Baltimore Sun

Student club is again seeking passage of a bill in Assembly

EDUCATION NOTEBOOK

March 18, 2007|By John-John Williams IV

Four Oakland Mills High School students from a club with a history of effecting change testified at a hearing on Lyme disease legislation conducted in Annapolis by the House Health and Government Operations Committee.

The members of the Sister to Sister Club told the committee Tuesday about their monthlong research in which they contacted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, infectious disease specialists, veterinarians and legislators from Howard and Montgomery counties.

"They did fairly well," said the group's adviser and founder, Joslyn Wolfe, an English teacher at Oakland Mills. "They understand that the bills don't necessarily make it through. They said they are ready to lose a battle if it means winning a war."

As an adviser to the group since 1998, Wolfe is familiar with the lengthy process sometimes required to gain approval of legislation.

In 2005 -- after two years and multiple trips to Annapolis -- a bill conceived by other Sister to Sister students was approved by the General Assembly. That bill enlarged the pool of bone marrow donors by allowing people younger than 18 to register with a physician's approval.

This year, the students spoke on behalf of House Bill 836, which would require the state to launch a campaign to raise public awareness of Lyme disease, a bacteria spread to humans by the bite of infected ticks.

Symptoms for Lyme disease can include fever, headache, fatigue and a skin rash, according to the CDC. In 2005, 23,305 cases of Lyme disease were reported in the United States, the CDC said. With 1,235 cases, Maryland recorded the seventh-highest number of new cases in the nation.

Wolfe said four members of the group -- ninth-grader Cortney Aikens, 10th-graders Justina Spinella and Denazja Smith, and 11th-grader Yasmin Alsubhi -- each prepared for the testimony by writing and revising a speech. They also prepared to field questions from members of the committee.

Author in school

It is not every day that a school can host a world-renowned children's book author.

Maybe that is what attracted more than 700 people Thursday to Clemens Crossing Elementary to have their books signed by James Howe, author of more than 70 children's books, including the Bunnicula series.

Howe, who lives in Yonkers, N.Y., visited the school and presented three sessions during the day during which he talked about himself and explained the writing process to students.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2007-03-18/news/0703170276_1_lyme-james-howe-annapolis