Kearns woman to stand trial for murder in death of disabled woman
By Aaron Falk
The Salt Lake Tribune
Published: November 28, 2011 06:05PM
Courtesty photo Christina D. Harms A Kearns woman accused of abusing a 22-year-old disabled woman — binding her feet and tying her to a bar in a small closet before her death — has been ordered to stand trial on a charge of murder.
Defense attorneys for Cassandra Marie Shepard argued the charge should be reduced to manslaughter, calling the circumstances of Christina Harms’ death in March “ambiguous.”
“The evidence ... does not show an intentional or knowing murder,” defense attorneys wrote in documents filed in 3rd District Court following an October preliminary hearing.
On Monday, however, Judge Randall Skanchy disagreed, ordering Shepard to stand trial on charges of first-degree felony aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult and second-degree felony obstructing justice in addition to the murder count.
“It didn’t happen!” Shepard, 28, said in court, as Skanchy listed off some of the allegations against her.
Prosecutors have said Shepard, a registered nurse, “knew she was creating a grave risk of death,” when she bound Harms’ arms and legs and placed her in a closet with little food and water — “all while plying the victim with high doses of sedatives to keep her quiet and conforming.”
Harms, who had fetal alcohol syndrome, which caused her to function at preteen levels, died of abuse and neglect, a medical examiner testified at the October hearing. The woman was severely dehydrated and had high levels of a sedative, possibly Benadryl, in her system.
Defense attorneys argued in court documents that Harms did not die as a result of being tied up or placed in the closet. They said Harms was well-fed, bordering on obese. She had wounds on her arms, but they were being treated. And the sedative levels could be consistent with someone who had developed a tolerance to the drug, the medical examiner said.
Shepard, Harms’ legal guardian, was the one who called 911 and was in “extreme emotional distress” when police arrived, her defense attorneys said.
“Evidence of abuse is one thing,” the defense wrote. “Evidence of knowledge that the probability of death was highly likely is something else entirely.”
Shepard’s next court appearance is set for Jan. 9.
Shepard’s stepfather, 52-year-old Dale Robert Beckering, was convicted earlier this month on a lesser charge of second-degree felony aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult. Shepard’s mother, 50-year-old Sherrie Lynn Beckering, is scheduled to stand trial in January on a first-degree felony charge of aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult.
afalk@sltrib.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2011 The Salt Lake Tribune Kearns woman to stand trial for murder in death of disabled womanBy Aaron Falk
The Salt Lake Tribune
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Four drugs responsible for majority of visits to ER, according to CDC
Four drugs responsible for majority of visits to ER, according to CDC
The State Column | Staff | Sunday, November 27, 2011
A study released this week finds that four drugs are mainly responsible for most of the emergency room visits in the U.S.
The study, by researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, singles out four drugs and drug classes — warfarin, oral antiplatelet medications, insulins, and oral hypoglycemic agents. The study also noted that better management of antithrombotic and anti-diabetic drugs could help avoid thousands of emergency admissions.
The study, published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, highlights a couple of key issues doctors and patients need to be acutely aware of. The first is adverse reactions to medication, and the second is unintentional overdoses.
According to researchers, nearly 100,000 hospitalizations every year are linked to adverse drug events such as allergic reactions and unintentional overdoses. Nearly half, or 48.1 percent, of those hospitalized were adults 80 years old or older.
“These data suggest that focusing safety initiatives on a few medicines that commonly cause serious, measurable harms can improve care for many older Americans,” said lead study author Dr. Daniel Budnitz, director of the CDC’s medication safety program. “Blood thinners and diabetes medicines often require blood testing and dosing changes, but these are critical medicines for older adults with certain medical conditions.”
“Of the thousands of medications available to older patients, a small group of blood thinners and diabetes medications caused a high proportion of emergency hospitalizations for adverse drug events among elderly Americans,” he added.
The study comes as the Obama administration has sought to decrease the number of emergency room visits by upwards of 20 percent. The new healthcare law could results in nearly 32 million newly insured people visiting emergency rooms already crammed beyond capacity, according to experts on healthcare facilities. President Obama has urged preventative practices in order to lower the rate of emergency rooms visits.
The State Column | Staff | Sunday, November 27, 2011
A study released this week finds that four drugs are mainly responsible for most of the emergency room visits in the U.S.
The study, by researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, singles out four drugs and drug classes — warfarin, oral antiplatelet medications, insulins, and oral hypoglycemic agents. The study also noted that better management of antithrombotic and anti-diabetic drugs could help avoid thousands of emergency admissions.
The study, published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, highlights a couple of key issues doctors and patients need to be acutely aware of. The first is adverse reactions to medication, and the second is unintentional overdoses.
According to researchers, nearly 100,000 hospitalizations every year are linked to adverse drug events such as allergic reactions and unintentional overdoses. Nearly half, or 48.1 percent, of those hospitalized were adults 80 years old or older.
“These data suggest that focusing safety initiatives on a few medicines that commonly cause serious, measurable harms can improve care for many older Americans,” said lead study author Dr. Daniel Budnitz, director of the CDC’s medication safety program. “Blood thinners and diabetes medicines often require blood testing and dosing changes, but these are critical medicines for older adults with certain medical conditions.”
“Of the thousands of medications available to older patients, a small group of blood thinners and diabetes medications caused a high proportion of emergency hospitalizations for adverse drug events among elderly Americans,” he added.
The study comes as the Obama administration has sought to decrease the number of emergency room visits by upwards of 20 percent. The new healthcare law could results in nearly 32 million newly insured people visiting emergency rooms already crammed beyond capacity, according to experts on healthcare facilities. President Obama has urged preventative practices in order to lower the rate of emergency rooms visits.
Artificial pancreas could be 'holy grail' for Type 1 diabetics
Artificial pancreas could be 'holy grail' for Type 1 diabetics - CNN.com
By Saundra Young , CNN Medical Senior Producer
2011-11-26T13:31:59Z CNN.com
A trial patient for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Artificial Pancreas Project tests the device.
(CNN) -- Kerry Morgan was just 3 years old when she participated in her first clinical trial for type 1 diabetes prevention. She didn't have the disease, but her 7-year old sister did and there was concern that she might develop it, too. During the trial she was given one shot of insulin a day in the hope that it would stave off the disease, but a year later, she was officially diagnosed.
"I remember a lot of things changed." Morgan said. "I went from having juice every day and M&Ms to not having sugar at all. I remember getting shots every day, finger pricks, my parents had to hold me down."
School, she says was difficult. "You had to let teachers know what was going on. You had a special relationship with the nurse because she had to check your blood sugar every day before going to lunch."
