The Valley Times - June 20, 2018

Edinburg CISD Honors Edinburg Rotary With State Community Award

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VOL. I, NO. 48

Inside

RURAL AREAS STRUGGLES WITH OBESITY EPIDEMIC

5 ESSENTIAL NUTRIENTS YOUR TODDLER MAY NOT BE GETTING ENOUGH OF

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Grainger Donates $6K In Tools To South Texas College Students

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Lucha Libre Makes A Stop At MOSTHistory

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Schools, Elected Officials Struggle With How To Deal With Gun Violence

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Trump Deserves More Latitude And Less Attitude On North Korea

BY MARC A. THIESSEN WASHINGTON -- Well, that didn’t take long. President Trump had barely departed Singapore when Democrats in Washington unleashed scathing attacks over his meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. “What the United States has gained is vague and unverifiable at best. What North Korea has gained, however, is tangible and lasting,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., fumed. “In his haste to reach an agreement, President Trump elevated North Korea to the level of the United States while preserving the regime’s status quo,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., protested.

Please. Where were these complaints when President Barack Obama was enjoying peanuts and Cracker Jack with Raul Castro at a Havana ballpark? And a few months ago, Schumer was decrying Trump’s “reckless” military threats and Pelosi was complaining about his “saber-rattling.” Now, suddenly, Trump’s gone from warmonger to the second coming of Neville Chamberlain?

The criticism is premature and overwrought. Trump made no real concessions in Singapore. He did not lift sanctions, unfreeze North Korean assets or send secret planes loaded with hard currency to Pyongyang. He did not sign an agreement ending the Korean War or offer Pyongyang diplomatic recognition.

All the president did was, as a goodwill gesture, suspend military exercises with South Korea -- a decision he can easily reverse. And the fact that the statement the two leaders signed referred only to “complete denuclearization,” not “complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization,” does not mean that Trump gave up verification or irreversibility in

the deal, because there is no “deal” yet, only a “communique” that summarized what the two leaders discussed. We are at the start of the negotiating process, not the end.

Trump’s critics need to back off. He inherited this mess. Every other approach by his predecessors to stopping Pyongyang’s nuclear drive has failed. So, the president and his team are trying something new; they deserve some latitude to see if this new approach can succeed.

Will it work? Maybe not. The North Koreans are skilled liars. It will be incredibly difficult to reach a good deal that ensures the complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization of North Korea.

But there is reason for hope Trump will not sign a bad deal. That’s because the president set a very high bar for himself when he withdrew from Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. Any agreement with North Korea that he and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reach can’t replicate the flaws they identified in the Iran deal.

What were those flaws? The administration has identified five principal defects: 1. Weak verification. As Trump declared in his May speech on the Iran nuclear agreement, “the deal’s inspection provisions lack adequate mechanisms to prevent, detect, and punish cheating, and don’t even have the unqualified right to inspect many important locations, including military facilities.”

2. No restrictions on ballistic missiles.

The Iran deal “fails to address the regime’s development of ballistic missiles that could deliver nuclear warheads,” the president said in the same May speech.

3. No nuclear dismantlement. “The deal doesn’t even require Iran to dismantle its military nuclear capability,” Trump said in a 2016 address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

4. Front-loaded sanctions relief. “The deal lifted crippling economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for very weak limits on the regime’s nuclear activity, and no limits at all on its other malign behav-

ior,” Trump declared in his May address.

5. No congressional buy-in. During the congressional debate over the Iran deal, Pompeo complained that “instead of coming to Congress for approval of an Iranian deal, the President needs only to convince a handful of Democrats to not override a presidential veto.”

