White House not happy with school lunch ads starring Obama girls

There were 14 ad banners at Washington D.C.’s Union Station on August 4 that the White House wanted to disappear. A young girl is featured asking, “President Obama’s daughters get healthy school lunches. Why don’t I?”

The White House may want the ads gone but they are within the right of free speech. While the administration has said that using the daughters of President Obama infringes on their private life, the ads only ask a legitimate question. ABC Blogs reports:

“We’ve been very clear I think from even before the administration started that their two girls would have a very private life, and we want to protect that private life and their privacy,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said this morning when asked about the PCRM posters. “And we hope that others will be respectful, as many in the media have been, about not using the girls as a publicity stunt.”

No one though is speaking on behalf of the eight-year-old Jasmine Messiah of Miami-Dade who is featured in the ad asking a very real question of the government. Why do some children reap the benefits that all children deserve? The ads are from the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) who are lobbying for healthy lunch programs within the nation’s school systems. CBS Blogs reports:

“The contrast is not with the daughters,” Dr. Neal Barnard says of the controversial poster, pointing out that Sasha and Malia’s names and pictures are not in the ad. “The contrast is with the school the president’s daughters are able to patronize. Sidwell Friends is able to offer health nutritious meal options.” Veggie burgers are offered alongside hamburgers, vegetarian chili is served next to meat chili with higher cholesterol, he says. “Go a mile away to any school in the district” and what options are there to a bologna-and-cheese sandwich? he asks. “What’s left? Nothing. Nothing at all.”

Little Jasmine brings her own lunch to school by the way in order to have fruits and vegetables. MSNBC quotes the young girl:

“Sometimes I bring in broccoli and carrots and my friends are like, ‘Ewww, this is disgusting,’ ” she told The Miami Herald. “But I think if they tried it more, they’d like it.”

Jasmine is wise. The United States is dealing with a nation of children that have unhealthy diets. At this point one in three will deal at some point in their lives with diabetes. Changing the diets of children in the school could lead to a healthier nation. The campaign by PCRM points out the fact that the average school is pushed to serve high-fat, high-cholesterol foods. This is in spite of the knowledge that a low fat, vegetarian diet helps prevent obesity, heart disease and diabetes. The federal child nutrition legislation does not have provisions in place to support vegetarian meals in schools. News 8 reports that the ads will remain in place at Union Station until August 31.

Zinc pill can stop childhood diarrhea deaths

One pill can save a child in Africa suffering from diarrhea. The hand of death takes 1.6 million children under the age of 5 world-wide from the ravages of the bowel condition according to the World Health Organization.

In Africa and Asia millions die each year from the affects of diarrhea. That seems a high figure to those in those in the West. More children die from the disease than from malaria or AIDS. That could end if children are given a single Zinc pill. It appears the medication stops diarrhea in its tracks. That appears to be the findings in many studies, including one done in New Delhi, India. With charity support some villages are seeing a turn around because of the pills. Bill and Melinda Gate’s charity work along with the Idol Gives Back program are just two that are helping supply village medical clinics with zinc pills. Time reports:

“Before, we were terrified when children’s stomachs began running, because we knew some of them would die,” says Sata Djialla in the Malian village of Morola. “Now our children are not dying of diarrhea.”

The reason the pill works is because many in undeveloped nations have zinc deficiencies. Zinc deficiency lowers the immune system making children and adults more susceptible to infections that cause diarrhea. Zinc has also been shown to increase the activation of T cells that destroy viruses and bacteria. With this new awareness it is possible that childhood deaths may decrease in the near future.

Ontario Living Pink Balloon Event is Slated for September 5

On September 5 The Living Pink Balloon Event will take place at Alderville First Nation Ball Diamond. The goal is 500 people wearing pink t-shirts forming a giant pink balloon in order to give Sick Kid’s Foundation $10,000 for brain research.

