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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJunecify �w - 1 CITY OF SEBASTIAN NEWSLETTER News from the desk of Wendy Widmann: Christmas is coming! It's not to early to set aside Saturday, December 14th as the date for the City Christmas party. It will be held at the Sebastian Elk's Club, across from the Food Lion. The City has reserved the best D.J. East of the Mississippi River to get everyone out on the dance floor. In addition, we have procured the services of a very well-known comedian to entertain us. We also expect Santa to be there for picture taking, the proceeds of which will go to several needy Sebastian families at Christmas time. Also, door prizes will be given out to a few lucky people. Make sure you mark your calendars! A great time will be had by all attending. Closer at hand is the Fourth of July parade. Due to a limited number of suggestions for the "Name The Float" contest, we opened it up once again. The winner will be selected on Friday, the date you receive this newsletter. We are still looking for more volunteers to help set up the float... call Doris at 388- 8240 to volunteer. So far, we have received offers from Dorri Bosworth, Community Development, who has had experience from her high school days, and Jerry Converse. Public Works has offered the use of their flat bed truck and we will need an experienced, CDL licensed driver, to drive the truck. Earle Petty sent a letter to the City saying he is now overseas. He completed his training and left Croatia and was on his way to Bosnia on Wednesday, April 17th. He said his training was twelve hours a day with no days off. The weather was cold and there was more snow t* he had seen in the last 23 years. Earle also stated the area is a very devastated, war-torn country and it will take a long time to rebuild. He hopes everyone here at the City is well! JUNE, 1996 BROWN BAG LUNCREON Camille Sewell from the Environmental Learning Center (ELC) did a presentation on the replanting of red mangroves in the Indian River Lagoon. The red mangrove is the most tolerant of high water and is found in the intertidal zone, between the high and low tides. Mangroves are important in contributing to a healthy ecosystem. The Red Mangrove, with its unique entanglement of roots, called prop roots, plays a vital role along the shoreline. They offer protection and food for fish, (snook & tarpon), clams, oysters and other invertebrates. The roots also protect the shoreline from waves that erode waterfront property. They also act as a filtering system by removing dirt and pollutants from stormwater runoff. What can you do to help? An experimental planting technique had been developed to restore mangroves in areas that are eroding or along seawalls. The restoration program need volunteers to help plant, assist in the nursery, and monitor new growths. Please contact Camille Sewell at the Environmental Learning Center, 589-5050, if you would like to volunteer. Vaunette Davis, again, won the door prize: A gift certificate to McDonalds. QUOTABLE QUOTES " The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain." Dolly Parton "One of the quickest ways to meet new people is to pick up the wrong ball on the golf course." Unknown "All the Constitution guarantees is the pursuit of happiness. You have to catch up with it by yourself." Benjamin Franklin City of Sebastian Employee Newsletter Birth s 06/02 Tim Smith - P/W Eng. Public Works Tech. 06/02 Michael Whitney - P/W Maint. Worker II 06/06 Desmond Chambers - P/W Build. Maint. Tech. 06/12 Norma Damp - Councilmember 06/16 Doris Lee - H/R Human Resource Tech. 06/18 Gene Ewert - P/D Lieutenant 06/21 Vaunette Davis - Finance Acct. Clerk II 06/25 Jeffrey Chandler - P/D Police Officer 06/27 Bob Massarelli - C/D City Planner 06/29 Randy Bonar - C/D Code Enforcement Officer Lon D Emnloyees with 10 or more years of service: 06/26/84 Michael Beyer - P/D Police Officer 06/10/85 Linda Kinchen - P/W Admin. Assist. 06/30/86 Gary Nicholas - P/W Maint. Worker II Employees with 5-9 years of service: 06/10/91 Brian Grzesiak - P/W Maint. Worker I 06/01/91 Bernita McClanahan - G/C Starter/Ranger MISCELLANEOUS EMPLOYEE NEWS! Congratulations to Chris McCarthy, Steve DiTrapano, Mark Sanders, and Tim Walker on receiving the University of Florida's Environmental Landscape Management for Professionals Certificate. Kudos to Cliff Jamison for doing such an excellent job during the Bucket Brigade on March 12th. Carolyn Corum, Chairperson of the Stormwater Management Action Committee appreciated the hard work and cooperation from the Public Works Department. Kudos to the City Clerk's staff. Carolyn Coram, Chairperson of the Stomtwater Management Action Committee, appreciated all the behind the scene support given to the March 12th Bucket Brigade. Welcome Aboard! Scott Sherbrook is the proud