YELLOW JACKET
Page B4
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Region
Increased demand brings Zumba classes back to Greene County By Sierra Shafer Op/Ed Editor To help combat a state overweight rate of 64 percent, the Greene County Department of Recreation is offering a second round of Zumba classes. After the first round of classes concluded last week, the Department of Recreation responded to the increased demand by making the classes available for another six weeks. “We decided to offer the classes again just by the response we had after the first classes,” said Pam Blaker, Parks and Recreation manager for Greene County. “We had an overwhelming response where nearly 30 people showed up to the first class.” A majority of class participants age between 30 and 50
Scholarships offered Continued from B1 help others overcome these obstacles.” All applications are due no later than April 20 to the Community Foundation of Greene County. Eligible students will be interviewed as part of the
Building demolished Continued from B1 there to be honest with
Photo by Amanda Wishner
The hour-long Zumba classes are held every Thursday in the 4-H building at the Greene County Fairgrounds. The classes cost $8 per session and run until April 28. years old, though the class is open to all ages and ability levels. Hour-long Thursday night classes are now available through April 28 at 6 p.m. on the top floor of the 4-H building at the Greene County Fairgrounds in Waynesburg. “I think it is great that the county is taking a lead role in help-
ing to combat this issue,” said Holli Senior, deputy press secretary for health press and communications at the Pennsylvania Department of Health. “The obesity epidemic is something that needs to be addressed from all angles. Working together as a community is a key ingredient in the
recipe for addressing most health care needs.” Zumba is high-energy excise program that combines Latin dance with an easy-to-follow cardio routine. “People really seem to enjoy this,” said Blaker. “It’s a lot of fun and everyone can do it at their own pace. [The instructor] will do dif-
application process. “Dorothy wanted to provide two students with the funding from two different schools, and the Community Foundation of Greene County made this possible,” said Stammerjohn. “We are just glad we could help make this a reality.” According to Stammerjohn, the Community Foundation of Greene County is a non-profit
organization established approximately 10 years ago. The organization helps provide funds to various service opportunities and organizations across Greene County. The foundation also provides grant writing classes to individuals as well as work with the summer food program. These funds are provided by individual donors and grants. So
far, this organization has donated over $1 million to groups across the area. “With everything that Dorothy hopes to accomplish through this scholarship, we are glad she decided to help out this way,” said Stammerjohn. “What she is doing will really benefit the community and the students in Greene County for many years to come.”
you.“ A total of eight or nine workers from Thralls Contracting worked up to 12 hours each to demolish the building. The University has
not officially released its plans with the lot. However, Keller said he and the other workers are under the impression that the drivethrough for First National Bank will be moved
there. According to Keller, the University plans to use the lot where the current First National Bank’s drivethrough resides for additional parking or another building.
ferent moves for different people. If you can’t do all of it, you can just do what you can, in small amounts.” By involving fun and music, Zumba motivates the body to burn calories more efficiently than traditional exercise, tones all muscle groups and improves the cardiovascular system, according to the website. “I think a lot of people are getting into the mood to exercise to get ready for the warm weather,” said Blaker. “Zumba helps them get ready to get outside and enjoy hiking trails and being active, doing exercise.” According to Senior, exercises like Zumba are going to be beneficial in helping to stave off obesity and the associated problems like diabetes, heart diseases and stroke.
The CDC reports that medical expenses attributed to obesity exceed $4 billion in Pennsylvania. “There are many reasons that we may have become a more overweight or obese society over the last decade but perhaps the two most important and most obvious are poor nutrition and lack of physical activity,” she said. Senior said that by eating right and remaining active for at least 30 minutes each day, through programs like Zumba, Greene County residents can work to lower their health risks and increase their life span. To register for Zumba classes at $8 per session, call the Department of Recreation at 724-852-5323. Walk-ins are also welcome to attend and will be charged at the door.
Pollution levels rise
to protects the country’s natural heritage. According to Paladino, the Greene County Chapter’s initiative is to perform water quality monitoring by setting up strategic sites around the county. “It’s monitoring done on a weekly basis so that waste water violators can be found,” she said. “There are not enough people to monitor where this could be happening.”
Continued from B1 hormone function in living organisms also experiences long-term effects.” In January, Waynesburg University became involved in the Izaak Walton League of America, the Greene County Chapter, which works
State’s roots discussed Continued from B1 sium is to educate the public about the Civil War and West Virginia’s connection to the historical period. “We’re called the Mason-Dixon Civil War Round Table and a lot of people around here are interested in the Civil War, Trapp said. “This is because West Virginia was formed during that time period. With the exception of last year’s event, which had to be cancelled, Trapp said that this is the fifteenth year that the symposium has been held. He expects the attendance to be around the same
amount as it has been in previous years’. “We normally have sixty people; that’s an average attendance size, and that’s what we’re shooting for this year,” he said. “Although the topics are pretty interesting this year, so we’re hoping to get more people.” Trapp said that this year’s symposium will feature the usual exhibits. “We’ve had some civil war weapons and books in the past,” he said. “We’ve even had a battlefield [reenactment group] in West Virginia called Rich Mountain come, and they brought a display to set up showing information about the battle. It all really depends on which exhibitors want to come.”