Though it doesn't officially start on the calendar until June 21, everyone around these parts knows summer began in Milton at about 3:30 p.m. on Friday, May 27 when all the kids came streaming out of school, smiles on their faces. And I, for one, couldn't be happier, because this summer Milton is really going to shine.

This year, we're offering summer camps for our local youth starting June 6 - Camp Bethwell at the newly renovated Bethwell Community Center and Camp Joyful Soles at Hopewell Middle School. We're very excited to be able to offer parents these low cost options for summer fun right in their back yard. We're also launching a free summer concert series at Birmingham Park, and the first date is June 17 - the Friday before Father's Day. Please come out, bring a blanket and a picnic, and meet your neighbors for some music under a beautiful evening sky.

Read the entire message.

Photos from the City of Milton's 2011 Memorial Day ceremony are now online at the city's flickr page. This year's ceremony was the biggest yet, with crowds flocking to City Hall to hear speaker Col. Murphy Neal Jones and listen to patriotic music and a roll call of local veterans who are no longer with us.

Local residents Marc and Jennifer Barrett brought the family to the ceremony and thanked everyone involved afterward for the moving morning.

"Everything from the music, [to the] key note speaker, [to the] fly by was just perfect," they said. "Our two children are very young right now, but we hope to teach them about our nation's heroes through programs like this."

Click here to see the photos.

The Milton Fire Department will begin it's Summer Fill the Boot Drive June 3. During this time you will see Milton fire fighters collecting money at various locations throughout the city twice a month.

The collection dates will continue throughout the summer and early fall, ending in September.

In just four years, the City of Milton Fire Department has raised more than $161,000 for MDA, which uses the money to aid local children and adults affected by neuromuscular diseases by providing wheelchairs, leg braces, clinic visits, support groups and a chance for children to attend Camp Walk-N-Roll.

The recently renovated Bethwell Community House, located at 2695 Hopewell Road (click here for directions) will be unveiled to the public at a ribbon cutting June 7 at 11 a.m.

The 1,300-square-foot community house, which now also features a 500-square-foot porch, will be soon available for rent for parties, reunions and private functions, said Cyndee Bonacci, Parks and Recreation Director. It also houses Milton's Camp Bethwell, which starts June 6.

"This is the first big renovation project for our department," said Bonacci. "We're all very excited to bring the community this resource - on time and on budget."

Click here for more information.

The Milton Farmers' Market will take place again in Crabapple this year, starting on Saturday, June 11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Farmers' Market will run every Saturday until July 30. The location has changed -- this year the Farmers' Market will be located outside the Crabapple Community House, 12615 Broadwell Road (click here for directions).

"We will not only have fruits and vegetables, but a great variety of things offered, from a gold and silver buyer to gourmet cupcakes," said Zack Eller, a Milton High School student who has taken over organizing the event. "There are several small businesses represented, fundraising organizations and kids selling handmade items."

If you or someone you know would like to join the Milton Farmer's Market, please contact Zack Eller at 678-896-2491 or e-mail miltonmarket.ga@gmail.com.

Registration for the Hopewell Youth Association's (HYA) fall 2011 season will begin in June.

• First phase:  Monday, June 13 for all Milton residents
• Second phase: Monday, June 27 for Hopewell veteran players who do not reside in Milton
• Third phase: Monday, July 11 -- open registration

Registration for all will end promptly on Sunday, July 24 and a $25 late fee will be charged for any registrations after this date. Fees will be published on the HYA Web site prior to the start of registration.

Click here to visit the HYA's Web site.

A second rain barrel education workshop sponsored by City of Milton, Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeepers and Milton Grows Green will be held on Tuesday, June 14 from 6 to 7 p.m. at Scottsdale Farms, 15639 Birmingham Highway in Milton (click here for directions).
 

The workshop covers:
· Water issues in Metro Atlanta
· How to save water in your home and garden
· How to maintain and install your rain barrel
· Answers to questions about water and rain barrels delivered by environmental and water professionals 

The workshop is free, but if you would like to purchase a rain barrel, the cost is $45.
 

Reservations must be made by e-mailing Cindy Eade, Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Milton, at cindy.eade@cityofmiltonga.us or calling 678-242-2509.

