Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Small New York Town Divided in Aftermath of High School Football Hazing

USA TODAY (Groton, NY) November 8, 2014

"Tucked away on the north end of Groton’s spacious Main Street sits Casper’s Diner, a classic small town eatery rich with coffee and food and the voices where the social conscience of any rural American town takes its shape.

From the booths and stools of the diner villagers congregate over savory meals and a friendly environment to banter about politics, the economy, local news and local sports, and, just as fervently, rumor. A kitschy sign atop the stainless steel coffee urn sets the tone for the social attitude of village life: 'The nice part about living in a small town is that when you don’t know what you’re doing, someone else always does.'" Read more

Holidays Can Trip Up Problem Drinkers

HealthDay, November 9, 2014

"The approaching holiday season can pose challenges for the 18 million Americans with an alcohol use disorder, an addiction specialist warns.

Binge drinking can cause a variety of problems, both social and health-related, including life-threatening interactions with some prescription medications, Dr. Eric Collins, an addiction psychiatrist and physician-in-chief at Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Conn., said in a hospital news release." Read more

Monday, November 10, 2014

Police See Heroin Use on the Rise in the Leafy Suburbs

CT Post, November 9, 2014

"Two heroin-related arrests and an 18-year-old's overdose in less than a week, plus findings that a Greenwich woman's death last month was tied to the drug, have renewed concerns about heroin's growing presence in town.

Greenwich police have been tracking the rise of the highly addictive opioid for more than a decade, and in recent years its presence has grown greatly, as it has in other municipalities around New England." Read more

Connecticut, Rhode Island Join to Fight Prescription Drug Abuse

New Haven Register, November 8, 2014

"Health officials in Rhode Island say they’re working with their counterparts in Connecticut to detect the overprescribing of opioids and combat prescription drug abuse.

Prescribers and pharmacies can look up what prescriptions a patient has filled at pharmacies in their state through a prescription-monitoring program. Officials say that through a new data link, prescribers and pharmacies in Rhode Island and Connecticut can now see a patient’s history in both states." Read more

Friday, November 7, 2014

Bullying Reports to the State Vastly Different; Accuracy Questioned

WTNH Channel 8, November 5, 2014

"The News 8 Investigators are uncovering problems with school districts across the state and what is reported.

Every year schools send in numbers about bullying fights drugs and weapons on campus but schools just miles apart are reporting vastly different numbers.

It turns out the state employees who use these numbers for policy recognize there are issues with the numbers." Read more

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Families Challenged to Tackle Prescription Drug Abuse Across US

PR Newswire, November 5, 2014

"On November 8, 2014 the 5th Annual American Medicine Chest Challenge (AMCC) --- a national public health initiative to raise awareness about the dangers of prescription drug abuse and encourage safe disposal will be held in communities throughout the nation.

This initiative challenges families to take the Five-Step American Medicine Chest Challenge." Read more

Fairfield's Sacred Heart U. Participates In Anti-Binge Drinking Drive

Fairfield Daily Voice, November 6, 2014

"Nationally recognized anti-binge drinking campaign LessThanUThink kicked off at Sacred Heart University with a recent pre-concert event.

The event was held before the Eli Young Band concert and was aimed at raising awareness of the negative consequences of binge drinking, specifically at pre-concert activities.

Sacred Heart students swarmed the LTUT tables inside Roncalli, Merton and Seton halls for souvenirs including bandanas and water bottles. The water bottles were provided by Chartwells and had stickers attached with the message, 'It takes less than U think to stay hydrated.'" Read more

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Connecticut Presses Parents To Talk Safety With Teen Drivers

Hartford Courant, October 21, 2014

"The number of fatalities among Connecticut 16- and 17-year-old drivers dropped by about 70 percent after stricter laws were enacted, but law enforcement and safety experts said Tuesday that it's also vital for parents to reinforce safe driving messages with their teens.

'Safe driving is something that you learn, and the best teacher that a young driver has is their parent,' Attorney General George Jepsen said at a press conference to promote National Teen Driver Safety Week." Read more

Michelle Obama Holding College Peer-Mentoring Video Contest

USA Today, November 2, 2014

"High school and college students are competing for Michelle Obama to come to their schools to share her wisdom about moving on to higher education and adulthood.

The first lady announced on Thursday two video contests as part of her Reach Higher initiative, which encourages students to take their studies and training past secondary school." Read more

Monday, November 3, 2014

Good Coaching and Its Effect on Bullying

Huffington Post, October 31, 2014

"October is National Bullying Prevention Month, when organizations and people around the country work to help raise awareness of bullying prevention through events, activities, outreach, and education. Bullying is a problem that plagues many of our youth across all different communities, and can manifest in the form of mental and emotional abuse as well as physical violence.

To combat bullying amongst children, adults need to help kids understand the basic values of respecting their peers and appreciating peoples' differences. This needs to include proper guidance from parents and teachers, who are helping to build these young minds on a daily basis. However, one area that is often overlooked in the fight against bullying is coaching and youth sports." Read more

Local Pols Speak to Youths in "Women in Empowering the Government"

The Hour (Norwalk, CT) November 1, 2014

"Board of Education members Shirley Mosby and Rosa Murray joined Common Councilwomen Faye Bowman and Sharon Stewart to explain their roles in city government and talk about the importance of the participation of all persons, no matter how young, in democracy during Dr. Betty Shabazz Delta Academy's "Women Empowering the Government" forum Saturday at Bethel AME Church.

Mosby spent time outlining the struggles that African-American women had to incur to attain the right to vote and the significance of females in leadership roles during the two-hour forum." Read more