Dayton Daily News from Dayton, Ohio • 19

i DAYTON DAILY NEWS MONDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1995 D.7J I I I AT i hi. '1 A LIGHTER LOOK AT OURSELVES I A DOGGONE TIGER FAN Local radio talk host Mark Williams rubs shoulders with mild-mannered June LockharL HUDDLING FOR TALK RADIO WILL YOU MARRY THIS MAN? Did you catch Harrison Twp. resident Brian Simpson, 25, propos-. ing to Dana McConville, 23, of Louisville, on Wednesday's Sally Jessy Raphael show? Actually, Dana was more surprised than most fiances-to-be. She had flown to New York City thinking) she was appearing on a special Sally talent search show.

But as she began her special dance number, Brian appeared on the set to dance with her. Then he removed his shirt to reveal a T-shirt underneath with the words, "Dana, Will You Marry Me?" emblazoned across it. "She was more or less in shock," Brian said. Then he got down on his knees and slipped a diamond on her ger. She was still in shock.

"I was overwhelmed," she said. The couple! who will live in Harrison plan to marry this Out of Town, Put Out the Cat, Roll Up the Sidewalks and Turn Out the Lights." Betty Grilliot hasn't put out the cat. But the 73-year-old Versailles resident has put out her dog even if it's concrete and Darkless. "I love the Tigers," she says. Wearing an orange Versailles Tigers football helmet and an official Tigers orange bandana, Mrs.

GriMiot's collie typifies the spirit and whimsicality of the folks in Versailles. Nobody has more fun than the Datye County village of Versailles, population 2.351, when football season rolls around, especially during the playoffs. The whole town, eternally loyal to the Versailles High School football Tigers, turns into a brilliant splash of orange in November in support of the three-time state champions. One of the best handpainted signs at the edge of Versailles is this admonition from Bill Harman: "The Last One Betty Gnlot puts out the dog to show her loyi support for the Versailles Tigers. June Lockhart and Mark Williams would appear to go together like Lassie and a pit bulldog.

Lockhart, of course, is the lovely and genteel actress who for years was a regular presence In our homes as Lassie's TV mother. Williams is the acerbic and often controversial 9 a.m.-noon talk host on WHIO-AM (1290). Lockhart and Williams huddled last month at a meeting of the National Association of Radio Talk Show hosts in Chicago. Williams is treasurer of the organization; Lockhart is on NARTSH's international advisory board. Williams tells Al Marge he was "blackballed" last summer from a White House dinner for NARTSH officers presented by the Clintons.

"I'm told it's because I'm not friendly enough toward Clinton policies," he says. Obviously he has a kinder, gentler opinion of Lockhart. "I was at her last several birthday parties," he says, "so I know how old she really is, but I'm not telling." IV. I ffP but you can't take the Buffalo out of the snow lover. "Call me when it's time for the first snowball fight," Lane says.

Until then, "I'll be the fool in Hills and Dales Park making snow angels." A VOTE FOR SNOW (Oldies 94.5) disc Jockey, to the "likes snow" list. "I love the fluffy white stuff," she says. "I like it so much I'm goofy about itl Just ask anyonel Hey, last winter I was working in Buffalo, N.Y., and I loved it then, too." You can take a snow lover out of Buffalo Al Marge are making a list of meteorologists and media figures who like or dislike snow and checking it twice We prefer those, of course, who like it. Al Marge are planning the area's "First Media Snowball Fight." Add Kathie Lane, a midday WDOL-FM ji i 4j i OVfitJ WRITE: Al Marge 45 S. Ludlow St.

Dayton, Ohio 45402 Al and Marge want to hear from you! Got a funny story from the office, a chuckle from your children or a comment on life In the Miami Valley? Call us, write us, send us a fax. PHONE NEWSLINE: 463-4636, access code 2350 Please leave your name and a number where we can reach you FAX: (5i3) 225-2241 Include your name and phone number, please VJP MA li 'Lariat' necklace roping attention Godwin i CONTINUED FR0M6B wearing the lassos. Claudia Kanes, who directs Couric's wardrobe, said when the morning anchor wore her new wishbone necklace "people stopped her and asked her where she got it." Kanes said she thinks they are popular because they are dainty but still "something your mother wouldn't wear." The dainty chains are popping up here and there in boutiques and trendy shops and are expected to be a big seller for Christmas. "We've been calling it the Melrose Place necklace recently, because a lot of people are referring to it as that," said one Cincinnati shop owner. Most lariat necklaces also called drop and long-choker necklaces are made with oxidized sterling-silver chains, semi- TV- I her progress (toward indepen-dent living)." Veets said the county agency workers are trying to provide what Godwin needs, but be cost-efficient.

