Each year, thousands of teens and young people get hurt on the sports field, the basketball court, or while skateboarding, biking, weightlifting. Blows to the face in nearly every sport can injure your teeth, lips, cheeks and tongue.
A properly fitted mouth guard, or mouth protector, is an important piece of athletic gear that can protect your teeth and smile. You may have seen them used in contact sports, such as football, boxing, ice hockey, lacrosse and women’s field hockey.

University of Kansas Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little — the university’s first woman and first African-American chancellor — will deliver the keynote speech at Fort Leavenworth’s Black History Month luncheon Feb. 9.
This year’s theme is Black Women in American Culture and History.

Retired Army Chaplain (Col.) James Shaw speaks about the importance of prayer during the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth National Prayer Breakfast Jan. 31 at the Frontier Chapel. The prayer breakfast was sponsored by the 15th Military Police Brigade Unit Ministry Team. Shaw was asked by his son, Combined Arms Center Command Chaplain (Col.) Jonathan Shaw, to speak about his experiences with prayer during his 35 years of federal service, including 24 years on active duty as a U.S. Army chaplain and his 11 years in Washington, D.C., as the endorsing agent to the Department of Defense for the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.

All-hands meetings for all Installation Management Command personnel are at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Feb. 7 at the Frontier Conference Center. Personnel only need to attend one session.
Shuttle bus services will be provided from the Adjutant General building at 861 McClellan Ave., the Directorate of Logistics and Public Works vehicle maintenance building at 811 McClellan Ave., the Garrison Headquarters at 290 Grant Ave., and the Transportation Office/Resiliency Center at 450 Pope Ave.
For the morning session, buses will depart AG at 9:05 and 9:30 a.m.; Vehicle Maintenance at 9:10 and 9:35a.m.; the Garrison Headquarters at 9:15 and 9:40 a.m.; and Transportation at 9:20 and 9:50 a.m.
For the afternoon session, buses will depart AG at 12:35 and 1 p.m.; Vehicle Maintenance at 12:40 and 1:20 p.m.; the Garrison Headquarters at 12:45 and 1:15 p.m.; and Transportation at 12:50 and 1:20 p.m.
Buses will make return trips following the meetings.

An Army report released in December concluded that the Master Resilience Training aspect of Comprehensive Soldier Fitness is working.
Now, Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Director Brig. Gen. Jim Pasquarette is trying to get the word out about how important and effective the training is.
Pasquarette spoke to Soldiers and spouses attending the Pre-Command Course at the School for Command Preparation at Fort Leavenworth Jan. 26. PCC is a preparation course for brigade- and battalion-level commanders and command sergeants major. Pasquarette said he was trying to help them understand what CSF is and what MRT can do for them.

Bees are very social creatures that depend on each other for survival, said beekeeper Paula Owen, and humans can learn a lot from them.
“One-third of everything we eat is directly related to honeybees, so they’re pretty important,” she told students at Eisenhower Elementary School.
Owen and hundreds of other presenters visited Eisenhower Jan. 27 for Kansas Day. The day, which celebrates the day that Kansas was founded as a state on Jan. 29, is organized each year by school counselor Debbie Sack. Sack gets help from local organizations, farmers and parent volunteers who work to make the day a special learning experience for the children.

Dr. Bridget Cantrell likes to begin her seminars about mental health surrounding deployments with a quote from David O. McKay: “The greatest battles of life are fought out daily in the silent chambers of the soul.”
Cantrell, a licensed therapist in the state of Washington, has written several books on recovery from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. Her most recent book is “Souls Under Siege: The Effects of Multiple Troop Deployments — and How to Weather the Storm.” Cantrell has a doctorate of philosophy in clinical psychology, works as a private mental health provider and also runs a nonprofit group, Hearts Toward Home International. Through her nonprofit, Cantrell conducts mental health awareness seminars throughout the military.

The 40th Military Police Internment and Resettlement Battalion welcomed a new commander Jan. 26.
Lt. Col. Bob Willis Jr. replaced Lt. Col. Erica Nelson, who recently returned from a yearlong Iraq deployment with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 40th MP I/R Battalion. Nelson has been battalion commander for two and a half years, beginning when it was stood up in 2009. The battalion’s stateside mission is care and custody of inmates and operations of the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks.

Wayne Grigsby Jr. said the story of him becoming a general officer in the Army isn’t just about himself.
It’s the story of two Soldiers who approached him after a 100-hour firefight during Operation Desert Storm, thanking him for his leadership. It’s the story of his wife, Cynthia, a Panama City native who barely spoke English when they met, but supported him through 27 years of marriage. It’s the story of Spc. Kyle Little and Sgt. Blake Stephens, killed in Iraq in 2007 by an improvised explosive device while escorting Grigsby through Salman Pak, 18 miles south of Baghdad. It’s also the story of Grigsby’s faith.