The Living Pink Balloon comes from two families dealing with the effects of brain disorders and their want to give back to Sick Children’s Hospital. Last September Hollie Gray, 10, was found unresponsive at her home. Her parents called for help and paramedics quickly took the little girl to the hospital. On route to Northumberland Hills Hospital Hollie’s heart stopped. Hollie was revived. At the hospital a mass was found on her brain. That discovery lead to a quick transfer to Sick Children’s Hospital in Toronto where her parents were told that their little girl was brain dead. The parents were approached by Trillium Gift of Life to discuss organ donation. Hollie’s parents decided that her spirit had to live on in others. Tanya Gray told Digital Journal that the day before her daughter Hollie died from a brain aneurysm she was joking and laughing while watching television with her family. “She had a mild headache the day before. I thought maybe she had the flu. Hollie was such a go-getter kid. She went to bed and just never woke up.” Brenna was diagnosed with craniopharyngioma or pituitary tumor in 2008. She had early symptoms that were unexplained until she had a CT scan after a third seizure. The little girl was taken to Sick Children’s Hospital in Toronto. There she received treatment and is living a near normal life today. The families are asking people to purchase a pink t-shirt by August 20 from The Scissors Edge (1-905-352-2211) and Our House Snack ‘n’ Go in Alderville and at Herbal Magic in Cobourg, Ontario that will be on hand at Sick Kids on September 5 at the hospital. The goal is that 500 people in the t-shirts will help to form a human pink balloon to show recognition for the staff at the hospital. All proceeds will go to brain and behaviour research. Daryl Crowe says, “We understand that there are many causes and people are stretched thin but Sick Kids has touched everyone in some way. So please come out and help us give back.” On September 5 The Living Pink Balloon is hoping to gather 500 people in one place as a symbol of solidarity of support for Sick Kids Foundation wearing pink t-shirts. One giant pink balloon. The September 5 event will feature prizes, BBQ and Pony Rides. The cost is $25.00 a person which includes a Living Pink Balloon T-shirt. The shirts will be available for pick-up at the event. Please reserve your spot by August 20. Tanya Gray is encouraging companies to have teams register along with individuals. All proceeds from the event will go to Sick Kids Foundation.

Beads of Courage Help Cancer Kids Take the Next Step

Beads of Courage is an organization that helps children with cancer go the next step. Each bead has a special meaning, from trips to the cancer clinic to radiation treatments.

Beads of Courage is a special program for children facing a hard struggle-cancer. The is out of Tucson, Arizona and implemented in supportive care programs in various children’s hospitals in the United States. When a child is enrolled in the program they are given a membership card and a bead guide. They also receive a length of string and beads that spell their name. As they journey on through their treatments they receive a bead by their health care provider to add onto their string. Kids work for the Purple Heart bead. It means the end is here and they have finished their treatments. Their strings tell the story of their cancer treatment journey. Merry August is one of those children on that journey. She had 256 beads as of July 22, 2009. The fourteen-year-old has been ill since March 5 with acute lymphoblastic/lymphocystic leukemia. As she completes treatments at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia she gets a new bead. There are various ways to become involved in the program. Donations can be made directly on the Beads of Courage website. You can also buy beads on eBay, all proceeds go to the program.

Philly swim club may see a racial discrimination lawsuit soon

Valley Club in Huntingdon Valley is accused of refusing to allow black children from a day camp to swim. The children allegedly heard members of the club make racial comments about them while they were at the pool.
The parents and staff from Creative Steps Inc. are considering legal action directed at the Valley Club.

There are 65 campers that are part of the Creative Steps day camp. The children are African American and Hispanic.

On June 29 the campers arrived at the private swim club around 3:30 p.m. on a first visit. The camp had made arrangements for the children to swim at the club on Mondays through August 10.

Three campers came up to Alethea Wright, the executive director, on that first visit saying that they had heard members of the swim club asking what African Americans were doing at their club.

NBC Philadelphia reports:

“When the minority children got in the pool all of the Caucasian children immediately exited the pool,” Horace Gibson, parent of a day camp child, wrote in an email. “The pool attendants came and told the black children that they did not allow minorities in the club and needed the children to leave immediately.”

The children were upset but they remained at the pool for the time that had been scheduled. Wright approached the club president John Duesler about the event and he seemed to be sorry for the incident.

On Friday July 3 the camp received a refund for the $1,950 they had paid in membership fees to the swim club. The children no longer were allowed access on Mondays.

There was no reason given for the refund.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on a statement given from Duesler:

“There was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion . . . and the atmosphere of the club.”

The pool that the camp had previously used, New Frankford Community Y closed last month because of a lack of funds.

The camp is a 20-minute drive away from the swim club.

