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TODAY'S ISSUE
Backpacks for kids can be bad for their physical health
By David M. Richardson, D.C.
Special to GwinnettForum.com

AUG. 7, 2006 -- If a woman carrying an oversized purse for a day of shopping or a man toting his own golf bag for nine holes of golf triggers shoulder and back aches at the end of the day, imagine the daily stress for a child carrying 25-50 percent or more of their body weight in a school backpack.

This is a growing health concern, not only for the school children of Gwinnett County but also those in school systems nationwide. If you have children, grandchildren, or friends with children attending school, this message should be of interest to you.

What are the reasons for this physical stress on our children?

Lack of time is a major factor. The push to get in more curriculums, the growing sizes of our schools, and the tightly-staggered busing schedules accommodating elementary, middle, and high school transportation needs, all contribute to the problem. Five minute breaks between classes combined with a long physical distances between classrooms and over-crowded hallways don't allow students enough time to get to their lockers. There is not enough time to swap out books and get to their next destination before the bell rings.

To quote one Gwinnett County high school student: "I get five minutes between my classes. In one class I'm at one end of the school in a first floor classroom. When the bell rings, I practically run to get from that class to my next class on the second floor, on the other side of the school. I'm out of breath by the time I get there from rushing and carrying books…."

Lack of time between the last class and the first bus arrivals also prevents students from dropping off unnecessary books at the end of the day. The result is that children arrive at school and leave school carrying all of their books in their backpacks, carrying them all day since there's no time between classes to drop them off (or pick them up).

Consider this quote from a local high school PTA member in response to an email exchange on this same topic: "Oh, I know where you are coming from. We went through eight weeks of therapy last year with our [sophomore] daughter [82 pounds / backpack 61 pounds]."

When discussing problems relating to the neck, back, and spine, there is a tendency for people to think only of muscles, discs, joints, or bones. Excessive backpack weight can also have a damaging effect on delicate nerves branching off from the spine. Since the nervous system controls and coordinates all functions in the body, including all organs, the symptoms that manifest may include problems not normally associated with the spine.

It is beyond the space to cover all aspects of this issue, but it is a topic worthy of discussion and will hopefully support some future solutions. Until remedies are in place, if you have a child with back or neck complaints, take him or her to a health care professional as soon as possible. Excessive spinal weight bearing over time is detrimental to posture and health in general, and may result in large numbers of the next generation going into adulthood with chronic health problems.

ELLIOTT BRACK
More parents want schools to start after Labor Day
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com

AUG. 7, 2006 -- Evidence is coming in that the public school systems in Georgia should re-consider their wholesale adoption of a pre-Labor Day beginning of school. The death of another football player already this season, in Rockdale County last week, only underscores the problems.

Needed more than anything is for school systems, their boards and employees, to halt lock-step thinking, and consider alternative approaches that have the possibility of at least being as good an approach, if not better, than the present calendar.

Consideration One: the deaths to student-athletes on the searing football fields during the Dog Days of summer.

With coaches pushing their young charges to get into condition, and the necessary exercises and sweltering drills in intensive heat, this can lead to dehydration and exhaustion. If school started later in the year, the opening of football practice could start later instead of during the high heat of mid summer.

Football players are not the only ones involved. Band and drill teams begin practice, too. All suffer from the heat. Parents are concerned about all these young charges being able to survive the extreme heat of summer. If delaying the drills a week or two would stem one or two deaths, it would be worth the change alone.

Consideration Two: energy usage. Cutting out classroom time during the hottest days of summer (July and August), and shifting these class days to May, when it's not so hot, would be a major savings to air conditioning across the entire state. Remember who eventually pays the cost of this current high air conditioning bill: the public taxpayer in each county.

A fear popping up this summer has been the possibility of electrical BrownOuts. Should this happen during a heat wave, it would only increase the problems, and no doubt cause more than a few deaths. Though the energy the schools could save by not having school in July and August is not large, still every little bit counts when the electrical grid is threatened. Taxpayers would also benefit from not paying higher air conditioner bills during high summer months.

Consideration Three: the way schools schedule classes is today given as a major reason to start school early, so that students will finish a unit, and be tested before Christmas. This is semantics, and comes from the way the school systems schedule teaching of content.

With schools trying to schedule equal semesters each year, they break into two equal class segments the content being offered in various classes. But what is being taught is the total year's English class. It really doesn't matter if Chaucer is taught before or after Christmas.

If schools would throw out the semester system, teachers could schedule tests after 75 days (just before Christmas). When school began again in January, they would simply pick up the subject content where they left off, and test after reasonable times the additional matter.

With schools locked into the "equal semester" approach when teaching half a class material, it complicates and obstructs the calendar, for no logical reason. Careful planning of subject matter could get around this testing point, if the course schedule were attacked in this way.

Consideration Four: perhaps the biggest barrier to starting school later is the obstructions put up by school officials. They resist change mightily. Even when Georgia was adopting a semester calendar, lamentations came from educators continuously.

Yet Georgia parents are getting more vocal in wanting to get the state back to a traditional start of school after Labor Day. More parents are complaining about heat strokes, energy waste, and school officials being set in their ways.

Parents wanting school to start after Labor Day won't go away. Change can happen. What we need is for school boards and officials to start understanding this.

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is The Peachtree Bank, located at 9570 Medlock Bridge Road. Duluth. The bank also has locations at 185 Gwinnett Drive, Lawrenceville, in Roswell is located at 695 Mansell Road,and 1725 Mount Vernon Rd. in Dunwoody. Monty Watson is president of the bank, which has assets of over $550 million. Member, FDIC and Equal Housing Lender. Go to The Peachtree Bank web site at : http://www.thepeachtreebank.com.

