May 9, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E 973

group of Polish immigrants, All Saints Cathedral Parish was organized. The cathedral parish has been a force for good in the

Chicagoland area, the State of Illinois and

throughout our great country for 10 decades.

The Polish-American parishioners and their

ancestors have made significant contributions

to the cultural, economic, educational and civic

growth of out Nation.

The ancestors of the cathedral’s parishioners fled Poland for want of a better life here

in America. They brought with them their cherished national customs, their love of closelyknit family life, and their love for their adopted

country, the United States of America.

May 21, 1995, is hereby especially noted as

All Saints Cathedral Parish Centennial Day.

The Centennial Mass of Praise and Thanksgiving, celebrated this day, will commence a

year-long celebration. We in Congress acknowledge the accomplishments of the past

and extend best wishes for the future as you

strive to serve the spiritual needs of so many

individuals. We urge all to join with the members of All Saints Cathedral in the observance

of this memorable and happy occasion.

TRIBUTE TO HELEN LEWIS

fHON. THOMAS W. EWING OF ILLINOIS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, May 9, 1995

Mr. EWING. Mr. Speaker, the State of Illinois is known for many things; the mighty rivers which run on its eastern and western borders, fertile farmland which produces food that

feeds the entire world, villages and small

towns with an unmatched quality of life, and

the city of big shoulders, the international center for business and industry known as Chicago.

Illinois is known for all of these things, which

makes all of us justifiably proud to call Illinois

home. But what we are best known for is our

people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to one of

Illinois’ finest, a woman who has carried the

banner for our State here in the Nation’s capital for over 50 years, Helen Lewis.

Helen, a graduate of Western Academy in

her hometown of Macomb, came to Washington in 1942 to work for the Federal Bureau of

Investigation. As he tells it, ‘‘there was a war

on,’’ and with three brothers in military service,

she came here to help.

In 1945, Helen began attending dances

sponsored by the Illinois State Society. In

1947, Helen recognized that your membership

card got you into the dances free, and she decided to join. Well, the spark fanned the flame,

and Helen has been warming the hearts of

Washington-based Illinoisans for more than

half a century.

In the 1958–59 season of the society, Helen

became an officer, and proceeded to hold

every position the board had to fill, including

two terms as president. This lead to her being

elected president of the Conference of State

Societies in the 1973–74 season.

The signature event for the society has always been the inaugural ball. Helen’s first inaugural party was for the inauguration of

President Nixon, and she has been a driving

force in every event since then. Of course, it’s

not difficult to find people willing to help with

the glamorous events. It’s a little bit tougher to

find people willing to commit of their time and

energy to keep the mailing lists, select locations for events and keep the membership informed. For the Illinois State Society, we have

always turned to Helen Lewis, who has organized the meetings, kept us faithful to our bylaws and made sure that everything was done

with class and made everyone feel welcome.

Many people live here for many years without giving up what Helen has. In fact, Helen

says she’s gone ‘‘home, to my real home, Illinois,’’ back to Macomb, where she is settling

in, making new friends and renewing old acquaintances. She is genuinely missed.

When the history of Illinois in our capital city

is written, the names Lincoln, Stevenson, Dirksen and Michel will surely be included. But no

chronicle will be complete without recognizing

the contributions of Helen Lewis, who helped

make any prairie State transplant feel at

home. Helen, for all you’ve done for the thousands of people who have been a part of the

society, we are eternally thankful. Good luck

and God bless.

THANKS TO LORRAINE HURLEY

fHON. FORTNEY PETE STARK OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, May 9, 1995

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to

recognize the achievements of Ms. Lorraine

Hurley who is retiring after 40 years of dedicated service to the school children of the

13th Congressional District.

Ms. Hurley was born and raised in San

Lorenzo. She graduated at age 15 from Hayward High School and dedicated the rest of

her life to teaching. She taught in the Oakland

School District for 10 years and then returned

to the San Lorenzo Unified School District to

teach for the next 31 years.

She has been the recipient of many awards,

including the Alameda/Contra Costa Teacher

of the Year. She was a member of Delta

Kappa Gamma, the Teachers’ Honor Society.

Ms. Hurley is also an advocate for and supporter of her fellow teachers. She was very

active in the San Lorenzo Teachers’ Association and an officeholder in the National Education Association. She was chosen to be a

mentor/teacher.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to recognize Ms.

Lorraine Hurley for her commitment to our

children and am certain that she will be sorely

missed.

TRIBUTE TO GREG STEEL

fHON. GARY A. CONDIT OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, May 9, 1995

Mr. CONDIT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to

recognize and congratulate Mr. Greg Steel on

the completion of 21 years of dedicated service to the Stanislaus Area Association of Governments, the last 5 of which he spent as executive director.

Among his many accomplishments, Greg

was most instrumental in preparing the air

quality maintenance plan which was adopted

by the local governments and the California

Resources Board, and approved by the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency. Greg also

prepared the nonattainment plan for

Stanislaus County, of which the applicable

portions were adopted by the county and the

nine surrounding cities which make up the Association. This plan included a commitment

from each of the jurisdictions to implement

control measures, for the purposes of improving air quality.

Mr. Speaker, on July 28, 1995, the

Stanislaus Area Association of Governments

will formally recognize Greg Steel for his many

years of dedicated service.

On behalf of the 18th Congressional District

of California, I would like to extend to Greg my

best wishes for continued success and for

many years of personal happiness.

LEGISLATION AMENDING THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE RELATfING TO THE TREATMENT OF

LIVESTOCK SOLD ON ACCOUNT

OF WEATHER-RELATED CONDITIONS

HON. TIM JOHNSON OF SOUTH DAKOTA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, May 9, 1995

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today to introduce legislation

that would make our Tax Code fairer and

more equitable for farmers and ranchers who

are forced to sell their livestock prematurely

on account of weather-related conditions.

Our current Tax Code contains two provisions dealing with livestock sold because of

drought conditions. One of these provisions

allow producers to defer tax on any gain from

these sales by reinvesting the proceeds in

similar property within 2 years. The other provision permits producers who do not reinvest

the proceeds from the sale in similar property

to include these proceeds in their taxable income in the following year.

While these provisions provide some assistance to producers who have experienced a

drought, they do not apply to livestock sold on

account of flooding. However, floods can be

just as devastating to producers as drought

conditions, and can cause the destruction of

crops grown to feed livestock, damage to

fences, and high losses of young stock. The

heavy rains and flooding we have been experiencing in my State of South Dakota have

caused calf losses as high as 40 percent in

some areas.

In addition, farmers who lose crops due to

any natural disaster, including flooding, are

able to benefit from certain provisions in the

Tax Code. For example, farmers who receive

insurance or disaster payments when their

crops are lost or damaged due to severe

weather conditions are often permitted to include these payments in the year following the

disaster. Provisions such as this are designed

to spread out the impact of taxes on farmers

in these situations. I find it difficult to justify the

fact that farmers who lose crops on account of

flood conditions are covered by these provisions, while producers who are forced to sell

livestock because of flooding are not.