The Bangor Daily News from Bangor, Maine • 23

jrr s' AROOSTOOK Bangor Dally News Thursday February 18 1988 Grants announced services FOWL WEATHER -f el 1 if Alabama Literacy Coalition Alaska? $77000 to Nine Star Enterprises to support three projects of the Alaska Literacy Challenge Coalition California $100000 to the state Department of Education on behalf of the California Alliance for Literacy to help train caseworkers Delaware $52000 to the state Depart- -ment of Public Instruction on behalf of the Delaware Coalition for Literacy to recruit more volunteer tutors and other activities Also Kentucky $100000 to the Kentucky Foundation for Literacy to develop tutor-training kits and model programs Mississippi $100000 to the state Department of Education to reduce the dropout rate from adult literacy instruction New Mexico $100000 for the New Mexico Coali- tionfor Literacy to launch' projects involving two Indian pueblos a Hispanic job-training organization and two community agencies Projects that won renewals include: Illinois the state Board of Education $49500 Indiana the Voluntary Action Program $45500 Maine Department of Educational and Cultural Services $49500 Massachusetts literacy Volunteers of Massachusetts $50000 Minnesota Minnesota Adult Literacy Campaign $50000 WASHINGTON (AP) The Gannett Foundation announced 21 grants Tuesday totaling $135 million in its Literacy Challenge a program aimed at spurring the growth of adult literacy services The aim of the Literacy Challenge is to stimulate state-level activity among adult-literacy groups agencies The foundation says it is the largest non-government source of funds for such cooperative efforts The Rochester NY foundation with assets of more than $500 million has committed a total of more than $5 million to adult literacy prop ects since 1985 It has spent $25 million on the Literacy Challenge alone Nine awards went to new propos-' als and 12 were renewals in the second and final year Gannett Foundation President Eugene Dorsey said the quality of the new proposals and the success so far of the renewal projects we believe these states have taken major steps toward providing adult non-readers with coordinated effective opportunities to learn to Literacy experts say' at least 25 million adults cannot read and millions more struggle with the printed word The new projects include: Alabama $75000 for the Alabama Public Library Service to start an 1 Vi i -v- -'T- 'x v' i f- :77 NEWS Photo by Scott Haskell Ducks swim on the edge of the East Branch of the Sebasticook River In Newport recently Former Maine Potato Council members skeptical of option-trading project early last May President Rosemary McFadden said dramatic increase in Maine prices was not a factor per se in the early closing decision on the final contract Exchange directors said their action from availability of price quotes from the United States Department of Apiculture in Maine Exchange was concerned that fair and orderly trading was threatened and that it would be unable to compute its final cash settlement price as required by the Exchange directors said Spokesmen for Maine Farmers Exchange said buyers and sellers with 556 open contracts stood to lose substantial sums upon what price on the board The goal of the new government program is to reduce money farmers receive in federal support by amounts made through commodities trading with part of their subsidy transferred from the government to the private sector Growers in the 22 states involved in the training project will receive counseling on buying and selling making pre-harvest contracts to ensure set prices for crops time they can make more money if they understand it (the futures said Larry Walker ASCS of analysis all of this I preface by saying you better know what doing and try to get fancy unless you want to lose your producer can certainly get hurt that Harold Bryant another former council vice president recalled that even hedging as a device failed to produce satisfactory results only stability it gave was a low-price said Bryant had a tendency to set a low ceiling price in no way did hedging produce a livable stable price The overall effect of speculating and hedging was to produce violent price fluctuations You could crucify a person without strong financial backing with absolutely no confidence in added Bryant strictly a gambling deal and heavy gambling never been used successfully in perishable Bryant dubbed futures trading as pipedream of theoretical economists who have had no practical Waggoner said in a telephone interview can see part of what (Bryant is) saying (about perishable commodities) But I have any basis to comment on The ASCS representative said the contemplated futures training however will not be geared toward perishable commodities' but more toward storable-type such as corn wheat feed grains soybeans and cotton The Potato Council last year became part of the Maine Potato Board When the Exchange stopped potato futures trading i By Dean Rhodes I Central Akoostook Bureau I PRESQUE ISLE -Word that Congress has ordered a test project offering classes in futures and options trad- 'ing to see if profits on commodities markets may reduce farm subsidies was met with skepticism in northern i Maine Congressional leaders announced this week that sands of US farmers will attend classes in 40 counties in 72 states as part of the 1985 farm bill in sin attempt to (find an alternative to expensive price supports No Maine counties were named in the program 6 i The Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Ser- ivice will try to teach farmers how to use markets to hedge against risk and boost income could be the iforerunner of a fancy new program or it could said Ray Waggoner an ASCS spokesman Ex-leaders of the former Maine Potato Council offered bitter commentary on aspects of potato futures trading They recalled the battle two decades ago to 4' outlaw futures trading by legislation They disagreed on whether there were any benefits to be gained in the practice Such officials still maintain that futures trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange