By SARA KINCAID, Bismarck Tribune

On the tables of Tania Schroeder’s classroom are bags of flour.

“Where does the flour come from?” Schroeder asks the class.

The Riverside Elementary School first-graders answer: “Wheat.”

“Who grows the wheat?” Schroeder asks.

“The farmers,” they answer.

What the flour became Friday was loaves of bread. It was the culminating project on a lesson on the origin of food. The first-grade class at Riverside received an agriculture-in-the-classroom grant from the state agriculture department.

Last fall, they started learning about the USDA food pyramid and making good food choices. Later, they read and performed “The Little Red Hen,” then learned about the processing of wheat. On Friday, they learned to make bread.

“We learned about honey from bees, and switched to how things change, then switched to wheat,” first-grader Jerod Mattison said.

Instead of mixing bowls and cups, the students used a large plastic bag as a bowl, and had all the other ingredients measured out in smaller plastic bags and plastic cups.

Their teacher walked them through each step. After the water was added to the yeast, flour and honey, the students squashed the ingredients in the bag with their fingers.

“It feels smushy,” first-grader Darius WhiteLight said.

After 10 minutes, the yeast started to puff out some of the bags. When they opened them to add more flour, the yeasty smell filled the room.

“It smells really good,” first-grader Clarissa Perez said.

The other students at her table agreed. “It smells like bread already,” Jerod said.

One student remarked it smelled like beer.

As the students added more flour to the bag, it started to look more like dough. Mixing the flour into the dough mixture required creativity on the part of the students. They pinched it, squashed it, pounded it and even punched it – not in the traditional sense of punching down the dough, but like a punching bag.

Each student was able to take some bread home. The students like a variety of toppings on their bread. Clarissa likes cinnamon, Jerod likes “everything” and Darius likes peanut butter and jelly.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@bismarcktribune.com.)

Wondering what to do with unused medication?  Check with your pharmasist; they may accept or know which pharmacy will accept the medication to be reused to help low income patients who are in need of the same medication.  If it has been open, is outdated or you can no longer take a certain medication the following article will help you safely dispose of it.

Many of us enjoy an unparalleled quality of life.  We have diverse hobbies, numerous economic opportunities, tremendous cultural and outdoor resources and the best health care in the world.  In fact, we often combine our hobbies with our passion for the natural environment.  And protecting these resources is an important part of our overall enjoyment.

A concern we must all address is the disposal of medications and their effect on human life, wildlife, lakes, rivers and streams throughout our country. This issue is relevant to everyone’s personal health safety and the protection of our environment.

The SMAR_XT DISPOSAL campaign is designed to raise awareness about the potential environmental impact from improperly disposed of medications and to provide proactive guidance through proper disposal alternatives.

A few small steps can make an important difference in safeguarding lives and protecting the environment.

Follow your medication prescriber’s instructions and use all medications as instructed. If you do not use all of your prescribed or over-the-counter medication, you can take a few small steps to make a huge impact in safeguarding lives and protecting the environment by disposing of unused medicines properly:

·         DO NOT FLUSH unused medications and DO NOT POUR them down a sink or drain .

·         Be Proactive and Dispose of Unused Medication In Household Trash. When discarding unused medications, ensure you protect children and pets from potentially negative effects:

c.       Pour medication into a sealable plastic bag. If medication is a solid (pill, liquid capsule, etc.), crush it or add water to dissolve it.

• Add kitty litter, sawdust, coffee grounds (or any material that mixes with the medication and makes it less appealing for pets and children to eat) to the plastic bag.
• Seal the plastic bag and put it in the trash. 
• Remove and destroy ALL identifying personal information (prescription label) from all medication containers before recycling them or throwing them away.

·         Check for Approved State and Local Collection Programs. Another option is to check for approved state and local collection alternatives such as community based household hazardous waste collection programs. In certain states, you may be able to take your unused medications to your community pharmacy or other location for disposal.

Consult your pharmacist with any questions.

By THOMAS WATKINS, Associated Press Writer

WHITTIER, Calif. (AP) — The mother of octuplets born this week now has a total of 14 children to feed and clothe. She had undergone fertility treatments and refused the option of eliminating some of the implanted embryos, her mother said.

“What do you suggest she should have done? She refused to have them killed,” Angela Suleman told the Los Angeles Times. That is a very painful thing.”

“It’s going to be difficult” for the woman to care for so many children, her mother acknowledged Thursday.

The good news, she said, is all the babies appear healthy.

“I looked at those babies. They are so tiny and so beautiful,” Suleman said.

