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Section c Sunday, OctOber 25, 2009
u celebrate, 2-4c u bOOkS & leiSure, 5c u light Side, 6-7c u a tO Z kidS, 8c
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Althea McDonald poses with with her kids’ artwork as displayed in a bathroom in her Cary, N.C., home.
Kid stuff: Decorating with your child’s artwork By DIANA MARSZALEK FOr the aSSOciated PreSS
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Photo courtesy of Photolibrary
or anyone with children or teenagers in the house, it’s no surprise that being online is the in thing to do. According to research studies conducted by The Nielson Company, approximately 16 million U.S. children ages two to 11 are active online. This shows an 18 percent increase over the past five years, while the overall Internet population only increased usage by 10 percent. Furthermore, the amount of time children spend online is 63 percent higher than just five years ago. One problem that falls under the umbrella of Internet safety that children may face when they’re online, is cyberbullying. A cyberbully is a minor who uses the Internet, phone or other digital device to post hurtful messages or images to another minor. Parry Aftab, executive director of the charity that runs StopCyberbullying.org says, “They do it by posing as each other, stealing or misusing their passwords, stealing points in online games. They call each other names, or send offensive messages to their friends while impersonating them. They even take embarrassing pictures of others and post them online.” Cyberbullying affects children as young as seven and up through high school. According to a yearlong survey of students in the U.S. and Canada conducted by Aftab, results showed that: � Cyberbullying starts as early as third grade, peaks in fourth grade and again in seventh and eighth grade. � 75 percent of teens reported cyberbullying someone else and 85 percent of students reported they had been targeted at least once in the past year. When kids are still in grammar school, the direct attacks usually consist of making fun of each other and testing limits. In middle school, cyberbullies attack classmates’ reputations and it can escalate from there as children move into high school.
What Can Parents Do?
Aftab recommends open communication between parents and children. “Encourage discussions about what they enjoy online,” she says. “This way you can direct your children to safe sites that fit their interests and it helps your children know you want an active role in their life.” It’s important to make sure that your children feel comfortable coming to you with questions. This should apply to all situations including the computer. If your children feel they can trust you, they are more likely to come to you with tough problems and questions. A survey by WiredSafety found that only 5 percent of middle schoolers would tell their parents if they were cyberbullied, and that they have identified more than 50 different reasons not to tell their parents. If your child is the victim of cyberbullying, the most important thing parents can do, says Aftab, is to give them a hug. “Tell them you love them and how sorry you are that they were hurt. Let them know that the
habit to my kids or burden kindergarten teacher who them with thinking they have now owns the crafts studio eal state to keep everything like I do.” Children’s Creative Corner in Parents of children big and Larchmont, N.Y. small struggle with how, what With 11 and 12-year-old and where to store the tons daughters of her own, Walker of arts and crafts that kids has come up with a system bring home, from the earliest at home that preserves her days of preschool, when every girls’ creations for posterity scribble seems a stroke of and keeps clutter at bay: She brilliance, to later education saves only artwork that has ocal ews age significance, but when creativity often takes on particular more dynamic (read: larger) takes a picture of the stuff proportions. that doesn’t make the cut. Some hard-line parents opt “You can’t possibly keep for what could seem like the every project they come home easy way out: tossing the bulk with,” she said. of their kids’ various rendiExperts at staying cluttertions out with the rubbish. free said Walker has it right. Others, however, say their Ruth Phillips, a professionoffspring’s creations — even al household organizer based sans signs of early brilliance outside Atlanta, suggests — pose a continuing dilemma letting children help decide between saving pieces of child- which projects are saved or hood and getting mired in — scrapped. That makes the dare we say? — junk. decisions easier, she said, and “If it can’t go on a wall averts potential disaster when or be given to grandma for children discover their work in Christmas, then throw it out,” the recycle bin. said Joanne Walker, a former “It’s very traumatic for
