Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 22

2D Lincoln Journal Star Monday, December 29, 1997 LIFE Page design: Dave Bundy Arrivals, departures marked 1997 on air Fountain Stick with treatments at least several months to see results pictures of a big fire in north Lincoln. Now, both KMTV and WOWT of Omaha have networks of remote cameras around the River City metro area. One wonders if the cameras are here to stay, or are just a passing fad that "must be going" soon. Several "old war horses" who had made a substantial contribution to local media entered retirement in 1997: Bill Ramsay, director of engineering at NETV; Orv Koch, longtime salesman for KFOR-AM 1240; and Bill Hemke, most recently in sales at KLIN-AM 1400, but better known to Nebraska baby boomers as Sheriff Bill, the host of the original "Cartoon Corral" on KOLN-TV. All of this coming and going in 1997 (and these examples are only the beginning) underscores the transitory nature of fame and fortune in the broadcast industry, where the arrivaldeparture cycle seems to be winding tighter and tighter.

Nothing is forever; station owners and management always are looking for a better talenttechnicalsales mix, and talented people always are looking for the next opportunity. It makes the words of the Grouch Mark song all the more pertinent: I'll stay a week or two I'll stay the summer through But I am telling you I must be going. Happy New Year, everybody. Hello, I must be going I cannot stay I came to say I must be going. So sang Groucho Marx in the movie "Animal Crackers." As your Airwaves correspondent looks back on 1997, it seems that such arrivals and departures dominated life in local radio and TV in the past year.

On the radio side, veteran Lincoln broadcaster Ron Dean enjoyed his first full year out of the day-to-day radio business. Since being bumped from morning duties at "Froggy 98," he has concentrated on growing his own radio advertising firm. The revolving door finally stopped spinning at the morning show on KFRX-FM 102.7. Then program director Sonny Valentine hired stand-up comic Dan Tooker to replace Andy Vaughn, who had left for San Diego, but fired him two months later. Then Vaughn came back, but returned to San Diego in about a month.

Jerry Balletta from Omaha finally got the morning spot, and later stepped into Valentine's p.d. job when she left for Madison, Wis. As for Tooker, he and his cohorts took over mornings at KFGE-FM 98.1 but didn't last long. Tooker and his "Green Team" were cited by Lincoln police for causing a disturbance in an ill-conceived radio stunt at a a variety of concentrations in over-the-counter cosmetics. They are come in higher concentrations in prescription-only products.

Higher concentrations generally lead to more visible results. Alpha hydroxy acids work by re-programming the dead skin cells to slough off more quickly, Sutton said An AHA product, she said, is an "educating moisturizer." Sutton recommends using both a retinoid-based product and one containing AHA, the former before bed, the latter in the morning, as a regular skin-care routine. The acids are used in high concentrations in chemical peels in doctor's offices, but those available over the counter still may offer some benefits, Basler said. The trick, said Peterson, is to read labels. Note the percentages listed; be aware that the AHAs may be buffered with other products, thus diluting the stated concentration.

Continued from Page 1 in Lincoln. Sutton, who hadn't seen any studies, said she assumed the over-thc counter products were less effective than those sold in doctor's offices. Heidi Carter, 39, who tested the Avon cream, found it initially irritated the skin, then produced some positive changes. That irritation some initial redness and dryness, but not a rash is normal the doctors said. It means the product is working.

The doctors said anyone beginning a skin-care regimen with products containing retinoids or AHAs must stick with the treatment several months before expecting to see real differences. "And keep in mind the aging process is happening at the same time," Sutton cautioned. Products containing AHAs Alpha hydroxy acids derived from natural products such as milk, fruits and sugar cane are found in ournal Star Put it to work for you. leading part of one hospital's prescription for treating children 1U The Journal Star Library offers an 10" 14" replica of the paper for $10.00 and only $1.00 for each subsequent page of the same paper plus tax. THINK WHATA GREAT GIFT THIS WOULD MAKE! WHAT FUN! GREAT FOR CLASSROOM USAGE! Call the Journal Star Library from 9-4, Mon-Frl.

at 473-7295 for more information or to place an order. 10, to be replaced a few months later by Scott Kilbury. Former KOLN reporter Jason Fredregill left 1011 in 1996, worked briefly as news director at KZUM-FM, and ended up producing video for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Agriculture. He came back to haunt KOLN, however, by filing a sex discrimination suit against the station in mid-1997. The case involved the allegedly unequal treatment of male and female reporters and their access to photographers.