A nuclear deal with North Korea must not replicate these five flaws. According to Pompeo, it will not. “There will be indepth verification” of the North’s compliance, the secretary said this week. The United States, he said, has assembled a team of more than 100 experts who will be charged with the task of “dismantling North Korea’s weapons programs.” Any agreement, Pompeo also said, will cover North Korea’s “[chemical and biological weapons] program and missiles that threaten the world.” And he assured that

“until such time as we get the outcome that we’re demanding, economic relief is not going to be provided.” Finally, Pompeo declared, “in contrast to the previous administration, we want to include Congress as a partner in this process. We want our efforts to have broad support with the American people and endure beyond the Trump Administration. A treaty would be our preferred way to go.”

That is an incredibly high standard that will be very tough to meet. “This administration will not repeat the mistakes of the past,” Pompeo promised, adding that “a bad deal is not an option.” We know what a bad deal looks like. We should all be pulling for Trump and Pompeo to negotiate a good one.

Follow Marc A. Thiessen on Twitter, @ marcthiessen. (c) 2018, The Washington Post Writers Group

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Schools, Elected Officials Struggle With How To Deal With Gun Violence state should devote funding for marshal training. The committee will look into it, he said.

After the Santa Fe shooting, Texas elected officials, school leaders and teachers continue to struggle with how to respond to future situations. The Valley Times will continue to follow this issue and provide regular updates on the issue.

Compiled from reports by Paul Cobler, Matthew Choi and Alex Samuels, The Texas Tribune After Santa Fe shooting, Gov. Greg Abbott wants to put more counselors in schools. Educators say that’s not enough.

Gov. Greg Abbott’s “School and Firearm Safety Action Plan” — released earlier this month in response to the deadly Santa Fe High School shooting — is filled with ideas on how to prevent school shootings by “hardening” schools to make them more resistant to attackers.

But one part of his plan pushes a softer approach: Hiring more counselors to focus on student mental health.

Simply identifying students who are having a mental health crisis isn’t enough, said Tammi Mackeben, president of the Lone Star State School Counselor Association. Teachers, administrators and counselors all need to work together to improve overall student mental health, with counselors ready to step in once problems appear, Mackeben said.

“Counselors can’t be the only individuals that are recognizing when students have mental health issues,” Mackeben said.

Texas is one of 20 states that don’t require schools to have counselors, and it has the fifth highest student-to-counselor ratio in the country, with an average of 684 students for every counselor, according to the American School Counselor Association.

School counselors are often given tasks like scheduling and administrative work, Mackeben said, limiting the time they can focus on students’ mental health. A counselor is “the only person on campus who is trained in mental health issues, so we’re trying to get that message out that they are the person on campus to deal with these kind of issues,” she said.

Abbott’s plan recommends freeing up school counselors to focus on students’ mental health and behavioral needs

Left to right: State Sens. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownville, and John Whitmire, D-Houston, at the second day of hearings held by the Senate Select Committee on Violence in Schools and School Security on June 12, 2018. (Rachel Zein for The Texas Tribune)

rather than on tasks like scheduling and college applications. To do that, Abbott recommends allowing schools to shift money toward counseling and mental health services.

But teacher organizations like the Association of Texas Professional Educators say schools don’t have excess funding to reallocate.

“Districts are strapped with the amount of money that they have now,” said Monty Exter, a lobbyist for ATPE. “Simply telling them to spend the money how they see fit won’t work. They’re not spending it on crazy or frivolous or unimportant things.”

During school safety hearing, Texas lawmakers express support for arming faculty and staff — maybe even with rifles Wylie Independent School District is preparing for armed intruders in a variety of ways, from active shooter drills to safety-themed coloring books. Some school staff are trained to be armed marshals and are ready to shoot if there’s a threat.

Members of the Senate Select Committee on Violence in Schools and School Security disputed among themselves whether that model is appropriate statewide, but they arrived at no concrete legislative proposals. It was the second meeting of the committee, which Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick created to address gun violence in schools.

Possible solutions members pondered included allowing faculty to carry guns.

One state senator raised the idea of giving faculty rifles.

