesetting
Troy Peoples
Distribution Coordinator
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
People. Advertising rates may be secured
upon request.
Editorial:
School news - 5 p.m. Friday
General news - noon Monday
Deadlines are subject to change due to
holidays and will be published in advance.
Subscriptions
Subscription rates - $23.50 per year
in city. $32.50 per year elsewhere in
Texas. All subscriptions payable in
advance and non-refundable. The pub-
lisher reserves the right to change adver-
tising and subscription rates at any time.
General Information
Today Cedar Hill is an independent
newspaper published weekly in the inter-
est of Cedar Hill. Any erroneous reflec-
tion upon the integrity or reputation of any
individual will be corrected if brought to
the attention of the news editor.
Digests run on a space available hasis
Letter Policy
The Opinion Page of Today News-
papers is an open forum for all view-
points. Letters to the editor and guest
columns are encouraged.
Deadline is noon Monday in person
at 1701 N. Hampton in DeSoto, or by
mail to P.O. Box 381029, Duncanville.
TX 75138.
Letters must have an original signa-
ture, with a home address and daytime
telephone number for verification pur-
poses only.
The content of all letters will be pre-
served within guidelines of clarity, style.
taste, etc. Letters should be of interest to
local readers and shou(d be limited to
300 words. A complete list of editorial
policies, including the submission of
guest columns, is available at the above
location. Call 972-298-4211 for further
information. Publication in one newspa-
per does not guarantee a letter will be
published in any other town.
How to Contact Us
Location:
Duncanville Office - 716B N. Main St.,
Duncanville, 75116
DeSoto Office - 1701 N Hampton Road,
Suite A, DeSoto. 75115
Phone: 972-298^211
Fax: 972-298-6369
E-mail: cedartuIl(«)todaynewspapers.net
Postage Information
Today Cedar Hill (USPS 095640,
ISSN 0704-0428) is published every
Thursday by Today Newspapers, 716B
N. Main Street, Duncanville, Texas
75116-4708. Second class postage paid
at Duncanville, Texas 75138-1029. Post-
master: Send address changes to Today
Cedar Hill. P.O. Box 381029, Duncan-
ville, Texas 75138-1029.
mm
—
Country Day on the Hill planning, booking swings into gear
C ountry Day on the Hill
invites Arts & Crafts Vendors
& Entertainers
The 64th Annual Country
Day on the Hill festival will be
held Oct. 13 on the Downtown
Historic Square in C edar Hill,
The excitement is building
with many new plans for the
visiting crowd and local fami-
lies. A frill days activities offer
fun and fellowship for the pro-
jected crowd of 5,000.
Arts crafts dfl&l
Vicki and Billy Watkins have
been extremely busy accepting
entries for the past six weeks.
They can be reached at 972-
293-2123 or by visiting their
Southwest Comer Gallery on
the square at 515 Cedar Street.
“We do have some places
still available for vendors as
well as non-profit organiza-
tions, businesses and church-
es,” Vicki said.
Feeder roads into the
Downtown Square will be used
once regular places are filled.
Everyone is urged to call today.
More than 100 vendors partici-
pated in last year’s Country
b-'
T\vo of the three stages have
been booked with a fantastic
line up of entertainers and
events. The Phillips Main Stage
will feature the great music of
“Fossil Rock,” “Age of
Consent” Band and the Street
Dance Band of “Bobby &
Beth” Wesson. The Cedar Hill
Food Pantry celeb pie auction,
pet show and the Main Bank
parade awards will complete
the line up on the Main Stage
located at the comer of
Houston and Texas streets
of Commerce.
Stacia Woodlan, entertain-
rmrntr
booked under the Main Tent
stage. She reported to the com-
mittee last week that she only
had one 30-minute slot avail-
able. Call her at 972-293-8018
On the hill
By Miss Jimmie
or by visiting her new down-
town dance studio at 212
Houston Street across from
City Hall. Her line-up includes
the very popular “Prince &
Princess Cpptfpf," daiKCffl
from Stacia’s School of Dance
and a musical singing group
directed by Marti Hamilton
from the Cedar Hill Church of
Christ. This stage will also
have a featured puppet show
that will present several shows
throughout the day for the chil-
drens’ areas. Two Cedar Hill
choirs are also on tap to per-
form.
The entertaining musical
group of “Java Combo” will
also be under the tent to thrill
the huge crowd of guests
enjoying the world famous
Cedar Hill Lions Club fish fry.
They really know how to cook
a great meal!
The line was one block long
for over three hours last year
Ikd Wtfl ilail again (ft 4:30
p.m. in front of Stacia Is School
of Dance on Houston Street.
Tickets may be purchased at
the door or from any Cedar
Hill Lions Club Member.
A new large stage has been
created to accommodate more
entertainers this year.
The Chili Cookoff has been
moved and expanded to Main
Street north of Cedar Street
and down to Belt Line Road.
So this new stage will be called
“The Chili Cookoff” stage.
Performers may call me at 972-
291-7S&2 for information.—
The expansion of this great
statewide CASI event was nec-
essary lo provide more room
for these wild chili cookers.
You may call Chairman
Christie Williams at 972-293-
See THI HILL, Page 5
t
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Crooks, Kristi. Today Cedar Hill (Duncanville, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 30, 2001, newspaper, August 30, 2001; Duncanville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth541879/m1/4/: accessed July 3, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Zula B. Wylie Memorial Library.