Page 6 | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 8/6/10 - 8/12/10
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Drop-Box For City Payments Removed From Reserve Avenue
As of Monday, Aug. 2, the payment drop-box for the City Treasurer's Office located on Reserve Avenue has been removed due to the demolition of the Parks and Recreation Building at that site. City Treasurer Evelyn Powers is working to determine alternate locations for payment drop-boxes. A notification will be sent out and information posted on the city's website once the new locations have been established. The current drop-box in front of the Noel C. Taylor Municipal Building at 215 Church Ave. will remain in place with no changes.For more information, contact the Treasurer's Office at 540-853-2561.
RCPS Holds School Choice Meetings for Five Schools
According to No Child Left Behind Act regulations, students at Title I schools that have not made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for two years are eligible for the School Choice Option and /or supplemental education services. Parents of students who attend the schools below are invited to an Open House at their school to learn about No Child Left Behind legislation and school choice options. Open House -School Choice/Supplemental Education Services Information Meetings: Thursday, August 5, 2010 Westside Elementary School cafeteria, 6 PM /. Monday, August 9, 2010 Hurt Park Elementary School cafeteria, 6 PM / Tuesday, August 10, 2010 Round Hill Elementary School cafeteria, 6 PM / Thursday, August 12, 2010 Lincoln Terrace Elementary School cafeteria, 6PM / Monday, August 16, 2010 Addison Middle School cafeteria, 6PM. Students must be enrolled in their home school prior to the start of this school year in order for school choice transfer requests to be reviewed. For more information, please contact Dr. Vella Wright, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning at (540) 853-6113.
Salem After Five set to Wrap Up Successful 2010 Season
The popular “Salem After Five” concert series wraps up another successful summer on the Salem Farmers Market Friday, August 20th at 5:30 pm. The featured band for the fifth and final concert of the summer is “Domino” and proceeds from the event will benefit the Salem-Roanoke County Food Pantry. The popular concert series is sponsored by the City of Salem Parks and Recreation, Q99-FM, RE/MAX - Real Estate One of Salem and Pepsi. Admission: Adults - $5, children 12 and under are free. There will be a children’s play area set up in the Market, as well as food vendors featuring Bastian’s Bar-BQ, Salem Pizza & Subs, Salem Ice Cream Parlor and Ol’ Mule Hot Dog Co. No coolers, outside food or drinks, rollerblades, skateboards or pets allowed on the premises. For additional information call Salem Parks and Recreation at 540-375-3057
Girl Scout Information and Sign-Up
For girls in Roanoke County and Roanoke City South West The Trefoil Service Unit will hold two Information and Sign-Up events: Monday August 30th, from 6:00 to 7:30 PM at the Roanoke County Library Headquarters on 419 meeting Room and Monday September 20th 6:00 – 7:30 PM at the Raleigh Court Library, 2112 Grandin Road - Outside the front entrance. Girl Scouting is open to all girls in Kindergarten through grade 12. Come learn about Girl Scout opportunities, and sign-up your daughter. Questions, contact Trefoil Service Unit Team Manager 540-774-3607.
“What are we to make of Christ? There is no question of what
we can make of Him, it is entirely a question of
what He intends
to make of us.” – C.S. Lewis
Roanoke Weekly Gas Price Update
Average retail gasoline prices in Roanoke have risen 3.7 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.51/g yesterday. This compares with the national average that has increased 0.6 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.75/g, according to gasoline price website RoanokeGasPrices.com. Including the change in gas prices in Roanoke during the past week, prices yesterday were 3.7 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago and are 2.5 cents per gallon lower than a month ago. The national average has decreased 2.1 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 21.6 cents per gallon higher than this day one year ago. "Gasoline prices in a majority of the United States have been stuck in narrow range over the past several weeks," said Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst. "The longer oil and gasoline prices remain in this tight range, the harder it will be for prices to break out of that threshold." DeHaan cites the lack of significant economic improvement and quiet tropics thus far as a reason prices have failed to move significantly. "Unless we start seeing consistently good economic news or several large tropical storms, gas prices should remain relatively muted," he adds.
Low-Phosphate Dishwasher Detergents That Work
There are several low-phosphate dishwasher detergents that performed very well in Consumer Reports’ latest tests, which is good news for the traditionally low-scoring eco-friendly products.Consumer Reports tested 24 low- or no-phosphate dish detergents and found four Recommended products. Although none equaled the excellent (but now discontinued) product that topped CR’s Ratings in August 2009, seven were Very Good. Consumer Reports testers smeared dishware with a mix of 17 foods (pots got a mac-and-cheese blend) and then baked on the foods and cleaned the items in identical dishwashers to assess how each detergent performed. Finish Quantum (30 cents per load) topped the Ratings, followed by CR Best Buy, Finish Powerball Tabs (22 cents per load), which scored Excellent for dishes and pots, and bested some detergents that cost more. Cascade Complete All In 1 (28 cents per load) and Cascade with Dawn ActionPacs (23 cents per load) earned a score of Very Good in CR’s tests, but all Cascades, like all Finish products, aren’t equal. Other Cascade and Finish products were scattered throughout the Ratings. Past tests found that some low-phosphate products performed the worst overall, but the newest formulations are worth a try. Here are the details on Consumer Reports other findings: • Bleach made little difference. Most of the top performers have no bleach, and it didn’t seem to act on baked-on soils. Bleach might help though with tea or similar stains. • Enzymes might help. Most of the tested detergents have enzymes, which can break up food for easier removal. • Types might not be a tipoff. Tablets and pacs tended to score high and gels low, but it’s too soon to say whether that trend will continue. • Quantumatic isn’t worth the price. At $10 (44 cents per load) for the dispenser and first cartridge, Finish Quantumatic dispenses 12 doses of detergent from a cartridge automatically. It performed well, but takes up space in the dishwasher and is less effective than other products that cost less. Consumer Reports also tested Martha Stewart Clean liquid detergent which would have been lowest-rated of all, but the company said it has since changed its formula. More information on phosphate-free detergents can be found in the September issue of Consumer Reports, available on newsstands August 3 and online at www.ConsumerReports.org.
