Tips on using portable heaters
Government safety experts warn
that half and one-third of the injuries
resulting from portable electric
heater fires occur when people use
beaters overnight and the family is
sleeping. If heaters must be used at
night, a properly installed and main
tained smoke detector in the same
room may provide early warning of
danger if a fire should occur.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission estimates for 1965 indi
cate that fire departments responded
to 3,700 residential fires involving
portable electric heaters. These fires
resulted in 160 deaths, 260 injuries
and $50.6 million in property loss.
CPSC suggests the following pre
cautions for safe portable heater use :
Use heaters at least three feet
away from objects such as bedding,
furniture and drapes. Never use
heaters to dry clothes or shoes. Do
not place heaters where towels or
other objects could fall on the heater
and start a fire.
Use heaters on the floor. Never
place heaters on furniture, since they
may fall, dislodging or breaking
parts in the beater.
Do not use beaters in wet or moist
places such as bathrooms, as parts in
the heater may be damaged.
String out cords on top of rugs or
floors. Placing anything on top of the
cord could cause the cord to over
heat.
Do not use an extension cord unless
absolutely necessary. Using an ex
tension cord with high wattage appli
ances can start a fire. If you must use
an extension cord, it must be marked
14 or 12 AWG ; this tells the thickness
or gauge of the wire in the cord. For
example, a cord sold as an air condi
tioner extension cord will have these
heavy wires. Do not use a cord
marked 16 or 18 AWG. Only use ex
tension cords bearing the label of an
independent testing laboratory such
as U.L. or E.T.L.
Be sure the plug fits snugly in the
outlet. Since a loose plug may over
heat, have a qualified repairman re
place the worn out plug or outlet.
Since heaters draw lots of power, the
cord and plug may feel warm. But if
the plug feels too hot to touch, unplug
the heater and have a qualified re
pairman check for problems. If the
heater and its plug are found to be
working properly, have the outlet re
placed. Using a heater with a hot
cord or plug could start a fire.
If a heater is used on an outlet pro
tected by a ground fault circuit inter
rupter (GFCI) which trips, do not as
sume the GFCI is broken. Because
GFCIs protect locations where leak
age currents can cause a severe
shock, stop using the heater and have
it checked, even if it seems to be
working properly.
Broken heaters should be checked
and repaired by a qualified appliance
service center. Do not attempt to re
pair, adjust or replace parts in the
heater yourself.
To report a product-related acci
dent, consumers may call the CPSC
toll-free hotline at 800-638-2772. The
teletypewriter line for the hearing
impaired is 800-638-8270.
Farm losses lead to wildlife losses
Raleigh? North Carolina's econ
omy and its fanners aren't the only
losers in the increasing battle to keep
the family farm alive. The state's
wildlife? especially small game? is
suffering too.
In recent years, wildlife biologists
and managers and small-game hunt
ers in this state, and throughout the
southeast, have been asking them
selves, "Where have all the rabbits
and quail gone?" Now, they're get
ting some answers.
"In North Carolina, we need to
worry about whether we're losing a
lot of our traditional farm land, espe
cially in the Piedmont, because
fanners can't afford to stay in busi
ness," said Terry Sharpe, small
game project leader for the N.C.
Wildlife Resources Commission. "In
the past, we've taken advantage of
the fact that small-game has been a
natural by-product of agriculture
since most farm land provides good
cover for small animals, .expecially
quail and rabbits. Now, we're going
to have to develop a new philoso
phy... as farming goes, so goes small
game."
Last month, small-game experts
from 13 southeastern states came to
North Carolina at the invitation of
Gov. James G. Martin and the N.C.
Wildlife Resources Commission to
discuss the decline of small-game
populations.
"We know there have been popula
tion declines and changes in hunting
pressure since more people are hunt
ing deer," Sharpe said. "But the peo
ple who still hunt small game, live for
it.
"Years ago, people could hunt
small game in their back yard," he
said. "Now, they have deer in their
back yards. Deer are just more plen
tiful, and many hunters are going to
spend their time hunting whatever
will make them successful."
"We found out our problems are
even more similar than we imag
ined," Sharpe said of North Caroli
na's neighboring states. "We agreed
that to manage high small-game pop
ulations, we have to do something to
disturb the soil... such as controlled
burning, plowing, farming, and cut
ting back bushes."
