St. Cloud Times from Saint Cloud, Minnesota • Page 9

May 31,1 986 Daily Times, St. Cloud. Minn. 1 Stocks, mutual funds2B Explosive vacuum1 3B Widow lives in fear1 4B SECTION nnr L2)iyjUU Local farm aid project helps tackle problems' Project helps in many ways The Central Minnesota FarmRural Project has several programs. They include: Peer counseling: Six farmers or farm couples have been trained to reach out and support people in need and to connect them with resources to meet their needs.

fl Farm financial counseling: An experienced farm finance counselor helps farmers do financial analyses and then helps them interpret the information and suggests ways to improve cash flow, secure financing or reorganize debt. Community support groups: The groups bring rural people together to learn about issues that affect them, to share their problems and concerns and to offer each other support. Clergy and church leader workshops: The sessions, open to all churches, will help church leaders in-dentify and help famines in stress, learn how to cope with their own stress and learn how to use local resources. Stress management workshops: The focus of the workshops is to help people identify stress and learn new ways of coping with problems. Following are the farm peer counselors and the counties in which they work.

Candy and John Barthel, Route 2, Princeton. Benton, Mille Lacs, Kanabec and Isanti. Andy and Celine Kune! Route 1, Kimball. Stearns and Sherburne. fl Rosemary Younk, Route 2, Little Falls.

Morrison and Todd. Jim and Mary Vogel, Route 2, Staples. Wadena and Ottertail. Dan Edgar, Route 2, Glenwood. Pope, Douglas and Grant.

Mike Grossman, Route 1, Chokio. Stevens, Traverse, Wilkin. Friday's loss trims Dow gain to 53.42 NEW YORK (AP) The stock market pulled back slightly Friday, running into sporadic bouts of profit-taking after reaching record highs in the two preceding sessions. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials dropped 5.64 to 1,876.71, trimming its gain for the week to 53.42 points. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange reached 151.20 million shares, up from 135.67 million Thursday.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished May with a net gain of 93.73 points, in the process going against a historical calendar pattern. From 1965 through 1985, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac, the average posted 16 losses and only five gains in May. U.S. Steel rose to 21 in active trading. Some analysts lately have begun to discuss the company as a possible store of undervalued assets.

Losers among the blue chips included International Business Machines, down Vi at 152V8; Chrysler, down 1 at 37; General Electric, down IVi at 79, and McDonald's, down 1V4 at 102. Digital Equipment, which denied rumors that it was contemplating a buyback, nevertheless picked up 1 to 9114. In the daily tally on the Big Board, about eight issues declined in price for every seven that gained ground. The exchange's composite index dropped .31 to 142.06. Nationwide turnover in NYSE-listed issues, including trades in those stocks on regional exchanges and in the over the-counter market, totaled 176.79 million shares.

Standard Poor's index of 400 industrials fell .66 to 276.50, and 500-stock composite index was down .63 at By DEBRA OLSON Time Staff Writer Leaders of the Central Minnesota FarmRural Project have been busy the past six months. They have helped stock bare cupboards and empty refrigerators with food, gotten the electricity turned back on so cows can be milked, helped persuade suicidal farmers to check into a hospital and guided farm families to agencies that can help them. They also have seen farm families come together over coffee and cookies to share their burdens, and they have been moved as they have watched stoic, independent farmers put their arms around one another when they're grieving a loss. The project, developed by Caritas Family Services and funded by a grant from the Otto Bremer Foundation, is an effort to help meet the needs of hurting farmers in 16 Central Minnesota counties through peer counseling, financial counseling, support groups and clergy workshops. The purpose of the program is to help people rebuild a sense of control in their lives and to learn to reach out to others, said Director Mary Jean Schlegel.

Caritas began looking at the need for a program, Schlegel said, when counselors began reporting a rise in abuse cases and suicide attempts among rural people. She met with social workers, mental health counselors and extension agents in the area to learn what was happening. The final stimulus for the project, Schlegel said, came from a meeting with a group of Glenwood area farmers. Schlegel summarized their concern: "The church doesn't care about us. Our priest just turns away when we talk about this." Schlegel found that some clergy misunderstood farm issues and were afraid to address them because they often had bankers, farmers and loan officers sitting in the same pew.

She applied for and received a $58,000 grant from the Bremer Foundation and in November hired Chuck Vilina, a former Villard farmer, to coordinate the project. By mid-December, six farmers or farm couples had been trained as peer counselors. St. Cloud farmer Ken Neeser was hired as a farm financial counsultant to compliment the work of the peer counselors and Barb Thomes was chosen to coordiate the support group program. Program leaders decided it was important to not duplicate services already offered or to take a political stance.

