Friday, September 16, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Kids get cardio workout at skipping rope event
When kids were jumping ropes to Kriss Kross’s “Jump” song at a jump rope event Friday afternoon at the Clay County Fair, they weren’t just doing it for fun. They were getting a good cardio work out.
The “Join in Jump Rope” event was sponsored by Sanford Health and was part of the Clay County Fair that began Wednesday and ended Saturday. “The kids who took part in the event had a great time. They learned that jumping rope does get your heart pumping,” said Mary C. Merrigan, director of public relations, Sanford Vermillion.
“The jump song was also longer than most kids are probably used to jumping rope, giving them a good cardio work out,” she said.
Sixty-six jumpers ages 3–14 participated in the event, setting a new Clay County record for kids jumping rope at the same time. Last year, which was also the first year for “Join in Jump Rope,” the event had set a record with 38 jumpers ages 7-17. The participants each received a free jump rope from Sanford.
“We had 66 kids who jumped rope on Friday afternoon from different age groups. They all wanted to have some fun exercise and break last year’s record jumping at once,” said Carol Lavin, the organizer of the event.
“Exercise is important for kids and doing it together in a large group can be even more fun! My son and daughter participated and they brought friends to join in. Kids who participated also got to keep their jump ropes, hoping they would continue the healthy exercise at home as well. ” said Carol, who is also a Sanford Wellness Nurse.
In the past, Sanford provided health screenings or set up an information booth at the fair. In 2010, they organized the first “Join in Jump Rope” event at the fair to involve youth in skipping sport whose health benefits include improved cardio fitness, muscle strength and flexibility.
Carol’s daughter, Maddie Lavin, 11, who participated in the event, said she had fun jumping rope.”I really didn’t realize how much time I spent skipping rope because I was really enjoying it,” she said. ”Jumping rope gets you up and going and it’s good for your health.”
The “Join in Jump Rope” event was sponsored by Sanford Health and was part of the Clay County Fair that began Wednesday and ended Saturday. “The kids who took part in the event had a great time. They learned that jumping rope does get your heart pumping,” said Mary C. Merrigan, director of public relations, Sanford Vermillion.
“The jump song was also longer than most kids are probably used to jumping rope, giving them a good cardio work out,” she said.
Sixty-six jumpers ages 3–14 participated in the event, setting a new Clay County record for kids jumping rope at the same time. Last year, which was also the first year for “Join in Jump Rope,” the event had set a record with 38 jumpers ages 7-17. The participants each received a free jump rope from Sanford.
“We had 66 kids who jumped rope on Friday afternoon from different age groups. They all wanted to have some fun exercise and break last year’s record jumping at once,” said Carol Lavin, the organizer of the event.
“Exercise is important for kids and doing it together in a large group can be even more fun! My son and daughter participated and they brought friends to join in. Kids who participated also got to keep their jump ropes, hoping they would continue the healthy exercise at home as well. ” said Carol, who is also a Sanford Wellness Nurse.
In the past, Sanford provided health screenings or set up an information booth at the fair. In 2010, they organized the first “Join in Jump Rope” event at the fair to involve youth in skipping sport whose health benefits include improved cardio fitness, muscle strength and flexibility.
Carol’s daughter, Maddie Lavin, 11, who participated in the event, said she had fun jumping rope.”I really didn’t realize how much time I spent skipping rope because I was really enjoying it,” she said. ”Jumping rope gets you up and going and it’s good for your health.”
Friday, August 5, 2011
Vermillion Plaintalk - Turnout is strong at July 20 blood drive
Vermillion Plaintalk - Turnout is strong at July 20 blood drive
Extreme heat didn’t deter 53 people from donating the gift of life.
The third annual All American Community Blood Drive was held July 20 at Sanford Vermillion Medical Center. The drive was a joint donor program by Sanford Vermillion Center and Community Blood Bank.
Each pint of blood donated that day has the potential to save three lives, meaning that July 20's drive could possibly have a positive impact on as many as 159 individuals, said Ken Versteeg, executive director, Community Blood Bank. “This was the third annual event at the Sanford Hospital and each year it gets better.”