During the Southeaster Small
Game Workshop held in August at
Carolina Power and Light's Environ
mental Center near Raleigh, more
than 100 biologists and wildlife man
agers exchanged ideas on how to re
store rabbit and quail populations.
Brad Mueller of the Tall Timber
Research Station
IN Florida, said changes in land uses
make it difficult for small-game
hunters to find their resource.
"If you go to a place where you
used to hunt quail, and there's a sub
division on it, you'll see your small
game problem," Mueller said.
"We're also finding higher popula
tions of small-game predators. We've
got the techniques for better manag
ing land. We've just got to use them. "
Sharpe agreed.
"For rabbits, research shows they
need a wide variety of cover," he
said. "Farmers and other landown
ers need to try to provide such cover
as honeysuckle and blackberry.
"Food plots are a part, but not the
complete answer for the quail prob
lem. We need to look at each farm
individually. District biologists in
North Carolina are available to give
advice to people who want to manage
their land for wildlife. We may see a
new attitude? the person who works
for quail on his land will have it. But,
I'm afraid that may price a lot of peo
ple out of quail hunting."
Billy Minser of the University of
Tennessee said "No-till" farming
helps to save cover for small wildlife.
During an address last week to
members of the International Asso
ciation of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
in Winston-Salem, Gov. Martin
hailed the no-till farm practice as an
ideal way to manage wildlife and pre
vent soil erosion.
"We don't anticipate any miracles
or immediate solutions," Martin said
of the cooperative efforts from south
eastern states. "But we are very
hopeful that this workship and stud
ies that are developed through it will
lead us to solutions that can help re
store our small game populations."
Gatekeeper program outlined
North Carolina Power and the
North Carolina Division of Aging
have formed a joint program to help
make many of the state's elderly a
little more secure.
Under the program known as Gate
keeper, company meter readers will
team with local agencies to deter
mine when elderly customers may
need help.
The public-private effort, based on
a model project operating in Wash
ington state, was announced at a
news conference in Raleigh by Phil
lip J. Kirk, Jr., Chief of Staff to Gov
ernor James G. Martin; David T.
Flaherty, Secretary of the Depart
ment of Human Resources; and
James R. Frazier, Jr., North Caro
lina Power Vice President. Rep
resentatives of the state's other ma
jor electric utilities ?Duke, CP&L
and Nantahala Power? announced
plans to implement pilot Gatekeeper
programs in their respective service
areas.
Noting that the program is known
as Gatekeeper because utility em
ployees will "open the gates" be
tween older citizens and sources of
assistance, Kirk praised the effort.
"The utility companies are institut
ing the Gatekeeper Program in re
gions they serve," he said. "This is a
great public service to our older
adults and their families and I thank
you (utility companies) from the bot
tom of my heart. We in state govern
ment cannot do everything for our
growing population of older adults.
We welcome the assistance of the pri
vate sector."
Flaherty praised the public spirit
of the companies involved, saying
that they are showing their concern
for their neighbors. "Good neighbors
watch out for each other," he said.
Frazier said that North Carolina
Power is pleased to be working with
the North Carolina Division of Aging
in offering this service to the compa
ny's senior citizen customers. "We
view the Gatekeeper program as an
other opportunity to show our con
cern for the neighborhoods we
serve," he said.
Since North Carolina Power serves
a majority of the elderly population
in Northeastern North Carolina, the
company is in a unique position to act
as a link between participating se
nior citizens and local agencies. "Our
meter readers make regular visits to
every home in every community we
serve," Frazier said. "They get to
know the neighborhoods they work in
and the folks who live there."
As part of the program, the utility
company is training its meter read
ers to be especially alert for signs of
distress and neglect? piled up mail
or newspapers, unkept lawns, broken
windows or anything else out of the
ordinary. If they notice something
unusual, they report it to local
agency officials so they can investi
gate.
Senior citizens who want to partici
pate in the program can enroll by
filling out one of the Gatekeeper en
rollment cards being sent out with
North Carolina Power bills in Octo
ber. Others who know of a senior citi
zen who could benefit from the pro
gram are also invited to fill out and
return one of the forms.
Little bulbs suggested for gardens
LITTLE BULBS
N.C. Botanical Garden
When making decisions about next
spring's blooms, specialists at the
N.C. Botanical Garden at the Univer
sity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
say gardeners should consider add
ing "little bulbs" to their usual favor
ites.
