2019 was a very active year for Healthier Lyon County, and they won’t be slowing down in 2020.
HLC closed out the year with their monthly Walk With a Doc event at Flint Hills Mall. Teressa Briggs of Healthier Lyon County, a recent guest of KVOE’s Newsmaker segment, says they have been very pleased with how warmly the community has embraced the event over the past couple of years.
Additionally, 2019 saw the formation of Healthier Lyon County’s new bike-share program. According to Briggs in just the two months the bikes were available they had 400 rides recorded.
Briggs says they are currently considering adding additional sites for the program near Walmart, Aldi and on the Emporia State University campus. The bikes have since been placed into storage for the winter season and will make their return after daylight savings time.
Looking ahead to 2020 Briggs says a major focus will be addressing the local vaping epidemic which has been a major discussion topic nationwide since mid-2019. Recently President Donald Trump signed legislation raising the legal age for purchasing tobacco and vaping products to 21.
Briggs says this is a good step, however, it is not the ultimate solution to the problem.
According to Briggs, adding vaping to the existing clean indoor air act, which was proposed and approved by the City of Emporia roughly 10 years ago, is at the top of the list for Healthier Lyon County this year. Also during the Newsmaker interview Briggs provided an update on the Lyon County Food Council which was officially approved by the Lyon County Commission towards the end of last year.
She tells KVOE News all of the members have been appointed and they have recently received a $10,000 grant from the American Heart Association to conduct an assessment of the food system in Lyon County.
For more information on Healthier Lyon County and its activities find the group on Facebook.