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Having moved five times in the last nine years, Pam Syx, now of Venice, Fla., had many opportunities to chuck some of her two children’s artwork along the way. Instead, a picture of a train that 6-year-old Preston drew with neon gel pens when he was 4 remains preserved in a frame. A self-portrait by 9-year-old Veronica is immortalized on a coffee mug and coaster. Other creations plaster Syx’s office walls and refrigerator, and fill tote bags and boxes around the house. “I just can’t get rid of anything their little hands do,” said Syx, explaining that her habit of holding on started as an effort to spur her kids’ creativity. “My husband thinks I’m a packrat. He’s right,” Syx said. “I’m concerned that I’m going to pass down an undesirable
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Quick tips for creative kids
Some tips to make storing — or trashing — kids’ artwork easier: • Let the kids help decide what stays and what goes. It helps to know which pieces they care about. them to open the trash can • Weigh each piece’s sigand see all their papers in nificance or eye appeal. You might there,” Phillips said. In time, even saved artwork keep children’s art that exemplican be relinquished in a meanfies a particular age, a significant ingful way, Phillips said. Now change or is simply really good. that her children are grown, • Set aside limited storage space she has sent the art collections Leigh Tiffin kicks fourth field goal in for arts and crafts. For example, on to them. One daughter, Phillips designate a largeAlabama’s box for each 12-10 win over Tennessee said, was particularly thrilled child’s work. Have the children Sports, 1B recently to receive a framed revisit their creations once or twice painting she did as a child. a year, eliminating some. Long, “She was so excited,” Phillips under-the-bed containers work well said. “And she’s 39 years old.” ctober for storing drawings, too. Althea McDonald, a Raleigh, N.C., “art enthusiastic,” • Designate a “gallery” at home proudly displays walls’ worth where framed art can be displayed. of her children’s work. Her Hang as much of your children’s family’s guest bathroom is work as you like — it’s your house, covered floor to ceiling with and theirs. art by her 11- and 13-year-old daughters. On a bookshelf in • Take pictures of the projects the house’s entryway, there is you’re not going to keep. They’ll a collection of the girls’ threebe immortalized but won’t take up dimensional pieces. space. “I really enjoy it. It’s happy.
United Way of Vance County kicks off 2009 fall campaign
Showcase, 1C
cyberbully is not the boss of them. And promise not to overreact and take away the technology or call the school, the other parents or the media and make things worse.” The most important thing parents can do to protect children is to monitor computer and Internet usage. “Knowing you are watching, kids are less likely to put themselves in risky situations and you can safely oversee negative or dangerous behaviors,” says Aftab.
What Should Kids Do?
As part of its online community at buildabearville.com, Build-A-Bear Workshop promotes safety tips for kids that can be applied to any online experience.
Stop, Block and Tell
If someone is cyberbullying or trying to get personal information, Stop talking to them, Block them from talking to you and Tell a trusted adult. Aftab also says, “To help them keep a healthy perspective they should ‘Take 5’ when something or someone upsets them online. That means they should do something they love offline for five minutes to help calm down and not do anything they will regret.”
Password Protection �
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Passwords should be easy to remember, hard to guess. If your kids have to write it down, it’s too hard to remember. If it’s a pet’s name, their middle name, their favorite sports team, etc., it’s too easy to guess. Sit down with your kids and talk about ideas for a password, and remember a combination of numbers and letters is always best. Don’t allow kids to give out their password to others. 85 percent of elementary school students and 70 percent of teens polled said they shared their password with at least one friend. That’s one friend too many! Friends can be cyberbullies too, signing onto your child’s account, impersonating them and possibly embarrassing them. They can also change your child’s password, locking them out of their account.
For more cybersafety tips, visit WiredSafety.org or WiredKids.org. For a fun and safe place for kids to play online, visit buildabearville.com.