Little bulbs are low-growing plants
with miniature blossoms, good color
variety and the potential for a four
Preparing for the SATTest:
Strategies for Success
Competition is tough for the three
million high school seniors who apply
to college each year. Even students
with a high grade point average can
improve their chances of being ac
cepted by the college of their choice
with a high Scholastic Aptitude Test
(SAT) score. Here are three tips from
leading authority, Gary R. Gruber,
Ph.D. , on how to improve test results.
? Brush up on math. A re
fresher can help polish some valu
able skills.
Students studying for the SAT
may want to look for the highly rated
"G ruber's Complete Preparation
for the SAT," published by Harper
& Row. The book teaches the Crit
ical Dunking Skills method, includes
a math refresher, methods to improve
vocabulary and practice SAT tests.
^ rv??E*C??C6?APPAKL
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WMtaN ??* VMrSMM MON SAT
taST TMdaMftMinMII* 10? m 8pm
INFANT TO ADULT SIZES!
MON SAT
month blooming season.
The advantage of planting the little
bulbs is that they are exceptional for
close viewing. Beside a wooded path,
at a gate or doorway and in rock gar
dens, they beg to be examined. By
choosing varieties by blooming
dates, it is possible to have these
little blossoms in the garden from
January until mid-April.
Yellow winter aconites bloom in
January. The blossoms face upward
with green leaves acting as a frame.
The flowers last up to two weeks, but
the foliage is attractive until May. If
the location agrees with these bulbs,
they will reseed and naturalize.
Crocuses start blooming in Jan
uary and early February. The more
familiar, later blooming varieties
are Dutch crocuses. There also are
species crocuses, called snow cro
cuses, that have twice as many bloe
soms as the Dutch type and multiply
faster. By combining the snow spe
cies and the Dutch types, it is possi
ble to have two months of crocus
blooms.
Miniature hyacinths are known as
Roman hyacinths. The pink and
white types bloom first, the blue va
rieties in March. For bulbs that are
clear blue, the choise is Siberian sq
uill, with one to three starlike blos
soms on 6-inch stems.
In March the Dutch crocuses
bloom, as well as the Greek ane
mones and grape hyacinths. Other
little bulbs that bloom include minia
ture daffodils, the native wild flowers
of the Piedmont, Erythronium or
dog-toothed violets, the varieties of
small iris and the later atamasco li
lies.
These cheery little bulbs will add to
the spring garden.
W.A. "Billy" White
MAYOR
OF HERTFORD
NOVEMBER 3 , 1987
Local students from the high school are potting plants in the high school's greenhouse. Thfj
students are studying Agriculture, and the plants are for sale to area residents.
Alternative minimum tax outlined
Once upon a time, only the very
wealthy had to be concerned about
the alternative minimum tax (AMT)
but the Tax Reform Act of 1966 has
changed that.
More Taxpayers than ever are ex
pected to be affected by the alterna
tive minimum tax for a number of
reasons. First, the general cut in in
dividual tax rates increases the like
lihood that the AMT will exceed a
taxpayer's regular taxes. Second,
Congress has added several new tax
"preference" items that must be in
cluded when computing the AMT.
Lastly, losses from passive invest
ments must be added to your taxable
income for AMT purposes even
though, during the phase-in period,
certain taxpayers can still partly
claim these losses when computing
their regular taxes. Some experts
predict that four times as many peo
ple will be subject to the AMT as a
result of these changes.
For those unfamiliar with the alter
native minimum tax, the North Caro
lina Association of CPAs offers this
explanation, "The alternative mini
mum tax is an alternate way of cal
culating one's tax liability and deter
mining the minimum amount of tax
that must be paid by those taxpayers
who have successfully reduced their
regular tax liability." The alterna
tive minimum tax is the govern
ment's way of ensuring that at least
some taxes are paid by those taxpay
ers who minimize their tax liability
by taking advantage of tax prefer
ences. The AMT must be calculated
without the benefit of many of the tax
breaks available under the regular
system.
DID YOU KNOW?
? Currently there are more
than 50,000 nuclear weapons in
existence. The U.S. nuclear testing
program costs about $700 million
a year. More than $100 billion has
been spent on nuclear weapons de
velopment.
? The U.S. House of Represen
tatives has already voted to end
nuclear testing as long as the
Soviets don't test. Satellite and on
site monitoring technology makes
the test-ban verifiable.