Her daughter, whose identity has not been released by her family, gave birth Monday by Caesarean section at Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center.

The six boys and two girls were improving but were expected to remain in the hospital for several more weeks. All were receiving intravenous nutrition but seven also were being tube-fed donated breast milk. One boy was expected to begin feedings Friday.

Suleman said her daughter, who already had six children, had the embryos implanted last year but never intended to give birth to all eight.

“They all happened to take,” Suleman said.

After finding out about her pregnancy, the woman declined an option offered by doctors of reducing the number of embryos, her mother said.

She also was counseled about the risks of her pregnancy — then in its 12th week — and about the option of aborting some fetuses when she arrived at the Kaiser, Dr. Harold Henry said.

A family acquaintance told CBS’ “The Early Show” on Thursday that the mother is “fairly young” and lives with her parents and her children. Her marital status was not revealed.

The babies’ grandfather pulled up in a minivan Thursday evening at the family home in Whittier. He briefly spoke to The Associated Press, warning that media may have a tougher time finding the family after the babies are released from the hospital.

“We have a huge house, not here,” said the man, who would only identify himself as Ed. “You are never going to know where it is.”

Beside him were two children — a 7-year-old named Elijah and his 6-year-old sister, Amerah — who said they were excited to have eight new siblings.

The mother also has two children, ages 5 and 3, and 2-year-old twins, neighbors told the Times.

The hospital issued a statement from the mother saying she and her family were “ecstatic about all of their arrivals.”

Some fertility specialists have said the children face increased health risks because they are octuplets and born nine weeks premature. At birth, they ranged between 1 pound, 8 ounces and 3 pounds, 4 ounces.

Doctors say they advise against higher numbers of births, but acknowledge the decision is not theirs to make.

Dr. James Grifo, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the NYU School of Medicine, added: “I don’t think it’s our job to tell them how many babies they’re allowed to have. I am not a policeman for reproduction in the United States. My role is to educate patients.”

Associated Press writer Shaya Tayefe Mohajer in Bellflower and AP science writer Alicia Chang in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama’s predecessors have carved out enough different roles as first lady that she is now free to fashion the job in a way that suits her. The first lady will take her time defining her new role, but already she’s dropping clues.

Sit in on Cabinet meetings like Rosalynn Carter? No thanks. Mrs. Obama says she doesn’t like “the process stuff.”

Pick a pet issue? She’s identified a few favorites, including supporting military families with a parent far from home.

Her priority? She always will be “mom-in-chief” first.

Protective of her daughters, Mrs. Obama made it clear she was not amused when the makers of Beanie Babies released “Sweet Sasha” and “Marvelous Malia” dolls just after the inauguration.

People who’ve built careers studying first ladies say it will take time for Mrs. Obama to settle into hew new role.

Will she try to push the traditional first lady boundaries and have better luck with it than Hillary Rodham Clinton? Will she stick to tradition, avoid controversy and dive right into decorating, meal planning and welcoming guests to the White House? Will she try to do it all?

“I would be surprised if first ladies came into office in the first week and said, ‘This is what I’m going to do,’” said Stacy A. Cordery, who teaches history at Monmouth College in Illinois. “For the most part, first ladies’ platforms evolve. They have to get their footing.”

Based on what Mrs. Obama has said, her role is unlikely to evolve fully until she’s assured that her 10- and 7-year-old daughters are comfortably settled in at the White House after moving from Chicago, the only other place the girls have ever called home.

There are other hints about what lies ahead for the first lady:

–She’ll continue as one of President Barack Obama’s closest advisers. After all, their relationship began that way some 20 years ago when she was a corporate lawyer in Chicago and was assigned to be his mentor after the firm hired him as a summer intern.

–Her daughters come first. She’ll try to keep their lives as normal as possible, even seeing to it that they make their beds and do other chores. Mrs. Obama largely has stayed out of the public eye since the inaugural, helping the girls make themselves at home. She is unlikely to have much of a public schedule for some time, though she held a reception Thursday in the State Dining Room honoring Lilly Ledbetter, an Alabama woman whose name is on an equal-pay bill the president signed into law. Mrs. Obama’s mother, Marian Robinson, also moved in to the White House and can fill in when duty calls the first lady away.

–Issues she’s expressed interest in include helping women juggle career and family, and promoting community and national service. At the reception for Ledbetter, Mrs. Obama said she’d heard from working women all over the country during the campaign about the need for fair pay, especially “at a time when so many families are facing economic insecurity and instability.” She also did her best to put her White House guests at ease, telling them: “Feel free, walk around, touch some stuff, just don’t break anything.”