A patient needing 180 units of blood over the July 4th weekend placed a heavy burden on the blood supply. “Besides, some additional traumas coming to our emergency rooms also challenged the blood supply that put blood usage up by nearly 20 percent,” said Versteeg. This drive was crucial to keeping the blood supply at an adequate level.
In addition to this, community drives are extremely important throughout the summer months when attendance is much lower at colleges and schools. During the fall and winter, “we have blood donation drives going on at the colleges and schools,” said Versteeg.
Sixty-three people attempted to donate blood but only 53 were able to donate. Others were excluded from donating because they were either running a temperature or had travelled out of the country earlier in the year.
Community Blood Bank serves 29 hospitals in South Dakota, southwest Minnesota and northwestern Iowa. It has donor rooms in two Sioux Falls hospitals where people donate blood Monday through Friday. Besides, Community Blood Bank drives also take place at the WalMart and Jones' Food Center.
Joan Reed, a donor from Sanford Vermillion Medical Center, said, “I have been donating for several years now and continue to do so because it gives me a sense of pride to know I am helping someone or impacting someone else’s life by doing so.
“Growing up my dad gave gallons of blood and was always on call with the blood bank because he had one of the rarer types of blood. Dad always told us they didn’t want to waste his blood and so they would call him and have him donate only when they were in need of his type. It was not uncommon that he would get a call and a short time later, he would be on the road to deliver,” she said. “Finding out that I also have one of the rarer types of blood and being told at one point they didn’t want me to do a 'double red' because they wanted my blood to send over to Afghanistan further inspired me to keep on giving. I have to admit, the first time giving I was a little nervous, but once I did it and realized how easy the process is, I donate as often as possible now.”
Nancy Ellison, laboratory manager, Sanford Vermillion, said, “We are always happy to work with the Community Blood Bank to promote blood drives hosted in Vermillion. On average, we use two to four units of blood products each week in Vermillion. Community Blood Bank is the sole supplier of blood products to Sanford Medical Center Vermillion.”
Mary C. Merrigan, director of public relations, Sanford Vermillion, said, “We want to thank all the community members who came out for the blood drive. We were especially pleased to have such a great turn out on a day of such extreme heat.”
Extreme heat didn’t deter 53 people from donating the gift of life.
The third annual All American Community Blood Drive was held July 20 at Sanford Vermillion Medical Center. The drive was a joint donor program by Sanford Vermillion Center and Community Blood Bank.
Each pint of blood donated that day has the potential to save three lives, meaning that July 20's drive could possibly have a positive impact on as many as 159 individuals, said Ken Versteeg, executive director, Community Blood Bank. “This was the third annual event at the Sanford Hospital and each year it gets better.”
A patient needing 180 units of blood over the July 4th weekend placed a heavy burden on the blood supply. “Besides, some additional traumas coming to our emergency rooms also challenged the blood supply that put blood usage up by nearly 20 percent,” said Versteeg. This drive was crucial to keeping the blood supply at an adequate level.
In addition to this, community drives are extremely important throughout the summer months when attendance is much lower at colleges and schools. During the fall and winter, “we have blood donation drives going on at the colleges and schools,” said Versteeg.
Sixty-three people attempted to donate blood but only 53 were able to donate. Others were excluded from donating because they were either running a temperature or had travelled out of the country earlier in the year.
Community Blood Bank serves 29 hospitals in South Dakota, southwest Minnesota and northwestern Iowa. It has donor rooms in two Sioux Falls hospitals where people donate blood Monday through Friday. Besides, Community Blood Bank drives also take place at the WalMart and Jones' Food Center.
Joan Reed, a donor from Sanford Vermillion Medical Center, said, “I have been donating for several years now and continue to do so because it gives me a sense of pride to know I am helping someone or impacting someone else’s life by doing so.
