Dec 10
If the residents of Northfield need some motivation to get in shape, this may be it. According to an article today in the Press of A.C. the healthiest families at Northfield Community School could score a cool US$5,000.
Parents of children at Northfield Community School (NCS) are receiving information on the 2008 Healthy Schools Initiative. The regional contest for schools sponsored by AtlantiCare offers a prize of $5,000 to the school it deems the healthiest.
NCS will give five families with children in the school the chance to work with personal trainers for 12 weeks, as well as learning to cook healthy meals from top chefs from Harrah’s and the Local 54 Chef Apprentice program.
The personal training for the families (provided by Mainland Fitness) is worth about $6,000 making the combined prize value close to $10,000 per family.
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Oct 30
I had an idea that I thought would be a potential winner for Northfield because it addresses one of my biggest personal problems with the city–speeding down our streets. It’s called “Slow Down in Our Town.”
Northfield has an excellent Community School on New Road at Cedarbridge Road which many students walk to, but the problem is that many motorists speed down Mill Road, Zion Road and Cedarbridge Road (to name just three). The problem is exarcerbated by the fact that most of our roads don’t have sidewalks on them leaving our children at risk.
“Slow Down in Our Town” is a 6″-round magnet that residents can purchase for $5 to put on the back of their vehicles to raise awareness about the speed limits on city streets. The magnets cost $2 to make and I propose that the additional $3 that’s raised from each sale be set aside to purchase larger, 24″ round signs that could be attached to our existing speed limit signs around the city to further raise awareness about the speed limits in Northfield.
It’s just a thought, but I think that it might work. Similar programs have been effective in other municipalities and there is no cost to the city. Dozens of people that I’ve talked to on the campaign trail (especially those on affected streets) have talked to me about this issue and it’s time to do something about it. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about it.
Update: If you’d like to find out more about the Slow Down in Our Town campaign or you’d like to buy a magnet, send an email to slowdowninourtown@gmail.com.
Oct 30
The Press of Atlantic City had a nice piece on a free clinic that will scan toys for lead in Hammonton. More than 21 million toys and products made in China have been recalled since August because they contain lead, according to Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown. The free clinic is a nice way to make parents feel a little safer.
A free lead screening for toys clinic will be held 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the former K&H Auto Supply, 216 Bellevue Ave., Hammonton. The event is organized by Health and Safety Services, an environmental inspection company.
Jim Proctor, the company president, will use an X-ray florescence device, a laser gun used to screen for lead paint, to examine the toys. There will be a limit of 10 items per family. Proctor said if a family wants further lead screening on an item, the company can remove a small piece of the toy and send the sample to be reviewed by EMSL Analytical, an environmental testing lab in Westmont, Camden County. The fee for the more detailed screening is $50 per item.
Proctor said he organized the event to help fellow parents feel more confident about their children’s toys. The event will also have information pamphlets on lead and lead poisoning and a raffle. For information, call 609-704-8850.
Dr. Jeffrey Weidenhammer of the Ashland University in Ohio recently discovered that a toy called “ugly teeth” contains 100 times the allowable levels of lead in the paint.
“We analysed the paint on the surface of the teeth. The orange teeth were the worst in terms of having six to seven percent lead by weight in the paint,”
That’s about 100 times the U.S. government standard on lead in paint which is .06 percent.