CUPHD Justice Coalition to present panel discussion on Black health, wealth & wellness
CHAMPAIGN - The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District will host a panel discussion on Black Health, Wealth & Wellness on February 22 during Black History Month. The main focus of the conversation will be on the advancement and evolution of Black health, wealth, and wellness within the Champaign-Urbana community.
The CUPHD's Justice Coalition will moderate the discussion. The doors at 201 West Kenyon Road in Champaign will open at 5:30 p.m. for light refreshments, with speakers starting at 6 p.m.
The panel's primary goal is to "provide a space for the community to share information and discuss mutual obstacles."
Attendees are encouraged to park in the north entrance lot and enter the building through the main conference room door.
Ducking winter's toughest punch, avoiding potential health issues
by Paul ArcoOSF Healthcare
Every year, thousands of people end up in an emergency department due to things happening when they’re shoveling snow
Photo: Serkan Gönültaş/PEXELS
Key Takeaways:
“If you really should not be shoveling snow, or you’re at higher risk, I recommend trying to find someone else who can do it for you, whether that’s a neighbor or a family member. I highly recommend that," adds Henderson. "It’s not worth the broken hip or the hospital follow up. Another thing for people who are at higher risk is to bring a cellphone. If you do fall, you’re able to call somebody.”
Before you bundle up and head outside to shovel your driveway, make sure you follow proper safety measures to avoid injury. If you or a loved one experiences severe injury, heart attack, or other medical emergencies while shoveling snow, call 911.
- Every year, thousands of people visit the emergency department due to snow-related injuries or events.
- People at the greatest risk are the elderly, those with back issues or a history of heart problems.
- Wear appropriate clothing to stay warm and avoid frostbite.
- Other tips include lifting with your legs, push (don't) lift the snow, take breaks, and be aware of ice.
- If you experience a medical emergency, call 911.
Fitness Tracking Competition from NFL PLAY 60 launched, competition starts next week
by The American Heart Association
Urbana leaders and labor unions partner for hiring expo this Sunday
JAC Local 149 instructor Justin McMullen talks to high school students during an open house last November. Teamed up with Urbana community leaders, the local will host a hiring expo this Sunday for apprenticeships and other career opportunities at the Union Hall located in Savoy.
Photo: PhotoNews Media
Letter to the Editor | Pritzker back grandstanding for media attention
Dear Editor,
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is back grandstanding for the news media, complaining about the immigration crisis trickling up to Illinois.
In October, Pritzker sent an open letter to President Biden begging for federal tax resources to deal with the so-called “asylum seekers” being bussed to Illinois. Not once in his appeal did Pritzker ask the administration to shut down the border or reinstate the successful “Remain in Mexico” policy of the Trump Administration.
This month, Pritzker paid the Austin American-Statesman newspaper to publish another open letter, this one addressed to Texas Governor Greg Abbot. Referencing the freezing temperatures of a typical Illinois winter, Pritzker pleads for mercy, pointing out that many lives are vulnerable to the cold weather.
Ironically, not one word was written to Biden about the critical need to secure the border. Wouldn’t it be nice to see an open letter in the USA Today in which Pritzker could appeal to the Biden Administration for serious enforcement?
And while Pritzker laments the lives at stake because of the season’s “dangerous winter storm and subzero temperatures,” there is not one mention of the tens of thousands of American lives being destroyed by fentanyl and other deadly drugs flowing into our cities.
If Gov. Pritzker were serious about this crisis, he’d speak out about the dangers of open borders and the failure of the executive branch to uphold federal immigration laws to protect the citizens of this great nation.
David E. Smith, Executive Director
Illinois Family Institute
David E. Smith, Executive Director
Illinois Family Institute
Rockets fall to Central Catholic, 52-39
Claire Meharry dribbles the ball in the Rockets' home game against Clinton. This week the sophomoref forward went two-for-two from the free-throw line and hit one bucket in her team's loss against BCC on Monday. Unity, who faces Prairie Central this week, is 3-1 and moves to third place in the Illini Prairie Conference.
Photo: UnityPhotos/Jamie Price
Guest Commentary | Women and the abortion issue will decide the 2024 election outcome
by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator
A woman has never told me she felt good about her abortion. For 39 years I served in pastoral roles in different places. I had numerous women tell me they felt like they had no choice. Some said they felt pressured to abort. Many were medical emergency situations and it was life or death for the mother.
A dear family I’ve known for a few years lost their daughter and the baby in what was supposed to be a delightful day of bringing a new baby into the world. Things went terribly wrong and they both died. Twenty-five years after that event the family still grieves that day. They would give anything to have their daughter and her baby back.
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One of the hardest days of my life was when we had a full-term baby who apparently died about a day before the scheduled birth.
My late wife was very sick when she gave birth to our second son. She and he made it but it was a very treacherous night. Thankfully we had good medical care.
On too many occasions to count, we lost numerous babies. The pregnancy would start failing often times about two to three months into the pregnancy and the doctor would have to do a D and C. The babies had stopped growing or there was some other kind of internal malfunction.
One of the hardest days of my life was when we had a full-term baby who apparently died about a day before the scheduled birth. There was some kind of kink in the umbilical cord that had cut off oxygen to the baby. I was on cloud nine watching the birth of my two prior sons. I walked through hell the day I watched them deliver our dead son. For hours I sat in a room holding our him and weeping like I had never wept before.
