Hundreds of people enjoyed the 25th Annual Newtown Public Safety & Health Fair at Reed Intermediate School on September 23.

Health Fair Co-Chair and Health District Director Donna Culbert said the free event had more than 40 vendors set up throughout the school’s cafetorium to help educate the public.

The different organizations provided ongoing health screenings throughout the day for blood pressure, posture and balance, BMI, cholesterol, glucose, lipids, and skin cancer, as well as flu shots through the Bethel VNA and Newtown VNA.

Eye screenings were also available to the public thanks to Newtown Lions Club, who have partnered with Newtown VNA to offer the free service.

Newtown Lions Club member Jane Bennett ran the group’s table at the Newtown Public Safety & Health Fair and distributed information about their national KidSight initiative, which helps parents, children, and educators detect and treat children’s vision problems.

Attendees interested in finding out about their eye health were invited to go to a private room for an appointment with Dr Joseph Young of Village Eye Care.

Dr Young used a hand-held Spot Device, which is brought a few feet away from the person’s eyes and emits a signal that is able to detect pupil size, eye alignment, near- or farsightedness, and astigmatism.

At the fair, siblings Asher Grogan, 8, and Avery Grogan, 4½, sat side by side, holding their toys while Dr Young individually did their eye screenings.

To the children’s delight, the screening was done in just matter of seconds, and they were able to head back to the fair with their parents, where they could enjoy a variety of kid-friendly activities, like the Fun Course in the gymnasium.

Also at the Newtown Public Safety & Health Fair was Co-Chair Dr Della Schmid, whose chiropractic practice had a booth where she offered posture and scoliosis screenings.

“It’s all about prevention,” she explained. There are small everyday acts people can incorporate into their lives to help avoid muscular problems from occurring.

For children, Dr Schmid recommends that when wearing a backpack, the child should use both straps to distribute the bag’s weight evenly on their shoulders. For adults that are sitting at a desk for extended periods of time, she says propping feet up on a stool and having a chair with lumbar support can make a big difference.

State Senator Tony Hwang was the Newtown Public Safety & Health Fair’s MC, and he walked around the venue speaking with people to raise awareness about the many businesses and groups that were in attendance.

He told The Newtown Bee that he especially enjoyed the spontaneity of the conversations he had with the individuals he approached and felt it was important to be able to educate everyone “about the great organizations that abound here.”

Founder Receives Proclamation

At 10:30 am, the Newtown Public Safety & Health Fair had a special ceremony on the cafetorium stage where the fair’s founder, Mae Schmidle, received a proclamation from First Selectmen Dan Rosenthal.

“The Town of Newtown recognizes Mae Schmidle as being a dedicated volunteer,” Mr Rosenthal read.

Having known Ms Schmidle for his entire life, he said he is so grateful for the contributions she has made to the town. He thanked her for her years of public service and for founding the Newtown Public Safety & Health Fair in 1994.

“Thank you; thank you all,” Mrs Schmidle said, looking out to the audience and those gathered with her on the stage — Mr Rosenthal, Mr Hwang, State Representative Mitch Bolinsky, Fair Co-Chairs Dr Della Schmid and Ms Culbert; and Dr Thomas Draper.

There were a number of people involved in making the fair a success, she said. No matter what, the most important aspect about the event was they wanted to protect the health of the people in Newtown.

Mr Hwang concluded the ceremony by expressing his gratitude for Mrs Schmidle and those involved with the Newtown Public Safety & Health Fair. Looking out to those gathered before him, he said, “It’s important to recognize the contributors of this event and the contributors to this community year after year. What you have seen out here is the community coming out and providing information and a resource to keep your health at its best.”

Sponsors for this year’s Newtown Public Safety & Health Fair were Aavon Pest Control, Aqua Environmental Lab, Bethel Visiting Nurse Association, Newtown Prevention Council, Dr Della Schmid, and Vein Institute.