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0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. You need to really embrace that. Object. It's a job that has to be done. Laser guns like the fire did. Why haven't a lot of people otherwise. I was appalled. I like out what. Really makes. Your program. Window into the community. You don't want with your host there really Michael. Hello everyone and welcome to Outlook tonight on our show. You're eating too much you want to sleep all day. Hey it's not a character defect but it might be the winter blues or even seasonal affective disorder or SAD yet there's light ahead. Alaskan kids invented recipes in the newest electric bread for kids cookbook and charter schools in Anchorage give parents and students a choice. The days are shorter. It's black outside it's winter. Don't some of

you celebrate this but others are going to head for the sack. Just how do our bodies cope with that dramatic shift in light. And what is the impact on our spirits on our jobs on our friends and on our families. Tough. Questions. I notice. That looked a little Oh. Yeah now. I have a stat order here ATF military ATF Lasix Washington if you saw that and know that. Gill fish bag is a vibrant professional and a cheerful mother of four. She moved to Alaska from the lower 48 some eight years ago with her husband Leland a teacher. Shortly after when August rolled around in the days shortened her life

began to change in a very outgoing person just get myself way over involved usually and started feeling like I didn't want to go and do near as much and just started to withdraw not only first it seemed like I withdraw withdrew from France and then unfortunately it started to be started. I started to withdrawal from family pressure you know just like. She's like slow. I feel like I did. So you know no good telling me that I wasn't ready. And I'm just. I'm glad that you finally gotten over go over it. She's on the road. You know she's you know she's a friend. Oh yes. I would get him I would get him off and then I said as they went off to school back into bed I went down with the shade the lights went off and I'd sleep a couple

more hours thinking you know I can get through this if I just have a couple more hours of sleep. And I thought I'd wake up refreshed and ready to boogie and it just didn't happen. I would get up still drag and still not caring. The more winter came and the darker months I had began an insatiable appetite for carbohydrates. There must be something wrong with me. You know I should be able to get past this and I just couldn't get past it. I just decided I've got two choices I can either go to bed and pull up the covers and not come out or I can go see somebody. I've got to find out if I've got something physiological going on some type of a chemical imbalance or be validated in one way or the other. The symptoms were classic weight gain. Sleeping longer with a drawl and all tied to the winter months. Jill's diagnosis. Seasonal affective disorder or

SAD. There is a balance that is maintained for a 24 hour clock. By a part of our brain called the hypothalamus and light is a part of that regulation. We take light in through the eyes. And so given the morning time evening time that the light drops below a certain intensity or raises to a certain intensity that's part of our 24 hour clock regulation. And obviously in northern latitudes like Anchorage When you have such a 14 hour swing from December 21st to June 21st some people's capacity for maintaining a balance gets thrown out of whack. Extreme changes in light and dark is thought to affect the brain chemical serotonin that regulate sleep in mood according to a study in Fairbanks at least 10 percent of its population in winter experience symptoms of seasonal affective disorder and about 20 percent had the winter blues a less severe form of

SAD Seasonal Affective Disorder is a clinical phenomenon like a depression and it renders people unable to go to work and socialize and they really need to seek professional help. And once they put a label on it I really did feel like there was a weight lifted. But at the same time it was like Oh good there's a name for this. But now what do I do with that. Over the past three years I've done different things I've done the medicine. Some psychotherapy which has been very helpful. I've been fortunate enough this past year to just be able to use my lights. There were three recent clinical trials of light therapy as compared against a placebo and light therapy was found to be in 55 to 60 percent of patients affected.

Experiencing intense light every day. About 10000 lux a measure of brightness that simulates a morning dose of summer sun. Now we know that. The full spectrum lighting is not what is the key. But in fact the intensity of light and the light. Source needs to be 50 times more powerful than the light sources that are in for example your overhead lighting in your kitchen. The benefit is through the retina and your eyes have to be open you can close your eyes. It goes through your mind. The production of melatonin which. The production. Every morning my lights whether it's on my treadmill I light up and do it while I'm sitting at the table or if I'm going to do have. To have at least a good half an hour to 45 minutes of that direct light.

