Tuesday, March 24, 2009

– Health: World TB Day, Tuesday, 9:45 a.m.
– Local News: Road closure in Northeast Augusta, Tuesday, 9:45 a.m.
– Business: Seminar in Lexington for small-business owners, Tuesday, 9:45 a.m.
– Local News: Debate on videogame violence, Tuesday, 9:45 a.m.
– Local News: Civil War Institute to focus on Lincoln, Tuesday, 9:45 a.m.
– Event: It’s The Big Event, Tuesday, 9:45 a.m.
– Event: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Tuesday, 9:45 a.m.

Health: World TB Day, Tuesday, 9:45 a.m.

One hundred years ago, the American Lung Association in Virginia was founded to fight tuberculosis. Great strides have been made in that fight since 1909, but the disease still affects about 300 Virginians each year.

“We need to remain vigilant in the fight against TB,” said Deborah Bryan, the Regional Vice President of Advocacy for the American Lung Association of the Atlantic Coast, which serves communities in Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina. “Quick, accurate diagnoses and consistent, effective treatment are needed if we are going to eliminate tuberculosis in the United States.”

March 24 is World TB Day, which commemorates the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes TB.

On World TB Day, the American Lung Association in Virginia calls on the Commonwealth of Virginia to keep tuberculosis control a priority and ensure that proper funding is available for prevention and control efforts. We do not want the state to be at risk for enormous future health expenditures should a serious outbreak of TB occur.

“Each person with active TB infects, on average, 10 to 15 people,” said James P. Lamberti, M.D., chairman of the Tuberculosis Advisory Committee for the American Lung Association in Virginia and a member of the Virginia Thoracic Society. “Proper detection, diagnosis and treatment are important for patient health and public safety. It is critical to keep this communicable disease under control so it does not spread.”

In 1909, when the American Lung Association in Virginia was founded, TB was killing 1 in 4 Americans. That rate has dropped significantly in the United States, but an estimated 2 billion people worldwide – one third of the world’s population – are infected with TB, and more than 2 million of them die annually of the disease.

In the United States, there were 12,898 cases of TB reported in 2008, which is a 3.8 percent decline since 2007. The Centers for Disease Control Advisory County for the Elimination of Tuberculosis declared in 1989 that their goal was to eliminate tuberculosis in the U.S. by 2010. That goal will not be reached. It will take 96 years to eliminate TB in America if the current annual rate of decline in TB incidence continues.

Tuberculosis is transmitted through the air when someone with active TB in the lungs coughs or talks, and it is usually spread in close living quarters. Anyone inhaling air containing TB bacteria may become infected, which is referred to as latent TB infection. Only active TB disease causes symptoms and can be spread to other people; latent TB infection does not cause symptoms and cannot be transmitted.

It takes six months or more for appropriate medications to cure active TB disease. Those infected with latent TB also need to be treated, or they will run the risk of progressing to active TB disease. Over 5,000 Virginians are diagnosed with latent TB infection every year, and if they are not located and treated, 10 percent of them may develop active TB in their lifetimes.

In addition, inappropriate or incomplete therapy can lead to patients developing and spreading strains of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is a form of the disease that is resistant to at least two of the best anti-TB drugs. Resistance can occur when TB medication is misused or mismanaged. Each year in Virginia, there are approximately five to 10 multidrug-resistant TB patients undergoing treatment, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

Another resistant strain of TB has also emerged, called extensively drug-resistant TB. This form of the disease resists even more medicines and increases the possibility of tuberculosis becoming virtually untreatable. Two cases of extensively drug-resistant TB have been detected in Virginia since 1993.

Tuberculosis has reached epidemic levels worldwide. Each year, 9 million people around the world become sick with TB. The American Lung Association in Virginia urges the Commonwealth to aggressively fund TB initiatives that will protect public health.

Local News: Road closure in Northeast Augusta, Tuesday, 9:45 a.m.

Route 774 (Cline River Road, New Hope), between Route 608 (Battlefield Road) and Route 775 (Craig Shop Road), will be closed due to bridge replacement activities from Mar. 30 to Nov. 13, 2009.

