Silver Dollars & Wooden Nickels: Dollars for students who donned hats

The Nevada Appeal's "Silver Dollar" and "Wooden Nickel" feature recognizes positive achievements from the capital region and, when warranted, points out others that missed the mark.

Silver Dollar: Hats off to students and staff at Sutro Elementary School in Dayton for their support of second-grader AnnMarie De Pasquale, who is undergoing treatment for Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

More than 350 students participated in a hat parade last week as a fundraiser for Heavenly Hats, an organization that provides hats to kids during chemotherapy treatment.

Wooden Nickel: Recent health research shows two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese, and it starts shockingly early.

Results from a study completed in April found almost one in five 4-year-olds already was obese. Rates are highest among American Indian, Hispanic and black children, but the problem affects every demographic.

A 2008 study took a sample of fourth-, seventh- and 10th-grade students in Nevada and found 18 percent are overweight and 20 percent are obese.

Silver Dollar: We raise a glass of low-fat milk (and perhaps a serving of fruit) to celebrate the participation of Carson City schools, students and parents in the annual Walk to School Day.

"Walk to School Day is intended to reverse the trend of fewer and fewer students getting to school by human power," said Dan Allison, director of the Safe Routes to School program. "The decrease in students walking coincides with an increase in childhood obesity, diabetes and other diseases."

School officials said about twice as many students walked to school last Wednesday as compared to most school days.

Wooden Nickel: In a continuing sign that the nation's economic recovery will be a slow march toward prosperity, Carson City officials learned city sales tax revenues were either flat or down in every category in September.

City Manager Larry Werner told the board of supervisors last week the city will be faced with making significant changes during the next fiscal year. Those changes are likely to include furloughs, leaving positions open and restructuring workloads.

"It's just not a pretty picture at all," Werner said.