Tallahassee Democrat from Tallahassee, Florida • Page 19

Tallahassee Democrat Monday, December 7, 1998 3C From Page 1C DECEMBER'S CHILDREN: 'THESE KIDS ARE FUN TO BE AROUND' CUTOFFS: The Public Service Commission hopes to adopt a uniform policy next month Hundreds of Florida children need adoptive homes. Here are four Names, ages: Shaquanna or "Shay," 12; Tredrick, Dana, and Cory, 6. Interests: Social workers describe this sibling group as friendly, energetic, outgoing and personable. The girls are particularly bright The three younger children came into foster care four years ago. MM i I r.

h- 1 Veronica Hill says her lung condition requires her to keep her air-conditioning on 24 hours a day and use a nebulizer every four hours, giving her a hefty utility bill. A HELPING HAND There are several area agencies that offer emergency assistance with utility bills: American Red Cross: 878- 6080 Capital Area Community Action Agency: 222-2043 Lutheran Social Services of North Florida: 575-2868 Tallahassee Urban League: 222-6111 Elder Help Line: 800-963- 5337. Residents can also call the Public Service Commission, which has compiled a list of social services agencies throughout Florida The PSC can be reached at 413-6107. Shaquanna, who prefers to be known as "Shay," enjoys singing. She serves as a mother figure, keeping up with her siblings' schoolwork and defusing any squabbles.

The younger sister, Dana, is on the A and honor roll. Both she and Tredrick love coloring and drawing. Tredrick is good at computer games, bicycling and jumping on the trampoline. He and his baby brother, Cory, like to play outside or listen to stories. All the children enjoy church and outings, such as trips to the park.

Special needs: Currently, the children are living in three foster homes. They yearn for a two-parent family in which they can be together. If that's not possible, they hope to stay in touch. Although she's had behavioral problems in the past, Dana is doing well in her current home, which provides firm guidance. Both Tredrick and Cory have learning problems and developmental delays but have made great progress in sharpening their communication skills.

Tredrick has no trouble grooming himself or handling routine household chores. Cory is also learning and improving. Money is available for medical care and living expenses. Comment "Shaquanna is very maternal toward the other kids. She's very helpful with the younger children she's so good with them.

She's smart, very bright all around. She makes average grades, but is actually capable of making higher grades Ithan that Tredrick is real loving with all of his brothers and sisters. He likes to play vith toy cars and trucks. He's very good with Nintendo. Even though he's flevelopmentally delayed, he has some areas in which he excels He has a kind of jntuitive intelligence is a very bright child.

She's on the A and honor roll, and she's very proud of that. She loves to read and play on the computer. She's a real good speller. She's very nte and feminine. She loves dolls Cory is the baby, and all the other kids dote him.

He's very high-energy, a very active child. He's very cute He'll say he's joing to eat because he wants to have muscles like Hercules and then, when fie's finished eating, he'll want people to feel his muscles. These children have had a lot of things in their lives that have not gone the way Vog'd expect them to. So they need to know what's going to happen, and they do just line if everything happens the way you expect it to. These children really need to be logether if they can.

They really love each other They all have good personalities. They can be challenging there's no question about that but they're funny and entertaining. If a family really likes being around kids, these kids are fun to be around." Jeanie Mitchell, adoptions counselor, tl To help: For more information and a list of adoption requirements, call Jeanie Mitchell at 627-9531 or 921-9139. MARK lizer every four hours. So when her air conditioning went haywire in August and she racked up an $1,100 bill over two months, she was in big trouble.

And despite her best attempts to work it out according to utility records, she has gotten about $1,200 in help from three different agencies she hasn't been able to break the vicious cycle of unpaid bills. She said she called City Hall repeatedly, asking for more time and to work out a payment plan, but to no avail. "They were pretty cruel about it," she said. "They said, 'We've waited and we've waited and we need to have the money by tomorrow, or they would cut me off." And they did. Twice.

She went to live with her mother for several days. "What good is that tag if they aren't going to honor it?" she wondered. But city officials said there is only so much leniency they can grant "We'd stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning. We wanted to see what happened. We were literally so tired we could hardly keep our eyes open.