? 42 of our underground tests
have vented radiation into the at
mosphere. Fallout from one test in
Nevada was detected in Minnesota
and Canada as reported in a House
Commerce Committee study.
? Right now Congress is debat
ing the nuclear testing issue. Legis
lators are watching their mail care
fully. If you have an opinion, send
a letter or postcard to your Senator,
U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.
20510.
If you haven't thought about it,
why not look into more of the facts
for yourself. You can obtain infor
mation on nuclear testing by writ
ing West Side SANE/Freeze, 165
W. 86th St., New York, N.Y. 10024.
At first glance, the process might
appear simple. You compute your
taxes twice? once the standard way
and again using the AMT But, in ac
tuality, understanding the rules and
doing the necessary calculations are
quite complex and a matter you
might want to refer to a tax expert
But a basic understanding of the
AMT and careful planning may help
you save dollars by ascertaining that
investment strategies taken to save
tax dollars are not diluted by the al
ternative minimum tax.
The AMT applies to a broader base
of income than that used under regu
lar tax rules. Using Form 6251 to
compute the alternative minimum
tax, you start with your adjusted
gross income, increase it by tax pref
erence items and reduce it by only
certain deductions and exemptions.
Among those items deductible when
computing the AMT, are casualty,
theft and gambling losses, charitable
contributions, medical expenses to
the extent they exceed 10 percent of
your adjusted gross income and cer
tain qualified interest expenses.
By contrast, state and local income
taxes, real estate taxes, miscella
neous itemized deductions and con
sumer interest are some of the items
not deductible in computing the
AMT. The AMT allows an exemption
of $40,000 for married couples filing
jointly and (30,000 for singles. After
you've adjusted your alternative
minimum taxable income by the
proper exemption, multiply it by 21
percent (up from 20 percent last
year) to arrive at the AMT amount.
If the alternative minimum tax is
greater than your regular income
tax, the IRS requires you to pay the
AMT.
Higher income taxpayers should
note that, starting with 1987 tax
years, the exemptions referred to are
reduced by 25 cents for each dollar
that the alternative minimum taxa
ble income exceeds $112,500 for indi
vidual filers and $150,000 for joint re
turns. There is no exemption once
income reaches $232,500 on an indi
vidual return and $310,000 on a joint
return.
The Tax Reform Act retained pre
vious tax preferences, modified some
and added several new ones. The fol
lowing is a list of some of the more
common tax preferences, beginning
with the three newest:
Net losses from certain passive in
vestment activities;
The untaxed gain of post-Decem
ber 31, 1986 charitable contributions
of appreciated property (carryovers
arising from contributionsmade bc^
fore August 16, 1986 are not subject to"
the AMT) ;
Tax-exempt interest from certain
private-purpose municipal bonds is
sued after August 7, 1986;
The excess of the fair market va
lue of the stock received upon exer
cising the option over the exercise
price (For purposes of the AMT, gain
or loss on a subsequent sale of the se
curity will be determined by increas
ing the basis by such excesr*
amount) ;
The excess of accelereated depre
ciation over what would have been
allowed under the straight-line
method for real property placed in
service before 1987;
The excess of the current write-off
of intangible drilling costs (IDC)
over the amount that would be de
ducted
using 10-year amortization (or allow*,
able cost depletion) to the extent tha
it exceeds 65 percent of the taxpay
er's net oil and gas income ;
Mining exploration and devel
opment expenses require an adjust
ment for the difference between the
amount expensed and the amount
that would be deducted had the ex
pense ( incurred or paid after Decem
ber 31, 1986) been amortized over 10
years.
None of the general business cred-?
its can reduce an individual's AM'
liability. Foreign tax credits, how
ever, will be allowed against the
AMT subject to certain limitations
The new law does, however, provide
for a new minimum tax carry-far
ward credit, which will be allowed
only against regular tax liability, flie
credit is for the amount of post-1066
minimum tax liability relating to 'ex
clusion preferences (those that have
to do with the timing of income a 1)^-1
deductions rather than permantem
differences) . The credit will be avail
able to offset future years' regutyr
tax. Unused credits may be carried
forward indefinitely.
If you think you might be subject to
the alternative minimum tax, a tax
expert can help determine what steps
you might be able to take to avoid ifte
tax or soften the blow.
r
OFFER GOOD THROUGH LO-31-87
and only when pr?t*ntsd at lim* of purchosn
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