–She could be eyeing her predecessor as a role model. Mrs. Obama has talked about how gracious she found Laura Bush to be and said, “I’m taking some cues.” Accompanying her husband to the White House on Inauguration Day for coffee with the outgoing president and first lady, Mrs. Obama arrived with gift box in hand. Inside was a leather-bound journal and engraved pen for Laura Bush to use to begin writing her memoir.

Americans expect a certain kind of first lady, one who supports the president, doesn’t steal too much of his spotlight, stays out of trouble, advocates for favored causes and does all the other things that come with running a home, such as raising children, being a hostess, planning parties and decorating.

But each first lady puts her own stamp on the position, as Mrs. Obama is sure to do.

She’s called her new life “a bit surreal” but also says she’s excited “because I think there’s a lot that can be done with this platform.”

Hillary Clinton was the first real career woman to become first lady; she was a practicing lawyer, children’s rights advocate and first lady of Arkansas when her husband, Bill, was elected. She offended the public during the campaign by saying she wasn’t about to give up her career to “bake cookies and serve tea.”

The Clintons pushed the boundaries in other ways.

Bill Clinton joked during the campaign that the country would get two for one if it elected him, speaking about the first lady’s long-assumed role as an informal presidential adviser in a way that made the public uncomfortable.

Instead of following tradition and settling in the East Wing, Hillary Clinton raised eyebrows by taking a West Wing office among her husband’s top aides. Laura Bush moved the office back to the East Wing, and Mrs. Obama is there, too.

Bill Clinton put his wife in charge of trying to overhaul the health care system, but the effort failed and damaged their public images in the process. Hillary Clinton also was fingered as being involved in various administration scandals. She is the only first lady to testify before a federal grand jury, and once was burned in effigy.

“People expect the first ladies to be more traditional than they expect the women in their own lives to be,” said Kristie Miller, an independent historian who has written books about the Coolidge and Wilson first ladies.

If Mrs. Obama, a lawyer who is as accomplished and Ivy League-educated as Hillary Clinton, at some point decided to take her new role beyond what’s expected of first ladies, she could have an easier time of it because of what Clinton endured.

“Mrs. Clinton opened that door for other first ladies to walk through,” Cordery said. “She pushed the American comfort level with what first ladies could do.”

Even Laura Bush, widely viewed as a traditional first lady, broadened the role.

She was the first first lady to record one of the president’s Saturday radio messages. She held a news conference in the White House briefing room, rare for a first lady, to accuse Myanmar’s military rulers of ineptness after a killer cyclone struck. The plight of pro-democracy activists in Myanmar, also known as Burma, became one of her causes and she consulted often with the U.N. secretary-general. She also championed the rights of Afghan women.

Mrs. Obama will have to be careful about overstepping because some people still have negative impressions of her, Cordery said. Some still regard her as unpatriotic and angry because of her comment during Obama’s campaign about being proud of the U.S. for the first time in her adult life.

Cordery said Mrs. Obama is smart enough to have paid close attention to Hillary Clinton’s trials and to have reached out for advice on the do’s and don’ts of being first lady. Playing off of the recent news that Obama won his fight to keep his beloved BlackBerry, Cordery quipped: “Maybe the first lady’s private BlackBerry will have Mrs. Clinton on it and they will talk.”

___

On the Net:

First ladies: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/first_ladies/

By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are edging closer to giving President Barack Obama a big victory on health care.

The Senate was expected to vote Thursday on legislation that would spend $31.5 billion more on a children’s health insurance program over the next 4 1/2 years. The additional money would help about 4 million uninsured children get coverage and draw 2.4 million more kids into the program who otherwise could get private coverage.

“It’s a major step forward for our nation,” said Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., in anticipation of the Senate’s action. “Many Americans face grave economic uncertainty, and it’s critical that we move quickly to pass this legislation and send it to President Obama for his signature.”

So far, the debate this week has given Democrats a chance to wield their expanded majority, batting down all the GOP attempts to change the bill.

Democrats want to pay for expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program by increasing the federal excise tax on cigarettes by 61 cents per pack, to $1 from 39 cents currently.

Republicans have countered with a more modest proposal that they said would expand coverage to about 2 million uninsured children. Their proposal, offered Wednesday by Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, would have increased spending on children’s health coverage by about $10 billion over the next 4 1/2 years.

