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Show HILL TOP TIMES Page 14 Friday, April 1, 1983 Family Focus IFire Good checkbook habits prevent By Brad Collard Fire Inspector It's officially springtime and also time to start the annual clean-u- p campaign such as raking lawns, painting, remodeling, landscaping, clearing away weeds, etc. around buildings and other such jobs to make our personal habitat more inviting. To make such j obs easier and safer, the following fire safety hints are provided: Painting: Don't smoke when mixing paints, cleaning brushes, etc. Store flammables safely when not in use. Instruct children on the dangers of flammables and store them away from their sight and touch. Don't take shortcuts when storing, mixing, etc. Use proper ingredients for thinning and mixing. Mowing lawns, tilling soil: Don't pour gas in a mower or tiller that has a hot muffler or miss the tank when you pour. This can produce a serious II 'bounced' checks the check at the place you intend to Finance Office cash it. Accounting Wright-PattersoAFB, Ohio "Borrowing" from the bank by Do you know what it costs you writing a check one or two days before when you write a funds your paycheck is deposited is a very bad practice. check? You may be surprised! Be sure to list every check you Banks and other financial institutions charge a fee ranging from $5 to write, with complete information $10 for the service of reprocessing (date, payee, amount) and any fee that forget your returned or dishonored check, or is charged per check. Don't or automatic payments your deposits for just holding your check until a and any monthly service charge. deposit is made to cover it. Balance checkbook each Retail establishments and service month withoutyour fail! Make a habit to organizations also charge $5 to $10 to do it immediately upon receipt of your cover the costs involved in returning statement. the check to the financial institution. Even with sound checkbook proThe total penalty assessed could exmistakes can still happen. If cedures, ceed the amount of the check itself, a discrepancy, call your discover but more importantly, your credit you financial institution immediately. A rating could be endangered. willingness to make right will Learning sound checkbook prac- help you considerablythings in solving your tices can help you to avoid the embarHowever, repeat offenders funds problems. rassment of a find themselves faced with legal check. Here are a few helpful hints to may actions ' that could have long-terget you on your way: .N. effects The Air Force has established a perKnow what type of bank account the are sonal financial management program have. What required you fee schedules rninimum balances, the that is designed to provide members and posting procedures (are transac- and employees with the information tions posted on the day you make and counseling they may require to them or on the next)? get back into financial shape. This serAvoid carrying checks made out vice is available free of charge. If you to cash; there is always the possibili- think you are headed for financial trouble, please contact the Personal ty of loss or theft. When writing a check, always use Financial Manager, Robert Copps, ink. Never sign a check until all the re- Ext. 75148 or make an appointment quired information is on it and you for a visit in Bldg. 1239, room 20. have inspected it for accuracy. Sign (LOGNEWS) proof spring cleaning By Wilber Stoder & n non-sufficie- nt explosion. Weeds: The best way to get rid of weeds is to put them in containers and haul them away. Never try to burn weeds. Such things as a changing wind, a fire that gets too big, burning too close to a building, etc. can turn an insignificant project into a serious tragedy. Barbecueing: Use common sense when barbecueing outdoors. The Hill AFB regulation states that barbecues must be a minimum of 10 feet away from any building and no barbecueing units in the on balconies of f x housing areas. Five years ago, $55,000 worth of damages occurred to a four-pleunit here when an occupant barbecued where he shouldn't have and did not dispose of the briquettes properly when the job was done. Don't be an ostrich and put your head in the sand, thinking a fire cannot happen to you. It is very likely that each family will experience a serious fire during their lifetime. our-ple- x Home shopping guide com i rag id base exc honge Home counts on specific categories of merShopping Guide will be available at. chandise and automotive, food and the Hill AFB Exchange by May 1, say services coupons. The guide also conofficials at the Army and Air Force tains two free tickets to the base Copies of the non-sufficie- nt m Spring-Summe- r .Exchange Service, Dallas, Texas. The latest edition of the guide contains more than 700 items, of which 130 of them are available only through this program. Customers can obtain ":. a personal copy by asking . the Customer Service Clerk. New categories of merchandise in the guide include unassembled furniture, oriental rugs, a wide assortment of children's furniture and gas grills, sports equipment and advanced video games. In addition, customers will also find money savings coupons offering dis theater. The guide is designed to permit customers to purchase many items formerly carried in only the largest exchanges or available on special order. Customers may order any guide merchandise through the Hill exchange, by telephone or in person, without a down payment or special handling charge. Guide merchandise will be delivered, to the exchange, then the customer be notified to pick up the , will merchandise. spo uses Overseas exchanges to sell .Former-military added .to CHAMPUS Latest news from CHAMPUS headquarters is that Congress recently added another beneficiary to it and to the rest of the military health benefits program, as of Feb. 1, 1983, the American Volkswagens Uniformed Services Health Benefits A new contract allows Program may be restored. Air Force members over-sea- s Former spouses who meet all the to above requirements are eligible for all American-mad- e purchase CHAMPUS benefits, except the ProVolkswagen Rabbits former military spouse. gram for the Handicapped. and pickup trucks To be eligible for CHAMPUS annual cannot count the the base exThey medical benefits and treatment at ser- deductible of their former military through change system, anvice hospitals and clinics, the former husband or wife toward their own nounced Army and Air husband or wife of an active, retired CHAMPUS deductible. And, they Force Exchange Service or deceased military member must must pay their CHAMPUS cost-shar-e officials in Dallas, Texas. meet all of the following requirements. at the same rate as retired military Members stationed The spouse must: if former even the overseas with assign family members, Have obtained the final divorce spouse was married to an active-dut- y decree or annulment of marriage on or service member. after Feb. 1, 1983. Spouses who are For CHAMPUS to cost-shar- e divorced or whose marriages are annulled before this date aren't eligible medical care, a former spouse must have a valid ID card issued by the for CHAMPUS. Not have been remarried since nearest personnel office of their former military spouse's service. The the divorce or annulment. Have been married to the ID card must show the former for CHAMPUS. military member for at least 20 years spouse's eligibility on the date the divorce or annulment The new CHAMPUS beneficiaries becomes final; and, during the mar- should also know that when they riage, the member must have com- become eligible for Medicare (Part A) pleted 20 years of service which at age 65, they lose their CHAMPUS counts or will be counted toward eligibility, but they are still eligible for medical care in military hospitals or retired pay. Not be covered by an employer-sponsore- d clinics. health care plan. If the For more information on this d former spouse cancels the employer-sponsorebenefit, call Joyce Horton, Health health coverage, eligibility Benefits Advisor, USAF Hospital, for CHAMPUS and the rest of the Hill, SiotiCay " 777-703- 6. ment orders to the states may purchase vehicles for delivery in the states. Rabbbit convertibles cannot be purchased under the agreement, of- Officials said a con- Purchase arrangements for the American-ma- de Volkswagens can be made through Volkswagen representatives tract, signed with Volks- wagen of America Inc., allows the base exchange to sell the vehicles. Only those members stationed overseas may purchase vehicles under the contract. ficials said. locations announced by the Exchange Service. (AFNS) |