Burkett, who turns 65 on Monday, is stepping down this month from the Beacon Journal Charity Fund, where she has served as executive director since 1997.

Before taking over the nonprofit’s leadership role, she was a case investigator for the organization. The agency helps an average of 50 teens a year get free care from local orthodontists who accept reduced fees from the charity fund for their work.

In both positions, Burkett visited the homes of children and teens who applied for free braces to help determine which applicants qualified for the orthodontic care.

“That was and still is my first passion — the home visits and visiting the families and the one-on-one visits with the kids,” she said.

Over the years, she saw countless times the difference orthodontic care made in the lives of children in working-poor families who couldn’t afford the average $5,000 to $6,000 cost for braces.

There was the boy with an overbite who stopped her as she left a home visit to say, “Mrs. Burkett, I pray every day that the kids will stop making fun of me.”

Or the letter from a thankful mother 15 years ago recounting how her son changed from a shy, average student to one who gained amazing confidence after getting braces with the agency’s help. He ended up valedictorian of his graduating class.

“The difference that it’s made in their self-esteem and self-confidence is phenomenal,” she said.

The charity fund started at the newspaper at the urging of editor and publisher John S. Knight. The charity and the newspaper went separate ways in 1987, but Beacon Journal employees and former employees still serve on the agency’s board of trustees.

The agency’s $130,000 budget this year for orthodontic care and $16,000 to provide oral health education to third-grade classes throughout Summit County comes primarily from donations from area foundations.

Burkett is being replaced by Mark Fairhurst, who joined the organization this year to serve as the new executive director.

Burkett said she and her husband, Bill, plan to enjoy their retirement years by spending time with family and with regular trips to Florida.

But she’ll never forget the many smiles she helped shape over the years.

“I’m going to miss it a great deal,” she said. “It’s just very near and dear. It’s difficult for me to explain to someone who has not gone out to the homes and not seen some of the situations that we’ve seen and the expressions on the kids’ faces, the emotions that are involved and the gratitude that we get from the parents.”

Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/abjcherylpowell.

The annual Three High School Music Festival is in its seventh year and will feature choirs from Revere, Firestone and Copley-Fairlawn high schools. Each choir will perform three selections each and will end the concert with a joint rendition of “Esto Les Digo” by Kinley Lange.

The performance is the final concert in the 2012-2013 Parish Arts Ministry concert series. The purpose of the series, in its 15th year, is to provide a variety of quality concert productions at no charge to the community.

Performances include vocalists, orchestras, organists, religious dramas, string quartets and hymn festival recitalists.

The concert series is supported by sponsorships and offerings that are received during each performance. Refreshments will be served after the Three High School Music Festival in the church fellowship hall.

For more information, call 330-836-7286 or visit www.flcs-oh.org.

In other religion news:

Events

Akron and Vicinity Interdenominational Minister’s Association — Citywide revival Sunday through Wednesday at First Apostolic Faith Church, 790 Easter Ave., Akron. At 6 p.m. Sunday, Bishop Joey Johnson from House of the Lord is speaker; 7 p.m. Monday, the Rev. Shiloh Hooks will speak; 7 p.m. Tuesday, youth night with speaker Brandon Hollis; and at 7 p.m. Wednesday, the Rev. Samuel Hampton II will speak. The public is invited. 330-724-6823.

Centenary United Methodist Church — 1310 Superior Ave., Akron. 10:45 a.m. Sunday. Women’s Day Gospel Brunch Celebration in Fellowship Hall. Theme is Rediscovering and Redefining God’s Will for Women: Sisters in Service. Featured speaker is Deacon Flora Dees. Breakfast brunch buffet will be served following the service. 330-376-9648.

Christ Is The Answer Ministries — 379 E. South St., Akron. 4 p.m. Sunday. The Rev. DeJuan Kelker and Burning Bush Church will be featured guests. 330-376-1869.

Christ the Servant Parish — 833 39th St. NW, Plain Township. 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. A community celebration for Monsignor Lewis F. Gaetano’s 40th anniversary of ordination will be held in Alumni Hall. Hot dogs, hamburgers, buns, chips, beverages and utensils will be provided. Those attending should bring a covered dish for 10-12 people. RSVP to 330-526-8366.

Grace United Church of Christ — 13275 Cleveland Ave., Lake Township. 10:45 a.m. Sunday. Official installation of the Rev. Jeff Nelson as new pastor. Others from surrounding communities are invited. 330-699-3255.

Hill’s Temple First Born Church — 799 S. Arlington St., Akron. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. Annual revival will be held. Guest speaker is the Rev. Kenneth W. Parramore of Christ Centered Church.

Lakemore United Methodist Church — 1536 Flickinger Road, Lakemore. 4 to 6:30 p.m. today. Swiss steak dinner. Includes mashed potatoes, green beans, coleslaw, applesauce, bread, dessert and beverage. Carryout available. Adults $7, ages 3-12 $3.50, free for age 3 and under. 330-733-6531.

Lighthouse Christian Center — at Holiday Inn Akron-West, 4073 Medina Road, Bath Township. 5 p.m. Sunday. Pentecost Sunday will be held with special guests, the Rev. DeAnna Wansley and Elder Tracey Mays. A night of prayer, praise and worship. 330-869-0321.

Mogadore Christian Church — 106 S. Cleveland Ave., Mogadore. 5 to 7 p.m. today. Swiss steak dinner. Includes mashed potatoes, green beans, coleslaw, applesauce, rolls, beverage and dessert. Adults $8, ages 5-12 $4, under age 3 free. Carryout available. 330-628-3344.

Mount Haven Missionary Baptist Church — 545 Noble Ave., Akron. 5 p.m. Sunday. The Mass Choir will celebrate its 64th anniversary with a Then & Now Musical. They will be joined by choir members from area churches. 330-253-2923.

Pavilion of Praise Church of God In Christ — 976 W. Waterloo Road, Akron. 6:30 p.m. May 25. Youth Explosion. Singing, dancing and praising. 330-753-1458.

Solid Rock Fellowship Baptist Church — 1316 Kentucky Ave., Akron. 10 a.m. to noon Monday. The monthly food distribution will be held.

Wooster Avenue Church of Christ — 1147 Vernon Odom Blvd., Akron. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 25. Snack lunch and clothing giveaway. First come, first served, all sizes when available. 330-762-7301.

Performances

Calvary Temple — 3045 Albrecht Ave., Akron. 6 p.m. Sunday. By popular request, the church will again present a drama titled The Mercy Seat. Some of the intense scenes are not considered suitable for children under age 12. The play is written and directed by Wanda Walker. 330-628-5753.

Grace United Methodist Church — 1720 Schneider St. NW, Plain Township. 7 p.m. Sunday. The Puppets of Grace will perform their spring show. Free. Share a covered dish dinner before the show at 5:15 p.m. 330-499-2330.

Hartville Kitchen — 1015 Edison St. NW, Lake Township. Three Christian artists will appear in upcoming Dinner Concert Series events. Dinner is at 6 p.m. with the concerts at 7 p.m. Selah will perform on May 31, Sandi Patty on June 6 and Mark Schultz on June 7. Tickets are $48 and include dinner. Only 500 tickets are sold for each show. Tickets available at www.itickets.com or 330-877-9353.

