Addressing concerns of tobacco usage continued during Thursday’s Carter County Community Advisory Board meeting held inside the Elizabethton/Carter County Public Library.
Jilian Reece and Allison Foster provided detailed analysis on the stats about tobacco usage within the county for the TNSTRONG Community Engagement. The duo called upon the community members to provide their input on how to address issues related to tobacco usage.
With Tennessee ranking seventh in the state in highest smoking prevalence, according to data from 2015, Foster also gave a quick snippet of legislation currently in Nashville that will help address the issue. Current stats for the county include 24 percent of county residents smoke, 26.2 women smoked during pregancy but 47 residents received some type of cessation through the TN Quit Line.
FACT Summitt Teen Ambassador Pate Anglin and Reece Townsend provided a presentation for attendees while other members of the group were on hand to showcase the different activities the group has participated in since taking part in the inaugural FACT Summit Conference last year.
Since their inception, FACT students, comprised of youth from the county, have participated in a multitude of events to help encourage their peers to not use any type of tobacco products. As of Thursday, the youth have secured over 1,000 pledges from the peers stating they wouldn’t use any products.
Community members are encouraged to provide feedback on how to assist with smoke cessation within the county to the local health department. Reece added the department is looking at hosting smoke cessation classes at the Elizabethton Housing and Development Agency to help encourage residents to stop smoking with the upcoming smoke-free policy that will go into effect in 2018 for public housing under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The goal of the cessation is to help limit smoke in public areas and encourage individuals to stop with tobacco usage, according to the department.
In other business, CAB gardening chairperson Reece stated that 16 families are taking part in this year’s installment of East Tennessee Build It Up.
Carter County will hold its an annual Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 22, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Elizabethton Covered Bridge Park. The event will serve as a kickoff for the community gardens and the kickoff for Downtown Elizabethton Farmer’s Market — which will officially open to the public on May 2. Coinciding with the event is also the Great Cloth Diaper Change, scheduled for 11 a.m., where individuals have the chance to bring extra cloth diapers to swap or sell.
Various activities will be available to the public, including vendors, free crafts for children, do-it-yourself stations for adults and the ability to swap plants.
Contact Reece at jilian.reece@tn.gov or Krista Bowling at jerimiahmommy@yahoo.com for more information.
Other events coming up include the library hosting a VITA program to assist with tax preparation for citizens that make under $60,000. The library will hold the sessions on March 18, March 25 and April from 4 to 7 p.m. with 10 slots available for each hour. Individuals can call the library at (423) 547-6360.
Next month the Once Upon a Time Celebration is scheduled to get underway at the Mall at Johnson City on April 8 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The event is being held in recognition of National Child Abuse Awareness Month. Children and families are encouraged to wear “royal” clothing and accessories, or dress up as their favorite storybook character. The event is sponsored by the ETSU Department of Pediatrics, Quillen College of Medicine Students, Niswonger Children’s Hospital, the Children’s Advocacy Center of the First Judicial District and the Mall at Johnson City. The TRUST Health Fair is also scheduled to take place during lunchtime at Happy Valley Middle School.