At 14 she entered a second trial, this one at the University of Virginia, for a continuous glucose monitoring system called The Navigator. It was at UVA that she first learned about the artificial pancreas. A high school senior at 18 now, she has participated in four clinical trials and two have involved artificial pancreas systems.
"It was awesome. I've never done anything quite like it before. For the two days that I was on the artificial pancreas I experienced normalcy. I wasn't checking myself every five seconds and giving myself insulin because it was doing it for me."
In type 1 diabetics, the pancreas makes very little or no insulin, a hormone that controls glucose levels, or the amount of sugar in your blood. Patients must constantly check their levels throughout the day, determine how much insulin they need to lower their blood sugar and administer the proper amount using a pump or syringe. Drops or spikes in blood sugar can be extremely dangerous. If the level is too low -- a condition called hypoglycemia -- patients can experience shakiness, confusion, trouble speaking, seizures, even coma and death. A level that is too high -- hyperglycemia -- can cause excessive thirst, frequent urination and cardiac arrhythmia. Left untreated, hyperglycemia can lead to a number of serious complications including vision loss and nerve damage.
An artificial pancreas mimics the glucose regulating function of a healthy pancreas. The automated device features a sensor that's placed under the skin that measures blood sugar. Information from this continuous glucose monitor is sent to a receiver and an insulin pump delivers insulin in controlled amounts. A glucose meter calibrates the sensor. Sophisticated software checks the blood sugar in the body and automatically provides the correct dose of insulin needed at the right time.
"When you have diabetes, every second you're thinking about your blood sugar," says Morgan. "You're wondering if you're high, if you're low, if you're OK, if you're giving yourself enough insulin, if you're not giving yourself enough insulin. With the artificial pancreas it takes that worry away because it's doing it for you. It lets you know if something's wrong. That way you're not always worrying about your blood sugar."
The device has not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In June the agency issued a draft guidance seeking input from the industry and researchers on an early version of the artificial pancreas, called the low glucose suspend system. It's a backup for diabetics experiencing hypoglycemia. Patients still have to monitor their levels and give themselves insulin if necessary, but the low glucose suspend system temporarily reduces or stops the insulin flow in the event of an episode.
There are two types: A reactive low glucose suspend system that stops insulin infusion when a predetermined level has been reached, and a predictive low glucose suspend system that anticipates a hypoglycemic event based on the current blood sugar level and how fast those levels are falling.
Dr. Charles Zimliki chairs the FDA's Artificial Pancreas Critical Path Initiative and he is a type 1 diabetic. Testifying before a Senate committee in June, he said the FDA is committed to seeing the device come to market but is proceeding with caution.
"While the potential benefits are enormous, an artificial pancreas system is considered a significant-risk device, meaning it presents a potential for serious risk to the health, safety or welfare of a patient. If not properly designed, use of an artificial pancreas device in an outpatient setting can place patients at significant risk, because the device controls the administration of insulin without the oversight of health care professionals."
The FDA is expected to release new guidance for future generations of the artificial pancreas systems on December 1. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation has been working closely with the FDA on the artificial pancreas. It says low glucose suspend systems have been in use in more than 40 countries for the last 2½ years and the process in the United States is taking much too long.
"Here in the U.S. we're now almost three years behind and the first study to test these systems is just going to launch in the next month, which means it's going to be another year or so before patients even have access," said Aaron Kowalski, assistant vice president of treatment therapies for the foundation. "What JDRF is advocating for is to ensure that people here in the U.S. have access to these tools in a timely manner."
The FDA says other countries have different regulatory systems in place that do not require the same safety and effectiveness data for a product of this level of risk.
Tom Brobson, a 51-year-old Christmas tree farmer and the national director for donor relations at JDRF was diagnosed eight years ago with type 1 diabetes. "I think they're getting hung up on better when good enough can do the job. You can't get better until it's out there being used. We know that technology isn't perfect, but what we're talking about are significant improvements and enhancements over what we have today that can significantly reduce the daily burden of living with this disease, improve quality of lives and save lives."
Brobson has been participating in artificial pancreas clinical trials at UVA since 2007. "It's been awesome, fantastic, frankly everything I could ever imagine it to be and then some," he says. "The open question for me was could a computer system using off-the-shelf technologies do a better job of controlling my blood sugar than I was already doing for myself and the answer turned out to be overwhelmingly yes."
Without it, Brobson says he has to spend every minute managing his diabetes. "I have to be my own pancreas 24 hours a day. Last thing at night, first thing in the morning and often in the middle of the night. When the artificial pancreas took over, that was a real power moment. It kept me perfect from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. When the artificial pancreas took over moment to moment when it was actively assisting me in the management of my disease, it was a life changing moment and it was life changing because I didn't have to think about my diabetes every moment of the day."
Dr. Michelle Magee is an endocrinologist and director of the MedStar Diabetes Institute at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. "The data from other countries showed that the system could be used safely and effectively. It's been somewhat disappointing that it has taken so long to get approval here."
She says the long awaited system offers hope to patients. "For people with type 1 diabetes, the artificial pancreas has been kind of the holy grail of technology to support self management of diabetes. It's not going to cure it, but it's going to be a huge step in the right direction. Once it's approved and can be used it will be fantastic."
According to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, about 80 people a day are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Approximately 3 million Americans are living with the disease. Most of them only have healthy blood sugars 30% of the day. The foundation says it has spent $1.5 billion on diabetes research, $40 million of that on research on artificial pancreas systems.
"Our goal is to drive the development of artificial pancreas systems," Kowalski said. "This could not only improve tremendously glucose control, and help reduce the risk of these terrible diabetes complications, it could also help people with diabetes live easier. The bottom line is diabetes is a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week, 365 day a year job and if we can make some of that easier that would be a huge step forward."
Morgan agrees. "I think it's superimportant, I think next to having a cure for diabetes it's the big thing. Because it's such an instrumental piece of equipment it can allow you to live closer to what we consider normal than anything that we have now."
By Saundra Young , CNN Medical Senior Producer
2011-11-26T13:31:59Z CNN.com
A trial patient for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Artificial Pancreas Project tests the device.
(CNN) -- Kerry Morgan was just 3 years old when she participated in her first clinical trial for type 1 diabetes prevention. She didn't have the disease, but her 7-year old sister did and there was concern that she might develop it, too. During the trial she was given one shot of insulin a day in the hope that it would stave off the disease, but a year later, she was officially diagnosed.
"I remember a lot of things changed." Morgan said. "I went from having juice every day and M&Ms to not having sugar at all. I remember getting shots every day, finger pricks, my parents had to hold me down."
School, she says was difficult. "You had to let teachers know what was going on. You had a special relationship with the nurse because she had to check your blood sugar every day before going to lunch."
