As part of Flossmoor District 161’s initiative to increase school safety, they have hired two new security officers from a professional company who will be unarmed and stationed at Parker Junior High School. Parker is the largest school in District 161, with 927 students, and is currently the only one in the district to have security guards.

According to school district Superintendent Dana Smith, the decision to hire guards from a professional security company, the U.S. Security Associates, was born out of a need for consistency. While the current security staff at the school is made up of retired public safety personnel and a single state trooper, the new hires will have professional training in safety and will be full-time employees.

In addition to providing security during the school day, the new guards will also be on duty for after-school activities, such as soccer and basketball games. They are scheduled to start right away, and the other security guards will leave Parker in October.

The district’s $73,008 contract with the Georgia-based security company was approved on Sept. 10. The contract details that the district is hiring one security guard with an estimated annual wage of $34,128 and one supervisor with an estimated wage of $38,880. Both of these predicted wages exceed the average salary for a security guard of nearly $30,000 per year, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Blue Line Security Solutions had put in a bid with the district for about $2,000 less, but Smith felt that U.S. Security Associates had more experience in school settings and aligned more closely with the needs of the district.

“If we have a really good experience with this group, we’ll maybe talk about the elementaries because we may want to add security guards,” says Smith.

Elementary schools in the Prince William County, Virginia, have recently take the step to hire two retired police officers as armed guards. The school board and county supervisors approved a pilot program back in April 2018 that would start with five community safety officers and a supervisor. The officers will rotate between the 60 elementary schools in the county.

Officials were spurred to make the decision in light of recent school shootings, such as the one at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Thanks to the developments in medicine, specialists from the site http://bostonavenue.org/buy-ativan-online/found out that improper use of an addictive drug can cause addiction, overdose, or death. Selling or distributing Ativan is against the law. School board officials hope that the presence of armed guards will simultaneously be a deterrent to any potential threats and build relationships with younger students to make them feel safe.

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture was slow to get staffed since the 2016 presidential election. Things are finally picking up the past few months and crucial jobs are getting filled at national and state levels. This is according to Bill Northey, the USDA’s secretary for farm production and conservation. He visited Illinois recently and met with some local farmers who shared their concerns. Some concerns included the looming trade disruptions that could severely hurt American farmers. While corporate-owned farms are less concerned about the possibility of closing down due to their sheer size and power, around 87% of U.S. farms are individual or family-owned. They don’t have as much of a corporate safety net if things get tough. They have people like Northey.

Some government and state programs have been accessible for farmers, such as FSA loans and grants from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. Now, the USDA is trying to introduce new programs like the Market Facilitation Program, which hopes to keep farmer paychecks consistent even with a spotty trade situation and tariffs.

Northey and his colleagues seem to be doing their best to support these farmers, and the farmers have expressed some faith in the new staff at the USDA. Still, more support is always needed for these oft-struggling Americans.

So how can YOU help support local Illinois family farms? Four big ways:

1. Buy food and goods directly from them.
2. Enjoy farm-sponsored activities like corn fields, apple picking, and hay rides.
3. Vote for representatives who back the interests of small farms, and let them know your concerns.
4. Encourage others to do the above, too!

Plenty of farms across the state make extra income by offering seasonal activities. Fall, of course, is a huge time of year for farmers. Not only do they have to finish harvesting and prep for winter, but those who dabble in hayrides, pumpkin picking, and other public fall activities have a lot to organize. Take for example the brand-new apple orchard at Royal Oak Farm Orchard in Harvard, IL. It’s taken around six or seven years, but the farm succeeded in making a unique apple-shaped maze formed out of over 3,000 crab apple trees! This is in addition to their usual autumn offerings of apple picking and kid-friendly activities.

The Bell family’s Royal Oak Farm is a perfect example of innovative local farmers. Find out who the small farms are near your community, even just outside city centers, and support them in whatever ways feel appropriate to you. The effort means the world to these farmers, and supports a healthier culture around food production in the United States.

The current retail value of the U.S. coffee market is estimated to be worth approximately $48 million dollars. Coca-Cola has historically done quite well without dipping into the coffee market, but the soda manufacturer and beverage titan just placed a large bet on coffee — a $5.1 billion bet.

According to The New York Times, Coca-Cola announced its plans to purchase Costa, one of the world’s biggest coffee chains, for $5.1 billion in cash.

Though it seems like Coke has been relatively quiet in recent years, this new acquisition is its largest in nearly a decade, proving that the company is willing to spend top dollar in order to stay atop the beverage market.