Springfield Baptist Church — 1920 Krumroy Road, Springfield Township. 7 p.m. Sunday. A Christian concert will feature Randy Velliquette, known as The Harmonica Man. Free-will offering.

The deadline for Religion Notes is noon Tuesday. Items must be in writing. Please fax information to 330-996-3033, email it to religion@thebeaconjournal.com or send it to Religion, Akron Beacon Journal, 44 E. Exchange St., Akron OH 44309

Before guests arrived, you practiced slow dancing in front of the mirror with your secret heartthrob. During the party, girls twisted and bumped to the beat of the bass. A single lava lamp provided just the right ambience.

You might think those days are long gone. But there’s a way to relieve your childhood.

Akron hosts a chapter of Dance, Dance, Party, Party (DDPP), a female-only program that encourages participants to dance just like they did when they were kids.

“I regularly channel the 10-year-old girl in me,” joked Joanna Wilson, an author who helps run the Akron chapter.

During a recent visit to the party, the windows were open to let in fresh air and the aroma of something scrumptious cooking at a nearby restaurant. The only light came from outdoor security lamps, a string of rope lighting and what filtered in from an open door to the hallway. Dancing in the dark, DDPP folks believe, allows women to feel less inhibited.

Wilson reminded the group that DDPP has three rules — “no boys, no booze and no judgment.”

The 14 gals, ranging in age from about late 20s to retirees, were encouraged to let their inner divas out. For an hour, they danced solo, sometimes roaming around the darkened room with their eyes partially closed.

Laura Maidens of Akron said DDPP, which meets on the first, third and fifth Fridays of the month at Martell School of Dance in Akron’s Highland Square neighborhood, is a great way to decompress after a week’s work, allowing for a stress-free weekend.

“You don’t have to go to a bar … where people are hitting on you,” added Akron’s Debra DeGregorio.

The local chapter of DDPP was started four years ago by Juniper Sage, the co-owner of Square Records in Highland Square. She and a college pal used to chat about how much fun it would be to have a place where women could gather to “jump around like fifth-graders at a slumber party.” Later, the friend discovered such a group in Chicago and told Sage about DDPP.

Catherine Carrigan, who is one of the women who runs the Chicago chapter and keeps track of what’s happening at other DDPPs, said there are five active chapters in the U.S. and eight others internationally.

“I love that I’ve found a community of women who enjoy music and movement as much as I do,” Carrigan said. “We create a comfortable environment for women of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels to dance and let loose without the hassles a night at the club can bring. It’s cheap, it’s great exercise, I know no one’s judging my dance moves and I don’t have to wear high heels.”

While some chapters might make money, Sage said she opted not to profit from it. Participants pay $2 to dance, which goes toward renting the space at Martell’s.

To keep the music interesting and ever-changing, attendees are free to guest DJ by creating a custom playlist.

Anything and everything goes, from Broadway to hip-hop to ’80s hits. Ladies are encouraged not only to DJ but to give themselves killer DJ names; DJ Grrrlla Beats and Sassy Pants spin tunes in Akron.

While they may like different music genres, they agree on this much — DDPP might just be about as much fun as a gal can have without a guy.

Kim Hone-McMahan can be reached at 330-996-3742 or kmcmahan@thebeaconjournal.com.

What: Dance, Dance, Party, Party.

Where: Martell School of Dance, 788 W. Market St., Akron.

When: 8 p.m. on the first, third and fifth Friday of each month.

Who: Women only.

Cost: $2, no need to call in advance.

Information: http://ddppakron.wordpress.com.

Memorial Day is a week from tomorrow. If you haven’t been using your grill already, now is the time to make sure it’s in shape for summer cook-outs.

Check your propane tank or make sure you’ve got a ready supply of charcoal on hand.

Wipe off the grill grates, especially if they’ve been in the garage collecting dust all winter. Give them a good scraping or brushing to remove any burnt, stuck-on food from last season. Then oil the grates and you’ll be all set for the debut cookout of the summer.

Get out into nature

Spend an evening relaxing in the beauty of nature during Secrest AfterHours, a social and educational event from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Secrest Arboretum in Wooster Township.

Ken Cochran, the arboretum’s curator, and Joe Cochran, its program manager, will lead a discussion on trees and shrubs, followed by hors d’oeuvres in the Miller Pavilion. The event is free.

Can’t make the event? Make a point of visiting Secrest Arboretum for a stroll sometime this spring or summer. In addition to trees, the facility has display gardens, walkways and a forest play area for kids.

The arboretum is on the campus of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave. Details are at http://secrest.osu.edu.

Get fast and furious

With Fast & Furious 6 due in theaters this week, you may want to check out the five previous films, all of which are on DVD and Blu-ray, as well as some streaming video.

The series began in 2001 with The Fast & The Furious, starring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker; continued two years later in 2 Fast 2 Furious, with Walker and Tyrese Gibson, then shifted stars and locations with The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, starring Lucas Black and Bow Wow, in 2006. When that movie proved much less successful than its predecessors, Diesel, Walker and others from the first movie returned for Fast & Furious in 2009, to global success exceeded by Fast Five, the 2001 sequel that welcomed Dwayne Johnson to the show.

They include often ridiculous plots built for fast cars, faster cars, skimpily clad bombshells, big stunts, minimal dialogue — and big-screen thrill rides that millions keep wanting to take.

Get psyched out

Wondering what your future holds? Curious as to what your late great-grandmother thinks of your current spouse? Do you want to know what the lines in your palms say about your life, or any of your past lives? If so, then you should head to the Holiday Inn in Strongsville (15471 Royalton Road, Strongsville) for the Psychic Fair, taking place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today.

There will be mediums, psychics, tarot readers, astrologists, plenty of products to purchase, Reiki, aura photography and angels. Call 330-667-9272 for information.

Get to know Brown

The John Brown House, 514 Diagonal Road, Akron, will be open free from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday.

The famous abolitionist lived here during part of the 1840s and 1850s with his second wife, Mary, and several of his children.

See http://summithistory.org for information.

In all the photos, taken by New York City artist Arne Svenson from his second-floor apartment, the faces are obscured or not shown. The people are unidentifiable.

But the residents of a glass-walled luxury residential building across the street had no idea they were being photographed and they never consented to being subjects for the works of art that are now on display — and for sale — in a Manhattan gallery.

“I don’t feel it’s a violation in a legal sense but in a New York, personal sense there was a line crossed,” said Michelle Sylvester, who lives in the residential building called the Zinc Building, which stands out with its floor-to-ceiling windows in a neighborhood of cobblestone streets and old, brick warehouse buildings.

Svenson’s apartment is directly across the street, just to the south, giving him a clear view of his neighbors by simply looking out his window.

“I think there’s an understanding that when you live here with glass windows, there will be straying eyes but it feels different with someone who has a camera,” Sylvester said.

Svenson’s show, The Neighbors, opened last Saturday at the Julie Saul Gallery in Chelsea, where about a dozen large prints are on sale for up to $7,500. His exhibit is drawing a lot of attention, not for the quality of the work, but for the manner in which it was made.

