Republican and Herald from Pottsville, Pennsylvania • C4

C4 SUNDAY, MAY 20, 2012 CONNECTIONS REPUBLICAN HERALD NEWS-ITEM SKYRUSH HeRSHeVp 12 Coasters in 2012 200 150 S2 loo Continued from Page CI els over Spring Creek, the body of water Milton S. Her-shey used as the centerpiece when he built the park in 1907 as a picnic and pleasure grounds for his chocolate factory employees. Floorless seats Skyrush's other innovation is its one-of-a-kind innerouter seating, with two floored seats flanked on each side by floorless, winged outer seats. Her-sheypark promotes those seats are being designed "for the bravest of riders," who are offered a 270-degree panoramic viewing perspective. The "freedom-style" restraint system maximizes both safety and rider experiences, the park reports.

"It's the latest trend," Burrows said. Skyrush is the third coaster Hershey has had designed by Intamin, the others being Storm Runner in 2004 and Fahrenheit in 2008. The new coaster also continues a tradition of innovation at Hersheypark, which started with the Sooperdoop- erLooper, the first steel looping coaster on the East Coast; and also the Great Bear, Pennsylvania's first looping inverted steel coaster. Area of park reopens The new ride sits on land that will be open to the public for the first time since 1972, the former "Sunken Gardens," a popular place for early visitors to Hershey to take a stroll. Hershey Entertainment and Resorts, Hersheypark's parent company has transformed the area, not only with the new coaster, but with a scenic observation path lined with globe streetlights, fencing, trees, landscaping and flowers.

The new area allows guests to reflect on the park's history while watching riders on a state-of-the-art coaster. Hersheypark opened for the season on May 4, but Skyrush opens Saturday More information and a virtual ride on Skyrush can be found at wwwhershey park.com. YV 50 (l) Comet (1946), 50 mph 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 LENGTH (in feet) (4) Sidewinder (1991), 47 mph (7) Wild Mouse (1999), 28 mph (8) Lightning Racer' (2000), 50 mph (11) Fahrenheit" (2008), 58 mph Resorts Company. All words, designs, and phrases appearing with the symbol SM, or TM are trademarks used under license or with permission. IIHP7394 2012 Hershey Enter WANDERIN' Stamp lover's passion for hobby still thrives KKm HB ff MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS Stamp collector Gary Haas looks through binders of stamps at his home in Fresno, Calif.

Haas, who has a different binder for every country he has stamps for, has been collecting them for 40 years. Continued from Page CI the email. Please note the grammar, punctuation and spelling errors. So, I clicked on the "sign in to Online Banking" link and get a very legitimate-looking webpage asking for my "Online ID" and "Passcode." Again, the Web address was extremely long and didn't start with the bank's real website address. It started with another address, followed by the bank's address, which was spelled wrong.

I did go to the real homepage of the bank where the account log-in is on that page, not on a separate page. The fake page did have other bank links, and from what I can tell, they actually took you to legitimate bank's pages, probably not to arouse suspicions of potential victims. These crooks are very good at being crooks. So, you have to be very very careful. Here are some tips from the OnGuard Online website on how to protect yourself from being caught in a phishing expedition.

Delete email and text messages that ask you to confirm or provide personal information (credit card and bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, passwords, Legitimate companies don't ask for this information via email or text. The messages may appear to be from organizations you do business with banks, for example but are not. They might threaten to close your account or take other action if you don't respond. Don't reply and don't click on links or call phone numbers provided in the message, either. These messages direct you to spoof sites sites that look real but whose purpose is to steal your information so a scammer can run up bills or commit crimes in your name.

Area codes can mislead, too. Some scammers ask you to call a phone number to update your account or access a "refund." But a local area code doesn't guarantee that the caller is local. If you're concerned about your account or need to reach an organization you do business with, call the number on your financial statements or on the back of your credit card. You can take steps to avoid a phishing attack: Use trusted security software and set it to update automatically In addition, use these computer security practices. Don't email personal or financial information.

Email is not a secure method of transmitting personal information. Only provide personal or financial information through an organization's website if you typed in the Web address yourself and you see signals that the site is secure, like a URL that begins https (the stands for secure). Unfortunately no indicator is foolproof; some phishers have forged security icons. Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to check for unauthorized charges. If your statement is late by more than a couple of days, call to confirm your billing address and account balances.

Be cautious about opening attachments and downloading files from emails, regardless of who Avoid 'phishing' attack Use trusted security software and set it to update automatically. In addition, use these computer security practices. Don't email personal or financial information. Email is not a secure method of transmitting personal information. Only provide personal or financial information through an organization's website if you typed in the web address yourself and you see signals that the site is secure, like a URL that begins https (the stands for secure).

Unfortunately, no indicator is foolproof; some phishers have forged security icons. Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to check for unauthorized charges. If your statement is late by more than a couple of days, call to confirm your billing address and account balances. Be cautious about opening attachments and downloading files from emails, regardless of who sent them. These files can contain viruses or other malware that can weaken your computer's security.

sent them. These files can contain viruses or other malware that can weaken your computer's security To report phishing scams, forward the phishing emails to spamuce.gov, and to the company bank or organization impersonated in the email. You also may report phishing email to reportphi shingantiphishing.org. The Anti-Phishing Working Group, a group of ISPs, security vendors, financial institutions and law enforcement agencies, uses these reports to fight phishing. If you might have been tricked by a phishing email: File a report with the Federal Trade Commission at wwwftc.

govcomplaint. Visit the FTC's Identity Theft website (www.ftc.govbcpedu micrositesidtheft). Victims of phishing could become victims of identity theft. There are steps you can take to minimize your risk. "Every failure and licking we experience is not a defeat but an assurance of the truthfulness of our purpose, trusting and confiding in God's power, leading us to our end, in spite of how we feel or fail to how weak and unstable we prove ourselves to be.

