From the monthly archives:

October 2008

Halloween Safety Tips For Parents and Kids:

by pcttadmin07 on October 31, 2008

The American Red Cross encourages parents and kids to follow these “lucky 13″ tips for safe Halloween.

As ghouls and goblins take over the night, and even scary creatures need to be safe and celebrate Halloween right.  The greatest hazards aren’t vampires and villains, but falls, costume mishaps and automobile collisions.

1: Map out the route that you plan to rome, so parents are assured you will find your way home.

2: From the strongest of superheroes to the noblest of knights, all trick-or-treaters should remember to bring their flashlights!

3: If you visit a house were a stranger resides, accept the treats at the door but do not go inside!

4: When you get ready to put on your spooky disguise, choose face paint instead of masks, which might cover your eyes.

5: Always remember, before you embark to wear light-colored clothing so you can be seen when it’s dark!

6: Whether you walk, slither or sneak, be sure do it on sidewalks and don’t walk in the street!

7: As you roam through your neighborhood collecting your treats, be sure to look both ways before crossing the street!

8: Funny Wigs, capes and costumes are all flammable attire, so be sure to avoid open flames to prevent catching on fire!

9: Use a creepy green glow stick instead of a candle so your jack-o’-lantern doesn’t become more than you can handle.

10: Should you fly on a broom or rocket ship from Mars, remember to be on the lookout for drivers and cars! And don’t hide between parked vehicles.

11: Zombies and monsters should stay off the lawn, and remember to only visits homes with their porch lights turned on!

12: Dress as a werewolf, a cat or a frog, but be cautious around strange animals, especially dogs.

13: Have a grown-up inspect your candy when you are done trick-or-treating to remove open packages and choking hazards before eating.

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Child protection experts last night universally condemned a teachers union leader for stating “That staff who have affairs with pupils over 16 years of age should not be prosecuted.”

Chris Keates, general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, said that “Teachers should not face jail for having sex with pupils who are over the age of consent.”

Her comments, due to be broadcast tonight, have angered child protection and parenting experts who accused her of disregarding the protection of children.

Miss Keates states: “There is a real anomaly in the law that we are concerned about.

If a teacher has a relationship with a pupil at the school at which they teach  -  it could be an 18-year-old pupil in the sixth form - then the teacher can be prosecuted and end up on the sex offenders’ register.’

Teachers who have sex with sixth form pupils are only guilty of an ‘error of professional judgement’ and it is unfair to put them on the sex offenders’ register,” she insists.


Affair: Dean Dainty, left, was 15 when he was seduced by dance teacher Nicola Prentice, below.

Dainty states that the affair, which resulted in her walking free from court having been handed a 12-month suspended sentence, ruined his life.

Miss Keates goes on to say that  “Clearly there has to be appropriate disciplinary sanctions in the school where a teacher works to make sure that inappropriate relationships don’t develop, but it does seem a step too far - when there has been a consensual relationship - to put that person on a sex offenders’ register when in fact, they could have a perfectly legitimate relationship with an 18-year-old still enrolled at another school.’
[click to continue…]

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A Rutland alternative school teacher who worked with juvenile sex offenders for 16 years was let go from his job in September, just weeks after testifying to a legislative committee about the likelihood that offenders will commit new crimes.

Chuck Laramie, 51, and English and history teacher working at a residential school called the Park Street Program, was placed on leave Sept. 19, two days after the program got a letter from its funding source, the Burlington-based Howard Center, saying he should be dismissed.

Some Vermont lawmakers are expressing concern that the treatment of Laramie will place a chilling effect on the willingness of others to testify to legislative committees.

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