When the air feels warmer and wetter, it means only one thing—summer is on the way. What’s the best way to cool off from this summer while doing something both exciting and challenging? Join the Okinawa Dolphins Swim Team!
"The Okinawa Dolphins strive to provide a competitive swimming program in which all swimmers can develop to the maximum of their abilities,” says Mathew Luebbers, Okinawa Dolphins Head Coach. “If they are a novice, they get the appropriate level of instruction. If they are a swimmer above that, we offer challenged to help them get there.” Swimmers have the opportunity to compete in local Japanese meets as well as other swimming competitions.
Tryouts for the Okinawa Dolphins will be held on May 19, 20, and 21 from 3 to 5:15 p.m. at the Foster 50-Meter Pool. To make the team, swimmers must be at least 7 years old and complete a minimum of 2x25 meter non-stop, legal swims using two of the four competitive styles (front crawl, back crawl, breaststroke, or butterfly) with no outside assistance. Coaches will be looking for technique, not speed. Once the tryout is over, a coach will meet with the swimmer and parent(s) to discuss the results.
Spring and summer swim seasons run May 27 to July 22. Spring after-school practices will run from May 27 to June 12, with specific practice times assigned to each skill level group after tryouts. Summer practices will run 8 to 10:30 am, from June 16 to July 22.
APRIL 30 11 A.M.—1 P.M.
BUTLER O'CLUB
TICKETS $11
THIS LUNCHEON WILL HIGHLIGHT THE EFFORTS OF DoD AND MILITARY SERVICES IN COMBATING AND PPEVENTING SEXUAL ASSAULT CRIMES.
TO REGiSTER, EMAIL JOEANNA GREEN AT joe.green@usmc.mil. PAYMENT WILL BE ACCEPTED AT THE DOOR.
EXPLORE OKINAWA
WITH MCCS TOURS+
Fun Day at Marriott Resort
Saturday, April 19; 10 a.m.—4 p.m.
Adults, $45; Children (6—11), $26; Children (3—5), $11; Children (0—4), $5
Enjoy the ultimate in Okinawan beach relaxation at this resort. Enjoy the garden pool (with water slide), training room, and sauna. Bring yen for lunch and spending. Note: No children under 3 will be allowed.
Extreme Tunnel Rats
Saturday, April 19; 9 am.—5 p.m.
Adults, $18; Children (7—11), $11
Come join the explorers of Tours+ on a tunnel tour of a lifetime. We’ll explore numerous caves that served as bunkers and shelters during WWII. Included in the tour is a stop at the Battle of Okinawa Historical Collection. Bring dollars for lunch. Note: Participants should wear old clothing and sturdy, comfortable shoes and bring a hat, flashlight, and gloves. This tour is not recommended for children under 7.
Hedo Point & Kongou
Sunday, April 20; 9 a.m.—5 p.m.
Adults, $24.50; Children (3-11), $15; Children (0-2) $5
Hike among the amazing rock formations and banyan tree roots of this beautiful park. After lunch at Hedo Point, enjoy a trip to Banta precipice. Note: Hiking can be strenuous and is not recommended for individuals with health problems.
Okinawa World/Himeyuri Noto
Sunday, April 20; 9 a.m.—5 p.m.
Adults, $29; Children (3-11), $16; Children (0-2), $5
Tour Gyokusendo, then enjoy an eisa drum show, a glass-blowing demonstration, a pottery village, and an awamori shop. Also tour the reptile museum (Y600). Visit Himeyuri Noto to hear the history of the Student Nurse Corps from WWII (Y300). Bring yen for lunch, purchases, and admission fees.
The sun is out, the air more humid, and those noisy ACs are turning on. It’s official, winter has left to make way for spring. What better way to celebrate balmy springtime on Okinawa than with a cool, crisp salad? Or maybe you're not quite ready to leave behind those cool weather, soul-warming comfort foods. You don’t have to choose one or the other—MCCS clubs &
restaurants offer the best of both seasons. MCCS is proud to announce its all new Endless Soup & Salad promotion.