Summer concert series starts June 17

For the first time, the City of Milton will host a series of free, live summer concerts at Birmingham Park. Families and friends are invited to bring a picnic and a blanket and enjoy the tunes and warm summer nights!

Currently, the tentative schedule is as follows:

Friday, June 17 from 6:30 to 8:30 at Birmingham Park -- Father's Day with Lisa Port & Friends

Friday, July 1 from 6:30 to 8:30 at Birmingham Park -- Independence Day with Sarah Peacock

Friday, Aug. 5 from 6:30 to 8:30 at Birmingham Park -- End of summer with an act to be announced.

For more information on all of the City of Milton's special events, click here.

The City of Milton Parks and Recreation Department has a host of activities this summer, including day camps, a basketball league and skills camps, fitness camps for children and adults, a concert series and the 2nd Annual Community Kickoff at Milton High School.

For more information on the city of Milton's programs and activities, click here. For more information on the city's special events, click here.

The 2nd Annual Community Kickoff, presented by the City of Milton and the Milton High School Touchdown Club, will take place on July 31 at 5 p.m. at Milton High School's football stadium.

Like last year, the event will feature games, rides, music, food and much more. Details will be finalized as the event nears, so stay tuned.

For more information on all of the City of Milton's special events, click here.

Milton is recognized by the American Heart Association as a "Heart Ready City," and the city's Fire-Rescue Department takes great pride in this designation by working hard to maintain it.

Milton Fire-Rescue CPR Instructors continue to teach all ninth-grade Health classes at Milton High School.  This spring semester alone more than 300 students received this life saving training.

The "CPR Saturday" program continues on the first Saturday of every month with free CPR classes for Milton residents and businesses.  These classes are held at Fire Station No. 43 located at 750 Hickory Flat Road (click here for directions).  To sign up for a class, click here.

You may also find this sign up form at the city's Web site, www.cityofmiltonga.us, under "Find a Form or Permit" > "Online Forms" > "Sign up for CPR Saturdays."

Additionally, the Milton Fire-Rescue Department has recently partnered with Faithful Guardian Training Center and now offers the full American Heart Association CPR class.  Citizens who wish to receive a CPR card can do so for a $5 processing fee.   

For more information about the City of Milton Fire-Rescue Department, click here.

Milton Grows Green (MGG) is growing its all-volunteer committee and needs your help.

If you are interested in the environment, we have a place for you. Our meetings are monthly and alternate between noon and 6:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of the month. Activities initiated by MGG include the Milton Earth Day Festival, Adopt a Road, environmental education, Bring One for the Chipper tree recycling, tree plantings, and much more.

Additionally, as part of the National Keep America Beautiful program, the City of Milton would like to know about any clean-up projects involving you or a service group to which you belong completed from March 1 to May 31, 2011. This could include roadway cleanups, school and church beautification projects or company recycling events. Please toot your horn and send us a brief e-mail for inclusion in Milton's Keep America Beautiful report.
 

For more information on being a part of MGG or the Keep America Beautiful program, please e-mail mgg@cityofmiltonga.us or contact Cindy Eade, Sustainability Coordinator, at 678-242-2499.

Milton resident Tori Bentley has been selected to participate in the 2011 Zone 4 United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) Emerging Athletes Program (EAP), which will be held June 4 and 5 at Icon Sporthorses in Knoxville, Tenn.  

The mission of the EAP is to develop complete horsemen by implementing a system of identifying and nurturing talented young riders and providing them with support and assistance in achieving their full potential.

Tori is a sophomore at Milton High School and trains with Sunny Stevens of Stevehaven Stables.  Her family owns a horse farm in Milton, where she trains and cares for her horses.

King's Ridge Christian School was recently named winner of the Canine Assistants "Coins for Canines" fundraising contest. Twenty-three area schools participated in the contest, raising $10,600 for the Milton-based non-profit organization, which trains and provides service dogs for children and adults with physical disabilities or other special needs.

On Tuesday, May 17, Canine Assistants Founder and Executive Director, Jennifer Arnold, visited the school to present the "Top Dog" award on the school's Tiger TV program.