"We understand Miss McFarland's position," she said. "She's advocating for her ward, as she should. But we have to be realistic. If we put all of the money into a few cases, the others would be left out; we could evenfeopardize the whole program." Richey and his staff describe the program as one of the best the federal and state governments have come up with for helping mentally retarded become part of the regular community. "The subsidy is paid to the individual, who chooses which company provides them service, so they can switch if they aren't satisfied with it," Richey said.

"Also, it allows families to stay together if they want to. That's very remarkable. It has not been the way in the past for federal programs. I just wish we had more money so we could do more for those in the program and those who are waiting to get in." precious stones, Swarovski crystals and freshwater pearls bis They are priced from $30 to $200oii Resembling antique jewelryjiIA; the necklaces also are being tiicnpo dubbed "new heirloom" and i hoog "rosary style." "There seems to be a trend-1 wAo toward very nostalgic-lookingf- jewelry," says Liz Krinski of Brian! Miotto, a Cincinnati boutique that carries a numbew variations on the lariat look. A recent fashion layout in Entertainment Weekly said soejL of the original lariat necklaces, t' were created by a Los designer who supplies to most of prime-time's iii costumers.

Costumerslike the- no necklaces because many are shot from the waist up, whicho.i means bold accessories would overpower the actresses. IT By Mary Jo DILonardo SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE Just as Don Johnson and Miami Vice did wonders for pink sport coats and shoes without socks, Friends and Beverly Hills, 90210 are i making waves in the jewelry world. The "lariat" necklace a narrow chain with dangling crystals is the hottest fashion accessory on the tube. The necklace has been spotted around the napes of actresses like Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Seinfeld, Lea Thompson on Caroline in the City and Jennifer Aniston on Friends. Katie Couric of the Today show wears one.

So does the anchor of the infotainment show Extra. Actresses on Murder One, Chicago Hope, ER, Sisters, Picket Fences and the soaps are all istration of the program to the county boards and reducing the support money, effective this past July 1. Before, the county boards had been simply determining the needs of those eligible for the program and drafting a plan of i services. The state negotiated price with the service-providing companies and paid the bill. Suddenly, the counties had those duties as well, and a 15 to 20 percent cut in support money from the state.

'We're receiving at least 5 $200,000 less this year, and we've been told to expect another $200,000 cut next year," said Ken Richey, superintendent of the county MRRD board. "We're try-! ing to work with the dollars allotted." McFarland said Godwin's doc- -tor said the switch from her own house to shared living again could be detrimental to the woman's health. "It can be life-threatening in some cases, but we don't think that's the case with Helen," said Nancy Veets, waiver coordinator for the county MRDD board. "She has had to adjust frequently to change throughout her life. It would definitely be a setback to building where shell be shut in (again," she said.

McFarland was a social worker fresh out of the University of Dayton when she took a job in 1987 at the Dayton nursing home Jwhere Godwin was living. McFarland realized Godwin was only mildly retarded and could, if given the chance, function on her own. She decided to become her guardian. Two years ago, after she moved Godwin from that nursing home to one where she showed gradual Improvement hi living skills, she felt Godwin was ready to live out hi the community. She found a federally funded program the state MRRD department had set up in 1991 to help the mentally retarded make the transition from sheltered facilities to independent living.

McFarland worked with the county MRDD Board to get Godwin into the program, found a rental house for her, and helped her get settled in. Then the state department announced it was shifting admin You mieht have PMS if si 3.1V7 rooms and shut the door whett 'eria you enter a room. oijB If you hear your husband hunvtic ming "Ding, Dong, the Witch iscvfca Dead" under his breath. -i-' Jio Jf you hear a joke and bursts lao into hysterical laughter follr lioqe lowed by intense sobbing. If watching your husband oa By Vlckl Marsh Kabat COX NEWS SERVICE Most folks by now have heard of comedian Jeff Foxworthy and his trademark "You might be a redneck" routine.