Svenson did not respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press, but says in material accompanying the exhibit that the idea for it came when he inherited a telephoto lens from a friend, a birdwatcher who recently died.

“For my subjects there is no question of privacy; they are performing behind a transparent scrim on a stage of their own creation with the curtain raised high,” Svenson says in the gallery notes. “The Neighbors don’t know they are being photographed; I carefully shoot from the shadows of my home into theirs.”

That explanation has done little to satisfy some residents of the Zinc Building, where a penthouse was once listed at nearly $6 million. In an email circulating among the building’s owners and renters this week, a resident whose apartment was depicted in Svenson’s photographs suggested legal recourse against the artist.

“I am not an expert in this area of the law, but I do think we may have some rights and the ability to stop this,” the email reads. “I love art, but find this to be an outrageous invasion of privacy.”

Civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel said that according to New York civil rights law, there may be a way for Svenson’s subjects to challenge him in court but the case will depend entirely on context.

“The question for the person who’s suing is, if you’re not identifiable, then where’s the loss of privacy?” he said. “These issues are a sign of the times. How do you balance the right of privacy vis-à-vis the right of artistic expression?”

Linda Darcia, an exchange student from Colombia living with a family on the sixth floor facing Svenson’s studio, said she had no idea whether or not she was depicted in any of the pieces but she was anxious to go to the gallery and find out.

“I’m not really upset about it because that’s his job,” she said. “But maybe he should have asked before the gallery opens. Everybody’s talking about it.”

In 2012, Summit County Animal Control, the Humane Society of Greater Akron, Paws and Prayers and One of a Kind Pet Rescue rescued 7,000 homeless animals. Since two of the rescue groups pull animals from the county facility, some of the numbers are duplicated.

But what is more important, each cat or dog that left one of these facilities was spayed or neutered or received the procedure following their adoption, helping curtail pet overpopulation at its source. The animals also received the medical attention they needed, including vaccines and inoculations, before they left the facility.

However, 4 million animals still die in shelters across the country each year.

The statewide average compiled last year by the Columbus Dispatch showed that 70 percent of the dogs impounded in Ohio shelters were redeemed or adopted and 30 percent were euthanized.

Summit County Animal Shelter has a kill rate of 18.8 percent, but those figures represent owner requests to have dogs euthanized and any dog that must be destroyed because it looks like a pit bull or any of several similar looking breeds. An ordinance that I believe discriminates against a dog’s breeding rather than the animal’s biting (or lack of biting) history requires it must be destroyed whether it is vicious or not. Still, the 81.2 live rate is pretty darn good and is a direct response to the county’s efforts to move dogs into new homes. The shelter works well with rescue groups who pull animals from the facility before they are euthanized.

Other surrounding counties that had similar kill rates are reporting improving figures because the state dropped pit bulls from its vicious dog law last summer and they are no longer required to kill dogs because of their looks. Medina County deserves kudos for topping the list with an excellent 90.3 live rate.

So, it was disturbing when I read in a recent survey that young adults erroneously believe that shelter animals are somehow inferior and less desirable to those they can buy from stores or from a breeder.

I am not opposed to people breeding animals responsibly, but buyers should take home a pet because of its personality and breeding history as opposed to the way it looks. The fact that a puppy or adult cat or dog is cute is the worst possible reason for choosing an animal that may not fit into the new owner’s lifestyle.

Even if a person desires a particular kind of dog or cat, there are rescue groups for every kind of breed you are looking for. Through no fault of their own these animals are homeless — in many cases because the owner failed to understand the breed before he or she bought it.

But to buy a pet at a store in a mall is just downright irresponsible. You shouldn’t be able to pick up a pet at the same place you can get a pair of jeans AND discard them as easily when they turn out not to be what you wanted. When you purchase an animal from a store, you are also taking a chance that the animal is a product of a puppy mill that produces unhealthy and unsocialized animals. Due to the number of these operations in areas south of us, the buyer should be doubly aware they could be supporting inhumane treatment of animals with their purchases.

In a recent survey, Best Friends Animal Society, the nation’s largest sanctuary for abused and abandoned animals, found that people ages 18-34 have the misconception that most shelter animals are safe and will not be killed to make room for more animals. This age group is 50 percent more likely to purchase an animal through a breeder or store.

No More Homeless Pets, a partnership of Best Friends and a network of more than 1,000 grass roots animal welfare groups, is committed to changing those misconceptions.

The results of the survey of 1,000 adults 18 and older in the U.S. came up with these results:

• While the vast majority of people surveyed believe that shelter animals are lovable, companionable and sweet, six in 10 think they are poorly behaved, unhealthy and malnourished.

• Eighty-six percent of Americans would recommend a shelter animal to a friend.

• Four in five people surveyed said they believe all animals should be spayed or neutered. Sixty-five percent thought the procedures are important to prevent unwanted litters; 33 percent realize they will improve an animal’s behavior; 25 percent understand that the procedures will improve an animal’s health.

• In other disappointing findings, the survey shows that 33 percent of Americans believe it is important for their pets to get annual checkups by a veterinarian; 35 percent think it is important to spay and neuter their pets; and only 42 percent believe regular grooming is important. In actuality, all three things are vital to maintain the health of a pet, Best Friends advises.

Kathy Antoniotti writes about pets for the Akron Beacon Journal. She is unable to help locate, place or provide medical attention for an individual animal. If you have an idea or question about pets, write her at the Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640; call 330-996-3565; or send an email to kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.

All of Zoie’s blood tests are negative, her X-rays are fine as are other tests she has had done. Her appetite has changed from dog food and some people food to cooked ground beef or chicken with rice. She is picky on the biscuits we offer her and drinks 4-6 cups of water a day.

Zoie has arthritis and it is hard for her to jump into a vehicle although she manages stairs fairly well. She dribbles urine during the day. Still enjoys running in a fenced-in yard.

Zoie usually gives a signal when she needs to go outside during the day. Her last outside time is about 11 p.m. and she goes back outside at 5:30 a.m.

Is there anything you can suggest to help our Zoie?

— F.H., Akron

A: I am so glad you wrote in about Zoie. It sounds as though she may have a condition called urinary sphincter incompetence. In this case, the urethral sphincter loses tone, which allows urine to dribble out even when the dog is housebroken and “holding it.” Initially, you generally see it when a dog is sleeping and relaxed. In Zoie’s case, her arthritis may cause her to struggle a bit getting up and down, which can lead to more leaking of urine.

It is a fairly common condition in older female dogs, and in my experience has been overrepresented by certain breeds such as Dobermans, collies and Labradors. It is not unheard of for a dog to develop it as young as 1 year of age, however, and can happen in all breeds. Male dogs can also develop it, but it is less common.

Now on to the good news … there are multiple simple and inexpensive treatments to help solve this problem. Your veterinarian can prescribe medication suited to Zoie that will help increase the tone in her sphincter and stop the leaking. It will be important to rule out all other causes for why she might be leaking, and would be an excellent idea to bring a urine sample along to the appointment to check for a urinary tract infection.

