Car Accident Rehab Fundraiser; Do Chatham School Days Start Too Early?

Sources: GoFundMe.com; News12.com

On June 25, 2019, Glen Hampson was involved in a life-altering auto accident on his way to work. The traumatic event left him in a coma with an injury called brain stem shearing. Thankfully, he has since awakened from his coma and is making slow, steady progress. He is just now beginning to be able to swallow certain foods, form words, and exhibit some limited use of his left side.

After losing his right leg to another accident seven years earlier, he worked tirelessly to rehabilitate and return to all of his prior activities. It was no surprise to us when, as a proud linesman for a utility company, Glen packed up and left to help restore power the people of Puerto Rico after hurricane Maria in 2017.

Unfortunately, Glenn’s recovery will be a long and difficult one. It is predicted that the therapy necessary for Glen to regain any level of independence will far outlast his insurance, and his family has already sustained significant financial losses due to lost income.

With this in mind, we are asking you to consider making a donation to help Glen Hampson continue his rehabilitation. It will go directly to his family in support of his care.


The Chatham School District is considering changing start times for high school students in order to allow the students to get more sleep.

The current start time for Chatham High School is 7:40 a.m. but the district is considering starting at 8:30 a.m. District officials say that the extra sleep would allow the teens to be more productive in school and improve their grades.

“We know that our high schoolers are the ones not sleeping enough,” says Superintendent Michael LaSusa.

The district surveyed the students and found that 50% of juniors and 55% of seniors slept for six hours or less each night. Students were waking up as early as 6 a.m. to get to the school bus stop on time.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says a later start time is “an effective countermeasure to chronic sleep loss and has a wide range of potential benefits to students with regard to physical and mental health, safety, and academic achievement.”

But a later start time is not without its challenges. The district would need to pay more for school buses and bus drivers. “We’ve estimated it to cost somewhere around $300,000. That’s a rough estimate,” says LaSusa. Another issue would be the sports programs: the school will need to be able to compete with other schools even if students finish classes later.

LaSusa says that it may be difficult, but he says that he believes that it will be worth it for the change: “I believe that this is the most impactful change that we could make in a positive direction for our students.”

The district may be able to make the change by 2021.

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