IT DOESN'T TAKE A LOT OF BRAINS TO STOP FOR TRAINS. I've discovered that Chicago commuter train operator Metra has announced (if the webmaster notes a misspelled directory name the link could go the way of the North Shore Line) its first poster contest for K-12 students. The theme is "Lead by Example," which ought to work well for first-borns! The call for entries asks schools to limit their submissions to not exceeding eight entries.

The Northern Illinois University Office of Economic Education's Regional Poster Contest will be officially announced on Economic Education Day, Tuesday, October 24. This contest is limited to one entry per student from students in second through eighth grades. We have received as many as sixty entries from one school.