Farm animal rescue seeks donations for horse therapy arena – 2013-12-05

By H. Craig Erskine III

Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary in Ravenna has lofty goals. Director Annette Fisher wants to construct a 65-foot by 115-foot covered arena adjacent to the stables in order to continue with equine rehab therapy throughout the cold winter months. The abused and neglected horses sometimes need to recover from leg and eye injuries and other medical procedures, and they need a dry, safe environment under cover from rain and snow – and the hot sun during the summer months – to do this in. It would also serve as an area where families could ride the animals, which are up for adoption, year round.

The Happy Trails fund-raising campaign is well under way. The Kenneth A. Scott Charitable Trust has offered a $12,000 grant toward the project if Fisher can raise the remainder of the $54,000 original cost to erect the pole-barn type structure. The Ravenna United Fund has donated $2,000 toward the goal.

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Staggering Statistics on Diabetes & Local Efforts to Knock it Out – 2013-11-25

By: Katie Sobiech

DiabetesIt’s no secret that diabetes is quickly growing in the United States. Current stats show that 25.8 million children and adults in the United States – that’s 8.3% of the population – have diabetes (2011 National Diabetes Fact Sheet). And seventy-nine million people are pre-diabetic.

Also, the cost of diabetes on the nation’s wallet continues to climb (March 2013), including:

  • $245 billion being the total cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States in 2012
  • $176 billion for direct medical costs
  • $69 billion in reduced productivity

This epidemic really does affect us all in some way, shape or form. And chances are we, or a loved one, will suffer from diabetes at some point in our lifetime if something isn’t done to address it.

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