April 24, 2008

 

And More From the News Desk...

Additional News Stories:

Sportsman's Club helps community to plant trees

by Shalena Janis

 

Prescott Sportsman's Club helped members of the community plant trees for an Arbor Day celebration at Heart, Hands and Mind Friday, April 25.

"Even though the weather is not the greatest, we are still having a great turn out," Jamie Stutz, a member of the club's conservation committee. "Kids are coming out to plant their trees."

The club ordered 30 Colorado Blue Spruces from the National Arbor Day Foundation, said Stutz.

The group took orders from people in the community who wanted to plant a tree along the property line of the day care. There were 30 green pieces of paper indicating a person's name who purchased the tree that would be planted along the south-west property line.

Despite the cold, rainy weather Friday, people trekked to the event from 3 to 7 p.m. to plant and water their trees.

After planting, the container trees came in were converted into bird feeders. Participants could either make one at the event or take the container home to work on themselves.

"We thought this would be a great event for the Sportsman's Club to do," said Stutz. "We hope that it becomes an annual event, but not just a Sportsman's Club thing, but for the entire community to do."


To the top


The truth about tanning

Nearly 2.3 million American teenagers visit tanning salons every year, and with summer right around the corner, the temptation to tan is even greater. But with the increasing rates of skin cancer, recent research has found that the use of sunbeds during a person's teens and twenties is linked to an increase in melanoma risk, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC, a branch of the World Health Organization) conducted a thorough review of all available worldwide data - 19 international studies - and found a strong association between tanning bed use and melanoma risk. Across all age groups, males and females who have ever used tanning beds have a 15 percent higher risk of developing melanoma. More alarming still, based on 7 worldwide studies, people who first use a tanning bed before age 35 increase their risk for melanoma by 75 percent.

"This new research substantiates what we've believed for years about the danger of indoor tanning," said Perry Robins, MD, President of The Skin Cancer Foundation. "It clearly increases the risk of skin cancer, especially in young women, who are the largest group of users."

In addition, this study found that the risk of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is significantly increased in teens after their first use of tanning beds. SCC is the second most common form of skin cancer and accounts for 2,500 deaths a year. Of the three major skin cancers, it is the one that has most clearly been linked to cumulative lifetime ultraviolet exposure. In fact, a 2002 study from Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that people who use tanning beds are 2.5 times more likely to develop SCC than those who don't use tanning beds.

If the threat of melanoma isn't enough to scare teens away from tanning booths, they should know that 90 percent of visible skin changes commonly attributed to aging are really caused by exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Ultraviolet radiation (UV) accelerates the signs of aging, including wrinkles, leathering and fine lines, which can be seen as early as in one's 20's. Yet many young women continue to contribute to the $5 billion dollar tanning industry.

 

The Vitamin D Dilemma

Promoters of sunbeds tout the benefits of tanning as a source for Vitamin D. While it is widely known that Vitamin D can have many health benefits, it is also known that UV radiation is a human carcinogen and does cause skin cancer.

Vitamin D can easily be obtained from oily fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines) and cod liver oil as well as from fortified orange juice and milk (both with 100 IU per 8oz), yogurts, and some cereals such as Kashi, Grape Nuts and Total (100 IU per serving). Finally, supplements are readily obtained and inexpensive.

 

The "Base Tan" Myth

The assumption that a tan offers protection against sunburn is false. A tan generated by ultraviolet light offers, at best, a very low level of protection against sunburn. You first have to damage your skin to get a tan, which obviously defeats the whole "protective" purpose of tanning. A tan is a biological signal by the skin that DNA damage has occurred.

 

Go With Your Own Glow

In addition to the obvious health risks associated with tanning beds, tanning as a lifestyle is over. Fashion and beauty insiders agree that today, it's all about natural beauty.

"Tanning as a life priority is over," says Lois Joy Johnson, fashion and beauty director, MORE magazine. "We all need to pay attention to being healthy and having healthy skin, not changing our skin to another color."

The Skin Cancer Foundation is launching its first nationwide public awareness, "Go With Your Own Glow," to empower people to be comfortable in their own skin and encourage luminous, radiant skin as the new beauty and fashion ideal.

"The goal is to change the way people think about tanning," says Dr. Perry Robins, president of The Skin Cancer Foundation. "Once people stop linking their self esteem to tanned skin, we will really begin making headway in the fight against skin cancer."

 

About The Skin Cancer Foundation

The first organization in the U.S committed to educating the public and medical professionals about sun safety, The Skin Cancer Foundation is still the only global organization solely devoted to the prevention, detection and treatment of skin cancer. The mission of the Foundation is to decrease the incidence of skin cancer through public and professional education and research.

