The Star Press from Muncie, Indiana • Page 4

Early Learning Programs: Good, but The Muncie Star EDITORIALS and COMMENT EUGENE C. PULLIAM (1889-1975), Publisher 1944-1975 JAMES C. QUAYLE, Publisher 1975-1978 I 2 -J 'V Joan Beck EUGENE S. PULLIAM, Publisher WILEY W. SPURGEON Exec.

Editor LARRY L. SHORES, Editor LARRY S. LOUGH, Managing Editor WILLIAM A. DYER President ROBERT G. ELLIS, Gen.

Manager MICHAEL F. GRIMES, Advertising Director CHET 0. HENSON, Circulation Director "Where the Spirit of the Lord There Is Liberty" II Corinthians 3:17 FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 1985 PAGE 4 "For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty!" Zachariah 9:17 As state legislators rush to appropriate more money for early childhood learning programs, a few "yes, but" cautions need to be flashed. Yes, early learning opportunities for high-risk, low-income youngsters do pay off in better academic achievement and fewer behavior problems even through adolescence. But Head Start and similar programs can't by themselves erase all the negative effects of being born into poverty, having a teen-age mother, coming from a broken home and living in an under-stimulating, underclass environment.

A new yes-but report oi early learning for high risk children was recently made public in Montgomery County, a suburban area outside Washington that is among the most affluent counties in the United States. Yes, the three groups of Head Start participants who were studied did better than similar disadvantaged young people without this early learning opportunity. But compared with other students in Montgomery County and with national norms many fell short. A bigger percentage of them had to repeat a grade, were assigned to special education, performed below average on standardized tests and dropped out of school than did other Montgomery County students. "Compared to the rest of the Montgomery County Public Schools population, the students in the Head Start sample experienced a disproportionate number of academic problems in elementary and secondary school," the report concludes.

"This was true despite the fact that Head Start helped them perform better than they would have done without it." This isn't an argument against early learn- started happily on reading and math. Ideally these programs should begin well before age 3, with outreach to the home and encouragement to parents to enrich their children's lives with appropriate mental stimulation. More than half of the nation's 9 million 3-, 4-and 5-year-olds already are going to some kind of preschool or kindergarten, according to a new study, "Early Childhood Development Programs in the Eighties," issued by the High Scope Educational Research Foundation and funded by the Carnegie Corp. Many of these programs exist primarily for the convenience of employed parents. Many concentrate on social development.

Few make skilled use of neurological information about brain development. Rarely are efforts made to enlist parents in intelligence-raising activities at home or to coordinate learning with effective follow-up in the early elementary grades. A dozen states now fund pre-kindergarten programs, especially for low-income children. Two more will do so starting this fall. Fifteen others have proposals pending or under study." This can be the best investment ever made by taxpayers to break the chain that locks generation after generation in an underclass of poverty, unemployment and social pathology.

But it won't happen automatically. The programs must be more than day care. They must stimulate parental involvement and be coordinated with elementary school follow-up. And even at best, they can only go part way in eliminating the gap that begins in earliest childhood between the most and the least advantaged children. Joan Beck is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.

ing programs. Nor is it a reason for legislatures to go slow on funding these opportunities: Dollars spent on quality programs for 3- and 4-year-olds have been proven repeatedly to pay off big in better academic achievement, less special education, fewer repeated grades, fewer dropouts, less delinquency and less teenage pregnancy. But the Montgomery County study is a realistic reminder that a few hours a day spent in what may be little more than day care for 1 or 2 years can't completely make up for the differences between a mentally malnourishing, high-risk environment and a mentally stimulating, advantaged home. It should also caution legislators and educators that high-risk children need much more than day care or traditional nursery school the chief components of many Head Start programs. To do maximum good, early childhood education programs must be built on new neurological knowledge about how the brain grows and what helps intelligence to develop best, how children acquire language "and grammar and how 3- and 4-year-olds can be Edmund F.

Petty The community, friends and family have made their final salutes to Edmund F. Petty, former president of Ball Stores, who died last week. Petty who was just plain "Ed" to his host of friends worked hard for many years to ensure Ball Stores customers received good service and were able to select from the best of merchandise. His service to his country included Air Force duty during the Korean War, and his service to his community included active roles in the First Presbyterian Church, the Rotary Club and the Muncie-Delaware Chamber of Commerce. He cared deeply about downtown development and worked hard for it, confident the problems of Muncie's downtown, which might not yield to the first efforts, would certainly yield to the last.