Thank you for writing in with this question. In my time in practice, I have met many people who struggled for years with this problem not realizing there was a treatment available. It is my great hope that your concern for Zoie leads to many pets and their people living futures with less laundry and drier beds.

— Meg Geldhof, DVM, medical director

One of a Kind Pet Rescue

Please send questions about your pet to Kathy Antoniotti at the Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640; or send an email to kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com. Please include your full name and address and a daytime phone number where you can be reached. I will forward your questions to the expert I think is best suited to answer your particular problem. Phoned-in messages will not be taken.

American Sign Language has become one of the most popular language classes, ranking fourth in the latest Modern Language Association Survey — and nearly shoving German from third place. The number of students taking the language has risen by more than 50 percent in the past decade.

The University of California-Berkeley added the course in the fall, joining scores of colleges that have done so in recent years.

“It’s just really nice to be able to talk to people in their own language,” said Hamza Jaka, a Berkeley student and disability rights advocate who said he urged the university to offer the class. “I had a lot of deaf friends, and I always felt bad because I had no idea how to sign.”

In 1990, few U.S. colleges taught it. Now, the study of American Sign Language is attracting students in fields such as health care, education and linguistics, in addition to those motivated by personal reasons or curiosity.

Interest has been building over the more than two decades since the Americans with Disabilities Act passed, requiring hospitals and agencies to communicate effectively with the deaf and hard of hearing and banning workplace discrimination against people with disabilities.

In fall 2009, more than 91,000 students took the class at 730 U.S. institutions, according to the language association, which expects to release its next survey in early 2014.

“These programs have grown up,” said Rosemary Feal, executive director of the Modern Language Association. “For many students, it may be the first time their institutions are giving them this opportunity.”

In Berkeley’s sign language class — taught by Patrick Boudreault, who was born deaf — no one speaks aloud.

“For a long time I didn’t know what anyone’s voice sounded like,” said Jo Gookin, a linguistics major.

The classroom is not quiet, though. On a recent Tuesday morning, outbursts of laughter interrupted stretches of intense concentration.

And as in any other foreign language class, bloopers are a reliable source of hilarity. One student said she once unwittingly signed “horny” instead of “unicorn.”

“It’s a really creative language and it’s really visual, and sometimes the way you sign things makes you laugh,” said another student, Gillian Sherif.

But American Sign Language — ASL, as it’s commonly called — has its own grammar and meanings; it’s not simply English expressed through gestures. It and other sign languages are rich with symbolism, history and culture. And, yes, people in different parts of the world have their own signed languages.

Boudreault said some deaf community activists are still fighting for wider acceptance of the language. One of the reasons researchers don’t have a reliable estimate of how many people sign is that the U.S. Census Bureau categorizes it as English, rather than as a separate language.

Yet, the University of California and some other colleges allow the course to satisfy foreign language requirements. Others, such as San Jose State and San Francisco State, teach it in their schools of education. Berkeley City College, just down the street from the University of California-Berkeley, has an entire department devoted to teaching American Sign Language.

Boudreault’s students find themselves signing to one another outside the classroom and, in it, veering into conversations about weekends and boyfriends.

The professor doesn’t mind. What better sign of language proficiency than the ability to gossip?

Your parents acted like they were bigger than you were, like they knew what they were doing and didn’t need your help making decisions. When they spoke to you, they didn’t bend down and ask for your cooperation. They spoke in no uncertain terms, and they thought you were smart, so they only said anything once. The rule was very simple: They told you what to do, and you did it, because they said so.

Your mom and dad paid more attention to one another than they paid to you. It was just the way it was. But looking back, you sure are glad you weren’t the center of the family universe. You were a satellite, orbiting around their solid presence. They even told you, on occasion, that you were just a little fish in a big pond. You didn’t understand what that meant until you got out in the big pond and began to realize that putting oneself into proper perspective greatly improves one’s life.

They bought you very little, so you appreciated everything you had. You loved your mom and dad, but you left home as early as possible because you were absolutely certain you could make a better life for yourself.

Elementary school classes often held more than 40 children, most of whom came to first grade not knowing their ABCs. Your mother didn’t give you much, if any, help with your homework. Yet at the end of first grade those kids were outperforming today’s kids in every subject.

Today’s parents still pay the bills, buy the clothes, prepare the food, and so on, but by some strange twist, they treat their children as if they are the most important people in the family. When they talk to their children, they get down to their level, like they’re petitioning the king. The rule seems very simple: Parents ask children to do things, and children take their requests under consideration.

Today’s typical mom and dad pay a lot more attention to the children than they do to one another. They also talk more to them, do more for them, and take more interest in them. It would seem that today’s parents are the satellites, orbiting around the children, who are big fish and getting bigger all the time. And so, today’s kids leave home later, and many of them come back home, because they never learned certain fundamentals, as in don’t spend more than you earn.

Sometimes people accuse me of what’s called “Golden Age” thinking. I “idealize” the 1950s, they say. I disagree. I only say what is statistically verifiable: The 1950s was a better time for kids. According to mental health statistics, we were happier than today’s kids, by far. The latest research finds that obedient children are much happier than disobedient children, and that kids from homes where their parents’ marriages are strong do better in school, regardless of IQ. There I go again — idealizing common sense.

Family psychologist John Rosemond answers parents’ questions at www.rosemond.com.

Americans as a whole consume too much sugar; that much seems clear. But where is most of it coming from? Pinning the blame on liquid calories like soda and other sweetened beverages seems easy enough. Since the 1970s, the average percentage of daily calories from sugary drinks has more than doubled.

But new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that most of the added sugar in the U.S. diet comes not from beverages, but from food. In its latest National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the agency reported that soda and other sugary drinks make up on average a third of the calories from added sugars that Americans consume in a typical day — a large amount, but not the lion’s share.

Nearly 70 percent of the calories from added sugars come from processed foods like breads, jams, cakes and ice cream. Added sugars can also be found in things like tomato sauce, condiments and salad dressings, and multigrain crackers and cereals.

Ingredients on food labels are usually listed in descending order by weight. So one way to spot a product with high quantities of sugar is to see whether sugar, in one form or another, is listed as one of the first ingredients.

— Anahad O’Connor

New York Times

Hints from Heloise:

Simplifying kitchen cleaning and safety

Bonnie M. in Indiana writes: I wanted to wash a bottle, but I had no bottle brush. Rice was the answer. I shook a mixture of soapy water and raw rice in the bottle. The rice gave the scrubbing action needed to get the bottle sparkling again.

S.H. in Ohio writes: Previous readers have suggested leaving the stove dome light on as a reminder that something is baking or that the oven needs attention. I use the light for safety. When my son was a toddler, the light told him that the oven was hot and not to touch it. It worked great!

— King Features

Look for seasonal deals in stores soon

Take advantage of seasonal sales and May holidays to score some great deals.

The summer season officially starts at the end of the month with Memorial Day weekend. Be on the lookout for cookout deals on soda, chips, hot dogs, marinades, condiments and charcoal. If you need a grill, watch for sales from big retailers, including Lowe’s, Home Depot and Target.

