On Sunday, March 5, the Jackson Pin Thimblers 4-H Club met to kick off the year at the North Jackson Methodist Church. Without delay, new officers were chosen to represent and instruct meetings and events including President, Lia Heath, Vice President, Kimberly Swartz, Secretary, Brooke Marvin, and Treasurer, Cheyann Conklin.

Pictured (L-R) are: Brooke Marvin, Secretary; Lia Heath, President; Kimberly Swartz, Vice President; Cheyann Conklin, Treasurer.

Rhaylene Britten and other club leaders passed out enrollment forms and reviewed new projects available this year with each 4-H Club member. Old business such as the upcoming dates and reminders of Camp Brule and Fashion Review was discussed. Correspondingly, new business such as plans to develop a Facebook page and work on an online newsletter was the talk of the meeting. In addition, ideas for our window display, community service, and activities for the upcoming year were discussed and agreed on.

Our next meeting is March 11, 10 AM at Barnes-Kasson Hospital. We plan to decorate the entrance windows in the main lobby as the Jackson Pin Thimblers Club window display. Without a doubt, it’s not too late to join, so come on and see what it is all about! If interested, please contact Rhaylene Britten at 570-756-2601. In addition, don’t forget that March 17th is National 4-H Spirit Day, therefore we encourage you and others to wear green.

Filling Easter baskets for the kids? Think beyond the typical sweets and treats and consider including books as well.

“All kids love books, even if they’re too little to read. For babies and toddlers, choose kid-sized books full of bright photos that they will love looking at again and again. There’s so much research showing how important reading is for a child’s development. You can build on it by making the experience fun for parents and their children,” says Rachel Barry, vice president of marketing and publicity at DK, a publisher of adult and children’s books.

This Easter, consider these seasonal selections.

Fun at the Farm

Cushioned, bumpy and shiny pages encourage sensory development, language skills and early reading skills. As part of DK’s Touch and Feel Series, “Really Feely: Farm” introduces babies and toddlers to a favorite pre-school subject: farm animals, including fluffy ducklings, woolly sheep, and a bristly pig.

Learning Adventure

Help build your baby’s identification and language skills. In “100 First Words,” photography and labels introduce primary concepts like shapes, colors and animals, and encourage pointing, naming, and talking.

Favorite Animals

A classic board book, “Baby Touch & Feel: Animals,” helps children develop their knowledge of animals while increasing the use of their senses. Babies will meet puppies, kittens, penguins and other animals throughout the pages of this book that features photographs and touch-and-feel textures.

Pop-Up Surprises

For children who love farm animals, consider an interactive book featuring flaps, touch-and-feel textures and incredible pop-out surprises. Promoting memory, imagination and parent-and-child interaction, “Pop-Up Peekaboo: Farm” enhances the reading experience.

Feel the Love

Celebrate love and promote sensory development and early language skills with this USA Today Bestseller, “Baby Touch & Feel: I Love You,” which features soft bunnies, fuzzy teddy bears, sparkly hearts and more. More kids’ books for Easter can be found at PenguinRandomHouse.com.

To make sure your Easter baskets include gifts that can be enjoyed beyond the holiday, include books that will become young readers’ all-time favorites. (StatePoint)

Did you know that advanced digital technologies can help grade school and high school students become better prepared for college and careers?

From interactive platforms and applications to high-tech hardware, digital learning is empowering educators and helping prepare students for their futures. Here are a few new learning tools that are transforming education today.

Do the Math

Graphing calculators are getting an enhanced look and feel, enabling students to solve the most challenging equations and enhance their understanding of math. For example, cutting edge calculators, such as fx-CG50, the newest model in Casio’s calculator portfolio, offer a three-dimensional graphing function that allows students to view their graph from various angles to better analyze their shape. Other new capabilities include cross-section and zoom functions for greater analysis. Students can also plot graphs over pictures of real-life scenes on a full color textbook-style display, making math education a more visual experience.

Go the Distance

These days, classroom style learning doesn’t always have to take place within the four walls of a physical classroom. Distance learning offers a greater number of people access to the same educational opportunities, and is made possible by new technologies.

Educators and schools are embracing platforms like Blackboard and Schoology to help connect students with educational content 24 hours a day. These platforms also enhance traditional classroom learning. Known as blended learning, students still attend class, but can hone their skills and knowledge during off-hours at a personalized pace with technology-mediated instruction.

Music to One’s Ears

Music education isn’t what it used to be, thanks to new technology and gear. For example, Chordana Play, a new app, can be linked with several Casio electronic keyboards as a learning tool for beginners and advanced musicians. The app displays notes graphically in real time, along with the correct keyboard positions for both hands. Users are welcome to import song data into the app and expand their repertoire over time. To learn more, visit CasioMusicGear.com.

As technology evolves, enhanced tools and processes are changing the way educators teach and students absorb content. And these changes also are making teachers more efficient, enabling greater freedom for students to benefit from a more personalized approach to learning. (StatePoint)

Our featured pet this week is Atticus, a truly needy, yet well rounded and rather handsome young man. For reasons unknown to us, Atticus has gone overlooked at True Friends for almost a whole year now.