Campers also use the indoor door at the Jewish Community Center in Philadelphia twice a week but had wanted the children to also have time at an outdoor pool.

Tara McDonald wants daugther’s killers to die

Tara McDonald, mother of the 8-year-old Tori Stafford who went missing, is speaking out about the arrests of two people in connection to her daughter’s abduction and murder. She says the police were too focused on her and not enough on the real culprits.

In an interview with The London Free Press newspaper, McDonald said, “My daughter’s not coming home. I want the killers dead. I know there are sick and twisted people in the world but I had no idea. I don’t want to sound selfish and I wish this on no one, but I sometimes think, why did it have to be my daughter?

“To think someone took my daughter and then … I can’t even think about it,” she said.

McDonald is angry about the treatment she says she and her son, 11, received from the police. At one point in the investigation, she said she was informed she was the prime suspect. She states that Daryn, her son, was interviewed without a parent or family member present.

McDonald’s ‘cool’ behaviour during the ordeal leading up to the arrests this week had critics pointing fingers at her. Local media and police questioned if the mother was the one behind Tori’s disappearance.

She faced the news cameras dry eyed, begging for her daughter’s return. The public wanted to see her tears. She fought them off until behind closed doors.

As she hoped for the safe return of her daughter, McDonald had to battle the public about everything from looking like the police composite to being in a biker gang. Both of those were false.

She also recently admitted she’s using methadone to fight her addiction to Oxycontin.

The Edmonton Sun reports:

“People have asked many times, ‘Why aren’t you crying, why aren’t you showing emotion?’ ” she said to counter the oft-mentioned criticism. “I don’t do it out here. I do it in there with my friends and family, with people who can console me.”

McDonald said she knew the mother of Terry-Lynne McClintic, 18, because of dog breeding. She had visited Carol McClintic at her home three times to discuss the subject. McDonald said she was high on drugs the one time that Terry-Lynne was in the apartment.

After two people were arrested in connection with young Tori’s disappearance, questions are now emerging about two previous attempted abductions in the Fergus, ON area. The two people arrested in connection with Tori’s disappearance were found in this area.

School children in Fergus were sent home with a note warning parents about a dark-coloured van after the two attempts.

Girl,5, shot in latest Toronto gun violence

Yesterday a little five-year-old girl in Toronto became the latest victim of gun violence. A gunman sprayed bullets on Bellevue Crescent with at least one traveling through the girl’s door and into her back exiting out of her chest.

The little girl was playing inside her family’s townhouse near near Lawrence and Weston Rd. when one man fired at a group of people sitting on an apartment patio early Thursday evening.

The child was rushed to Humber Regional Hospital by her parents. She was then transported by ambulance to Toronto’s Sick Children’s Hospital. Doctors have removed the bullet that struck her lung. She is now listed in stable condition at the children’s hospital.

Her pregnant mother, Sharlene Reynolds was escorted to Sick Kids Hospital by the police after 9:45 p.m. last night.

The police are looking for witnesses to the attack. They believe that two others were wounded in the attack and ask for those victims to come forward.

One person has been taken into custody as a person of interest. Police are looking for the gunman. Two firearms were used in the attack.

CBC reports:

“We’re going to leave no stone unturned until we find who has done this,” said Staff Sgt. Karen Smythe. “This is horrific.”

Constable Wendy Drummond of the Toronto Police told Digital Journal that the person of interest was released last night. At this time there have been no arrests or additional victims.

The area is becoming known for violence. Saron Ghebressellassie, 22, is quoted about the neighbourhood by the National Post:

“For every woman who has to walk home at night, it’s disgusting, an utter catastrophe. I fear for my life.

“It’s absolutely gut-wrenching to hear that it was a child. It’s become a social norm to come home and have, like, 10 police cruisers outside. I’m shaking right now. There’s a crisis in the neighbourhood. That could have been my brother and my sister. It’s devastating.”

In recent months there have been nine murders and many incidents where gunfire was involved. Neighbours blame gang wars for the gun violence, pleading for the police to end the blood being spilled.

Suzanne Gold, spokesperson from Sick Kids told Digital Journal that at this time they are unable to release any information about the little girl’s status.

The Amber Alert Is Not Used For All Missing Children

Why wasn’t Tori Stafford featured as an Amber Alert? While the police were searching as hard for the young girl she was not part of the Amber Alert system.