Get Involved
Build-A-Bear Workshop encourages kids and adults to get involved in making the Internet a safer place. Build-A-Bearville recently became one of the first to earn the Socially Safe Kids Seal, reserved for the sites whose moderators and game designers have all been trained on Internet safety and cyberbullying. In addition to having suggested tips and resources for parents and kids available at buildabearville.com, the company has also incorporated the importance of safe play into their online play experience. Citizens of Build-A-Bearville are encouraged to take an Online Safety Quiz to receive a special hat for their avatar. They are also reminded of online safety tips in the Bearville Times, the site’s weekly newspaper. Build-A-Bear Workshop also recognizes kids for being good citizens in the online world. Their Jr. CyBearGuide program allows qualified kid citizens of Build-A-Bearville to act as guides by answering questions, providing information and even giving tours. If you or your child is interested in becoming a Jr. CyBearGuide member, visit Bear University in BuildA-Bearville. Click the paw under the big Jr. CyBearGuide blue star to learn more about the program.
Online Safety Guidelines for Parents
Parry Aftab of WiredKids.org has additional tips to help keep kids safe online. � Personal information stays personal. While this is an important rule for children it’s also an important rule for parents. Giving information on your family and your children to the wrong person can be dangerous. � Make sure your child doesn’t spend all of his or her time on the computer. Other kids, not computers, should be their best friends and companions. � Remember to monitor their compliance with safety rules, especially when it comes to the amount of time children spend on the computer. � Warn them that people may not be what they seem to be. The Internet provides a cover for people to put on whatever personas they desire.
(252) 436-2700
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And my kids are proud of it,” McDonald said. “It’s a really positive thing.”
www.hendersondispatch.com
Volume XCV, No. 250
25, 2009
— The AssociATed Press
More homeowners looking to stoves for heat
Vance fair Warrenton Harvest Market Festival opening Tuesday By CARyN ROUSSEAU aSSOciated PreSS Writer
Five-day run with exhibits, rides, entertainment
For 23 years, Julie Gore has heated her Ada, Ohio, home with a wood-burning stove. When the old one wore out, she didn’t hesitate to buy another for her family room. “It’s warm and toasty,” said Gore, an administrative assistant at Ohio Northern University. “I wouldn’t trade it. If you get a chill you can stand by it and warm up.” Stoves as secondary heating sources are growing in popularity, and come in two basic varieties: wood stoves and pellet stoves. Some proponents say the stoves can be more environmentally friendly and help cut energy costs; other experts say that can vary from household to household. Traditional wood-burning stoves like Gore’s enjoy
stronger sales, but pellet stoves, which burn compressed sawdust, may be gaining, according to the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association, a manufacturers trade group. Wood stoves and wood fireplace inserts saw an 81 percent increase in shipments in 2008, the association said. Pellet stoves and pellet fireplace inserts increased 161 percent that year. Both kinds of stoves are meant mostly to heat specific rooms or groups of rooms, not entire houses. They cost between $3,000 and $4,500 including installation. The federal government is offering a 30 percent tax rebate in 2009 and 2010 for purchases of wood or pellet stoves that meet a 75 percent efficiency requirement. Here are some of the ways wood and pellet stoves compare:
Effort
Efficiency
Wood stoves must be fed with logs, while pellet stoves use 40-pound bags of pellets poured into a hopper. Most pellet stove hoppers hold an entire bag of pellets, which will last about 24 hours before needing to be reloaded, said Leslie Wheeler, spokeswoman for the trade association. With pellet stoves, look for a model with a large hopper opening to make it easier to load pellets, and check for an easily removable ash pan to make cleanup quick, suggested Bob Markovich, the home and yard editor at Consumer Reports magazine, which recently profiled heating stoves. A safety precaution: Homeowners should place carbon monoxide and smoke detectors near the stoves, Markovich advised.
