Show The eraiid - p- 01 -rti Q September 3' yoL193’NoT246BJuesdayT Aggies get first win on new field — A8 mT TVOTT —A3 ©®DD®fS Moira the Internal Revenue Code 43 states have developed educational savings plans which offer tax deductions and interest incentives for contributors beneficiaand their college-boun- d ries Among the brightest of those plans according to an earlier report in Money Magazine is Utah’s 529 By Arrin Brunson staff writer partly cloudy — PageA12 Update USES Study: Charter schools score below average LoganJUtahl© 20021 S50 Bridgerland’tf Daily Newspaper Weather Continued warm but USU axes College of Family Life For some students the biggest challenge to getting a college education isn’t passing the required courses — it’s paying for tuition books and supplies as well as housing transportation and food Help is available though and the 529 Savings Plan is one increasingly popular choice for parents and guardians preparing to send their charges onto the world of higher plan called die Utah Educational Savings Program The Utah Educational Savings Plan was also selected as the best savings plan in the country in the August 1999 issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine state-sponsor- ed education In compliance with section 529 of Jean Lown professor of Consumer Science at Utah State University agrees “They were a good deal when they were introduced but they're even better as a result of the 2001 tax bill” Lown said “One of the really nice things for Utah residents is you get the extra tax break for contributions you make each year” Although few current students at fcVf mm - shows Charter school students were any-- " where from a half year to a full year behind their public school pern researchers at the Brookings lnstitu-tio- n concluded after reviewing 0 WASHINGTON — With less than two months to go until Election Day the battle for control of Congress is entering the final leg of a campaign season that is shaping up as one of the tensest — and least predictable — in years Just two years after the bitterly disputed 200Q presidential contest arid one year after the worst terrorist attack on American soil the upcoming elections will offer an important window into the mood of the electorate at a unique time in the nation's histoiy - The summer’s steady drip of bad economic news a weakening in President Bush's approval ratings and indications that growing numbers of Americans think the country is on the wrong track have all lately given Democrats a sense of momentum But so far this has yet to show up as a discemable edge in enough individual races to tilt the overall playing field whichremains tightly competitive Analysts say that while the focus on domestic issues such as the economy and healthcare may give Democrats an advantage congressional r reading and math achievement test scores of 376 charter schools in Ck'i- - 10 states The study the first independent snapshot of charter school performance across the nation found that 59 permit of students at traditional public schools scored better than charter school students during the period studied The findings don’t necessarily reflect poorly on charter schools which often attract students who are looking for a way to improve their skills the authors caution In a few states such as Texas these schools actively seek out such pupils said Tom Loveless a senior fellow at the Brown Center on Edu-- ’ cation Policy at Brookings a think tank here “They’re out looking for kids who are he said Jeanne Allen prerident of the Center for Education Reform a Washington organization that advocates for charter schools said more information is needed on how much students learn after they’ve spent a few years in a charter school “They’re the kids who were much more likely to fall through the cracks before anybody else” she said “That’s who tends to leave their school and join up at a charter liberal-orient- VI i friWEi'il!' 4 rm : IV 9 t w ' — - s- - t Republicans may also have protected themselves with votes for bills on corporate accountbenefits And ability and prescription-dru- g foreign affairs could steal back into the cairi-paiat any time which could give the GOP an ed g" lu ''-- gn rff edge What makes all this particularly for both parties is the fact that Congress has not been this closely divided in seven decades: Democrats need a net gain of just six seats to win back the House while Republicans are just one seat away from control of the Senate As a result even the slightest drift in voter sentiment could have an enormous impact — whether it’s a souring mood causing some voters to turn on the president's party or renewed patriotism prompted by memories of the terrorist attacks giving Bush and the