RELAY FOR LIFE OF DEERFIELD BEACH/LIGHTHOUSE POINT
Join the Relay teams as they wrap up the 2011 Relay For Life. Committee Members, Team Captains and Members, Survivors . . . everyone is invited. There will be food, cash bar, fun, awards, and prizes (lots of prizes) as we look back on 2011 and forward to 2012.

Tuesday, June 21st , 7 – 9 PM
Hilton of Deerfield Beach (Hillsboro and I-95)
Hilton is kindly donating the light hors d’oeuvres and room for us, so we would appreciate an RSVP to TJ – tjego2@aol.com,
Gordon – printingxcetera@aol.com, or Nona – nonabreit@gmail.com

Be sure to bring any monies you have not yet turned in and register your team for next year

Colorful kiddie pools look innocuous enough, but a new study finds that a child drowns in an inflatable, portable pool every five days in warm-weather months.

“Because portable pools are generally small, inexpensive and easy to use, parents often do not think about the potential dangers these pools present,” said Dr. Gary Smith, senior author of the study and director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, in a statement.

Kiddie pools are typically sold in the yard aisle of big-box stores, next to sprinklers, water slides and kids’ flotation devices. Brightly colored or festooned with Disney characters, they seem like they wouldn’t be any more dangerous than a typical child’s toy.

But when the researchers of the new study, published in Pediatrics, looked at drowning and accident reports involving children 12 years and younger from 2001 to 2009, they found a total of 244 incidents in portable pools, including 209 drowning deaths and 35 near-drownings.

The vast majority — 94% — involved children younger than five, and 73% occurred in the children’s own yards. About 81% of the incidents happened during the summer.

Pool safety comes up every summer (which officially begins June 21), of course, but many parents may not realize that the same risks that apply to permanent, in-ground structures apply to portable above-ground pools as well. Some soft-sided, inflatable pools can reach depths of 4 ft.

“It only takes a couple of minutes and a few inches of water for a child to drown. It is important for parents to realize that portable pools can be just as dangerous as in-ground pools,” said Smith.

The most effective method of prevention is adult supervision: the study found that children were being supervised in fewer than half — 43% — of all drowning and near-drowning incidents. In 18% of these cases, children were left momentarily unattended due to a parent’s brief distraction, like running to answer the phone or chatting with a neighbor.

In addition to supervision, the authors of the study recommend installing other safety features like barriers, pool alarms, removable ladders and safety covers. These protections are usually in place with in-ground pools, but they may not always be available for portable versions — and families who use such pools may not be able to afford them. What’s more, while many states require isolation fencing for in-ground pools, they don’t do the same for the temporary pools.

A new collection of virtual tours of Florida’s most popular colleges has been launched by Take Stock in Children, a statewide non-profit organization with a 16 year history of helping low-income and at-risk youth break the cycle of poverty by providing scholarships, mentors and hope. With funding provided by the Helios Education Foundation, this free online service gives students who do not have the means to travel and tour schools the chance to “visit” them online, and consequently eliminates the financial burden and costs associated with individual campus visits.

Available exclusively through Take Stock in Children’s website, www.TakeStockInChildren.org, the online virtual tours will highlight key aspects of various state college campuses in order to assist students during the college selection process. Scholars will be able to virtually visit 15 of the most-attended state colleges throughout Florida including: Brevard Community College, Broward College, Indian River State College, Florida Gateway College, Miami Dade College, Palm Beach State College, Valencia Community College, College of Central Florida, Tallahassee Community College, North Florida Community College, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Santa Fe College, St. Petersburg College, State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota and Edison State College.

“The online virtual tours serve as an invaluable resource to our program participants and all those pursuing a post-secondary education,” says Richard Berkowitz, State Board Chair of Take Stock in Children. “Many of our students are first generation college attendees and are not familiar with the different aspects of a college campus, and this gives them direct access to view the most popular state colleges in Florida at any time.”

The launch of online virtual tours is part of Take Stock in Children’s continued efforts to enhance technology and improve college enrollment across Florida through a $1 million donation from the Helios Education Foundation. Alongside the online virtual tours, a portion of the donated funds are providing students with college survival toolkits and online educational modules in several languages including English, Spanish and Creole.

“The Helios Education Foundation recognizes the importance of preparing students for success through post-secondary education,” says Paul Luna, President and CEO of the Helios Education Foundation. “We are proud to support Take Stock in Children and such an important program that will assist our youth to advance in their pursuit of education.”