At 14 she entered a second trial, this one at the University of Virginia, for a continuous glucose monitoring system called The Navigator. It was at UVA that she first learned about the artificial pancreas. A high school senior at 18 now, she has participated in four clinical trials and two have involved artificial pancreas systems.
"It was awesome. I've never done anything quite like it before. For the two days that I was on the artificial pancreas I experienced normalcy. I wasn't checking myself every five seconds and giving myself insulin because it was doing it for me."
In type 1 diabetics, the pancreas makes very little or no insulin, a hormone that controls glucose levels, or the amount of sugar in your blood. Patients must constantly check their levels throughout the day, determine how much insulin they need to lower their blood sugar and administer the proper amount using a pump or syringe. Drops or spikes in blood sugar can be extremely dangerous. If the level is too low -- a condition called hypoglycemia -- patients can experience shakiness, confusion, trouble speaking, seizures, even coma and death. A level that is too high -- hyperglycemia -- can cause excessive thirst, frequent urination and cardiac arrhythmia. Left untreated, hyperglycemia can lead to a number of serious complications including vision loss and nerve damage.
An artificial pancreas mimics the glucose regulating function of a healthy pancreas. The automated device features a sensor that's placed under the skin that measures blood sugar. Information from this continuous glucose monitor is sent to a receiver and an insulin pump delivers insulin in controlled amounts. A glucose meter calibrates the sensor. Sophisticated software checks the blood sugar in the body and automatically provides the correct dose of insulin needed at the right time.
"When you have diabetes, every second you're thinking about your blood sugar," says Morgan. "You're wondering if you're high, if you're low, if you're OK, if you're giving yourself enough insulin, if you're not giving yourself enough insulin. With the artificial pancreas it takes that worry away because it's doing it for you. It lets you know if something's wrong. That way you're not always worrying about your blood sugar."
The device has not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In June the agency issued a draft guidance seeking input from the industry and researchers on an early version of the artificial pancreas, called the low glucose suspend system. It's a backup for diabetics experiencing hypoglycemia. Patients still have to monitor their levels and give themselves insulin if necessary, but the low glucose suspend system temporarily reduces or stops the insulin flow in the event of an episode.
There are two types: A reactive low glucose suspend system that stops insulin infusion when a predetermined level has been reached, and a predictive low glucose suspend system that anticipates a hypoglycemic event based on the current blood sugar level and how fast those levels are falling.
Dr. Charles Zimliki chairs the FDA's Artificial Pancreas Critical Path Initiative and he is a type 1 diabetic. Testifying before a Senate committee in June, he said the FDA is committed to seeing the device come to market but is proceeding with caution.
"While the potential benefits are enormous, an artificial pancreas system is considered a significant-risk device, meaning it presents a potential for serious risk to the health, safety or welfare of a patient. If not properly designed, use of an artificial pancreas device in an outpatient setting can place patients at significant risk, because the device controls the administration of insulin without the oversight of health care professionals."
The FDA is expected to release new guidance for future generations of the artificial pancreas systems on December 1. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation has been working closely with the FDA on the artificial pancreas. It says low glucose suspend systems have been in use in more than 40 countries for the last 2½ years and the process in the United States is taking much too long.
"Here in the U.S. we're now almost three years behind and the first study to test these systems is just going to launch in the next month, which means it's going to be another year or so before patients even have access," said Aaron Kowalski, assistant vice president of treatment therapies for the foundation. "What JDRF is advocating for is to ensure that people here in the U.S. have access to these tools in a timely manner."
The FDA says other countries have different regulatory systems in place that do not require the same safety and effectiveness data for a product of this level of risk.
Tom Brobson, a 51-year-old Christmas tree farmer and the national director for donor relations at JDRF was diagnosed eight years ago with type 1 diabetes. "I think they're getting hung up on better when good enough can do the job. You can't get better until it's out there being used. We know that technology isn't perfect, but what we're talking about are significant improvements and enhancements over what we have today that can significantly reduce the daily burden of living with this disease, improve quality of lives and save lives."
Brobson has been participating in artificial pancreas clinical trials at UVA since 2007. "It's been awesome, fantastic, frankly everything I could ever imagine it to be and then some," he says. "The open question for me was could a computer system using off-the-shelf technologies do a better job of controlling my blood sugar than I was already doing for myself and the answer turned out to be overwhelmingly yes."
Without it, Brobson says he has to spend every minute managing his diabetes. "I have to be my own pancreas 24 hours a day. Last thing at night, first thing in the morning and often in the middle of the night. When the artificial pancreas took over, that was a real power moment. It kept me perfect from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. When the artificial pancreas took over moment to moment when it was actively assisting me in the management of my disease, it was a life changing moment and it was life changing because I didn't have to think about my diabetes every moment of the day."
Dr. Michelle Magee is an endocrinologist and director of the MedStar Diabetes Institute at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. "The data from other countries showed that the system could be used safely and effectively. It's been somewhat disappointing that it has taken so long to get approval here."
She says the long awaited system offers hope to patients. "For people with type 1 diabetes, the artificial pancreas has been kind of the holy grail of technology to support self management of diabetes. It's not going to cure it, but it's going to be a huge step in the right direction. Once it's approved and can be used it will be fantastic."
According to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, about 80 people a day are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Approximately 3 million Americans are living with the disease. Most of them only have healthy blood sugars 30% of the day. The foundation says it has spent $1.5 billion on diabetes research, $40 million of that on research on artificial pancreas systems.
"Our goal is to drive the development of artificial pancreas systems," Kowalski said. "This could not only improve tremendously glucose control, and help reduce the risk of these terrible diabetes complications, it could also help people with diabetes live easier. The bottom line is diabetes is a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week, 365 day a year job and if we can make some of that easier that would be a huge step forward."
Morgan agrees. "I think it's superimportant, I think next to having a cure for diabetes it's the big thing. Because it's such an instrumental piece of equipment it can allow you to live closer to what we consider normal than anything that we have now."
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Mother's word is law
The nurses in the Women's Health Division seek to satisfy not only the newborns' appetites but also the parents' desires for when and what to feed their infants. To improve communication between parents and nurses, the Nursing Leadership Team developed the Infant Feeding Plan.
"With this new tool, the baby's nurse talks directly to the mom or parent to avoid misunderstandings," said Jennifer Peterman, RN, BSN, IBCLC, a certified lactation consultant in the Women's Health Division.
The Infant Feeding Plan began as an informed consent document. It has evolved into a communication tool initiated as part of the mother's electronic medical record. It indicates whether the parents want the infant to be breast-fed, formula fed or a combination of the two.
"Asking about a mother's preferred method of feeding for her new baby has always been a question labor and delivery nurses have asked their patients," said Ryan Olivere, RNC-OB, MSN, a clinical nurse specialist in the Labor & Delivery/Perinatal Evaluation Center. "This program has helped to streamline the process and has brought a patient-centered focus into the care we provide. The patient is now more active in the care she and her baby receive."
