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PAGE 12 - The Independent, JUNE 28, 2012
Outing at the Ballpark Draws Attention to Juvenile Diabetes
By Carol Graham
For a 12-year-old taking
the field at an Oakland A’s
game, things can be a bit
nerve-wracking.
“Cody was nervous because
of the large number
of people he’d be in front
of in the stadium along with
the game being broadcast on
television,” said mother Renee
McCallister. “This was
his first time at a baseball
game. He didn’t know what
to expect. He was surprised
when he went onto the field
and saw all of the players
and heard the roar of the
crowd.”
Cody McCallister, a seventh-grader
at Livermore’s
Our Savior Lutheran School,
was one of 12 participants
from JDRF (formerly called
Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation; now known
simply by its acronym),
took the field to receive an
autographed baseball from
A’s center fielder Coco Crisp
(formerly called Covelli
Loyce Crisp; now known
simply as Coco because, say
his siblings, he resembles
a character on the Cocoa
Krispies cereal box.)
To help raise money for
JDRF, baseball players,
coaches, celebrities and
media personalities scooped
root beer floats for fans prior
to the June 20th game that
saw the Oakland A’s beat
the Los Angeles Dodgers
4-1. Sugar-free root beer
and ice cream were offered
at special booths.
“MUG Root Beer Float
Day is a fun way for A’s fans
to interact with players, to
get autographs and photos,
and to raise money for the
charity,” said the A’s Senior
Director of Marketing Troy
Smith. “It’s a win-win!”
JDRF is the leading global
organization focused on
Type 1 Diabetes, said the
non-profit’s Special Events
Coordinator Katy Coe. “Our
goal is to improve the lives
of every person affected
by T1D by accelerating
progress on the most promising
opportunities for curing,
treating and preventing
T1D.”
Type 1 Diabetes occurs
when the body’s immune
system destroys the insulinproducing
beta cells of the
pancreas.
“It’s important to know
that T1D cannot be prevented,
you cannot outgrow
it, and that insulin is not a
Cody McCallister holds a baseball signed by A's
outfielder Coco Crisp.
cure,” said Coe. “All 12 kids
who participated have Type
1 Diabetes and are involved
with JDRF either through
our Outreach Program, as
Cody is, or our Walk Ambassador
Program.”
The Outreach Program
supports, engages, and connects
the T1D community
through family events, an
extensive mentor program
and educational toolkits.
The Walk Ambassador
Program is composed of
nine young people who assist
JDRF in educating the
community about what it’s
like living with T1D.
“It was great to see my
grandson Cody having such
a great time with the Oakland
A’s at the game Wednesday
night,” said Kerry Taylor.
“Cody and kids like him
are learning to deal with
T1D. They all expect to live
normal lives while they deal
with the difficulties brought
on by failing pancreas.
“Treatment research may
soon free them from the constant
injections and the never
ending struggle to balance
their blood sugar.”
JDRF categorizes its research
in three main areas:
Cure - Beta Cell Therapies
(replacing or regenerating
the beta cells that produce
insulin), and Immune Therapies
(preventing and reversing
the immune system’s
attack); Treat - Glucose Control
Therapies (developing
new devices and therapies,
including artificial pancreas
and insulin pump technologies)
and Complications
Therapies (stopping or reversing
the progression of
complications such as eye,
nerve, or kidney disease);
and Prevent - Research into
the genetic and environmental
causes of the disease.
“The change in Cody’s
life has been significant
since the onset of diabetes,”
noted Taylor. “Events like
this and camps for kids with
T1D have been the positive
side of these adjustments.
Cody is already becoming
an example for the newly-diagnosed
kids because of his
determination to overcome
whatever diabetes tries to
take from him.”
Over the 13 years that the
A’s have hosted MUG Root
Beer Float Day, which is
sponsored by Pepsi and Dreyer’s,
more than $350,000 has
been raised for JDRF, said
Smith. “From the very first
year, the players, fans and
JDRF embraced this event,”
he added. “Root beer floats,
summertime and baseball
are a perfect match!”
Zone 7 Directors
Raise Potential for
More Monthly Pay
Zone 7 Water Agency
directors voted to hold the
line on the compensation
they receive for each meeting
in a month, but agreed to
raise the cap on the number
of compensated meetings
per month.
Directors took the action
at their meeting June 20. The
vote was 6-1, with board
president Sandy Figuers voting
against the motion.
Figuers agreed with other
directors about freezing the
amount of compensation at
$159.99. He disagreed about
which number should be
chosen for the cap.
The old policy was to cap
compensation at four meetings
per month. The new one
will cap it at 10. Figuers said
that six was a better number,
and suggested the board
could make upward adjustments,
if necessary.