brought volatile price swings and frequently upset the m- potato market in Aroostook County Prices they zpp absolutely no confidence in Harold Bryant a former vice president of the Maine Potato Council charged ultimately became depressed Futures activity in Maine potatoes ended a 46-year era in confusion last spring when directors of the Exchange voted to halt trading in the May cash settlement contract 11 working days early The NYMEX had voted the previous year to eliminate the potato contract on which only Maine round white potatoes wege used after May 1987 because of lack of interest people are frustrated with the high cost of the current (farm subsidy) program farmers said US Rep Lane Evans D-IU a member of the House Agriculture Committee on Monday need to have some sort of mechanism to help added Evans I think it has to fundamentally change If it does it will be good for the taxpayers better for family sized farmers and a better system generally for our whole was nothing wrong (in futures trading) until they stopped hedging (to recover production cost) and started speculating said Dorothy Kelley retired executive vice president of the Potato Council i-Maine briefs Smokers win prizes for kicking habit Fossils of humans very old i I EMMC gives $500 to Bangor woman Elvin Leyro of Hampden a production planner with GTE of Bangor hadbeen a smoker for 30 years Cheryl Ortmann of Bangor employed by Aetna Life and Casualty of Bangor had been smoking for the past several years Both decided in January to participate in the Eastern Maine Medical Quit and Win stop-smoking program On Wednesday that decision paid off when the two were awarded cash prizes in a brief ceremony at the medical center Ortmann won the $500 first prize Leyro won $250 George Oxley of Bangor who helped Ortmann remain smoke-free for the duration of the program won $150 Catherine Cyr of Brewer Quit and Win helper won $100 The money came from corporate donors who helped fund the annual project that is run by the Healthy Heart program Making the presentations was Kent Ward associate managing editor of the Bangor Daily News and honorary chairman of the 1988 Quit and Win program According to Marilyn Lavelle RN of Brewer director of the Healthy Heart program nearly 180 smokers enrolled in the program at its inception early in January Of that number 47 percent were able to quit smoking for a month and become eligible for the cash prizes La- Murder trial opens for Maine man ALFRED (AP) Witnesses from the United States and Canada will be called weave a tapestry of around Dean Alton Curtis who is charged with murder Assistant Attorney General Eric Wright told the juiy Tuesday in Superior Court Curtis 25 who grew up in Bangor is accused of stabbing to death David Nixon 30 of Naugatuck Conn who was staying at his summer home in Kennebunkport when he was killed last June His body was found on Goose Rocks Beach Wright told the jury in opening arguments that the day before the killing Nixon had been seen in the company of a man known as Mogen Berguin but later identified as Curtis third person saw Cbrtis kill Nixon but we will prove he did through his words and actions after the Wrignt said Purchases were made with credit card on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Newark NJ and in Florida and the cards eventually were found in possession when he was arrested in Washington state Wright said lawyers did not make an opening statement Testimony will begin Thursday before Justice William Brodrick in a trial that is expected to last into next week Curtis who police have said had a homosexual relationship with Nixon appeared in court in a blue three-piece suit and white shoes Wright said the defendant was a bleach-blond masquerading as a Danish student named Mogen Berguin when he obtained a job at an Ogunquit inn around Memorial Day last May Soon after he met Nixon Wright said Couple win million jackpot LYMAN A decorating store manager and his wife have won $28 million in the Tri-State Megabucks lottery David Rumery 49 and his wife Mary Lou 44 of Goodwins Mills a village in Lyman presented their winning ticket at lottery headquarters in Augusta on Tuesday They are entitled to $140000 each year for 20 years before taxes Mrs Rumery who has been buying five tickets a week since the game began said she had checked the sequence of six numbers in the Sunday paper and yelled for her husband to look hands started to shake and my husband thought I was having a heart she said in a telephone interview even hold the ticket still so he could lode at The couple who have three adult daughters were not sure what they would do with the money but a vacation is likely Mrs Rumery said that recently she had seen a bumper sticker that said rather be and almost bought it But now think EX-SMOKERS Cheryl Ortmann of Bangor (center) and Elvin Leyro of Hampden have won $500 and $250 respectively in the Eastern Maine Medical 1988 Quit and Win campaign designed to' help smokers kick the habit The two are shown with Marilyn Lavelle RN director of the Healthy Heart program (NEWS Photo by Carroll Hall) velle said participation was less than a yeaf ago but the percentage of abstainers at the close of the pro- gram was slightly higher A blood carbon-monoxide level test was administered to participants to verify that they had quit smoking Lavelle said The exsmokers will be polled periodically to determine if they have remained ex-smokers the director said Lavelle said the 1988 program reached into areas of the state not covered in previous years One participant came from the Sherman area another from Woodland and a number from Piscataquis and Hancock Counties she said month off from smoking was a real confidence builder to show smokers they can quit for Lavelle said who was able to quit was a winner They all won good NEW YORK (AP) Fossils from bn Israeli cave show that anatomi-h cally modern humans were living about 92000 years ago more than twice the nge scientists had been i ablfc to establish reliably before re-Tbearchers say finding supports the hypothesis sis that anatomically modern hu- tnans