Is Fatherhood Dying?
If you know a child in a single-parent home, that child is most likely being raised by Mom. According to the latest U.S. Census figures from November of 2009, 84 percent of the custodial parents in the 13.7 million single-parent households in the U.S. are mothers. Only 16 percent of custodial parents are dads. Many fathers blame the court systems, which they believe favors the mothers in most cases, but one expert believes that men have more control over that paradigm than they might think. “When it comes to deciding who gets the kids, it’s natural for judges to want to place them with the parent who is nurturing and sensitive,” said Michael Taylor, motivational speaker, life coach, and author of A New Conversation With Men (www. coachmichaeltaylor.com). “Let’s face it. In most cases, it’s difficult to cast most fathers -- even the good ones -- in that light. But I don’t think it’s out of reach for any man to become that person, and to exude it in his daily life.” Taylor believes that the greatest challenge we have in our society right now is to redefine masculinity. “Most men are tired and frustrated with their lives and are looking for something new and different,” he said. “Men want
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to learn to be genuinely happy with their lives but most of them do not know how to accomplish this. They are sold on the bill of goods by the past generation that men are aloof and authoritarian, and that’s part of being a man. The first thing we need to do is discard all the media and culture madness that has created the problem in the first place. I believe that every man can learn to be a great husband, a great father and a trusted friend. To get there, we need to break the bonds of a culture that has taught us all the wrong things about what it means to be masculine, and embrace a new paradigm of masculinity that empowers them to reach their full potential.” The cornerstone for this new paradigm, according to Taylor, includes developing stronger connections to the ideas of love, compassion, understanding, acceptance and forgiveness. These qualities are not signs of weakness,” Taylor said. “They are actually signs of strength, and when men reject these aspects of themselves, it leads to all sorts of dysfunction and unhappiness. We’ve grown up in a culture that teaches men that marriage is a prison, and that being monogamous is somehow not manly, when in fact, the successful and happy husbands and fathers out there know that to be the opposite. If we can reverse these beliefs, I believe we will begin to see a dramatic reduction of issues like high divorce rates, high school dropouts, domestic abuse and high incarceration rates.”
National Night Out Against Crime Marks Its 27th year
Sherman Lea takes questions from Virginia Stuart, Mary Young and Rosanne Saunders. National Night Out is an event designed to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness while strengthening neighborhoods and fostering policecommunity partnerships. Neighborhoods all over Roanoke City hosted events Tuesday night by turning on their porch lights and dishing out fullblown all-you-can-eat buffets. Gruff the crime dog made his rounds followed by police and Fire/EMS crews who enjoyed a short-lived break while talking with the people they serve. It’s all about fighting crime and sending a message to criminals that the neighborhoods are fighting back. Criminals were in hiding Tuesday night. Camaraderie between the police and citizens took over the streets. This year the Countryside Neighborhood Alliance fought back by having their watermelon feast at the entrance of the now closed golf course. The dead end has been host to unsavory activity since the course closed and overgrown weeds created a hiding place for uninvited guests. The solution is coming per Acting Police Chief Chris Perkins and Zone 4 Lt. Mac Babb. Perkins and Babb solved the problem of blocking the fire hydrant located at the dead end. A gate will be erected and fire sta-
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tions will have the key. Council member Sherman Lea visited the Countryside Drive dead end and took a few arrows about the closing of the golf course. “It’s what is best for the city,” said Lea. He said a 9-hole golf course with highend housing is the ticket to a skeptical electorate. The barricades provided by the city kept vehicles from interrupting the chatter as neighbors were still communing well after the 8:00 p.m. last call for watermelon. Other communities hosting events were: Fleming Court with their “inter”-National Night Out potluck, a fish fry hosted at Fairland Civic Organization, more food at Grandview Neighborhood Watch, Dorchester Court, Southeast Action Forum, and Oak Grove Farms Neighborhood Watch. Watermelon feasts were held as well at Old Southwest and Riverland-Walnut Hills. Cookouts were hosted by the Melrose Rugby Neighborhood Forum, the Loudon Melrose Neighborhood Forum and Airlee Court Neighborhood Watch Association. By Valerie Garner info@newsroanoke.com
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