In approving the policy,
the directors also added
language that defines a meeting.
Meetings include the
board’s regular meeting
and any special meeting,
board committee meetings,
representation of Zone 7 at
meetings of other agencies,
and annual attendance at a
meeting of statewide water
districts.
The board reviews its
compensation every two
years. Board members receive
no benefits package.
Their only income, which
directors consider to be more
along the lines of a stipend to
cover expenses, comes from
their meeting pay.
At the board’s meeting
May 16, directors were in
agreement about not raising
their pay. They cited the job
hiring soft freeze for Zone
7 staff, in which only essential
positions are filled
when they become vacant.
Also, general manager Jill
Duerig has declined a pay
increase.
However, several directors
raised the possibility
that some kind of monetary
increase could lure more
candidates into running for
the board. They won’t run
for the money, but at least
the agency would recognize
rewarding more participation
with enough to
cover expenses and time and
trouble.
Also, some board members
work in jobs where they
must take time off from their
duties, and may have to miss
a half-day’s or a full day’s
pay, directors noted. Child
care cost were also cited in
past discussions as something
that might be offset by
a change in compensation.
BOARD PASSES
CAPITAL BUDGET
On another item, directors
unanimously approved
the capital improvement
budget for $49.3 million for
the fiscal year that begins
July 1 and ends June 30,
2013. The capital improvement
budget varies from
year to year, depending on
which projects are being
carried out by Zone 7.
The board approved everything
else in the Zone 7
budget in April, because that
part of the Zone 7 budget is
part of the Alameda County
budget. The sums approved
at the June 20 meeting are
for capital improvements
only, and exclusive to Zone
7.
Because Zone 7 has been
expecting to become totally
independent from the county
Jan. 1, 2013, staff had prepared
an 18-month budget
to cover the last six months
of 2012, which is the last
six months of the County’s
July 1 to June 30 fiscal year,
and the 12 calendar months
next year.
The 18-month budget
would then enable zone 7 to
prepare all its future budgets
on calendar years, which is
the period covered by the
agency’s water rates.
However, the enabling
legislative bill for Zone 7 to
gain total separation from
the county was pulled. Zone
7 plans to work further toward
independence, but now
won’t be able to achieve it
County Concerned about State's Impact on Budget
The Alameda County
Board of Supervisors on
Friday adopted a balanced
budget that approved a $2.6
billion spending plan and
closed an $88.1M funding
gap. Although this is the
first funding gap of less than
$100M in the past four years,
cuts included eliminating 37
vacant County positions and
cuts to critical health and
human services programs
as a result of State-imposed
reductions in funding those
programs.
Concerns remain in the
county over the impact of
trailer bills and the fate of
the tax increase on the November
ballot.
“We hope that details
emerging at the State level
and the passage of the final
budget bill don’t further negatively
impact the county,”
said County Administrator
Susan S. Muranishi. “We’re
already squeezed financially
as a result of a protracted
economic slump, with demand
for safety net services
remaining unusually high
and the resources to pay for
these services diminished.”
The Legislature’s vote
on the budget planned for
Tuesday was postponed until
at least Wednesday to allow
time for members to review
the trailer bill language,
much of which is just now
coming to light. Twenty
trailer bills are expected.
However, as of Tuesday only
half of them have been made
available for review. These
bills contain the details of
implementing the plans contained
in the budget, many of
which significantly impact
counties.
Of particular concern to
the county is the language
that shifts over 80,000 lowincome
children from the
Healthy Families subsidized
health care program to the
lower-cost Medi-Cal plan,
which health advocates say
could cause some children to
fall through the cracks due
to issues with provider access.
Many question whether
this shift will yield the anticipated
savings. Cuts to
CalWORKs would reduce
the length of time clients
are able to receive grant
payments from 48 to 24
months. However, details
are still still coming to light
regarding implementation
and allowable exemptions
to the welfare-to-work requirement.
“So many critical details
are still emerging. Many
of the proposed cuts affect
the poorest members of our
society.” said Supervisor
Keith Carson, who chairs
Alameda County’s Budget
Workgroup.
On top of that, there is
the uncertain fate of the
Governor’s package of taxincreases
on the November
ballot – which if not passed,
could mean further reductions
to programs important
to local residents and leave
a question mark related to
guaranteed, ongoing funding
for the State’s “realignment”
plan which began last October.
It transfers responsibili-
ty for many public safety and
health and human services
programs from the State to
local governments.
“Realignment is taking
us into uncharted territory,”
said Supervisor Carson, “I
believe it will be some time
before we truly understand
the full impact of these plans
on Alameda County and the
people we serve.”