The Fresno Bee from Fresno, California • 14

I D2 Thursday May 1002 TIC KCSNO DtC 'Low-cost service Funeral industry group unveils cremation plan Delegate to the annual (noveniiun weir also addterd It ii hard Myrr ol tyden Utah immediate put prr-ilrn of the National Funeral Diterlors Am uium Myers aiUlol the Reagan admutisifalHtn budget Cuts whiih he noted have lined away hiiwren 1740 million and million in Soiul Security death brnefil The national association he adJed ha opposed rstrnsivo Fedrral Trade Commitsiim rule that impose list Of regnlatums he rbimed are aimed jmt at the funeral director nut at rrmeterte memorial ocietie and other competing businesses The depressed Mate of the economy I being fell in the funeral business like anywlirre rise Myrr aid noting that the numhrr of funeral home ha dropped from 23000 la 20000 through acqustlion and mergers in recent year Waller Fvrrsole of I'luah outgoing president of the CFDA also noted that poop1 arc selecting less rspmsive rrvtce Nationally Myrr said funeral directors realms! a profit of 69 KraTtaMuadiH lot of money And he Mid industry cost to the consumer have risen to only percent of the national inflatum rate Nationally the average cost for a funeral not including cemetery costa it SOI compared to a California cost of SI 376 he Mid White believes the state should raise the SI M0 limit it allows an individual to put away for funeral expenses without it firing counted among his liquid assets at the time id death Moil ldW Emonuol chocks ovor on of many carton of baby chkkant before processing them through postal system Spring is birds-and-bees ly WALTER PORTER toH writer Postal employees are more than happy to telephone some customers this time of year to tell them their packages have arrived Those postal patron are the ones "live mail" packages Fresno every spring Chuck Morgan superintendent of service windows said the Postal Service asks shippers to place the recipient's telephone numbers on the packages of live mail When the package arrives the addressee can be notified immediately he aaid time for postal A beekeeper was called to round up the insects "Usually we place packages of live mail in our trucks where they can have ventilation and less danger of being broken by other packages" Morgan said the way to place priority on the chicks" Morgan same is done by post are sending us live mail" Packages containing held until agricultural can check them McCarthy Funeral tHiMnrs leaders have unveiled an industry jvntred rrrtnatnn pun nlmh ihry say will he cheaper tun servu prwviM rremnlumuMetirs The new service apwreoity is an attempt In uffset falling frvrmirn due Id the lagging rcnmy The new plan was announced by Ronald hue a third generation funeral director front Vui and incoming president the California Funeral Director Animation meeting in Sacramento White Mid the option catted the Pacific Cremation Plan will provide a complete service fur 8473 lie Mid that figure tent than some cremation amirlies charge Anytme can fnn the plan by tinning up with a funeral home and there no charge for mrmhrt thip he said CIPA'a plan apparently fail to undercut fee charged hy two FreMto cremation aurtetie for comparable service however Willard Phipps owner of Cremation Burial Plan of California haul his services cost about 8W The Neptune Society charges 8395 fur services plus a SIS membership fee Phipps a CFDA member cnlicized the new plan "It's a little unfair that the association is going into a busineM that competrs with Its own members" he Mid Most Fresno funeral home already offer ere mat am services bid some are planning to use the new plan always com pried with the societies and offered that service but now we can market it in a different said Mike Sonksen owner of Palm Funeral Service Mi service receiving containing fragile cargo such as chicks ducklings and other poultry plants and bees Many of the shipments from poultry farms nurseries and apiaries come through the US Postal Service's main office in The Banks Hatchery in Clovis ships chicks each spring about 100 crates at a time The hatchery calls the post office when each shipment is coming and the post office in turn notifies receiving post offices "This enables each office along "Sometimes rarely however' a package is broken accidentally and the live mail geu out When we were in the old office on Street one shipment of bees got out of a package We quickly abandoned the building'' he said New call charge system Campsites filled for holiday Grand jury indictments list robberies fraud forgery Pacific Telephone has implemented a faster less expensive new system for making credit card calls in most of Fresno In order to use the service 'Credit card calls must be made 'from push-button Touch-Tone phones said Pacific Telephone spokeswoman Paula Capozzi To make the calls customers dial the area code and number Then following a "bong-like tone" they dial their Second annual bike rally for hospital is scheduled credit card numhrrs and calls will go through without operator assistance The system will save on operator-assisted collect or third-number billed cards Capozzi said about 70 percent of Fresno has been converted to the system Customers who previously have had Pacific Telephone credit cards have recieved their new "catling in the mail Capozzi said The rally will begin at 8 am The event is not a race organizers stress There are three categories: adult (19 and older) Junior (14-18) and professional The Fresno Cycling Gub will help determine an average time to complete the route Those who finish the closest to that time will be declared winners The top four in each category will receive trophies Entry fee is 88 for adults and professionals and 85 for juniors Applications are available at Imperial Savings branches and Fresno bike shops Modesto was indicted on a charge of passing a forged US Treasury check for 8181 Nicholas Snyder and Oscar Blackwell both of Texas were accused of using a knife and a rifle to take an auto from a Sequoia National Park campground on April 21 Anthony Viviano