Getting outside that fresh air and you still are getting some good rain. Even though it's cloudy and you don't feel like you are. That's really important. Especially because even with the light there at least I do some feelings of wanting to just want to shut down a little bit. So I make myself go out there portable or with jet lag and the ball last about 4000 hours. Today about sad. It runs in families. Women are more susceptible usually in the 30s and 40s and increasingly can be treated. Still. I think that if you have what's termed the winter that you're in good company I don't think there's a stigma. Everyone identify with the effects of the letter themselves. Have people that are friends or family.

I really couldn't bear this with especially colleagues at work because I was a nursing supervisor. I orchestrated everything. And as the conductor of this orchestra having it together and and making some and at times some critical decisions on my own say the past two years that I've become much more vocal about it. People would come over to my home and see me at the kitchen table with my light on me as I'm doing bills or doing just any type of reading. They would say What's that light or what do you do in your house a let up like a Christmas tree. I had other women say to me and a couple other men I get feeling that way. Illness can be treated you know out of state. But the hard part is seeking help to help oneself. During those dark. And difficult of winter. When I realize and got a definitive diagnosis that it was a

disorder and that there are things that you can do about it. It helped it opened a whole new world it gave me back hope. No those portable lights are really handy. It's good to know that there are some new ways to cope with this illness. Coming up on our show turn kids loose with dough in a bread machine and voila bread for kids. That's next. And that's the challenge determining.

And to be honest. You know many of us dream of writing a book putting one together but I'm going to be talking with someone and you're going to meet someone who actually made it happen. You're all going to recognize the name it's called electric electric bread. And now we've got another one to introduce another book that is. And Parrish you were the ringleader of the whole grudge and Martin McKay You were the son of Susanne Nightingale who wrote the first two books and you've also helped and do electric bread for kids. It's true. Tell us how you got started in the first place and I mean it sounds like a really interesting story. Well basically a group of Alaskans looked out there and saw that no one was doing anything in the world of creating universal recipes for bread machines. We had bread machines and believe there might be a business future in it. And so we formed a company took a quarter million dollars Sand.

And one for it went for it had been wildly successful. Well it's been wildly successful and it's been wild and it's been fun and it's been a lot of hard work. We have with the original electric bread sold nearly a million copies in over 30 countries. How do you explain that success. I mean what is it about that book that really has hit a chord. Well like the report says it's OK. Yeah that's right and I think what really hit a chord was we did what the person who owned a bread machine wanted to have happen in their home. We gave them quality bread we gave them interesting flavors Susan gave them wonderful text that was easy to read and fun to read. And our photographer sauce just so God gave them beautiful photography that they love to look at. And so I mean we gave them what they wanted in that way in this example. OK so now you you're on a new adventure. We're on a new adventure and it's sort of art isn't it.

Yes it started at Martin's birthday party we had invited Martin and some of his friends to have his party on our test kitchen and they came in to make their own pizzas and I think a lot of chocolate bread and an alligator and the next thing we knew we had platypuses and I gleen Leglise and we thought now wait a minute there's a lot of energy here in this task. I did it and I wasn't like Martin. Helping these folks actually come up with a recipe that you see right here that you're on page 82 over here is that yeah right that's Martin on page 82 making peanut twisters. What was it like yeah. MARTIN It was really fun because. They were really they would say no that's wrong they looked at it and see if there was something that they can make out of it or see if you see what you did to make it easier to read read or see for the next kid then the next person they showed Beverly we brought 30 children in from here in Anchorage and to the test kitchen with ranging in age from 6 to

13 with diverse ethnic and educational background. And our mission was to see whether or not we could create a book that they could use in their homes with their bread machine. And so we learned from them while they learned from us. And the result of that was electric bread for kids. Wonderful. MARTIN Have you used the book in your home to make anything or with friends or her friends made anything yet. Not yet not yet but you will. Do you have some favorites in here now. You were talking peanut twisters. Right yeah. OK. Tasty. Yeah. OK. Through the book I'm just kind of him by the way one of the pages that are have several chapters really have your basic recipes or table can make their every day life for special occasion and there's 19 different bread recipes they're tested to work on all machines. We have family favorites that include pretzels and cinnamon rolls and Martin's peanut twisters