Pellet stoves produce very little smoke, giving them a reputation as more environmentally friendly, Wheeler said. “There’s very, very little moisture in that pellet,” she said. “It burns very cleanly, very efficiently and leaves very little ash.” Ken Hellevang, an engineer with the extension service at North Dakota State University, noted of pellet stoves: “Even the most efficient burning units, there’s still ash that needs to be discarded. There’s some labor involved on a daily basis.” Pellet stoves also require electricity, since fans circulate the heat, so it’s a good idea to purchase a backup battery, Wheeler said. Wood-burning stoves don’t need electricity.
Markovich of Consumer Reports described all heating stoves as “a large version of an electric, $30 space heater.” “People have this sort of rising desire to be off the grid and control more of their own expenditures,” he said. “People are looking for any way they can to save.” But if you’re trying to lower home heating bills, Markovich said, you’ll need to turn down the heat in the rest of the home when using a wood or pellet stove. “To really save money, you have to keep the rest of your house colder,” he said. Another tip: Make sure the square footage you want to heat matches the square footage the stove can warm, Markovich said.
Cost About half of all households nationwide
Please see FAIR, page 11A
Index Our Hometown . . . . . 2A Business & Farm. . . . 5A Opinion . . . . . . . . . . 12A Sports. . . . . . . . . . 1-6B Showcase. . . . . . . . . 1C Celebrate. . . . . . . . 2-4C Books & Leisure . . . . 5C Light Side . . . . . . . 6-7C A to Z Kids. . . . . . . . . 8C Real Estate . . . . . . 1-2D Classifieds. . . . . . . 3-5D
Weather Today Sunny
High: 68 Low: 41
Monday Pleasant High: 67 Low: 49
Details, 3A
Deaths Henderson Bruce R. Lassiter, 47 Macon Armelia Bell Harris
Obituaries, 4A
Tract bid bumped — again
depend on natural gas for heating, according to the federal Energy Information Administration. The agency recently forecast that costs for heating fuels this winter — including natural gas, propane, oil and electric — should all be down. Based on today’s costs, Markovich said, burning pellets costs about 15 percent less than oil and 40 percent less than electric heat, but about 25 percent more than natural gas. “If you’re in fact burning natural gas now, buying a pellet stove is a mistake because it costs more,” he said. Wood stoves can be a bargain for some. “A lot of people are near rural areas where wood is cheap or free,” Markovich said. “If that’s you, that makes financial sense.”
By DAVID IRVINE Daily Dispatch Writer
The Vance County Regional Fair, which opens Tuesday, will offer a mix of education and entertainment to visitors, whether they live in the area or come from afar. If you want to get a sample of the area’s farm products, canning, baking, clothing, house furnishings, arts and crafts, you won’t be disappointed. There are even categories for decorated pumpkins and scarecrows. The exhibits, games and rides will occupy the fair grounds at 1427 E. Andrews Avenue in Henderson for most of the week. The fair will run through Saturday, Oct. 31. The region’s rural history will be represented in the Agricultural & Heritage Exhibits. Antique farm equipment as well as new equipment and technology will show changes over the years in the way farm products are brought from the field to the home. In the Family Farm Fun Area, participants can
$1.25
Offer on city land raised to $110,300 By WILLIAM F. WEST Daily Dispatch Writer
A Henderson attorney is in the lead over a state legislator in the bidding for the Southerland’s Mill Pond tract in the southeastern part of Vance County. Randall Cloninger is counter offering $110,300, with the deadline for this latest round of bidding being 5 p.m. Tuesday. Cloninger placed his bid on Oct. 13, the same day the city received a bid of $105,000 by Rep. Bill Faison, D-Orange and an attorney who in 2008 had considered running for governor. Cloninger on Sept. 28 Daily Dispatch/EARL KING submitted a $95,000 counteroffer for the property. The Warrenton Harvest Market Festival was the That topped a $90,000 place to be Saturday for games, food, arts and counteroffer by Faison, crafts, a farmer’s market, baked goods and live who had topped a counterentertainment. The annual event