For the special price of only $6.95, you can enjoy an endless Garden Fresh Salad—spinach, sunny leaf and iceberg lettuce topped with tomato wedges, sliced cucumbers, shredded carrots, red onions, black olives, garbanzo beans, halved boiled eggs, and crispy croûtons— paired with your choice of a bottomless bowl of Green Chili Chicken Soup or Hearty Beef Chili.
These season-fresh salads and piping hot soups are now available at the Awase Meadows Restaurant, Camp Courtney’s Bayview, BeachHead at Camp Schwab, Kinser Surfside, Camp Foster’s Globe & Anchor, The Palms on Camp Hansen, and Thirsty’s on MCAS Futenma.
I recently moved to Naha City in Okinawa, and live in off-base quarters. While I was very impressed with the strict regulations regarding the separation of trash for recycling, I still have problems figuring out which trash is in what category. Can you help?
'Truly Thai’ is a popular theme with the Thailand, the Land of Smiles, and Jasmine on Okinawa is proud to use it too.
Jasmine is salon offering genuine Thai massage in a truly Thai atmosphere, with Thai-trained masseuses. Since opening its doors in April one year ago, Jasmine has been introducing Okinawa clientele to the wonders of Thai massage, which “begins from the tips of your toes,” says owner Pranee. “The massage energy then gradually moves upward to the top of your head by following Zen energy lines,” she explains, “because they are the pathways through the body where energy is thought to travel.”
Thai massage accents circulation and pressure points, which promote health and muscular flexibility. Pranee and the other Jasmine masseuses are all graduates of the Wat Po Thai Traditional Medical School in Bangkok, one of the country’s best known and respected. Okinawa customers receive the benefits of that training, which is transformed into the Thai massage, which can take two hours or more, although Jasmine does offer shorter regimens.
Pranee works the massage through face up, face down, side and sitting positions to enable the masseuse to perform a variety of exercises involving gentle stretching of muscles with pressure from the palms, thumbs, elbows and feet. In addition to traditional Thai massage, Jasmine offers Herbal Tent sauna, oil massage and hot herbal compresses with herbal balls.
A Thai massage session begins with traditional greetings and having feet washed in herbal scented water, then donning loose fitting pajamas for the massage. Jasmine is excited about this month’s anniversary, and is offering customers a 10% discount on all courses.
To get to Jasmine, take Route 58 toward Naha from MCAS Futenma. After seeing Jimmy’s bakery on the left, make a left turn at the fourth traffic signal (the one with the big Sharp sign on the above corner) Then make a right at the single blinking red light, continue straight until the road curves to the left, and look for Jasmine on the left corner adjacent to Lawson’s at Ojana in Ginowan City. For more information call 090-2969-4744.
•Facial . 3000 yen
•Body . .3O min/3000 yen
. . . . . . .6O min/5000 yen
. . . . . . .90 min/7000 yen
•Facial + Body -1000 yen discount!
- No special service
- By appointment only!!
Kaori Tanahara
Inspired by the humanitarian spirit of one local non-profit organization, Camp Kinser has been giving a helping hand to Okinawa’s homeless for more than a year.
As a part of its community relations effort, Camp Kinser regularly donates food and clothes to the Promise Keepers, an Urasoe City-based non-profit organization which provides local homeless people food, shelter and rehabilitation programs, according to David Evans, deputy commander, Camp Kinser.
Once or twice each week, the NPO goes aboard Camp Kinser to collect donations from the commissary. Donations include bread, snack foods, candies, bottled water and soft drinks that either have limited shelf-life or are excess stock.
Individuals and families, especially those who are about to leave Okinawa, also donate non-perishable food and clothes.
Promise Keepers has been collecting food and clothing for local homeless individuals since 2000, according to Shoryo Yamauchi, a group spokesperson.
“Donations from Camp Kinser average about three tons a month and comprise about 70 percent of all the food we provide for the homeless,” he said. Other donations come from local businesses, churches, and individuals, according to Yamauchi.
Donated food and drinks are first provided to about 55 homeless persons who live temporarily at the organization’s shelter. The remaining items are taken to seven different public parks, including Naha’s Yogi Park, where NPO volunteers feed an average of 300 homeless people every weekend.
Camp Kinser’s first donation was in October 2006. That was one month after Yamauchi met Evans at an annual charity concert the Promise Keepers hosts at Yogi Park to support the homeless and raise awareness of their plight among Okinawans.
