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Page 14 For Christmas 439 Employees Save Over $651,978 Four hundred thirty-nine thrifty Clinton Mills savers shared in $651,978.89 in Christmas savings as the annual Christmas savings checks were distributed. The total included $15,126.25 in in terest added to accounts meeting the in terest eligibility requirements. Clinton’s largest check for an hourly paid employee was $11,133.16. In Clinton Mills of Geneva, 139 savers participated in $143,594.65. A total of $3,406.15 was added to the Geneva accounts. For 1987, the Clinton Credit Association will offer improved savings opportunities such as competitive interest rates, partial withdrawals and options to open and close accounts throughout the year. Yes, Virginia There Is A Santa Claus DISCUSSING THE QUALITY — Left to right, Professor J.C. Hubbard, vice president of manufacturing J.R. Swetenburg, Dr. Frank Hunter and general manager Jim Coleman examine several bobbins of yarn produced by Clinton Mills as Hubbard and Hunter, both members of Clemson University's textile department, discussed ways to improve the relationship between the textile industry and the university. Social Security Base Increases Is there a Santa Claus? The question each year is asked by thousands of children around the world and parents sometime are hard pressed to come up with just the right answer. Perhaps the best answer of all came in 1897 when a little girl by the name of Virgi nia O’Hanlon had the same question. She asked her father and he told her, "Write to the New York Sun. If the Sun says there is a Santa Claus, there is a Santa Claus.” The answer to Virginia’s question was writ ten by Editor Francis Pharcellus Church and it has become a classic. Thousands of news papers across the nation publish the answer each year. It became tradition for the New York World-Telegram and Sun to print it each Christmas Eve. We are using our annual Christmas edition of the Clothmaker to repeat Virginia’s letter and the editor's reply. Here it is: “Dear Editor: I am eight years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, 1 If you see it in the Sun, it’s so.' * Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?” Here is Francis Church’s classic answer. “Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe ex cept what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelli gence capable of grasping the whole truth and knowledge. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beau ty and joy. Alas, how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We would have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be exting uished. Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chim neys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? No body sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noises inside, but there is no veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love and romance can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernatural beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God, he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.” Effective January 1, 1987, the taxable wage base for Social Security will rise from $42,000 to$43,800. Asa result, the max imum yearly Social Security tax paid by em ployees and Clinton Mills alike will go up by $128.70 to $3,131.70, or 4.2% above the top tax this year. For the self-employed, the tax will rise by It’s time for a “pop quiz” on the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard. Don’t panic! As a Clinton Mills employee, you should know all the answers because everyone in the company with exposure to chemical hazards has received the following information: —An explanation of the standard. —A summary of the requirements of the standard. —Hazardous chemical lists. —Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). —Chemical label requirements. —Access to the written compliance program. Knowing some of the basic safety informa tion about the chemicals you work with can save you from injury. It could even save your life! Ask yourself these questions, and de cide if you know enough about the Hazard Communication Standard and the chemic als you work with: DWhat chemicals do I work with and how would I find the Material Safety Data Sheet for them? 2) Do I know how to use the MSDS to get the information I need? 3) How can the chemicals hurt me? For example, will they hurt me if I breathe them, get them in my eyes or on my skin? 4) How can I recognize a dangerous situa tion that might be created by the chemicals I $221.40 to $5,387.40 for the year. The amount of earnings required to be credited with a quarter of coverage will increase from $440 to $460. Benefits paid to Social Security benefi ciaries will go up 1.3%. The tax rate stays the same at 7.15% for the employer and employee alike. work with? For example, would I be able to tell by the smell or appearance (visible fumes) if there is danger of overexposure? 5) Do I know how to protect myself against the chemicals I work with? For example, do I know when to use personal protection equip ment such as gloves, goggles, aprons, boots and respirators? Do I know when some kind of mechanical ventilation, such as an ex haust fan, is needed? 6) If I do get overexposed to a chemical, do I know how to recognize the symptoms? For example, if I breathe too much of a certain chemical, could I tell by how it makes me feel (dizziness, sick feeling, headache, etc.)? 7) Do I know the proper first aid proce dures on the MSDS? Do I know what to do in case of a large spill or leak? These are some very important questions that you need to know the answers to in order to protect yourself. If you don’t know the answers, ask your supervisor. If your super visor cannot answer all your questions, re quest a meeting with Hazard Communica tion Program Co-ordinator Mack Parsons. Remember, Clinton Mills wants to protect you from all physical and chemical hazards; however, you must do your part to protect yourself and your co-workers. Learn about the chemicals you work with and how you can avoid chemical exposures! You Should Be Familiar With Hazardous Chemical Program