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4B – Daily News – Saturday, February 19, 2011 FEATURES Dad desires daughter’s driver deal To see or not to see Dear Annie: It has been more than 13 years since I first had a situation that was resolved with the help of Ann Landers. My daughter was about to turn 16 and get her driver’s license when I came across a column that included a contract to help keep her on track. grades, conduct and attitude at the same high level as when we first granted your driving privileges. 3. No one else should be My problem is, I have a good friend who is now in the same situation, and she needs the contract for her daughter, and I can’t find a copy of it anywhere. Could you please look into your archives and see if you can find it? — Friendly Dad Dear Dad: Here it is. We hope your friend as well as all parents with teenagers will keep a copy: ‘‘Contract for Drivers’’ by John Violette It is understood and agreed that having a driver’s license and driving a car are privileges. Any privilege has to be earned, and it must be earned on a continuing basis. This means that dri- ving privileges may be revoked due to an infraction of the following rules: 1. Breaking the driving laws or abusing a motor vehicle can result in the loss of driving privileges, even if we learn about it from a source other than the police. You never know who may be observing you. 2. You will strive to maintain the Annie’s Mailbox by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar allowed to drive a vehicle entrusted to you. This means you may not lend your vehicle to friends. 4. If you are ever in a con- dition that might render you less than 100 percent compe- tent behind the wheel of a car, phone us. We will come get you. This will not result in the loss of your driving privileges. 5. You are never to be a passenger in a car in which the driver should not be driving. A call to come get you will not result in the loss of driving privi- leges. If you cannot reach us, call a taxi. We will pay for it, and there will be no punishment. Signed this___________________ day of________________20____, Dad________________________. Mom_______________________, Newly Licensed Driver ____________________________ Dear Annie: I have a good friend who is a longtime alcoholic, even though she doesn’t admit it. She has a habit of calling me when she has been drinking, and I hate talking to her like that. She acts super-perky, but slurs her to college this fall. I don't think we'll qualify for aid, so should we bother filing the FAFSA form? A: You'll never know until you try whether you will qualify for financial aid. Unless you have saved all the money you'll need, it's worth a try. Some expensive schools might grant an aid package that makes them more afford- able than even a local col- lege or state school. The FAFSA -- the Free Application for Federal Student Aid -- is the basis for almost every finan- cial aid decision that is based on need. The information you file on the FAFSA form is used to determine the expected family contribution (EFC), no matter which school you attend. Then each school will create an aid package based on the EFC. The process of filling out this form is more intru- sive than even the IRS tax return. It asks not only about income of the parent and student, but also about the totality of their financial assets. You can't file the FAFSA until you're ready to file your 2010 tax return, because you'll need all that information about last year's family income. New this year: If you words and says childlike things that often make no sense. I doubt that she even remembers calling me later. Is there any tactful way of letting her know I would rather she stay off the phone when she’s had too many? — Alcoholic’s Friend Dear Friend: You can’t keep someone from drunk dialing, but you can cut the calls short. Say, ‘‘I’m sorry, but I cannot converse with you when you’ve been drinking. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.’’ If you have voicemail, that’s another way to avoid talking to her. Dear Annie: ‘‘Between a Rock and a Hard Place’’ said her daughter- in-law is a terrible housekeeper, a hoarder and never cleans the litterbox. Now there is a new baby. I was sur- prised you didn’t mention the possibil- ity that she could be suffering from depression or postpartum depression. I suffered with depression for many years, but it wasn’t until after the birth of my second child in 13 months that I was diagnosed. I thought all women went through the feelings of hopeless- ness and dreariness that I felt. Please tell ‘‘Between’’ that her daughter-in-law may not realize she is depressed. If it weren’t for the love and support of my family and their insis- tence that I be seen by a medical pro- fessional, I don’t know if I would still be here. — Finally Seeing the Sun in Ky. Always worth a try to apply for financial aid Q: My son is headed off filed your tax return elec- tronically, now you can retrieve your IRS data and have it automatically trans- ferred to the proper lines on the FAFSA form when you fill it out online. You can learn every- thing about the application - - and actually apply secure- ly online -- at FAFSA.ed.go v . They've changed their website to make it easier this year. When you start complet- ing the form online, you'll get a PIN so you can save the information until the appli- cation is completed, and as a basis for applying in future years. Because, yes - - you have to file this form every year in which you apply for aid. Since student financial aid is often given out by schools on a "first come" basis, don't procrastinate. You will be asked to desig- nate the schools to which you are applying when you file the FAFSA -- so the resultant EFC can be sent directly to the school to pre- pare its aid package. Though it's too late to do much to adjust assets for preparation of this year's FAFSA, there are things you can do for next year. Make sure the student -- and any siblings under age 19 -- have no assets in their own name. These weigh many times more heavily against the fami- ly in computing the EFC. Similarly, a family might increase contri- butions to a retirement plan in