and lunch pockets and even an egg and a chapter on holidays that give the kids some different things that they can make for holidays when you need chapters this chapter on parties on page one 20. And you see the circus party and our technological breakthrough Beverly for this book was colored bread dough. Well we've found out that if you had this colored food paste that used for icing to the water before you add the flour for your bread dough you end up with these brilliantly colored dough is that the kids can then use for braiding or for art. And they had a lot of fun with that and at the Circus party they make the sandwiches on that colored bread. What is your favorite color Martin of the whole or the ones that you worked with was a surprise first of all they have the colors. Yeah. And what was your favorite. I think I like purple because it comes out nice and bright. OK. And that takes us over to Brad as art where we really allowed the kids to show us what they could

do. And they made Monsters serpents dolls cars airplanes crabs to hit the Dragons I mean they're all in your examples or here are the ages of the kids. It was interesting. Our grandson is autistic and during the period where we did the cold testing he happened to be here in Anchorage and has had a lot of physical therapy for fine motor skills. And his mother commented to me how wonderful it was to have this color dough with the springy bounce back that bread dough had and that he could bake and eat what he was creating because that experience had not been there for him before in physical therapy so we may have made all of their you know their grades. MARTIN You have just come on national tour to introduce electric bread. Tell us where you went and tell us what you experienced.

I just came from Chicago. When I experienced being on she Chicago in it was the first time I had ever been on line 15 because this is the second time actually does not like to be me. Did you live on the air and then you made a colored hedgehog. He had two segments one for peanut twisters and one for Bret Azhar and do you have anything else planned in the future. I mean globally. We have many many seeds out with the media across the United States and were working when when anyone takes a look at these brightly colored pictures and here's Martin once again putting the bread machine in. How could people resist. I was like that's an act a little bit about that chapter. Last summer we went to one of the summer classes here in Anchorage and Martin did an in-class bread demonstration for the photo that starts this chapter but this is a very interesting chapter an

electric bread for kids. It's electric bread goes to school. And it includes a day at school all about Brad. Everything from math and science to how to do a science experiment using the Web as a resort search resource even information about bulk mold. Everybody sold everything you ever wanted to know and was afraid to ask. So you're expecting videos that are used in the classrooms right rose in the kitchens in the bedrooms or wherever else you may make bread. Well Martin have you enjoyed the experience in doing this. Are you happy about getting involved. Yeah. And do you expect to continue this involvement with Dan and the rest of your crew. Yeah I hope so. If he gets his homework done it will. Take somewhere I mean that's right. And this looks wonderful I'm sure it's on the shelves along with your other electric bread and I am sensing that a lot of this will come yet another idea of these innovative

Alaskans. Well we're going to have our hands fall we think with this one for the next couple years and where we've had a lot of fun doing it and we look forward to the fun that it brings to the people who purchase the book. Great. Thanks for coming in. Thanks for having us and thanks for coming Martin. There are more alternatives than ever when it comes to public education and I preach there are the traditional neighborhood schools you can teach your children at home or take them to an optional program or you can choose a charter school guest producer Laura bliss gives us a perm or on this latest concept of learning. If you were to stop in at the que cafe on the Thursday morning you'd be able to enjoy your coffee while listening to foreign folk songs. Way back there on the other side of the glass door. The village charter school is meeting for his weekend class. This is the newest in right now the smallest of the four charter schools in Anchorage.

There are 21 kids from kindergarten to seventh grade enrolled in this program which stresses high academic standards and include some of the extras you don't always find in traditional neighborhood schools. I would say a reading writing math looks like any school in America. Probably are two foreign languages starting at kindergarten. Make a stand out as really unique and original Norwegian and Spanish. And I'm the Spanish teacher or Norwegian teacher Linda Sharp is also one of the founders of this school. And in fact she was one of the earliest advocates of making it possible to have any charter school in Alaska. But she's very frustrated with the law that ended up going through nearly three years ago. Alaska has the weakest charter school law which means that the charter schools will have the hardest time implementing their plans and educating children successfully. Which means that they will basically be more like regular public schools than the intention of charter schools. Charter schools are intended to provide competition choice and accountability.

One of the biggest problems is money. Charter schools receive the same per student funding as other schools but unlike other schools all charters have to pay their own rent out of that. And then there's the problem of even finding a place to rent. The people who run a charter school felt pretty lucky when they were able to scavenge seven portable classrooms and set them up behind a city bus barn in midtown. They've got one hundred and thirteen kids and their K through 7th program which emphasizes accelerated learning for kids to work at their potential. If they're working at a higher level in math or reading that they get moved into that higher level rather than stay as a group. At one level. While the program is flourishing the physical setup is still problematic. Classrooms double as lunch room. And a trip to the bathroom means bundling up and taking a buddy out to another building.