Use coupons from Sunday newspaper inserts for sunscreen and insect repellents.

In the produce section, you’ll start seeing lower prices on peaches, apricots, strawberries and corn.

Buying gifts for a bride and groom or a recent graduate? Typically this time of year, you’ll find 30 percent off items such as coffee makers, toaster ovens and luggage.

Warmer weather means fewer people in the gym, so be on the lookout for deals to get back into shape.

Spring clothes, including many essentials such as T-shirts and shorts, will begin to appear on the sales rack.

— Tara McAlister

Charlotte Observer

Grilling over an open flame is fast, tasty and helps keep the kitchen clean, too.

Some of the best resources for cooking on the grill are the books by chef Jamie Purviance for Weber grills. Weber’s New Real Grilling: The Ultimate Cookbook for Every Backyard Griller ($24.95, Sunset, softcover) is the latest in the series.

There are chapters devoted to grilling techniques and equipment, and more than 200 recipes for grilling everything from pizza to chocolate chip cookies, including plenty of easy dinner recipes like these Pulled Chicken Sliders with Root Beer Barbecue Sauce.

PULLED CHICKEN SLIDERS WITH

ROOT BEER BARBECUE SAUCE

For the sauce:

1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup finely chopped yellow onion

⅔ cup ketchup

½ cup root beer

2 tbsp. unsulfured molasses

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. prepared chili powder

½ tsp. garlic powder

⅛ tsp. ground cayenne pepper

For the rub:

2 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. kosher salt

For the sliders:

1½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Extra-virgin olive oil

8 small, soft hamburger buns or rolls, split

Store-bought coleslaw (optional)

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and cook until softened, 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in all the remaining sauce ingredients. Increase the heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer until slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Prepare the grill for direct cooking over medium heat (350 to 450 degrees).

Combine the rub ingredients. Lightly brush the chicken thighs on both sides with oil and season evenly with the rub.

Grill the chicken over direct medium heat, with the lid closed, until the meat is firm to the touch and the juices run clear, 8 to 10 minutes, turning once or twice. Remove from the grill and let rest until just cool enough to handle, 3 to 5 minutes. Shred the chicken, add to the sauce, and heat through over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Fill the buns with chicken mixture. Serve with coleslaw if desired.

Makes 4 servings.

Lisa Abraham can be reached at 330-996-3737 or at labraham@thebeaconjournal.com. Find me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter @akronfoodie or visit my blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/lisa.

Eliel Santos fishes the grates of New York City seven days a week, reeling in enough bounty to sustain him for the last eight years, he told the New York Post in April.

The “fishing line” Santos, 38, uses is dental floss, with electrician’s tape and Blue-Touch mouse glue — equipment that “he controls with the precision of an archer,” the Post reported.

His biggest catch ever was a $1,800 (pawned value) gold and diamond bracelet, but the most popular current items are iPhones, which texting-on-the-move pedestrians apparently have trouble hanging onto.

— News of the Weird

Gatsby was a fictional character in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book, but in the early 1920s, wealthy New Yorkers did build summer homes on the north shore of Long Island — an area that became known as the Gold Coast.

F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald lived on Long Island for a time, and he became fascinated with Beacon Towers, a huge Feudal castle that stood on a bluff overlooking Long Island Sound in Sands Point. This was believed to be the model for Gatsby’s home in The Great Gatsby, but it was demolished during World War II.

At one time, there were more than 600 mansions on the Gold Coast. Today most of them are gone, but a few of the remaining mansions are open to the public, and some even offer overnight accommodations so you can live like Gatsby — if only for a weekend.

Glen Cove Mansion

Book a “Roaring ’20s Decadent Bed and Breakfast Package” at the Glen Cove Mansion, and champagne and chocolate truffles will be waiting in your room, while 1920s-style drinks await at the pool. You can enjoy a private screening of The Great Gatsby (the 1974 version with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow) in your room, and the next morning enjoy breakfast on the patio.

Glen Cove Mansion was once the home of attorney John T. Pratt and his wife, Ruth Baker Pratt, the first Republican congresswoman from the state of New York. Guests are greeted with the same warm tradition set forth by the Pratt family.

In 1967, Glen Cove Mansion became one of the first conference-center hotels in the United States. Since then, the mansion has received many awards and been a setting for motion pictures. It also hosts weddings and social events.

Designed by architect Charles Adams Plat in 1910, the brick Georgian mansion is in the Dosoria Park area of the Gold Coast. Guests enter via a two-story portico and are greeted by a double staircase, imported paneling and antique fixtures.

Guests enjoy the family’s original swimming pool, tennis courts and surrounding gardens on the 55-acre estate. In addition to the “Roaring ’20s,” other special packages are available. For reservations call 866-850-9521 or visit www.glencovemansion.com.

Old Westbury Gardens

Old Westbury Gardens provides a quiet escape, with 200 acres of elbow room in otherwise crowded Nassau County. The grounds are essentially a big, beautiful backyard where the landscape is faithfully preserved, acknowledged by gardening experts as one of the most beautiful gardens in the world.

Old Westbury Gardens is the former home of John S. Phipps, his wife, Margarita Grace Phipps, and their four children. Westbury House was built in 1906 by English designer George A. Crawford and features English furnishings, hand-painted wallpaper, silver chandeliers and busts designed by Josiah Wedgewood.

Concerts and other events take place throughout the summer, and yoga, tai chi, photography and painting classes are held in the garden. Old Westbury Gardens is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except Tuesday, May through October, and weekends in April and November.

For a schedule of events call 516-333-0048 or visit www.oldwestburygardens.org.

Oheka Castle

Don your best ’20s attire to attend the Gatsby Garden Party held each year at Oheka Castle. This year the party takes place on June 12, and will celebrate 30 years of Gary Melius’ ownership of the historical home.

Oheka was built in 1919 by Otto Hermann Kahn, a financier, philanthropist and patron of the arts who used the French-style chateau as his summer home. It is the second-largest home in the U.S.; only the Biltmore in North Carolina is larger. Kahn’s lavish parties drew heads of state and celebrities including Enrico Caruso and Charlie Chaplin.

After Kahn’s death in 1934, the home fell into disrepair until Melius bought it and spent more than $30 million to restore it to its former glory, the largest restoration in American history.

Today, Oheka Castle is the setting for weddings, corporate retreats, parties, meetings and receptions. It probably looks familiar since many photos, films and TV shows have been shot there, including Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous and Royal Pains on USA Network.

Tours of the mansion are available as well as overnight stays. There’s a Gatsby Suite that was seen in the movie What Happens in Vegas. Rooms overlook the vast gardens with Long Island Sound in the distance.

To book a Great Gatsby experience, call 631-659-1400 or visit www.oheka.com.

Planting Fields

The Planting Fields State Park and Arboretum is located in Oyster Bay, where rolling lawns, formal gardens and woodland paths are reminiscent of the Gatsby era. Coe Hall, the mansion on the 400-acre estate, was built for William and Mai Coe, designed in the style of an Elizabethan country home, but with a hidden bar in William Coe’s study, used during Prohibition.

