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Show Wednesday, January 30 2008 Vernal Express "IF IT SAVES ONE CHILD" New program relays skills, knowledge to unwed moms C12 By Lezlei E. Whiting Uintah Basin News Service When she was 16, Janet Row was unmarried and pregnant. There were many unknowns in Row's life at the time, but there was no question about two things that were going to happen to her: she was going to marry the father of her baby, and she was going to finish high school. The marriage to her 17-year-old boyfriend didn't last long, but with her family supporting her Row did finish high school on schedule. She left her newborn son with her mother while at school. When classes let out she went home to assume her parental pa-rental responsibilities and at the same time she had to tackle her homework and study for tests. "One of the hardest things was managingmy time. Hedidn't sleep for the longest time," she recalled. "You can't put ababy on hold, they need you right now." That was 37 years ago. Now Row, a former Child Protective Services investigator with the Division of Child and Family Services, has stepped forward in her current position as director of the Family Support Center to help girls facing a lot of the same challenges she did as a teenage mother. "As an investigator I saw a lot of premature babies born to very young moms for a lot of different reasons and it was a very scary thing," she said. "I was so busy then that there was no way I could have done something like this but this is what we do with the Family Support Center." Row uses a pre-designed curriculum, cur-riculum, "Healthy Steps for Teen Parents," to teach the teenage mothers-to-be about everything from proper diet while pregnant and nursing, how to support their child, to what to expect in child birth and how to care for a newborn. They will also learn Farm Bureau will hold St. George conference The Utah Farm Bureau is inviting public-land permittees and others to attend its biennial bien-nial conference Wednesday and Thursday in St. George. The conference, sponsored by the Utah Farm Bureau and Utah State University Extension, will include sessions on best land management practices, wildfire restoration efforts, water politics . and best grazing practices. Kathleen Clarke, former director di-rector of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, has been invited to speak about the collaborative response to Utah's rangeland fires in 2007. Utah Commissioner of Agriculture and Food Leonard Blackham will also speak to Utah's Grazing Improvement Program. Additionally, speakers will address issues such as livestock KJr-""" V -r'.T'.'r 2Q07 Buickov' K. , Lacrosse iiLUi y Leather, Beautiful, 28K, U-3706 ? ' 9nf!7 P.hmr Aimn f iiS G v v - i1 2007 Ponilac Grand Prix SE 26K, 4 Door, Clutch f 1 00,000 MILE 100,000 MILE cyfars riF THB BEST Ari rr m IN AMERICA. lUOiUUU-MILE 007 Model OH. r-. nr - Whichever about local resources and options available to them. She envisions the program evolving over time to more specifically address needs and challenges but it is currently a five-week course which is taught Tuesday night from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Uintah Basin Medical Center. The girls have been able to tour the hospital and see the birthing and delivery rooms. The expectant mothers in the class range in age from 13 to 18; they are all in need of extra help as they stand on the threshold of parenthood as children. Each girl brings a support person to class with her, usually a mother, but in one case a teenage boyfriend attends. "Everybody seems to be pretty excited about the class. It is something new, but something we have needed for a long time," said Row. "I am having so much fun. I am getting good vibes about this." For Row the opportunity to teach the course is a golden one. She delights in her ability to reach out to these girls and help educate them in hopes of making life a little easier for them and their babies. "This first class is kind of my guinea pig. We will use it to find out what we can do better, what would they like to know?" she said. "I tell them to think seriously about how to support that baby because it is hard to say, 'mom! am out of diapers.' On the last night I want to have someone come in and talk to them about adoption. They are all saying they are going to keep their baby but we want them to know about that option." Row said the girls will also learn the role the Family Support Center can play in their lives as new mothers by providing child care when needed. The center and its crisis nursery are open 24 hours a day, to any parent or theft, forest health challenges, GPS uses on farm and ranch land, safe harbor agreements, and the ongoing issue of cheat-grass cheat-grass and range fires. Contact Peggy Estrada at (801) 233-3011 or Matt Harg-reaves Harg-reaves at (801) 233-3003 to register reg-ister and reserve a hotel room, if needed. Conference registration at the door will be $40. Hargreaves said attendees should also consider registering register-ing to attend the Utah Bankers Association Ag Outlook Conference Confer-ence in St. George, which will be held directly following the Farm Bureau conference at the same hotel. Those interested in attending that conference should contact Dorene Cheney at the Utah Bankers Association at (801) 328-8124. I aWWl UilUV HlbU it 4 Door, 5 spd Tran, U-3848 5 YEAR POWERTRAIN LIMITED WARRANTY 7 rniinTF:v TOAwcDriPTATinw nNinr - .r - comes first, care-giver in need of some respite care. One of the basics that Row said she discussed with the girls in the two weeks the class has met, include the importance of a good diet. She was surprised to learn that there was a lack of understanding about how everything every-thing the mother takes into her body also affects her fetus. One teen learned for the first time that smoking will indeed harm her unborn baby. "The first class was diet and everything that they need to do," said Row. "I had them bring it" f r ) ; Let Murray Motor set you right witEi a new set of wheels! f u . x Our Certified Factory Serv.c Center Backs Up Every Safe! 5 $2000 Down' 72 month rAr Dr. . t, o i i iiuil UJJ me a menu of things they had eaten and they are doing pretty well." Right now only one of the five girls continues to attend school, the others are on packet programs or enrolled in adult education classes. Some of the girls have arranged to get high school credit for taking the prenatal pre-natal class. Row said that all of the girls plan on graduating from high school. The program is the first of its kind in the area. It is the result of a Quality Improvement Committee Commit-tee chaired by DCFS. The com ( I 1 - - ... - i 4 1 , i - y - t "t Customerfs '.. . uurFl uoai: f W OJ f - v ' 1 ' ft : f ! ' ; 4 f . V . I ;s r.C-2;' . 1 1 Calvin Murray Leon Nielsen Rob Reynolds Doug Murray Open Monday - Friday 8 am to 6 pm, Saturday 9 am to Noon, Service Department Closed Main Office 722-51 07, Budget Lot 722-1 600 Used Cars & Trucks 722-41 00 mittee includes representatives from numerous local and state agencies who discuss ways of helping solve specific community problems. During a recent meeting, the discussion turned to the lack of programs to aid unwed girls facing motherhood, often with limited resources. Jane Thompsen, a tireless advocate ad-vocate for children at risk, serves on that committee. She said it was Duchesne County Children's Justice Center Director Cheryl Boren who "related there are an awful lot of expectant teenagers i JL r ?: . i: t f - r U Vt A 2007 Chcv Cobalt LT 2 Door, Great Starter Car, 29K 2007 12 Ton Cren Cab Imaculate Truck, 41 K Heated Leather Seats 7 J ; ii. Si' irr-rvi-riAc MOTORSPORTS nn n d ii in the area who are scared to death and it would be nice if there could be some type of training for them." "Not only would it help the teenagers but if it stopped one little baby from being abused it would be worth it," said Thompsen. Row realized she was in a position to do something to help provide a solution to the problem. "This is so needed in this area ... I really have felt a bond all down the line," she said. FRIENDS OF THE FIELD HOUSE Friends of the Utah Field House held their annual meeting last week to elect officers and review committees and assignments. Above Chairman Stephen Bor-ton Bor-ton presides as Field House director Steve Sroka discusses summerdigs and other activities available. Pictured left are the new officers which include Linda West, Steve Sroka, Stephen Borton, Tom Howells, Shirley Wilkins, Dale Gray. Members of the board will release a calendar of events that will be sponsored by the Field House ranging from the annual Easter Egg Hunt to bone and fossil digs. 4 i J -J ' ' ml |