In a 44-page action plan on school safety, Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, recommended recruiting more faculty and staff with military or police experience to serve as armed marshals in schools – a recommendation that drove much of the conversation Tuesday.

School marshals are school board-appointed staff members with access to firearms on campus. They must undergo psychological exams and at least 80 hours of training. They also must be licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.

Craig Bessent, assistant superintendent of Wylie ISD and one of the first school marshals in Texas, testified about the marshal program in his school district, arguing that arming faculty is the among most effective ways to protect schools from violence.

The marshals in his district must go through training at least once a month, which, with travel and fees, can be a considerable expense for them, Bessent said. Larger districts try to pay for initial training, Bessent said, but many smaller, rural districts “don’t have the funds to do it.”

No state senators voiced opposition to the idea of arming teachers. State Sen. Don Huffines, R-Dallas, asked other committee members and Bessent if the

Advocates say arming Texas school employees won’t cost that much. But many districts don’t want to do it.

At the heart of Gov. Greg Abbott’s proposal: “hardening” Texas schools, in part by providing money to districts that join existing state programs for arming school staff. The idea received immediate pushback from many educators, who don’t like the idea of guns in schools and worry that programs that arm teachers would be too expensive in a state that’s already struggling to fund education.

But those who support the idea say armed staff can help stop a dangerous gunman. And, they say, the school marshal plan that Abbott is touting wouldn’t actually cost that much.

“The latest that I heard is that the training for each marshal is about $500,” said state Rep. Jason Villalba, the Dallas Republican who authored the bill that created the Texas school marshal program Abbott wants to expand.

Under the program, schools can designate one employee for every 400 students a marshal. And, Villalba noted, nearly 80 percent of Texas’ school districts have fewer than 3,000 students. That means most Texas districts, in theory, could have seven or eight marshals at most.

Aside from training, Villalba said, the only other costs associated with the program are the costs of buying the guns, ammunition and a lock box (which is currently required for marshals who directly interact with students). Villaba’s measure doesn’t require schools that utilize the marshal program to get liability insurance, but districts may choose to do so, he said.

It’s also possible the cost to train school marshals could decrease. In outlining his proposal, Abbott advocated for streamlining the training course — currently a “burdensome” 80 hours.

Disclosure: The Texas State Teachers Association and The Association of Texas Professional Educators have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism.

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Harlingen Officials Remind Residents To Be Hurricane Ready

Lucha Libre, a two-hour program that includes beer sampling and a presentation by Eduardo Martinez from Neta, will take place June 21 at the Museum of South Texas History.

Lucha Libre Makes A Stop At MOSTHistory Do you watch local lucha libre at places like la pulga in Alamo or Cine El Rey in downtown McAllen? Now is your chance to tell the world how much you enjoy lucha libre by attending MOSTHistory Happy Hour: Lucha Libre at the Museum of South Texas History on Thursday, June 21, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Bring your mask, or cape, and enjoy an opportunity to meet local and traveling wrestlers from Wrestling Revolution, a group that competes at Cine El Rey in downtown McAllen on Friday evenings.Vocal/acoustic guitar duo, Somethin’ Else, will be perform live music ranging from classic rock to country and blues to oldies from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. After the musical performance, Eduardo Martinez, a community historian and wrestling aficionado, will present “A Brief History of Wrestling in the Rio Grande Valley” at 7:10 p.m. Martinez has written about wrestling for Neta, a bilingual multimedia platform based in the Rio Grande Valley along the Texas-Mexico border.

Don’t forget to stay after the presentation for your chance to win FREE tickets to see Wrestling Revolution at Cine El Rey! Activities during the event will include “Make Your Own Lucha Mask” and a photo opportunity to star in your own luchador movie poster. A mini-exhibit of the museum’s Mexican Cinema lobby cards will be on display as well.

It wouldn’t be a MOSTHistory Hap-

py Hour without sampling craft drinks.