A paper copy of the infant feeding plan remains at the crib side, which means any nurse who cares for the baby in the nursery or intensive care nursery has easy access to the parents' wishes, Peterman said. If the parents change their minds about feeding method, feeding schedule or use of a pacifier, the document is updated and signed by the baby's nurse and a parent.
"The most compelling evidence [of the program[']s success] was actually observing mom, nurse and pediatrician reviewing and adapting the infant feeding plan at the crib side," said Marilyn Stringer, WHNP-BC, PhD, RDMS, FAAN, a clinician educator and professor of women's health nursing.
While the main goal of the feeding plan is to ensure nurses understand the wishes of their young patients' parents, the improvement in communication has yielded another positive outcome — breast-feeding rates have risen. "[In] the fiscal year preceding this initiative, the hospital breast-feeding initiation rate was 68%," Peterman wrote in an abstract submitted to the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. "The fiscal year that started a few months after this plan was introduced had a breast-feeding initiation rate of 74%."
The program won the praise of The Joint Commission, which named it a Best Practice Model of Care. "JCAHO loved it when they came in," Peterman said. "They really thought it was good care."
"With this new tool, the baby's nurse talks directly to the mom or parent to avoid misunderstandings," said Jennifer Peterman, RN, BSN, IBCLC, a certified lactation consultant in the Women's Health Division.
The Infant Feeding Plan began as an informed consent document. It has evolved into a communication tool initiated as part of the mother's electronic medical record. It indicates whether the parents want the infant to be breast-fed, formula fed or a combination of the two.
"Asking about a mother's preferred method of feeding for her new baby has always been a question labor and delivery nurses have asked their patients," said Ryan Olivere, RNC-OB, MSN, a clinical nurse specialist in the Labor & Delivery/Perinatal Evaluation Center. "This program has helped to streamline the process and has brought a patient-centered focus into the care we provide. The patient is now more active in the care she and her baby receive."
A paper copy of the infant feeding plan remains at the crib side, which means any nurse who cares for the baby in the nursery or intensive care nursery has easy access to the parents' wishes, Peterman said. If the parents change their minds about feeding method, feeding schedule or use of a pacifier, the document is updated and signed by the baby's nurse and a parent.
"The most compelling evidence [of the program[']s success] was actually observing mom, nurse and pediatrician reviewing and adapting the infant feeding plan at the crib side," said Marilyn Stringer, WHNP-BC, PhD, RDMS, FAAN, a clinician educator and professor of women's health nursing.
While the main goal of the feeding plan is to ensure nurses understand the wishes of their young patients' parents, the improvement in communication has yielded another positive outcome — breast-feeding rates have risen. "[In] the fiscal year preceding this initiative, the hospital breast-feeding initiation rate was 68%," Peterman wrote in an abstract submitted to the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. "The fiscal year that started a few months after this plan was introduced had a breast-feeding initiation rate of 74%."
The program won the praise of The Joint Commission, which named it a Best Practice Model of Care. "JCAHO loved it when they came in," Peterman said. "They really thought it was good care."
The power of nostalgia at Thanksgiving
By Jacque Wilson, CNN
updated 7:08 AM EST, Wed November 23, 2011
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Nostalgia comes from the Greek word for homecoming (nostos) and pain (algos)
- Nostalgic products fill a need to belong and feel socially connected
- People who are alone or disconnected feel better after engaging in nostalgia
Green bean casserole and pumpkin pie. Or sweet potato casserole and pecan pie. Cranberries. Collard greens. Stuffing.
Every year, we spend hours making the traditional Thanksgiving favorites just like our mom used to do, like her mom did before that.
"When you do something repeatedly over the years, it builds up a kind of power," nutritional psychologist Marc David says. "It creates its own momentum. To make the same dish year after year, decade after decade, there's something in that that connects us to the past."
Nostalgia comes from the Greek word for homecoming (nostos) and pain (algos). But experts say feeling nostalgic is actually good for your mental health.
Anything can bring on that special moment -- music, smells, photos. We play the same songs, cook the same recipes, take the same family photo in the same spot next to the same fireplace because we're human, David says. Our biological functions are based on repetitive rhythms. Our brains are hardwired to relax when surrounded by the familiar.
"Emotional eating has gotten a bad name," David says. "We're emotional people. We are emotional beings. We're built for pleasure."
Nostalgic products fill a need to belong and feel socially connected, according to an Arizona State University study published in the Journal of Consumer Research last year.
That's why this time of year, TV and radio ads are filled with smiling families sitting around a large table in holiday sweaters, passing the dinner rolls. Even if you're far away from home, companies want you to believe that buying those same dinner rolls will fill your heart with holiday joy. Turns out, it works.
Dr. Clay Routledge works with other researchers from the University of Southampton's nostalgia project. He recently published an article in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology titled "The past makes present meaningful."
Nostalgia, Routledge found, increases a person's self-esteem. Daily activities like going to class or attending meetings are routine, even boring. When we engage in nostalgia, we tend to think of the things that are really important to us. That makes us feel like our life is meaningful.
Taste of Home's sweet potato tart recipe
"What's amazing about autobiographical memory is that bad memories fade faster than positive memories," Routledge says. "One thing that's interesting about nostalgia is that it's not 100% detail accurate -- it's more the highlights."
Nostalgia is largely social. Routledge' s studies found that people who are alone or disconnected feel better after engaging in nostalgia. Yet you're probably dreaming right now about your grandfather's deep-fried turkey, not about him, right?
"Is it really about the food?" Routledge asks. "Or is the food just sort of a trigger or cue for what the holidays are really all about, which is relationships. We don't eat these foods other times of the year because we've segmented them off as special. They go with this occasion. They go with the relationships."
For Taste of Home editor Catherine Cassidy, Thanksgiving means cooking for the ones she loves. She gets satisfaction in putting good food on the table for her family. So many of our best moments from the past, she says, are rooted in our sense of smell.
"We call them food memories. When it comes to the holidays we are always trying to recreate the magic and the specialness we experienced when we were children."
So indulge in a little Thanksgiving daydream. Long for the oyster stuffing. Sniff the air in anticipation of mom's pumpkin pie. Then on the big day, enjoy your holiday feast, and all the benefits that come from the power of nostalgia.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Kaysville principal earns national kudos
Kaysville principal earns national kudos
By Carol Lindsay
Special to The Tribune
Published: November 17, 2011 11:31AMUpdated: November 17, 2011 01:01AM
Carol Lindsay | Special to The Tribune Kathleen Bagley performs a “Yippee Dance" with students at Snow Horse Elementary in Kaysville. Bagley was recognized during National Principals Month as one of 61 outstanding administrators nationwide. As principal, she has stressed healthy living and service, as well as excellence in the classroom.
