No Candy at Carthage Maple Leaf Parade.

The Maple Leaf Festival committee met on Tuesday, June 21st and unanimously voted to ban candy distribution from the 2010 Maple Leaf Parade. The primary concern announced by the committee is safety of children and the public. For years, volunteers have noted that event excitement and natural competition to capture the candy often results in children running out in front of parade traffic. Many volunteers as well as police officers can cite near misses of children being injured by parade entries. Co-chair for the Maple Leaf Festival Committee, Cheryle Finley states, "We have been very specific for many years on our parade entry forms that candy should not be thrown from cars or floats and yet we have continued to have problems with non-compliance. We have tried to encourage those passing out candy to walk along the spectator line and hand it out but, unfortunately, when done correctly, this method is time consuming and cause lapses in the parade."

Additionally, the committee indicated a variety of other reasons candy distribution has been a troublesome issue in the past including:

• an understanding that the person who fills out the entry form is not always one of the parade participants and this has caused the parade rules to be lost in communication,

• drivers of some of the big vehicles can’t see the little ones that might get close to the wheels,

• candy wrappers contribute to additional litter on the Historic Carthage Square

• there is no way to monitor those throwing or distributing candy; anyone could dress up, step in line along the parade route and distribute tainted candy.

The committee referred to several community parades that have had no candy policies and indicated that Carthage can have a great parade without candy.

There’s prob’ly lots a things I never mastered as well as my dad, but I know I could never get the hang of spinnin’ a four-way lug wrench while changin’ a tire. ‘Course I suppose that could mean that I never got the practice changin’ tires that he did.

One a the problems with changin’ a flat on the newer cars is they don’t have a decent hubcap ta throw the lug nuts in. You’ve prob’ly seen the guy bent down by the car, with one a those little flimsy L shaped tire tools in one hand and a lug nut in the other, lookin’ completely bewildered. He’s lookin’ for a spot to lay the nut so he won’t loose it.

Those little critters will start rollin’ until they find the exact center of the car. The real embarrassment comes when ya gotta limp inta town with that little weenie tire. There’s just no joy in changin’ a flat anymore.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

.

---

Weekly Columns

What Is Prickly Heat?

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Exactly what is prickly heat? Do adults get it? If they do, I think I have it. -- M.K.

ANSWER: Adults do get prickly heat. It looks like red dots or tiny blisters on the skin. The rash itches or feels "prickly." Sweat ducts have become plugged.

Prevention comes with dressing as coolly as possible in light cotton clothes. Air-conditioning is the ultimate answer. Second best is having a fan blowing on you. If you have a breakout, cool-water compresses take away the itch or prickliness, as do cortisone creams, which are found in all drugstores.

***

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My husband has some kind of sleep disorder. He doesn’t believe he has a problem. I know about restless leg syndrome, but he has something beyond that. About four nights a week, his legs kick all over, and he throws his body in every direction. The bed bounces like a trampoline. In one month, he made large holes in two quality flannel sheets. Several times, he has hit me across the face. What is this problem? -- M.L.

ANSWER: You describe periodic limb movements of sleep, PLMS, which used to be called nocturnal myoclonus. Most of the time, only the legs are involved. The toes, ankles, knees and hips involuntarily bend and straighten during sleep. The movements happen every 20 to 40 seconds, and each episode lasts from a few minutes to hours.

Restless leg syndrome is a crawling sensation beneath the skin of the legs. The person has to get up and walk around to put an end to the annoying sensations. Sometimes it is associated with iron deficiency, and sometimes restless leg patients also experience periodic limb movements. Pramipexole or ropinirole treat both conditions. Your husband should see a doctor.