Page 4, The Cougar Cry, March 23, 1976
WILKES GENERAL
HOSPITAL STAFF
INVOLVED IN HOSPITAL
FIRE SAFETY TRAINING
COURSE
During the period February 9-17,
two hundred, eighty-three employ
ees of Wilkes General Hospital at
tended a 4-hour Hospital Fire Safety
Training course to better acquaint
themselves with procedures to fol
low in the event of fire in the hos
pital.
The highlights of the course were:
Chemistry of Fire, Fire Prevention,
Hazardous Materials Found in Hos
pitals, Do’s and Don’ts of Hospital
Fire Safety, Evacuation in the Event
of Fire, and Fire Drills. The last two
segments of the course, Evacuation
and Fire Drills, were to ensure that
the participants had mastered the
material that had been covered and
would understand their role in an
actual emergency.
The course was taught by Cap
tain Tony Setzer, of tlie Lenoir Fire
Department, and was well-received
by those attending. Many favorable
comments were received concerning
the manner in which Captain Setzer
handled the class and comments
such as, “The class was so interest
ing, I didn’t realize I had been there
fourliours.” “Mr. Setzer fielded our
questions as one would expect an
experienced fireman to do.” “The
material was well-organized and pre
sented in a manner that was bene
ficial, even to those of us with some
experience in this field.” “Mr. Set
zer was in charge of the class at all
times,” were not at all uncommon.
Arrangements for the course were
made by Mrs. Margaret McMahan,
In-service Education Director for
Wilkes General Hospital, and were
authorized by Mr. Hugh Stetler, Jr.,
Administrator for the hospital.
Wilkes Community College is in
debted to these two members of the
hospital staff for their foresight in
providing this training for the hos
pital employees and, also, to Cap
tain Setzer for the commendable
way in which he presented the
program.
It has been our privilege to be of
service to Wi)kes General Hospital,
and we look forward to working
with them in the future.
AUTO DEFECTS?
SAFETY PROBLEMS?
CALL TOLL-FREE
800-424-0123
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION
NAT'l HIGHWAY TRAFFIC
SAFETY ADMINISTRATION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590
(Clip A Sav* for Future Uit)
WCC SYMPHONY
TO PERFORM
Wilkes Community College Sym
phony Orchestra will be performing
at Wilkes Central High School Gym-
torium on March 29. Dr. Robert
Mayer will be conducting the sym
phony in a program which includes
the following selections:
Roman Carnival Overture Berlioz
Concerto for Piano Schumann
Hans Heidemann, soloist
Symphony No. 5 Beethoven
American Patrol Meecham
Dr. Mayer proudly announced
that the 70 piece orchestra is the
largest orchestra Wilkes Community
College has had in the past three
years.
We urge strong support from the
student body and faculty.
Student admission to the sym
phony is $1.00, and tickets are avail
able at the college Book Store.
PLEASE COME!
WOMEN VET REBATE
DEADLINE NEARS
Women veterans who attended
school under the G1 Bill between
June 1,1966 and October 24, 1972,
are reminded that they have only
six more months to apply for retro
active benefits. Application deadline
is July 1, 1976.
Eligible for up to Si,000 in retro
active payments are women who
were married while attending school
under the G1 Bill but only received
the single GI Bill allowance.
Women must produce evidence
to show that they were married
while in training to be eligible for
retroactive allowances. The amount
to be paid in a lump sum is about
$30 per month for each month a
woman veteran was in training un
der the GI Bill while she had a hus
band.
Officials say women who attend
ed school under the World War II or
Korean Conflict GI Bill programs are
not eligible for retroactive depen
dency allowances.
Inexpensive Studio, Workshop, In
structional rental space with 80%
sales outlet adjoining Old Salem
tourist area - North Carolina League
of Creative Arts & Crafts - 115
Brookstown Ave., P.O. Box 10507,
Winston Salem, N.C. 27108
SPECIFIC DATA HELPS VA
KEEP UP WITH THE JONES
If your last name is J ohnson and
you plan to check with the Veterans
Administration about possible bene
fits, you had better be specific.