I've voted in every primary and every election since I was old enough to vote (I'm 55). Usually, I can vote for the platform and accept that I won't always love the candidate.

In this election, not one candidate has stepped forward to talk about real issues and tell me what they will do to make my county and my state stronger and better. The name calling and mud slinging has been so offensive, I think it demonstrates very poor character. What a waste of their time and money, what a constant irritation to listeners, and what a poor example they set for the children who are watching and learning how adults communicate.

So, while I drag myself to the polls to vote, it's with complete cynicism. I'm not apathetic - I'm completely disgusted. I voted against Cathy Cox and Mark Taylor in the Democratic Primary. I'll vote against somebody in the runoffs. Perhaps the exit polls should track who the voters voted "against" instead of "for"?

Mayor Nick Masino will offer the annual State of the City address at the August 9 Suwanee Business Alliance meeting at Suwanee City Hall. The meeting, which is open to the public, begins at 6 p.m.; refreshments from The Fresh Market will be served. Masino will share some of the City's major accomplishments over the past year and provide information about significant upcoming projects. The Suwanee Business Alliance, a network of Suwanee area businesses that fosters communication and commerce among members and supports the Suwanee community, hosts the State of the City address each year.

In coordination with Gov. Sonny Perdue's recent launch of a "Customer Service Improvement Initiative," Georgia Gwinnett College President Daniel J. Kaufman says that GGC is poised to implement a plan for improved customer service beginning in August, when students first arrive on campus. The initiative unites all state agencies in an effort to make Georgia the best-managed state in the country.

Dr. Kaufman says: "Serving students is the central focus of the learning experience. Our campus initiative will provide the highest quality learning experience using the most advanced technologies - allowing students to access vital information both on and off campus."

Earlier this year, Kaufman appointed Gene Ruffin, GGC library director, as the college's customer service champion to launch, guide and manage improvements that will make the services provided by each campus "Faster, Friendlier and Easier" to access.

Ruffin says: "We have a unique opportunity as the first college in the nation to implement a customer service culture from day one. It will be a natural part of our daily business operations allowing us to make daily improvements."

Georgia Gwinnett College is now accepting applications for fall 2006, its inaugural class. Current college students with at least 45 college credit hours who are interested in completing a bachelor's degree in biology, psychology or business should apply online at www.ggc.usg.edu or www.gacollege411.org. Classes for freshman begin fall 2007.

Suwanee City Council has selected BRPH of Marietta to design Suwanee's new City Hall, expected to open at Town Center in early 2009. BRPH was selected from among three design competition finalists, each of whom created a design concept for the new City Hall. (A poll by Gwinnett Forum showed 31 percent of readers liked the winning design. )

BRPH's initial concept is of a two-story, 20,000 square foot building that features an arch-shaped roofline that echoes the Town Center amphitheater stage; open, glass front; 95-foot multipurpose tower; marble-panel facade; grand foyer; and second-floor Council Chambers. The complete City Hall design process is expected to take about a year. Construction is slated to begin in September 2007.

The Gwinnett Sports Commission reports that the 2006 U.S. Tennis Association Women's 50k Classic will be held in Gwinnett November 13-20, 2006, says Peter Sherrard of the Gwinnett Sports Commission. Gwinnett County was chosen as the 2006 tournament venue site because of the amenities provided to the tennis players and their families.

A total of 60 professional tennis players from around the world are expected to compete for the title. The site of the tournament will be Collins Hill Athletic Club, which is a full-service tennis and health club facility in Lawrenceville.

The Gwinnett Sports Commission and Collins Hill Athletic Club partnered to bring this tournament to Gwinnett. Aubrey Jackson, Executive Director, Collins Hill Athletic Club, says: "It is a great feeling to know that we have a sports commission that recognizes the economic impact of sports and I am excited we decided to partner together to host this event."

In addition to the great sporting event, this classic is expected to bring in 450 hotel room nights and generate more than $60,000 in economic impact.

The United States Tennis Association is the national governing body for the sport of tennis and the recognized leader in promoting and developing the sport's growth on every level in the United States, from local communities to the crown jewel of the professional game, the U.S. Open.

For more information on the event, contact Peter Sherrard at the Gwinnett Sports Commission at 770-814-6052 or Aubrey Jackson at 678-985-9004 at Collins Hill Athletic Club.

By late 1829, north Georgia, known at the time as the Cherokee Nation, was flooded by thousands of prospectors lusting for gold. Niles' Register reported in the spring of 1830 that there were four thousand miners working along Yahoola Creek (near Dahlonega) alone. While in his 90s, Benjamin Parks recalled the scene in the Atlanta Constitution (July 15, 1894):

"The news got abroad, and such excitement you never saw. It seemed within a few days as if the whole world must have heard of it, for men came from every state I had ever heard of. They came afoot, on horseback and in wagons, acting more like crazy men than anything else. All the way from where Dahlonega now stands to Nuckollsville [Auraria] there were men panning out of the branches and making holes in the hillsides."

The sudden influx of miners into the Cherokee Nation was known even at the time as the Great Intrusion. One writer said in the Cherokee Phoenix, "Our neighbors who regard no law and pay no respects to the laws of humanity are now reaping a plentiful harvest. . . . We are an abused people." But there was little the Cherokees could do; it seemed the louder they protested, the more eagerly the miners came.

Gold rush towns sprang up quickly in north Georgia, particularly near the center of the gold region in present-day Lumpkin County. Auraria became an instant boomtown, growing to a population of 1,000 by 1832. The county seat, called Licklog at the time, in 1833 became known as Dahlonega, for the Cherokee word tahlonega, meaning golden. Within a few months after its establishment nearly 1,000 people were crowded into the settlement, with about 5,000 people in the surrounding county.

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