It was like an addiction." Afterward, the couple passed the tape on to other desperate fans in Tallahassee, and a couple of missionary friends living in a remote area of Asia. "They're giving up so much for God," Schuch said, admiringly. "But I don't know if I could give up 'Star "Star Trek: Voyager" had aired locally here until August 1997, when a Valdosta station, WGVP, became the UPN affiliate for this area. The station's antenna wasn't powerful enough to reach Tallahassee. TOO LATEXJ reservations for some of the "Prix" dinners on trtctoys Mwm.ws 305 St.

Marks, Florida 32355 Fax (904)925-0117 i kv i i it 1 they can't pay their utility bill. Normally, customers whose bills are 30 days overdue are warned they'll be cut off in 10 days. Those with medical tags get an extra 10 days. But if they still can't pay as Hill discovered it's lights out. The former crossing guard has always had asthma But when she was diagnosed in 1992 with sarcoidosis, she became fully disabled.

She lives with her 15- and 19-year-old daughters in a small Hartsfield Road apartment on $804 a month in Social Security income. While her rent is controlled at a reasonable level, her utility bills have gotten out of hand. They're never cheap, she said, averaging between $200 and $300 month be cause she has to run the air condi tioning nonstop and use her nebu She didn't hound the television stations. Instead, Schuch survived the "Voyager'Mess period by getting her mother in Portland, to tape the program every week. When her mother had filled a tape with six weeks' worth of hour-long episodes, she would mail it to Schuch.

"She doesn't watch 'Star but I knew she loved me," Schuch said. Sometimes a schedule mishap would happen a football game would run overtime, and Schuch would get only a half-hour of Voyager. "Boy, that's irritating," she grumbled. It became draining to get all six episodes at once. Once she and her husband, Dan, started watching one episode, they couldn't stop.

M.D. Phone 1 IT'S NOT Don't foravt to m.ike your area's finest gourmet serving 803 Port Leon Drive P.O. Box Phone (904)925-7670 is high, to fewer than 2,000 in November, December and May, when neither heat nor air conditioning is needed. McCloud heads up the Red Cross' Emergency Assistant Program, which offers one-time assistance to the neediest of residents for as long as the money holds out The money comes directly from charitable neighbors who designate a donation when they pay their monthly utility bills. "Last year we spent $91,000," McCloud noted.

"And we still turned away a lot of people who needed help." This year, she says, "we've already received more requests than we could handle and now we're getting even more" but no more money. "Oftentimes, the people who call us are elderly or maybe were just recently in an accident or just lost their job or their husband just walked out on them," she said. But some of the hardest-hit residents are those, like Hill, who are chronically ill or disabled. City officials estimate that about 250 of the city's roughly 90,000 utility customers have a life-sustaining medical need for electricity and have tags indicating so on their meters. That tag doesn't prevent the power from being turned off but it does gives them time to make arrangements to live elsewhere if UPN: The miracle of videotape brought 'Voyager' to the faithful Beginning Dec.

15, most Talla-hasseeans will pick up UPN on Comcast Channel 60. It comes with the limited basic cable package, meaning any Comcast subscriber can view the channel. With rabbit ears, area fans have been able to watch UPN on Channel 17, WAB17, since Oct. 1. Oppenheim overrode his new digital satellite system to put up the good old antenna.

The reception is pretty fuzzy, but he said he doesn't mind the sacrifice. Monticello viewers who subscribe to Time Warner Cable have also been able to see UPN, on Channel 12, since Oct 1. Last week, Time Warner added UPN to Channel 4 for Killearn Lakes customers. This turn of events is a blessing to area television executives who say they've been deluged by pleas from "Star Trek" fans. 'Star Trek' fans are just very, very vocal and committed to that programming," said Claire Evans, Comcast's marketing director.

Since Oct 1, Evans said she has received about four calls a day, in addition to e-mail, begging Comcast to add UPN. "It just always blew my mind that a whole section of the country wasn't getting ('Voyager')," said Jennifer Schuch, a fan and graduate theater student at Florida State University. BEAUTIFUL BLACK AUSTRALIAN OPALS Dinxl hiXMii The Mines CUSTOM OhSIGS (850) 878-3030 1 3TH YEAR SERVING TALLAHASSEE WALLHEISERDemocrat The tag does "make a difference, but it doesn't allow you to continue using services indefinitely without paying," said Customer Service Administrator Cynthia Barber in the city's Office of Utility Business and Customer Services. Upon reviewing Hill's account Friday, she said she was surprised the juice was still on, given that Hill still owes more than $900. Other area power companies also grant temporary reprieves to those with special medical needs, but the policies vary and not all utility workers know where to send those who request help.

