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October 2006
In favor of adult supervision at football games?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Parkview High School in Lilburn now requires students in middle and elementary grades to be accompanied by an adult at all athletic events. No more dropping young kids off at the gate of Friday night football games to be on their own.
The policy’s not overly restrictive. The adult doesn’t have to be the student’s parent. And one adult can oversee more than one child. But there has to be a grownup present.
Parkview also designated a special seating area, monitored by high school staff, just for middle and elementary school students.
It’s separate from the high school student section. Younger kids don’t have to sit in their special section but they are encouraged to take a seat somewhere.
Parkview Assistant Principal Mark Albertus, who proposed the new policy, said it is not intended to cut into the fun. It is a safety measure, he said. The high school is trying to be “proactive.”
School officials were concerned about younger students who might gravitate to less lighted parts of the stadium complex, or leave the stadium or get hurt, said Parkview Athletic Director Karl Bostick. The school had not experienced any serious problems, but there had been some cuts, scrapes and broken bones, he said. The Parkview stadium has concrete bleachers, and the younger students “tend to be a little more rambunctious.”
“We want them to come and enjoy the game, and to go home safe when it is over,” Bostick said.
Albertus and Bostick said the policy was well publicized at nearby elementary and middle schools, and response has been favorable. There have been almost no complaints, and the students seem to enjoy having a section to themselves, Albertus said.
Jeff Tyler, who is the father of a Parkview High School student and a middle school student and often attends games, agrees. The kids want to be with their friends. The special section allows them to be together but in an area where parents will know where to find them, he said.
“I much prefer this,“ Tyler said. “I haven’t heard any negative comments. The only negative would probably be from parents who drive by and drop their kids off.”
Since Parkview adopted its policy, the school has heard from other school administrators, both inside and outside of Gwinnett, inquiring about the rule.
I don’t doubt it. I think it’s a smart policy.
When my children were in middle school, the South Gwinnett High School games were popular social events. My husband or I (or sometimes a friend’s family) would take the kids to the stadium, where they would immediately want to hang out with friends. Our system was to have them check back with us at predetermined intervals – say, every 15 minutes.
But some young kids seemed to be there solo.
“The high school doesn’t need to be the Friday night babysitter,” Bostick said.
He’s right. Younger children should have a grownup with them.
What do you think of requiring an adult to accompany children to school athletic events? Does your school have similar rules? Do you see a need for such policies elsewhere?
Permalink | Comments (69) | Post your comment | Categories: Susan Gast
Is ‘transit’ a naughty word?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Public transportation” have historically been bad words in Snellville.
Voters here were among the most outspoken opponents during a 1990 vote on extending MARTA into Gwinnett County. The Snellville City Council under former mayor Emmett Clower voted to prohibit Gwinnett Transit buses from making routes through the city. Comments about public transportation have been the fodder for city election campaigns, particularly in 1997.
I thought about our city’s history on this issue when I learned that an express bus project planned to link Snellville to inside the Perimeter hasn’t found a park-and-ride lot in Snellville yet. I don’t know if local sentiment is playing a part, but I wondered about it.
The plan calls for Gwinnett’s transit system to provide buses that would run from a point on U.S. 78 near Snellville to an as-yet undecided spot inside I-285 — either Kensington MARTA station or the Emory University area or downtown Atlanta.
The bus routes would not be the type that frustrate drivers, with the buses pulling over and stopping at every corner, but would model the popular express rides serving the I-85 corridor, moving rapidly downtown.
I called Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) to see how things are moving along, and William Mecke told me the start date is now expected to be early 2007, not late this year as initially reported. GRTA is in negotiations with the Stone Mountain Tennis Center for a park-and-ride lot to serve the express bus, he said.
But wait. The tennis center at Stone Mountain is not in Snellville.
In my experience, the worst congestion on U.S. 78 is between Snellville and Stone Mountain Park. It seems to me the park-and-ride lot should be in Snellville where that ride of horror begins.
Mecke said it is still possible that a parking site could be found in Snellville. Nothing is set in stone yet, he said.
Snellville Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer, who supports the express bus plan, said he and former mayor Brett Harrell (who now oversees the U.S. 78 Community Improvement District) rode around with GRTA officials to point out some potential parking sites in Snellville.
One was the large parking area at the Snellville Oaks shopping center; one was near K-Mart at the corner of Wisteria Drive and U.S. 78. The owner of one of the parking lots did not want to lease any spaces for the project. There was trouble tracking down the other owner, Oberholtzer said.
The mayor said he would even be willing for the bus to use extra parking spaces at the new Snellville City Hall.
Having grown up in a city (Columbus) that had bus service, I’ve never seen public transportation as a bad thing. I’ve ridden MARTA often. I’ve tried the express bus from downtown to Stonecrest Mall on I-20 and enjoyed the ride.
Years ago I realized that my view was not shared by most folks in Snellville. Since then, however, the stranglehold of traffic congestion has tightened its grip.