I put my hand on that baby’s face and begged God to let him wake and start breathing. What I wouldn’t do today or give to have that child Jesse Caleb Mollette in my life.
The pain of losing that child was devastating to my wife.
The point of all this is most women and men are not crazed baby killers, although abortion statistics indicate we have had a problem in this nation. In 2020 there were 639,898 abortions in America according to Pew Research org. Were all of those performed to save the life of the mother? Were many of them performed because rape or incest had taken place? I do not have the statistics to answer that question, if really good statistics are even available.
The hard reality is that sometimes a medically necessary abortion has to take place to save the life of the mother. Often, the fetus stops developing or begins to abort on its own and medical care is necessary. Women should never have to leave their state to obtain the care they need. Our local and federal government should never put women’s health in these kinds of dangerous situations.
Federal and state governments must take a realistic look at what they are expecting of women and try to put themselves in their places. I think we have too many 75-year-old men determining what should or shouldn’t be for young adult women. Or, maybe we have some older women politicians who have never been through a traumatic pregnancy.
If I go to my doctor for an appendicitis procedure, I don’t what him having to involve the Attorney General or state supreme court in my healthcare. It should be between my doctor and me. The same should be so for pregnant women. Their care should be between them and their doctors. Keep the politicians out of it.
If one of these old politicians is going to have their hemorrhoids cut out, they must likely don’t want the county attorney or judge up there too.
It’s a touchy issue. I’m for life all the way. I’m also for common sense. Something to keep in mind is that regardless of your party affiliation, religious beliefs, or who you know the best person for the job is, women and the abortion issue will decide the 2024 election outcome.
He is the author of 13 books including Uncommom Sense, the Spiritual Chocolate series, Grandpa's Store, Minister's Guidebook insights from a fellow minister. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.
Start the day with a better-for-you breakfast
United Dairy Industry of Michigan
Recipe
Mini Greek Yogurt Pancakes
with Cinnamon-Maple Topping
Recipe courtesy of Marcia Stanley, MS, RDN, culinary dietitian, on behalf of Milk Means More Total time: 25 minutes
Servings: 6 Topping:
1 3/4 cups plain Greek yogurt (fat free, 2% or 5%)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pancakes:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (fat free, 2% or 5%)
1/2 cup milk (skim, 2% or whole)
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-3 tablespoons oil
1 cup fresh blueberries or chopped fresh strawberries
To make topping: Stir yogurt, syrup and cinnamon. Cover and refrigerate. To make pancakes: In mixing bowl, stir flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In separate bowl, whisk egg, yogurt, milk, butter and vanilla. Add yogurt mixture to flour mixture. Stir just until combined (batter should be slightly lumpy). Scrape batter into large plastic food storage bag. Oil nonstick griddle or large nonstick skillet. Heat over medium heat. Cut off about 1/2 inch from corner of plastic bag. Squeeze batter, about 1 tablespoon at a time, onto hot griddle. Cook 1-2 minutes per side, or until pancakes are golden brown, turning to second sides when bubbles form on surface of pancakes and edges are slightly dry. Serve warm pancakes topped with cinnamon-maple yogurt and sprinkled with berries.
SJO Athletics for the week of January 15
St. Joseph-Ogden's Addison Frick goes after a loose ball during her team's home game against Oakwood. Monday, the team extended their win streak to five games after defeating St. Thomas More on the road, 44-19. The Spartans won this non-conference home contest over the Comets last month, 53-23.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
St. Joseph-Ogden Athletics this week
Spartans' Cameron Wagner towers above a Carlinville defensive player during the 2023 playoff game. It is just seven and half months until the return of SJO Football.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
ViewPoint | Let's make MLK's dream a reality
By Dedrick Asante-Muhammad & Chuck Collins
This January marks what would have been Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 95th birthday. Nearly a century after the late civil rights leader’s birth, it’s a good time to reflect on the work still to be done.
Just over 60 years ago, in his famous “I Have A Dream” speech at the 1963 March on Washington, King declared: “We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.”
Sixty years on, as our report “Still A Dream” highlighted late last year, there’s been some progress. The African American community is experiencing record low unemployment, record highs in income and educational attainment, and has seen a massive decline in income poverty since the 1960s.
Despite all that, the check for racial economic equality is still bouncing. Without intervention, we found it will take centuries for Black wealth to catch up with white wealth in this country.
The 1960s were years of crucial economic progress for African Americans, even as the Black Freedom struggle faced assassinations and government suppression. In 1959, when King was 30, 55 percent of African Americans lived in income poverty. By what would have been his 40th birthday in 1969 (a year after his assassination), that poverty rate had dropped to 32 percent.
Yet this substantial progress still wasn’t enough to bridge the radical and ongoing racial economic divide between Blacks and whites. And since then, progress has slowed.
Library of Congress/Unsplash
About the authors . . .
Chuck Collins
Dedrick Asante-Muhammad
Chuck Collins
Dedrick Asante-Muhammad
Dedrick Asante-Muhammad is the chief of Race, Wealth, and Community at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.
Chuck Collins directs the Program on Inequality and co-edits Inequaity.org at the Institute for Policy Studies. They are co-authors of the report, Still a Dream: Over 500 Years to Black Economic Equality. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.
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