Letters Imagine, a Personal Checking Account at Thrift Shops Still Open Thank you for the informative article on Final Sale/ClothespORT closing in Berkley ("Final Sale," July 21, page 21). It seems that many people who read the news about the closing of the store thought that the National Council of Jewish Women/Greater Detroit Sec- tion's two thrift shops might also be closing. I want to assure everyone that our Berkley and Royal Oak stores are alive and well, and doing business as usual. As noted in the article, the income from these stores is vital to our ability to run our organization. We hope to be in business for a long time to come, and welcome donations and customers from the community, including the ORT supporters who have been so generous to the ClothespORT. Introducing P3 Personal Checking: your rate increases when the prime rate increases.* Prime Preferred offers the benefits of no-fee checking at money market rates. Maintain a minimum balance of $50,000 and get: • Rate tied to the Prime Rate* • No monthly service charge • Free unlimited check writing privileges • Check orders paid by bank • .25% bonus on Certificate of Deposit rates • Discount on residential and home equity loans Call us to see how you can open a P3 account for as little as $25,000. - Annual Percentage Yield as of 8/9/05. Minimum balance of $50,000 required to obtain stated APY. Rate is subject to change at any time. P3 account required to be open with a minimum of $50,000 to be eligible to recieve offered CD bonus and residential and home equity discounts. Bonus applicable at the time each respective product is opened or applied for. Actual interest rate on P3 account, while less than the Prime Rate as published in the Walll Street Journal, shall increase or decrease with subsequent changes to the Prime Rate. Birmingham: 1732 West Maple Road, (248) 723-4800 Clinton Township: 39600 Garfield Road, Suite A, (586) 412-3300 Farmington Hills: 31000 Northwestern Highway, Suite 150, (248) 538-7600 www.paramountbank.com • PARNAIOUNT FDIC BANK You've never seen a bank like this. LENDER 610940 GLOBAL. • Cellular Phones • Satellite TV • Send Global International Calling <7,0, 11,0111CASI.I.45 OPEN MON — FRI 7-8 • SAT 8-8 • SUN 8-3 DELI AND GOURMET RESTAURANT KIDS EAT FREE 8 As chair of the Federation's Functional Review Committee for the Jewish Community Council this past year, I would like to provide some additional information regarding the committee's findings. I feel this is needed to give context to some of the statements that were made in Robert Sklar's Editor's Notebook article "In Search Of Clarity" (July 28, page 5) concerning the findings of the Functional Review Committee. The Review Committee found that Council does valuable work in and on behalf of the Jewish community and commended its staff and board for their work and dedication. There is a good working relationship between Federation and Council. The process by which Council's public policy positions are formulated was discussed as part of the Functional Review and has been part of the ongo- ing dialogue between Federation and Council. Indeed, communications 43183 Woodward Ave @ Square Lake 4276 Orchard Lake Rd. © Lone Pine 2005 Relationship Is Solid Bloomfield Hills • (248) 335-3345 West Bloomfield • (248) 681-7200 8/11 Irma Glaser fund-raising vice president NCJW/GDS Southfield MONDAY NIGHT SPECIAL Sat & Sun Only, 8 am-3 pm from the Kids' Menu All Seniors get an additional '1" OFF any Dinner Entrée from 4 pm - 8 pm - Limited to children under 8 years old - Excludes Turkey Dinner • Expires 8/31/05 (Extra discount is in addition to the Senior Discount) Expires 8/31/05 21754 W. 11 MILE RD. • HARVARD ROW • 248-352-4940 FAX: 352-9393 Jewish.com • Time Change Fight An extension of daylight-savings time by Congress is raising concerns among Orthodox and Conservative groups that the new law will make year-round com- munal prayer impossible for many Jewish professionals. Read about it on Jevvish.corn. between Council and Federation always have been good and are continuinc, to get even better. The Committee found the responses to the question as to whether Council should be an independent organization or a department of Federation to be mixed and that surveys of similar cities indicated that there was precedent for both. The Committee concluded that a number of cost economies betw e en the agencies have been put into place over the last two years and that further sav- ings, if any, would not be substantial if the Council were made a department of the Federation. Paula Glazier Bloomfield Township More About Meals In Robert Sklar's Editor's Notebook "The Way We Invest" (July 28, page 5), you stated that the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit-supported Commission on Jewish Eldercare Services provides outreach to the kosher Meals on Wheels. Meals On Wheels is not fully funded by the Federation through the COJES allocation. Jewish Family Service pro- vides a caseworker for clients and Jewish Apartments & Services provides the availability of the Prentis Apartments' kitchen. COJES funding assists in this portion of the program. However, the National Council of Jewish Women Greater Detroit Section, which is not funded by the Federation, provides the volunteers who pack, deliv- er and organize the program. We fund all of the meals and packing supplies for food transportation. NCJW also funds the bookkeeping, reporting and grant writing needed to operate the program. Client donations do not come close to covering the costs of the food and food preparation, thus the NCJW provides the deficit. Meals On Wheels is a very important, yet costly program. Additional funding is needed to continue it. Sheila Guyer president, NCJW/GDS Southfield dotCOM SURVEY Do you think Israel's Aug. 15 with- drawal from the Gaza Strip will ulti- mately help or hurt the Jewish state? To vote, click on JNOnline.com .