That plan would have lowered spending for certain Medicaid services, particularly the amount paid to states for administrative tasks associated with managing Medicaid, but the amendment was soundly defeated.

Republicans say they are most concerned about a lack of firm income limits on who can get the government to pay for their children’s health coverage. States have broad flexibility to determine eligibility criteria. Republicans say some states have veered from the program’s original intent to serve the working poor.

The House bill won approval two weeks ago.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

By MORGAN LEE, Associated Press Writer

MEXICO CITY (AP) — An 11-year-old bullfighter in Mexico may have set a record by slaying six young bulls in one appearance, but you won’t see his name in the Guinness World Records book.

According to Mexico’s National Association of Matadors, Michel “Michelito” Lagravere set the international record at his age for bull calves killed in a two-hour bullfight watched by more than 3,500 people.

But Guinness World Records says it was not aware the event was taking place and will not recognize the result.

“We do not accept records based on the killing or harming of animals,” Guinness said on its Web site.

Michelito, who turned 11 in December, took the news in stride on Wednesday.

“It’s all the same to me because in the world of bullfighting the record is now part of history, although it may not be for Guinness,” he said.

The tiny torero, 4 feet 5 inches tall and 77 pounds, has taken on bulls weighing over 600 pounds. Last year, he become the symbol of a debate much bigger than himself during a trip to France, where anti-bullfighting campaigners complained loudly that the boy was risking his life in the ring.

Mexico has no minimum age for bullfighting, although by law children are supposed to be closely supervised as they advance from nonlethal exhibitions with small calves to full-fledged lethal bullfights.

The lack of age limits and a trend toward younger bullfighters has drawn young aspirants from abroad to Mexico, including one Spanish bullfighter, Jairo Miguel, who was nearly gored to death in 2007 at age 14 when a 910-pound bull rushed him at top speed and punctured his lung.

A child welfare law enacted last year in Michelito’s home state led authorities to briefly suspend Saturday’s landmark bullfight. Investigators allowed the show to go on, but the Yucatan state Human Rights Commission said it still has concerns.

“It’s a latent risk that he doesn’t have the maturity and the physical strength to do these kinds of activities,” said Guadalupe Sosa Escobedo, spokeswoman for the commission.

Michelito’s parents — a professional bullfighter from France who runs a matador school in Merida, and a Mexican mother who manages a chain of bullfighting arenas on the Yucatan Peninsula — say years of persistent practice and a cool demeanor allow their son to bullfight responsibly against bull calves.

Michelito started playing at being a torero as a tot using a dishtowel as a cape, his father and namesake Michel Lagravere said.

Mother Diana Peniche Marenco said the family has turned down professional sponsors because of her son’s young age. But she has little doubt about her son’s potential.

“He’s got it in his blood, from living so close to it with his father,” she said. “I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t afraid.”

By SARA KINCAID, Bismarck Tribune

The Bismarck School District’s books are in order, according to a recent audit.

The audit, performed by auditors at Eide Bailly, LLP., was presented to the Bismarck School Board Monday. There were no findings and one significant deficiency on the audit.

The deficiency is because the auditors prepare the financial statements for the audit, not the school district. The audit report expressed that this is common practice for organizations the size of the school district.

“We thought we’d be able to do it this year,” district business manager Ed Gerhardt said.

The timeline for the yearly audit would have required the financial statements to be ready by August, which is a month after the books close for the fiscal year. If the district prepared the financial statements, it would need to start the audit in October or September, Gerhardt said.

The district saw an increase in its assets for the last school year, as well as increased its revenue and expenses. The district’s net assets were $72,525,564, or an increase of about $4.6 million. Total assets for the district are $103,158,358.

Federal funds and property taxes accounted for the same percentage of revenue as the 2006-07 school year, at 11 percent and 45 percent respectively. State revenue increased 1 percent, while local sources decreased a percent. The general fund revenue was $94,728,128 last year, which is about $3.6 million more than in 2006-07.

Expenditures in the general fund increased 4 percent for instruction. The general fund expenditures are $95,285,823. This is about $5 million more than in 2006-07.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@bismarcktribune.com.)

The response to the “Night at the Library” program on Thursday prompted Bismarck Public Schools and the Bismarck Public Library to add another night. The program offers tips for parents on helping with homework and students can listen to a story, watch a puppet show or see an illusionist.

Registration for the program on Thursday ended earlier this week. Requests exceeded the seating capacity of the library. The second night, not yet scheduled, will be for families of students who attend Centennial, Highland Acres, Miller, Moses, Murphy, Grimsrud, Prairie Rose and Roosevelt elementary schools.