The 400-acre Planting Fields Arboretum contains 1920s-era greenhouses that feature extensive collections of hibiscus, orchids, and camellias, as well as seasonal flowers in raised beds. The Camellia Greenhouse has the largest collection of camellias in the Northeast. Flowers and plants in the gardens are interspersed with reflecting pools and bridges.

William Coe favored dahlias because of their bold texture and rich colors. In 2011, a breast cancer awareness bed of pink dahlias surrounded by pink petunias was added to the gardens.

Coe sold the estate to the state of New York in 1949 for $1 so that it would be preserved and enjoyed by visitors. Tours run May through October, and concerts and theatrical events are offered monthly. For more information call 516-922-9200 or visit www.plantingfields.org.

For more information on the Gold Coast Mansions, contact the Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau at 877-386-6654, or visit www.historiclongisland.com.

MONTARO CAINE

Sidney Poitier

Oscar-winning actor Sidney Poitier’s first novel, Montaro Caine, is a corporate thriller that veers into science fiction as it follows a beleaguered New York CEO on an unexpected quest to secure two mysterious coins that may hold significant scientific and commercial value.

The coins first appear in the hands of two newborn babies who eventually grow up to marry each other. The impending birth of their first child, and its potentially cosmic importance, spurs corporate greed and brings together collectors, scientists, physicians and lawyers.

The story jets from New York City to Europe and to Poitier’s native Bahamas. Read in the context of emerging Caribbean science fiction writers such as Karen Lord who explore the region’s complicated history of migration through alien civilizations, Poitier’s narrative hinging on a Bahamian medicine man who sees the big picture in the supernatural events affecting CEO Montaro Caine is interesting.

Otherwise, Montaro Caine is a jumble of subplots, adverbs and twists that resolve in a “pay-it-forward” morality. There’s a formality to Poitier’s writing that perhaps is expected of an actor with such a prestigious filmography (Lilies of the Field, In the Heat of the Night). The novel reads like the screenplay of a cable movie about a CEO who learns to appreciate daily life thanks to the wisdom of an island man lacking his education or achievements.

Poitier’s novel may carry a heartfelt message about the potential for good within each one of us, but Montaro Caine doesn’t live up to its potential.

— Jennifer Kay

Associated Press

MODERN VAMPIRES OF THE CITY

Vampire Weekend

Good songs win out in the end, and Vampire Weekend has plenty of those. The New York foursome fronted by Ezra Koenig has been simultaneously celebrated and denigrated since even before the release of their self-titled debut album, which generated loads of blog buzz — and just about as much backlash — in 2008. Sure, these guys had lots of catchy tunes that cleverly used Graceland-era Paul Simon as a point of departure, but weren’t they just a bunch of spoiled Upper West Side kids?

The band’s second album, Contra, was perfectly solid as well. But on Modern Vampires of the City, Vampire Weekend really distinguishes itself with sharp, smart, grown-up, terrifically energetic tunes that are still clever, but never merely so.

The first tip-off is the single Diane Young, whose punning title hints at the intimations of mortality that apparently haunt the boys in the band as they get ready to turn 30. “Wisdom’s a gift, but you trade it for youth,” Koenig sings in Step, one of many songs that stand out, thanks in no small part to crafty arrangements that showcase keyboard player Rostam Batmanglij. “Age is an honor, but it’s still not the truth.”

You could go on nitpicking the band and resenting their privileged beginnings, but you’d only be cheating yourself.

— Dan DeLuca

Philadelphia Inquirer

GOLDEN

Lady Antebellum

After pulling out the stops with the heavily orchestrated grandeur of 2011’s platinum-selling album Own the Night, Lady Antebellum heads in the opposite direction with the stripped-down sound of Golden.

The country vocal trio hinted at its new direction with the sparse, soul-strutting groove of Downtown, one of the spring’s most engaging country hits. As usual, Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood deal with the complexities of modern relationships — in this case, a woman asking why her man doesn’t take her out for a fun night on the town, like he once did.

The bare-bones arrangements also work well on the emotionally moving It Ain’t Pretty, about a woman living out her heartbreak in public, and on the roots-rocking Better Off Now (That You’re Gone), which is reminiscent of classic Tom Petty.

The album occasionally recalls past successes: Long Teenage Goodbye has the sunny innocence of the 2010 hit American Honey, once again showing off Scott’s shimmering alto. The dramatic crescendos of All For Love prove that a big, grand sound, deployed at the right time, fits the group’s dynamic duets.

A couple of weak songs dampen the overall impact, but Lady A continues to experiment and grow while sounding like no one else in contemporary country music.

— Michael McCall

Associated Press

Dan Brown

One of the first characters to appear in Inferno is a spike-haired, malevolent biker chick dressed in black leather. What is the girl with the dragon tattoo doing in Dan Brown’s new book?

She’s scaring Robert Langdon, the tweedy symbologist who stars in Brown’s breakneck, brain-teasing capers. Reader, she will scare you, too. The early sections of Inferno come so close to self-parody that Brown seems to have lost his bearings — as has Langdon, who begins the book in a hospital bed with a case of amnesia. When Robert Langdon of The Da Vinci Code can’t tell what day of the week it is, the franchise appears to be in trouble.

But Inferno is jampacked with tricks. And that shaky opening is one of them. Brown winds up not only laying a bread-crumb trail of clues about Dante, but also playing games with time, gender, identity, famous tourist attractions and futuristic medicine. Then there’s the bit with the Archimedean spiral, which will have people slowly rotating their copies of Inferno.

There is even a twist built into its 5/14/13 publication date, a numerical anagram of 3.1415, the approximate value of pi. Why? Because Dante divided hell into circles. Because pi is a hint about measuring them. And because Brown’s readership has never met an embedded secret it didn’t like.

Brown again begins with a crazily grandiose prologue, this one a little more unhinged than usual. “O, willful ignorants!” exclaims some mystery figure. “Do you not see the future? Do you not grasp the splendor of my creation?” This guy with a God complex leaps off a building.

Robert Langdon’s beautiful, ponytailed doctor yanks him out of bed. He is in Florence, Italy, where he dashes through famed and historically important sites, trying to figure out what a cylinder hidden inside a sealed titanium tube with a biohazard symbol is telling him. It’s a tiny projector that offers a scrambled version of a Botticelli image, La Mappa dell’Inferno. And that sends Langdon and Sienna, the ponytailed doctor, off to the races.

Sure, there’s an awful lot of touristy detail. And Langdon will always choose a big word over a small one. But Inferno picks three of the world’s most strategically significant, antiquity-rich cities as its settings, and Langdon makes a splendid tour guide and art critic.

While it would be unsporting to say exactly which cities are involved, two are Italian. As for the third, it is in both Europe and Asia, and Langdon finds a copy of his own Christian Symbols in the Muslim World in a museum gift shop. “Now I know the one place on earth that carries that book,” he thinks.

But it takes more than geo­graphy to keep a Brown escapade spinning. The formula also calls for sinister cultism of some sort, and in this case the scheming involves overpopulation. Zobrist is a wealthy Malthusian with a powerful, secretive, high-tech army at his command (Brown says it is real, but he has given it “the Consortium” as a fake name) to execute a doomsday plot. While talking about controlling the rapid growth in population with the head of the World Health Organization, Zobrist is told, “We’re at seven billion now, so it’s a little late for that.” His reply, a fine specimen of mustache-twirling villainy: “Is it?”

