Recently in FAMILIES Category

Governor Bev Perdue has proclaimed January the month of the Period of PURPLE Crying: Keeping Babies Safe in North Carolina. An internationally recognized child abuse expert presented the State of North Carolina with a national award today to honor the largest and most comprehensive evidence-based shaken baby prevention initiative in the country, now referrd to as the Period of PURPLE Crying: Keeping Babies Safe in North Carolina. The initiative is a five-year test of the program that teaches parents and other caregivers that early increased infant crying is normal but that it can become frustrating and lead to shaking. The program also suggests ways to help parents comfort a crying baby and to cope with frustration. Frustration with early infant crying is the primary trigger for shaking.

The creators of the Period of PURPLE Crying program, Dr. Ronald G. Barr, the leading international authority on infant crying and a developmental pediatrician at the University of British Columbia and British Columbia Hospital; and Marilyn Barr, founder and executive director of the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, widely praised the North Carolina team's success in implementing the program statewide. Dr.Barr noted, "North Carolina has the top pediatricians, preeminent pediatric researchers, and some of the best birthing hospitals in the country. The Period of PURPLE Crying program is here because of them." In presenting the award from the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, Marilyn Barr said, "North Carolina's leaders have been at the forefront of infant and child abuse prevention, and significant, innovative public health initiatives, making North Carolina the ideal place to test the program."

To date, more than 5,000 workers at 86 hospitals and birthing centers in North Carolina have been trained to teach parents about The Period of PURPLE Crying. By the end of the study, more than a half-million parents of newborns will have received training about the PURPLE program. Dr. Desmond Runyan, professor of social medicine and pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and principal investigator for the project through the University's Injury Prevention Research Center, accepted the award. "We are humbled and honored to be recognized for our work. There is nothing more important than protecting children and saving lives." He added, "Shaking is more common than people may think. A recent North Carolina baseline survey shows that almost one in 100 parents of children under 2-years of age reported that they or their partner had shaken a child."

At least 50 cases of Shaken Baby Syndrome are diagnosed each year in North Carolina but experts believe that a significantly higher number of additional Shaken Baby Syndrome cases go undiagnosed every year. To help achieve cultural change across North Carolina, PURPLE project leaders announced several key partnerships. Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina and the North Carolina Partnership for Children have formed an alliance with the Period of PURPLE Crying: Keeping Babies Safe in North Carolina. All three organizations have statewide networks and share common goals. Working together, the three can be even more effective in keeping babies safe in North Carolina - and ultimately in saving lives. The Carolina Hurricanes have also joined in support of the Period of PURPLE Crying: Keeping Babies Safe in North Carolina, and will honor the PURPLE project at a Hurricanes hockey game on January 30th.

The initiative will also use extensive public education, including the launch of a media campaign and outreach efforts of a statewide leadership team of local non-profit, service providers and government workers who will serve as "ambassadors" to advance the project's mission and scope. The Period of PURPLE Crying: Keeping Babies Safe in North Carolina is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Duke Endowment. It is also the largest and most comprehensive evidence-based shaken baby prevention initiative in the country. By changing expectations and social norms about infant crying, the program seeks to significantly reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries that occur when frustrated caregivers shake crying babies. For more information visit their website at: www.PURPLEcryingnc.info.

President Barack Obama is expected to announce new security measures after meetings this afternoon with his cabinet, national security team and members of Congress, following the failed Christmas Day bombing attempt. But White House officials say they do not expect prominent officials to lose their jobs over the security breech, nor is the president expected to announce any dramatic reorganization of transportation security.

Mr. Obama had ordered two reviews after the botched attack--on screening for airline passengers and on the U.S. terror watch-list system. The Obama administration said Monday it transferred dozens of names from a broad terrorism database to watch lists that are more closely monitored in an effort to plug security holes revealed by the bombing attempt. President Obama will meet with security advisers today and review criteria for tighter travel restrictions, Washington bureau chief John Bussey reports.

