Good idea: Stink-free schools

A lawmaker in Minnesota is proposing fragrance-free schools.
I say considering the amoung of cologne your average high school boy puts on in his feable attempt to “impress the ladies,” this is a good idea.
The other day, my wife and I were shopping at a department store and a high-school aged kid walked by and nearly knocked us out. He smelled like the entrance to an Abercrombie and Fitch. And his smell lingered.
Now, imagine that smell multiplied, and you have high school. I remember following football games or practice, my teammates would pour on the cologne for the upcoming dance or for their dates that night. I didn’t wear cologne in high school, though I admit I tried some (I didn’t inhale) in college.
The fact that it’s making some kids sick, I guess, is reason enough to forbid it in schools. I just find it hard to believe they’ll find a way to police it.
Teacher: “Hey kid! Is that J-Lo I smell on you?”
Student: “No, sir, it’s … it’s my natural smell.”
Teacher: “Go to the office.”

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Associated Press story
Minn. lawmaker proposes campaign on fragrance-free
schools, says scents making some kids sick

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Those all-over body sprays that promise to turn teenage boys into babe magnets? Instead of attracting girls, they could be making them sick.
A Minnesota lawmaker proposed a bill Monday urging a fragrance-free educational campaign to discourage students from dousing themselves in scents that aggravate classmates with asthma and other health problems.
Odors that fill hallways come mostly from boys who douse themselves in body sprays like Axe, said Mikolai Altenberg, a senior at Minneapolis South High School. He said the smell is “indescribable” and unavoidable.
“You can smell it from 10 feet away,” Altenberg said. “Mostly it’s just guys who just think that putting Axe all over them is a substitute for showering.”
Rep. Karen Clark, a Democrat, first proposed banning fragrances in Minneapolis schools, one of the state’s largest school districts. The bill she introduced Monday scales that back to an awareness campaign in Minneapolis and in other districts that volunteer. The campaign could include letters to parents, fact sheets, signs in schools, e-mail and Web sites.
One in eight Minneapolis students has asthma, and school nurses have treated students for wheezing and headaches brought on by the fragrances wafting from classmates, said Mary Heiman, a nursing service manager who runs the district’s asthma program.
An awareness campaign would mirror the approach of policies at the University of Minnesota’s Disability Services office and in a recent version of the Minneapolis teachers contract.
If the awareness campaign works, it could be expanded, Clark said.
A trade group for toiletry makers, the Personal Care Products Council in Washington, said it doesn’t oppose fragrance policies as long as they’re voluntary.
“We really don’t think it’s a good idea to legislate personal hygiene,” said John Hurson, the group’s head of government affairs.
Rhode Island and Massachusetts are the only other states where lawmakers have proposed fragrance-free bills in the past two years, Hurson said.

Herald Pet Idol: Voting begins Wednesday

Voting in The Herald’s first-ever Pet Idol begins Wednesday. You’ll be able to see the nearly 100 pets in Wednesday’s D section of The Herald.
Each vote costs 25 cents, and you can vote as many times as you’d like for as many different pets as you’d like. And you can vote based on cuteness, your favorite breed, your favorite photo or even based on the fact that it’s your dog.
The reason for it all is to raise money for Newspapers in Education, an organization that promotes literacy and puts newspapers like The Herald in the classroom.
If you’re undecided on which pet you want to vote for … let me help you out. The two dogs pictured above (Honey and Miles) will be among the “contestants.” You’ve probably seen them on here before.

Happy Monday

My blog hasn’t been up to par the past week, and I blame jury duty, which, yes, is still going on today.
That doesn’t mean I’m not up for a little writing this morning.

• I got a reply on my twister article/column this week from a reader who says Lee County did, in fact, experience a tornado or two in the 1990s. I was going on numbers provided by the State Climate Office of North Carolina and Lee County Emergency Management. Here is part of the e-mail from George Gilliam:

One of the most well-known tornadoes to hit Lee County was the Lemon Springs tornado in 1989 or 1990. This tornado destroyed quite a few homes along with injuries. I’ve done an extensive online search and can’t find a record of it, however, the damage and accounts were covered by the Sanford Herald. It was a huge weather event in this area at that time. Anyone from the Sanford/Lemon Springs area remembers this storm, it would great to see some info on it.
Another tornado hit the county on March 29, 1991. Tornado warnings had been issued for Chatham and Moore County on the same day. The tornado is recorded as “wind damage” on the NCDC page. I live in the area where the storm struck. We had more than 200 trees destroyed, as well as outbuildings and homes damaged. To give you an idea, a 2X4 was driven through the roof of my home. My neighbor’s homes all had very extensive damage as well. We all saw the tornado approaching and took cover. The damage from this storm also appeared in the Sanford Herald on March 30th or April 1st 1991. The National Weather service was supposed to come and survey the damage but I don’t ever remember them coming.

• My wife’s account of our dog Miles’ first trip to a dog park with a running creek is great. Watching our clumsy behemoth of a dog go ape-doo and slosh through the creek chasing other dogs was truly one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. Next time, I’m bringing the video camera.
As for the park in Southern Pines … it’s not a true “dog park” per se, as it’s not completely fenced in … but it is huge, it has a ton of dogs and lots of trails, plus the creek mentioned earlier. We’ll definitely be back.

Off to court. Will write more when I can.