To aide in tornado relief efforts through Georgia's American Red Cross, Katy's Car Wash, located at 12960 Ga. 9, donated $1,000 for victims in Ringgold and Trenton.

On Friday and Saturday, May 7 and 8, Katy's gave proceeds from each wash -- plus customer cash donations -- to the cause, raising more than $900. Katy's decided to round the amount to $1000.

Katy's owners are no strangers to losing their home to Mother Nature, as their house burned down after a lightning strike in 1998.

"We lost everything" said Brenda Hemphill, owner of Katy's.

Katy's would like to thank their customers for making this donation possible.

By Dennis Nelson 

Summer is finally here! School is out and it is time for family, friends and fun! This is the time for outdoor cookouts, pool parties, visits to the lake or beach and backyard play. It is not the time for bandaging scrapes, nursing burns or even worse. 

This time last year a very close family friend of mine was killed in a tubing accident as she was enjoying a family outing on Lake Lanier. She was tubing with two others when they all fell into the path of an oncoming boat. While the driver of the boat swerved to miss one person, he could not see them all and struck her. She was only 15 years old. 

Learn these important summer safety tips and make sure everyone in your family knows them by heart, too. That way, it will be a summer to remember for all the right reasons. 

Pool Safety
1. Supervise constantly: Good supervision means you are able to scan the pool area every 20 seconds and able to reach the pool in 10 seconds.
2. Put multiple safety barriers between children and the pool: Install a four-foot fence with a self-closing, self-latching gate that has a locking mechanism beyond a child's reach. Also cut overhanging tree limbs and remove chairs or ladders from the pool area to prevent children from climbing over the fence surrounding the pool.
3. Always check the pool first if a child is missing: Child drownings are often a silent death that alerts no one with splashes or yells for help. Many drowning accidents happen when children have been missing for less than five minutes.
4. Empty small wading pools and remove all toys after children are through playing: Infants can drown in just a few inches of water. Floats, balls and other toys may attract children to the pool when it is unattended.

Open Water Safety (Lakes, Rivers and Oceans)
1. Look before you leap: Parents and children should only dive head first into areas that are clearly marked for diving. Even if you're familiar with a lake or river, the conditions underwater tend to change, so go for a swim before your kids to make sure it's safe. When you dive in, make sure you're extending your arms over your head to protect your head just in case.
2. Keep an eye on the temperature: Your children might be fine in cold water depending on other factors, such as the wind, or whether it's sunny or cloudy out. Adults need to watch children for signs that the water temperature is too low. Look for shivering, a bluish tinge to the skin or an apathetic mood. At the extreme, swimming in water that is too cold can lead to hypothermia. If you're swimming in the ocean, consider outfitting the kids in wet suits, which help retain body heat.
3. Be mindful of your surroundings: Aquatic life usually does not pose a danger to your children, but you should keep an eye out for potentially dangerous conditions such as large patches of vegetation on the water surface. Kids could potentially get tangled in these patches and attract the interest of animal predators. Also avoid areas where birds are on the water eating fish; predatory animals often hover around areas where food is nearby.
4. Beware of the undertow: Talk to your children about how to react if they get caught in an undertow or rip current. The key is to stay calm and, since currents are strong but not very wide, swim parallel to the shore, across the current. Teaching them to tread water while they call for help is another good safety measure.
5. Keep a watchful eye: As tempting as it may be to relax on the beach while your little ones swim, don't rely on floatation devices like water wings or rafts to keep your children safe. You should be swimming with them until they are strong enough to go it alone. An inexperienced swimmer should wear an approved personal flotation device (PFD). The PFD is designed to assist the wearer in keeping afloat with his or her mouth and nose above the water's surface. It should be worn at all times when skiing, tubing or boating. If kids are on flotation devices, be prepared to assist them in the event they fall off.
6. Watch for other boaters and swimmers: When swimming in open water, avoid boat routes. Always wear swimsuits of contrasting or bright colors and wear a PFD. If operating a boat, everybody on board should keep an eye out for stray swimmers and/or fallen skiers or tubers. They are often very hard to see. 