Mr. Obama met Monday with White House counter-terrorism chief John Brennan, National Security Adviser James Jones and Deputy National Security Adviser Tom Donilon ahead of the broader security team meeting today. At that meeting, White House officials said, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller is expected to detail the investigation into how Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was able to allegedly smuggle explosives onto a Northwest Airlines flight, despite warnings about him and numerous signs a terrorism plot was in the works.

Attorney General Eric Holder will detail plans to prosecute Mr. Abdulmutallab in federal court, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will discuss detection capabilities that are being reviewed and bolstered. Mr. Brennan will lay out initial findings of a security review, and more than a half-dozen agency heads, from the Department of Energy to the Central Intelligence Agency, will present their internal reviews as well as changes they are implementing in the wake of the Christmas Day plot. Mr. Obama has attributed the plot to the al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen, which also has claimed credit for sending Mr. Abdulmutallab on his alleged mission.

School was set to start on Tuesday, January 5, for Watauga County Schools, but officials have moved the start date up to Monday, January 4. Ashe and Avery County Schools are still scheduled to start the spring semester on Tuesday

Well, as we get ready to ring in the New Year and celebrate living in the greatest country, let's not forget the efforts of our armed forces serving overseas as we close out this year and bring in a new one. According to the LA Times, this year's tally for U.S. troops killed was 319, compared to 155 in 2008. That tally did not include eight American intelligence officers killed in an audacious insurgent strike Wednesday on their base in eastern Afghanistan. It was the CIA's biggest one-day loss since the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.

Officials say it is due mostly to the crude but ever larger and deadlier roadside bombs built by the Taliban. Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan - American military fatalities in Afghanistan doubled in 2009 compared to the previous year, and U.S. officials and analysts acknowledge that the new year is likely to prove even more lethal. With the planned U.S. troop buildup, coupled with ever-deadlier tactics adopted by the Taliban and other insurgent groups, it is expected to result in at least a temporary spike in deaths and injuries among the nearly 70,000 American troops serving in Afghanistan and the additional 30,000 due to arrive in 2010. U.S. military officials point to an array of interlocking factors behind the insurgency's growing strength and widely perceived momentum. Those include widespread disaffection with the government of President Hamid Karzai, who last month took office for a second term after a fraud-tainted election.

Teen pregnancy rates hit a 30-year low statewide in 2008. Watauga County is the second lowest in the state, which Watauga Healthy Carolinians attributes to the Baby Think it Over curriculum taught to all incoming freshman at the high school. Also, In 1996, Appalachian Regional Healthcare Systems and Watauga Healthy Carolinians introduced the Baby Think it Over program at Watauga High School.

The program is now a part of the curriculum of the required healthful living course for ninth graders. Students are assigned a doll for one weekend during the school year. The dolls are equipped with a computer chip that records the "baby" care each student provides. The doll cries, requires diaper changes and feeding. "The kids come in on Monday and can't wait to give the baby back, and that's the idea," said Bryan Belcher, manager of Watauga Healthy Carolinians.

The community provides programs for teens, such as arts, sports, parks and recreation, religious activities and there is strong parental involvement. All of those factors contribute to low teen pregnancy rates.  

THIS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19TH AT 10:00AM, THE WATAUGA SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT AND THE COVE CREEK FIRE TRUCK WILL LEAD THE TRADITIONAL ANTIQUE CAR PARADE TO THE HISTORIC COVE CREEK HIGH SCHOOL! ARRIVING IN THE PARADE ARE OUR GRAND MARSHALS, MR. AND MRS. ROBERT SHIPLEY, FORMER FACULTY MEMBERS AT COVE CREEK AND DEAR FRIENDS TO OUR COMMUNITY. THE FIELD WILL HAVE MANY SIGHTS AND ACTIVITIES TO ENJOY. CHILDREN CAN HAVE THEIR FACE PAINTED/ HAVE A BALLOON TIED INTO A HAT OR LITTLE DOG, AND LEARN ABOUT OLD TIME FOLK TOYS FROM BILLY JOE WARD! THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WILL BRING THE SMOKEHOUSE TO TEACH LITTLE ONES ABOUT FIRE SAFETY AND THE FFA FROM WATAUGA HIGH SCHOOL WILL BRING INFORMATION AND DISPLAYS TO SHARE. THE FCCLA, ALSO FROM WATAUGA HIGH SCHOOL, WILL HAVE COOKBOOKS, BOTH OLD AND NEW ON SALE. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FROM ASU WILL HAVE ORGANIC PRODUCE AND THE FOLKS FROM THE WESTERN WATAUGA COMMUNITY CENTER WILL HAVE CRAFTS GALORE! LENNIS MOODY WITH "HEALTHY CAROLINIANS" WILL BE ON SITE TO TAKE YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE AND SHARE HEALTHY LIFESTYLE TIPS. APPLE BUTTER, BOY SCOUTS, CRAFTERS, FARM EQUIPMENT, VENDORS AND GOOD EATS WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE. ADMISSION IS A DEAL FOR SURE!  ADULTS ARE $2 AND SENIORS AND CHILDREN ARE ONLY $1. BRING YOURSELF AND YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY FOR A FUN TIME FOR ALL. IT WILL BE HELD RAIN OR SHINE!  FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 828-297-2200.

