Assistant Principal Raises Awareness of Colon Cancer

By Cassie Felch
Posted: October 23, 2008

Trish Lannon, a vice principal at West Friendship Elementary School works with first grade math students Alex Lindahl, left, and Abbie Eshleman. She was diagnosed with colon cancer at a young age and appears as Miss March in the 2009 “Colondar” being sold as a fundraiser by the Colon Club. The models for each month, men and women, show their midline incisions and talk about early detection and prevention on a Web site. (Photo by Doug Kapustin, Baltimore Sun).

Trish Lannon shows the midline incision she got because of surgery in this “Colondar” photo. (Submitted photo).

Many of us have heard about the 1998 death of newscaster Katie Couric’s 42-year-old husband, Jay Monahan, from colorectal cancer. Although typically considered an “older” disease, colon cancer strikes approximately 15,000 people under the age of 50 every year. In March 2007, at the age of 39, West Friendship Elementary School Assistant Principal Trish Lannon became one of the statistics.

Lannon awoke one morning with abdominal pain and a fever and finally visited the emergency room after fainting twice. There, she learned that she was severely anemic; she had lost two thirds of her blood. Following numerous transfusions, tests, and ultimately some drastic emergency surgery, doctors concluded that Lannon had colon cancer, the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Lab results identified her cancer as level IIIC, with IV being the highest stage.

As you can imagine, she suffered much anguish over the next year: a second hospital stay, nine months of chemotherapy, many questions, and constant fears for herself, her husband, and her three young children. During this time, she relied heavily on the Internet site www.colonclub.com for information and support from others via the site’s message board.

Now that Lannon has completed her treatment, she has entered a new phase of her life as a cancer survivor and would like to educate the public about CRC and its prevention. She recently took part in a colon cancer awareness calendar called the “Colondar,” where she appears as “Miss March 2009.” To view the Colondar online and read Lannon’s full story, go to www.colonclub.com/colondar.html. Click on the 2009 models link, and then select March. To support the cause by purchasing a Colondar, select the buy now link.

Lannon recommends visiting the Colon Club Web site or the Colon Cancer Alliance at www.ccalliance.org for more information on CRC. Most importantly, she advises that you know your body. Visit a doctor for any odd or unexplained symptoms, even unplanned weight loss.

Obviously, one’s prognosis becomes better the earlier colon cancer is discovered. Lannon feels tremendously thankful that she currently shows no evidence of the disease and would like to help others avoid it altogether.

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Mt. View Middle Celebrates New GT Band Members

By Cassie Felch
Posted: October 22, 2008

Congratulations to the Mt. View Middle School students who earned acceptance into the Howard County Middle School Gifted and Talented Band! These hard-working individuals include flutist Sara Kim and alternate flutist Gloria Nam, clarinetists Allie Berges and Richard He, alternate bassoonist Emily Ingalls, alto saxophonist Mac Robertson and alternate baritone saxophonist Alex Peaco, French horn player Anna Rimlinger, trumpeter Jordan Lee, trombonists Dana Koehler, J.D. Fishman and Jonathan Wu, tuba player Ku Min Kim, and percussionists Jon Schonfeld and Jon Kahl.

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Marriotts Ridge Music Department Sells Citrus Fruit

By Cassie Felch
Posted: October 20, 2008

The Marriotts Ridge Music Foundation announces its first Citrus Fruit Sale to benefit the Marriotts Ridge High School music department. The fundraiser will help finance the students’ spring 2009 trip to Gatlinburg, Tenn., where they will compete in the national Fiesta-Val Music Festival.

Order some mouth-watering Ruby Red Grapefruit or Navel Oranges before Oct. 31 for Nov. 15 pickup at the high school, or order grapefruit, oranges, tangerines or a variety pack by Dec. 2 for pickup Dec. 13, in plenty of time for the holidays. The order form is available by clicking here.

Call Carita Carlyle at 410-465-2344 or e-mail ccarlyle3@verizon.net or Karyn Littlejohn at 410-442-5440 or mrhsfruit@yahoo.com with any questions.

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WFES Students Earn Band Karate Belts

By Cassie Felch
Posted: October 20, 2008

Amy Bejm, Band Director at West Friendship Elementary School, shares good news this week. Several of her students have earned a band Karate belt, which means that they passed three different areas of band assessments with no more than three mistakes in each one, where each belt level becomes progressively more difficult. Timothy Beschner, Claire Martin, Joey Naidu, Alexandra Pickett, Jake Polinksy, Niklas Schnake, Jillian Stewart and Emma Woodbury have earned a white belt. Samuel Running has earned an orange belt; Anna Lee has earned a green belt; Charis Smith has earned a purple belt; and Grant Felch and Sam Sisney have earned brown belts. Keep up the great work!

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Board of Elections Seeks Alternate Judges

By Cassie Felch
Posted: October 16, 2008

On election day, Nov. 4, we will return to our designated polling locations and perhaps see some familiar faces working, smiling, and guiding us through our civic responsibility. Have you ever wondered how these community members become election judges and why they “re-enlist” year after year? What do they do throughout their very long (6 a.m. to 10 p.m.) election workday?

In answer to the first question, individuals interested in serving as election judges can contact the Howard County Board of Elections at 410-313-5820. The positions are salaried and include a paid, mandatory training session. Chief Judges act as supervisors of the polling location and thus earn a higher salary than the other positions, which otherwise receive equal compensation.

The first person you may see as you enter your polling location is a Greeting Judge, who welcomes voters and assists as needed. He or she will direct you to a Check-in Judge, who will verify your voting eligibility and assigned polling location. If, for some reason, your name does not appear on your precinct’s register, a Provisional Judge will help you with a Provisional Ballot. Otherwise, a Unit Judge will assist you with the computerized touch-screen voting process. These judges have set up the voting units before the polls open in the morning, and they shut them down again in the evening. Alternate Judges remain on standby should another judge be unable to work on election day.

According to Betty Nordaas, Director of the Howard County Board of Elections, the BOE has recruited 1133 judges for the upcoming general election but still seeks alternates. Since each position must include a representative from different political parties and since the BOE currently has a wealth of Democratic volunteers, they require Republicans and those registered with other recognized political parties, as well as those registered as Unaffiliated. Individuals interested in applying must fulfill the necessary qualifications as outlined here.

This basic information covers the “how” and “what” questions, but to answer the “why,” I spoke with two neighbors who have election experience. Dan Cichetti became an election judge after his retirement, in part because he likes to keep busy. Election Day certainly fits the bill for keeping one active! Also, since Dan works at his own precinct polling location, he enjoys the chance to see friends and acquaintances.

Agnes Eakle, too, worked for several years at her own polling location and valued the social aspects of the experience. Although Agnes no longer acts as an election judge, she feels proud that she performed a civic duty and learned about the election process “behind the scenes.” What a great opportunity for any voter!

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