Families who already signed up from the other elementary schools can attend the program Thursday. Those schools are Northridge, Myhre, Pioneer, Riverside, Saxvik, Solheim and Will-Moore. The program starts at 5:30 p.m. and there will be pizza

By KEN THOMAS,  Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly 100 children were killed and 2,000 injured in 2007 when they were backed over by cars, typically in residential driveways, the government said Tuesday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released the data in a study evaluating backover deaths and other difficult-to-quantify “non-traffic” deaths and injuries. The agency was responding to a 2008 law requiring the tracking of data for incidents in which children are backed over, strangled by power windows or killed from being left in hot vehicles.

Overall, the report found that 221 people were killed in 2007 by backing-up vehicles, and 14,000 were injured. Ninety-nine of the deaths and 2,000 of the injuries involved children age 14 and under, NHTSA officials said.

“These are unnecessary deaths,” said Judith Lee Stone, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. “We know that when vehicle safety is improved to address these issues with better rear vision and better ways of identifying children and other pedestrians in the driveway and the parking lot we will see these numbers go down.”

Janette Fennell, who founded Kids and Cars, a Kansas-based auto safety group that collected data on these types of deaths and injuries, said it validated estimates her organization had developed that about two children die each week from backovers.

The 2008 legislation — sponsored by former New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton — required future vehicles to offer additional mirrors, sensor devices or cameras to help reduce blind spots. By 2010, new vehicles will need to have brake interlock systems, which prevent a car from shifting out of park unless the brake pedal is depressed.

NHTSA estimated that 393 people were killed and 20,000 were injured in crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists in driveways, parking lots, private roads and trails in 2007.

In a separate review, the government found that 168 people were killed from 2003 to 2004 when they were pinned or trapped under vehicles, usually while working on a vehicle that fell from its supports.

The study also found 147 people were killed from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning from vehicle exhaust.

Other types of fatalities in 2003-04 included: 88 deaths from falling from a vehicle, typically from the tailgate or roof, 57 fatalities from vehicle fires, 44 deaths from being struck by an object such as a tree, a rock or cargo, 37 deaths from excessive heat and 14 deaths from excessive cold.

The report estimated that five people were killed from vehicle window asphyxia, in which someone is strangled by a window.

Separately, the study estimated that nearly 150,000 people were injured by slamming the door on their fingers or hands and 88,000 were injured when they overexerted themselves unloading cargo or pushing broken-down vehicles.

The 2007 data was based on police reports received by NHTSA through its existing crash data collection system. The 2003-2004 data was based on mortality data obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital Statistics System.

By McClatchy-Tribune News Service

The 2008 version of Middle School Success is now available for both Windows and Macintosh computers. That’s the big news since I last reviewed this excellent set of tutorials for grades 7, 8 and 9. The bigger news is the interface. It’s been streamlined, is easier to navigate and covers its six areas in greater detail.

So, middle-schoolers, teachers and parents, here’s what you’ll find on these CDs:

Math: algebra, geometry, measurement (including unit prices and money), statistics and probability, basic numbering (everything from exponents and percents to whole numbers, ratio and proportions). These lessons and quizzes are about as comprehensive as any I’ve seen.

Reading and writing: How to take notes, how to listen (good luck, parents), how to spot details and key information, main ideas and style (useful for budding Hemingways), how to format and present both writing and speaking presentations. The emphasis is on clear thinking, comprehension and delivery.

Science: geology, astronomy and demonstrations of how weather works, physics (magnetism, energy, light, sound, rocks and minerals, ecology, genetics, how the human body works (no dissecting of frogs, which turned off many an aspiring biologist ) and how muscles and the nervous system work.

The foreign language tutorials have been expanded to include Spanish, English (for foreign speakers), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Russian and Portuguese. Your students will learn enough to get buy in these languages, but by no means will they be fluent in all situations.

There’s also a set of typing tutorials, a concise version of the Encyclopedia Britannica and a case for transporting the CDs to and from school. There are thousands of tutorials, exercises and activities, the tutorials do a good job of explaining the material. The tests are based on that material; there are no trick questions that I could discern.

All in all, it’s a painless way to prepare for middle school, stay on top of course work and make certain your student is ready for high school. And it works on Macs.

Middle School Success will run on Windows Vista and XP and Macintosh PCs running OS 10.4 or higher. To order, send $29, plus $6 for shipping, to WashingtonCD, PO Box 351531, Los Angeles, CA 90035, or online at www.washingtoncd.net.