To quench your thirst, you can sample from a beer selection provided by L&F Distributors: Southern Star Nelson IPA, Clown Shoes Chocolate Sombrero (Mexican-Style Chocolate Stout), No Label El Hefe, Nowhere but Texas Legal Draft and Mighty Swell (variety pack) for non-beer drinkers. Wine and non-alcoholic beverages will also be served.

Pair your beer samples with appetizers provided by University Draft House from Edinburg. Beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages will be served

by Happy Hour FRIENDs, the Landmark Lounge and Ignite Lounge. MOSTHistory Happy Hour guests will also receive 20% off the bar tab that same night at either Landmark Lounge, located at the Edinburg Best Western, or Ignite Lounge, located at the Towne Place Suites by Marriot in Edinburg.

Admission is $15 for the general community and $10 for FRIENDS of MOSTHistory. If you are interested in becoming a FRIEND of MOSTHistory, please contact Cedar Risica, the assistant development officer, at 956-3836911 or send an e-mail to crisica@ mosthistory.org. This special event is for individuals 21 and over.

The Museum of South Texas History is located in downtown Edinburg at 200 N. Closner Blvd. on the Hidalgo County Courthouse square. Hours of operation are from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. Sunday and 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday.

June 1 through November 30 is hurricane season and City of Harlingen Officials want to make sure residents are ready.

As we’ve seen in the past few years in the Rio Grande Valley, not just hurricanes can cause flooding. That’s why advanced planning and preparation are essential to protect lives and property during any type of natural disaster.

City Manager Dan Serna says the staff has been busy preparing for hurricane season for months. “I am happy to report to our community that we are ready for inclement weather. We’ve ensured that all necessary equipment is functional and ready to go such as generators and barricades should the need arise.”

We’ve also cleaned inlets, and cleared ditches to make sure water is able to flow out of the city as it makes its’ way toward the Laguna Madre. And like we do every year, we’ve updated our City plan to make sure City operations continue before, during, and after inclement weather.

Harlingen Fire Chief Roy Rubio who serves as the Emergency Management Coordinator for the City says it’s imper-

ative that residents to do their part by making sure that they have a plan to protect their family and property. He says everyone should be prepared, stay informed, and take action by doing the following.

• Organize important documents • Upkeep & maintain property • Cover windows/locate utility shutoffs • Update emergency supply kit • Fill prescriptions • Have infant formula and diapers • Have a plan for your pets • Cash or traveler’s checks • Fuel your vehicles • Be prepared to leave immediately if an evacuation order is issued • Register your mobile number with local Reverse 911 services Should a natural disaster or other hazardous event occur, The City of Harlingen will open the Emergency Operations Center and keep citizens informed on what is happening and what to do by working closely with the local media and posting information on the City’s website and social media sites. For more information on being prepared visit www.ready.gov.

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Grainger Donates $6K In Tools To South Texas College Students In an effort to assist deserving students preparing to enter the workforce, Grainger Industrial Supply has supplemented its annual scholarship to students by donating tools to South Texas College.

Grainger, a leading broad line supplier of maintenance, repair and operating products, has donated $6,000 worth of tools that will then be distributed to students through the college. Grainger has be a constant supporter of South Texas College’s students for several years.

“Grainger provides new tools for students in several fields including auto, diesel, heating/ventilation/air conditioning/refrigeration, electrician, construction and law enforcement to name a few” said Mario Reyna, Dean of Business, Technology and Public Safety at STC. “Over the years, Grainger has provided scholarships and now they decided to donate the tools to our program,” Reyna said. “They had three pallets, almost $6,000 worth of tools, and they opted to bring them here and left it up to us to decide how we want to distribute them.”

The donation of tools to STC marks the first

time the company has donated in bulk to the college. STC has now created a system for dual enrollment students who are unable to afford their own tools, allowing them to “check out” required implements for the duration of the semester.