“Growing up my dad gave gallons of blood and was always on call with the blood bank because he had one of the rarer types of blood. Dad always told us they didn’t want to waste his blood and so they would call him and have him donate only when they were in need of his type. It was not uncommon that he would get a call and a short time later, he would be on the road to deliver,” she said. “Finding out that I also have one of the rarer types of blood and being told at one point they didn’t want me to do a 'double red' because they wanted my blood to send over to Afghanistan further inspired me to keep on giving. I have to admit, the first time giving I was a little nervous, but once I did it and realized how easy the process is, I donate as often as possible now.”
Nancy Ellison, laboratory manager, Sanford Vermillion, said, “We are always happy to work with the Community Blood Bank to promote blood drives hosted in Vermillion. On average, we use two to four units of blood products each week in Vermillion. Community Blood Bank is the sole supplier of blood products to Sanford Medical Center Vermillion.”
Mary C. Merrigan, director of public relations, Sanford Vermillion, said, “We want to thank all the community members who came out for the blood drive. We were especially pleased to have such a great turn out on a day of such extreme heat.”
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Vermillion Plaintalk - Kids receive hands-on experiences at science camp
Vermillion Plaintalk - Kids receive hands-on experiences at science camp
Like previous years, the 10th Lawrence Brothers Science Camp this year became a place for kids to do hands-on science.
Thirty middle school kids entering seventh, eighth and ninth grades participated in the 10th Lawrence Brothers Science Camp held at the University of South Dakota. The week-long camp started Sunday, July 10 and ended Friday, July 15, and was focused on the theme “Light and Vision.” Students got hands-on experience in a variety of activities like building a robot and programming it to seek out a light source and doing experiments with ultraviolet beads, investigating bird’s eyes and watching birds, and studying the effects of polarizing light.
“The purpose of the camp is to engage kids in fun science activities. The camp stimulates interest in science for kids by giving them opportunities to experiment with science. The camp also gives them a chance to see what the college is like,” said Sally Stoll, camp coordinator and Vermillion seventh grade science teacher.
Fifteen male students and 15 female students participated in the camp. The students came from 18 different schools from Chicago, IL, Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota.
“The camp has grown, and kids are coming from all over the place. We offer scholarships and each year we have a lot of students coming for free,” said Stoll. The camp is supported by a grant from Battelle to the University of South Dakota Foundation for $15,000 each for five years. That five year period ends in 2011. Other sources of funding for future years are being sought.
In addition to Stoll, six undergraduate honors students acted as counselors for the camp. They were Kevin Cwach, Renita Goetz, Ashley Lynch, Steffani Donahoe, Tyler Bloch and Nahuel Telleria. SD BRIN Information Specialist Mark Maxon was in charge of photography and taught kids how cameras work.
Kevin Cwach, 22, who has been the camp counselor for four years, said “I am here to spread my science knowledge and share it with the children. That’s the reason I keep coming back every year. It’s a lot of fun.”
Dr Barb Goodman, director and principal investigator of SD BRIN/INBRE said, “The camp is in honor of E.O and John Lawrence, USD alums, who contributed to science by winning a Nobel Prize in Physics (E.O.) and being the “Father of Nuclear-Medicine (John).”
Kiana Cabrera, 12, from Jane Adams (Joliet, IL) school said, “I never used to like science. But it’s really fun. I really liked building robots. We also learned why older people lose their vision. Before coming to the camp, I couldn’t have imagined that the older people lose their vision because their eyeballs get stiffer. I also liked going to the Wellness Center.”
Hannah Doohen, 14, who was at the camp for the third time this year said, “It’s my last year. It is fun and I hope that USD does it again next year for more kids because it’s a really good opportunity and a great learning experience.”
Seventh grader Jack Padmore, 12, from East Middle School, Sioux City, IA, said, “It’s great to have kids know about science. The camp also gives us an opportunity to meet new people. Some students have roommates and its fun being around them and learn from one another.”
Another East Middle School student from Sioux City, Liam Parry, 11 said, “All the instructions help us learn about science. It’s fun. We also went to movies and the Wellness Center.”