is held on the offer of $73,500 by Cloncourthoue square and is sponsored by the Warren inger. Revitalization Committee and the Chamber of Robert Southerland, a Commerce of Warren County. Clockwise from top former city councilman left, John Freeman works a cider mill; little Ana whose family once owned Melchor plays with puppies; Madison Taylor Moore the land, made the first oftries her hand at sand art; pumpkins entered in fer with a $43,000 bid. the decorating contest sponsored by Citizens Elissa Yount, a former for Animal Protection; and the Animal Ark booth, city councilwoman, made complete with animals for adoption. To view or a counteroffer of $50,000. purchase photos of the harvest festival, visit us on Bier Haus made a counthe Web at www.hendersondispatch.com. teroffer of $55,000, Yount made a counteroffer of $60,000, Southerland made a counteroffer of $63,500 and Bier Haus took the lead again with a $70,000 counteroffer. Paul Harris is a managtold her about the Home in Your Voice in Oxford is ing member of Bier Haus. Harris is president of the Henderson blog and added a combination of Carole Budweiser distributorthat the friend told her, Jackson’s background as “Oxford really needs one an editor and a writer and ship, which is located off Warrenton Road, and Bier of these. And she said that Jim Jackson’s technical Haus, which is a limited many times.” expertise. The couple has And Carole Jackson been retired since approxi- liability company, owns the distributorship building. recalled, “I didn’t think mately six months after J. Jackson C. Jackson The city acquired people in Oxford would moving to Oxford three By WILLIAM F. WEST citizens the opportunity to be that interested.” She the Southerland’s Mill years ago after living 23 Daily Dispatch Writer read about this, post their Pond tract in 1952 for said she and her husband years in Cary. opinions and engage in on- decided to attend a City $51,000, which prompted Carole Jackson, 63, OXFORD — An Oxford line discussions. a dissent by Councilman Commission meeting and originally from Michigan, couple says they started Carole Jackson and her Garry Daeke at the July 27 saw many persons express is an author and a musia blog to shine light on husband, Jim, launched their opinions. “And we cian whose career includes council meeting about the gatherings in Oxford and Your Voice in Oxford on realized people were having been an editor of a government selling land at what the Oxford City July 29. Carole Jackson interested and maybe this college textbook publishing $8,000 less than what the Commission and the would be a good forum,” city paid more than a halfGranville County Commis- late last week told the Please see OXFORD, page 3A Dispatch a friend of hers she said. century ago. sion are doing and to give The council on July 27 voted 7-1 for a resolution stating the city’s intent to sell the land. City Attorney John & Development Committee, the and because he wants to use the lot as From STAFF REPORTS Zollicoffer at the July 27 amount was denied by the full council a place for his grandchildren to play. because of the city’s desire to receive And Johnson said three large dead council meeting said the The City Council at its 6 p.m. a higher amount. Johnson returned trees need to be taken down for safety next person to submit a Monday meeting is scheduled to bid would have to counter with a $3,500 offer and the commitreasons and said he intends to plow vote on whether to approve the sale with an amount of at least tee recommended proceeding with and reseed the area. of a vacant municipally owned lot $45,200, which is a stateadvertising for bids, which is stanA 10-day period for counteroffers along Edwards Street off Andrews required 5 percent increase dard procedure. expired Oct. 16 without any higher Avenue/N.C. 39 and across from the plus $50. Johnson said he wanted to purbids. fairgrounds. And Zollicoffer said a chase the 300 foot by 200 foot lot, Alvin Johnson Jr. had offered which has no access to another street, Send comments to the newspaper at $2,000, but upon the recommendaPlease see BID, page 3A news@hendersondispatch.com. because the lot adjoins his property tion of the council’s Land Planning
Couple gives ‘voice’ to Oxford Citizens may use blog to post opinions
Council to vote on sale of lot near fairgrounds