Their Home Is Sarah-Proofed

STEVE STEIN STAFF WRITER

C

indy Schoenbart of Oak
Park calls her 2-year-old
daughter, Sarah, a "fe-
male Dennis the Menace.
She's really something."
Ms. Schoenbart and her hus-
band, Barry, have two other
young children— Rachel, 8, and
Jennifer, 5 — so there's never a
dull moment in their home.
That's why the Schoenbarts
have taken many steps to child-
proof their house.
"Being a Jewish mother, I
guess I might go a little over-
board protecting my children at
times, but I think it's very im-
portant to have safety measures
in place at home," Ms. Schoen-
bart said.
Ms. Schoenbart says when

speci ally compiled by The Jerusalem Post

—

she hears stories about a local
youngster who painted his teeth
with red nail polish and anoth-
er who cut off one of her two pig-
tails, she becomes more
determined to make sure no

Shampoos and
soaps are out of
harm's way.

such accidents are going to hap-
pen in her house.
Sometimes Sarah drives
home the point, too. Last sum-
mer, the toddler opened the front
screen door and took a step or
two onto the porch before she

was corralled by Ms. Schoen-
bart. Now there are hooks on
both the front and back screen
doors.
The Schoenbart home also
has gates, plugs covering the
electrical outlets, locks on the
kitchen cabinets and shortened
window blinds with the chains
set high over the floor. Sham-
poos and soaps are out of harm's
way and so is the blowdryer.
"When I take something out
of the oven, I tell Sarah to go get
me something so she's not
around," Ms. Schoenbart said.
"It's a good idea for parents to
get to the child's eye level and
see what they see. Then you
know what you need to do to
make your home safe." ❑

Free Tax Advice

CPAs answer questions from callers across the state.

STEVE STEIN STAFF WRITER

I

ISRAEL DIGEST

n these final hectic weeks before the Saturday,
April 15, tax filing deadline, certified public ac-
countants (CPAs) don't have much free time.

But approximately 65 CPAs from the Michigan
Association of Certified Public Accountants (MAC-
PA) are making time to take part in the eighth an-

nual "Ask-a-CPA Call-in Days" program.
Some 600 taxpayers are expected to call the ser-
vice during three one-day sessions scheduled in
February and March.
Marilyn Natchez, tax manager of Morof Shep-
low Weinstein certified public accountants and con-
sultants in Farmington Hills, took part in the
program last month, spending two hours on the
phone with taxpayers.
This was her third year of
Marilyn Natchez:
participation, and she once
Helping out those
again found it rewarding.
who can't afford to
"It's a wonderful service
hire a CPA.
because we're helping peo-
ple who probably can't afford
to hire a CPA," Ms. Natchez
said. "Sometimes you get a
tug at your heart when you hear these people's
stories.
"I think I talked to about 20 people on the
phone last month and spent a maximum of five
minutes with each of them."
Ms. Natchez said she was asked more Michi-
gan tax questions than in previous years, es-
pecially about the homestead property tax
credit, but she's finding that callers are be-
coming better informed about tax laws each
year.
Probably the strangest call Ms. Natchez has
had during a call-in day was last year from an
ostrich farmer. The farmer wanted to know
about depreciation of his inventory ... yes, in-
cluding the ostriches. 11
The final "Ask-a-CPA Call-In Day" for 1995
is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday,
March 25. The number is (810) 855-8200.

$1 EQUALS 2.8630 NIS (shekels) - Close Price 1W15/93

Low Index Rise Is Deceiving

January's deceptively low Con- Capital Holdings' chief econo-
sinner Price Index rise of 0.2 mist Jonathan Katz.
percent in Israel was skewed
Even though fruit and veg-
downward by significant sea- etable prices fell a steep 10.5
sonal drops in fruit, vegetable, percent and clothing and
clothing and footwear prices, footwear prices dropped 5.4 per-
hiding substantial increases in cent, the index rose 1.2 percent
all other index categories.
when these seasonal factors are
"If January's index is a pre- excluded, said Central Bureau
view of what is to come, then of Statistics price division di-
we are back to last year's 14 rector Rahamim Ozama,
percent rate of inflation," said

Snip! Interest Rates Are Cut

Bank of Israel Governor Jacob
Frenkel announced a 0.7 per-
cent cut to interest rates fol-
lowing strong pressure from the
Treasury and the private sec-
tor.
"After a long period of rate

rises that were intended to fight
determinedly against inflation,
the Bank of Israel's policy of
monetary restraint has begun
to bear fruit," Mr. Frenkel said.
It is the first reduction in
rates since August 1993.

This Deal Is From The Heart

A strategic alliance has been
ormed between a California
company and Aerotel Ltd. a
10-year-old Israeli firm which
markets Israeli electrocardio-
gram monitors that transmit
results over the telephone.
CompuMed Inc., based in
Manhattan Beach, Calif., an-
nounced the creation of the new
venture.
According to financial ex-
perts, the current worldwide
market for cardiac telemedicine
products totals more than $200
million a year, with an annu-
al growth rate of 5 percent.

But Rod Rayn.ovich-;,Com-
puMed's president and chief ex-
ecutive officer, said there is still
a huge, untapped potential for
remote cardiac assessment.
According to the contract,
CompuMed will receive Aero-
tel's ECG monitors that have
already been approved by the
U.S. Food and Drug Adminis-
tration along with software and
technical support.
In exchange, J.M. & Associ-
ates — Aerotel's exclusive
agent — will receive 400,000
CompuMed shares.

Tella-Com To Fill U.S. Army Order

Tella-Com, a Tadiran sub-
sidiary in the United States,
will manufacture military com-
munications equipment valued
at $62.5 million for the U.S.
Army, the Israeli company
announced to the Tel Aviv

Stock Exchange.
Tadiran said U.S.-based
General Dynamics has decid-
ed to award Tella-Com 50 per-
cent of a $125 million order it
received from the U.S. Army.

Merrill Lynch Gets The Nod

Merrill Lynch has been chosen
to manage and coordinate
Bezek's upcoming internation-
al issue, the Israel Government
Companies Authority an-
nounced.

The government is planning
to sell 26 percent of Bezek in
June, mostly through an inter-
national issue. A small portion
of the shares will be offered to
Bezek employees.

Tiffany's Comes To Israel

Amirel has received an exclu-
sive franchise to sell Tiffany's
jewelry and gift products in
Israel.
Tiffany's products will be on

display for the first time at the
start of April. Amirel plans
to set up a chain of shop
this year which will sell th
items.