On April 11 Const. Laurie-Anne Maitland of the Oxford Community Police explained to Canada.com the reasoning behind Tori not being part of the Amber Alert notification system:

“There have been a lot of questions about the Amber Alert and why it wasn’t issued,” Maitland said Saturday. “At the time of the call coming in, we didn’t have what was required for an Amber Alert – not even close.

“At the time, we did not have a confirmed abduction . . . we did not have (information indicating) serious bodily harm or death and we have to have descriptive information of the child and the abductor and any vehicle.”

“When the criteria is not met, (the Amber Alert) is not done. It’s no less of an alert because it’s not called an Amber Alert. That’s one of the things that’s been difficult for a lot of people to understand – they have this belief that there’s something we could be doing that we’re not, when that’s not true.”

At a news conference today the police still are insisting that the criteria was not met for Tori.

While police were looking for a woman that Tori went home from school with on the day of her disappearance it was not thought she was abducted. Instead the police considered this a criminal investigation from the very beginning.

The Amber Alert stands for “America’s Missing: Broadcasting Emergency Response.” It was named for Amber Hagerman who was murdered in Arlington, Texas in 1996 at the age of nine. The program is in the United States and Canada.

AMBER Alerts are distributed via commercial radio stations, satellite radio, television stations, and cable TV by the Emergency Alert System (where they are termed “Child Abduction Emergency” or “Amber Alerts”), as well as via e-mail, electronic traffic-condition signs, the LED billboards which are located outside of newer Walgreens locations, along with the LED/LCD signs of billboard companies such as Clear Channel Outdoor, CBS Outdoor and Lamar, and wireless device SMS text messages.

The criteria for a child being placed in the system is:

1. Law enforcement must confirm that an abduction has taken place
2. The child must be at risk of serious injury or death
3. There must be sufficient descriptive information of child, captor, or captor’s vehicle to issue an alert
4. The child must be 17 years old or younger

Not all police departments use the second criteria when placing an Amber Alert resulting in many Amber Alerts focusing on parental abductions where it is not thought that the child is in risk of serious injury.

The only difference between Canada and the United States is who is notified. (RCMP instead of the FBI)

The sad truth about the children on the Amber Alert program is that there are many more sad outcomes than positive ones. Still the alert can at times save young lives.

Arrests made in missing Tori Stafford case (updated)

There have been two arrests in the case of the missing girl, Tori Stafford. The 8-year-old Tori has been missing from Woodstock, Ontario since April 8.

Tori’s father, Rodney Stafford said he and his wife were informed by police about the Tuesday night arrests.

The Canadian Press reports:

“Tara and I were both given a phone call last night and made aware that two arrests have been made,” Stafford told media. We’re not sure where from, who they are and they (police) didn’t give details on Victoria or anything like that.”

Tori was last seen April 8 leaving school with a woman wearing a puffy white coat. There have been extensive searches in the area of her home that have failed to produce any evidence of the child.

A private investigator has offered to help find the girl free of charge, saying that returning the child would be all the reward he needs.

The police gave a news conference Wednesday afternoon and the family was informed of Tori’s death last night. During the press conference, police revealed the following information:

The court date is May 28 and suspects were arrested yesterday. Police have arrested two natives of Woodstock, Ontario. Michael Thomas C.S. Rafferty, 28, and Terri-Lynne McClintic, 18, were arrested. Both are charged with abduction and Rafferty is charged with first-degree murder. McClintic is also charged with knowingly aiding and enabling Rafferty. The woman’s charges could be updated and she is being charged with crimes after the fact.

Police have yet to find Victoria and are still looking for the child’s body.

Police are not saying much more about the case, as they’re now working to give the Crown attorney a case for court. When Tori is found, the media will be notified.

Questions about how and when she died can not be answered at this time, and police are not commenting on the location at which they are currently searching for Tori’s body. Police suggest sexual assault may be also been a factor in this case.

Tori’s disappearance did not meet the criteria of the Amber Alert program, and police are not commenting on motive. They say, however, they are not anticipating any other arrests at this time.

One piece of evidence brought the police to where they are in their investigation, but that item was not identified.

Toronto Program Helps Poor Students With Educational Obstacles

The Models Schools for Inner Cities program has helped bridge community and several elementary schools in Toronto. The program is a grassroots effort to even the playing field in some of the city’s poorer areas.