"Our weakness and instability sway us in all directions to experience the good and the bad we encounter. This fluctuation can bring us to the point of despair, even to anger at our own helplessness, yet not to the point of sin, though close to it, because in all this interior and mental turmoil and instability and fluctuation, there is something stable and unchanging in us bringing us always to the balance point and center after the swaying and fluctuation cease temporarily" Father Walter J. Ciszek, S.J. (Staff writer Usalis can be reached at jusalis republicanherald.com) 1 BY RICK BENTLEY MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS FRESNO, Calif. Gary Haas squeezes between a pair of ceiling-high book cases, arranged to create a small office area and a central location for his stamp collecting hobby Haas' passion for collecting is evident.

Most of the shelves are filled with volumes and volumes of stamps, categorized by date, country, color and subject matter. The collection is so massive that Haas has no idea of the total. It's the accumulation of more than 40 years of collecting, which started when Haas received a stamp collecting starter set for Christmas when he was 8 years old. "In the 1970s, I got a stamp collecting merit badge through the Boy Scouts, where I learned some of the basics of stamp collecting," Haas, a Minneapolis native, said. "I started going to stamp shows about six times a year.

It's a slow learning process." Over the years, Haas checked out stamp-collecting books from the library to do research on the millions of different stamps that have been printed since the first ones were produced 172 years ago in Great Britain. Stamp collecting, or philately, may seem like an old-fashioned hobby, but it remains popular with many Americans. Experts say it's popular because it appeals to a broad age range, is not affected by location or climate and can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want. There has been a decline in the number of collectors. Stamp collecting was at its peak in the US.

in the 1950s, when about 4 percent of all Americans had collections. Today, the American Philatelic Society estimates there are more than 5 million American stamp collectors. It remains the No. 1 hobby in the world, driven by the rapid growth of collectors in China as the country's economy grows. Fresno, stamp dealer Gary Deitz turned his 65-year-old hobby into a business.

The walls of Gary Deitz StampsSupplies are covered with binders and boxes full of stamps meticulously organized so he can find one from Tonga as quickly as one from Germany Deitz would like to see more people like Haas. "I got started collecting when there were no TVs or video games. Back then maybe 1 in 10 kids collected stamps. Now it's maybe 1 in 1,000," Deitz said. "I think the economy also has had a lot to do with the drop in interest." Collectors often buy stamps through local stores like Deitz's, or at conventions where they are often sold in box lots that include hundreds of stamps.

Deitz said the worldwide interest can be beneficial to local stamp collectors. He suggests people find someone in another country with the same interest and mail each other stamps. It's a quick and less expensive way to build a collection. He said stamps sold at estate sales or yard sales can be tricky investments and may not contain any valuable stamps. Haas has limited himself to con- i MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS stamps from most countries even some that only existed for a few years.

While Haas has a stamp from almost every country, he doesn't own one from the Republic of Stel-laland, a South African republic that existed from 1882 to 1883. Even with that specific of a theme, there's no way Haas can keep up with all the stamps released each year around the globe. "If you were to buy everything, from all the countries, released in one year, you would need $10,000," Haas said. "One country might produce 40 to 60 different stamps each year. Every post office in the world is promoting themselves.

Every state in the U.N. and every micro-state is getting into the business. It's a revenue raiser for their country" The United States Postal service is no different. Its best-selling stamp was the 1993 Elvis Presley with 124 million sold, many by those who aren't serious collectors. Stamps featuring actors, musicians and even comic book characters appeal to those who have an interest in pop culture.

Haas doesn't collect those because very few stamps released since 1930 have much value. An increase in the use of email has not slowed production of new stamps. The biggest problem in recent years has been the introduction of self-adhesive stamps. Collectors in the past were able to use water to dissolve the glue that bound the stamp to the envelope. The process is far more complicated with the stamps that peel and stick.

The hurdles don't deter Haas or Deitz. Their passion for the hobby keeps them looking for the next elusive stamp for their ever-growing collections. This Mexican stamp from the 1880s in Gary Haas' collection of stamps shows a cancellation and district number, making it more valuable. ventions and dealers. When he makes a purchase, he carefully goes through any stamps he buys to find the ones he needs for his collection and then sells the remainder.

Some of the stamps those with birds, flowers and butterflies are passed down to his daughters. Haas has passed on his interest to them. Some people collect stamps for relaxation. Others like to search for a rare stamp worth big bucks. (The 1847 Post Office Mauritius stamps on an 1848 cover to Bordeaux, France, sold for almost $4 million in 1993.) The trick is being able to spot stamps that have some value.

"Even though a stamp is old, it may not have a catalog value," Haas said. Most stamp collectors will focus on a different theme from country to color. Deitz buys stamps from 42 countries for his private collection. Because Haas, a substitute teacher, has always had an interest in history, he collects stamps of the world. His collection includes.