HIGH COUNTY "FAMILY FEUD" FANS CAN CATCH ONE OF THEIR OWN TONIGHT AS THE BANNER FAMILY CONSISTING OF MITZI BUNTON AND HUSBAND GEORGE, TINA CASNER AND HUSBAND KENNY AND THEIR DAUGHTER KASSIE WILL BATTLE IT OUT ON THE POPULAR TV GAME SHOW. TINA AND MITZI ARE THE DAUGHTERS OF BILL AND DELORES BANNER OF SUGAR GROVE, WHO SERVE AS THE BANNER NAMESAKE. TONIGHT'S SHOW CAN BE FOUND ON W-M-Y-T CHANNEL 12, SHOWN LOCALLY ON CHARTER CABLE CHANNEL L15. SATELLITE VIEWERS CAN FIND THE SHOW ON DIRECTTV CHANNELS 55 OR 928, AND DISH NETWORK 55 OR 8654. THE SHOW WILL AIR AGAIN ON DEC. 10 AND JAN. 28. THE FAMILY AUDITIONED FOR THE SHOW ON MAY 9 ALONG WITH MORE THAN 100 OTHER FAMILIES.

Each year, National Grandparents Day falls on the first Sunday after Labor Day in September. This morning at Mabel Elementary School, grandparents that go above and beyond were honored. As part of the morning celebration, breakfast was served and a gift bag was given.  

Grandparents Raising Children is a program of the High Country Council of Government which provides helpful hints to Grandparents. This program is the leading resource for providing support, education, and advocacy for grandparents and other relatives raising children. A wide range of services are offered to assist grandparents in their efforts to successfully parent the children in their care.

If you are a grandparent raising a child, join with others who share your interest in raising grandchildren. Making a difference in the laws that affect these children will not only help further your cause but also may give you the social and emotional involvement you need to stay energized.

A monthly support group meets at 5:30pm the last Tuesday of each month and includes activities for the children. For more information call Brenda Reece at 828-265-5434.

 

Join others this Saturday for what is called the world's largest potluck dinner. Part of Elk Knob Headwaters Community Day, this event will also include live mountain music, wagon rides, old time games, environmental programs, apple butter making and much more.

 

 

All of this fun for the entire family will be held at Elk Knob State Park at 11 a.m. There is no cost to attend, but organizers ask for everyone to bring a covered dish.

 

 

And to bring people even more together, the ASU Center for Appalachian Studies will be on hand to record oral histories and scan in old photographs for future use in heritage exhibits.

 

 

Elk Knob Headwaters Community is a non-profit organization that promotes the natural and cultural heritage of the communities surrounding the park.

 

                              

Although the outbreak of the H1N1 flu occurred months ago; it continues to be a topic of concern.

 

 

With students back in school and fall vastly approaching, health officials are trying to get the public to become more aware of their surroundings and take precautions.

 

 

Appalachian District Health Department, Jennifer Greene, now is the time to get a flu shot.

 

 

Greene also mentions that although the H1N1 flu will continue to spread, it's important to not panic, and to simply take care of your self.