SPORTS | 12 Baseball: Spartans’ season ends in Substate Finals
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New AEDs & CPR training aim to improve cardiac emergency response in Solon Community donations and public education expand access to lifesaving tools
A weekend full of memories for a lifetime Olli (left), Mac (middle), and Ray Dalrymple of Solon pose for a picture in an oversized chair provided by Tim Gordon/Gordon Lumber Company, during Solon Beef Days Saturday, July 18. More photos of Beef Days on pages 5-8
Cadence Dighton | Solon Economist
Ella McEntaffer | Solon Economist
Thanks to generous donations by the community the Solon Fire Department recently purchased a new Automated External Defibrillator (AED), which is located in this box along Main Street across from Buff’s (208 E. Main St.). The unit is accessed by calling 9-1-1 and a dispatcher at the Joint Emergency Communications Center (JECC) will provide the necessary code to unlock the cabinet while getting first responders en route. Ella McEntaffer Solon Economist
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The Solon Fire Department recently installed a new public access automated external defibrillator, or AED, in downtown Solon after generous donations from community members made the purchase possible. At the same time, the Solon Public Library ran a free hands only CPR, choking response, Narcan® administration, and AED awareness classes in partnership with Johnson County Ambulance Service (JCAS). AED | 2
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School board debates potential changes to athletic policy New state law allows eighth graders to play high school sports Grace Escritt Solon Economist
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At its regularly-scheduled meeting on July 16, the Solon Community School District’s Board of Education held a discussion regarding how to proceed in response to a new state law allowing eighth graders to participate in high school athletics. The law, House File 2591, states eighth graders are allowed “to participate in any extracurricular interscholastic athletic contest or competition that is provided by a school district, non-public school, or charter school on the same basis as students who are enrolled in grades nine through twelve.” It was officially
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signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds on June 2. Cassie Rochholz, a member of the school board, explained although this law allows eighth graders to participate in high school athletics, it does not require that a school district make this option available. Implementation — and to what extent — is completely optional. “It is up to each district to decide whether or not they want to allow that,” she said. “Now, it’s up to the district as to whether or not this is something that we want to do.” Overall, the school board has complete autonomy over how it will respond to this new allowance. Rochholz said before the board’s next meeting, members plan to discuss and determine whether this allowance will be adopted. In the case it is, the board will also be responsible for determining who is eligible, when, under what conditions, and more.
Rochholz said during the meeting that according to her understanding, the intent of HF 2591 is to assist schools in filling gaps in athletic programs that otherwise do not have enough students to fill a team. However, she said Solon has “not had a problem to date” when it comes to filling a full roster for both JV and varsity teams. “As a result of that, I don’t find us to be in a situation where allowing eighth graders to fill a roster is something that we need to entertain,” she said. According to the board’s first readthrough of its updated Policy 504.06, which is currently only in draft state, in the case the district decides to permit an eighth grader to play up, that student would not be able to compete in a middle school and high school sports program during the same sport season. The draft’s current language
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