Patient, good on a leash, playful, and easy going, this 4 year old, neutered, Labrador mix would do best in a home where he is the only canine member.  Atticus does seem to be good with felines and is also very people focused. This sleek black beauty would love to spend the upcoming Spring afternoons hanging out with his humans and enjoying life to the fullest. Won't you help him get his wish? The seasons are passing us by and Atticus is eagerly waiting to be your best friend all year round.

Fun Fact: Statistics show that black dogs and cats spend four times longer in shelters waiting to be adopted.  If visiting a shelter to adopt, make sure not to overlook these really beautiful animals.  In their kennels they seem to blend in, but once you meet them they absolutely shine both inside and out.

If you have home improvement plans this spring, it’s important to consider where you will be doing your shopping. For many people, the first stores to come to mind are big box retailers because of the widespread assumption that chains can offer better selection and better prices.

Keep in mind, though, that when it comes to items needed for your home projects -- whether it be new flooring, paint or a kitchen renovation -- more often than not, experts say that your local independent retailer can offer as good or better selection, be competitive with pricing, and provide a superior customer service experience.

What’s more, shopping at local businesses can benefit your household and the community. At a locally owned store, you will be more likely to find interesting items and products that set your home apart. And more of your dollars will stay put when you give them to business owners who pay taxes locally, hire locally and may be more inclined to support community charities and organizations.

You may also find independent retailers that can offer some of the same benefits as a large chain. For example, when small business owners belong to a cooperative, they come together to scale buying power, access goods and services at a lower cost, and create opportunities not available to them as individual businesses. For you, this can mean more and better choices of products and affordability.

In the case of Flooring America for example, this means being able to offer a wide selection of products, including hard surfaces like hardwood, laminate and tile, and soft surface flooring, paint, cabinets for kitchen renovations and even closet organization solutions. Their retailers can be found in local communities throughout the country, with a varying product selection depending on location.

So, if you are looking to make home improvements this spring, check out your local retailers that not only offer great product selection, but also contribute to your community in a positive way. (StatePoint)

Ticks are not just a nuisance, they can carry disease. Are you at risk?

You may think you’re not at risk for Lyme and related diseases, but ask yourself these questions:

Do you hunt or fish on banks with grass; have animals, a yard, mice, other rodents such as squirrels and chipmunks? Do your children play on a playground with grass; hike in and around trails? Is your family in 4-H or scouts? Do you or a loved one work in the outdoors? Are you gardeners, landscapers, tree trimmers, game commission, pipeline workers, or even electric co. workers? If you answered YES to any of the above, then you ARE at risk.

What is Lyme disease?

Defined by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention):

“Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system. Lyme disease is diagnosed based on symptoms, physical findings (e.g., rash), and the possibility of exposure to infected ticks.  Laboratory testing is helpful if used correctly and performed with validated methods. Most cases of Lyme disease can be treated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotics. Steps to prevent Lyme disease include using insect repellent, removing ticks promptly, applying pesticides, and reducing tick habitat. The ticks that transmit Lyme disease can occasionally transmit other tickborne diseases as well.”

Defined by Joseph J. Burrascano Jr., M.D. Board Member, International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society:

“Traditionally, Lyme is defined an infectious illness caused by the spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb). While this is certainly technically correct, clinically the illness often is much more than that, especially in the disseminated and chronic forms.

Instead, I think of Lyme as the illness that results from the bite of an infected tick. This includes infection not only with B. burgdorferi, but the many co-infections that may also result. Furthermore, in the chronic form of Lyme, other factors can take on an ever more significant role- immune dysfunction, opportunistic infections, coinfections, biological toxins, metabolic and hormonal imbalances, deconditioning, etc. I will refer to infection with B. burgdorferi as “Lyme Borreliosis” (LB), and use the designation “Lyme” and “Lyme Disease” to refer to the more broad definition I described above.”

How does this affect you?

Have you or someone you know been bitten by a tick; had a rash, maybe NOT the typical bullseye; suffer from joint pain; memory issues, such as word loss; tired and sleeping a lot; unexplained medical issues; such as heart or physiological issues?

Were you treated with a one day course of antibiotics, or not at all and now experience many of the above symptoms; “typical” or other? Do you know how many ticks are carrying diseases; and the increase in cases of Lyme disease alone, not counting the co-infections or “related” diseases?

Have you answered NO to any of the above? Then YOU are at risk.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health; Pennsylvania consistently has more cases of Lyme disease in humans than any other state, and the CDC case reports show an ever growing increase again this past year.

Testing and treatment is still a controversy, but the National Institute of Health has dropped the infectious disease guidelines for treating and has now adopted ILADS guidelines for diagnosis and treatment. Please go to the web site for the guidelines, and ask your practitioner to follow the new National guidelines.

How can you help? Get informed!

Follow your local newspapers for follow up articles, local “events” in community sections, attend and meet people who have or are caregivers to those with Lyme and related diseases.  Support local and national organizations that provide information, support, and research.

Suggested local groups and organizations:

Lyme Disease Coalition, Inc. (LDC)–http://lymediseasecoalition.org. Montrose Area Lyme Disease Support Group (MALDSG). The Susquehanna County Tick-Borne Diseases Task Force (SCTBDTF).

Meeting times and Special events are posted in events on Facebook, shared by Lyme Scout (an on line informational page only), and Lyme Disease Coalition, Inc. both on Facebook and in the events calendar on the web site as well as in community events sections of local newspapers, and WPEL radio station.