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®I)e CJjarlotte
LIFE
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2006
Section
Coleman
Family
strategy for
successful
school year
By Poulo Young
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
School is back in session and
kids are getting geared up to
begin a new school year. For
parents though, it can be a
very stressful time. School
supplies, class schedules,
transportation issues are the
myriad of worries for parents.
Danielle Coleman, licensed
clinical social worker, imder-
stands the stress for parents
and students.
For the past 15 years,
Coleman has worked as a
mental health and medical
social worker. She’s also coun-
1 seled school
I aged children
I and families fac-
I ing difficult
I issues.
A mother of
'I two, Coleman
recognizes the
importance of
family and in
2004 started her own busi
ness, Choice
Communications. “I wanted
to do what’s important profes
sionally and didn’t want to
take away from my family at
the same time,” she said.
Choice Communications is a
social work service firm that
works with groups and indi
viduals by providing training
and workshops in effective
parenting, anger. manage
ment, building self-esteem,
strengthening communica
tion skills and work/life bal
ance.
As a former social worker
with Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Schools, Coleman offers this
advice for parents and chil
dren for the academic year:
For students:
• Do your best
• Take responsibility for
your behavior
• Make no excuses
• Make positive choices
• Be at the right place at the
right time
For parents:
• Maintain positive flow of
communication with teachers
and counselors
• Stay involved
• Ask questions of the stu
dents and the school staff
• Attend school functions
Coleman feels that parents
hold the key to their child’s
success. “Everybody has to
own their own piece,” she
said. “If we’re talking about
school success, parents need
to own a piece too.”
According to Coleman, at
the beginning of the school
year, parents need to find out
what method of homework
each teacher offers whether
it’s weekly or if there’s an
agenda involved, etc.
Research finds students
whose parents are involved
with school and extracurricu
lar activities are more likely
to succeed. “Ifyourchildison
the basketball team, parents
need to attend games,
whether it’s a bake sale or
your child is in the band, be
there. Attendance shows that
you care.”
Coleman says it’s frustratr
ing for school officials to offer
parent support workshops
and only a few parents show
up. If the child and or parent
do not make a conscientious
effort to make school success
ful, the following outcomes
can be expected:
Child
• Suspension, detention, or
expulsion
• Poor grades
• Attendeince problems
• Alternative school place
ment
• Negative reputation
• Exclusion
Parents
Please see SCH00L/3B
PHOTOS/ERICA SINGLETON
The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad provides mystery and Intrigue for tourists departing Dillsboro to Bryson
City. GSMR offers gourmet cuisine (below) on its Mystery Dinner Theater train.
Mysteries on the rails
Intrigue, cuisine and locomotion whistle in from Dillsboro
By Erica Singleton
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
Where is Dillsboro, N.C., and what
could possibly be there?
What attracted me to Dillsboro was
an opportunity of a night of mystery
and intrigue where my mother, a huge
fan of whodunit programs like
“Murder She Wrote,” “Diagnosis
Murder,” and classics like “Columbo,”
could live out her mystery-solving fan
tasies aboard the Nightshade 2006
mystery dinner series the Great
Smoky Moimtains Railroad offers.
Operating on the Murphy Branch
Line established in 1891, the Great
Smoky Mountains Railroad features
activities and events departing from
Dillsboro and Bryson City. Prom the
Sunset by Rail simdown excursions
offered throughout the summer to the
Cotton Tail Express at Easter and the
Polar Express that makes a special
visit to' the North Pole from November
throu^ mid-December. GSMR also
offers Gourmet Dinner trains with
four-course (five-course for New Year’s
Eve) meals served, or specialty
gourmet events such as the
Valentine’s “Sweetheart” Trains, and
the Father’s Day Beer Dinner train.
Our options were many, but it was our
need to solve something that sucked
Located in the scenic mountains of
North Carolina, the steam and diesel
excursions take you through moim-
tain tunnels, along the Tuckasegee
River, and past a “fugitive hunt.” OK,
not an actual hunt, however you pass
the location where the movie “The
Fugitive” shot a train/prison bus
wreck scene, and you can take pic
tures of the site.
The Mystery Dinner Theater train is
a three-hour excursion, with a three-
course meal only on Fridays, depart
ing at 7:30 p.m., with nine Halloween
mystery specials during October
departing at 8pm. Reservations are
required, adults only. “Dressy” pasugl
dress is enforced. “The scenic vistas
or starlit skies of Western North
Carolina pass your dining car window
as comic tales of intrigue unfold
See TRAIN/2B
Symposium to focus on diabetes
By Herbert L. White
hert:)-whrfe@fhechortotteposf.com
The devastating impact of diabetes on
people of color will be addressed at a
Health symposium Sept. 28 at the
Charlotte Convention Center.