That's why the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities in Florida, hopes to adopt a uniform policy next month. It would give medically needy patients an extra 30 days after the normal cutoff date before they lose power. The PSC is also in the process of distributing to utility companies a handbook of social service agencies statewide that have programs to help needy customers. Celebrate with us the Largest Pride Scooter Sale of the Year! Celebrate this holiday season with independence on a beaunltil Pride Scooter, from OptionCare. Pride Scooters give the personal mobility needed to fully enjoy the holidays for years to eonie.

141JA Mai lav Commerce Blvd Ask Us About Insurance Coverage Monday -Kridai 894-4480 der! Tredrick Though he's developmental delayed, "He has a kind of intuitive Cory He is improving his communication skills, and is "very high-energy, a very active child." "These things always generate controversy, and I think we should have good siting criteria," said Winchester, who pushed for the Jan. 7 meeting. "Now we're going to the design step, and the public have still not been notified. I don't know what the rush is." Commissioners would not actually sign a contract with JRA Architects until Jan. 12.

After that, the firm would design the building and ensure that the project got the required permits from Tallahassee city inspectors. Curtis said that even though the Tharpe Street site sits half in the city and half in the unincorporated area, the county wanted to avoid the charge that it was issuing itself permits. And though the county has yet to start the permitting process, city inspectors already say the project would likely require only a staff-level review meaning little chance for public input other than letters. 1 Shay She serves as a mother figure for her siblings. "She's smart, very bright all around." Dana She is on the honor roll and loves to read and play on the computer.

STATION: The Tharpe Street site would be Convenient to Waste Management County officials said that once the holidays are over, they plan to hold a series of public meetings in the area to answer questions about trie station. They also plan to schedule a field trip for commissioners and residents to see a transfer station iri Gainesville that would be very similar to the one planned here. "Part of what we're trying to do isjget the consultant on board so he can listen and address some of the concerns the citizens in the com-rrfunity may have," Curtis said. "Verybody conjures up different things in their mind for what it is." rNo timetable has been set for tlfe bus trip, but officials have tentatively scheduled a public meeting or Jan. 7.

Commissioners voted on Oct 13 tri? contract with Waste Management Inc. to carry the county's garbage roughly 80 miles to its Spring-hill Regional Landfill, rather than b(nld a new dump here. They also agreed to build the transfer station -i a large building in which garbage trucks dump their loads, wjiich are then packed onto tractor-trailers for the trip to the land-fijl off the Tharpe Street extension. Putting it there would allow Waste Management's trucks to qpkkly jump on Capital Circle and Interstate 10. But some residents complained tHat they didn't have a chance to discuss the project, even suggesting the transfer station should be built on the existing landfill.

Waste Management's bid had lower disposal costs if the station was on the side of town. fVYou really need to be in the industrial area, and you need to be ir). the (urban area) so you can have water and sewer," Curtis said. "It's not appropriate to put it out in the boondocks." While the proposed site is in a largely industrial area, there is a commercial park across the street, several mobile home parks nearby and two schools on Tharpe Street. Then-Commissioner Manny Jpanos voted against the project, saying he felt residents were being treated unfairly.

His successor, Dan Winchester, echoes those sentiments. Lets Play Mow the Lea (You could win a million dollars!) rJi ts iNceuins yuu in luutii in ine you in touch with the Keeping Holiday Spirit FIi'fF Smooth Jazzy j' lf i Dec 18-21 7-10 p.m. ATI aboard Cor iright of oohs ahhs. our two hour tour (approximate) each night whisks you around town on the Tallahassee Democrat Tmir of Lights. Depart from Kleman Plaza at 7 p.ra and tour LeMoyne Art Foundation, Oven Park and some of Tallahassee's brightest neighborhoods with a rest stop at the Winn Dixie at Lake Jackson.

Seating is fimited, tickets will go on sale Dec. 5 at the Tallahassee Democrat kiosks during FA'. the Winter Festival of Lights, Adults: Children: and at C.K. Steele Plaza beginning Dec. 6.

$3.50 Grades K-12, $1.00 Under free Vv.