February 24, 2011
District to measure students’ BMI By TARA STUBBS-FIGURSKI ThisWeek Community Newspapers Bexley City Schools District officials will begin collecting student body mass index (BMI) — a measure of body fat based on height and weight — in the fall. Ohio law requires school districts to assess body mass index beginning this year, Bexley Superintendent Mike Johnson said. The requirement is part of the “Healthy Choices for Healthy Children”
bill intended to decrease and prevent childhood obesity in Ohio schools. State law requires districts to report an average for each grade level. Anne Hyland, director of curriculum and instruction for Bexley City Schools, said the state is requiring students to be assessed in kindergarten, third, fifth and ninth grade. Hyland said the district already has some initiatives in place that will make gathering the information a little easier.
“We are trying to do this in a way that is not disruptive to the classroom and children,” Hyland said. “It needs to be information that is collected in relative privacy.” Kindergartners already participate in an assessment in the fall where they receive vision and hearing assessments. Height and weight data will be collected at the same time, Hyland said. Students in third and fifth grades also have hearing and vision screenings in
the fall, Hyland said. The BMI data can be collected at that time. To go along with the assessments, district officials plan to incorporate some information about body mass index into the health curriculum. “We don’t want students making incorrect judgments about the information,” Hyland said. “We are worried students might think they are too heavy. All these children are growing. They are supposed to get stronger and taller.”
By TARA STUBBS-FIGURSKI ThisWeek Community Newspapers Rokki Bonner and Korkeya Toney hope their new Bexley fitness facility will be a change of pace from the big-box fitness facilities that are common in the industry. Bonner and Toney held a grand opening for Fitness Navigators located at 2803 Delmar Avenue on Feb. 20. Both have Bexley-area ties. Toney is a Bexley resident and Bonner is a Berwick resident. The name Fitness Navigators was important because the two plan to help their members navigate fitness information and training. Toney said Fitness Navigators wants to help people meet fitness goals. “There is a lot of misinformation and disinformation out there,” Bonner said. “People are buying into things that don’t work.” Bonner has been working in the fitness industry in Bexley for seven years and offers a fitness boot camp she started at the Jewish Community Center. Toney worked for large-scale fitness facilities and said he has seen firsthand the mistakes that are made. “I want to take my business ideas of what we should be doing in the fitness industry and put it in place in my own (business),” he said. Bonner hoped to own her own facility within the next year but special circumstances allowed her to partner with Toney and resulted in a quick opening of Fitness Navigators. “I love my clients,” she said. “I love the community. There is not a mass market niche here in Bexley.” The two hope to give back to the community as well. Bonner is involved with an organization that raises money to help fight childhood obesity. Toney would like to start an organization called “No Obesity for Bexley.” “We know from research that obesity is an epidemic in our society,” Toney said. “Kids who are 10 years old are developing type 2 Diabetes.” Fitness classes will be another important component of Fitness Navigators. Cardio Dance by Rachel Hillman and hip-hop fitness, taught by Mike Nicholson, both of whom have Bexley ties, will also be a feature of the facility.
By JEFF DONAHUE ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Photos by Tim Norman/ThisWeek
(Above) Fitness Navigators co-owner Korkeya Toney (far left) talks with Kevin and Gini Ryan and their 1-year-old daughter, Madeleine, while coowner Rokki Bonner (far right) visits with Zahi Bendavid during an open house Feb. 20. (Left) Artie and Christine Taylor play with their 5-year-old son, A.J., in the massage room at the open house.
See FITNESS CENTER, page A2
Work begins on Main-Gould gateway project Work has begun on a new gateway entrance to Bexley at Main and Gould streets. The Bexley Tree and Public Gardens Commission is nearing completion of a 10-year project to enhance the community’s gateway entrances.
See STUDENTS’ BMI, page A3
Estate-tax repeal supporters hold rally at Statehouse
New fitness center opens in Bexley
By TARA STUBBS-FIGURSKI ThisWeek Community Newspapers
District officials hope to add the information into the curriculum for the current school year. Hyland said students learn about ecosystems in science class and how plants and animals need certain things to grow. The BMI discussion would easily fit in, she said. Hyland said the state of Ohio provided school districts a letter with a BMI chart. District officials will make
The commission received a $7,500 grant from the Columbus Foundation’s Joseph A. Jeffrey Fund for new pillars at Main and Gould streets. “The Jeffrey endowment fund has been very gracious to us over the years,” said commission member Susan Quintenz. “We are very excited.” The commission also received Columbus Foundation grants for improving lighting and adding
DIRECTORY
trees on Drexel Circle and another $7,500 grant for the gateway at Livingston and College avenues, she said. Creating the Main-Gould gateway is a threephase project. The first phase was installation of the pillars. The second phase includes upgrad-
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See ESTATE-TAX REPEAL, page A2
Annual Bravo! fundraiser set for Feb. 26 The Bexley Education Foundation’s annual Bravo! fundraiser is slated for 7 to 11 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 26 at the DSW headquarters, 810 DSW Drive. The theme for this year’s event is also the foundation’s new slogan: “What’s Possible.” Proceeds from the community celebration benefit the programs of the Bexley Education Foundation. The event will feature a silent auction and food from 20 area restaurants. The silent auction will include trips to North See BRAVO! FUNDRAISER, page A3
See GATEWAY PROJECT, page A2
Bonnie is up for adoption at All Tails ‘R’ Waggin in Pataskala. Her brother recently found a home but she is still waiting. To see a video of Bonnie, visit www.ThisWeekNews. com. For more information on adopting Bonnie, visit alltails.com or call (740) 927-0555.
News: (740) 888-6100 editorial@thisweeknews.com
Supporters of House Bill 3, pending legislation that would repeal Ohio’s estate tax, gathered Feb. 16 for a rally at the Ohio Statehouse. If the existing “death tax” is repealed it will allow small business owners, farmers and homeowners to pass on their assets to their heirs without being taxed twice on their life’s savings. Supporters of House Bill 3 say the legislation will also make Ohio more competitive for entrepreneurial growth and investment. The Feb. 16 press conference was attended by members of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and Citizens United to End Ohio’s Estate Tax. Assistant House Majority Whip Cheryl Grossman (R-Grove City) and Rep. Jay Hottinger (RNewark), co-sponsors of House Bill 3, said the legislation is needed to making Ohio’s tax climate a national competitor for jobs, businesses and people. “Ohio is one of only 17 states that currently impose a death tax on its citizens,” Grossman said. “As a result, we’ve experienced a flood of overtaxed business owners and people leaving our borders and moving into other states that welcome
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