- Written by Jennifer King
- Category: Media Releases
Holly Springs (GA) – Some came to run, others to walk. Many arrived to cheer. But it was clear that everyone involved in the Kick Butts 5K in Holly Springs, Georgia last Saturday was there to win the race against tobacco-related illness.
Presented by the Cherokee Youth Council and supported by Cherokee Focus and the North Georgia Health District, the Kick Butts 5K was a first-time Black Bag Race Series event that started at Holly Springs Elementary School and doubled back to the finish line at nearby Barrett Park.
Of those who competed in the race, all top three winners were from Canton.
Meredith Vance was the first place winner at twenty-five minutes and fifty-nine seconds. Kristina Meyer came in second, and in third place was Dane Viker.
Ryan Schmidt of Kennesaw placed fourth. Mindie Felcher from Marietta came in fifth, and Nate Hayward of Canton was the sixth place winner.
For fourth-place winner, Schmidt, this race was so much more than a competition.
“When growing up, I had a friend at eight years old whose mom died from lung cancer – she was only 31,” said Schmidt, now age 25. “More personally, I had two grandparents die from lung cancer and another from emphysema. So, yes, I take the fight against tobacco very seriously.”
Schmidt said other family members smoke and are starting to experience the negative effects of a lifelong addiction to tobacco. “If I can help just one person quit smoking, then I want to do it,” he said.
Anna Lee Stone, a senior at Cherokee High School in Canton and member of the Cherokee Youth Council, also lost grandparents to tobacco-related diseases, so she was motivated to make the fight against tobacco the focus of her senior project.
“Tobacco affects everybody, including kids,” Stone said. “If kids can start learning at a young age how it affects them, then chances are much greater they will never pick up that first cigarette or try using tobacco in any form.”
- Hits: 3319
- Written by Jennifer King
- Category: Media Releases
Prepare your child for the upcoming school year!
The Cherokee County Health Department will conduct a Back-to-School Health Clinic on Tuesday, April 28, 2015 from 2 to 6 p.m. at public health department locations in both Canton and Woodstock.
The required Hearing, Dental, Vision and BMI/Nutrition Screenings will be available: Total cost for screenings is forty dollars. Also, immunizations will be provided for school-age children (there is a charge for vaccines). Medicaid and some other forms of insurance are accepted.
The health department location in Canton is 1219 Univeter Road, and the Woodstock health department address is 7545 North Main Street.
For more information, please call (770) 345-7371 in Canton or (770) 928-0133 in Woodstock.
- Hits: 3241
- Written by Jennifer King
- Category: Media Releases
Largest audience, ever!
Dalton (GA) – From coping with breastfeeding controversies to understanding why babies refuse to "latch", attendees of The Ultimate Breastfeeding Conference held in Dalton on Wednesday gained new perspectives on how to help mothers and babies succeed with breastfeeding.
The breastfeeding conference, presented by the Northwest Georgia Breastfeeding Coalition at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center, celebrated ten years as an annual event. With an audience of over 420 participants, including medical professionals, lactation specialists, nutritionists, WIC staff and others who work with breastfeeding mothers, this year’s conference was the largest, thus far.
The featured speaker at the conference was Jack Newman, M.D., a pediatrician and author of several widely-acclaimed breastfeeding publications.1 Newman currently heads the Newman Breastfeeding Clinic of the International Breastfeeding Centre based at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in Toronto.2
“Breastfeeding is more than breast milk,” said Newman. “Breastfeeding not only gives the baby breast milk, but it is also a relationship – a close, intimate relationship between two people who are in love with each other.”
At the conference, Newman explained that infant formula is not equal to breast milk, and is, in fact, inferior. He also provided fresh insight on topics such as techniques that increase milk supply and solutions for those times when a baby may not want to take to the breast.
- Hits: 3202