So I’m wondering. Do Snellville residents still see public transit as an unwanted intrusion? Do other suburban communities? Or has the time come for transportation options besides the four-wheel variety?
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment | Categories: Susan Gast
Get ready! Get set! It’s Homecoming!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This weekend — at least in the Snellville/Grayson area — is Homecoming.
You know what that means.
If you are thinking of dining out Saturday night, think again. If you want to pick up flowers, stand in line. If you want to treat yourself to a manicure, pedicure, eyebrow waxing or new hairstyle, you’ll have company – young company — lots of it.
High school homecomings are BIG here, second only to the prom.
Flower shops clear out their coolers to make room for wrist corsages. Limos, parent drivers and teens with newly washed cars take to the roads. Local parks turn into settings for photo shoots.
I’m not sure how many of the folks going to homecoming have actually “come home” to do so. But it is definitely a highlight of the fall.
This year, I have two sons heading to separate homecoming dances. We’ve gotten the suits, the shirts, the ties. We’ve ordered the wrist corsages – six baby roses with iridescent or silver-trimmed ribbon and keepsake bracelets. Dinner plans are in the works.
We do face a challenge in the car department. Of the four autos in our family, only three are in town (our daughter’s is with her at college). Only one of those three – my eldest son’s — is suitable for a fancy event.
That leaves us one car short.
My ride is a 1992 Ford Explorer that once was quite luxurious but is now pushing 285,000 miles and shows it.
I love my car, and the aged and torn leather upholstery is fine for our dog Willow to prance across from window to window, but it should not contact silky emerald green or midnight blue long dresses.
Same story for my husband’s 1995 Dodge, which is closing in on 272,000 miles.
In our family, cars are long-term purchases; we drive them till they drop. That’s great for our budget. But it doesn’t work at homecoming.
Our kids, who are generally polite, have refrained from pointing this out. But we know.
So, I’ll figure something out (since I’ll be driving the son who doesn’t have a license.)
These are small details. Logistics.
I’ve read and heard of parents who go to the extreme in spending and arranging their children’s proms, homecomings or other special outings. I don’t think most parents are that way. They simply want a safe, fun time that can become a good memory for their son or daughter.
Is it worth it? You tell me. How well do you remember your homecoming or prom? Looking back, was it an important occasion in your life?
Permalink | Comments (5) | Categories: Susan Gast
Frustrated by legal jargon?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Arthur E. Marriott of Buford is a man with a plan — and a file. When the former Loganville resident mails in his next payment for telephone services, he will include a hefty file of letters, pamphlets, fliers and other correspondence the company has sent him.
The material is of little use to him, he says.
“I’d have to employ a lawyer to decipher it.”
For example, a sentence in one of his service agreements states: “The terms and conditions contained in this Agreement that by their sense and context are intended to survive the performance hereof by either or both parties hereunder, shall so survive the completion of performance, cancellation or termination of this Agreement.”
Huh?
Even if Marriott understood that, the sheer volume of reading material would require more time than he can or is willing to commit, he said. So he’s sending it all back.
I know how he feels.
Most of us are taught “consumer beware” and “read before you sign.” I try. But when every bill I receive, every service I purchase, every item I buy comes with an eight to 12-page list of terms and conditions, privacy policies, newsletters or other information, I often can do little more than feel overwhelmed.
I’ve often wondered if I am alone in this. Marriott lets me know I am not.
Depending on a sales person isn’t an option. As I looked through the agreement for my cell phone service, I noticed the following:
“You can’t rely on any other documents or statements on those subjects by any sales or service representatives … ”
So much for “a man’s word is his bond.”
I’ve read that some states have broached the issue of contract readability, mostly in specific areas such as medical insurance, automobile insurance, real estate and agriculture. There’s been discussion of the need to make privacy policies easier to understand. Also, the size of the print used in certain documents has been debated.
In Georgia, there seems to be no general requirements on the readability of contracts, said Jeff Lanier, deputy legislative counsel for the Georgia General Assembly. Lanier does recall a time or two when readability was mentioned in legislative discussions, but he didn’t know if it resulted in changes in the law.
Surely there are solutions.
How about requiring that companies make their contract agreements and correspondence to be written on a level understandable by a general U.S. audience – about a sixth- to eighth-grade reading level? How about requiring that they be summarized and consolidated to a length that can be read and understood in — say — eight to 10 minutes – about the time it takes to read the Declaration of Independence?
Another possibility might be to require public schools to teach all students courses in legalese and speed reading.
Just as foreign languages have become essential curriculum, the ability to understand the language of commerce is, as well. But public schools have their hands full trying to meet just the basics.
Lanier said that in certain industries — medical care, for example — almost every word in contracts has been legally debated and defined in court so there is a reluctance to start fresh.
Are you intimidated by the legal jargon of service agreements? Do you read and understand all of the consumer information presented to you? Do you think changes are needed?
Permalink | Comments (15) | Categories: Susan Gast
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