Combine Harvard, West Point and Disney World and what do you get? A place that is challenging, safe and super-duper fun.
That’s the kind of school Kathleen Bagley envisioned when she — and a number of co-workers — created Snow Horse Elementary in Kaysville. Indeed, she “had the privilege of dreaming a school into existence.”
Now, the principal is getting national kudos for keeping that school strong.
Bagley was named one of 61 outstanding administrators during National Principals Month for her efforts in sustaining strong schools. The honor came during an awards banquet in late October in Washington, D.C.
“Principals provide vitally important leadership that creates a lasting foundation for learning, drives school and student performance and shapes the long-term impact of school-improvement efforts,” wrote Gail Connelly, executive director of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, in a statement, “all which undeniably bolster the nation’s opportunities for future prosperity.”
The national distinguished principals award — established in 1984 — honors administrators who make superior contributions to their schools.
Bagley has shepherded Snow Horse Elementary since it began. When she was hired as the school’s head in 2007, there was no school. She literally built Snow Horse from the ground up, guiding construction and hiring a staff that shared her vision.
Her goal was to create a school that would provide a good workplace for teachers and a productive learning environment for students. She wanted people to be happy, but challenged.
“For good or bad, I hired people just like me,” Bagley said. “They are passionate, opinionated and hard-working. We have a standard of excellence that is pervasive.”
Snow Horse isn’t the first school Bagley had overseen.
Her first administrative post was at Jennie P. Stewart Elementary in Centerville, where she served for five years. Her experience at that school — which offered services for children with disabilities — shaped her vision for Snow Horse.
“I saw the way the kids interacted with children with disabilities,” Bagley said. “It made them more compassionate.”
Consequently, Bagley asked to have a similar unit at Snow Horse that would provide services to children with cognitive disabilities. The school also has a learning center for students with behavioral challenges.
Bagley takes pride in her school’s ability to provide for special-needs students. Most of those children are taught in mainstream classes. Only about 5 percent of the school’s 800 students receive their education in a structured environment.
“Our teachers have been amazing, and they model acceptance,” she said.
Other traits Bagley has tried to instill in the school’s culture are health and service.
The school is recognized as a Gold Medal School because of its emphasis on healthy living. For example, the school gave pedometers to all of its students and staff to track how much they walk. Snow Horse also focuses its rewards on activities rather than junk food.
In one first-grade classroom, Bagley performed a so-called “Yippee Dance” with students to celebrate their mastery of reading words.
“There are lots of celebrations without junk,” she said. “When we have food, we have healthy alternatives. There are tours, scooter races and games. There is always something to look forward to.”
As for service, the principal has dedicated a school wall to recognizing classes and students who do projects. One group of students earned more than $5,000 for helping impoverished families build mud huts in war-torn Uganda.
Becky Smith, an office secretary, describes Bagley as “a person with sincere motives.”
“She really cares about parents, students and faculty and can balance it all,” Smith said. “It is an honor to work with her.”
Bagley was awarded a plaque and a bell as part of her recognition as a national distinguished principal. She also met with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and toured the White House.
One of the most entertaining memories of her journey happened during her White House tour. She was served a dessert filled with chocolate mousse and berries.
“They have no hesitation,” Bagley mused, “in rewarding teachers with food.”
carol@lindsay.net
—
What’s in a name?
How did Snow Horse Elementary get its name? The following explanation was given in a booklet Principal Kathleen Bagley distributed to students:
“There is a very special place shaped like a horse above Kaysville and Layton made of deep gullies and ridges high up on the north side of the mountains. … You can’t see the horse when it is buried in snow, but when May arrives, we always watch for warm days when most of the snow is gone, and we can spot the snow horse on the mountain. In the olden days, pioneers used the snow horse to tell them when it was safe to plant their tender spring crops.”
© 2011 The Salt Lake Tribune
Kaysville principal earns national kudos
By Carol Lindsay
Special to The Tribune
Running
Ogden grade-schoolers pledge to run 1,000 miles to win trail funding
By Carol Lindsay
Special to The Tribune
Published: November 21, 2011 12:26PMUpdated: November 22, 2011 04:14PM
Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune Ogden's Lincoln Elementary third-graders Lesly Zamora, left, and Marco Uribe lead the pack Thursday. More than 500 students will run a total of 1,000 miles by the end of November to encourage the public to vote for funding of a walking trail in their low-income community.
Ogden • Hundreds of students at Lincoln Elementary have pledged to run a combined 1,000 miles by the end of November — all in hopes of winning enough money to build an exercise trail near their school.
With each mile, students are trying to raise awareness about a $50,000 grant from the Pepsi Refresh Project that could pay for the construction of a trail, with exercise stations, in Ogden’s Mount Eyrie Park.
What Lincoln Elementary is looking for is votes. And lots of them. Quick.
Pepsi will be awarding grants between $5,000 and $50,000 to projects that get the most votes nationwide on its website, refresheverything.com. Lincoln Elementary’s project can be found by searching for “Mt Eyrie.” Pepsi’s goal is to pay for projects that “refresh” the world.
Sharon Gardner, a YMCA project manager at Lincoln Elementary who has worked with at-risk youth for the past eight years, believes the trail project will do just that for the low-income community she serves. She put the grant proposal together and enlisted students to help spread the word.
“This community doesn’t have a thing out here,” she said. “We are too far from downtown. It would be nice for the community and the school to have this exercise park available.”
More than 500 Lincoln Elementary students have taken the pledge. As a kick-off, students walked or ran a mile the first day.
However, fourth-grader Rogelio Ceja ran two miles in just 15 minutes. “I want this track!” he said.
In addition to students, teachers, parents and faculty are participating in the trek. Playground monitor Rikki Boothe planned to walk more than three miles a day alongside groups of students at recess.
Building an exercise trail has been a dream of retired teacher Julene Hale. She taught fourth and fifth grades at Lincoln Elementary for years before retiring three years ago. But even in retirement, Hale hasn’t left the school. She returns each Wednesday to support the children as they exercise.
Hale hopes that with the community’s support, the school will win the grant. Votes can be cast each day until Nov. 30.
“We are a gold-medal school, which means every student walks a mile once a week,” Hale said. “This exercise trail has been something I’ve daydreamed about for years. I am grateful that Sharon [Gardner] has found a way to make it possible.”
The movement has the support of both the Ogden School District and Ogden City. It also has the backing of the YMCA.
“Our initiatives are all about healthy living and lifestyle,” said Jan Smith, program director for the YMCA. “We can’t think of a better way to support these initiatives than by providing families an outlet for coming out and exercising.”
closeup@sltrib.com
—
How to vote
If you’d like to help Lincoln Elementary reach its goal, go to refresheverything.com and search for the keywords “Mt Eyrie.” You also can text this code (109790) to Pepsi (73774).
