Alena Carisse Austria
Juliana Pangilinan
Girl Scouts
The county's Girl Scout Council no longer will accept any checks during its annual cookie sale-a-thon.
During its last sale-a-thon, the council lost $4,284 due to worthless checks.
“That may not sound like a lot, but it's a serious loss for us,” said Linda Goree, the Girl Scout’s
county executive. “It cuts into our profits, and also wastes too many hours of our time.”
Next year, Goree said, the county Girl Scouts will accept only cash. Two factors aggravated the
problem during the scouts last sale-a-thon, Goree continued. First, more people paid by check.
Second, a larger percentage of the checks the Girl Scouts received, bounced.
“Some people pay by check because they don’t have the cash, ” Goree said. “Or, they want to place a
large order. We have people who place orders for $100 or more, and those people are especially likely to
pay by check. we also receive checks for as little as one or two dollars.”
Scout leaders call people who signed the checks that bounce and in most cases, ask them to mail new
checks to the city office. The scout leaders are unable to reach everyone, however, some people have
moved. Others do not have telephones, or do not seem to answer their telephones.
“Usually it's an honest mistake, and people are embarrassed when we call them.” Goree said. “They
want to take care of the problem right away. Other people say they want to pay but don't have the money,
and we can usually work something out with them. Unfortunately, there are other people who get mad at
us, like it's our fault or something, and refuse to pay. Or, they write new checks that also bounce. It puts
our leaders in a terrible situation. A Girl Scout leader shouldn't have to deal with problems like that. Also,
it's not a good situation or example for our girls, and that’s the reason for our new policy, why we’ll no
longer accept any checks.”
Men’s Longevity being a middle-aged man and single can be deadly, too, sociologists at your college
warned today.
The sociologists, Margo Matos and LeeAnne Verkler found that middle-aged men who remain single
double their chances of dying.
For ten years, Matos and Verkler tracked one thousand men in the state. All of the men were 40 years
old at the start of the study, and half were married. Matos and Verkler found that 11.7 percent of the men
who remained unmarried died before their 50th birthday, compared to only 5.9 percent of the men who
remained married.
Some of the married men were divorced or widowed during the study, and 7.1 percent of those who
remained alone for at least half the period also died.
“We aren't sure of all the reasons,'' Verkler said. “That’s what we’ll look at next. We think a poor diet
plays a role. Also the use of alcohol, smoking, a lack of exercise, and low incomes. Men who live by
themselves seem to do more drinking and smoking, and many don’t prepare good meals for themselves.
Plus there’s the absence of social support. It helps to have someone to talk with, someone who shares
your life and is there to provide help when you need it.”
Matos and Verkler found that men also live longer if they have a roommate. “It doesn’t matter who the
person is, a parent, child, or friend,” Verkler said. “We’ve found, however, that none of the alternatives are
as conducive to a long life as a stable marriage. Those are the men who live the longest, the men who are
happily married.”
Source: OUP