The grassroots program, Inner City Advisory Committee (ICAC), has helped children with not only educational goals but by providing some basic health needs. Children in the schools that are in the program last year had vision and hearing tests for their students. The results were profound. Some of the children could not see the blackboard, some could not hear their teachers. The program not only tested but then helped parents obtain corrective surgeries, glasses and hearing aids for their children. The program is funded through The Sprott Asset Management Gift of Sight and Sound program in partnership with the Toronto Foundation for Student Success, Wal-Mart Canada and The Canadian Hearing Society. this program will carry over to 50 inner city schools again in September.

The program has shown that it works but it also faces an uphill battle as funding can be hard to obtain. It is asking for $8.5 million to be dedicated in the TDSB budget to maintain the Model Schools for Inner Cities program, $1.0 million be added to the MSIC budget to allow the support of up to 24 model middle schools and $2.5 million be added to expand the program to serve up to 30 secondary schools.

Seven schools in Toronto’s inner city are model schools, Firgrove, Nelson Mandela Park PS, Willow Park, Forest Manor, George Webster, Kingsview Village Jr. and Bala Avenue Community School. These schools all have one common thread, students who live in poverty attend.

As the Toronto School Board site states:

“This is our collective effort as communities, as a Board and as individuals to level the playing field for all our children,” said Sheila Cary-Meagher, TDSB Trustee for Ward 16 and Chair of the Model Schools for Inner Cities Task Force. “By working together with students, families, schools and the community, we can make a real difference in the lives of our children in poverty.”

The program started in November 2006 providing stability and a safe haven for the students. By developing partnerships with higher education institutions the education of the students have been able to provide support for the students. Every teacher has a teacher candidate from York University at one of the schools. One of the programs is a Saturday arts program with art and music.

Children are given snacks and lunches helping families even more.

Parent Michael Corniffe whose daughter attends Forest Manor feels his involvement is important. “Getting involved in this type of program is fantastic. It’s really beneficial to the kids in the school and in the community. The school is very dedicated to its parents.”

The program is not just for the students but their parents as well. There are monthly parent workshops. This month the program explores School Profiles and Principal/VP role in parent engagement at the school level.

One school in the program is George Webster ES. Principle Nancy Steinhauer discussed the benefits of being a model school: “The program has definitely helped my school. We have parental involvement and more community agencies now as a result of the program. Today some of the student are in fact out with community support workers getting glasses as part of the vision testing.”

The funding that the program provides really does level the playing field for Steinhauer’s students. The classes have all had opportunities to go on three field trips this year that are relevant to their curriculum. In a school that has a high poverty population getting funding for these types of events is rare. Fund raisers can only bring in what the community can afford, without the funding from the school board for Model Schools the children would not be getting as many of these precious memories.

The children are feeling safer in their school in just two years. 71 per cent of the students have said that they like going to school compared to 61% before the program. School spirit is at 80% now.

Parents have the resource of after school programs for their children at George Webster. 51% of the children no longer go straight home from school now, instead they are involved in safe and educational after school programing that doesn’t end until 6:15 p.m. each evening. In an area where there isn’t a close community center that’s a godsend.

This summer the children of the school will have a preschool program. By teaching skills earlier the kids will be able to thrive when they enter school. That fits in with the school’s goals of being a heart of the community. Steinhauer wants her parents to feel safe and welcome at her school.

Academically it’s early in the stages as to how much of an improvement there has been. The testing though is showing some very positive results. Before the program reading tests showed students below grade level. That has changed — this year the kids were on grade level or above at the start of the year.

Perhaps the most positive sign though is the lack of school suspensions this year. Not one children has had to be disciplined in that way.

Parents also are more involved with their children’s education at George Webster. Whether it is reading to their children from books in their first language or attending parent meetings the involvement has increased.

Last week Digital Journal talked with Cassie Bell, Inner City Project Coordinator. At that time she stressed how important the funding is for this program. Each year ICAC has to fight hard for the next year’s funding budget. The program has to as Ms. Bell says “rob Peter to pay Paul.”

“At what part do we stop yakking and get to work.”

It’s a positive program that is working for the schools involved. Hopefully funding will continue and the program will grow. Each school in Toronto deserves to be a model school, each student deserves the very best education that the community can provide.

A video of the program is located here.