“We are excited that Take Stock in Children has launched this online resource allowing students to further explore each college, and thus make a better informed decision about their future studies,” says Will Holcombe, Chancellor of the Florida College System. “It is yet another way that this important organization is helping to provide and increase access to a college education in Florida.”

Students enrolled with Take Stock in Children are identified in middle and high school, and then sign a contract pledging to remain drug and crime free, as well as maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.5 or greater. All students that fulfill these obligations and successfully complete the program then receive full scholarships to a state college or university.

To learn more about Take Stock in Children or to become a valued mentor or supporter, please call 888-322-4673 or visit www.takestockinchildren.org.

Broward College Tour from Take Stock in Children on Vimeo

BSO deputies received reports of multiple vehicle burglaries that occurred overnight in the 1100 block of SE 5 Court. Taken from the unlocked vehicles were cash, laptops, and a firearm. Please lock your doors and remove items of value from your vehicle. Call 911 if you see suspicious activity in your neighborhood.

The Division of Forestry at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services enacted today a temporary statewide restriction prohibiting open campfires on all state lands due to extreme drought conditions and increasing wildfire threats.

This temporary restriction against open campfires prohibits all fires placed openly on the ground until further notice or until the threat of wildfire is significantly diminished.  Cooking fires contained in commercially-designated apparatuses such as grills and embedded metal fire rings are not prohibited at this time.

“The Florida Division of Forestry is committed to providing safe and quality recreation areas for the public,” said Jim Karels, Director of the Division of Forestry. “However, we need the public’s help in keeping visitors and natural resources safe by refraining from lighting campfires on state lands.”

The restriction applies to state forest lands and public lands managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Department of Environmental Protection and regional Water Management Districts.

In the past six months, Forestry personnel have responded to more than 3,300 wildfires and battled almost 200,000 acres of burning wildlands across the state. While the majority of these fires were caused by lightning strikes, a large number were acts of arson or human carelessness.

For more information regarding the campfire restrictions on state lands or Florida wildfire activity and to learn how you can help, visit www.fl-dof.com or contact your local Division of Forestry office.

Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives are looking for a man who tried to rob an IHOP restaurant in Pompano shortly after 1 a.m. today. There is no surveillance video, but the man had a distinctive sleeve tattoo of flames that covered his entire right arm. He carried a rifle and demanded money from employees but then left before taking the money. T Any member of the public with knowledge about the crime or the criminal can report information anonymously to Crime Stoppers of Broward County, which will pay up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest. That number is 954-493-TIPS (8477).

By Declan Murphy

On Wednesday, June 8, U.S. Representative, District 22, Allen West — the sole Florida-based member of the House Small Business Committee — was a keynote speaker at an event entitled “Small Business: Innovation Tools” hosted by the FAU Research Park in Deerfield Beach.

West emphasized the importance of small businesses in growing the economy, and asserted that they are being neglected.

West outlined three points he believes will help small businesses “turn it [the economy] around.”

1) West claims that spending needs to be controlled in D.C. He mentioned a recent effort in D.C. to cut and eliminate useless, expensive defense programs that were draining money from the federal budget. 2) West also affirmed that “increasing taxes is not the answer” and in order for small businesses to grow, tax policy changes must be made. 3) West stressed that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently imposed new regulations on small businesses, forcing them to spend money to meet standards that are not that vital, given the current dire economic climate.

He also made mention of the Small Business Encouragement Act he introduced, which is currently in the House’s Ways and Means Committee, where appropriations are determined. The act, if passed, would change the Internal Revenue Code, giving small businesses of fewer than 100 employees — that hire unemployed Americans — a work opportunity tax credit. The Small Business Encouragement Act could save employers up to $12,000 a year per hire in some parts of the country.

After West presented his ideas and views, he took questions from those who attended. In answering one question about what should be done to repair the economy, West claimed that “the entrepreneurial spirit” has led Americans, and America in general, to great accomplishments such as the moon landing. He went further by saying that “the entrepreneurial spirit” is what will fix America’s economy, not big government. When answering another question, West addressed the debt problem. He stated that he believes issues such as the national debt should be approached with “a vision of ten to twenty years ahead” and the debt problem cannot be solved by a quick fix but that it rather requires a long-term solution. West also said that the “problem with decisions being made is that they are short-sighted”. The congressman also offered his opinion on education: that it must be practical and applicable to real jobs and careers. He suggested involving the private sector in public education. He said encouraging professionals, such as a C.P.A. or lawyer, to come and talk to high school students about how what they are learning applies to their careers would go a long way in ensuring that the education our children are receiving is practical and conducive to real opportunities in the job market.