© 2011 The Salt Lake Tribune
Ogden grade-schoolers pledge to run 1,000 miles to win trail funding
By Carol Lindsay
Special to The Tribune
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Salt Lake Weekend CNA CLASS
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Will there be a poop bank next to the blood bank?
'Fecal Transplants' Show Promise for Gastrointestinal IllsHelp restore bacterial diversity, ease infections, studies show
By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Nov. 1 (HealthDay News) -- They sound disgusting, but doctors say "fecal transplants" -- once shunned by the medical establishment -- are proving useful against a range of gastrointestinal ailments, new research says.HealthDay Reporter
Presenting at the American College of Gastroenterology annual meeting in Washington, D.C., researchers report that the therapy can ease severe irritable bowel syndrome and nasty bacterial infections.
Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) involves taking feces from a donor, typically a spouse or relative though it could be anyone, after a light colonoscopy prep.
That sample is then mixed "with some saline so that it's a consistency that can be aspirated into 60 cc syringes," explained Dr. Mark Mellow, one of the researchers presenting findings at the meeting.
The patient then undergoes a routine colonoscopy during which the mixture is inserted. The idea is that this new, transplanted population of healthy flora will correct the patient's underlying problem and it does seem to work.
Some of the most encouraging research comes in the form of three studies which demonstrated the procedure's effectiveness against recalcitrant infection with the bacterium Clostridium difficile. The bug can cause disabling and even life-threatening diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
"Patients who have multiple C. difficile recurrences have a totally different population of bacteria that normal people do," said Mellow, who is medical director of the Digestive Health Center at Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City. "The key thing is a marked decrease in diversity so, instead of having tons of different strains of microorganisms, they have many less strains and species than many people do."
In Mellow's study, 98 percent of patients with C. difficile who hadn't responded to a mean of five previous treatment courses saw rapid resolution of their symptoms -- if not with the first FMT transplant, then with a second.
The patients had been suffering for a mean of 11 months and many were ill enough to be in acute-care or skilled nursing facilities or homebound, Mellow said.
Dr. David Bernstein, chief of gastroenterology at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y., said: "It seems that this is potentially a phenomenal treatment for C. difficile infection, especially those that are refractory. This works and it's dramatic how quickly it works.
"C. difficile is becoming a greater problem in hospitals, and we're seeing more resistance and morbidity and mortality," he added.
Although it might seem difficult to find a volunteer, Bernstein felt that acceptance among patients would be high because "they've done so much already that has failed. They're desperate."
The transplants would not be first-line treatment for patients, however, Mellow said.
Researchers in Australia also reported success using FMT to treat ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease in three patients. In all cases, symptoms improved within days or weeks.
Other studies being presented at the meeting found effectiveness with probiotics, live "friendly bacteria" similar to those found naturally in the gut. The idea is similar to an FMT transplant but probiotics are generally sold as dietary supplements or come in foods such as yogurt.
More information
The Mayo Clinic has more on Clostridium difficult.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
How to limit Alzheimer's wandering
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- November is National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month
- About 60% of the nation's 5 million Alzheimer's patients will wander
- Wandering can happen at any time, but it's more likely in certain situations
Several hours later he found himself in open farmland in unfamiliar territory. He pulled over, brought out a book of maps, and realized he'd driven two hours past the turnoff to his home in Los Osos, California.
"It was terrifying," he remembers now. "I thought, I didn't mean to come here. How did this happen? I just zoned out."
But he wasn't just zoning out. A visit to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, showed Ferrero was in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's disease, a form of dementia.
"That car ride was a real wake-up call," he says.
After his trip to Mayo, Ferrero's wife insisted he get a professional driving evaluation to make sure he was safe to drive. His driving was fine -- the only problem was that he might wander off again down the road.
It has been five years since that fateful car trip. The disease forced Ferrero, an Air Force veteran, to retire from his position as president and CEO of the Private Industry Council of San Luis Obispo County. Now 64, he doesn't want to sit home all the time, and still drives and walks around.
To decrease the chance he'll wander again, Ferrero writes down exactly where he's going so he can refer to it later, and he wears an ID bracelet with a 24-hour emergency response number. He hasn't had another wandering incident, but knows he might at some point as his disease progresses.
"I forget things I never used to forget and I know it's only going to get worse," he says.
November is National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month and Family Caregiver Month. About 60% of the nation's 5 million Alzheimer's patients will wander, according to Beth Kallmyer, senior director of constituent services at the Alzheimer's Association.
"This is such a big worry for families," she says. "We tell them their loved ones can wander off at any time, even when you just go into the kitchen for a minute to start dinner."
Kallmyer advises families that there's no way to keep an eye on someone 24-7, but that there are some steps they can take to decrease the chances their loved one will wander.
1. Keep wandering top of mind
Sometimes families are surprised when their loved one wanders. Lawrence Schonfeld, an Alzheimer's expert, has noticed sometimes families forget that wandering is a huge risk because they're so overwhelmed with other aspects of Alzheimer's disease.
That can be a fatal mistake.
"Families are worried their loved one will leave the stove on in the kitchen, or they're annoyed when their loved one asks the same question over and over again," he says. "Wandering isn't always their major concern."
2. Pick up on the red flags of wandering
Wandering can happen at any time, but it's more likely in certain situations, such as when someone with dementia is in unfamiliar surroundings.
People with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia often leave clues that they're about to wander. If your loved one says, "It's time to go to work," she might truly be headed out the door in a few minutes. "I want to go home" might mean he's about to go in search of his childhood home, and you have to stop him.
3. Distract them
Don't say "Dad, you haven't worked in 30 years," or "Mom, you're already at home." Reasoning won't work. Instead, distract.
"If they say they want to go to work, tell them 'OK let's go see if we can find your shoes,'" Schonfeld suggests. "By the time they get their shoes on they'll have forgotten about going to work."
4. Block (or disguise) the exits
For safety reasons, you should never lock or trap a person with dementia in a home alone. If someone is there with them you can block the doors. There also are screens you can buy that look like, say, library books, so your loved one won't realize it's in front of a door. You can also put a lock toward the bottom of the door; Kallmyer says people with dementia won't think to look for a lock in such an unusual place.
Another idea: Put a mirror or a stop sign on the door, or you can try putting a dark rug in front of the door. People with late-stage dementia might think it's a hole and won't go near it.
5. Label your rooms
Sometimes people with dementia will go wandering off in search of the bathroom or a glass of water and get distracted and actually leave the house. The Mayo Clinic suggests putting a picture of a toilet on the door to the bathroom or food on the door to the kitchen, so they can more easily find what they need.