evolved in Africa rather than independently in several places and Weighs against the idea that they de--pscended from Neanderthals scien-lists said The study reported by scientists 4 from France ana Israel is im- portant for the study of the human said David Pilbeam anthrolopology professor at Harvard University The went appears in issue of the British journal Nature Researchers reported that 20 burnt flints found along with ancient human remains in the Qafzeh cave in lower Galilee were 92000 years old give or takq 5000 years So the ancient humans were in the cave that long ago researchers said That means some anatomically modern humans occupied southwest Asia before Neanderthals arrived a sharp challenge to the view that they evolved from Neanderthals wrote Chris Stringer of the British Museum (Natural History) in an editorial accompanying the report Neanderthals lived in Europe and Asia from about 150000 or 200000 years ago until about 35000 years ago Pilbeam said the Israeli finding more than doubles was previously accepted as a really good age for modern which was 35000 to 40000 years Eric Delson anthropology professor at Lehman College in New York said some fossils from Africa suggests ages of 90000 years and even older for modern humans In a telephone interview Delson said the new finding supports the view that modern humans arose in Africa because it provides an early date for their living near that conti-' nent The theory holds that more than 100000 years ago modern humans split into a group that stayed in Africa and another that went to Europe and Asia The humans in the Israeli cave may well have been members of early Eurasian stock different from any living race but near the common ancestor of non-Africans Delson said 1 Stringer in his editorial said the early date for the Israeli population poses some questions such as why modern humans took another 50000 years to register their presence in Europe and the Far East: University of Maine announces Family Winter Weekend ORONO The first Family Winter Weekend will be held Friday through Sunday Feb 19-21 at the University of Maine Like Family and Friends Weekend held each fall Family Winter Weekend will provide three days of a variety of educational and entertaining programs for students their friends and family The weekend will start at 2 pm Friday with a Maine Bound winter camping demonstration on the Mall A UMaine vs Boston College hockey game will be held at 7 pm and the Guthrie Theater Touring Co will present at 8 pm in the Maine Center for the Arts There will be open classroom visitations for families and friends throughout the day The Winter Carnival activities will start at 16 am Saturday which will include snow sculpture competition snowshoeing and cross-country skiing The woodland caribou area will be open from noon to 4 pm Events Feb 20 will include womens and mens varsity track meet at 11 am mens varsity basketball at 2 pm I and a hockey game at 7 pm will be presented at 8 pm At 9 pm Friday and Saturday the UMaine Planetarium will present a show titled the Dinosaurs Three seminars will be held Sunday focusing on Stump to the 1930s film about logging in Maine discussions of History of the University of and Further Look at the Psychological Changes and Transitions that Occur for Students During' the First Year at There also will be art exhibits in the Memorial Hauck and Graphics Galleries and in Carnegie Hall and visiting hours at the Hudson Museum going to wait and buy one that says Rumery is manager of Saco Decorating Center and his wife is a part-time realtor She plays the same numbers which are based on a birthday her anniversary and her birthday People often talk about what they would do if they were to win a lottery all in jest You never dream that someday going to she said imagine the Snowe seeks missile-test meeting WASHINGTON US Rep Olympia Snowe said she expected approval of a public meeting she has requested in the state after she received a briefing by Navy officials on the proposed cruise missile tests in Maine She received the information from the Navy in response to her concerns about safety and other aspects of the tests She said that Maine citizens need and deserve a public session with the Navy on the proposed tests and she anticipates her request for a such a meeting will be approved by the secretary of the Navy Snowe said that Navy officials informed her that two test flights were contemplated for the current fiscal year which ends Sept 30 and these tests likely would be in the fall Up to six more flights are envisioned for the next fiscal year According to the Navy some 70 to 80 percent of the proposed flight route which was mapped in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administration would use routes already used by military flights Snowe said she was- informed by the Navy that three recovery helicopters would be kept on standby during the testing and that at least (me helicopter would be no more than 20 minutes away from the land over which the missile is to fly at any given time Ine missile would be accompanied by two chase plans during its flight EMVTI to show presidential debates live on satellite network with a preliminary discussion with the debates scheduled to start at 9 pm both evenings On Saturday Feb 20 the Beat Farmers the Producers The Village People and The Association will all be on the Pepsi Satellite Concert Tour at the same location-live via satellite The public also is invited to attend this presentation of 2lk hours of rock roll spanning the last 25 years along with surprise guest performances by some of the top acts on the campus scene The program is slated for a 9 pm start The presidential candidates will debate each other on a special College Satellite Network program on Thursday and Friday Feb 18 and 19 to be shown live at Eastern Maine VocationalTechnical Institute The public and EMVTI students are invited to participate and have the opportunity to ask questions of the Democrats on Thursday night and the Republicans -on The Presidential Debates" will be shown at Mathiew Auditorium beginning at 8:30 pm i.