The kids were housed in the residence halls at the USD and were provided daily meals.
Like previous years, the 10th Lawrence Brothers Science Camp this year became a place for kids to do hands-on science.
Thirty middle school kids entering seventh, eighth and ninth grades participated in the 10th Lawrence Brothers Science Camp held at the University of South Dakota. The week-long camp started Sunday, July 10 and ended Friday, July 15, and was focused on the theme “Light and Vision.” Students got hands-on experience in a variety of activities like building a robot and programming it to seek out a light source and doing experiments with ultraviolet beads, investigating bird’s eyes and watching birds, and studying the effects of polarizing light.
“The purpose of the camp is to engage kids in fun science activities. The camp stimulates interest in science for kids by giving them opportunities to experiment with science. The camp also gives them a chance to see what the college is like,” said Sally Stoll, camp coordinator and Vermillion seventh grade science teacher.
Fifteen male students and 15 female students participated in the camp. The students came from 18 different schools from Chicago, IL, Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota.
“The camp has grown, and kids are coming from all over the place. We offer scholarships and each year we have a lot of students coming for free,” said Stoll. The camp is supported by a grant from Battelle to the University of South Dakota Foundation for $15,000 each for five years. That five year period ends in 2011. Other sources of funding for future years are being sought.
In addition to Stoll, six undergraduate honors students acted as counselors for the camp. They were Kevin Cwach, Renita Goetz, Ashley Lynch, Steffani Donahoe, Tyler Bloch and Nahuel Telleria. SD BRIN Information Specialist Mark Maxon was in charge of photography and taught kids how cameras work.
Kevin Cwach, 22, who has been the camp counselor for four years, said “I am here to spread my science knowledge and share it with the children. That’s the reason I keep coming back every year. It’s a lot of fun.”
Dr Barb Goodman, director and principal investigator of SD BRIN/INBRE said, “The camp is in honor of E.O and John Lawrence, USD alums, who contributed to science by winning a Nobel Prize in Physics (E.O.) and being the “Father of Nuclear-Medicine (John).”
Kiana Cabrera, 12, from Jane Adams (Joliet, IL) school said, “I never used to like science. But it’s really fun. I really liked building robots. We also learned why older people lose their vision. Before coming to the camp, I couldn’t have imagined that the older people lose their vision because their eyeballs get stiffer. I also liked going to the Wellness Center.”
Hannah Doohen, 14, who was at the camp for the third time this year said, “It’s my last year. It is fun and I hope that USD does it again next year for more kids because it’s a really good opportunity and a great learning experience.”
Seventh grader Jack Padmore, 12, from East Middle School, Sioux City, IA, said, “It’s great to have kids know about science. The camp also gives us an opportunity to meet new people. Some students have roommates and its fun being around them and learn from one another.”
Another East Middle School student from Sioux City, Liam Parry, 11 said, “All the instructions help us learn about science. It’s fun. We also went to movies and the Wellness Center.”
The kids were housed in the residence halls at the USD and were provided daily meals.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
It Was Not Just Any Other Loss. But It Reminded Me Of You Dad
Your subconscious foretells tragedy! Dad’s last song “Kam yaar sapidt Khaab, wadan aase kune zoun” and Sajid Iqbal’s last post on Facebook “Daayaem aabaad raheygee duniyaa...hum na hongey koi humsa hoga” say so.
It was not just any other loss but a loss caused by tragedy. And it reminded me of you dad. It renewed the pain that took years to heal. It tore apart my heart and would have destroyed me if no changes had happened over the years to cure my wounds. I cried out loud, hoping to get some relief, but the pain got much worse as memories of the past played out.
Sajid Iqbal’s—a promising lawyer and senior IAS officer Iqbal Khanday’s son, death in a road accident gave me the pain I felt on your death dad. Both you and Sajid left home happy and never came back. Both were victims of tragedy. Sajid died at the young age of 27 when he was returning home from a wedding. Prominent Kashmiri Ghazal singer and Radio Kashmir senior Program Executive Ghulam Nabi Sheikh was murdered when he was travelling on a train to Delhi on the night of July 13-14, 2003.
