Thursday,
November 5, 2009
Community | Obits | Editorial & Columnists | Society | Sports | Education | Classified Ads | Calendar of Events | Features | Newsbriefs | Legals | Archives | Subscriptions | Photo Gallery
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Thursday,
November 5, 2009 |
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Community | Obits | Editorial & Columnists | Society | Sports | Education | Classified Ads | Calendar of Events | Features | Newsbriefs | Legals | Archives | Subscriptions | Photo Gallery |
OpinionFielder’s Choice Lesson on cooperation The best lessons often come from our children. Friday night, as fans were gathering at Marshall Academy for a football game, they heard a band. Close to Nowhere We’ve survived • I don’t think it was the H1N1 (or swine) flu, but “something” has reeked havoc this past couple weeks on the Jones’ household! Oldest granddaughter Meredith had a cold. She got over it very quickly, which is unusual for her. She’s usually the last to get sick and then usually gets the sickest. The day we came home from our family gathering in Searcy, Ark., my throat hurt. Lack of citizenship question on census could hurt Mississippi By U.S. Senator Many Mississippians are aware of next year’s census, though few realize its results could have a negative impact on our state. Because of high concentrations of illegal immigrants in other states, Mississippi is at risk of losing a lot, including federal funding and one of our four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Letters To The Editor Informative workshop: I attended a very informative workshop October 24, and I am writing to tell you about it. It was titled Sexual Integrity. It was sponsored by the North Mississippi Research and Development Organization (NMRDO). NMRDO is made up of Mr. and Mrs. George Zinn, Robreko Zinn, Lenell Lucus, and others. The workshop was held at St Joseph Catholic Church in the city. It was designed to inform the public -– teens in particular — about the risk involved in pre-marital sex. Two excellent presenters were used: Mrs. Cox from the State Health Department, and Mrs. Gina Hollenbeck. Mrs. Cox spoke first using an excellent Power Point presentation. She talked about the more than 50 common diseases which are spread by sexual intercourse. Excellent color pictures were shown of a person with late stages AIDs. The pictures showed a person who had wasted away to skin and bones. It showed black two-inch round spots scattered over his body. These spots were a type of cancer which attacks the body at this stage of the disease. Pictures were also shown of gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, chlamydia, and many other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Many of the pictures were horrifying to look at, but the danger of not showing them was greater. This was no time to be squeamish or to hide the facts from the children. Mrs. Cox said that she has known of a nine-year-old who gave birth. Both male and female genitalia were shown, but it was necessary to show what these diseases looked like and their repulsiveness. The second part of the presentation was by Mrs. Hollenbeck. She dealt with the likelihood of one contracting one of more of these diseases. One way she demonstrated this was to give each participant a small cup of water. We were asked to share the water with others in the group. There were about 20 participants. Once we had shared our water with several others and received water from them and others, the presenter put a drop of a solution in our cup. If the water in our cup turned pink, it meant that we had been symbolically infected by an STD. What we did not know was that three of the cups started with a solution which represented a sexually transmitted disease (STD). At the end of the exercise, about 17 of the twenty people in the room had symbolically been infected by the original three persons. We were shocked to see how quickly and easily an STD could be transmitted. Mrs. Hollenbeck recommended those who are sexually active be tested for STDs even though you do not have any symptoms. Many STDs do not have symptoms. While there were several other good illustrations of the dangers of pre-marital sex and multiple-partners sex, this one drove the point home. During sex, the body releases a hormone called oxitosin. It causes the sex partners to feel bonded with one another. To demonstrate her point, she used a strip of clear packing tape. She said that when a girl has sex with a boy (she wrapped the tape around a young man’s arm), some of his body fluids stays with her. She removed the tape, and it clearly contained some oil from his skin. She said, if this girl breaks up with the first boy and gets a new boyfriend, and they have sex (she wrapped the tape around the second boy’s arm), some of the second boy’s body fluids stay with her also. Mrs. Hollenbeck pointed out how the tape lost its adhesive ability the more partners she had. By the third partner, the tape hardly had any adhesive ability at all. Her conclusion was, despite the oxytocin, later in life it will be hard for this person to stay married. The multiple sex partners will make it hard for her to bond with one person. It was a great workshop. I would like to see it presented again. Perhaps other organizations in our community will want to bring them to their meetings. Sincerely, Hometown Heroes Please take time to remember our local “heroes” who are serving in war zones around the world. Shanika Buffington, National Guard, Iraq Supporting Our Troops If you’d like to add a name to this list, please contact The South Reporter, Attn. Linda Jones, P.O. Box 278, Holly Springs, MS 38635; 662-252-4261; or email: south@dixie-net.com |
     
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