Jan. 27: Free diabetes screening event

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From: Sarah Boese [mailto:Sarah.Boese@polkcountyiowa.gov]

On Monday, January 27 from 8-11:00 am, Polk County Health Department will hold a “Diabetes Screening Day” at 1907 Carpenter Avenue in Des Moines where you can get free diabetes and dental screenings and access to resources to manage or prevent diabetes.

 

“Untreated diabetes can cause debilitating consequences that can affect your every-day life such as losing a foot or leg to amputation, becoming blind, or having pregnancy complications. Imagine not being able to take your dog for a walk, not reading to your grandchild a bedtime story, or not having a healthy baby,” said Rick Kozin, Polk County Health Department Director.

 

At Diabetes Screening Day you will get a free blood glucose screening and dental screening as well as getting connected to resources and programs that can help you better manage or prevent diabetes. If you have diabetes you can live a normal life by improving nutrition, using medications appropriately, and incorporating physical activity into every day. 

 

“We know that early detection of diabetes symptoms and treatment can decrease the chance of complications from diabetes. But, we also know people need information and a plan to improve their eating and activity habits,” said Leah Gabriel, ARNP, Polk County Health Department Nurse Practitioner.

 

According to data from the Iowa Department of Public Health from 1990-2009 about 42% of the Iowa adult population has diabetes or pre-diabetes, many of them undiagnosed. The main reason that many cases of diabetes do not get diagnosed is because many of the symptoms seem so harmless. Symptoms include frequent urination, excessive thirst, extreme hunger, unusual weight loss, fatigue, irritability and blurry vision.

 

Screenings will be available, free of charge, to any Polk County resident. In order to be tested do not eat or drink anything other than water for eight hours prior to event and bring all prescriptions and over the counter medications that you are taking.

 

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Sarah M. Boese

Health Educator, Public Information Officer, Wellness Coach

Polk County Health Department

1907 Carpenter Ave, Des Moines, IA 50314

polkcountyiowa.gov/health

sarah.boese@polkcountyiowa.gov

office 515-286-3895 / cell 515-664-7869

 

 

Find the Polk County Health Department at:

 

 

 

TBJ/TI: Prof. Scult to teach course on Reconstructionism in Feb/May

Information from Temple B’nai Jeshurun and Tifereth Israel Synagogue:

 

Allen Scult, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Religion at Drake University will be offering a course on Reconstructionism, the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, beginning February 11^th and continuing through the end of May.

 

Reconstructionism is arguably the only truly American Jewish movement and in many significant ways is peculiarly suited to the problems and possibilities of being Jewish in America in the 21^st Century.  Some of its significant innovations are its concept of a non-supernatural God, its abolition of the idea of the chosen people, its notion of Jewish ritual as custom rather than law, the importance in its theology of the State of Israel, and what the founder of Reconstructionism Mordecai Kaplan called Jewish Peoplehood.

 

 We will discuss these and other topics including the relation of Reconstructionism to Conservative and Reform Judaism, as well as the life and career and the founder of Reconstructionsim, Mordecai M.  Kaplan, one of the most important Jewish thinkers in the twentieth century. In addition to his influential books such as Judaism as a Civilization and The Meaning of God in Modern Jewish Religion, we will also look at parts of his journal, which he kept for most of the his active life (he lived to 103), which gives us a revealing look at his relationship to most of the significant leaders, teachers, and thinkers in the Judaism of the twentieth century, including Solomon Schechter, Rabbi Stephen Wise, and Abraham Joshua Heschel, as well as insight into his struggles as a practicing rabbi, teacher of rabbis at the Jewish Theological Seminary for sixty years, and most importantly into his inner life as  a thinking and passionate Jew.