6. Keep them busy
"Sometimes people wander out of boredom, or because no one's paying attention to them," Kallmyer says. "Spending a lot of time watching TV isn't good. Have them wash dishes with you, or fold clothes."
You can also enroll your loved one in an adult day care program so they'll have interesting activities. Seniorresource.com and Eldercare Locator have search tools for finding a program near you.
7. Take a walk
"Have them take a walk or exercise with you," Schonfeld suggests. "They may be so tired afterwards they'll want to sit for a while." Even if they're not tired, the social engagement of the walk might be enough to keep them from wandering in search of company.
8. Provide safe wandering
Create a path through the rooms of your house as a place for your loved one to wander, or a circular trail through a fenced backyard, the Mayo Clinic advises.
Some devices alert you if a door is open in the house. Others tell you if your loved one has wandered beyond a certain area. You can even attach a GPS to your loved one and then go online to find him on a map; the GPS might be on a bracelet or in a shoe.
The Alzheimer's Association has an overview of electronic devices that can help keep track of Alzheimer's patients, and the association also has information about the ComfortZone and other safety products it sells. American Health Assistance Fund has a partial listing of companies that sell safety products. These devices can be expensive and some have a monthly service fee.
10. Find the right facility
Many families aren't sure they can safely keep their loved one with dementia at home. The Alzheimer's Association has a guide to determining what kind of care you need, and a guide for finding nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
Schonfeld recommends you check out a facility to see whether it has any complaints against it, especially those that involve wandering. The National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center has a list of state ombudsmans' offices, which can help you find the complaints.
Be sure to ask the right questions.
"Is the door monitored, either electronically or by staff?" Schonfeld says. "Do they have electronic devices to keep track of people who wander? And ask about their strategy for what they do if someone does wander off."
Stroke at 22: Honoring the lessons 20 years later
Stroke at 22: Honoring the lessons 20 years later
By Lisa O'Neill Hill, Special to CNN
updated 7:13 AM EST, Fri November 11, 2011
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Lisa Hill was born with a weak vessel in her brain, an arteriovenous malformation
- Hemorrhagic strokes make up more than 30% of stroke deaths
- "I've never been sorry the stroke happened," says Hill
I promised that if he would let me live and heal, I would be a better person. I would be less selfish, less stressed. I would be grateful for everything that I had. I wouldn't waste time sweating the small stuff.
Twenty years after a stroke left me temporarily paralyzed at age 22, I don't think I've been true to my word. As I became healthy, I went back to my old habits. The gratitude and joy waned. Far too often, I have taken my health for granted. But my body periodically reminds me that I'm not like everyone else. And although this is a burden, it's also a gift.
I was a graduate student studying journalism at the University of Southern California when a blood vessel in my brain burst around 11 a.m. on November 11, 1991. I had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke, which instantly robbed me of control over my body.
Hemorrhagic strokes account for only 13% of all strokes but more than 30% of stroke deaths, according to the National Stroke Association.
When the vessel burst, the symptoms were immediate: the inability to move my right leg, an excruciating headache at the base of my skull and then complete paralysis on the right side of my body. I also had difficulty speaking and recalling words.
Lisa O'Neill Hill poses with her parents Moyra and Mike O'Neill at her graduation from UCLA in 1990.
As I waited for the paramedics, I noticed that my penny loafer had come off my right foot. I became fixated with trying to put it back on and wondered why I couldn't do it.
When the paramedics arrived, they asked me to name the president of the United States. I said, "Ford.... No.... Reagan.... No.... Bush."
I remember them exchanging glances. I was young but there was no doubt I'd had a stroke. I would later find out that I had been born with a weak vessel in my brain, an arteriovenous malformation.
I have few memories of the days that followed. I know I was in intensive care and I know I was afraid of brain surgery.
After I was stabilized, doctors placed me on a ward with other brain-injured patients, most of whom were decades older. My parents and friends came to see me every day. Without fail, my father asked me to smile to see if the right side of my mouth was still drooping. My mother helped feed me lunch or dinner.
My friends, Cyndie and Caron, pushed me in my wheelchair to look at the babies on the maternity ward. Looking back, it's amazing how much we laughed.
Over the next six weeks, I had to relearn how to walk, write and take care of myself. Surprisingly, I was upbeat when I did physical and occupational therapy. I worked hard. But there was one therapy that made me sullen, resentful and depressed: speech therapy.
Because the bleed had occurred in the left brain, my speech and ability to recall words were impacted. Speech therapy made me feel stupid. I had been planning a career with words. Now, when the speech therapist entered the room and asked me to name a vegetable, I couldn't answer her. What kind of journalist would I be?
But I was lucky. As the bleed dissolved itself, I started remembering my words and I slowly recovered my ability to move the right side of my body. I did not require surgery.
I was discharged in a wheelchair and would return to the hospital for outpatient therapy three times a week. As I got stronger, I graduated to a cane.
By January, I was back at USC, enrolled in one class. My father hired a driver to take me to school. I walked across campus slowly with a leg brace and a three-pronged cane. I was incredibly self-conscious, but I was happy to be somewhat normal again.
I've never been sorry the stroke happened. It is something I have overcome, and I'm proud of that. Despite that, I know I am different from other people. There is still scar tissue in my brain, which makes me vulnerable to seizures and auras. I take seizure medication. I have to be careful that I don't let myself get too run down. If I do, it can take me a week to recover.
Lisa O'Neill Hill and her husband, Toby, pose for a photo at a dinner in 2011.
Two months later, the sleep deprivation and postpartum hormone shifts caused a blackout seizure. I've been seizure-free ever since.
Looking at me now you would never know I'd had a stroke. I have trace weakness on the right side of my body, which sometimes can make working out at the gym challenging. My trainer knows my right leg has a mind of its own and affectionately calls it "my Nemo fin." I'm thin but I'm healthy and I'm strong.
On the first anniversary of my stroke, I held a party complete with a brain-shaped cake and brain hemorrhage drinks. I was too young to really come to grips with the severity of what had happened and handled it with black humor.
This year, on the 20th anniversary, I'll be out with friends, celebrating a couple of birthdays. I know we'll laugh over a good meal. It's the perfect place for me to be.
The past 18 months or so have been challenging for me and my family. We've dealt with a layoff, unemployment, and a surgery and rehabilitation. I'll admit that I too often let life's little challenges impact my attitude.
But when I drift into self-pity, stress or just general negativity, I try to pull myself back and remember the days when all that mattered was walking and talking. My biggest fear is having another stroke. That gives me perspective.
Eleven always was my lucky number. I know God was watching over me when that blood vessel burst on 11/11.
In fact, I consider my stroke to be a stroke of luck.