I hate to borrow another person's approach, but this bit would work great for someone who suffers from Premenstrual Syndrome. Not that I speak from personal experience, mind you, but I've heard You might have PMS: If you find yourself vacuuming the house at 6 a.m. If you down abagofpotato chips and finish it off with a bag of as an afternoon snack. If you find yourself shouting "Go, girl!" at the Joan Crawford character while watching Mom-mie Dearest. If your husband greets you with a cheery "Good morning, dear," and a low growling sound erupts from your throat.

If you start crying inconsolably while watching a Gerber baby food commercial on TV. If you decide on Dec. 10 you can make cross-stitched samplers for all your relatives by Christmas. If your children avert their eyes from yours, slink to their bed- rT I j. A i Jz whack his thumb with a hammertgv is the funniest thing you've seeajca in years.

sJsc There's really only one thing. Sfy scarier to me than the onset of PMS. It's realizing that if your X993( PMS symptoms last three week," a month instead of one, you vri might not have PMS at alL It just might be who you really are. 7iu Now that's good reason for grown woman to burst into te'afs, 'Hi HMmsBnafliMigHr I'jH Serling CONTINUED FR0M6B Shd spit out by the system Noon on Doomsday deplored prejudice. In The Velvet Alley, he skewered his own profession.

Maybe he shouldn't have done that. Increasingly, commercial television was beginning to harden into a medium that had ho room for moralizing. As the than said: If you have a message, pall Western Union. Writers like Serling could get away with messages back then, because the people who owned television sets were mostly upper-class, highly educated viewers. Soon everybody and his grandmother had a TV, and it was a different story.

The lowest common denominator began to get the upper hand, and Serling began to get angrier and angrier. I A Town Has Turned to Dust was a watershed event. As Serling wrote the story for Playhouse 90 it dramatized the true story of Emmett Till, a black man who had been lynched in Mississippi because he had whistled at a white woman. The two white men accused of the crime walked. Serling felt prejudice was "the most innate evil in our society" and he burned with desire to expwse it but neither the net- Events fax I JSP Watered down: Serling said that when his A Town Has Turned to Dust was produced, his script had 'turned to To sign up to receive an events listing by fax every week, call Musical revue, Miami Valley Dinner, i Theatre.

(800) 677-9505 or (513j; 746-4554. Times and prices varyw. SQUARE DANCING: Presented by the Golden p.m., Michael Solomafl Pavilion, 2917 Berkley Ave. 299-8025. BALLROOM DANCING: Foxtrot, swing, waltz and more, '(.

p.m., mixer and social unjiln 10:30 p.m.. The Dayton Ballroom" Dance Club, 4920 Northcutt PI. 463-4636 and enter code 2331. Items for Things To Do Today are compiled by Missy DiMatteo. Calendar Items should be submitted at least two weeks before the event to Calendars, Features Department, Dayton Daily News, 45 S.

Ludlow Dayton, Ohio 45402. Because of space limitations, publication Isn't guaranteed. For long-range planning, see the Going Out Guide each Friday in GOI JOKERS COMEDY CAFE: Featuring Gabe Kaplan from Welcome Back Hotter, 7 p.m., 8900 Kingsridge Drive. $15, $26.95 dinnershow. 433-LAFF (5233).

BLUES JAM WITH THE SOULCASTERS: Qnm MitnuI AW) P. Fifth work nor its advertisers was prepared to stand behind a drama 1 that dealt with a racial issue. 1 "By the time A Tovm Has Turned to Dust went before the cameras, my script had turned to dust," Serling said later. "Emmitt Till became a romantic Mexican. The setting was moved to the Southwest in the 1870s They, chopped it up like a roomful of butchers at work on a steer." Serling would have similar TWoblems with network hatchet men while writing and producing The Twilight Zone and Rod Serling's Night Gallery.

Before his life ended in 1975, Serling had been beaten into submission reduced to writing Planet of the Apes and starring in TV com- mercials for Schlitz beer. The PBS special never does unearth the demons that clawed at Serling's psyche, nor does it even go looking for them but it may be enough that it reminds us of a time when television had something important to say. VT 879-3462, 847-8010 or 233-7355; 223-0540. SINCLAIR COMMUNITY CONCERT BAND: Christmas favorites and traditional concert band repertoire, 7:30 p.m., Blair Hall Theatre, Building 2, Sinclair Community College campus, 444 W. Third St.

Free. 226-2753. AN OLD-FASHIONED FAMILY CHRISTMAS: 5) OTHER THINGS TO DO: For to do tomorrow or this weekend, call 463-4636 with a Touchjpne ohOQ and enter code 1008..