 

Those who have questions about the course may contact Professor Scult at Allen.Scult@Drake.edu To register for the course, please call the Temple office at 274 4649, or the Tifereth Israel office at 255 1137.  The sessions of the course will go from 7:00 to 8:30.  The exact location will be communicated to those who register for the course, so when you register please give us your e-mail address and a contact phone number.  At that time, you may also order a copy the latest and perhaps most important book on Kaplan and his philosophy.  It is entitled The Radical American Judaism of Mordecai Kaplan.  It is published by Indiana University Press, has been exceedingly well-reviewed by both scholars and rabbis and is eminently readable. Though not required, the book will constitute an important element of our study and will be a worthwhile purchase, not only because of the value of the book itself, but we are able to offer it at a 30% discount, in part because the author is Professor Mel Scult.

 

Save the Date! Mitzvah Day Monday, January 20th from 10.00-12.00

From Gan Shalom Preschool, Jewish Family Services, and PJ Library

Help us celebrate Mitzvah Day by learning about tikkun olam and performing acts of loving kindness for our greater community. 

 

Bring your whole family and read with us in our PJ Library reading rooms, create special art projects, and celebrate this special day.

 

We will provide lunch, but remember to bring your non-perishable canned food items for our food drive benefitting DMARC’s MovetheFood!

 

For more information or to RSVP for this event, contact Mollie at mollie@dmjfed.org or 515.987.0899 ext. 230.

 

Sponsored by Gan Shalom Preschool, Jewish Family Services, and PJ Library

 

Mollie Giller

Director of Jewish Family Services and Outreach

Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines

515.987.0899 ext. 230

 

 

DM Area Religious Council Adult Ed programs, Jan. 28 and 30 at Tifereth Israel Synagogue

 

Statement from Drake University President David Maxwell on the ASA's boycott of Israeli institutions of higher education

Thursday, January 02, 2014

The following is a statement from Drake University President David Maxwell on the ASA's recent decision to boycott Israeli institutions of higher education:

 

 

I wholeheartedly endorse the American Association of University Professors’ strongly worded opposition to the recent vote by the American Studies Association (ASA) to boycott Israeli institutions of higher education. As the AAUP indicates, academic boycotts are antithetical to the fundamental principles of academic freedom. An academic boycott, in essence, impinges on the University’s ability to fulfill its most fundamental scholarly, intellectual, cultural, and societal responsibilities in a civil society. 

 

Drake University’s Statement of Principles, created by the University’s Faculty Senate 20 years ago, states:

 

Drake University upholds freedom of thought and freedom of expression as central to its educational mission. Drake therefore carefully refrains from restricting the exchange of ideas or regulating the content of speech. . . We affirm the principle that thoughts and opinions should be subject to the crucible of debate and be judged only in the free marketplace of ideas. Ideas will not be suppressed because they are presently viewed as unpopular or inappropriate by current authorities, nor will expression of those ideas be infringed because it may be perceived as harmful to a particular group or organization. Although the frank and open discussion of social, cultural, artistic, religious, moral, scientific, and political issues may be disturbing and even hurtful for some individuals, the principle of free exchange and inquiry takes precedence, as it is so fundamental to the educational enterprise.

 

Further, the lessons of recent history (e.g., Soviet-American academic exchanges) suggest that academic engagement—both institutional and individual—as opposed to isolation, is a powerful force in catalyzing and informing significant political and social change. From this perspective, not only is the ASA’s boycott contrary to the fundamental values of the academy, but it has the potential to prolong and exacerbate the very issues that it is intended to address.

 

Finally, I would suggest that a boycott of this nature inherently undermines the academy’s most powerful tools in effecting change—our thoughts, our ideas, our voices and, ultimately, our relationships. The complex global web of intellectual relationships that we have collectively created is one of our most powerful assets in fulfilling our respective missions as institutions of higher education; to sever a portion of those relationships for political reasons is ultimately self-destructive.

 

David Maxwell

President

Drake University

January 2, 2014

 

 

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Jarad Bernstein

Director of Public Relations and Media Management

Drake University

2507 University Avenue

Des Moines, IA 50311

jarad.bernstein@drake.edu 

http://www.drake.edu