Exercise: Copy Editing

Exercise 3: Copy Editing

INSTRUCTIONS: Using the proper copy-editing symbols provided on the inside cover of your textbook,
correct the errors in the following stories. Except for some obvious errors, the stories’ style (the
abbreviations, punctuation and spelling, for example) is correct. There is one exception, however. You
will have to form all the possessives. None have been formed for you.

Girl Scouts

the countys Girl Scout Council no loonger will acept any checks during its annual cookie sale-a-thon.

During its last sale-a-thon, the council lost $4,284 due to worthlesschecks.

“That may not sound like a lot, but its a serious loss for us,” said Linda Goree, the Girl Scoust county
executive. “It cuts into our profits, but al so wastes too many hours of our timme.”

Next year, Goree said, thecountys Girl Scouts will accept only cash

Two factors agravated the prov problem during the scouts last sale-a-thon, Goree continued. first,
more pepople paid by check. Second, a larger percentage of the checks teh Girl Scouts received
bounced.

“Some people pay by check beause they don’t have the cash, ” Goree said. “Or, they want to place
a large order. We have people who place orders for $100 or more, and thosse poeple are especially
likely to pay by check. we also receive checks for a little as one or two dollars.”

Scout leaders call people who signed the checks that bounce and, in most cases,ask them to mail neW
checks to the cty. office. The scout leadesr are unable to reach everyone, however. Smoe People have
moved. Other s do not have telephones—or do not seem to answer their tele phones.

“usually its an honest mistake, ad andpeople are embarrassed when we call them,” Goree said.
“THey want to take care of the problem right away. Other people say they want to pay but dont have
the money, and we can usually work something out with them. Unfortunately, there are other people
who get mad at us, like its our fault or something, and refuse to pay. Or, they write new checks that also
bounce. It puts our leadess in a terrible situaton. A Girl Scout leadershouldn’t have to deal with
problems like that. Also, its not a good situation or example for our girls, and that’s the reason for our
ne w policy, why we’ll no longer accept any checks.”

Men’s Longevity Being a middle-aged man and single can be deadly, too sociologists at your college
warned today

The sociologists, Margo Matos and LeeAnne verkler, found that middle-aged men who remain
single double their chances of dying.
 For 10 years, Matos and verkler tracked one thoussand men in the state. All of the men were 40
old years at the start of the study, and half were married. Matos and Verkler fuond that 11.7 percent of
the men who remained unmarried died before their 50th birthday, compared to only 5.9 percent of
themen who remained married.

Some of the maried men were divorced or widowed during the study, and 7.1 percnt of those
who remainedd alone for at least half the period also died.

“We arent sure of all the reasons,” verkler said. “That’s what we’ll look at next. WE think poor diet
plays a role. Also the use of alcohol, smoking, a lack of exercise and low incomes. Men who live by
themselves seem to do more drinking and smoking, and many don’t PREprepare good meals for
themselves. Plus there’s the absence of social support. It ehlps to have someone to talk with, someone
who shpares your li fe and is there to provide help when you need it.”

Matos and Verkler found that men also live longer if they have a roommate. “It doesn’t matter who
the persn is, a parent, child orfreind,” Verkler said. “We’ve found, however,that none of the alternatives
are as conducive to a long life as a stable marriage. those are the man who live the longest, the men
who are happily marrried.”

Outstanding Teacher

Wilma DeCastro is an English teacher at Kennedy High Schol and, six months ago, was named the
city’s “Teacher ofthe Year.” Today she resigned.

“All my life I wanted to be a teachher,” DeCastro said. “Ive really enjoyed it, but I have two little
girls and Can’t afford it any longer. I want a good live for may family, and now wecan’t afford to buy a
decent house in a good neighborhood, a newcar, nice clothes, or so many of the other things we want.
wee skimp on everything, even food.”

There years ago, DeCastro began to sell real estate during her sumer vacations. For th e last year,
she has continued to sell real estate part-time, primarily weakends

“I can’t do it any longer,” she said. ”I can’t wrok two jobs, do a good job at both of the jobbs, and a.lso
have time for my daughters, so I’ve decided to go into real estate full time. I can triple salary my salary.
INN a few years, if I work hard, I should be able to do even better than that. eventually, I’d like togo
into businss for myself.”

Greg Hubbard, superintendent of the city’s school system, said: “Of coures we’re sorry to see her
leave. We’d like to keep her, to be able to pay all our teachers mr more, espec ially our best teachers.
But there’s no moneey for higher salaries. NO one wants to pay higher taxes.”

DeCastro is 28 and started teaching at the high schoo0l six years ago. she aws named “Teacher OF
The Year” because of her popularity, but also because she inspired several studentsto start a literary
maga zine that has won adozenprizes
Heroic Girl

while walking to school this moningmorning, an 11-year-old girl noticed a gunman robbuing two
clerkS in a convenence store on Colonial Drive

The girl, Kathryn Kunze of94 Jamestown Drive, raran to a nearby telepone, dialed 911, then
returned to the store and noticed an empty car par ked naearby withits motor running. she reachedd
inside, shut off the cars motor and took the keys.