 

For more information, visit www.skincancer.org. You may also contact Erin Mulvey at 212-725-5176 or email emulvey@skincancer.org, and Jamie Sylves at jsylves@skincancer.org.

To the top


Ethanol and plants optimize alternative fuel production

Alternative energy production and use are are becoming a main topic as gasoline and diessel fuel prices increase.

Ethanol-bio-fuel.com developed processes that allow ethanol plants to optimize their production process and results in lower energy costs, higher ethanol yields, higher quality byproducts and lower plant emissions.

Ethanol-bio-fuel.com, a Purchase, NY based consulting firm, provides turn-key design/build development services to the ethanol industry.

Ethanol-bio-fuel.com is focused significantly on research, development and process innovation efforts, resulting in new and better ethanol processing and bio-refining technologies.

Ethanol-bio-fuel.com was formed to develop and commercialize feedstock conversion technologies for bio-fuel producers. The company is applying optimized processes to a variety of second generation cellulosic materials, to create ethanol. By using these low-cost/high-yield feedstock's, bio-fuel producers will be positioned to compete with petroleum fuel producers on the free market. The company's expertise includes both process conversion and plant design/construction.

Ethanol, in general, has a number of advantages over conventional fuels:

· It comes from a renewable resource i.e. crops and not from a finite resource and the crops it derives from can grow well in the USA (like cereals, sugar beet and maize).

· Another benefit over fossil fuels is the greenhouse gas emissions. The road transport network accounts for about 25 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions and through the use of ethanol, some of these emissions will be reduced as the fuel crops absorb the CO2 they emit through growing.

· Blending ethanol with gasoline will help extend the life of the diminishing oil supplies and ensure greater fuel security, avoiding heavy reliance on oil producing nations.

· By encouraging ethanol's use, the rural economy would also receive a boost from growing the necessary crops.

· Ethanol is also biodegradable and far less toxic that fossil fuels.

· In addition, by using ethanol in older engines can help reduce the amount of carbon monoxide produced by the vehicle thus improving air quality.

· Another advantage of ethanol is the ease with which it can be easily integrated into the existing road transport fuel system. In quantities up to 5% ethanol can be blended with conventional fuel without the need of engine modifications.

· Ethanol is produced using familiar methods, such as fermentation,

· It can be distributed using the same gasoline facilities and transportation systems as before.

More details available on: www.ethanol-bio-fuel.com or email: tibi@infosecpro.com

To the top

Freedom Run raises more than $3,000

by Shalena Janis

 

Hundreds of students in fourth through sixth grade from Malone Elementary, the Middle School and St. Joseph's Catholic School participated in the annual Freedom Run Wednesday, April 23.

The event raised money for Freedom Park's newest addition of a butterfly garden. Students donated more than $2,200.

"The money students raised will go toward the completion of the installment of the butterfly garden," said naturalist Sandra Hudson. "It will help for the final phase of getting everything we need for the garden."

Native plants will be placed in the area designated for the garden, which will have a waterless feature to help attract butterflies and insects, said Hudson. A planting day is scheduled for June 7 at the park.

Learning material for educational sessions to be held at the garden also will be purchased with the money donated from the run. The first class will be the week of June 16-20.

"I was thrilled with the level of participation from students," said Hudson. "They did an exceptional job with the fundraiser and their enthusiasm during the run."

The event was organized by Kathy Finley, who is the chairperson of the Freedom Run, said Hudson.

"With her, this event couldn't have been better," she said. "I really want to recognize all the work she did for the Freedom Run; it was really her project."

The even kicked off with students lining up in the entrance of the Freedom Park and Great River Road Learning Center parking lot. Two police cars and a pace car lead the group throughout town, while an ambulance and another police car followed behind.

The route of the run started at Freedom Park and went down to St. Joseph's Cemetery and back down to the park to cross over Highway 35 to Washington Street. Students then ran down Elm Street to Kinnickinnic Street and rounded Court, Orange and back onto Elm streets that circle the Public Square by the Middle School.

The finish line was on Elm Street in front of the Middle School.

The entire route was about two miles. Danny Cobenais and Jack Geiger finished the race first with a time of over 16 minutes. They ran the entire route, staying with the pace car. They locked arms when the crossed the finish line to end the race together, they said.

Along with the hundreds of students running the event for donations, many local businesses contributed as well, such as Great Rivers Printing, Freedom Valu Center, Prescott Insurance, D.J. Amelia's Salon, Croix Insurance, Ptacek's IGA, St. Croix Reality, Jimmy's Pizza, Papa Tronnio's, Prescott Dairy Queen, Prescott Subway, Enrique's and Suntime Travel, LLC.

To the top

Home - The Front Page - News - Letters to the Editor - News From the Past - Legals/For the Record- Classifieds - School News