I’m going to begin with the mistake for the Clean-Up Day for Marcus. It is October 10, not what was printed in the headline. (I looked at my copy that was sent in and it did have the correct date on it. I have no idea how the false date got there! However, I did have a mistake in the write up that you probably got a laugh over—the water “towel” project is finished—that should have read, the water “tower” project is finished! That was my error!
Sunday the Marcus Historic Society had Antique Appraiser, Dale Gorder from American American Pickers in Remsen come and evaluate many interesting items brought in by people who wanted to find out if there was any value to the item.
Then Monday night was a school board meeting in Remsen. It was time for the Boards to get their lawyers, banks, newspapers, Level I and Level II Investigators and 504 Coordinator approved. Jill Alesch, Board Secretary for MMCRU/Human Resources Director/Accounts Payable Coordinator has resigned. She will be missed and personally by me!
It was Homecoming time for MMCRU High School! This year the theme was “Board Games: Game On”. Thursday night (Sept. 22) was Coronation Night. Skits featured “board games”. The Sophomore class had a Monopoly Board complete with a “Jail” off to the side. Dice were thrown moving the football players around the board with South O’Brien players ending up in “Jail”!
The Fall Athletics (cheerleaders, volley ball players, Cross country, and Football players) were introduced by their leaders. The Royalty for 2022 and the Crown bearers were seated on the stage. The last item on the agenda was to announce the King and Queen for 2022. The King was Owen Alesch and the Queen was Jaelyn Kabisch.
The next day (Sept. 23) was the Homecoming Parade. Although the parade was short in time, there were many entries that went by. Both communities had their police, fire trucks, etc. as well as the students for both schools riding on floats. (The R-U school students were bussed over for the parade.) Adults and kids waited alongside the streets for the parade and the kids especially waited for the “candy, etc.” to be thrown as the parade went by!
It was not the warmest out and the Royalty did not wear their formal wear that was worn the night before but rather wore something warmer! (If your entry was not mentioned, it was not intentional. It is hard to take pictures and notes at the same time!)
After the Parade there was a Pep Rally and then later on it was time for the big game that MMCRU lost.
I had forgotten Amber R’s birthday that was Sunday, Sept. 18. I was reminded of it at midnight that day. The next day I called her and she invited us for supper. Steve and I had that Board meeting that night but came afterwards for supper. I had attempted to make her pot holders but found that one was one inch bigger than the other. I told her that I was correcting the problem. (I did take the bigger one apart to match the other, but haven’t got it back together yet. There have been too many interruptions!) I have another sewing project that has to be done by Saturday.
Hopefully next week I will have an article on a woman that has completed 100 quilts since the beginning of COVID. She didn’t let this pandemic stop her from keeping busy!
Congratulations to former MMC graduate, Levi Letsche on his induction into Northwestern College graduates Athletic Hall of Fame. He graduated from MMC in 2013 and teaches math at Sheldon High School as well as being an assistant coach for the Red Raiders’ offensive line. He has since earned a master’s degree in education from Northwestern in 2020.
The funeral of Queen Elizabeth II was on the agenda for last week. Now, son King Charles III has to take over and hopefully can be as successful as his mother was. He does have a shady past that some people will not forget, however, that should have nothing to do about his being able to do what his duties are.
I talked with Tammie Atchison who teaches Middle School at West in Sioux City about the “No cell phones during school!” It wasn’t going to be trouble with the Middle School students as many didn’t have any but the High School, right from the beginning of the rules, had protested and many had already had more than one violation because of misuse. They claim they have to check for the next class as to why they have to have their phone.
I see where Cherokee school is considering a policy change that would allow staff to carry weapons on school grounds. There are supposed to be 40 that have expressed interest in carrying a gun. It will be interesting to see what the Board says in their October meeting.
A recent article has an item on childhood obesity as a growing problem in our country where one in five kids struggle with this. It stems from poor eating and lack of exercise. U.S. health officials are concerned that these kids are in for future health problems like premature death.
September marks National Childhood Obesity Month and our country is still having problems with this due to the kids that overate during the time they were isolated due to the pandemic. Recent data shows that about 19.7% of adolescents aged 2-19 in the years 2017-2021 were classified as “obese”. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conclude that about 14.7 million children throughout the nation suffered from obesity during that time period.
Children in grades 9-12 struggle with this problem that has been on-going for many years for them. Childhood obesity was most prevalent in Mississippi, where 23.4 of children in grades 9-12 were categorized as obese.
Obesity is linked to a number of serious health concerns, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, chronic breathing problems, joint problems and heart disease—the current number one killer in the country.
Several factors contribute to childhood obesity, including genetics and behavior. Medical experts agree that a lack of access to nutritious food in certain areas of the country and an intense stigma surrounding being overweight are making matters even worse.
Solutions are needed in both the home and at the government level that are not easily reached. As a society, we need to support people and families to be able to live lives that prioritize health. First Lady Michelle Obama was the one that launched the “Let’s Move”! campaign in 2010 with a goal to end childhood obesity. Not everyone was happy with the foods offered in school lunches as well as trying to make home meals more healthy.
Health providers say one of the biggest obstacles in preventing obesity is the lack of access to affordable, healthy food options. This problem affects minority communities. Many schools stress “water” instead of soda and an apple instead of chips, but the biggest challenge remains eating healthy foods at home. Many families don’t know how to make enjoyable and healthy food or aren’t able to spend more money to do so.
Marcus has a Food Pantry open to residents in the MMC communities. Food can be gotten with no cost to those coming for it. Meals can be made for a little of nothing if gotten from here. However, because probably both adults in the household work, there isn’t time to make the meal that could take some time. Back packs (with healthy food items) are sent home over the weekend with many students from MMC to take up the slack until meal time.
Not many adults want to be told that they have a health problem because of “weighing too much”, and it is the same with children. It doesn’t take long for others to tell them they are “too fat”! It is not a nice statement and many of those become depressed when told this. The solution is for everyone to TRY to do better with meals and exercise. (Put down the phone/game and do something called, “Exercise”. Try it and you might like it!”)
Remember in your thoughts and prayers those who have lost loved ones to death and have had their lives changed, have health problems with some being terminal, are struggling to make ends meet even if they have a job, encourage those to find a job, and be with those who are still trying to shorten the distance between friends/family with a bridge instead of a wall.
I will leave you with this quote from Edward Teller (1908-2003), “The science of today is the technology of tomorrow.”