KLKN-TV channel 8 endured the swift turnover of much of its management team. Sales manager Ron Montezon resigned, while general manager Steve Dant and news director Randal Stanley left to took jobs at stations in Portland, and Salt Lake City, respectively. They left a station that was still growing, starting to make some modest inroads into KOLN's commanding ratings lead. KLKN reporter Kimberly Arms got married, left for a job at a Des Moines TV station and almost left the planet An electrical accident on a remote she was working had her laid up in a hospital for months. She recently was released but is still nursing her injuries.

Even some, gadgets came more into play. In May, KLKN's SkyCam 8 got early based National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education. "We are realizing that the first three years of life are critical "There is more plasticity in the brain than we ever realized, and children may start learning in utero." Aware of this, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton has become a champion of early-literacy campaigns. During her February visit to Kansas City and Children's Mercy, she lauded "Reach Out and Read" and the "K.C. Reads" program that was then being developed.

Her endorsement, coupled with other publicity and new insights into childhood brain development, has caused the program to boom. This month the American Academy of Pediatrics urged its members to adopt the program and, during exams, to promote and prescribe reading aloud. "Being read to as a young child is the single best predictor for later reading success, said Abby Jewkes, national program administrator for "Reach Out and Read" based at Boston City Hospital "Take that one step further, you can't deny the importance of reading to later school success." The inference, of course, is that kids who develop an early love of books will be better students. That, however, is still just an inference. Children certainly develop more sophisticated vocabularies and other language skills.

But no study has yet determined how early is early enough. Will children who are read to at 1 week do better academically than children who are read to at 1 month, 2 months, 3 months or 1 year? Researchers don't know. Nor can anyone say whether reading aloud earlier to a child will actually make her smarter. Nature and nurture just offer too many variables. Additionally, many young children even if parents try to read to them as infants don't initially take to books.

Again there is no evidence that children who develop an interest later are at any disadvantage. "Some kids are going to be into it and some aren't," said Robert Needlman, literacy researcher, physician and assistant professor of pediatrics at Rainbow and Childrens Hospital in Cleveland. Needlman is now conducting a study looking at school performance of children who are read to early and those who are not. "We know there are lots of kids who don't get into it until later on and do just fine, who end up loving reading," he said. "Parents have to understand that every child is an individual.

The position of encouraging parents to read aloud should not be made in a way that generates guilt or fear that their child is inadequate." What's important, he said, Is for parents to show that reading is a priority in their lives, that it's enjoyable, so that even if infants or toddlers don't seem Interested in books at first, they will view books and reading as a rich part of their environment, as something valuable, bringing joy to their parents and, perhaps, something they may want to pick up later. Equally important in "K.C. Reads" is not just how much children are read to, but how they are read to. "The quality of book-reading is at least as important as the quantity," said Catherine Snow, Harvard University researcher and chair of human development and psychology at the graduate school of education. The key is making positive connections.

"You don't want to just read the text like a robot," said Jewkes of "Reach Out and Read." Parents who do that may as well just plop their child in front of radio or television. Tom Johnson Union Bank branch that had been robbed the day before. Pink slips soon followed. John Stevens Berry left his drive-time talk show at KLIN-AM 1400 only to show up shortly thereafter doing a Wednesday show at KMEM-AM 1480 memory music station" rode off into the sunset, making a bumpy transition to sports talk and a reincarnation as KLMS. In television, KETV anchor Carol Schrader, who had been in self-imposed exile from the broadcast business, finally resurfaced in radio as news director at Omaha's KFAB-AM 1110.

Michael Scott, Schrader's old partner, resigned his anchor post at KMTV channel 3 in April. Vince Erickson departed as sports director at KOLN-TV channel Good medicine These titles are recommended for children of various ages. AH have been chosen because they are attractive, durable, appropriate for a multiethnic population and relatively Inexpensive. 6 months "My Mom," by Debbie Bailey and Susan Huszar "Quiet Little Book," by Katharine Ross 9 months "Goodnight Moon," by Margaret Wise Brown "Bert's Little Bedtime Story," by Katharine Ross 12 months "Goose," by Molly Bang "Shoes," by Elizabeth Winthrop "Spot at Play," by Eric Hill 15 months Where's by Eric Hill "The Very Busy Spider," by Eric Carle "Knock, and Other Sounds," by Christine Salac Dubov 18 months 1 Make Music," by Eloise Greenfield "Hello School," by Debby Slier and Tom Koken Age 2 "Here Are My Hands," by Bill Martin "Ten, Nine, Eight," by Molly Bang "The Runaway Bunny," by Margaret Wise Brown "Daddy and by Eloise Greenfield Age 3 "Whistle for Willie," by Ezra Jack Keats "Spot Looks at Opposites," by Eric Hill "Harold and the Purple Crayon," by Crockett Johnson Age 4 "The Snowy Day," by Ezra Jack Keats "Idalia's Project ABC," by Idalia Rosario "Joshua James Like Trucks," by Catherine Petri Age5 "Sometimes Things Change," by Patricia Eastman "It Could StW Bt a Bird," by Allan Fowler "Some of the Days of Everett Anderson," by Lucille Clifton "A Chair for My Mother," by Vers B. Williams "Corduroy," by Don Freeman Age 6 "Listen to Me," by Barbara J.