of Arizona is accused of making a false statement to the Social Security Administration claiming he did not work in 1377 Clyde Mathews Percy Hughes and Ricky Gamble all of Fresno were indicted in connection with a May 14 armed robbery in which more than 88000 was taken from Lloyds Bank at 1722 First St Ronald Bittner of Kingsburg was charged with three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm And David Arias-Gonzales Martin Ruiz-Lopez and Jorge Hernandez-Martinez were indicted on charges of transporting illegal aliens from San Ysidro to Fresno A federal grand jury in Fresno has indicted IS persons on charges ranging from armed bank robbery to misappropriating postal funds In an indictment handed down Wednesday Charles Wallace of Fresno wai accused of misappropriating more than 88000 in postal funds while he was employed by the Post Office Danny Must on and Robert Lewis both of Madera were indicted on three counts of possessing property stolen from interstate shipments According to court documents the pair took several cases of wine and liquor from a Southern Pacific Railroad car In another Indictment Robert Washington of Fresno was charged with the April 30 armed robbery of the Bank of America branch at 1521 Fresno St where $550 was taken Steven Veit Davis of Bakersfield was accused of the May 8 robbery in which 8462 was taken from the Community First Bank in Bakersfield Caro Christine Matthias of -The second annual Imperial Savings Bike Rally will be held June 12 starting and ending its 264-mile course at Valley Children's Hospital Proceeds will go to the hospital four Imperial Savings branches Sunnyside Tulare Street Fig Tree Plaza and Fashion Fair will serve as checkpoints and rest stops 4 I I' bi More local news in Section handling said "The offices which plants are injipecton "They come in every day to inspect plants especially those from out of state" said Morgan i He said anyone who plans to mail live items may call the post office at 4S7-526S for Instructions on packaging spokesman said all weekend campsites in the valley have been reserved through June Campsites will remain available on a first-come first-served basis at Wawona Campground on Highway 41 and Hogdun Meadows Campground on Highway 120 she said and New Mexico Meredith also does custom printing for other publications including Penthouse magazine KSEE would be the sixth television station owned outright by Meredith and the first in California It also owns 40 percent of a television station In Orlando Fla The firm which also owns six radio stations has broadcast interests in large- and medium-sized markets in Michigan Missouri New York Nebraska Arizona Georgia and Pennsylvania Meredith also owns the Better Homes A Gaidens national real estate marketing system and a book publishing division Net 'earnings of the company declined in the quarter ending March 31 largely due to lower profits in real estate marketing book publishing and printing But the broadcasting and publishing segments reported gains in operating profits in the last quarter Over the last nine months Meredith reported revenues of $3406 million compared with 83026 million over the same period a year ago In 1982 its common stock has sold for from 62 to 52 a share on the New York Stock Exchange The sale of Channel 24 to SJCC by McGatcby was approved by the FCC Nov 18 1980 SJCC officially took over the station on Jan 28 1981 been briefed on the current issues he said i 4 Highley said he accepted the AMS 1 appointment because have a feeling and I have faith that President Reagan and Secretary Block are concerned about I Highley said he wants to talk with ail segments of the cotton industrj "to see what we can do to make the cotton grading system more efficient" He said concern exists about USDA's use of electronic methods of classing and grading the fiber to replace the traditional by-hand procedure' this is a coming thing we need to know how we can all work together" he said McQofchy News Service YOSEMITE All campgrounds in the Yosemite Valley are booked for the Memorial Day weekend Yosemite National Park officials announced Wednesday Lisa Dapprich a park KSEE CvwHwwd Warn Pup il sell However Bartlett said the increased competitiveness of the market resulted in large capital requirements which "became a burden" "The stockholders feel that the opportunity for a station to advance and compete in the market are greater with a company like Bartlett said Meredith began inquiring about buying the station in January along with two other groups Bartlett said He added the station was put on the block or listed for Bartlett anticipates personnel will remain the same although he noted he would be leaving his position as the station's general manager Armatis said "final plans haven't been determined" as to whether the station would remain locally controlled Fresno is rated the 64th largest television market in the nation in terms of potential viewers and ranks 52nd In terms of viewer revenues a factor that can add to the value of a station being sold Meredith is a media conglomerate whose flagship is Better Homes A Gardens magazine The company also publishes Metropolitan Home (formerly Apartment Life) Successful Farming Sail and suburban newspapers in' California Highley Cvuthwd frfM SI their roles In developing new guidelines on marketing orders The guidelines issued in January more open competition in the marketing of crops regulated by' marketing orders A number of industry groups including the 2000-member Sun-Maid Growers Inc raisin cooperative pressured for the USDA staff changes because they' feared the administration was trying to dismantle the marketing order program "I intend to concentrate on marketing orders as a priority" Highley said in a telephone interview "1 have some knowledge of marketing orders but 1 Humming along on housing An ingenious clothesline of hummingbird has its own answer to the high cost of housing The bold bird has placed its nest on the Virginia Boyajian of Fresno ignoring birdhouse that was available only a few feet away I.