There’s a lot more along these lines. And it all ties together. Dante’s nightmare vision becomes the book’s correlative for what its scientific calculations suggest. Eventually the book involves itself with Transhumanism, genetic manipulation and the potential for pandemics. Inferno puts the idea of a plague front and center, invoking the black plague and its culling effect on mankind. Brown is more serious than usual when he invokes Dante’s dire warning: “The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.”

But the main emphasis here is hardly on gloom. It is on the prodigious research and love of trivia that inform Brown’s stories, the ease with which he sets them in motion, the nifty tricks (Dante’s plaster death mask is pilfered from its museum setting, then toted through the secret passageways of Florence in a Ziploc bag) and the cliffhangers. There is the gamesmanship that goes with crypto-bits like “PPPPPPP.” (Sienna: “Seven Ps is … a message?” Robert, grinning: “It is. And if you’ve studied Dante, it’s a very clear one.”)

And finally there is the sense of play that saves Brown’s books from ponderousness. Once the globe-trotting begins in earnest, Langdon calls his publisher to ask for a private plane. No, says the publisher: “Let me rephrase that. We don’t have access to private jets for authors of tomes about religious history. If you want to write Fifty Shades of Iconography, we can talk.”

Guess what: Brown has already written it. And then some.

has reporter traveling world

As summer approaches, Ohioans flock to the playgrounds of the North Coast: Put-in-Bay, Kelleys Island, Sandusky, all places mentioned in Sandustee: The Search for the Nazarene’s Code, a globe-hopping adventure that is the seventh in Bob Adamov’s series about Emerson Moore, a Washington Post reporter with a big reputation and an even bigger expense account.

Acting on a tip, Emerson travels to Germany to research the history of a manuscript called the Nazarene’s Code, allegedly powerful enough to enable the possessor to control the world. From Germany it’s off to Israel, then Turkey and Rhodes, all while flirting with the alluring antiquities specialist he’s been partnered with. Danger hides in the form of a pair of hired goons who follow Emerson everywhere from Key West to Washington, where he inspects national monuments to find clues that might have been left by Abraham Lincoln on his way out the door to Ford’s Theatre.

Emerson’s travels also include locations from previous books, the New Orleans of Promised Land and Key West of When Rainbows Walk. Every time he orders a grouper sandwich or a cocktail, he’s ducking a bullet.

Sandustee (351 pages, hardcover) costs $24.95 from Adamov’s Packard Island Publishing. The next book, Zenobia, is listed as “coming soon.” Bob Adamov lives in Wooster and is a graduate of Kent State University.

Kenyon professor pens novel

Twentieth-century Irish and American affairs are a running thread in Irish Eyes, a novel by Kenyon College professor Peter Rutkoff, but Irish Eyes is at its heart story of two brothers who diverge in their approach to their search for justice and faith.

Jamie and Mike are the sons of Helen McCormack and her husband, Bill, a World War II Merchant Marine veteran, who doesn’t care if his sons squabble about whether the Giants or Dodgers are better, as long as neither follows the Yankees. The family lives over a New York bar named Irish Eyes, where Bill talks politics and where the boys duck in to catch the World Series scores.

The carefree existence splinters in 1956, and the family cannot sustain the blows of illness, alcoholism and disillusionment. Mike’s deep involvement in the civil rights and peace movements perplexes Jamie, who, in scenes set in the present day, looks over keepsakes and considers the family’s long history of activism.

Irish Eyes (256 pages, softcover) costs $25 from Birch Brook Press.

Writing workshops

The Learned Owl will be the site of a series of three writing workshops led by local writers, beginning June 9 with Kent State University assistant professor Varley O’Connor, author of The Master’s Muse, the novel about George Balanchine’s wife Tanaquil Le Clercq. She will lead “Writing Creative Non-fiction.” The July 14 “Putting the Story in Storybooks” class features When Blue Met Egg author Lindsay Ward, and Lisa and Laura Roecker, author of the Liars Society teen series, lead “Finding Your Inner Teenager: Writing YA Fiction.”

The series costs $100 or $45 for an individual class. Each class is from 5 to 7 p.m. Call 330-653-2252 to register.

Events

Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library (3512 Darrow Road, Stow) — Terry Pluto is the guest speaker at the annual meeting of the Friends of the Library, talking about Faith and You, Volume 2: More Essays about Faith in Everyday Life, 2 p.m. Tuesday. Refreshments served. Free, but reservations required; call 330-688-3295.

Barnes & Noble (Great Lakes Mall, 7900 Mentor Ave., Mentor) — Sam Thomas tells the Ladies Night Out book group about his historical novel The Midwife’s Tale, 7 p.m. Tuesday; all are welcome.

Cuyahoga County Public Library (Brook Park branch, 6155 Engle Road) — Barbara Warny talks about and signs her novel Women in Prison, 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Akron-Summit County Public Library (Northwest branch, 1720 Shatto Ave.) — Jane Turzillo signs Wicked Women of Northeast Ohio, 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Loganberry Books (13015 Larchmere Boulevard, Shaker Heights) — Tracy Chevalier, author of The Last Runaway, which takes place in Northeast Ohio, signs her book at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Case-Barlow Farm (1931 Barlow Road, Hudson) — Chevalier appears at a fundraiser for the historic farm beginning at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, talking about her research methods and signing The Last Runaway. Tickets are $20 and include refreshments and tour; call the Learned Owl Book Shop at 330-653-2252.

Hartville Hardware (1315 Edison St.NW) — Maryanne Shaw signs The 9 Day Miracle, about her son’s recovery from an accident, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

— Barbara McIntyre

Special to the Beacon Journal

Send information about books of local interest to Lynne Sherwin, Features Department, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309 or lsherwin@thebeaconjournal.com. Event notices should be sent at least two weeks in advance.

“I don’t like peas, but I like strawberries,” the Akron third-grader confessed. She planted both along with some peppers on Thursday as part of the new teaching garden at the Schumacher Community Learning Center.

Dent also had a keen idea why her school was planting the garden: “It’s for us to be healthy,” she said.

And with that response alone, the garden already is on its way to fulfilling its mission of helping children develop healthy eating habits.

Students at the West Akron school spent several hours Thursday planting the garden with a variety of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, peas, parsley, cilantro and strawberries, along with some zinnias.

Third-grader Daijon Pitts, 10, planted yellow cherry tomatoes, while 8-year-old Tamika Gates, also in third grade, said she didn’t even mind getting her hands a little dirty to help plant the strawberries and peppers she put in.

The teaching garden is a joint venture between the Akron Public Schools, the American Heart Association and Summa Health System, and is intended to be exactly that — a teaching tool to help show students where fruits and vegetables come from and how they can form the basis for a lifetime of healthy eating.

The garden comes with an accompanying curriculum for teachers and serves as a living laboratory for the lessons, said Roxia Boykin, vice president of community benefit and diversity for Summa Health System.