the year before applying, in order to lower income levels and thus qualify for more aid. Since the assets counted for FAFSA exclude retirement plans and the cash value of life insurance, but do include cash savings and non-retirement stock investments, there are opportunities to adjust your financial picture. You can find similar, takes, and getting all the benefits that the law will allow. At FAFSA.com (not to be confused with the gov- ernment website, FAFSA.ed.gov), you can pay either $79.99 to have them review your FAFSA application before filing or $99.99 to talk to their experts over the telephone and have them actual- ly file the form for you! They say that avoiding mis- takes could more than pay for their fee. Terry Savage The Savage Truth on Money Reecy Aresty of PayLessfor- College.com actually offers advice to families about rearranging assets -- and about asking for even more aid after that aid letter arrives. His fee for filing the FAFSA is $195, which includes all updates and annual renewals. You can email him at Reecy@PayLessforCol- lege.com. Federal student loans are legal tips at www.FAFSA.com or www.PayLessForCollege.c om. Each is a private, com- mercial website. They also offer services, much like a tax preparer -- making sure you don't make any mis- far less expensive and volatile than private loans or home equity loans. That's why it's so important to get as much federal financial aid as possible by filing the FAFSA form now. And that's The Savage Truth. DEAR DR. GOTT: I’ve been seeing an optometrist for several years now, and even though he says I don’t need a new prescription and he has diagnosed me with the beginning of cataracts, I don’t feel I can see as well as I once did. So I made an appointment yester- day with my oph- thalmologist, who told me I have bilateral cataracts that have advanced to the point of requiring surgical removal. Now comes the hard part. My ophthalmologist indicates my risk of retinal detachment will increase. Can this be repaired if it happens? Perhaps I should suffer with poor vision rather than take the chance. What’s your take on the matter? DEAR READER: Cataracts develop slowly, so we have a tendency to attribute diminished vision to the aging process. They cloud vision, much like looking through a dirty or foggy window. We may see halos around lights, have difficulties reading or dri- ving at night, colors fade and diplopia (double vision) may be present in one eye only. A cataract may affect a small portion of the lens of the eye but will eventually grow, distorting the light that passes through it. We may compensate by being prescribed stronger eye- glasses and turning on more lights when reading; how- ever, there comes a time when vision will be impaired enough in one or both eyes to require surgi- cal repair. Cataracts may be con- genital (present from birth) or can develop as we age. They affect the center, edges or back of the lens. Each location presents with its own characteristics. Those that affect the center may cause double images. The lens may yellow or eventually turn brown. It’s this modification of the lens that causes difficulties dis- tinguishing colors. Those that affect the edges inter- fere with light passing through the center of the lens. Night driving becomes difficult because of the glare of oncoming vehicles. When a cataract obstructs the back of the lens, difficulties reading and halos can result. Con- genital cataracts don’t always affect vision but when they do, surgical repair is commonly per- formed as soon as they are detected. There are several condi- tions that may contribute to Dr. Peter Gott developing cataracts. Extensive sunlight expo- sure without the use of sunglasses blocking harmful ultraviolet rays, hypertension, obe- sity, diabetes, advancing age, smoking and con- suming excessive amounts of alcohol are but a few of the known causes. Diagnosis can be made through examination utilizing a slit lamp, dilation of the eye(s) and the reading of an eye chart. A slit lamp allows your doctor to illuminate the inner eye and detect abnormalities. If your ophthalmologist has recommended surgical repair, it is likely because of the advancement of your cataracts and the effect they have had on your quality of life. Furthermore, the bene- fits of the procedure(s) must outweigh the risks. There comes a time when a stronger prescription will no longer be sufficient, but this doesn’t imply you should rush into surgery. That decision can best be left to you and your doctor. You have time to make a sensible decision. Your cataracts will not advance to a point where they can- not be removed. Surgery involves remov- ing the clouded lenses and replacing them with a plas- tic implant. There is gener- ally a period of three or four weeks between the proce- dures. Local anesthesia numbs the area around the eye(s), but you will be awake and alert during the procedure. And, as you have been told, repair does increase the risk of retinal detachment, a condition that develops when the reti- na at the back of the eye pulls away from the blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients. This occurs in less than 1 percent of cases. Advanced diabetes, trauma or shrinkage of the vitreous fluid that fills the inside of the eye, prior eye surgery and myopia (extreme nearsightedness) may be to blame. Warning signs of retinal detachment include numer- ous floaters, light flashes and a shadow over the visu- al field. Should these or other unusual symptoms occur, you should seek immediate medical atten- tion either with your eye doctor or an emergency department. Treatment options include several rather sophisticated but successful procedures. A loss of vision to the portion of the eye that corresponds to the detach- ment will result unless surgery is performed. starting class Seed Sat., Feb. 26th @ 10am 1 MONTH MEMBERSHIP ONLY $ 1 MONTH UNLIMITED TANNING ONLY $ SPECIALS 25 25 3 PERSONAL TRAINING SESSIONS $ 59 Red Bluff Garden Center 527-0886 Gift certificates available Offer good through Feb 28th 766 Antelope Blvd. (next to the fairgrounds) Tehama Family Fitness Center 2498 South Main St • Red Bluff 528-8656 www.tehamafamilyfitness.com