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Marble – What started out looking like approaching bad weather ended up holding off just in time for a community health fair at the Marble Community Center on Thursday.
Turnout was good for the event, which was sponsored by programs of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The health fair offered a variety of health information from different vendors and included some on site testing such as glucose, blood pressure, oxygen level, HIV and hepatitis C.
Mike Stamper with the Syringe Services Mobile Unit said his purpose is to help slow the spread of diseases and clean up the streets of used and discarded needles by offering new syringes, in exchange for used ones.
“People are still going to get high, so we give them a better way of doing it,” he said. “It helps to stop the spread of diseases like HIV, hep C, AIDS and things like that. They bring in their needles so they’re not laying around on the streets.”
Jesse Boeckermann had a table set up from the Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte. He was happy to be giving away toilet paper, diapers and adult under-ware – as well as cat and dog food – to anyone who needed them.
“We’re very honored to be invited here today and to be part of this wonderful community event,” he said.
It’s the first time this event has been done in Cherokee County. But with positive response, it will be held annually.
Some other vendors included the Cherokee County Health Department, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Public Health & Human Services, Cherokee Indian Hospital and Snowbird/Cherokee County Services, which helps with home repairs, lawn assistance and more to qualified and enrolled seniors.
James “Bo” Taylor with Snowbird/Cherokee County Language & Culture was busy cooking up some burgers and hot dogs with a big smile. He is a Cherokee dancer and storyteller, who strives to keep the Cherokee language alive by teaching it.
Karla Fisher was a vendor with the Cherokee Indian Hospital. She manages the dental clinic and was helping to promote good oral hygiene. Her focus was on oral hygiene, sugar intake and cleaning teeth as well as the human papillomavirus.
“HPV is becoming one of the leading oral cancer causes.” she said, stressing the importance of getting younger people vaccinated.
Folks attending the health fair were treated to numerous freebies, including an index card with their name written in the Cherokee language. There were also door prizes, such as a television donated by Circuit World in Murphy.
For details, call Snowbird/Cherokee County Community Health at 828-346-6959