Capt. Shaun O’Laughlin was looking for educational classes and for better treatment methods for his physical therapy patients in a combat zone. He came across a technique that uses acupuncture-style needles to alleviate pain in joints and muscles.
Two years later, O’Laughlin has become certified to perform trigger-point dry needling, a form of physical therapy used in combination with other, more traditional physical therapy practices. The physical therapist at Munson Army Health Center said he uses trigger-point dry needling almost every day to help patients.

Jim Redwine became concerned about his finances when he deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, wondering what might happen to his family if he were killed.
Redwine, then a major, and his wife, Gina, had been frugal with their spending before, but that’s when they really began to worry about money.

Seventh-grader Lawson Smead writes a word on his arm as he thinks through how to spell it aloud during the seventh-grade spelling bee Jan. 19 at Patton Junior High School. The top two spellers from each English class participated in the bee to determine who will represent the school in the county bee next month. Lawson won the seventh-grade spelling bee and will continue on to the county bee. Eighth-grader Gabe Buss will also represent Patton at the county bee. Sixth-grader Kaitlyn Linney and fifth-grader Makenna Brunson will represent MacArthur Elementary School, and sixth-grader Mason Nicks and fifth-grader Ana Golden will represent Bradley Elementary School in the Leavenworth County Spelling Bee.

Army network and acquisition leaders hit a home run at a Fort Leavenworth conference Jan. 17-20, according to conference organizers.
“The Agile Process Synchronization Conference brought together all the right working groups and decision makers to synchronize the development of Army capabilities that come out of the Network Integration Evaluation at Fort Bliss, (Texas),” said Col. Wayne W. Grigsby Jr., director of the Mission Command Center of Excellence and host of the conference.

Tax Assistance Center employee Jennifer Smith prepares taxes for retired Sgt. 1st Class James and Renee Dixon Jan. 20 at the Resiliency Center. The tax center is on the third floor of the Resiliency Center at 600 Thomas Ave.; a lower-level office is available for customers not able to climb the stairs. Call 684-4986 to schedule an appointment. The tax center is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on three Saturdays: Jan. 28, Feb. 4 and Feb. 11. The tax center, which saved the community about $500,000 last year that would have been paid to commercial prepares, offers free preparation of federal and state tax returns for Soldiers, family members and retirees. Documents, such as W2s, interest income papers and receipts, should be organized and brought to the appointment.

Fort Leavenworth officially welcomed home the Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 40th Military Police Internment and Resettlement Battalion, at a ceremony Jan. 25.
The Soldiers and corrections specialists assigned to Camp Cropper, Iraq, deployed for one year in support of detainee operations. The 40th’s stateside role is the care and custody of inmates at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks. The battalion was stood up about two years ago to serve alongside the existing 705th Military Police Internment and Resettlement Battalion, forming a new Army Corrections Brigade to staff both the USDB and the newly-built Joint Regional Correctional Facility.

Chief is a young, energetic dog available for adoption at the Veterinary Treatment Facility. Call 684-6510 for more information.
Several family-friendly pets are available for adoption at the VTF. Adoption fees vary according to the needs of the pet. The VTF is at 831 McClellan Ave. and is open 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 1-3:30 p.m. Friday.
Pets available for adoption are listed on www.petfinder.com.

Results from Wounded Warrior Winter Open Olympic weightlifting Jan. 14 at Gruber Fitness Center.

Principal’s Honor Roll
(GPA 4.00)
9th Grade — Jessica Brunson,Taylor Brunson, Anna Lahmon, Brian Riggins, Madeline Snow, Jorden Warren  

Twenty-eight years before the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a black man was lynched in Leavenworth, Kan.
Fred Alexander, accused of attacking a woman, was dragged out of a jail cell, tortured and murdered in a ravine near Spruce Street on Jan. 15, 1901, while an estimated 8,000 citizens of the city watched, according to an archived article from The New York Times.

A School of Advanced Military Studies fellow killed in 2006 will continue to inspire students for years to come in a rededicated room for training exercises at Flint Hall.
Previously located in Eisenhower Hall, the Col. Tom Felts Exercise Room was moved into Flint Hall along with the remainder of SAMS classes. Other SAMS classes moved from Eisenhower Hall into Muir Hall in July. Flint Hall and the Felts Exercise Room were dedicated Jan. 12.