Someday not too far off Muncie residents will enjoy a clean, bright, prosperous and interesting downtown. It won't be strictly a Petty accomplishment, but it wouldn't have come so soon without him. It will be among those who know a worthy monument to a worthy life. Public Letter Box Reds and Cubs CHET HUST 1438 W. 131b St.

Well, Catherine's Chicago Cubs got knocked out of first place over the weekend. The Cincinnati Reds didn't do too bad though; they managed a split with the Braves. I'll bet there are a lot of fans in and Saturday. Spend an evening with us and see if you enjoy this wonderful pasttime called cruising. Father Bates GARRETT H.

PHILLIPS Father Bates, we bid you farewell, with regret. May God go with you to your new appointment. Always, when I thought of a good Christian minister, I thought of you. Our paths did not cross too often a couple of weddings we had together. You promised to preach for me, but we never got together.

You will leave your imprint upon the cpmmunity, not with the church building that you built for we have 270 of them, but in the Christian lives of many of the people. You were a Catholic priest. We never wanted to change that fact. We were glad to point out a priest who lived according to the rules of Jesus. You will be busy in your new parish, but stop once in awhile to say a prayer for us in Muncie.

We wish you Godspeed and hope we will get more priests like you. What more can I say? Thank you for coming to Muncie. You were here and all of Muncie is glad! Good Service GREGORY B. SMITH 2703 W. Woodbridge Drive.

On Sunday, June 9, I discovered that a family of raccoons was living in the chimney at my house. Not wanting to share our home with wildlife, I lit a small newspaper fire in the fireplace to smoke them out and three raccoons emerged. My wife called the police and they sent an employee of the Muncie Animal Shelter, Chris Chiappetta, to pick up the raccoons. Later, as I was cleaning the ashes from the fireplace, I noticed that there was still one raccoon about midway up in the chimney. We again called the police and Chris Chiappetta came again and removed the raccoon.

I am writing to report Tiow impressed we were with tbe manner in which Chris Chiappetta conducted himself. He was very pleasant, competent, and concerned. Above all, he was careful and kind to the animals. It was obvious that he enjoys his work, and my wife and I appreciated the quick service provided by him. The city should be proud to have such an employee on the payroll.

Readers of The Star are invited to send opinions on question! of public interest to tha Public Letter Box. Letters should be written on one side only of a sheet of paper. The writer's name and address should accompany each letter, but will be withheld on request. The Star reserves the right to reject any letter. On letters which exceed 250 words in length, The Star reserves the right to edit content, but will attempt to preserve the writer's opinion in so doing.

less driving; kids using South Elm Street as a 3-lane road. 3. Running stop sign at 24th Street and Elm. 4. High rate of speed in residential zone.

5. A house, three properties and one car hit and heavily damaged by a cruiser's car. 6. Kids hanging out of cars, drinking and reckless driving. The list is longer vandalism, loud music, breaking curfew, littering, using yards as driveways and short-cuts.

Cars are not just from Muncie; we took plate numbers in a 15 minute time; we copied a long list of out-of-town plates. Now where in the world are these cars from? Won't their town let them cruise? Probably not, so why should we? Parents, if you don't believe it is bad, please come down to any southside resident's home on Friday Enemy: Demand The biggest hurdle in the U.S. war against illegal drugs will be conquered by ingenuity, not strength. No one can be certain who will discover a sure way of diverting the motivation that underlies drug abuse. It could be an ad man, poet, psychologist, evangelist or cop who will come up With the slogan, technique, insight, formula, sermon, pledge or program that will end the trend.

"To win the war against drugs, we must not only cut the supply coming into this country, but we must also work on the demand," Rep. John Myers, remarked recently. "We now have all the resources of the armed services AWAC navigational radar, surveillance balloons, Army helicopters to intercept the boats and the planes which have been bringing the drugs into our country. "The U.S. attorney general has also reported that we now have unprecedented cooperation from Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Central America and South America.