owner of a spanking new baby boy! He weighed in at 8 lb. 6 oz. and has been as good as gold. Congratulations. Mom and Pop Sherbrook. Frederick Rohwedder will start work on June 3rd as a Laborer in the Parks Department. Sandra Poe has started work on May 23 as a temporary Assistant Golf Pro while Darin Chmura is on a leave of absence. I Employee News A CPR Training course will be offered on July 18th in the City Council Chambers. CPR certification is good only for 2 years, so if yours has expired and you want to renew your certification, please talk to your supervisor about attending. Hours will be from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., so remember to bring your lunch. Work Safety Issues Ergonomic devices can be hazardous to your health. Don't use wrist rests or splints while typing, experts wam. They can put pressure on nerves and make repetitive -stress injuries worse. "If you're going to use a wrist rest, use it to rest, "says David Remple, director of the ergonomics laboratory at the University of California in San Francisco. Wearing splints too frequently can lead to muscle atrophy. Splints can be useful to immobilize wrists at night, but they can force arms into awkward positions at the keyboard and lead to elbow injuries. Squeezing rubber balls, meanwhile, can strengthen certain finger muscles, but the exercise should be avoided by people already suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, experts say. Tilt keyboard pkrtforms away from the typist, new research suggests. Workers bend their wrists less when they type at keyboard platforms that slope 12 degrees away from them, says Alan Hedge, an ergonomics professor at Cornell University. The negative tilt- where the back of the keyboard is lower than the front- changes the angling of the keys, improving posture and reducing typists' chances of developing repetitive stress disorders. A study of 38 employees at Honeywell Inc. found that those who used negative tilt kept their hands in safe positions 67110 of the time, compared with 28% to 42% of the time for workers using other arrangements. Lower keyboards - about an inch above the legs at the lowest point- can reduce shoulder shrugging and neck tension. City of Sebastian Employee Newsletter Important Dates $ 06/14/96 Pay Day * 06/14/96 Flag Day V 06/16/96 Father's Day S 06/28/96 Pay Day Work Safety Issues Ergonomic devices can be hazardous to your health. Don't use wrist rests or splints while typing, experts wam. They can put pressure on nerves and make repetitive -stress injuries worse. "If you're going to use a wrist rest, use it to rest, "says David Remple, director of the ergonomics laboratory at the University of California in San Francisco. Wearing splints too frequently can lead to muscle atrophy. Splints can be useful to immobilize wrists at night, but they can force arms into awkward positions at the keyboard and lead to elbow injuries. Squeezing rubber balls, meanwhile, can strengthen certain finger muscles, but the exercise should be avoided by people already suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, experts say. Tilt keyboard pkrtforms away from the typist, new research suggests. Workers bend their wrists less when they type at keyboard platforms that slope 12 degrees away from them, says Alan Hedge, an ergonomics professor at Cornell University. The negative tilt- where the back of the keyboard is lower than the front- changes the angling of the keys, improving posture and reducing typists' chances of developing repetitive stress disorders. A study of 38 employees at Honeywell Inc. found that those who used negative tilt kept their hands in safe positions 67110 of the time, compared with 28% to 42% of the time for workers using other arrangements. Lower keyboards - about an inch above the legs at the lowest point- can reduce shoulder shrugging and neck tension. City of Sebastian Employee Newsletter Test Your Health 10 Take this simple health quiz. the next page. The answers will be on 1. The amount of time you can survive without water is: A. 24 Hours B. 72 Hours C. 30 Days 2. Everyone should get his or her blood pressure checked at least once every: A. Month B. Year C. 5 Years 3. To help lower cholesterol, a good cooking oil to use is: A. Coconut Oil B. Palm Oil C. Olive Oil 4. Wearing a seat belt cuts your risk of injury by: A. A Quarter B. Half C. Not at all 5. The number one cause of home fires is A. Cooking B. Heating Equipment C. Smoking True or False 6. Drinking alcohol improves sleep. 7. Mammograms are low-dose X-rays of the breast. 8. Coffee is a good source of calcium. 