Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. MARCH 1.2012
Step lightly when weighing
students
A few weeks ago we reported that schools in
Georgia will have to change their mantras to “read
ing, writing, weighing and arithmetic.”
In Georgia, the SHAPE plan requires that PE
teachers begin computing a body mass index to de
termine a student’s fitness. The information will be
sent home with health tips in a “fitnessgram.”
This was one of our most discussed articles
lately. The majority of the responses were negative,
along the line of, “It’s not the state’s business to
weigh kids.” But a vocal minority felt something
must be done to combat childhood obesity if par
ents won’t do it themselves.
Both points of view are valid. And we have ar
rived at a fence-straddling position honestly. There
are many pros and cons with the weight assess
ments.
Ideally body fat isn’t something to be handled
in the schools. In a utopia, parents provide veggies
on the dinner table and use sharp sticks if necessary
to get kids off the couch. But in reality, this doesn’t
happen any more often than parents see to it that
their kids reach kindergarten having been read to,
enter high school with respect for teachers, or have
structured environments to complete homework.
In theory, we agree schools shouldn’t be weigh
ing students. In practice, however, public education
may be the best avenue to address childhood obe
sity.
Assistant Superintendent Tommy Qualls noted
in our original article that when he went to school
report cards included the height and weight of the
student, and it was no big deal.
Times have changed. In the first place, people
have grown more sensitive about body issues, and
they have reason to be more sensitive. The Institute
of Medicine found childhood obesity rates have
tripled over the past four decades.
In decades past, kids ate less fast food and got
more exercise. “In 1968, 80 percent of kids were
active in sport activities everyday. That number is
now 20 percent,” according to Helping Hands Out
reach.
Putting height and weight on report cards wasn’t
a big deal in our assistant superintendent’s day, as
obesity among children wasn’t much of a problem
then.
Now the problem is pronounced. Georgia is the
second worst state in the nation for childhood obe
sity with 21 percent of kids here considered obese
(Mississippi is number one).
And lest anyone think this is only about kids
looking good in skinny jeans. Helping Hands Out
reach found, “The calorie-dense, fatty, salt diet
eaten by American children, combined with the se
rious lack of physical activity means that 25 per
cent of kids under 10 years of age have high
cholesterol, high blood pressure or some other con
tributor of heart disease. A new report has issued
a stark warning that children’s lives will be shorter
than their parent’s if this trend continues.”
Clearly this is an acute statewide problem that
should be addressed. But, like those opposed to
weigh-ins, we question whether commandeering
campus time through mandatory requirements is
the best approach. As noted by administrators and
PE teachers, the tests will give parents a weight
number and information. Seeing that healthier
regimes are followed ultimately falls on parents
who may ignore, get angry about or trash the fit
nessgram.
Without getting parents on board, the tests will
do nothing but hurt feelings. We also question the
unintended consequences of school enforced
weigh-ins. Will the results be something parents
use to make changes, or will they just become am
munition for bullies? Even if weights are recorded
in private, the fact that all students know the weigh-
ins dates will lead to anxiety for obese students and
the opportunity for insulting questions.
As the Pickens High PE teacher interviewed for
the article expressed, we’ll hope that this program
produces a community-wide increase in fitness and
nutrition. For the kids’ sakes, it’s needed. But if this
program isn’t well administered, it has the potential
to devastate some students and produce no benefits
for those who need it.
Georgia needs to tread lightly on this scale.
Agree or Disagree? Tell us your thoughts on this week’s editorial either with a
letter to the editor that will be published next week. Letters may be e-mailed to
news@pickensprogress.com. All letters must have a valid e-mail address, full name and a
telephone number for verification. We also still take them by regular mail at Pickens
Progress/P.O. Box 67/ Jasper, GA 30143
The Essential Bad Attitude
By Alan Gibson
MORE - How to annoy your friends with geography
Herewith a few more ways to
flummox your well-traveled contem
poraries without leaving your bar-
colounger. When they start
rhapsodizing about summer in
Provence, drop one of these on them:
Fact: The United States is an
older country than Italy or Germany.
Explanation: The Kingdom of
Italy wasn’t proclaimed until 1861,
when the U.S. was already 85 years
old. The German states did not unite
under Wilhelm I until 1871.
Fact: A Chicago to Tokyo flight
spends two-thirds of its flight time
over land.