"We have to be able to talk to all groups," Schlegel said. By the end of April, more than 100 families had been helped through the peer counseling program, more than 400 farmers had attended support group meetings in sev eral communities, including Little Falls, Foley and Free-port, and more than 200 clergy had met to discuss church response to the farm crisis. Also, project leaders had conducted two stress management workshops and had met with more than 1,200 area clergy, extension agents, lenders, school officials, business people and other community leaders to discuss the program and its services. Clergy workshops are being planned for this summer. "What we're trying to do is to build bridges to appeal to the fact we're all in this together," Vilina said "If we're -t'V il ft shaking fists and blaming each other, we're not getting anywhere." Initially, project leaders thought the the support groups would be neighborhood meetings where farmers would gather in each others homes to discuss problems, Thomes said.

But when they realized that wasn't going to work because many farmers become more withdrawn when they are hurting, they decided to hold meetings with speakers who would talk about everything from stress to the farm bill. "But the nugget of the meeting isn't the talk but the coffee and cookies after when farmers sit and talk to each other," Thomes said. It has become difficult at times to lock the door by 1 1 p.m., she said. Neeser said that during the past six months he has helped about 15 families sort out their financial options and find the resources they need to help solve their problems. "Much of our emphasis is to find an agency that can help," he said.

Each situation is unique, but the farmers with whom he has worked are hardworking, dedicated people who want Farmers3B MM Dairy Days princess candidates announced Phone talks near deadline WASHINGTON AP) Wide differences over wages and job security separated negotiators for American Telephone Telegraph Co. and the Communications Workers of America Friday as a strike deadline approached. If the 155,000 long-distance operators, installers and repair personnel go on strike at 11:01 p.m. today, as threatened, management personnel would take over many of the services consumers use regularly, company officials say. However, manufacturing at 26 plants in 18 states would come to a halt, some phone center stores would close and backlogs would start to develop in the installation and repair of major switching equipment used by government and big business.

There would be no disruption of local phone service, including directory assistance and repair of downed wires, because these chores are handled by employees of local telephone companies which have been separated from Top officials of the union and the company met privately Friday to discuss some of the differences. Subcommittees also met to analyze and discuss a variety of proposals. i 247.35. Farm briefs Central Minnesota Dairy Days 1986 is set for Thursday and Friday and June 26 in St. Cloud.

Highlights include the crowing of Region IV and Region VI American Dairy Association princesses at 7:45 p.m. Friday at Crossroads Center and the annual dairy cattle show June 26 at the Benton County Fairgrounds in Sauk Rapids. Campers visiting America's 156 national forests this summer will be able to save 15 percent on camping fees with a program called Camp Stamps. The stamps will go on sale Sunday at selected retail outlets and most forest service offices. For more information, write: Camp Stamps, Forest Service, USDA, P.O.

Box 2417, Washington, D.C. 20013. Thursday is the last planting day for insured corn and peas in Stearns County, according to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation. Insured peas must be reported by June 15 and insured corn by June 25 to receive full crop insurance coverage. Three farm women, recent graduates of Alexandria Vocational Technical School's Farm Women Program, will share their experiences with area farm women at 8 p.m.

June 11 at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Albany. The program is free. nm The Stearns County Dairy Calf Show is set for 9:30 a.m. June 7 at Melrose City Park. Calves born between Sept.

1, 1985, and April 30, 1986, will be shown. an The Minnesota Poison Control jV Central Minnesota Dairy Days 1986" is set for Thursday and Friday and June 26 in St. Cloud. Local real estate company purchased DaAiatfonTcelLmcb1 uuwiieu at, i.to p.m. rnuuy ai vrussr.

roads Shopping Center. Times photo by Mike Knaak Towers with more power Workers from Tim's Tower Service, Sauk Rapids, install a section on one of four 290-foot towers under construction east of U.S. Highway 1 0 and north of Benton County Road 3. The set of towers will be used by VWAL radio when the Sauk Rapids station changes its frequency and broadcasting power. The station will switch from 800 on the AM dial to 660 and increase its power from 250 watts daytime to 1 0,000 watts daytime and 250 watts at night.

The power increase will allow the station to increase its coverage area three to four times and serve listeners as far away the Twin Cities, Duluth, north of Brainerd and west of Alexandria, according to station owner Herb Hoppe. Twenty girls from five counties are vying for two crowns that will enable them to advance to the Princess Kay of the Milky Way contest at the Minnesor ta State Fair. 1 service representative with Realty World. The new company will be known as Realty World-TCF, St. Cloud.

