Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”

A student takes an ImPACT exam Wednesday in a Munster High School computer lab. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT, helps medical professionals determine whether is fit to play again after suffering a concussion.
(Photograph by The Times.)

The Munster High School girls soccer team watched the video only once. It was all coach Valerie Pflume’s team could take.

On August 14, Munster was playing Highland in a 20-minute preseason jamboree. Toward the end of the period, junior defender Alyssa Sheets leapt to chase a ball headed toward the Mustangs’ goal. Her legs got tangled with an opponent’s and Sheets crashed to the ground.

All she remembers was landing on her back and her head slamming hard. Play didn’t stop as she tried to bounce up as she normally does, but her head was pounding. A few minutes later, Pflume took Sheets out of the game.

Valparaiso junior cross country runner Ahmad Aljobeh stands on the track on Thursday during a practice. Aljobeh, a Muslim, is abstaining from food and drink from dusk to dawn for Ramadan. (Photograph by The Times.)

Lunchtime is the low point. But it’s also the peak from which the rest is all downhill.

Going through the school day without eating, drinking or even chewing gum might seem impossible to some, but local Muslim students say although fasting during the month of Ramadan presents some challenges, it’s really not that hard. Even when it comes to sports.

“Once you get over (lunch period), you’re pretty much fine for the rest of the day,” said Ahmad Aljobeh, a junior at Valparaiso High School.

“It’s just food,” Chesterton High School senior Rana Torabi said. “It’s not the end of the world if I can’t eat a Snickers bar now.”

Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids’ sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don’t necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren’t taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

“It definitely is a disturbing trend,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

Last month, Cameron Bobos, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.
(Photograph by John J. Watkins/The Times.)

When Cameron Bobos saw a commercial featuring sport stacking three years ago, he didn’t think it was possible to stack and restack cups that fast.

“I thought it was cool,” he said.

For Christmas that year, Cameron got his first set of Speed Stacks cups and fell in love with the sport. Last month, Cameron, 11, competed in his first sanctioned sport stacking competition in Quincy, Ill. He brought home two first place medals and one third place medal in his age group. In the process, he set three Indiana State speed records for cup stacking.

The risk of concussions from football and some other sports is so serious that a qualified athletic trainer should always be on the field—at adult and children’s games, and even at practice, a major doctors group said Monday.

Following that advice from the American Academy of Neurology would be a dramatic change for youth sports programs, most of which don’t have certified trainers.

The doctors group recognizes it isn’t necessarily feasible. One official called it a gold standard to strive for.

NWI Parent Blog—Jamie is experiencing the South Shore one little moment at a time.

As you may have guessed, I hail from football country. I grew up in the land of the Alabama Crimson Tide and stayed there until moving here. When a child, I was told tales of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Bear Bryant. So, football is a little bit of home for me.

It wasn’t always such a loving relationship. I’ve always enjoyed the social aspect of it, but am learning to love all of it now that I can only catch it on television from 600 miles away.

Continue reading Jamie’s latest post here on her “Oh, The Places We Will Go” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When my son Sean expressed an interest in joining the travel soccer team, I must admit, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The price tag alone ($775) made me flinch. Plus, the youngest team was a year older than he was (9 and under), and I feared it would be too competitive for him. He was adamant, so I let him try out.

This was no ordinary team he was trying out for; it was the team that was co-founded by my father more than fifty years ago.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

A lot of things have to fall into place, but, if they do, Council President Don Ensign would like to see a skate park built in town next summer.

The biggest obstacle will be funding.

“It’s a lot of wishing right now,” Ensign said. “We’ve got to see where we are financially. We don’t know how the tax caps will affect us or what the final budget will be.”

Ensign said at the September council meeting the skate park is something Hebron needs to explore because businesses are complaining about skateboarders using the sidewalks, steps and other features of the downtown.

A Munster football player helps students during Game-On—The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Eads Elementary School in Munster. Throughout the year students at the school will learn about nutritious food choices and exercise through an USDA Team Nutrition Grant.

Eight-year-old Ty Morgan was so excited for the Wellness Challenge at his school Wednesday that he couldn’t sleep Tuesday night.

Linda Bevil, principal at James B. Eads Elementary, doesn’t mind what got him so excited was the promise of interaction with Munster High School football players helping with a lesson in hydration rather than the lesson itself, because she sees the high school students as part of the recipe for success of the program which will teach students fitness and nutrition tips throughout the school year.

“We have PTO moms setting up drinks,” Bevil said Wednesday, gesturing to a table full of cups of water. “The whole community is involved, the school, parents, high school students.”