The Toronto Star du lieu suivant : Toronto, Ontario, Canada • 32

Dii inc iuiummu oinn neuixaudjr, ocuwet 0, YOU ASKED US Credit service teaches clients to get drastic with plastic Anyone can get into trouble with debts, Durham Region counsellor says By Nicholas Keung STAFF REPORTER A good mother and grandmother, Eileen felt she should be able to buy Christmas and birthday presents for her family despite her fixed income. She did, but her purchases had mired her in a mounting $11,500 debt, run up on credit cards and loans. With only $15,000 in pension payments coming in eveiy year, the 72-year-old Oshawa widow feared she would never be able to pay off her debts. I Ve been trying to play catch-up, but die moneysimply wasnt there for catch-up. Its very stressful, Eileen said when she took her problems to Credit Counselling Service of Durham Region.

With a $38,000 net household income, Doug and his wife, Carol, had a wonderful life in Bowmanville until 1996, when they had a little boy and Carol was laid off after her maternity leave. We were using credit cards to pay the bills, but the card balances kept increasing and it cost more to meet that We just don't want to lose our house, said a distressed Doug, who was $26,900 in debt. too ji: Y1 any? Ixx)k into your mirror and youll see our clients Walter Stefaniuk Rattling, rusting unlikely in space A story about the last craw on Mir said the spaca station Is rattling and rusting. How can it be rusting? It needs oxygen to create rust Thera's no oxygen in space. A Space stations carry oxygen to enable cosmonauts and astronauts inside to breathe.

But it seems the writer was using a bit of literary licence in describing Mir's condition after 13Vi years in space. The Russian space station is made out of aluminum and, while aluminum oxidizes, it doesn't rust, said York University physicist Jim La-framboise, who specializes in electrical disturbances around spacecraft. "Rattling is something I would be very doubtful about, too. For one thing, it's not going over a road. It's out in space.

So there's precious little to make it rattle." Also, a space station must be an airtight structure or people cant live in it. About the only rattling would be a loose item when an engine is firing. "Rocket engines do have some vibrations in them," Laframboise said. BUGGED BYWORD Was the word bug first used to denote Insects or to denote bother? Bug originally meant frightening or alarming, as in a supernatural phenomenon, and one of its earliest appearances in writing was for a scarecrow, says the Dictionary of Word Origins. It became the colloquial bug for insect pests in the 1 6th century, and added the meaning defect in the last century.

Bug for germ, bother and wiretap developed in this century from the sense of "insect." Insects carry germs, bother people and a wiretap transmitter could be as small as an insect. VERYSCARYNIGHT Will Halloween be held on Sunday, OcL 31 or will It be put over to the Saturday or Monday? Children will be out trick or treating the evening of Sunday, Oct. 31 wherever the ancient celebration combining pagan and Christian customs is observed. Halloween, a contraction of All Hallow's Eve, has been celebrated for about 13 centuries. It always falls on the eve of the Feast of All Saints (Nov.

1), though the witches, ghosts and goblins arise from pagan autumn festivals. MUTUAL STAKES Whats the origin of the word mutuel as In mutuels where you place bets at race tracks? It's an abbreviation of parimutuel, which comes directly from the French word for mutual stakes. It's a system of betting where those with bets on winning horses in a race win, place or show divide all the money bet, less the operator's commission. SEX IN THE SKY Im having an argument with a friend. There used to be some-, thing called the mile-high club.

I think if you had sex on a plane, you were in the mile-high club. My friend Insists It was something else. Whos right? You are. The term's been around since the 1 960s. People whoVe had sex in a plane in flight are facetiously considered to be members of a special organization, says the History of American Slang.

CALENDAR Events: The Jazz Singer, first "talkie" movie, premieres in New York City, 1 927; Egyptian and Syrian forces attack Israelis across Suez and on Golan Heights, 1973; Egyptian president Anwar Sadat assassinated by Muslim extremists, 1981. Birthdates: Bsinessman James McGill, whose estate founded McGill University, 1744; British Sir Isaac Brock, War of 1 812 hero, 1 769; inventor Reginald Aubrey Fessenden, made world's first radio broadcast, bom at East Bolton, 1866; Syrian leader Hafez Assad, 1930. A. a fA t. JK COUNMoCONNBlKMONTDSTM FIRST STEP: Sandra Slicrk of Durham Region's credit counselling sendee, kcejis hundreds of eliopied-up credit cards from her clients in a jar on her desk at her Oshawa office.

When people ask for client profiles at the United Way agency, credit counsellor Sandra Sheik tells them: If you want to see who they are, you should look into your mirror ami youll see our clients. Last year, her office handled 744 cases, helping people from their 20s to 70s get through financial difficulties with budgeting and credit guidance. Their annual household incomes ranged from $15,000 to $50,000 and above, and die average debt load was about $22,735. Eileen, Doug and Carol (not their real names) are on the credit counselling services four-year debt repayment program. They are typical of the cases Sheik receives eveiy day.

