Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 11, 1994 TAG: 9412160022
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: G-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: cox news service
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
A: Barker, star of ``The Price Is Right,'' is still under contract with CBS and is taping new shows, according to Kevin McDonald, the show's publicist. ``What has caused confusion for viewers is the syndicated version of `The Price Is Right,' but it has nothing to do with CBS,'' he explained. ``The syndicated show has been on this season in different time slots in different areas. Barker was asked to be the host of that one, too, but it was too much to do two shows a day. Bob is definitely the star of what I call the real `The Price Is Right': the highly rated daytime CBS show.''
Q: How wide is the demilitarized zone between Iraq and Kuwait?
A: It's 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) wide, extending 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) into the Kuwaiti side and 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) into the Iraqi side, according to the U.S. State Department. .
Q: What is the controversy involving the Nat King Cole stamp? I've heard that the date of his birth and/or death was misprinted on the stamp.
A: The U.S. Postal Service in Washington explained the mix-up and cited differing information from two sources close to Nat ``King'' Cole: one of his daughters and his widow.
``On the stamp, we list his birthdate as 1917,'' said Postal Service spokeswoman Monica Hand. ``We had made copies of the stamp design available to one of his daughters, who did not contest the date. Then, during an advance photo opportunity with his widow, she contested the date, saying he was born in 1919, not 1917. We based his birthdate on the information in our research, and so we issued the stamp based on the research we had done.''
Too bad nobody checked the World Book Encyclopedia first, because right there on page 771, it says: Cole, Nat ``King'' (1917- 1965).
Q: Do you have an address for former Vice President Dan Quayle so I can send get-well wishes?
A: Write: Dan Quayle, 11711 N. Pennsylvania St., Suite 100, Carmel, Ind. 46032.
Q: Are poinsettias poisonous to children and pets?
A: Poinsettia leaves aren't poisonous; they just taste that way. One bite and no living creature, human or animal, will take another, according to Paul Thomas, floriculture specialist at the University of Georgia Extension Service and a UGA faculty member.
``Back in early '74, a branch of the government erroneously published a paper indicating that poinsettias were deadly toxic,'' he said. ``That is absolutely, positively not the case, and in fact the government retracted the statement. But poinsettias do contain a very alkaline latex sap, the white stuff that comes out of the plant. It tastes terrible, can cause skin irritation in the mouth, and can make some people sick - not because it's poison, but because it tastes so bad.''
If there's a danger to children, it's because they might choke on a leaf, Thompson said.
Q: Where can people write to U.S. servicemen?
A: Between now and Jan. 15, you can send letters, cards and packages to these addresses:
For Europe: America Remembers, Operation Dear Abby X, APO AE 09135.
For the Mediterranean: America Remembers, Operation Dear Abby X, FPO AE 09646.
For South and Central America: America Remembers, Operation Dear Abby X, APO AA 34085.
For the Far East: America Remembers, Operation Dear Abby X, APO AP 96285.
Specific units or countries are not targeted; the mail is distributed on a fair-share basis by the U.S. military aerial mail terminals and the fleet mail centers.
Q: What is the order of presidential succession?
A: Article II of the Constitution states that the vice president shall assume the duties and powers of the president if the president is removed from office, dies, resigns or is unable to carry out the duties of the office. If both the president and the vice president should die or become disqualified, succession is determined by the Presidential Succession Act, which states that the speaker of the House, and then the president pro tempore of the Senate, are next, followed by members of the Cabinet in the order of the Cabinet departments' creation.
Thus, it is secretary of state; secretary of the treasury; secretary of defense; attorney general; then the secretaries of Interior, agriculture, commerce, labor, health and human services, housing and urban development, transportation, energy, education, and veterans affairs.
Q: In 1940, I enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was in the service for more than five years. No one told me to keep my military records, so I ran into a problem at a Veterans Administration hospital when I retired to Florida. I was told I needed my military records to obtain any medical service. At that point I started a search, but discovered my files and those of thousands of other veterans were destroyed in a fire at the St. Louis military personnel center in the 1970s. What can we do if we need service at a VA hospital?
A: There may be a ray of hope for you and for anyone else in the same predicament. A central 800 (toll-free) number is operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs nationwide. Anyone calling the number - 800-827-1000 - will be connected to the office serving his or her area. In your case, the regional office in St. Petersburg ``will help reconstruct your missing records, even if they were destroyed,'' said
``Some files that were thought to have been destroyed have turned up,'' said Ken McKenna at the VA in Washington, ``so it's possible that a person might have been told that his records don't exist, but in fact they do. It's worth checking a second time. Even if the originals were in fact destroyed, the Department of Veterans Affairs will work with anyone to see what we can do. It's not automatically a lost cause.''
Q: I read that Florida has banned bear hunting. Any details?
A: Bear hunting had been permitted in Apalachicola National Forest and in portions of Baker and Columbia counties, which include Osceola National Forest, but the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission discontinued it last year ``because the bear population was classified as threatened,'' said spokesman Henry Cabbage. ``Conservation organizations in Florida have formed a coalition opposing it. The commission conducted a study and concluded that the cumulative effect of bear hunting would have a negative impact on the bear population. There is an option to reopen bear hunting if the population recovers sufficiently.'' Information: 904-488-4676.
by CNB