In just a matter of days the children in our area will be returning back to school. When the kids get back in school, so do many of the common contagious germs. Staying healthy during the school year requires a combination of both common sense and medical science. Parents, schools, health departments, and medical offices gear up this time of year to help prevent children from getting sick. Among the most effective first lines of defense against unwanted illness are vaccinations. Mandatory vaccinations prior to entering school have greatly decreased the incidence of some of the most common and, at…
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With the arrival of Labor Day and kids returning to school, it is time to get serious about fall lawn renovation. This has not been a typical summer for some of us. My mower, for example has not collected dust in the shed as in summers past. However, cool season grass such as fescue, which is the dominant turf in our area, has requirements to maintain its vigor. Below are five steps to fabulous fescue: Have your soil tested. See my July 22, 2015 column for more details. You can view it at www.villagenewsonline.com/category/commentary/lifes-a-garden. Aerate your lawn to reduce compaction.…
This year’s fire prevention week theme is “Hear the beep where you sleep.” Fire incident reporting shows that the large majority of civilian fire injuries and deaths occur between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., while most people are sleeping. You have read where I have stated that your house must have an adequate number of smoke alarms, but another vital aspect of that protection is for them to be properly placed in your home. The minimum was to have a smoke alarm on every level of the home, including the basement. However, due to further studies, it has become part…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. If I have my calculations right this article should be ready for the Labor Day issue and again maybe not. Of late I have not had a lot of success in making those special dates…sometimes early… sometimes late; as Max would say… looking down from above… “You dumb-dumb…you missed it again!” Of course in his loving but mocking way. It is really hard to believe that Labor Day is already here…it seems just like yesterday when I took Max into the vet for the last time right after the…
I was feeling especially spiritual last week when I was riding through Chester. Something in the distance looked like angels wings. No it was Bozo the Clown’s bald head with hair splayed on each side. I thought I was losing it until, getting close enough to figure it out, I realized it was a willow oak tree that looked as if it were a bust carved like Mickey Mouse in Disneyland. I was so fixated on the carved tree that I almost ran into a sign that read “MEN WORKING.” The bucket truck and the limb grinder – it is…
To the Editor: With tax reform back on the front burner in Washington, I am encouraged that we can finally go forward in a bipartisan way toward a federal tax code that is simpler, fairer and more growth-oriented. This is a pressing need for our nation. We won’t achieve these goals, however, by singling out the domestic energy industry for punitive tax increases. The oil and gas industry has been in the cross-hairs of Congress for years. Several budget proposals that have been offered would be destructive to our long term energy security and put the brakes on new investment…
To the Editor: Thanks for the information regarding the Dave Brat town hall meeting at the Fire Station. I do not understand why the Patriots set this up, since Chester residents do not get to vote for Brat, being within Randy Forbes’ fourth Congressional district. But thanks for the information. Thanks also for sharing your reasonable concerns regarding the safety of the new bike lane through Chester. I feel as if we are being offered the opportunity to claim that strip of roadway for bikes by throwing our bodies in front of cars. No thank you, Chesterfield government; I value…
I have debated for days whether or not to share my horrifying experience with you all; but I quickly decided that I must. Some may be shocked, others disgusted, some sympathetic, I do not know how you will feel; I just know that my house was thrown into a tailspin last week and I have managed to make it through to the other side. Let me share with you what happened. It all started about three weeks ago, my sweet girl began complaining of her head itching (some of you already know where this is going), I chalked it up…
For those students holding onto the Dairy Queen storyline that summer is not over, enjoy the rest of your summer vacation to the fullest. There are many, though, that are excited to know that school starts three weeks from today. Wherever you fall, one extreme or the other or somewhere in between, the new school year resumes on Sept. 8, 2015. For students, it will be the opportunity to learn more than they know now. For parents, it may range from constant going and coming, packing lunches, helping with homework and whatever else that helps your child to succeed. School…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. Now that things have settled down a bit I have had the opportunity to catch up on some reading and I found the following kind of interesting. I did not know that car insurance companies have their own FICO score… like the one they now show on your credit card statement; however, each insurance company can create their own proprietary score based off your credit. These scores help them determine the price you are going to be paying for car insurance and surprisingly they do not have to share…