But now after finally settling in a corner he is going to have to move out. The challenge right now is for a facility because this is our last year at this facility it's A or A has in the city has plans for the slot so what theyre going to we need to do is find a facility for us and just any space wont do. It takes a lot of money to meet city building code requirements from schools from parking places to fire sprinklers and the charters just cant afford expensive renovations. The school district which oversees the charters is working to find solutions to the housing problems. Its not fair to charter schools they may have the best program in the world but if they don't have a facility it's just so many hours have been spent trying to find facilities. So we'd like to see the legislature put some upfront funding along with some housing. Considerations into the law. The other thing is and we've been working with municipality on some zoning changes to allow a little more flexibility with the municipal zoning codes to allow

charter schools and private schools or or smaller schools to go into some commercial space that could be renovated and be very successful. But housing isn't the only hurdle. Charter struggle with. They're also restricted in terms of who they can hire some of the states allow charter schools to hire non certificate teachers. Ours does not. We require that in the state they have to have a regular teaching certificate. And then our district has an even more restrictive in that they have to at least be on are eligible for higher list as a teacher so that if the charter school disbands and the teachers are our teachers then we need to be assured that their level of quality is as comparable to other teachers because we would have to absorb them into the system. Despite all the restrictions there are still people out there determined to give their ideas a go. After today thank you I miss you and Carol and I said to you why. The newest charter program up for consideration is called the do something school. What we want to do is bring together a charter school that looks at entrepreneurship

as one of the key components for young people learning how to start a business how to work a business how it how a business is run. And part of that is the village cafe as we're using as a working term that would be a training grounds for the students and at the same time we're looking at having a place where the students can learn all of the computer skills and knowledge that would give them a saleable skill This is the first work session with the district for Dr. Tatum and his group. And already the budget staff has found a glitch. Let's start. The studio for me. And. Put it in the formula. It was about two hundred thousand dollars. The district says it's committed to helping the schools overcome as many problems as it can. But over a village charter Linda Sharp isn't convinced. I would say it's been a path of frustration and unpredictability.

Sharpe plans to lobby the legislature for an overhaul of the law to take charter schools out from under the control of local districts. And on this day she didn't even have to leave town to get a lawmaker's attention. In fact she didn't even have to do the talking. When Senator Robin Taylor dropped in as part of a student's guest speaker project it was the kids who gave him a grilling about charter law in response. Well he gave them a little lesson in civics. You can. Do it. Are you your. Own. People. More LATE EDITION. If you're interested in one of the charter schools call the Anchorage school district and they'll gladly give you more information. Next week on Outlook. If not here then where

where should half way houses and group homes for foster children be located. If no one wants them in their backyard. Many of the homeless are 9 year old children who want to stay in school and sourdough Mike from the fly by night club creates music with children during the day. Well that's our show for the night. Thank you for joining us and let us hear from you. Give us some story ideas. Hope you're with us next week. I'm Beverly Michaels for Outlook goodnight. If you have questions or comments you would like a copy. My program is called PDM periods 7 5 6 3 7 0 7 0 4 write a sad outlook. K K M Channel Seven thirty eight seventy seven University Drive the last of my five away. Or email us at this address. It is a start. There was some success.

Will the Air Force has a goal to reduce all waste to the landfill by 50 percent. And that's because of a federal regulation the Pollution Prevention Act and the Air Force is trying to go one better than the act where it says 25 percent are cycling and so we got together and tried to figure out how we were going to meet that goal and we decided as a group we wanted to continue recycling and we also knew that we had to make it cost effective. You would be able to maintain it so we decided that we would go for the big the wood in the metal in the food in the paper. And then by the way we're doing glass and cans. And so I think it's a group. Decision that we wanted to do. We don't have a wing commander mandate forcing us to do it. The community wants to have recycling we want to. Take care of our garbage and set a good example for Anchorage and Alaska and I think that people just are getting the message and trying to buy less stuff and use less stuff and so we're generating less trash at the same time that we're.