The agency says it has about
203.000 veterans named Johnson on
its rolls and advises veterans seeking
information on benefits to include
name, rank and mihtary serial num
ber with each request.
Officials say there are about
305.000 Smiths and 150,000 Wil
liams in VA files.
Imagine, if your name is Thomas
Brown and you were to ask the VA
about eligibility for GI Bill educa
tion benefits, but neglected to pro
vide the agency with your serial
number (or Social Security number
for current vets), the VA would be
faced with identifying you from
among 2,700 Thomas Browns in
VA files.
Providing first names and middle
initials helps, of course, but it often
isn’t enough. The agency says 35%
of the veterans in its files have the
following given names: John, Ro
bert, William, James, Charles, Jo
seph, Richard, George, Edward, or
Thomas. If your name happens to
be Charles Edward Thomas, for
instance, the computer might really
be confused since there are nearly
75.000 Thomases in its memory
banks.
GI BILL ROLL
TOPS 1.8 MILLION
GI Bill enrollment hit the 1.8
million mark in November, up 18%
over a year ago, according to Vet
erans Administration officials.
VA officials believe the Novem
ber figure may prove to be the peak
enrollment for the current GI Bill
which has been in operation since
June 1, 1966. Eligibility will expire
May 31 for an estimated 3.7 million
veterans whose VA educational be
nefits are based on service between
January 31, 1965, and May 31,
1966. Their 10-year use period ex
pires May 31, 1976.
Veterans and servicemen with
more than 180 continuous days of
other than dishonorable active duty
are eligible for VA educational assis
tance. Eligible veterans are entitled
to I'A months or the equivalent in
part time training for each month
of active duty after January 31,
1955, up to 36 months.
The drama class is piaying around
too much,
In food sci(!nces the class is full.
History teaches the same old stuff.
The art class(;s draw many stud^nts.
ENGAGEMENT
ANNOUNCED
Mr. and Mrs. Laurence G. Wilson
of Olin announce the engagement of
their daughter, Treva Ann, to Mr.
Ronald Qyde Wilkins of Wilkesboro.
The wedding is set for noon, March
21, at Mount Vernon Baptist Church
in Olin. No formal announcements
are being sent, but all friends and
relatives are invited.
PREPARING
FOR A PRESIDENT
by Eileen Lowe
He zoomed through the house
like a whirling dervish, prancing,
dancing, and chanting. The President
of the United States was to visit
Wilkes County and lo-and-behold
the school my son attended. West
Wilkes High, was to be honored by
having the activities take place on
its grounds.
My son’s chanting took the form
of pride mingled with fear, “We’re -
going - to - play - for - the - President
- don’t - forget - the - lead - in.” As
the time for the President’s arrival
drew closer, the loud, clear tones of
“Hail to the Chief” issued forth
from my son’s trumpet, filling every
comer of the house.
Each day he came home from
school, my son’s arms were heavy-
laden with books, papers, boxes,
and accumulated treasures (junk).
“Everyone’s locker has to be emp
tied and left open. It reduces the
chance of bombs being put in
them,” he explained. Band uni
forms, music, and instruments were
brought home; the band room,
which is new, was being turned into
the Presidential suite.
My house, already overflowing
with the everj'day lives of five
people, truly took on the appear
ance of being left in the wake of a
hurricane. While I stood in wonder,
my son told me a little about the
extraordinary' goings-on in prepara
tion for this historic event.
Secret service men had gone
through the school with a fine tooth
comb, looking for problem areas,
and tiny microphones had been
strategically placed throughout the
building. The children were in a
frenzy of sweeping, cleaning, and
tidying up the inside and outside of
the school. Band members were
having extended practice sessions in
preparation for the honor of greet
ing President as he stepped from the
Presidential helicopter, Marine 1.
When the great day arrived at
last, the excitement built up in my
son to the point where he almost
wore the numbers off the clock just
looking at it. Finally, it was time.
With great care, he put on his uni
form, smoothed down his hair,
(Continued on page 5)