Healthy Communities Partnership, Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital,
Family Medical Center and numerous professionals in health, safety,
fitness and environment-related fields from around the area provide
a wealth of resources, information and services. This year's fair,
themed "iChoose Health, the Perfect App" featured 60 displays
focused on improving knowledge of health, safety and wellness.
Organizations, agencies and businesses provided plenty of
freebies, samples, drawings for prizes and informational handouts.
Some took surveys to see how they could better improve what they do
for you. There were free or low-cost health screenings. Screenings
were available for blood pressure, checked by Parish Nurses; blood
typing, provided by Central Illinois Community Blood Center; body
fat calculation, by the Lincoln Park District; mental health
assessment, by Christian Village; oral cancer, by the Logan County
Department of Public Health; pulse oximetry, by Abraham Lincoln
Memorial Hospital; and pH testing, by Reliv.
Entertainment included demonstrations in Yoshukai Karate by Dan
Dugan and his students and from Lincoln Tae Kwon Do by Scott Brown
and his students.
An ambulance had been backed into the display hall and the back
opened for hands-on exploring. This was one of Roy Logan's
favorites. Logan is a co-chair of the event, representing the park
district. He liked the fact that children could get up into the
ambulance and explore the inside, and he felt that it would help
reduce fears before such time that they or someone they know may
need to ride in one as a patient.
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Logan also sees the opportunity for kids to meet with paramedics,
police and fire officers as important in building trust and respect.
The Logan County Waste Management Agency saw a number of
recycling projects. Glass collection was provided by Lincoln Junior
Woman's Club next door at Lincoln Community High School.
Also back by popular demand was document shredding and hard drive
destruction, sponsored by State Bank of Lincoln.
Other recycling actions included plastic bags by Wal-Mart and ink
cartridges by Community Action.
Collections were also made for those less fortunate. Food was
collected to go to local pantries and pop tabs for Ronald McDonald
House. For reuse, cellphones were collected by Sojourn and
eyeglasses were collected.
[By JAN YOUNGQUIST]
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