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If Cancer Was A Fish picture book is meant to help kids cope with tragedy
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If Cancer Was A Fish picture book is meant to help kids cope with tragedy - photo by Peter Rosen
If cancer was a fish, Tiffany Berg Coughran and her five kids would definitely throw it back.

Thats the visual Coughran conjured up several years ago when her husband, Paul Berg, was diagnosed with oral cancer.

It became a short story, illustrated with clip art, that she wrote for her nieces and nephews and later shared with her own children.

The thing that was so hard in our home is that it was so quiet at that time, Coughran said. The kids werent really talking anymore, and it was very somber around our house and I really wanted them to be able to share what was going on. I was afraid because they werent talking.

When we heard it was terminal I just shut everything out because I didnt believe he would ever be gone, said her daughter, Hayley Hardy. Even after he passed I didnt believe it. I just told myself he was on vacation. Hed come back.

(Mom) was always trying to get us to talk about it because she knew thats what we needed.

After Paul Berg died in 2009, Coughran published the book, If Cancer Was A Fish, Id Throw It Back. In the story, a boy imagines cancer is a fish and throws it back, imagines cancer is a spider and smashes it, and imagines cancer is calling on the phone and ignores the call.

The message, she says, is that children, faced with catastrophic illness, are allowed to get upset and express their emotions.

We tell them You need to be nice. You need to be a nice person. It's not OK to hate people. Its not OK to be angry and really when it comes to cancer I think it's OK to be angry, she says. The goal of the book is to just say it's OK. On any given day you could be feeling a variety of things and you're still OK.
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Georgia Motorcycle Safety Program announces grant
Funds earmarked for Share the Road initiatives
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Grant funding totaling $93,458 has been awarded to the Georgia Motorcycle Safety Program (GMSP) by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. The approved funding will be used to increase motorcycle safety awareness and outreach by encouraging all motorists and motorcyclists to Share the Road.

“The need for motorcycle safety programs is greater than ever, and this support from GOHS enables motorcycle safety programs and impaired riding initiatives to reach riders and non-riders alike” said Commissioner Spencer R. Moore. “Thank you GOHS for helping (the Department of Driver Services) and GMSP educate and encourage all Georgia drivers to ‘Share the Road.’”

The grant allows DDS to further develop the Motorcycle Safety Outreach Program by continuing to fund a position to promote state and national safety initiatives. The GMSP outreach coordinator researches, coordinates and helps maintain an adequate presence at industry events, local schools and colleges, regional meetings and festivals to increase awareness of motorcycles on the roadways and provide the most current information on motorcycle safety initiatives.

Visitors to a GMSP event display are also encouraged to sign up for regular newsletters which provide additional safety information, as well as review the motorcycle safety message on other social media platforms.

GMSP regulates motorcycle training for new riders, as well as seasoned riders, who want to learn how to ride a motorcycle legally and safely. The program is based on a continuum of learning and therefore offers three entry points to rider education.

Students participating in the Basic Riders Course do not need specialized motorcycle equipment, as the GMSP provides both a motorcycle and a helmet to class participants. Upon successful completion of the course, participants receive a 90-day license waiver card that exempts them from both the written and on-cycle skills tests needed to obtain a Class M license in the state of Georgia.

Please visit the DDS website at www.dds.georgia.gov for many online services including the convenience of enrolling in a GMSP training class and accessing many licensing services.

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