A group of community volunteers met at the school earlier this month, built 10 raised planting beds and filled them with soil to prepare for Thursday’s planting day and dedication.

Brandi Davis, principal of Schumacher, said the garden will be used for students in kindergarten through third grade. “I hope that it instills good eating habits and nutritional information for the students to take home and share,” Davis said.

She noted that the garden is good preparation for the younger grades who will have the Veggie U curriculum when they enter fourth grade. The nonprofit Culinary Vegetable Institute in Milan sponsors Veggie U, a program that teaches children about nutrition, the importance of making wise food choices and the concept of sustainable agriculture.

The Schumacher building is just 2 years old and the staff has been stressing with the students the importance of taking care of their new school. Davis said she is hoping that caring for the garden will foster a sense of responsibility in the children for caring for the school property inside and out.

“It has inspired me to want to go home and plant a garden of my own,” she added.

Students, parents, teachers, staff and community volunteers will sign up for one-week shifts to help tend the garden throughout the summer vacation so that it is ready for harvest when students return in the fall.

Alice Luse, regional director of the American Heart Association, said the younger children are when they learn healthy eating habits, the better.

She said the association is sponsoring another teaching garden this year at Richardson Elementary School in Cuyahoga Falls, and hopes to offer more gardens each year at different area schools.

Lisa Abraham can be reached at 330-996-3737 or at labraham@thebeaconjournal.com.

Automated external defibrillators — or AEDs — are available in schools, churches, fitness centers and other places across the community to rescue people experiencing sudden cardiac arrest.

But no master list exists to let emergency medical responders or well-intentioned citizens know exactly where those AEDs are located, said Dr. Terry A. Gordon. The retired Akron cardiologist has championed the push to get AEDs in schools, police cruisers and other public places nationwide.

Without widespread knowledge about the location of the units, precious minutes could be wasted before a life-saving shock is delivered, Gordon told a group of about 100 community and medical leaders gathered Wednesday at the Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron headquarters.

“You can’t get any deader than you are when you have a cardiac arrest,” Gordon said. “You can’t hurt the person. You can only help.”

Gordon is pushing to compile an inventory of AEDs in the community while boosting education and awareness about the importance of the devices.

A system then could be created to notify designated representatives for each unit — possibly through a text message — if an ambulance is dispatched for a likely cardiac arrest near that AED, Gordon said.

Some participants suggested the AEDs could be outfitted with a GPS or cell line to keep track of their location. Others said an alarm or message could be sent to units when a potential sudden cardiac arrest has occurred nearby, as well as when batteries need changed or retraining is suggested.

Apps for iPhones and other smart phones that locate AED units also can be explored or developed.

“Sudden cardiac arrest is a major public health issue,” Gordon said. “ … It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere.”

In recent years, the medical community has pushed for AEDs to be placed in a variety of public places, including schools.

AEDs are “smart machines” that access a person’s heart rhythm and only administer a shock if needed to restore a normal heartbeat. The cost is about $1,200 to $1,500 per unit.

More than 1,000 Americans die each day from sudden cardiac arrest, Gordon said.

“There are very few things that occur this fast that you can do something about,” said Akron General Health System President Dr. Thomas “Tim” Stover, one of the panelists at the event.

The average eight to 10 minutes it takes for paramedics to respond could be critical for survival, Gordon said. For every minute a life-saving shock from a defibrillator is delayed, the chance of survival drops by 10 percent.

“If you wait for the paramedics, there’s a very low chance you’re going to survive,” he said. “If that’s all you do, the success rate will remain a dismal 3 to 5 percent.”

Ideally, he said, a shock should be administered within two to three minutes.

“With CPR and an early shock, over 50 percent survive,” he said. “Time is of the essence.”

Fairlawn Patrolman Steve Zagar is one of the rare survivors, thanks to an AED that had been in his police cruiser.

He collapsed in December during a welcome-home event for a blinded Afghanistan veteran, surrounded by about 30 fellow law enforcement officers.

“The AED I had lugged up and down steps for 10 years — never used — saved my life,” he said.

But even with AEDs present, people have died because the units weren’t used, Gordon said. He gave the example of national newscaster Tim Russert, who died five years ago at age 58 from sudden cardiac arrest with an unused AED in the studio.

“It’s one thing to have an AED,” Gordon said. “It’s another to be cognizant of it and to use it.”

Other communities nationwide are looking at similar initiatives.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania launched a project last year that offered cash prize incentives to people who located AEDs throughout Philadelphia.

Through the contest, the researchers were able to map more than 1,400 units in 500 buildings throughout the city, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The event on Wednesday was part of the BioInnovation Institute’s ongoing “synergy seminar” series. The seminars bring together participants from the institute’s partner organizations to discuss potential solutions to a problem.

The BioInnovation Institute is an effort by Akron’s three hospital systems, the Northeast Ohio Medical University and the University of Akron to work together to boost medical-related research and economic development and education while improving health care in the region.

Other panelists in the discussion included Summa Health System President and Chief Executive Thomas J. Strauss and Akron Children’s Hospital Chief Medical Officer Dr. Robert S. McGregor.

Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/abjcherylpowell.

The House voted unanimously Wednesday to fix the error in the law. The Senate passed an earlier version of the bill, though it will likely sign off on the legislation.

The new law requires coaches, volunteers and officials in youth sports organizations to have players who show concussion-like symptoms sit out games or practices until they’ve been checked and cleared in writing by a doctor or licensed health-care provider. Athletes can’t return to play on the same day they are removed.

Coaches are required to know more about concussions and how to spot warning signs. Parents also must review information sheets about brain injuries.

Supporters say the new rules are intended to promote safety, not impose punishments. A bill-writing error left open the door for coaches to face charges.

A spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Health says the state isn’t aware of any criminal charges filed for noncompliance of the law since it took effect April 26.

The way the law is currently written, parents who volunteer at sporting events could be fined or face jail time if they haven’t received the proper concussion training, said state Rep. Jay Hottinger, R-Newark.

Hottinger said it wasn’t the law’s intent to “potentially turn volunteers and coaches and referees and officials into criminals.”

The measure that passed Wednesday would remove the criminal liability. The correcting bill also contains an emergency clause, so it would take effect as soon as Republican Gov. John Kasich signs it.

Hottinger stressed the importance of the bill’s swift passage, so it could preclude any possible legal problems.

As of last year, at least 43 states and the District of Columbia had passed laws on concussions in youth or high school sports, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Under the law, Ohio’s health department has to provide information about identifying and dealing with concussions. The agency’s website includes links to free training to help coaches and referees recognize symptoms such as clumsy movements, forgetfulness, loss of consciousness, headaches or balance problems.

The legislation was spurred by evidence about the dangers of head injuries.

Doctors and health-care groups that supported the measure say young athletes are most vulnerable to damaging head injuries because their brains are still developing.

Emergency room visits for sports-related traumatic brain injuries for young athletes more than doubled between 2002 and 2010, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

The law applies to youth sports organizations and schools that are in and out of the Ohio High School Athletic Association. The OHSAA adopted return-to-play rules prior to the law’s passage and those rules remain in place since they mirror what is in the law.