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OBSERVATIONS
April 7, 2020 |
 |
 Wingate Lassiter |
Meal-distribution effort highlights
inequity in local school districting
I was wondering about the volunteers handing out meals to school children at the Sarah Yard Community Center beside Smith-Collins Park since it wasn't listed by the county's school system among its numerous distribution points.
I contacted Councilman Marlon Lee, one of the extra site's organizers who represents the town's East Smithfield District, to learn more about that situation.
He explained that "the main reason is most (East Smithfield) students didn't have a way out there" --- to West Smithfield Elementary School, one of the county's pickup points where children from Mr. Lee's part of town are assigned to attend.
So he made arrangements to collect a batch of meals at West Smithfield each weekday to bring back to the Sarah Yard Center. "We started off at 70, ended at 90 meals," he told me over the weekend.
In addition, Mr. Lee and friends have gotten donations to provide weekend meals as part of the Backpack Buddies program at West Smithfield Elementary.
A commendable effort by those leaders to be applauded in these trying times.
But what's sad about it is the gerrymandered school districting done years ago that sends children from East Smithfield all the way out to West Smithfield Elementary School on Galilee Road near Highway 210, even though they're much closer to South Smithfield Elementary.
No "neighborhood school" for those unfortunate kids.
Meanwhile, Mr. Lee wonders what's to be done in the days just ahead now that the school system has suspended the meal-distribution program through next week.
"As of now we do not know if we will continue
to give out meals," he said. "Our donations were for
weekend feeding, not everyday feeding."Even so, this Friday, he added, "we are surprising all kids with Easter eggs since all the Easter egg hunts were canceled" because of coronavirus restrictions.
PICTURED (left to right): Rachel Ayers, Tiffany Pearson, Travis Holder, and Marlon Lee at the Sarah Yard Center this past week (photo from a Facebook page).
Now it's worse than the infamous 9-11 attacks
According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University, the number of coronavirus deaths in New York City surpassed the 3,000-mark Monday morning. That's more than the number of persons killed by the September 11, 2001 airplane attacks that brought down both towers of the World Trade Center.
New York City alone had 72,181 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 3,485 coronavirus deaths as of 9:42 a.m. today (Tuesday) --- a stark contrast to the 3,221 cases and 46 deaths so far for all of North Carolina.
A very brief
history of toilet paper
From The News &
Observer's online edition
Barry
Kudrowitz, a toy designer and associate professor and
director of product design at the University of
Minnesota, finds toilet paper so interesting that he’s
written an online history of the product....
Here are some of his highlights on how humans have cleaned themselves down there over the years:
Pre-50 B.C.: Sticks, leaves, stones, water, and snow are the preferred materials.
50 B.C.-Middle Ages: There’s an upgrade to cloth, wool, hay, and a sponge on a stick.
Late 14th-late 19th century: Corn cobs, coconut shells, Sears catalog, Farmers Almanac.
1857-1999: The toilet tissue age, including the perforated roll (1890),”splinter-free” paper (1930), two-ply (1942), scented rolls (1964).
1999: “Paperless toilet” introduced in Japan that can wash, rinse, and blow dry.
P.S. Perhaps we'll have to start going
backwards with this if folks keep hoarding.
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