Should we even count you as dead dad since we never saw your dead body?
I had never met Sajid, never spoken to him and never befriended him on Facebook. I wouldn’t ever have imagined that the tragedy of his loss would make this connection. It took me back to those painful memories, particularly when we heard about dad’s murder. It was word of mouth by Punjab police, and a picture of his blood-covered body. In the picture his face was severed and he was barely identifiable. We never were given his body which the Punjab Police claimed had in only a few hours been cremated.
Time is the great healer! All these years brought about changes that helped divert my and the family’s attention from those dreadful memories. The changes were mesmerizing for every passing moment took us farther away from painful memories. But Sajid’s tragedy drew us back to those memories because agony causes instantaneous change. Change to overcome trauma on the contrary happens over the years.
I was curious to see Sajid’s last post on Facebook. I had a reason! Two days before dad’s murder, he sang a song that spoke of pain, death and sorrows: “Kam yaar sapidt Khaab, wadan aase kune zoun.” I wondered if Sajid was feeling the same or had some death related vision before the tragedy happened. I could access Sajid’s Facebook wall page because no privacy settings let me see it. Scrolling down many tributes that had poured in from his friends only a few hours after the tragedy, I finally found his last wall post: “Daayaem aabaad raheygee duniyaa...hum na hongey koi humsa hoga.” (The world would continue to prosper. If I am not there someone else like me will be there).
I was right. Sajid’s last wall post, just like dad’s last song, spoke of death. Even when our conscious mind is unaware, our subconscious does foretell tragedy.
It was not just any other loss but a loss caused by tragedy. And it reminded me of you dad. It renewed the pain that took years to heal. It tore apart my heart and would have destroyed me if no changes had happened over the years to cure my wounds. I cried out loud, hoping to get some relief, but the pain got much worse as memories of the past played out.
Sajid Iqbal’s—a promising lawyer and senior IAS officer Iqbal Khanday’s son, death in a road accident gave me the pain I felt on your death dad. Both you and Sajid left home happy and never came back. Both were victims of tragedy. Sajid died at the young age of 27 when he was returning home from a wedding. Prominent Kashmiri Ghazal singer and Radio Kashmir senior Program Executive Ghulam Nabi Sheikh was murdered when he was travelling on a train to Delhi on the night of July 13-14, 2003.
Should we even count you as dead dad since we never saw your dead body?
I had never met Sajid, never spoken to him and never befriended him on Facebook. I wouldn’t ever have imagined that the tragedy of his loss would make this connection. It took me back to those painful memories, particularly when we heard about dad’s murder. It was word of mouth by Punjab police, and a picture of his blood-covered body. In the picture his face was severed and he was barely identifiable. We never were given his body which the Punjab Police claimed had in only a few hours been cremated.
Time is the great healer! All these years brought about changes that helped divert my and the family’s attention from those dreadful memories. The changes were mesmerizing for every passing moment took us farther away from painful memories. But Sajid’s tragedy drew us back to those memories because agony causes instantaneous change. Change to overcome trauma on the contrary happens over the years.
I was curious to see Sajid’s last post on Facebook. I had a reason! Two days before dad’s murder, he sang a song that spoke of pain, death and sorrows: “Kam yaar sapidt Khaab, wadan aase kune zoun.” I wondered if Sajid was feeling the same or had some death related vision before the tragedy happened. I could access Sajid’s Facebook wall page because no privacy settings let me see it. Scrolling down many tributes that had poured in from his friends only a few hours after the tragedy, I finally found his last wall post: “Daayaem aabaad raheygee duniyaa...hum na hongey koi humsa hoga.” (The world would continue to prosper. If I am not there someone else like me will be there).
I was right. Sajid’s last wall post, just like dad’s last song, spoke of death. Even when our conscious mind is unaware, our subconscious does foretell tragedy.
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