Motorists can use the following detour:

– Northbound on Route 774, take Route 608 (Battlefield Road) to Route 778 (Knightly Mill Road) to Route 775 (Craig Shop Road) to Route 774.

– Southbound on Route 774, take Route 775 (Craig Shop Road) to Route 778 (Knightly Mill Road) to Route 608 (Battlefield Road) to Route 774.

All work and scheduling is weather permitting. Message signs will be placed at various locations on Route 774, Route 775, Route 778 and Route 608 to alert motorists of this traffic pattern change.

The new structure will be a two-lane, double span, 28-foot wide steel beam and concrete deck bridge with an unrestricted weight limit. This will replace a 3-ton weight limit, single-lane steel truss bridge built in 1905. The new structure will have full roadway approaches with shoulders transitioning into the existing stabilized road.

Business: Seminar in Lexington for small-business owners, Tuesday, 9:45 a.m.

The free small-business seminar “Windows for Profit” is set for Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. in the Dunlap Auditorium of the Lexington Presbyterian Church.

The Lexington/Rockbridge County Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Lexington merchants and Hess and Co. will unite to offer the first, of what is hoped to be a series, of free small business seminars. This seminar will be lead by Skip Hess and Curt Fredin, of Hess and Co., a family-owned and -operated business since 1884, located at 122 S. Main St. in Lexington. Hess and Fredin have presented this, and many other types, of seminars both locally and regionally.

The focus will be on visual marketing, specifically window display. Store owners and representatives will be give guidelines for effective window display techniques and will be able to ask questions specific to their business. Other seminar topics will include the basic principles, rules and guidelines of window displays, how to keep your window displays fresh, importance of showcasing what you’re promoting, and more.

For more information about the event please Lisa Markham at the Lexington/Rockbridge County Chamber of Commerce at 540.463.5375 or e-mail [email protected].

Local News: Debate on videogame violence, Tuesday, 9:45 a.m.

Jack Thompson and Gerard Jones will debate the issue of videogame violence at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 2, in Cole Hall at Bridgewater College.

Through his role as a media source on such issues as obscenity and the influence of violent popular culture on youth, Thompson has become an advocate for a more responsible American entertainment industry.

He has been actively involved in national and international First Amendment issues since 1987, and he has discussed his work on such programs as “60 Minutes,” “Today,” “Nightline,” “Good Morning America,” “48 Hours,” “Politically Incorrect,” “G4 Attack of the Show” and “Oprah.” He secured the first decency fines ever levied by the Federal Communications Commission in America.

Thompson has been much in demand on college campuses, where he participates in debates on such issues as how popular culture products can cause violence, censorship and the First Amendment and other related issues.

Thompson earned his B.A. at Denison University, and his J.D. at Vanderbilt University Law School.

A culture critic, Jones is the author of Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence and Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book.

He serves on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Comparative Media Studies Program and has published articles on popular culture in Harper’s, The New York Times, and The London Times. Gerard has spoken on the subject of children and mass media on Fresh Air, the Today Show and ABC World News. He is the creator of the Art and Story Workshops for the classroom and a volunteer at the 826 Valencia center in San Francisco.

Gerard is a screenwriter and a comic-book writer, with credits that include Batman, Spider-Man, Pokemon, and many creations of his own. He is a member of the San Francisco Writers Grotto and the father of a 13-year-old boy.

The debate is sponsored by the W. Harold Row Endowed Lecture Series and is open to the public at no charge.

Local News: Civil War Institute to focus on Lincoln, Tuesday, 9:45 a.m.

The life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln – 200 years after his birth – will serve as the focus of the second annual Bridgewater College Civil War Institute April 4 from 9 a.m. till 4 p.m.

There is no cost for the Institute, which will be held in the Spoerlein Lecture Hall of the McKinney Center for Science and Mathematics.

The event will feature nationally known historians and authors who will present topics to support this year’s theme, “Lincoln: 200 Years Later.”