Explanation: The most direct
routing, via Alaska, does not necessi
tate crossing the mid-Pacific.
Fact: The population of the City
of London is 12,000.
Explanation: Metropolitan Lon
don consists of the City of London
plus 32 boroughs - Kensington,
Chelsea, Westminster, et al. The city
is the original walled city which now
comprises the business center - a
mile of territory fronting the Thames
and containing the Tower of London,
St. Paul’s and the Bank of England.
Its permanent population is about
12,000.
Fact: Chicago’s “Windy City”
nickname has nothing to do with the
city’s weather.
Explanation: It started as a gibe
from New York promoters who
called their Chicago rivals “a bunch
of windbags from the Midwest.”
Fact: The dominant language of
Barcelona, Spain, is not Spanish.
Explanation: It’s Catalan, the
language ofthe region calledCatalo-
nia. The language is more similar to
French than Spanish in that it derives
from Provencal, an ancient language
of southern France.
Fact: One U.S. state is named for
a foreign country. Hint: the country is
not European.
Explanation: New Mexico.
Fact: Number 11 Downing Street
- as well as Number 10 - is a
renowned London address.
Explanation: The Chancellor of
the Exchequer traditionally resides
at Number 11.
Fact: The oldest city in North
America is not in the U.S. or
Canada.
Explanation: It’s Mexico City.
When discovered by Cortes in 1519,
it was already a long-established
Aztec city.
Fact: The world’s largest pyra
mid is not in Egypt.
Explanation: The Mexico pyra
mid Quetzalcoatl is larger than any
ofthe Egyptian ones. Its base covers
45 acres.
Fact: More than half the popu
lation of Buenos Aires, Argentina, is
of Italian descent.
Explanation: The great waves
of European immigrants of the late
19th and early 20th centuries came
to South as well as North America.
Fact: One county in California is
so large that, if it were a state, it
would rank 41st among the 50 in
land area.
Explanation: It’s San
Bernardino County, whose 20,119
square miles encompass much of the
Mojave Desert.
Fact: One of the world’s wealth
iest and most culturally influential
nations-firlly a fourth ofthe U.S. in
size - has no permanent lakes or
rivers.
Explanation: The nation is
Saudi Arabia.
Fact: There are parts of Canada
which extend as far south as Califor
nia.
Explanation: Southernmost On
tario just below the city ofWindsor
extends firrther south than Califor
nia’s northern border.
•••••
They tell me that kids today
aren’t interested in geography. I’ll bet
they would be if they read this stuff.
Failing that, they should be sent to
bed without any lunch. Kids are wily
but they can be outfoxed.
[For more of the same, visit
Alan’s blog, www.essentialba.com]
Weather
By William Dilbeck
HI
LOW
RAIN
Tuesday
58
39
.00
Wednesday
63
51
.13
Thursday
73
57
.00
Friday
68
31
.00
Saturday
50
28
.00
Sunday
55
29
Tr
Monday
63
40
.00
“...Oh, and about that unemployment benefits safety net..."
(USPS 431-820)
Published by Pickens County Progress, Inc.
94 North Main St. P.O. Box 67 Jasper, GA 30143
(706) 253-2457 FAX (706) 253-9738
www.pickensprogress.com
JOHN A. POOL DAN POOL
Publisher Editor
WILLIAM E. POOL
Managing Editor
Published each Thursday at Jasper, Pickens County, Georgia.
Entered at the Post Office at Jasper, Georgia 30143 as Periodical
Mail. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE
PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS, P. O. Box 67, Jasper, GA
30143.
One Year’s Subscription: $21.40 in Pickens County and in Gilmer,
Cherokee, Dawson and Gordon counties. $28.89 in all other
Georgia counties; $34.24 out of state.
This week’s quotable quote
“Falsehood is a perennial spring .” — Edmund Burke
THAT CUACACTEe L-AAJP STuDy
TDRUED JU-ro -A. M€Sf5
sWHXTA' you -THIkJK?
tj4E CHARACTERS
GEMA asks Georgians to prepare for violent weather
as tornado season officially starts March 1st
ARE YOU PREPARED
FOR THE UNEXPECTED?
GEMA’s Ready Georgiacampaignprovides online tools to make
a disaster supply kit, develop a tailored communications plan and
stay informed about potential threats at www.ready.ga.gov.
