Valley kids jumping rope for heart health

Valley elementary school jump-ropers have been performing before University of Nevada, Reno, games.

School district physical education teacher Ellen Lucas took her jump ropers to Reno on two consecutive weeks to perform.

Last week they performed before the Lady Wolf Pack wearing red to raise awareness of women's heart disease.

The 13 members of the team are mostly from Meneley Elementary School, but there are a few children from Scarselli and one from Pau-Wa-Lu Middle School.

"It is just an opportunity for kids to do something worthwhile and active," she said.

The team comes from members of the Meneley Jump Rope Club which any Meneley student can join.

The team performs at other schools and has performed at Valley senior centers, but Ellen said this is the first year that the university has invited the Meneley group.

She has conducted the program here since she arrived 20 years ago.

Ellen is the sole physical education teacher for Meneley, Piñon Hills and Minden elementary schools.

Every year the jump-ropers participate in the American Heart Association's Jump Rope for Heart.

The event occurs in March and students get to jump rope by themselves, with partners and in groups doing jumping rhymes and Double Dutch.

Members of the Jump Rope Exhibition Team are Kory Johnson, Matthew Romanowitz, Claire Schachtely, Jake Johnson, Shannon Prinz, Darian Gentile, Lindsey Browder, Brett Ferrari, Austin Martin, Scott Chandler, Kadie Manderville, Jennifer Gorton and Andi Johnson.

For more information about the event, how to be a sponsor, or information on a team performance, contact Ellen at C.C. Meneley, 265-3154.

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Whenever something like sheriff's dog Jon-Jon's tragic death last week happens, there's a flood of e-mails from doglovers who suggest the county rescue dogs from the shelter and then train them for use as police dogs.

Because the dogs are used in law enforcement and are sometimes called on to subdue people, it seems to me it would be a really good idea to make sure the dog was properly trained.

Trainers have to be certified by Work Dogs International and the dogs go through intense obedience training. While a shelter dog may be suitable for the work, law enforcement agencies don't adopt a dog and then put it through training. The dogs go through training first and then are selected. County taxpayers would and should balk at the idea of taking an untrained dog and hoping it makes it through an expensive training process. Failure would be a difficult prospect for both the dog and the county.

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I've received Issue 5 of the Douglas High School newspaper Paws in the Press. The front page features a Q&A with Principal Marty Swisher and Head Custodian Bob Pepperdine on snow removal at the high school by Aaron Ross. Aaron tackles the issue head-on.

There's some hot design work in the latest edition, which I read to keep up with what's going on at the high school and in the minds off our young people.

n Kurt Hildebrand is editor of The Record-Courier. Reach him at khildebrand@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 215.