The symposium, presented by
CaroHnas Association for Community
Health Equity, will highlight the dis
proportionate occurrence of diabetes
among people of color, stress healthy
lifestyles and early disease detection
and increase awareness of the disease’s
effect on multiple organs. Diabetes is a
persistent elevation in blood sugar lev
els and is the fifth leading cause of
death in racial minorities.
Sam Dagogo-Jack, MD, Professor of
Medicine at the University of
Tfennessee College of Medicine will
deliver the keynote address. Break-out
sessions will include diabetes discus
sions on fitness and nutrition; eye and
kidney disease; heart and blood vessel
disease, obesity, diabetic pain manage
ment and alternative medicine treat
ment in diabetes.
Organizers expect 600 plus people to
attend. Proceeds benefit CACHE and
, other programs which serve the health
care needs of minority individuals and
families at risk of experiencing health
care disparities. For more information
about sponsorships, corporate tables or
individual tickets, please contact The
Main Event at 704-332-5819.
For more information about the sjm-
posium, call Yele Aluko MD at (704)
887-4545.
Empowennent activities at Chimney Rock
Q Q Q
By Erica Singleton
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
While planning the trip I
took earlier this summer to
Asheville, a visitors center
representative told me about
a new rock climbing program
at Chimney Rock Park,
thinking it might interest me.
I think I’m open to lots of new
opportunities, but the truth is
I’m a bit of a chicken and
somewhat afraid of heights.
Nevertheless, I called
Chimney Rock for more infor
mation, and was excited to
find out that many of the
climbing clinics are geared
towards women and women’s
groups.
“For years, enthusiasts
have wanted to climb the
PHOTO/ERICA SINGLETON
The cliffs at Chimney Rock are now ready to be conquered.
m
cliffs at Chimney Rock,”
explained Valerie Hoffman,
public relations and special
events manager, CRP. “And
now they can.” The park
teamed up with Fox
Mountain Guides to offer
climbing ' and rappelling
opportunities for all ages.
Skill level doesn’t matter.
they work with beginner to
advanced climbers and the
equipment is provided for
you, all you have to do is wear
something comfortable. How
could I say no?
As added incentive, I was
told I could bring along a
fnend, and make it a real
“girlfriend’s getaway,” so I
accepted. How could I have
known my friend would have
to go to the emergency room
and I would have to face
climbing alone?
I’d like to say I was stiU
excited; I’d even like to say I
was looking forward to it, but
for the whole ride up U.S. 74,
I tried to come up with ways
to get out of it.
Please see CHIMNEY/3B
B
Colorectal
Cancer
Colorectal cancer (cancer of
the colon and rectum) is the
third most common cancer
found in adults..
The American Cancer
Society estimates that
145,000 people will be diag
nosed with colorectal cancer
this year. Unfortimately, this
will result in about 56,000
deaths. The risk of develop
ing colorectal cancer increas
es with age. In fact, more
than 90 percent of colorectal
cancer cases occur in persons
aged 50 years or older.
In general, the number of
people developing and dying
from colorectal cancer has
been decreasing each year.
This decrease is largely due
to successful screening tests
that allow for the discovery
and removal of pre-cancerous
growths (polyps) before they
turn into cancer, Early detec
tion and treatment can lead
to improved medical out
comes.. Despite these
improvements, African
American men and women
have the highest rate of col
orectal cancer deaths of any
racial or ethnic group.
What causes colorectal
cancer?
Colorectal cancer usually
develops slowly over a period
of years from the cells lining
the inside of the colon and,
rectum. It begins as a polyp
(called an adenoma), then
develops into an adenocarci
noma, which is cancerous.
Almost all adenomas of the
colon and rectum develop
into adenocarcinomas if left
imtreated. Risk factors that
contribute to the develop
ment of colorectal cancer
include a family history of
colorectal cancer or polyps,
inflammatory bowel disease,
or certain hereditary dis
eases. Also, lifestyle factors
such as lack of exercise, poor
diet, obesity, and alcohol and
tobacco use may contribute to
an increased risk of colorectal
cancer. African American
men and women who have
these risk factors, especially
those who are age 50 or older,
are at an even greater risk of
developing colorectal cancer.
How is colorectal cancer
detected?
Routine screening for col
orectal cancer is crucial for
early detection. ' The
American Cancer Society rec
ommends that, beginning at
age 50, both men and women
have a yearly stool blood test
(a test to find small amounts
of hidden blood in the stool),
plus one of the following
exams:
• a flexible sigmoidoscopy
(a procedure that allows the
doctor to look at the inside of
the rectum and part of the
colon) every five years.
• a double contrast barium
enema (a series of X-rays of
the colon and rectum which
are taken after the patient is
given a barium dye enema
See FIGHTING/3B
PHOTO/THE STOCK MARKET