Michael Noll: precious gifts to all of us

Dr. Michael Noll sent the appended message to all members of the Valdosta Board of Education yesterday, 13 Oct 2010.

-jsq

Dear VBOE members.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share some important documents with you last night. As we recognized during the invocation, our children (and grandchildren) are precious gifts to all of us, and those of us who have healthy children (and grandchildren) can count their blessings every single day.

As a parent of two school-aged children and member of the community, I feel it is my responsibility to bring the issue of our children’s health into a clearer focus. It is my sincere hope that once you have had the chance to reflect on the materials I handed out last night, you will realize just how serious the issue is. As a responsible parent I am compelled to advocate for my childrens’ health.

All of us, whether we are parents, educators or members of the VLCIA,

the City Council, the Lowndes County Commission, or the VBOE bear the responsibility for the well-being of our community, and particularly our children. We simply cannot shy away from difficult decisions leaving the health of our school children in the hands of others. Not only the quality of the education our children receive, but also their health will determine their success in the future. In the end, we all will be held accountable for what we do to protect the growing bodies of our children.

I’m sure that upon reflection you will all agree that our concerns are not only legitimate, but that as a body responsible for the well-being of thousands of children, there is no time like the present to act on their behalf.

In addition to the materials I handed out last night, you also might want to explore a fairly recent program by USA Today:

http://content.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/smokestack/index

If I can provide any further information, please feel free to contact me.

Again, thanks for giving me the opportunity to speak last night.

Regards, Dr. Michael G. Noll.

P.S.: One of the documents in the reader (from the American Heart Association) is missing quite a few of pages, since the full document is 49 pages long. I attached it for your information to this email. I can send you all other documents as PDF files as well. Just let me know if you would like to get them.