SALT LAKE WEEKEND CNA CLASS
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Clearfield High writers receive national honor
Clearfield High writers receive national honor
By Carol Lindsay
Published: November 10, 2011 09:45AM
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Clearfield High seniors Rachelle Atwood, left, and Lena Rasmussen recently won a national writing contest. The two pose inside Clearfield High's library.
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Clearfield High seniors Rachelle Atwood, left, and Lena Rasmussen recently won a national writing contest. The two pose inside Clearfield High's library.
“I can hear the music beating in my head. An endless rhythm pounds in my ears and I feel my feet comply. One … two… three … four …”
Those words — and more about a young dance prodigy’s goal to perform 32 fouettés en tournant — brought national recognition to Clearfield High senior Rachelle Atwood, who recently was named an outstanding writer by the National Council of Teachers of English.
She wasn’t the only one.
Out of 520 students honored nationally, two of them came from Clearfield High. Atwood, 17, was one of them. Lena Rasmussen, 18, was the other.
“It’s a very prestigious award from a national organization,” said Atwood, who will graduate next spring from Clearfield High’s International Baccalaureate program. It “will look great on scholarship applications.”
Both students received a certificate from the National Council of Teachers of English, plus a letter for scholarship applications indicating that they are among the nation’s outstanding writers.
The recognition comes, in part, because of Kay Seamons, who oversees Clearfield High’s English department. She nominated the two students after surveying teachers about their strongest writers. Both girls were mentioned.
So with a sample of their best writing, and a 75-minute timed essay, Atwood and Rasmussen were entered into a national competition that included 1,640 nominees. Less than a third of those applicants were recognized as outstanding writers.
Rasmussen said she never expected the nomination. “I didn’t know [Seamons] saw me as an outstanding student,” she said. “I was even more surprised to win.”
So surprised, in fact, that Rasmussen didn’t save a copy of the essay she submitted. It was a nonfiction piece about a geometry class, and about a teacher who didn’t seem interested in helping students succeed.
“It was the lowest level math class you can graduate with,” Rasmussen recalled. “I thought the way the teacher taught was a disservice to the students. He sat me down and said, ‘I can tell you right now which kids are going to fail.’ I think the teacher’s attitude really affects who will pass. A lot of the students could do their math just fine, but they wouldn’t.”
Although still a senior, Rasmussen isn’t attending classes at Clearfield High this year. Instead, she is taking three classes at Weber State University and plans to graduate in the spring from the school’s International Baccalaureate program. She also will receive an associate degree. Rasmussen enjoys writing, but plans to major in psychology.
Atwood, on the other hand, plans to pursue an English degree at Weber State with an emphasis in creative writing.
“I love to read,” she said. “But when I read a book, it’s not exactly what I want. So I started writing. I’m not good at singing or dancing or playing music, so writing is my way of expressing myself.”
In her own way, Atwood did dance.
“I’ve always been interested in ballet,” she said, “but I’ve never been able to dance. So I wrote about how it would be if I was a dancer.”
And it went something like this, as Atwood described a dancer’s successful fouettés en tournant.
“I am perfect. Thirty-two. I whisper the number under my breath as I make my final bow.”
With those words, Atwood, too, took a bow — as a writer.
closeup@sltrib.com
© 2011 The Salt Lake Tribune
Clearfield High writers receive national honor
By Carol Lindsay
Special to The Tribune
TWO WEEK CNA COURSE SALT LAKE
Do these students look excited to be in a CPR class? Not so much! Oh well, if the need arsies to save a life they will no what to do.
One more depressing story
Teen care home worker 'killed elderly resident after setting room ablaze so she could act the heroine'
- Care home worker 'set room on fire', then 'pretended she could smell smoke to get attention'
- Irene Herring, 85, died from smoke inhalation
Last updated at 6:52 PM on 24th October 2011
Irene Herring, 85, was rescued by firefighters from her top-floor, single-occupancy room at Ancaster Court in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, on February 1 2009.
She was treated by paramedics and taken to the Conquest Hospital in Hastings, but died of pneumonia brought on by smoke inhalation the following day.
Accused: Rebecca Reasbeck, left, pictured in March, faces a charge of manslaughter after allegedly starting a care home fire which killed resident Irene Herring, 85, right
Opening the Crown's case at Lewes Crown Court, prosecutor Anthony Haycroft said: 'In summary, we allege that the defendant deliberately set fire to Irene's bedroom in two separate places.
'The defendant then, we say, pretended she could smell smoke and shortly after that a fire alarm sounded.
'Unfortunately, the fire got out of control. It generated so much smoke, no-one could get to Irene and she died as a result.'
He said Reasbeck, who worked in the Bupa-run care home's laundry room at weekends and was a kitchen assistant during the week, was aged 17 at the time of the incident, which took place on a Sunday.
Arson attack: A police officer stands outside Ancaster Court in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, following the fire that claimed Mrs Herring's life
Reasbeck had been working in the laundry room on the ground floor while Mrs Herring's room was on the top floor of the three-storey building and diagonally opposite from it, he added.
At around 9.45am, nurse Sindhu George and care assistant Jimmy Fyffe passed Reasbeck coming towards them from the direction of Mrs Herring's room, the court heard.
She told them she had smelled a plastic burning smell from down in the laundry room and had come to investigate.
Mr Haycroft said that they both sniffed the air with Ms George saying she could 'smell something, but only very faintly,' while Mr Fyffe smelt nothing.
Rebecca Reasbeck's case at Lewes Crown Court is a re-trial, after she was originally accused of murder
All the remaining residents were then evacuated and the fire service was called, arriving minutes later at 9.58am.
Mr Haycroft said that in the meantime Steven Walter, another care assistant who had returned upstairs, noticed Reasbeck outside Mrs Herring's room. She was heard saying 'oh my God' and seemed 'panicked'.
'She did this to get attention and act as the heroine'
Anthony Haycroft, prosecuting
She also went directly against the advice given by opening the door despite Mr Walter telling her not to.
Mr Haycroft said she told him they had to get Mrs Herring out, but they were met with a wall of thick black smoke and could not enter the room.
Firefighters then arrived and rescued Mrs Herring from the room and she was rushed to hospital where she died at 6.45am the next day with her husband by her side.
Mr Haycroft said that fire crews then used their hoses to dampen the flames without disturbing the scene, and it was found that the fire had been set in two places.
A cushion from a commode chair in the room was found under the spare bed and burn marks on it were found to correspond to those on the commode seat.
The second fire was found to have started on an electric reclining chair in the room, the court heard.
The court heard a post-mortem examination on non-smoker Mrs Herring found she had no drugs or alcohol in her system, so there was no suggestion she had been drugged.
Mr Haycroft told jurors the case was a re-trial and Reasbeck, of London Road, St Leonards, had originally been charged with murder.
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