For example, the governments in these places are actually dynamiting some of the clandestine airstrips used by narcotics traffickers as they arrest the traffickers themselves, extraditing them to the U.S. where they stand trial for drug trafficking." But ultimately, Myers said, "winning the war against drug traffic depends on reducing and eliminating the consumer markets." He is right. Although the United States and its allies are waging a global war against illegal drugs, victory is possible only if users are motivated somehow to escape from the habit that blurs reality, burns out their brains and internal organs and eventually turns their lives to trash. It seems as though it should be easy. It is not.

IlllHllfftUvfe mai I-' 1w iw Tn 'r 1 "-T this area like me Reds first, Cubs second. Wouldn't it be great to have a Cubs-Reds playoff in the National League? I'd like to see it go five games with the Reds winning. Catherine would like three games, Cubs! Sometimes she can be downright unreasonable. However, she thinks I'm the greatest armchair manager (recli ner in this case) in the whole U.S.A. Like the other day when her Cubs were behind a couple of runs with the bases loaded and nobody out.

Gary Woods, hitting .167, was on deck. I said, "Come on Jim, (you know, Jim Frey the manager) put Richie Hebner in to pinch hit for him." Well, Jim didn't and the Cubs didn't score. Left the bases loaded. So, in the ninth with two out, he finally put Hebner in and he got a hit. He was left stranded and the Cubs lost by a run.

Now Catherine keeps trying to get me to write letters to Jim Frey and help him out and knock off some of this Letter Box stuff. But I don't know I don't guess it would pay much better and anyway, I bet Jim Frey is hearing from a lot of fans a lot closer to Chicago than we are! Well, anyway, somebody ought to write Jim Frey and tell him a run's a run just like a trick's a trick in euchre, whether in the fifth inning or the ninth. No point in saving your best till the last when there's nobody on base. Holy Cow! Cruising J.K. BONNET 3211 S.

Elm St. I know you have heard this before but here it is again: Issue cruisers. As a result of the cruising, the following occurred Friday and Saturday, June 14 and 15. 1. Friday Fire trucks were called to a grass fire on 26th Street behind the car wash.

Trucks had a difficult time answering call; reason traffic congestion. Luckily fire was only minor. 2. Friday and Saturday Reek- Heard in Our Neighborhood iuirtrt mi v. v.

fyh sbores Tlrwnt Old Blue Eyes Needs to Screen His Fans BY THE TIME you read this you may, of course, already have your lunch packed for this noon's Brown Bag Concert on the Walnut Plaza by the Muncie Summer Symphony Orchestra. There is a story elsewhere in the paper about the bill of fare for today's concert, so that won't be covered here. In case you have a few extra minutes after the concert, you might want to follow the musicians to an unannounced, but scheduled, appearance elsewhere on the Plaza. That's all I'm at liberty to say, but it should be interesting. Today's concert is the fifth in a schedule of 15 noontime programs on the Walnut Plaza, near Muncie Federal Savings and Loan Assn.

Next week's program will be Dick Joliffe and a German band. After that there will be dixieland, blue-grass, a brass quintet and plenty more. Donna Douglas, in her Day breaks column in The Star each Friday, provides a reminder of what's playing that day. If she forgets to tell you, let me know. A FEW WEEKS ago, Bill Spur-geon, The Star's executive editor, sent me a clipping from The Goshen News announcing yet another development at the Das Dutchman Essenhaus.

That is the restaurant on U.S. 20, west of Middlebury, and many residents from East-Central Indiana make it a must-stop whenever in that part of northern Indiana. Those who attend the famous flea markets and auctions at Shipshewanna often eat lunch there. Latest addition will be a 32-room motel to be constructed by Bob and Sue Miller, who purchased the restaurant in 1971. Since then, they have added space to the restaurant and constructed a bakery and gift shop on the property.

The motel, a $1.5 million development, will feature a conference facility designed after an Amish school. A large, open central atrium will provide natural light for the conference area. The Millers say the motel is designed to resemble an Amish "gross-dawdy," or grandfather house. It should be completed by spring ot 1986. Having stuffed myself on more than one occasion at the Das Dutchman restaurant, I can understand why the Millers are building a motel next door.

They may get some "spill-over" business from diners who find it necessary to collapse in a bed after downing a prodigious meal. ANOTHER SPOT northern Indiana travelers like to visit is the Enchanted Hills Playhouse at Lake Wawasee. Those who have seen plays there during the past two seasons may remember Darryl Maximilian Robinson, the Chicago-based actor, who has impressed audiences and critics alike. Robinson, a tall, slim, black actor, has shown great intensity and stage presence in such plays as The King and Oliver, Peter Pan; My Fair Lady and CameloL I saw him in Camelot last summer and remember raving about him in a subsequent review of the play. He is also experienced in many Shakespearean productions, having toured with New York's National Shakespeare Company.

