What's your kid drinking?
Looks like another soda, but "energy drinks" can be hazardous
Frank Bradley Sentinel writer

Energy drinks have made a big hit with a lot of kids. Even younger ones, who swill down cans of the stuff like there's no tomorrow. And for some of them, there won't be a tomorrow.

Energy drinks can and have been deadly dangerous. That's the message Dawn Wilde brought to the Clay County School Board on Monday. Wilde, who is the director of a county coalition to protect kids from illegal drugs and alcohol, expressed another concern to the board. The increased consumption of "energy drinks" among school kids and their attendant dangers.

"Kids know the names of these drinks," Wilde said. Names like Rock Star, Monster, Tilt. Teenagers and young adults are the core consumer group for these products. Of 12 to 17-year-olds, 31 percent report regular use of these energy drinks, she said. Also, of the 18 to 24-year-olds, 34 percent report regular use.

Wilde cited brand confusion on the part of parents and teachers who are allowing kids to drink this stuff thinking it is as harmless as soft drinks.

"Kids start out on soft drinks, then they get into energy drinks with caffeine," she said. Later, kids start drinking alcoholic energy drinks. It's a natural progression.

She said manufacturers support marketing messages and themes with higher concentrations of caffeine, which increases the 'jolt' that the stimulate produces.

Wilde said there have been at least three deaths in eastern North Carolina resulting from youngsters consuming energy drinks in conjunction with alcohol. She conveyed the dangers of these innocent looking drinks that parents may view as nothing more than a different kind of soft drink and not be aware of the dangers these drinks pose to their children.

In other matters, the school board discussed the need for a new elementary school. Estimated at a current cost of $10 million, Superintendent Scott Penland provided a breakdown of the additional cost by waiting. Even with a modest inflation rate, he projected the cost of waiting two years, would amount to another $1 to 1 1/2 million. A bar chart of recent and projected enrollment depicts the county school population growing at a rapid rate.

"We've got no place to put 'em," Penland said about the expected growth in pre-school and kindergardeners. We need to make sure the public understands what our problem is and that this is more than just a safety issue. We have the ideal place to build a school to put the Pre-K through second (grade)," he said. "That in turn opens up this campus for the other students."

Board member Jason Rhinehardt said with many people moving in here, they want good schools and (an increase in taxes to provide it) it is still a bargain."

The board seemed to favor the use of a land transfer tax, which it was estimated would have raised $400,000 last year, even with a down year in real estate sales.

Rhinehardt said "not voting for a transfer tax, would mean voters would be voting to raise their property tax. Either way, somebody is going to have to raise taxes to build the school," he said.

The board had asked, and Associate Superintendent Mark Leek briefed the board on the feasibility of a Skeet/ Archery Club.

Leek said such a program would be under the supervision of the NC Wildlife Commission. He said there were clubs in Murphy, Andrews, Robbinsville and Swain. These teams compete with each other and regionally. They have their competitions on Saturdays during the months of December through March. Currently, all the students in these adjacent clubs are high school students. They compete in four areas: shotgun (skeet); .22 Cal. rifle in four positions: kneeling, standing, sitting and prone; Archery, at ranges of 5 yards and other 5-yard increments up to and including 25 yards; and Orienteering.

He pointed out some difficulties with getting the program underway at Hayesville. A gun range, getting coaches, transportation for both the participants and the guns to the ranges; however, Leek said he didn't think these were insurmountable.

There was some discussion by the board, who expressed the view that such a program would be popular at Hayesville; however, Superintendent Penland suggested that the school go into it slowly. Perhaps starting with Archery and Orienteering. The board seemed to agree.

The board also amended the school policy on when the school board meets to be at 6 p.m. vice 7:30 p.m., which brings the school policy into compliance on what the board is currently doing.

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