Last spring, a series of torna
does struck Georgia, killing 15
people and injuring 143 across
the state including damaging
homes throughout Pickens
County. More recently, a power
ful EF-3 tornado touched down in
Gordon County on Dec. 22.
In November 2010, a tornado
devastated a Buford neighbor
hood, and in 2009, more than 50
tornadoes wreaked havoc
statewide, landing Georgia in the
top five nationwide for tornado
activity.
With another potentially ac
tive tornado season beginning on
March 1, the Georgia Emergency
Management Agency
(GEMA)/Homeland Security
Ready Georgia campaign advises
there is no better time for the pub
lic to get ready, especially follow
ing the recent years of fatal
weather activity.
“March is the start of Geor
gia’s official tornado season, and
we want to ensure that all resi
dents are prepared for the violent
and unpredictable nature of torna
does,” said Charley English, di
rector of GEMA/ Homeland
Security. “Tornadoes are a real
threat in Georgia and they can
strike with almost no warning, so
the best way to keep yourself and
your family safe is to prepare
now.”
According to the National
Weather Service (NWS), torna
does are the No. 1 severe
weather-related killer in Georgia.
They have proven to be some of
nature's most violent storms, ap
pearing with little warning and
generating wind speeds that can
exceed 250 mph. Though torna
does can occur any day of the
year, the height of the season runs
from March through May. The
best way to mitigate the effects of
a tornado is to have a plan in
place and practice how and where
to take shelter.
To help people prepare for tor
nadoes and other emergencies,
GEMA’s Ready Georgia cam
paign provides online tools to
make a disaster supply kit, de
velop a tailored communications
plan and stay informed about po
tential threats. Website visitors
can also find local emergency
contact information and read pre
paredness testimonials from local
sports stars. Children’s games
and activities can be found on the
ReadyKids page, and households
with pets or elderly or disabled
family members will find specific
information on preparing for se
vere weather.
For preparedness on the go,
families can download Ready
Georgia’s free mobile app to
learn how to prepare for emer
gencies, create family communi
cations plans and more. More
than 20,000 Georgians have al
ready downloaded the app, which
turns an iPhone or Android smart
phone into an invaluable pre
paredness tool by providing
mobile access to emergency con
tact information, a list of Ready
kit supplies and even local shelter
locations in the wake of a disas
ter.
Ready Georgia reminds resi
dents of the following important
information to prepare, plan and
stay informed about tornadoes:
Prepare for a Tornado
Familiarize yourself with the
terms that are used to identify tor
nado hazards: a tornado watch
means a tornado is possible in
your area; a tornado warning
means a tornado has been spotted
in your area and you need to take
shelter immediately.
Determine in advance where
you will take shelter in case of a
tornado warning.
Prepare a Ready kit of emer
gency supplies, including a first
aid kit, NOAA Weather Radio
and a three-day supply of food
and water.
Plan to Take Shelter
If local authorities issue a tor
nado warning or if you see a fun
nel cloud, take shelter
immediately.
Storm cellars or basements
provide the best protection.
If underground shelter is not
available, go into an interior
room or hallway on the lowest
floor possible.
Stay away from windows,
doors and outside walls. Go to
the center of the room. Stay
away from comers because they
attract debris.
A vehicle, trailer or mobile
home does not provide good pro
tection. Plan to go quickly to a
building with a strong founda
tion, if possible.
If shelter is not available, lie
flat in a ditch or other low-lying
area. Do not get under an over
pass or bridge. You are safer in a
low, flat location.
Stay in the shelter location
until the danger has passed.
Stay Informed about Torna
does
Local authorities may not im
mediately be able to provide in
formation on what is happening
and what you should do. How
ever, you should listen to NOAA
Weather Radio, watch TV, listen
to the radio or check the Internet
often for official news and in
structions as they become avail
able.
For more information on
preparing for severe weather,
contact your local EMA or visit
www.ready.ga.gov or www.
gema.ga.gov
March is here already
And Aprils ’round the bend.
If your spring clothes look tattered,
Bring ’em to us to mend.
Bring us your rhyme.
If we use it you will receive $10 off your cleaning bill!
yJasper Discount Cleaners (next to Piggly Wiggly)»706-253-0164>
'Wiij
Sales, Rent-to-Own & Lease
120 DAYS SAME AS CASH
Down Leases
in the store
(Pays first month’s lease.)
96 Craig Street, Ellijay, GA • 276-2626