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Twelve third-graders from Carroll
Catholic Elementary School, wearing their "Cops and Kids" T-shirts,
gave the crowd of more than 70 a rousing chorus of their own
original song, "Stop the Violence."
[Photos by Bob Frank]
[The highlight of the program: Kids from Carroll
Catholic perform "Stop the Violence.]
The message of the song told about ways
to solve problems without resorting to violence and also about
saying no to drugs and alcohol. "Together we can do it," was part of
every chorus.
The youngsters were so well received
they had to repeat the performance, even though some of them said
they were hungry and ready for lunch. In spite of their protests,
though, they presented their encore with as much enthusiasm as
they’d shown in the original performance.
Pointing to the group as they left the
stage, Dayle Eldredge, director of HCP, said, "That’s our future."
["That's our future."]
The Healthy Community Partnership is an
organization whose mission is to protect, maintain and improve the
health and quality of life of all residents of Lincoln and Logan
County. It currently has five task forces. At the semiannual Report
to the Community meeting, each group gives an update on its
activities.
Speaking for the Alcohol, Tobacco and
Other Drug Task Force, Marcia Greenslate said 400 young people and
adults attended the Family Fun Day activities in April, and another
Fun Day is planned for August at the Lincoln Park District
facilities. The post-prom activities sponsored by a grant from the
Illinois Department of Transportation — an "all-nighter" at the
recreation center — were another success.
She also said the task force is
continuing its Victim Impact panels, a program mandated by the
courts, in which those charged with automobile accidents caused by
alcohol or drugs as well as victims of such accidents speak out in a
public forum.
Mr. and Mrs. Dick Logan gave a donation
of $2,287 to ATOD in memory of their son, Daniel Joseph Logan,
killed in April of this year in an accident involving alcohol.
Darrell Sisk, Sojourn advocate,
reported on the Domestic Abuse and Violence Task Force. Sisk said
that although incidents of domestic battery and arrest for battery
are going down, for some reason orders of protection granted by the
court have gone up this year. Eldredge suggested that these numbers
might have risen because more women who need protection against
domestic violence are learning they can get help.
Four Lincoln patrolmen are getting
training in ways to deal with domestic violence, and fifth-graders
in area schools are learning about dating relationships, Sisk said.
Cells phones are being collected for
victims of domestic violence so they can call for help whenever
needed, and Lincoln police officers are transporting victims to a
shelter in Springfield if that is necessary.
Jennifer Boeke, speaking for the
Healthy Families Task Force, said the task force is working in three
areas: reducing teen pregnancy, increasing parenting knowledge and
increasing community awareness.
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The Baby-Think-It-Over program, which
uses a programmable life-size baby doll that cries, wets and needs
to be fed, is going to be expanded from junior high into freshman
health classes, she said. The HCP has purchased two new dolls for
the program.
[Jennifer Boeke, holding the Baby-Think-It-Over baby
doll, speaks for the Healthy Families
Task Force.]
Several Chester-East Lincoln students
who had been in the Baby-Think-It-Over program told the audience it
has taught them a lot about the responsibility of having a real
baby.
Andrew, who just graduated from the
eighth grade, said he hadn’t realized a baby needed so much
attention. "They need attention and they need it now," he said. "And
I needed multiple arms instead of just two, getting off the bus with
a baby, a stroller and all my own stuff.
"This program made me see I’m not
ready. I shouldn’t be raising a child while I’m a child myself."
Senior Issues Task Force spokesperson
Linda Marini said an Alzheimer’s caregivers group has been started
to give support to those who must deal with loved ones with
Alzheimer’s. She said she is working with Tim Butterfield of the
Lincoln Police Department on a Senior Safe Program, to identify
seniors who would need help in case of an emergency in the
community.
The Senior Task Force is also taking
over the Grandparents raising Grandchildren program, which will meet
at the Oasis Senior Center. She also said the group is studying
possible parish nursing programs in area churches.
Kristi Lessen of the Rural Health
Partnership, who formerly taught ATOD material to seventh- and
eighth-graders in area schools, said she is now working to raise
community awareness of alcohol and drug issues. She is working on a
Web page for schools and parents and also will speak or do research
for community groups.
She said she is trying to get a
parents’ group established and also hopes to organize a MADD
(Mothers Against Drunk Driving) chapter in the area.
She said there are many new drugs
available. "Kids have the information about these substances and
parents don’t. Substance abuse is a communitywide problem and we are
trying to get the message to the community."
[One of many task force information displays at the
semiannual report.]
Reporting on the rural health van,
usually called the "corn bus" because of the rural scenes painted on
its exterior, Eldredge said that along with providing health care
and diagnostic services, the corn bus also educates its clients.
"In addition to giving shots and
drawing blood, they do a lot of health education," she said of the
nurses who staff the van. "Twenty percent of that education is about
heart and cardiovascular problems, 13 percent about medications, and
48 percent about immunizations," she said.
Out-of-town
visitors who attended the Report to the Community included John
Record of the SIU School of Medicine in Springfield and Julia Kasper
of the Illinois Department of Public Health.
[Joan
Crabb]
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McGee identified 920
schools that fit the definition of low-income, and Washington-Monroe
was in the top 60, Kidd said.
Kidd also explained
that the new federal school legislation proposed by President George
W. Bush and approved recently by Congress will not affect District
27 this year but will in the future.
"The No Child Left
Behind act says that if you have a school on remediation, you will
have to transfer kids to more successful schools if parents ask for
that," he said.
The new law calls for
every school to have at least 40 percent of its students meet or
exceed state standards in reading, math and one other subject this
year, 45 percent next year, and will continue to move that
percentage up so that in 2014 every school in the nation is supposed
to have 100 percent of its students meet or exceed state standards,
Kidd said.
He said he believed
the odds of any school in the nation having 100 percent of its
students meet or exceed these stands would be very low.
"We’re all right now,
but I don’t know how long I will be able to say that," he said.
The board voted 5-1
to give $4,000 to the Junior High Booster Club to build a concession
stand at the ball diamond. Leta Herrington voted against the
measure.
The board also agreed
to make some changes in the junior high handbook regarding dress
codes and rules for participating in athletic events.
Currently the dress
code calls for students to be covered from shoulder to midthigh and
prohibits shirts with profanity, advertisements for alcohol, tobacco
or drugs, or with offensive and vulgar language, junior high
Principal Curt Nettles said.
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The dress code will
now ban sagging pants with legs dragging on the ground, in part
because of safety considerations, Nettles said. Dragging pant legs
can be a hazard for students going up or down stairs. Shirts must
also be long enough to cover the waistband.
The board also voted
in a somewhat stricter code for allowing students to participate in
extracurricular activities, especially athletics.
Students who are
suspended during a quarter will not be allowed to attend any
extracurricular activities, including sports, at any time during
that quarter.
Students caught using
tobacco the first time will not be allowed to take part in any
sports for 33 percent of the competitions in the present season, and
if less than 33 percent of those events remain, the suspension will
continue into the next year, Nettles said.
For example, if a
student in basketball is caught using tobacco and only three
basketball games remain, he will be suspended for those three games
plus whatever number constitutes 33 percent in the next year, or in
the next sport event in which he participates.
The second time a
student is caught using tobacco, he is suspended from all athletic
activities for one calendar year.
Students caught using
alcohol or any controlled substances do not get a second chance but
will be suspended for one calendar year. Family gatherings and
religious ceremonies are not considered a violation of the rule.
Five members of the board voted in favor
of the new rules. Carmitchel voted no. Joe Brewer was absent from
the meeting.
[Joan
Crabb]
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