Backyard Safety
1. Keep grills at least 10 feet from any structure: Grilling mishaps cause more than 8,300 fires and send 3,000 people to the emergency room each year. Never grill indoors or near garages or porches, even if it's raining.
2. Have a spray bottle or fire extinguisher handy: An unexpected flare up can burn more than your burgers. Use a spray bottle to avoid flare ups and have a fire extinguisher nearby. Also, coals get hot. In some cases coals can reach 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Always dispose of charcoal away from kids and pets and cool it down with a hose.
3. Never use gasoline or kerosene to light a charcoal fire: Both can cause an explosion. When grilling, use insulated, flame-retardant mitts and long-handled barbecue tongs and utensils to handle food and coals.
4. Check gas grill hoses for cracking, brittleness, holes and leaks: If the tank valve or grill needs repair, do not attempt to do it yourself. Take it to your local home improvement store or qualified appliance repair person.
5. Inspect outdoor decorative lights carefully: Some families add backyard ambience with outdoor decorative lighting. Do not connect more than three light string sets together. Light strings with screw-in bulbs should have a maximum of 50 bulbs connected together. Be sure to use light strings bearing the UL Mark, which means UL has tested samples of the product for risk of fire, electric shock and other hazards. 

Playground Safety
1. Carefully inspect backyard playground equipment: According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 70 percent of all playground-related deaths occur on home playground equipment. Make sure equipment is anchored safely in the ground, all equipment pieces are in good working order, S-hooks are entirely closed and bolts are not protruding. For more information, visit www.uni.edu/playground.

Click here for information on becoming a part of the MPACT program.

By Tracy Hosmer, Communications Director for CorePhysique 

I believe we should all get tanked. No, not going out and drinking until you're ready to dance on the tables "tanked" - dunked in a hydrostatic tank, one of the best and most affordable ways to figure out your body fat percentage.

Let's start with a bit of information on why knowing your body fat percentage is important and why other methods do not work as well.

Ordinary bathroom scales measure only one thing: weight. A scale simply takes the sum of everything (fat, muscle, water, hair - you name it), and gives an absolute weight measurement. Scales do not determine the lean-to-fat ratio of that weight.

Thus, an individual can be "over-weight" and not "over-fat." A bodybuilder, for example, may have 8 percent body fat, yet at 250 pounds may be considered "over-weight" by a typical height-weight chart. Therefore, these charts are not a good indication of a person's ideal body weight for optimal health -- much less for athletic performance.

Other ways to determine body fat percentages have a huge degree of error. Body mass indexes, skin fold testing, circumference measuring, and other like methods are just not accurate. Some have up to a plus-or-minus 10 to 30 percent degree of error. What good is that?

And besides, it's not the amount of weight you have but the amount of body fat that's potentially dangerous to your health. Carrying too much can increase your risk of developing serious health problems such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Medical professionals have determined that a healthy range of body fat is 14 to 20 percent for men, and 17 to 24 percent for women.

So how do you determine yours accurately? That's where the tank comes in. During a hydrostatic tank test, you are simply immersed in water for a few seconds. The difference between your mass out of water and in it results in a highly reliable body composition analysis - the gold standard in the field, according to sources. It's all due to the way lean tissue and fat sink or float in water.

And here's the best part: You don't even have to go anywhere. A mobile hydrostatic tank will be at Bell Memorial Park on Monday, June 6 between the hours of 6:15 9:30 a.m.

The cost is $25 per person. This offer is available to all CorePhysique current, past and new campers! The process only takes 10 minutes.

So let's all get tanked!

Milton-based CorePhysique conducts fitness camps through a partnership with the City of Milton.

Click here for information on CorePhysique's programs through the City of Milton.

Milton Friends of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta will hold a 2012 Model Year Roll out and Gala benefiting Children's Healthcare of Atlanta on Thursday, Aug. 25 from 7 to 10 p.m. at RBM of Atlanta North, 345 McFarland Parkway in Alpharetta (click here for directions).

There will be food from local eateries, music, video games, a live and silent auction and a raffle drawing. Sponsorships are available.
 

For more information, please contact Amanda White at 404-217-4643 or awhite@etailpromotions.com.