The Bard's work is what he will be doing this summer as a performing member of the Indianapolis Shakespeare Festival. The festival features outdoor productions in Garfield Park. Its season opens in July and will include The Merry Wives of Windsor and Hamlet. Robinson will also be featured as an actordirectorinstructor at the Indianapolis Children's Museum, a post similar to one he held last year at Enchanted Hills. Keep an eye on Mr.

Robinson; he may have a great career ahead. Larry Shores is editor of The Star. the Mann Act. "2. My nicknames do not include The Blade, The Hook, Three-Fingers, Lefty, Bugs, Lumpy or Ax-Face.

"3. 1 have never served more than (five-ten-twenty) years in a (statefederal) prison. "4. 1 have never testified before the (Kefauvet-McClellan-New Jersey Gaming) commissions and, if called to so testify, would probably have a tough time remembering my own name. "5.

1 have no knowledge of Jimmy Hoffa's whereabouts and, besides, I don't even know where to get that much cement. "6. 1 have no knowledge of who snuffed Johnny Roselli in Miami. "7. 1 have no knowledge of who wasted Carmine Galante in New York.

"8. 1 have no knowledge of who torpedoed Sam Giancana in Chicago. "9. 1 have no knowledge of who wiped out the Carringtons in the last episode of Dynasty. "10.

1 have no knowledge, period. "11. 1 will not show the aforementioned photograph of myself and Mr. Sinatra to anyone, including my own mother, and under no circumstances will I sell said photograph to the National Star, the U.S. Department of Justice or Barbara Howar.

"12. Finally, I agree that the photograph will be developed on (glossy-matted) Kodak paper and signed: To (NAME), Best Wishes, Kiddo. Love, Frank." strip, others altered it, while a few published it exactly as it was drawn. Trudeau's satiric lance was an actual photograph of a grinning Sinatra surrounded by such public-spirited citizens as Mafia hitman Jimmy Fratianno and crime boss Carlo Gambino, My way, schmy way, Frank this is getting ridiculous. If it's not some ruthless cocaine killer, It's a bunch of grimy gangsters.

All right, so maybe Frank was just passing through the casino, his way to Mass, when he was surrounded by Miranda's entourage and photographed against his will. And maybe he thought the Gamblnos were just a high-wire act from Ringling Brothers. Sure, everybody wants their picture taken with a legend. But how come this particular legend (and one of our president's dearest pals) keeps turning up in snapshots with some of America's worst sleazeballs? For his own good, Sinatra ought to start screening his fans. To help him avoid further embarrassment, I suggest that, from now on, anyone who wants a photograph taken with Frank must complete the following affidavit: (NAME), do solemnly swear that I wish to have my picture taken with Francis Albert Sinatra.

"Furthermore, I do swear and attest that: "1. 1 am not currently under indictment for extortion, loan-sharking, assault, murder, manslaughter, bookmaking or any violation of By CARL HIAASEN Knight-Rldder Newspapers I'm looking at a color photograph taken a few years ago at a casino in Las Vegas. Smiling for the camera are an unidentified man and woman, a burly bodyguard named Rene Faustino Gomez and his employer, a coke-stoked murderer named Miguel Miranda. The fifth person in the picture is Francis Albert Sinatra. I don't know how Sinatra happened to meet Miguel or what he actually knew about him, but this much is true: At the time the picture was taken, Miranda was more than just a big-time gambler.

He was a federal fugitive and the prime suspect in several brutal South Florida drug executions. According to police, the list of his victims would eventually grow to 10. Fortunately, Mr. Miranda is no longer among us, having been shot twice In the head by a U.S. drug agent during a gun battle in South Miami on April 17, 1981.

Afterward, as investigators combed his house to find signs of murder and cocaint and blood sacrifices, they spotted the 8-by-10 of Miranda and Sinatra. It was one of Miguel's prized possessions, and he often showed it to visitors. All this comes to mind after a week In which the nation's newspaper editors agonized over what to do about cartoonist Garry Trudeau's scathing treatment of Old Blue Eyes in Doonesbury. Some papers yanked the comic.