9. Most people never experience back pain. 10. Many types of cancer preventable. .00*. "The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes." -Frank Lloyd Wright "Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects." -Arnold Glasow Health News Rev up your humor engine! Laugh your troubles away. When you laugh, your body produces natural painkillers and secretes protective enzymes that coat the stomach. Laughing . even helps strengthen the immune system. Laughing also increases the circulation of blood and oxygen to all major organs, including your brain. The result: clearer thinking, improved decision-making, and a better ability to resolve conflicts. Did you know that one minute of belly - laughing gives you the same abdominal exercise as 25 sit-ups? A good sense of humor also helps you put things into perspective by allowing you to look at your problem from a different angle. After all, most humor is about the things that go wrong in people's lives. Put more 'funny' into your life! If you are surrounded by things that regularly make you laugh, it becomes easier and more natural to laugh at all life's little stressors. ❑ Surround yourself with people who make you laugh. ❑ Purchase funny, inexpensive things - like funny ties, books, buttons, calendars, cards, coffee mugs, music, pencils, and sticky -notes. ❑ Use humor to communicate. Put your message on something humorous, like a cartoon. ❑ Read funny cards in the card section of your favorite store (a great, low-cost way to feel better after a stressful day). ❑ Purchase a few videotapes of your favorite funny movies to have on hand for stressful times. ❑ Hang around small children. Children under five laugh out loud about 400 times a day, while adults only laugh out loud 15 times. ❑ Play with your pets. The antics of your animal companions are often funnier than anything you can find on TV. "Those who shun the whimsy of things will experience rigor mortis before death" -Tom Robbins City of Sebastian Employee Newsletter QUIZANSWERS Score 10 points for each correct answer Highest possible score is 100. 1 B It's important to drink water daily to prevent lethargy, dizziness, headache and difficulty thinking -at least 2-3 glasses beyond what your thirst tells you to. 2 B Nearly half of all people whose blood pressure is high don't actually know that it is because they have no symptoms. That's why it's important for everyone to have a blood pressure screening at least once a year. 3 C For heart -healthy cooking, use olive, canola, com or safflower oil. Coconut and palm oils, although vegetable oils, are actually loaded with saturated fat, which rises blood levels of "bad" cholesterol. 4 B Wearing a safety belt doubles your chances of a safe trip, so always wear one, no matter how short the journey. 5 A While smoking is the major cause of home fire deaths, cooking is the leading cause of all home files. Unattended cooking is often the culprit. 6 F Drinking alcohol may help you fall asleep, but research shows it makes you sleep less soundly. 7 T This low-dose X-ray test is an important self- defense against breast cancer. It can detect lumps up to 2 years before they can be felt. Other keys to early detection: monthly breast self -exams and regular professional breast exams. 8 F Caffeine actually speeds the loss of calcium from the body. Calcium is essential to building strong, healthy bones. 9 F Eight out of every 10 people suffer back pain at least once in their lives. Prevention: Stay fit, strengthen back and stomach muscles and keep your back straight when lifting. 10 T To help fight cancer: Avoid tobacco, excessive alcohol and overexposure to sunlight; eat plenty of foods rich in fiber and vitamins A, C and beta carotene; control your weight and exercise regularly. SCORE CARD go- 100 You're in great shape when it comes to knowledge about your health. 50-70 Yow score is about average -nice going. But learning more about your health could pay even bigger dividends. 0-40 Relax, you can catch up. Just read the newsletter each month. GOLF NEWS The Sebastian Junior Golf Academy Program will be starting on June 20th (other starting dates are available). Boys and girls, ages 6-17, may sign up, and it is not required that players reside in Sebastian. Instead of weekly tournaments, Pat Cerjan will be setting it up more like a golf school. Students will be taught putting, chipping, pitching, bunker play, full swing with irons and woods, rules, sportsmanship, etiquette, and course management. The program cost is $25.00 and to register or receive more information, contact Pat Cedan or Greg Gardner at 589-6801. GOOD IDEA! Linda Galley from the City Clerk's Office had a great idea recently. She suggested that the Coucil amend the annual Use Agreement between the City of Sebastian and the Humane Society so they wouldn't have to vote on using the Barber Streets Sports Complex every year for emergency use during Hurricane Season. This suggestion saves the City and its' employees time, money and paper by not having to bring this Agreement before the Council every year. Great idea, Linda! City of Sebastian Employee Newsletter