Examples of tools include sockets and wrenches for automotive students; screwdrivers, pliers, snippers for electricians; and hammers, measuring tape, gloves and safety glasses for students in the Construction Supervision program.

For the last five years, Grainger has awarded scholarships and tools to STC students.

Grainger’s Tools for Tomorrow Scholarship Program helps technical students across the country realize their educational goals.

Outstanding students are recognized with a $2,000 scholarship and a customized Westward toolkit upon completion of their educational program.

“The majority of our students are at the edge of poverty and a lot of these students can’t afford their tools so with Grainger stepping up in this fashion, it gives them a tremendous opportunity,” Reyna said.

Even as the U. S. Border Patrol allowed local reporters to visit the McAllen facility where families apprehended at the border or who turn themselves in at the area ports of entry are being held, the issue of the separation of families became a national concern as local residents in South Texas protested the forced separation of families, area Congressmen condemned the policy and Trump administration officials defended the policy.

Over the weekend, a handful of protesters stood outside the Border Patrol office in McAllen decrying the policy. Similar protests were held in other cities along the border.

On Monday, national attention was focused on McAllen as the CBS This Morning’s host Gayle King did a live report from the city, reporting her experience when she toured the local facility and spoke with some of the families.

In a former warehouse, several immigrant children were placed in what amounted to enclosures made with metal fencing, what many called cages. According to Border Patrol officials, the number of children can vary by the age but did say that some may hold up to 25 or more youths. The officials pointed out that the children are clothed, fed and cared for. Medical attention is provided as needed. However, when viewing how the children were grouped, it was hard to see if they were being closely supervised, with many children left to keep themselves busy while the process of determining their status rolls on.

According to Border Patrol officials, the facility is currently housing more than 1,000 people, including adults and minors. Adult males and females are each held in separate areas.

Likewise, male and female children are also housed separately. It was apparent that some of the children were siblings while others were alone.

One teenage girl reported that she was caring for an un-related child because no one else would care for the toddler. The older children in the cell had to change the toddler’s diapers.

Also on Monday, Congressmen Henry Cuellar (Laredo) and Vicente Gonzalez (McAllen) held a press conference to speak about the issue of family separation.

“Make no mistake about this. This is a policy created by the Trump administration. This forced family separation due to the Zero Tolerance policy is of their own making. Federal law does not require it,” Cuellar said. “There are only a few cases where it does require that adults and children be separated.”

According to Cuellar, the law calls for separation of children in the case where the person accompanying the child is not the parent or a close relative or where there is a danger to the child (such as drug trafficking). Gonzalez acknowledged that children may be separated from their parents upon entry only for the purpose of determining that the adults are the parents and processing the family. He added that the family should be separated no more than 72 hours (3 days).

The two Congressmen also urged the administration to end the policy immediately.

“Is it their policy? Can they end it immediately? Yes and yes,” Cuellar said.

The two Congressmen were also asked about two competing bills that have been introduced in the U. S. House of Representatives that aim

Grainger Industrial Supply recently donated $6,000 worth of tools to assist students in their career choices.

Family Separation Becomes A Local, National Issue to address immigration. One is being called the “conservative” bill and the other is called a “compromise” bill. The authors of the respective bills claim to provide legal status for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) participants, reduce legal immigration, strengthen enforcement and funding for the border wall.

However, it was not clear that either bill would address the family separation issue.

Asked if they supported either bill and whether the bills had a chance of passing, Cuellar simply said, “No and no. The bills do not do enough and they do not have enough support to pass in the House. Also, just about anything that is passed in the House will be too conservative for the Senate. So, no, I don’t think either bill will actually pass Congress.”

At the same time, Texas’ two Senators proposed separate bills to deal with the family separation issue.

Sen. Ted Cruz announced emergency legislation Monday evening to keep immigrant families together after they cross the border into the United States.

The legislation follows comments Cruz made on Saturday that essentially called for more resources to adjudicate asylum claims.