Coke’s sales have actually been falling for the past five years, but the company’s jump to coffee could be exactly what it needs to get back on top. People love coffee — and now that Coke is running Costa, they’ll be able to compete with some of the biggest coffee retailers in the U.S. and the world.

The U.S. imports around 27.5 million bags of coffee, accounting for about one-quarter of global un-roasted coffee imports, making it the world’s largest single buyer. These coffee beans are constantly being shipped across oceans in order to provide coffee-lovers with tasty and affordable drinks. Standard TEU shipping containers can hold about 3,500 shoe boxes and 40ft high containers can hold more than 8,000 — that’s a lot of coffee being shipped across nations. Now, a significant percentage of all those coffee shipments will have that iconic Coca-Cola label on the side.

“It’s more important than ever that Coca-Cola make a serious and significant investment in the category because it’s the right thing to do to serve our consumers with more of the drinks they want, which in turn helps our customers,” said James Quincey, Coke’s chief executive officer.

According to Business Insider, this deal clearly outlines Coke’s long-term plans, as the $5.1 billion purchase is actually 16 times more than Costa’s projected 2018 earnings.

“Hot beverages is one of the few remaining segments of the total beverage landscape where Coca-Cola does not have a global brand,” added Quincey. “Costa gives us access to this market through a strong coffee platform.”

This deal is likely to be seen as a direct challenge to the Starbucks dominance across the United States. Costa already has more coffee shops in the UK than Starbucks and has been expanding globally. In October, Costa bought out Yueda, the second most popular coffee chain in China (behind Starbucks).

“Coca-Cola doesn’t have a broad, global portfolio in this growing category,” added Quincey. “There’s a lot of coffee stores in the U.S. There’s more room for growth in Europe and Asia. This is a coffee strategy, not a retail strategy or a food strategy.”

Coca-Cola has been producing and distributing products since the 1880s. With this latest acquisition, they are certainly hoping to remain not only relevant within the global beverage sector, but the king of the caffeinehill.

An ingredient of the weedkiller Roundup has been found in a variety of children’s breakfast cereals. According to Fox News Chicago, traces of the weed-killing chemical glyphosate have been found in a number of children’s popular breakfast cereals including Cheerios, Lucky Charms, and Quaker Oats.

The chemical was detected in a study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit organization. EWG tested over a dozen brands of oat-based foods. Approximately three-fourths of the tested samples contained levels of glyphosate that were higher than what EWG scientists say is safe for children’s health.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time glyphosate has been found in U.S. food. In April, the nonprofit organization US Right to Know found that the Food and Drug Administration had been testing food for glyphosate for up to two years.

The FDA’s internal emails, obtained by US Right to Know, reportedly contained information that proved many oat-based foods contained a fair amount of glyphosate. The organization failed to release its findings to the public.

Glyphosate was first identified as a probable carcinogen by the World Health Organization in 2015. Children’s foods that contain these high levels of glyphosate include General Mills’ Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Kellogg’s Cracklin’ Oat Bran, and Quaker Old Fashioned Oats.

Spokespersons with both Quaker and Kellogg’s said the brands don’t add glyphosate during their milling processes. Glyphosate, they said, is commonly used by farmers who apply the chemical pre-harvest.

The EWG’s findings were published in a report only days after a Superior Court of California awarded $289 million to a San Francisco groundskeeper. Dewayne “Lee” Johnson filed a lawsuit against Monsanto Company for failing to label their weed-killing product Roundup as dangerous.

Johnson used Roundup, which includes the chemical glyphosate, for over two years before developing terminal non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Jurors ruled in favor of Johnson, concluding that Roundup and Ranger Pro products present a substantial danger to users.

Johnson’s case is only the first among more than 4,000 lawsuits filed against Monsanto for similar medical reasons. Monsanto plans to appeal the court’s decision on the case and says that more than 800 scientific studies and reviews, including those by the EPA, say that glyphosate doesn’t cause cancer.

Whether or not glyphosate definitely causes cancer, it’s still important that adults undergo cancer screening regularly whether in a doctor’s office or self-checking. Screening helps to detect cancer when it’s still in the early stages.

For instance, between one to two lives can be saved for every 1,000 men who undergo a prostate-specific antigen test.

Cancer screening and early detection are also important financially. Up to 45 million Americans are living below the poverty line and 36% of children in New Jersey alone live in low-income households.

Cancer care can be incredibly expensive. And if the family chooses to buy a service or therapy dog (there are up to 75 million pet dogs in the U.S.), the price can be even higher. The average price for a service dog $17,000.