GOP a boost nerve-wracki- V- ’V ' j i nOQGO girl Charter schools are public schools Ashlie Leishman r - M h first” school races get By Liz Maiiantes The Christian Science Monitor 1 1999-200- See COST on A7 under way -unpredictably £ J ' Fall G u j AP Education Writer WASHINGTON — Students in charter schools often seen as an alternative to failing neighborhood schools are scoring significantly below public school pupils in banc reading and math skills a new study Utah State University are paying their expenses with the 529 plan more and more future students will predicted Lown UESP investment account balances totaled over $218 million on June 30 according to the UESP Internet newsletter This is an increaseof more than $33 million above the total on March 31 even with the significant downturn of the stock market during the quarter Over 3500 new accounts woe opened during the second quarter Care needed in Invest- ing college funds — A3 ? -- ByGrogToppo ODoao’din®? El LuceraHwald Journal gets tossed from her sheep Staffing Stampede on Monday In Wellsville part of Founder’s Day celebrations during the Mt The event is ng See RACES on A7 See CHARTER on A12 Quick read Go to The Herald Journal Web site (wwwhjnewrcom) to cast your vote on today suivey 'question See Friday's newspaperfar results and a new question Today's question How dki you spend your Labor Day weekend? a) Went visiting b) House & yard work cj Just relaxed a) Worked as usual Friday survey results Do you drink the recommended 8 Answers a) Yes b)- N° Number 49 6 43 57 Index Classifieds Comics £5 B3 MoviestMB2 Obituaries OpWonA4 Sports eeeeaoeeaeea wwwhjnew8com s A6 gin A8 Cabbage steals show at fair Weigh-Of- f 77 PALMER (AP) — Excitement runs high as foe crowd packs the bleachers for the world series of cabbages It’s raining and many people zip their jar Inside the ring contenders eye the cabbages A camera crew from Home & Garden TV makes the rounds taping a “Garden Giants" show Kids making their first entry and adults returning fix serious money say they can't give up their secrets A few admirers slip in and wend h among entries knee- - to “We planned to come to die fait” says Joyce Heiber a tourist who arrived in Alaska on a cruise ship Some entries dwarf her daughter Kate The Heibers hail from die Garden State but they have never seen a cabbage little Kate couldn’t heft They are pumped “It just worked out that we came on cabbage night” Heiber i says Cheeseheads nave Green Bay have Palmer The Seventh Annual Giant Cabbage Weigh-Of- f is their Mecca Radio announcer John Klapperich asks die Friday-nigcrowd how many came froip out of state Dozens of hands shoaf up Insiders are all asking the same thing: Will Scott Robb beat the ' py Police had v wrong man 1 it mm 1 V hip-hig- u - Cab-bagehea-ds ‘ ht Ricci widow: Mr A ' i i ' APphoto Alaska State Fair Giant Cabbage Weigh Off winner Seth Dinkel 9 poses with his championship vegetable on Friday In Palmer Alaska Dinkel from Palmer won with a cabbage weighing in at 699 pounds This was DinkeTe second consecutive win in the competition: last year he won with a 925-poun-d record cabbage The' cabbage entered In 2000 weighed 1056-pounall-ti- Dinkels? s A Dinkel walks off with first place nearly every year But in 2000 Barb Everingham showed they could be beaten with a d state record vegetable the only one ever to reach three digits Everingham sat out this year And Robb a Palmer nurseryman is hav-- ing a great year He picked up two state records one for a d ' 1056-poun- 4785-poun- cantaloupe that bested his own previ' ous state record by 20 pounds Seth was aided by grandfather and longtime competitor Gene Dinkel Another Dinkel also pulled a prize Brenna Dinkel 7 cabtook third with a bage helped by her grandfather Don Dinkel professor emeritus of horti- culture and the man who taught his brother Gene third-generati- on 743-pOu- nd SALT LAKE CITY (AP)— The widow of die man police singled out as their top potential suspect in the unsolved Elizabeth Smart kid- napping says authorities are inves-- J tigating the wrong pian ' Angela Ricci took her husband Richard Albert Ricti off life support Friday night Hi had suffered a massive brain hemorrhage Tues- -i day at the Utah State Prison whop he had been serving time on a parole violation He neyer regained consciousness When Angela Ricci arrived at the hospital Tuesday night she knew that her husband wasn’t going to wake up' “The minute I saw him I just know what he looks like when he ' was asleep and he was just gone” she said Ricci 48 died about 12 minutes-- : idler life support machines were turned off Angela Ricci said the stress of being wrongly linked to : i V: Mi vr Hi J PkkJ 4 I I t ' s r k : - See RICCI on A12 3 V 'i 'I r |