“Imagine what the rober thought when he ran out of the storee, jumped into HIS car and realized
the keys weregone,” said Sgt. Tammy Dow. “she was one smart girl, and Brave, too.”

The Gunman went bavck into the stoer and asked the clerks there for the keys to there cars.
Bothclerks, however, said that they had walked to work and did not own a car.

The gunman then walked to a near,by park, and the police Aarrested him there five minutse later.

William j. Chuey, 27, of 57l0 michigan Ave was charrged with armed robbery.

Polic e officers later questioned the girl at school. “I saw this man with a gun, just like on telivision”
she said. “Then I saw thecar. It was running, and I just figured it was the robbers, so I took his keys and
ran here.”

Kathryn’s mother, said she was p””proud—and frightened—by her daughters actions. “I’Mm proud
she thought so quickly,” Mrs. Lauren Kunze said. “But I don’t wnat her to trfy anything like that ever
again.”

Roadbed Trails

RAilroads have abandoned hundreds of m iles of old roadbeds in the state, and the governortoday
revealed plans to convert the roadbeds into trawils for bicyclists hikers, horseback riders and runners.

The govenor said her budget for nxextt year will include an extra $10 million for the Departmentof
natural Resources, which will use the money to ac quire and maintainn the trials “The initial
outlay is modest,” the gov. said. “But we hope the program will expand so, in five or 10 years,we’ll have
hundreds of miles of these trials. Eventually, the people using themshould be able to hike or ride from
one end of the state to another.”

A representative for the states railrods said that most will probably agree to sell their abandoned
roadbeds tothe state, provided they receive a fair pricee,

“We aren’t us ing the roadbeds for anything,” he said, “and there aren’t many other buyers. they
were our leasst profitable routes, and that’s why we abandoned them.”

During a press Conference this mohningthis morning, the governor added: “We need more land for
recreation, and this is the prefect solution. wee think we can acquire the roadbeds for a reasonable
price, annd we’ll start with some of the mmost scenic. We’llalso concentrate, at least initialy, on
roadbeds near the state’s population centers, os they’re conveni ent for a majority of the people using
them.”
 THE governor said the

biggest expense, after acquiri;ng the roadbeds, will be improving their bridges.. “We’ll need better
flooring and railings to protect the public, and that will cost some money,” she said. The railoads havve
already tor n up the tracks,o selling them for scrap.

Repossessing Cars

Police Chief Tony sullivan Wants to ebgin seizing t he cars driven by drunken drivers.

While testifyingbefore a legislative commmittee in the state capital this morning, Sullivan said
police oficers in the state need the authority to to seize the vehicles used by motorists convicted three
or more times of drunken driving. Sullivans pproposal would al so apply to motorists convicted of
driving with a license suspended or revoked because of drunken drving—and to motorists convicted of
driving undre the Influence of drugs.

“Were runninng across too many repeat offjenders,” sullivan said. “They ignore the laws now in eff
ect, and its time to do something about it. It doesn’t do any good to just take away their lcenses. They’ll
drivewithout one.”

Sullivan said some motorists in the statehave been convicted of drunken driving more than a
dozentimes . “Weve gott peopel who’ve served a year in jail, some who’ve served five years,” Sullivan
said. “It doesn’t seemtodo any good. weather they have a liense or not, they star”t to drink and drive
again as soon as they get out. If wetake away their cars, they’ll havetostop. U nless they’re ultra-rich,
there’s a limit to howmany cars they can afford to buy.”

Tobacco Ban

Beginning next fall, students in the citys public shcools will have to leave their cigarettes and other
tobaco products at home.

The School Board last night voted 6 to 1 to BAN the possession and use of all obacco tobacco
products on school grounds.

“The boards policy will apply to evferyone,” said gary Hubbard, superintendent

of schools. “its not just for ourstudents. The policy will also apply to our teachers, other school
personnel and, in addition, to any visitors using our facilities.”

Students found smoking on school property will be reprimanded for a firs t ofense, detained for a
secnod and ex;pelled for three days for a third. School personnel will be reprimanded by their principal.
Other people wlil be asked to stop using the tobacco products or to leave the school grounds.

“Previously,” hubbard said, “we allowed stud ents to smokee inn some designated areas both
inside and outside our bldgs.: in our football stadium s, for example. Its badfortheir health, and we
decided last night that we weren’t being consistent. It doesn’t make any sense for us to tell students, in
their classes, about the dangers of smoking, andthan to allow them to smokeunder our supervision.
Besides, We were geting a lot of complaints from nonsmokesr.”