He also called for keeping immigrant kids with their parents as long as those adults are not associated with criminal activity.

“All Americans are rightly horrified by the images we are seeing on the news, children in tears pulled away from their mothers and fathers,” Cruz wrote in a release. “This must stop. Now. We can end this crisis by passing the legislation I am introducing this week.” Cruz’s legislation focuses on increasing the number

U.S. Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, right, explains his stance on the policy of separation of families implemented by the Trump administration. At left is U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar. of federal immigration judges, creating new temporary shelters to keep families together, orders that families be kept together and expedited reviews.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Texas’ senior senator and the second-ranking Senate Republican, said on the chamber floor earlier Monday that he, too, would introduce legislation on this front.

“It will include provisions that mitigate the problem of family separation while improving the immigration court process for unaccompanied children and families apprehended at the border,” he said. “To the greatest extent possible, families presenting at ports of entry or apprehended crossing the border illegally will be kept together while waiting for their court hearings, which will be expedited.”

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Six PSJA ISD Schools Named To Texas Honor Roll For High Achievement

Six Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD schools were recently notified of their selection to the Texas Honor Roll by Educational Results Partnership (ERP) and the Institute for Productivity in Education (IPE), which recognize public schools for demonstrating consistently higher levels of student academic achievement, improvement over time, and reduction in achievement gaps among ethnic minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged students. The PSJA schools recognized include: Dr. William Long Elementary, Aida C. Escobar Elementary, Carmen Anaya Elementary, Marcia R. Garza Elementary, Alfred Sorensen Elementary and PSJA T. Jefferson T-STEM Early College High School.

The Honor Roll is part of a national effort to identify higher-performing schools and highlight successful practices that improve academic outcomes for students. The ERP Honor Roll is the only school recognition program in the state that uses student achievement outcome data, and is a valuable resource for all schools to identify successful peers and learn about best practices that improve student achievement.

Campuses receiving this distinction have

demonstrated consistent high levels of student academic achievement, improvement in achievement levels, over time and reduction in achievement gaps among student populations, as well as, positive college readiness outcomes at the high school level. Additionally, the program recognizes STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) schools, which demonstrate high percentages of low-income students with superior achievement in those disciplines.

This year, the Texas Honor Roll recognized a total of 729 best-in-class schools.

“At ERP we are committed to closing achievement gaps and removing educational obstacles for historically disadvantaged students,” said James Lanich, Ph.D., ERP president and CEO. “These bright spot schools are implementing programs and practices that are improving educational equity and accelerating student success. We need to shine a spotlight on their work and encourage others to replicate it. Instead of always focusing on what’s ‘wrong,’ we are acknowledging ‘what’s right,’ and encouraging schools, districts and teachers to share best practices,” he said.

Edinburg CISD Honors Edinburg Rotary With State Community Award

The Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District Board of Trustees recently honored the Edinburg Rotary for its outstanding support of the district’s students with the Texas Association of School Boards “Harvey Hero” Business Recognition Award.

“We are grateful for the generosity from the Edinburg Rotary and its commitment to making a difference for our children and our community,” ECISD Superintendent Dr. René Gutiérrez said. “At the start of the school year, the Rotarians donated gift cards to help students displaced by the hurricanes in Texas and Puerto Rico.”

In September, 16 students displaced by Hurricane Harvey in Texas and one student displaced by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico were attending classes at Edinburg CISD. The Edinburg Rotary received a grant to buy $100 gift cards for the 17 students to purchase school supplies, clothing and other items that they may have lost during the hurricanes. The grant was matched by the Edinburg Rotary to provide an additional $1,700 for those students, which totaled $3,400 in gift cards.

Edinburg CISD Board of Trustees recognize the Edinburg Rotary with the Texas Association of School Boards “Harvey Hero” Business Recognition Award during the June 12 board meeting.

