MONTICELLO, Iowa (AP) – Hundreds of people volunteered to have their heads shaved this weekend in an effort to set a world record and show their support for a 5-year-old boy who lost his own hair during treatment for cancer. The boy, Austin Smith, is the son of Monticello police chief Britt Smith. KCRG-TV reports that Austin’s grandfather was the first person in line among the more than 400 people who had their heads shaved within one hour on Sunday.

Organizers say they needed at least 372 people to have their heads shaved. They will present the figures, along with videos and photos of the event to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) today (Monday), said 10 Iowa communities have been awarded fluoride certificates by the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors on behalf of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Dental Association (ADA). Fluoridation is the adjustment of fluoride in the water to an optimal level for preventing tooth decay.

Denison and Winterset were among the communities receiving a 50-year award for maintaining continuous community water fluoridation from 1964-2014.

Today, approximately 75 percent of Americans served by public water systems drink optimally-fluoridated water. Fluoridated water safely and inexpensively reduces tooth decay by 25 percent in children and adults. The CDC has recognized community water fluoridation as one of the ten great public health achievements of the 20th Century and recommends water fluoridation as a safe, effective, and inexpensive method of preventing tooth decay.

To see the fluoridation status of Iowa counties and towns, visit https://nccd.cdc.gov/DOH_MWF/Default/Default.aspx.

We all forget our keys or phone occasionally, and many of us have wondered if our frequent forgetfulness could be a sign of a bigger problem. “When Should I Worry?” is the topic of Cass County Health System’s next Healthy U session. The program will be presented on Thursday, July 30th at noon in CCHS Conference Room 2.

Stacey Bean, PA-C

Stacey Bean, Physician Assistant at the Atlantic Medical Center, will present information about dementia with a focus on Alzheimer’s. Stacey Bean has been a Physician Assistant at Atlantic Medical Center since 2006. She provides a broad range of family medicine services, and is board certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.

Dementia is a broad category of brain diseases that cause a decrease in the ability to think and remember to the point that a person’s daily functioning is affected. Dementia will affect 1 in 8 people—up to 35 million people worldwide. Approximately 50-70% of dementia patients have Alzheimer’s.

Healthy U is a free educational series that focuses on a different health topic each month. Attendees receive a healthy sack lunch in addition to an educational program presented by medical professionals. Future topics will include joint health, mental illness, and diabetes.

For more information, or to make a reservation for the July 30th Healthy U, call 712-243-7479.