August 7, 1994

DR. ROBERT KISH has been Superintendent of the Livingston School District for nine years and usually has an answer for everything. But this time he was stumped. "It's a tremendous dilemma," he said. "The Governor has just slashed taxes and promised more cuts. Now, the State Supreme Court orders the state to increase school spending. Where is the money coming from?"

They didn't play "Back Home Again in Indiana" before the inaugural Brickyard 400 today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. They didn't have to. Jeff Gordon made it the theme of the day. Gordon, who learned to race here in Indiana, was right at home in the first stock car race ever at the speedway. He took the lead from Ernie Irvan for the last time when Irvan's Thunderbird suffered a flat right front tire with less than five laps to go. Gordon, in a Chevy Lumina, then held off the Thunderbird of Brett Bodine -- who earlier had put a chilly relationship with his brother into the deep freeze -- by 0.53 seconds in a thrilling race with 13 different leaders.

WHEN Jane Samela's refrigerator broke, she didn't want to spend much money on a replacement because it was the second one in her household. Mrs. Samela, who lives in New Rochelle, found a way to spend nothing. Similarly, Gloria Silva of Cortlandt Manor found a way to get beds free. They have dipped into a well, run by the county's Recycling Office, called the Used but Usable Clearinghouse. The clearinghouse is basically a swap shop. People with usable furniture, appliances and other household items register their wares with the county, and people in need of such goods call the clearinghouse to find out what is available. There is no cost for the service and no fees can be charged by either party. Transportation of the goods is the responsibility of the recipient.

Scores of heavily laden trucks were backed up at border posts between Yugoslavia and Bosnia today, suggesting that the embargo Serbian leaders in Belgrade said they were imposing on their Bosnian Serb brethren this week was being strictly enforced. When the Serbian President, Slobodan Milosevic, announced a similar embargo last year, border guards allowed many trucks through, and foreign leaders quickly concluded that Mr. Milosevic was not serious about his pledge to cut off supplies to the Bosnian Serbs.

ON first consideration, a tube ride down the Farmington River might not strike most adults as a way to enjoy themselves. After all, you have to put yourself in a large plastic doughnut where you immediately touch down into 60-degree water, and then must navigate with only your arms as paddles. And yet, indications are that adults who do take the plunge have a fine time. "It was fun," said Don Distasio of Wallingford, who went down the river on a recent weekday with his sons John, 20, and Don, 12. "It took us about two hours and I liked it as much as they did."