The Facts from Clute, Texas • Page 29

SECTION The Facts Wednesday, September 16 1998 RAZOS LIVING Editor, Brazos Living Call 265-7411, Ext 274 www.thefacts.com FIRST PERSON BY MEAGAN McGOVERN The culprit is found, but questions remain here has been a mystery at our house lately that had us stumped. We thought that figuring out the answer would make us feel better, but now that we've solved the puzzle we don't know what to do about the answer. Here are the clues to the mystery: Every weekend, Mark and I go to New Orleans to help out his parents, who are both sick. We pack up the puppy and take him to my sister's house in Houston, and we leave the two cats at home. There's a cat door in the kitchen, leading to the outside, so they have the run of the yard, and we leave enough food for a week, even though we're only gone for two or three days.

The first few weekends, we came home to fat, happy cats who were very pleased to run all over the furniture and sleep on our bed while we were gone. The last month or so, however, we've been coming home to haunted, starving cats who look like they've been tortured and beaten. My cat, George, is bloody and covered with battle scars, and Mark's cat, Salem, cowers in the living room and won't even come out to greet us. There's no cat food left on Sunday nights when we come home, even though we put out an enormous bucket of food when we leave on Friday. We couldn't figure out what was going on.

Mark and I finally deduced that some creature was coming into the house, torturing the cats, and eating all of their food. At first I thought the bad fox who kills my chickens was after them, but he's much too big to fit through the cat door. And it had to be a creature who was smart enough to know when we're not home, and who's smart enough to figure out where the food is. And'nnally, last Sunday night, we solved the mystery. We had again come home to an empty cat food bowl, and I filled it up so the starving cats would stop yowling.

Less than an hour later, the culprit was caught, red-pawed, in my kitchen, nose-deep in the cat food. Wandering into the kitchen for a midnight snack, half asleep, I was unprepared for the attack. I had inadvertently come between the Bad Cat and the cat door, and he wanted out. Sliding on the linoleum, claws out, fangs bared, hissing all the way, the Bad Cat made sure I got out of the way, and then he made his exit. Fast.

I've had enough. Mark and I have tried throwing rocks, using nuclear-powered water guns, screaming, yelling, calling the creature names, keeping our cats in the house, telling my 8-year-old nephew we'd give him $5 to catch it, and we've even tried to get the puppy to hate the Bad Cat. (Yes, the puppy was in the kitchen that night. He, apparently, is just as scared of the Bad Cat as everyone else is. He just sat and watched the show.) But we have a plan.

We have a live trap set for the beast, full of lovely cat food just for him. He set off the trap last night, but escaped. We're hoping to catch him this week, before we go away. Now the dilemma is: What do we do with the thing once we've got it in a cage? I don't really want to hurt it, even though it beats up my cats. I don't want to have it put to sleep, because the creature's only trying to survive.

It shouldn't be killed for that. Mark's idea is to take it to Galveston, and leave it in my old neighborhood, where there are dozens of strays, and it would thrive on the garbage there. But think of how many other cats he would torture and beat up. And I'm not the kind who can abandon an animal, no matter how evil it is. So we can't kill it, can't abandon it, and can't live with it.

And I can't imagine anyone wanting to adopt a vicious, scrawny, ugly, nasty, hungry, yowling cat. So what are we going to do with it? I have no idea; I guess we'll figure that out later. It's possible the cat's too smart for us and we'll never trap it. For now. it's fun just imagining the thrill of victory over the Bad Cat.

Meagan McGovern is the community news editor for The Facts. Her email address is Meagan.McGovern@thefacts.com. Will you ever get out of debt? There is hope and help, no matter how bad you're in the red By MEAGAN McGOVERN The Facts very month, without fail, the same bills come in. The mortgage payment, the phone bill, and utility bills, maybe even a cable bill. You put your paycheck toward the phone and utility bills, and take what's left over and add it to your mortgage.

After all, you've paid off both your cars, you have no credit card debt, and you've got enough in savings to last a while in case of an emergency. Now you're working on paying off your house a few years early. Yeah, right. If you're like most Americans, your situation runs more like this: Well, you wanted to pay more than the minimum on your major credit card, since it's at it's maximum limit, but you spent too much on back-to-school clothes, and you don't even have enough left over to pay the minimum on the electronic store credit card until your next paycheck, which was supposed to go toward paying off some of the department store card, but they're just going to have to wait. After all, they're the ones who sent you the card without you even asking for it.

They can wait a few extra weeks for their money. If you can just scrape up the $25 late fee. Again. There's hope, and a plan, for people who are juggling credit card bills and piles of debt, and the program works. And, faster than you thought possible, you can have your debt paid off.

But it's not easy. You have to learn to stick to a budget, to manage your credit cards, and to stick to the debt- management plan. And thousands of people swear it has improved their lives incredibly. The Consumer Credit Counseling Service, or CCCS, is a non-profit organization that's dedicated to helping consumers manage their credit wisely. AH of their programs are free, and the programs work to help keep people out of debt, or, once they're in trouble, to help them climb back out.