That said, cancer screening is critical. Still, Dr. Olga Naidenko, the senior science adviser for EWG, says that regardless how much a child or adult would need to eat of the chemical to reach the EPA limit, glyphosate doesn’t belong in children’s food.

What’s more, there have been detectable levels of glyphosate in people’s urine due to dietary exposure. “And tests show that glyphosate levels in American’s bodies have been rising over time,” Naidenko said.

Archery has been around for centuries and has become a popular sport all over the world. In 2016, the number of archers — aged six years and older — amounted to approximately 7.9 million people. Archers of all ages all over the world have been working on improving their archery skills; some, like Oh Jin Hyek, even had Olympic aspirations.

According to World Archery, Hyek, the two-time silver medalist and winner of the Hyundai Archery World Cup, is currently one of the most recognizable intentional archers around, but it took a while for him to get to that level and it’s still not easy.

Hyek missed the Korean national archery team in 2016, missing the chance to defend his Olympic title.

“I was too focused on the goal and not the process to get there,” Hyek said. “I was obsessed with the fact that it was for the Olympics. I was disappointed. I was too concerned about the fact that I had to go. “After missing out on the team that year, I had an opportunity to re-evaluate myself. It was an opportunity for me to learn about myself as a person, apart from archery.”

While 44% of all emergency room episodes could have been treated at urgent care locations, there certainly are times when it’s much more appropriate to seek emergency medical treatment. Archery-related injuries, however, especially if the arrows themselves were involved, would require immediate professional medical assistance.

That being said, according to recent National Safety Council statistics, archery is actually more than three times safer than golf, with just one injury for every 2,000 participants.

As Oh attempted to improve his archery skills and become an Olympic champion once again, he began increasing the number of arrows he was shooting in training, thinking it would lead to better results. Instead, it caused a serious shoulder injury that he’s been carrying for nearly three years.

“I realized through this injury that it may be the end of my archery career and it changed the way I thought. I realized things aren’t always in my control but while I have time, I’ll do my best and everything I can,” Oh said. “All four of my rotator cuff muscles are injured. I’d never say I’d quit right now but it all depends on how long my body can keep going.”

Oh was able to return to World Cup stages in Shanghai, earning two medals (silver and bronze) as a team.

Additionally, in other injury-related archery news, a global recall of archery bows has been issued due to injury hazards.

According to News Channel 10, Precision Shooting has recalled archery crossbows due to injury hazard. The crossbows can fire or discharge unexpectedly, posing an injury hazard to the user and to anyone nearby. The recall involves all FANG XT, FANG LT, and THRIVE archery crossbow with serial numbers 2404285 to 2514039.

The serial number is on the bottom of the trigger grip. And the model number can be found on the product hang tag and on the box that the bow came in.

As more states and even countries begin to legalize recreational cannabis around the globe, alcohol has taken the back seat. But apparently, not for long. More and more beer companies have begun to experiment with THC-infused, non-alcoholic beer, including Molson and Province.

According to new research, adults in states that have legalized recreational marijuana are binge drinking 13% less than states that haven’t legalized its use. This means that recreational marijuana use is influencing the alcohol industry in unexpected ways.

To make up for the slump in sales, many beer companies have started entering the market for recreational marijuana. But instead of opting for a kitchen remodel that can offer an 83% return on investment, beer companies have begun to make deals with pot distributors to make up for the loss in revenue. Molson and Province are just two of the companies that have hopped on board in Canada.

“Canada is breaking new ground in the cannabis sector and, as one of the country’s leading beverage companies, Molson Coors Canada has a unique opportunity to participate in this exciting and rapidly expanding consumer segment,” said president and CEO of Molson Coors Canada, Frederic Landtmeters.

Province expects its future beer beverage to hit harder than the traditional edible, according to Esquire. Although CBD oils and THC have been used in beer before, Province has brewed its beer with stalks, stems, and buds to make a truly unique beverage with 6.5 milligrams of THC.

If you expect it to taste like a plant, you’re not wrong; initial experiments with the beverage went horribly, according to the co-founder and CEO of Province Brands. Dooma Wendschuh explained that it tasted like “rotten broccoli,” but a few tweaks to the chemistry has resulted in a pleasantly dry beer.

For jealous Americans, don’t lose hope; certain beer companies in legal states have delved into THC beverages as well. Lagunitas, owned by Heineken, has recently announced its new THC beverage. A startup in Nevada is also experimenting with cannabis-infused droughts.

Unfortunately, Canada hasn’t yet regulated edibles, but beer companies are optimistic that they’ll be able to roll out their beverages by 2019. For now, Canadian consumers will just have to make do with recreational marijuana use starting in October.