Realty World-TCF Realty Inc. has six offices in the Twin Cities, according to William Cooper, chairman and chief executive office of Twin City Federal Savings and Loan Association. Realty World-TCF Realty Inc. provides financial services including banking, real estate, mortgages and title insurance to real estate buyers. Century 21-Granite City Realty has been acquired by Realty World-TCF Realty Inc.

of Edina. Granite City Realty was founded by present owner Betty Lou Berg in 1974. The company had two employees, but has since grown to 40 sales associates-with $30 million in annual sales. Assistant Granite City Realty manager Russ Portele, who has been with the company 10 years, will become manager. Berg will become regional In past years, Region IV has been made up of nine counties and one princess was chosen for all nine.

This year, redistricting has taken place, and two of the new regions, Region rV and Re gion VI, chose to conduct their contests simultaneously as Central Minnesota Dairy Days. Activities begin Thursday as contesj. In business tants nana out dairy products at Si Cloud area supermarkets. t.i 7.1 '-7N i- A i 5 (A ic r- A IW Deb Ramsdell Gary Verkinnes Diane Coppock Dennis Gregory Bill Wroge Roger Violet System's toll-free number for information on accidental pesticide poisonings is 1-800-222-1222. Robert Rialson, Royalton, should be contacted about unusual chemical spills that could affect a water supply or contaminate an area for a long time.

DB Fanners Home Admininstration, Suite 112, 3700 West Division is hosting an open house from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. June 11 to let borrowers and business associates meet new staff and see the agency's new offices. Agri-Pride '86, the Minnesota Twins' salute to Midwest agriculture, is set for June 27-29 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Tickets for Twins-Kansas City Royals games all three days can be ordered by calling 1-800-682-3816.

Dl The Sauk Centre Chamber of Commerce and all 17 Sauk Centre restaurants will sponsor free milk refills during June Dairy Month. The Wright County Farmers Home Administration office is participating in "Operation Assist," a new FmHA program to help farmers obtain guaranteed operating loans. Borrowers and lenders interested in the program should contact the office. Dairy Days culminates June 26 with the annual dairy cattle show at th Benton County Fairgrounds in Sauk Rapids. Judging will begin at 10 a.m.

Region IV dairy princess candidates are: Stearns County Lynn Harff, Watkins; Cherie Hoeft, Paynesville; Paula Keppers, Albany; Cindy Roer-ing, Holdingford; Eva Schneider, Melrose; Lisa Kalthoff, Albany. Sherburne County Wanda Goenner, Clear Lake; Michelle Prom, St. Cloud; Linda Prom, St. Cloud. Region VI candidates are: Benton County Karla Kosloski, Foley; Becky Kampa, Foley; Joan Mas-tey, Foley.

Morrison County Anna Czechs Little Falls; Joyce Czech, Little Falls; Debbie Schyma, Foley; Patricia Wagner, Royalton; Julie Koester, Swanville. Todd County Marceen Schlueter, Bertha; Barbara Jeziorski, dishing; Melanie Hagstrom, Burtrum. Bonnie Waldorf, Albany, is the current Region IV Dairy Princess. offer a workshop titled "Introduction to Lotus 1-2-3" on June 12 and 19. For more information, contact the center.

BB Dr. David N. Peterson of the Sauk Rapids Professional Center has been re-elected to the board of directors of Delta Dental, Minnesota's largest provider of prepaid dental benefits. BB Dr. Robert O'Neill, a licensed consulting psychologist, has joined the St.

Cloud office of the Metropolitan Clinic of Counseling. He previously worked for the Northern Pines Mental Health Center in Lit tle Falls. BB Diane Coppock has joined the St. Cloud office of State Farm Insurance Cos. as a sales agent.

BB Dave Plantenberg has been promoted from USA Today plateroom supervisor to the position of commercial coordinatorpurchasing manager for the St. Cloud Times. He will be responsible for coordinating commercial work and purchasing within the production department. In another move, the newspaper promoted Sue Wendt to the position of retail advertising manager. She replaces Kris Kincaid, who resigned.

Irv Taylor, a business consultant and retired retail store manager, will again offer free counseling to small business owners and managers from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 10 at the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce offices. The service is provided via the St.

Cloud State University Small Business Development Center. For more details, contact the center. BB Gary Verkinnes has been appointed sales consultant for Roosevelt Office Park, St. Cloud. He is in charge of sales, leasing and management of the professional office facility.

Roger Violet has joined the sales staff of ERA East West Central Realty, St. Cloud. He will be selling residential real estate. BB Bill Wroge, Dennis Gregory and Deb Ramsdell have been promoted to the position of supervisor in the audit and accounting department of McMa-hon, Hartmann, Amundson a St. Cloud firm.

All three are graduates of St. Cloud State University. BB St. Cloud State University's Small Business Development Center will.