"The best time to start improving your finances is today, not some time in the distant future," said Nancy Ashmore, regional director of CCCS. "The first step you take is working toward paying off credit card balances and loans." Paul, a Lake Jackson contractor who prefers his last name not be used, says using CCCS saved not only his credit, but his marriage. "My wife and I fought all the time about money. We had all of our credit cards maxxed out, and we were only paying the minimum every month. When we did get a bonus and paid of some of the balance, we'd celebrate the bonus by going out to dinner, and we'd hit the limit again within the month." He said that by the time he went to CCCS, he was considering bankruptcy and divorce.

"We both kept blaming each other, and we both thought the answer was to earn more, so we worked overtime and never saw each other, and it was just a really bad situation." At CCCS in Lake Jackson, a counselor worked with Paul and his wife, Sandy, to create a budget that would allow them to pay off their debt. The A sample debt repayment plan Your situation Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Credit card Balance Interest rate Min. payment Payment Balance Payment Balance Payment Balance Payment Balance Department Store $500 22 percent $20 $900 20 percent $40 1 Ctothescard $400 18 percent $15 Electronics store $150 16 percent $15 $130 $370 $130 $240 $130 $110 $110 $0 $40 $860 $40 $820 $40 $780 $70 $710 $15 $385 $15 $370 $15 $355 $15 $340 $15 $135 $15 $120 $15 $105 $15 $90 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Credit card Payment Balance Payment Balance Payment Balance Payment Balance Payment Balance Payment Balance Depotment Store $0 $0 16 19 $6 $6 $0 $0 $0 $0 $170 $540 $170 $370 $170 $200 $170 $30 $30 $0 $0 $0 Clothes cad $15 $325 $15 $305 $15 $290 $15 $275 $155 $120 $120 $0 Electronics store $15 $75 $15 $60 $15 $45 $15 $30 $15 $15 $15 $0 This plans assumes that you pay the same amount toward debt each month, and doesn't take into account payments of interest. In some cases, CCCS clients can have interest on credit cards waived. In this example, the total minimum payments add up to $90.

The amount budgeted to pay off debt each month Is $200. most important part of the plan is that they absolutely could not spend even a dime on their credit cards anymore. Cash only. Then the counselor contacted all of the credit card companies and arranged lower payments each month, and the companies agreed to cancel all interest payments, so that all of the money went toward paying off the balance. "That's the best part of the program," said Paul.

"When we made a $40 payment, it all went to the balance, not to interest. "The credit card companies would never have made that deal with me, but for them, it's better than bankruptcy, and at least they know they're going to get paid. Mary Jane Strong, who works in the regional director's office at CCCS, says that most of the time, but not always, credit card companies are willing to negotiate interest and late fees if a debtor enters a CCCS debt repayment program. "We get most of our funding from credit card companies," she said. "They would rather have us here, helping people figure out how to pay off credit cards, than have hundreds of people just going under and not paying them at all." See DEBT, page 3C Authors will introduce book about pioneers Special to The Facts ANGLETON Elizabeth Silverthorne and Geneva Fulgham will introduce their recent book, Women Pioneers in Texas Medicine, at the Brazoria County Historical Museum at 2:30 p.m.

Sunday in the museum auditorium. The visit to Angleton is a homecoming for Silverthorne and Fulgham. They are the daughters of educator Ivy McDonald, who taught for many years at Angleton's Central Elementary School. The two have written numer- ous books, articles, poems and short stories, most of which deal with Texas subjects. In Women Pioneers in Texas Medicine, they have created profiles of women ranging from traditional roles such as native herbalists and midwives through contemporary pioneers in fields like genetics and nuclear medicine.

These stories reveal the special obstacles they faced and overcame as women practicing in a demanding, traditionally all-male field. A chapter of the book is devoted to Dr. Sofie Herzog. The colorful Dr. Herzog lived in Brazoria and served as doctor for the employees of the Missouri Pacific Railroad in the early years of this century.

Sunday's program will include a visit from Dr. Herzog in the person of Brazoria native, Dortha Pekar. Pekar has done extensive research on Dr. Herzog. Refreshments will be served at the event and copies of the book are available in the Windows Book and Gift Shoppe.

The authors will be on hand after the program to sign copies of the book. Doing your part Oct. 24 is the eighth annual Make A Difference Day sponsored by USA Weekend. The Facts would like to profile groups who are participating in the event. If your group is making plans to participate in the day, send who the group is, what you are planning to do and contact person's name and phone number to: Karyn Pannell, The Facts, P.O.

Box 549, Clute, Texas 77531. INSIDE Crossword Puzzle 6C DearAbby 7C Horoscope 5C Seen and Heard 2C TV Listings 5C Workstyle 7C Yesteryears 4C TEXAS TRIVIA Q. The monastery of St. Claire near Brenham is famous for what? Today's Texas Trivia is courtesy of the Texas Department of Economic Development. Tourism Division.

Celebrate the Constitution The Fort Velasco Chapter of the NSDAR, Daughters of the American Revolution will join the Asa Underwood chapter in the 4 p.m. "bell ringing" at the Replica of the Texas First Capitol building in West Columbia Thursday. This is a national celebration of the signing of the American Constitution in 1787. The public is invited to the event..