There, Yamauchi told Evans about the organization and its goals.
When Evans learned that the NPO was in constant need of donations, he sought to get the entire camp involved.
“Our camp has always tried to help our community and our neighbors,” said Evans. “I thought this was a good opportunity to help out the Okinawan community and build on our relationship
to make it even stronger.”
Evans first talked to Col. Paul Greenwood, the camp commander at the time, about the NPO. Greenwood agreed that the organization was one the base should support. After that, Evans appealed to the camp’s tenant agencies. “All have been very supportive of donating to the
organization,” he said.
Yamauchi said the number of the homeless on Okinawa increases each year. “We sometimes have difficulty getting new supporters,“ he said. “We really appreciate the camp leadership’s understanding and quick responses to our requests.”
“Many who participate in our program get back on their feet,” said Yamauchi. “One piece of bread can turn around a person’s life,” he added. The people we feed all know where their food comes from and that the Marine Corps on Okinawa is reaching out to them.”
Lance Cpl. David Rogers
OKINAWA MARINE STAFF
Ann Marshall always had a hard time answering when other parents and kids asked the same question: “Why isn’t he talking?” She couldn’t really answer because she never really knew why her 18-month-old son, Wesley, wasn’t talking.
When the pediatrician recommended her son attend therapy at Educational and Developmental Intervention Services, she didn’t take it well. She didn’t like the thought of Wesley ending up in a special education class.
“I was devastated — is probably a good word,” said Marshall, a stay-at-home mom. “I don’t know if it scared me or just made me wonder what I didn’t do for him.”
With advancements in detection tools used to identify children with developmental delays, more children are getting needed treatment, according to Lt. Cmdr. Arlene Saitzyk, a clinical psychologist with EDIS.
The mission of EDIS, a department of U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa, is to maximize the educational potential of children who have developmental delays or who are at risk for developmental delays.
The Early Intervention Services is one of the most important services the department’s staff would like all parents to know about, according to Saitzyk. Early Intervention Services screen children ages three and younger for early development issues.
“A child’s brain develops quickly in the first three years,” Tanenbaum said, “more than any other time in a person’s life. People used to believe they were just playing and children didn’t learn anything until they entered school. Now, we know it’s the first few years that are the most important.”
The Early Intervention Services of EDIS has a team of early childhood educators, nurses, occupational and physical therapists, speech language pathologists, social workers, child psychologists and developmental pediatricians.
The same professionals helped Marshall realize her child’s speech difficulties were not her fault. Wesley’s speech appears to be his only deficiency, and when his speech abilities catch up with his peers, he won’t need to attend a special needs program in pre-school.
“A lot of times they go through our program, quickly building skills, and they don’t need special education,” said Doreen Tanenbaum, an early childhood special educator for EDIS. “That’s the beauty of early intervention.”
Parents can use a simple questionnaire to rate the frequency of specific communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving, personal and social abilities their baby should have.
After analyzing the questionnaire, Early Intervention Service staff members call parents for further evaluations of children who show significant deficiencies in any area, according to Tanenbaum. Parents and Early Intervention Service staff conduct a comprehensive interview with the children to mutually decide what’s best for the child and set up an individual family support plan.
“Parents are the children’s first teacher and the teacher that will be with them for the rest of their lives,” Tanenbaum said. “Giving them the skills they need in the home is very important”
A medical evaluation can be performed on children suspected of having medical conditions contributing to their developmental delays, according to Army Maj. Michelle Ervin, a developmental pediatrician with EDIS.
“If a child is found to have significant enough delays, part of the reason could be an underlying issue,” Ervin said.
Marshall and her son have attended therapy at EDIS for almost a year. Currently, they attend a transition class to prepare him for pre-school at Bob Hope Primary School. Marshall says EDIS therapies helped her son, who is now two, control his temper, perform daily routines and improve his overall behavior. Wesley hasn’t started talking yet, but Marshall is better prepared for her son to attend special needs classes and is grateful for the progress EDIS professionals helped her son make.
“If I say kisses and hugs, he understands,” Marshall said. “I am just waiting to hear him say ‘I love you momma.'”
Parents interested in having their child screened should call EDIS at 634-2747.