“Our students, parents and teachers directly benefit from organizations such as this that are willing to stand up for public schools, not just in words but in their actions,” Gutiérrez said. “We applaud these community partners for their participation and hope that this will continue to be a strong relationship as we keep on building and transforming our community.”

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Rural Areas Struggles With Obesity Epidemic People living outside of large metropolitan areas are much more likely to be obese than those who live in cities and suburbs, a public health challenge that could be shortening the lives of rural residents.

A new study finds more than a third of rural residents, 34.2 percent, qualify as obese, while the obesity rate in metropolitan counties is a significantly lower at 28.7 percent.

People living in rural areas, struggle with obesity more than those who live in urban areas in every part of the country. The highest obesity rates are in rural counties in Southern states; in Louisiana and Texas, the number of obese residents approaches 40 percent.

Kay Gander, from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services says placing so many fast food restaurants in low income areas is to blame.

“It’s very easy to go and buy a happy meal from McDonald’s especially if you have multiple kids than it is to go to the grocery store and by healthy food,” Gander said.

“Healthy food is always more expensive.”

Public health experts said the higher rates of obesity in rural areas is a long-term trend that highlights the socioeconomic differences between urban areas, where density means better access to higher quality food and parks, and rural areas, where residents are more likely to spend a greater percentage of their time in the car.

Demographics play a role in rural America’s struggles, too: Rural communities tend to be older, and older generations by nature suffer more adverse health consequences than do younger Americans. Conditions like coronary heart disease, diabetes and arthritis — all exacerbated by obesity — are more common among older people too.

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5 Essential Nutrients Your Toddler May Not Be Getting Enough Of The minute we become moms, our focus turns outward and we spend every waking hour thinking about our babies and how to keep them healthy and happy all the days of their lives. And then they turn into toddlers and start to have opinions about what they will and won’t eat, which can make it tricky to ensure that they’re eating a balanced diet!

Wondering what makes a balanced diet? Here are six essential nutrients your toddler may not be getting enough of: 1. Calcium: Milk is a great source of calcium, but so are baked beans, canned salmon, yogurt and cheese.

Some juices, cereals and other

products are now calcium-fortified.

2. Fiber: Whole-grain breads and cereals, apples, oranges and green peas all are good sources of fiber.

3. Potassium: Raisins, bananas, baked potatoes and orange juice are some good sources of potassium.

4. Iron: Nuts, beef, lamb, spinach and beans are all high in iron.

5. Vitamin D: Canned tuna, egg yolks, and cheese contain vitamin D, as do certain fortified food products.

A balanced diet is the best way to assure your little one is getting the essential nutrients they need.

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Salmonella Outbreak in 31 States Linked To Kellogg’s Honey Smacks Cereal An outbreak of salmonella that has infected 73 people in 31 states has led investigators to a suspected culprit: Certain batches of Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal.

The Kellogg Co. has recalled packages of the cereal that are either 15.3 ounces and 23 ounces in size and have a “best if used by” date -- printed on the top of the box – between June 14, 2018, to June 14, 2019.

The CDC is urging people to throw away or return Honey Smacks cereals that fall under the recall.

“Even if some of the cereal was eaten and no one got sick, throw the rest of it away or return it for a refund,” the CDC said. “If you store cereal in a container without the packaging and don’t remember the brand or type, throw it away.”

“This is based on preliminary evidence linking the cereal to an outbreak of illnesses across the country, said Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb in an agency brief. “The FDA has already initiated an inspection of the facility that we believe is linked to the salmonella contamination. And we’ve worked with the company to immediately initiate a recall of this product.”

“The main message is the consumer health risk, that this cereal

may be infected with salmonella,” Gottlieb said.

The CDC is working along with the FDA investigating the outbreak.

Contact a healthcare provider if you think you got sick from consuming recalled Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal.

• Most people infected with Salmonella develop the following signs and symptoms 12-72 hours after being exposed to the bacteria: o Diarrhea o Fever o Abdominal cramps

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