Credit and unexpected income loss are two of the most common causes of her clients financial problems, she says. There are a lot of credit (cards) out there; even retail stores have their own cards, Sheik says. Its really important Ah people to take die time to gain and regain control of their finance and better deal with their credit In 1998, the Credit Counselling Service of Durham Region disbursed $200,000 to banks on behalf of its clients, $78,000 to finance companies and $81,000 to credit card companies. People often find it difficult to go out and seek help about their financial problems, Sheik says. A lot of people who come to us ace extremely nervous just because of the idea that Ive screwed up because I can't deal with my finances, she explains.

Taking control is basically what money management is about QiickFacts On credit There were 54.2 million credit cants in circulation in Canada in 1998, an average of 2.3 cards for eveiy Canadian over the age of 18. VISA and MasterCard were used in more than 1 billion transactions that year. The 27-member Ontario Association of Credit Counselling Services helped more than 18,000 new clients across the province in 1996-97, an increase of 21 per cent over the previous year. About $19 million was returned to creditors through the association's management programs over the same period. Less than 2 per cent of the people who complete credit counselling programs get into credit trouble again.

The association can be reached at home and schools. Thats why the agency is tiying to go to educational institutions and public libraries to spread the word. People go out and get a household of furniture and (font have to pay for a year. What they forget is the year does come. Thats what they have to keep in mind, Sheik says.

Our clients need to be really committed in dealing with their financial problems. Were not miracle workers, so we cant make magic. Today, Eileen is debt-free and the Bowmanville couple still live in their own home with only a $7,000 debt to pay off. I feel so relieved that I didnt have to go bankrupt and I don't have the debts hanging over my head anymore, Eileen told Sheik at her final appointment last December. I dont mind if I see you on the street, but I don't want to meet you in your office anymore.

United Way For Eileen, Doug and Carol, it means watching their spending, doing fewer material things for their families, taking their lunch to work, and cutting down on alcohol and entertainment expenses. One of the problems Sherk observes is the lack of public education in money management skills in Barbecue king toasted with key to city Chretien, Lastman hail a Liberal and liberal party host By Bruce DeMara CITY HALL BUREAU Joe Foti, an Italian immigrant whose love of politics and baibecues has made him known across Toronto, was given the key to the city and a heartfelt tribute from Prime Minister Jean Chretien yesterday. Foti, 80, a retired city caretaker and staunch Liberal, was flanked by two men dressed in the uniform of the Italian carabinieri before being escorted to the mayors seat with his wife You Asked Us runs Tuesday through Friday. Call (416) 868-3900 to record your questions and comments. and decided to make a life here, and not only to benefit but to contribute, he said.

I wanted to share fills moment Joe, youre a great guy. Theres no better guy in Toronto than Joe Foti." Lastman hailed Foti as a man who is "always happy, always upbeat and always there when you need him. All his life, Joe has told us, You beautiful, you file best. Today, its our turn. Joe, you are a beautiful man, you are file best Lastman added.

Youre beautiful people. Thank you, everyone, Foti said to a council chamber packed with well-wishers, including numerous federal cabinet ministers and MPs, MPPs and municipal politicians. Ive never missed a barbecue of Joe Fotis, longtime friend Ed Mir-vish said. I salute him because he really is a wonderful guy, a family man. He serves good meat and hot dogs and beer at his barbecue, said CHIN radio presklent Johnny Lombardi A couple of times there was a fire there, and I thought we were an going to be roasted along with the meat.

But somehow or another, they put file fire out TODAYS BLOOD DONOR CLINICS Take, file mayors chair because, tohonto star phot after all, youve been the mayor of the PARTY FAITHFUL Liberal stalwart Joe Foti slmres the spotlight with west end for a long time, Mayor Mel Prime Minister Jean Chretien at a city hall tribute yesterday. Lastman said. Manulife Centre, 2nd floor, 55 Bloor St. Toronto, 12-7 p.m. Royal Bank Plaza, Merchants Mall lew el, 200 Bay Toronto.

By appointment only, call 974-99 1 1 1 1 a.m.-3 p.m. Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute, 125 Chatsworth Toronto, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. National Grocers, 6 Monogram Place, Etobicoke, 1 1 a.m.-3p.m. North York Civic Centre, 5 1 00 Yonge North York, 12-4 p.m. Square One, Health Court, lower level, 1 00 City Centre Mississauga, 12-7 p.m.

get-together grew into an annual event drawing thousands, including many senior figures in the Liberal party. Referring to the famous barbecues, Chretien said he met many non-Liberals when he has attended. But they were there to celebrate the same thing that I wanted to celebrate that day. It was brotheihood, it was friendship, it was understanding, Chretien said. It was the celebration of the millions of people who came to Canada The Prime Minister, who sat beside Foti throughout much of the ceremony, had warm words for the man whose backyard baibecues at his home on Winona Dr.

have become a legend in political circles for 19 years. What began as a neighbourhood i i ft.