Neasi "When Clay Sings," by Byrd Baylor "Music, Music for Everyone," by Vera Williams "It Could Still Be a Tree," by Allan Fowler "A Pocket for Corduroy," by Don Freeman Source: "Fight Literacy: Prescribe a Book!" by Robert Needlman and Barry Zuckerman in the magazine Contemporary Pediatrics tify concepts such as plot, character and conflict. Some studies show early reading can advance a child's language abilities as much as six months beyond their biological age. Twenty-year-old Shannon Cage of Kansas City, says she's been reading to her toddler, Elijah, since the day he was born. "If I'm not reading his books to him, I'm reading the books I have from school," said Cage, who attends Wright Business School. "He loves people to read to him newspapers, books, magazines.

"He'll listen to you, and if it's time to turn the page, he'll turn the page with you. He'll try to pronounce different words. I'm teaching him his ABCs and we're doing vowels," She said Elijah already knows a and and is now trying to pronounce the I. "We used to think that kids started learning when they got to kindergarten, that the brain was hard-wired, and there wasn't much we could do about It said Naomi Karp, director of tht Washington- I.Hj.UCjX A. lift.

i Does your worst heartburn strike after eating? BY ERICADLER The Kansas City Star KANSAS CITY, Kan. Guess where this scene takes place. Volunteer Susan Mahoney sits with her knees tucked up high in a kiddie's chair at a round kiddie's table, reading one colorful book after another Go Dog, Go, Too Many Tamales, Seven Blind Mice to a crowd of rapt preschool children. What do you think? Library? Preschool? Day care? Paging Dr. Seuss.

Try a hospital. Try the children's clinic at the University of Kansas Medical Center that, along with Children'! Mercy Hospital, has literally begun writing prescriptions for Kansas City kids in which the in Rx 'stands for "read." "It was a total shock," said Evette McKee, who was at KU recently with her 4-year-old son, Alex. "I bring him in for his yearly checkup, and someone takes out a book and starts reading to him. I think it's great." The program, which began in April at KU Medical Center in Kansas City, and this month at Children's Mercy in Kansas City, is called "K.C. Reads." The idea is simple and, in fact, tied to a larger program called "Reach Out and Read," begun in Boston in 1989 but which in the last 18 months has grown into a national phenomenon with 170 sites in 38 states.

The idea: Put books In the hands of pediatricians. Put volunteer readers in their waiting rooms. Every time boys and girls ages 6 months to 5 years come in for an appointment, someone reads aloud to them Then, as part of every exam, the physician pulls out a new book, let's the child play with it, read it and hands parents a prescription to read aloud to the child at home. When the exam is over, the child takes the new book home. The hope is that by having pediatricians promote reading, parents will see it as what researchers now know it to be: a vital part of early brain and language development.

Experts say children, in turn, will begin to view reading as they view their toys or television, that is, they'll make a positive emotional connection to books, see reading as a natural, fun part of life and something, when parents read aloud, associated with parental love and intimacy. "We're not trying to get children to read early," said Jean Harty, a developmental pediatrician and coordinator of "K.C. Reads" at KU, which so far has given books to more than 800 children. "We want them to appreciate books, to love them as resources, as objects of fun. "But our main goal is to encourage reading as a type of communication between parents and their children.

Yes, we're trying to stimulate language development. But we're also trying to promote closeness." With illiteracy linked strongly to poverty as a public health risk, the reasons are more than sentimental. National studies reveal that, on average, one of three children now entering kindergarten lack the most basic skills to learn. Some studies say as many as 30 percent to 50 percent of American adults are functionally illiterate, meaning they're able to read little more than signs, food labels or other words necessary to survive. With illiteracy comes low-paying jobs, poverty and the poor nutrition and health that go with it.

Meantime, ever more studies reveal how vitally important it is to feed infant's minds. Children, researchers now say, may begin to learn language in the womb and certainly from the moment of birth. Infants who are read to early and frequently develop larger vocabularies. They ar able aarlier to lden- 1 Jl ffj fciHrf rnTrr-il LttBtJrti iJil umwu mmjr If you are 1 9 years of age or older and have ever been diagnosed with a peptic ulcer, or you think you may have an ulcer now, you may qualify to participate in a medical research study. If you qualify, you will receive diagnostic testing and study medication.

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