“In this, the bicentennial year of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, we have assembled an esteemed array of speakers who we believe will be both informative and enlightening,” said BC chief of police Nick Picerno who, with professor of history and political science Stephen Longenecker, co-founded the Institute last year.

Gary L. Ecelbarger, author of The Great Comeback: How Abraham Lincoln Beat the Odds to Win the 1860 Republican Nomination and Three Days in the Shenandoah: Stonewall Jackson at Front Royal and Winchester, will provide the keynote address. Ecelbarger will speak on “Abraham Lincoln Under the Radar.”

Jan Emerson, an independent historian and freelance writer from Cazenovia, N.Y., will discuss his book, The Madness of Mary Lincoln, which was named Book of the Year by the Illinois State Historical Society. Emerson has also authored Lincoln the Inventor and is working on a biography of Robert Todd Lincoln, the eldest Lincoln son.

Sharon Roger Hepburn, author of Crossing the Border: A Free Black Community in Canada, will discuss slaves’ response to news of the Emancipation Proclamation in a talk titled, “Lincoln as ‘de Messiah.’” Hepburn is professor of history and department chair of the Radford University History Department in Radford.

Phillip C. Stone, president of Bridgewater College, will explore “Why Lincoln Matters.” Stone is a noted Lincoln scholar and founder of The Lincoln Society of Virginia. He also serves on the advisory board of the National Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, as well as the advisory board of The Lincoln Forum.

Event: It’s The Big Event, Tuesday, 9:45 a.m.

The Successful Women’s Alliance Network, or SWAN, has two goals: to provide a networking opportunity for women in the Shenandoah Valley and to give back to the community.

In April, SWAN will pay host to “The Big Event” – a fund-raiser to benefit a number of non-profits including March of Dimes, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Jericho and Damascus Road Outreach, Vector Industries and Augusta Expoland. Fund-raiser benefits area non-profits including March of Dimes, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Vector Industries, Jericho and Damascus Road Outreach and Augusta Expoland.

The Moulin Rouge-inspired event on Saturday, April 18, will include dancing, food and entertainment unlike anything else in the region. Music will be provided by Everyday People, an eight-piece funk, R&B, and Rock N Roll band and entertainment will be provided from professionals hailing from all over the United States.

“We have done many small fund-raisers in the past,” said SWAN president Tara Welch. “However, we decided last year that we wanted to create a huge event to be able to give even more back to your community.”

And while SWAN is playing host to the event, they are lucky to have more than 25 business partners supporting the cause.

“We had no idea how excited the community would become over this event, but it’s contagious,” said Welch. “Every where I go, people are talking about how this is the one event they can’t miss this year.”

Tickets for the event are on sale now and going fast. Tickets are $75 for one person; or $125 for two. Tickets are available at Mimo’s in Verona; Mossy Creek Café and Augusta Expoland in Fishersville; and Augusta Free Press in Waynesboro. The event runs from 7 p.m. to midnight.

For more information on the event, contact Welch at 540.241.0738 or visit www.swanladies.com.

Event: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Tuesday, 9:45 a.m.

Mystery locations, secret chefs, fine wines and splendid food are at the heart of The Wayne Theatre Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner dining event “starting” at the home and garden of Humes & Barbara Franklin on Sunday, May 17. The event will feature 14 host homes and area professional chefs will prepare the meals at each of the homes.

Guests will enjoy hors d’oeuvres and wine from 5 to 6:30 at the Franklin home where those attending will “discover” the home and host where they will be dining. Guests will leave in time to arrive at their host homes between 6:45 and 7 pm. Driving instructions will be provided.

Each of the homes will feature a professional chef who has donated his time and talent to benefit The Wayne Theatre. The basic menu at each home will be the same with the “secret” chefs (to be announced) using their talent and expertise to prepare the meal “their way.” Following the dinner, guests will leave the host homes for one final home where dessert will be served.

Because of space and time limitations the event will host a very limited number of tickets for this once-in-a-lifetime event. Additional information about the event may be found by calling The Wayne Theatre at 540.943.9999. Tickets for the event are $75 per person and may be ordered by calling that same number or by emailing: [email protected].