Law Office of Dathan Hill August 2019

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August 2019

Back-to-School Route Safety Ways to Keep Your Kids Safe on Their Way to School

As we near the back-to-school season, it can be a difficult time for parents (or those stuck in traffic at school areas). Naturally, there are dozens of questions that will flow through a parent’s mind, like “What kind of supplies does a fifth grader need?” or “What’s the safest route my kids can take to school?” Knowing these are questions that my friends and clients are thinking about, I wanted to share some tips and tricks to make sure your kids get to school safely. Review their route to school before the first day. If your kids are walking to and from school, make sure they know the route like the back of their hand. Walk the route with them several times before the first day of school. While showing them the ropes, point out helpful street markers they can find if they think they’re lost. These can be specific houses, major buildings, street signs, etc. The early bird doesn’t get the worm. Find out when supervision is available before and after school. This can be found on the school website or by asking administrators at the school. This ensures that after your child gets to school safely, there’s someone to watch over them before their school day starts. Understand the rules of the road. If your kid plans to bike to school, go over the basic rules of the road. Here is a quick list of rules bicyclists should follow. Yield to pedestrians and vehicles already on the road. Ride in the same direction that traffic is driving in. • •

Yield before turning.

the designated area for a bus stop. Bus stops are usually on the side of a street, so the less running around in that area, the better. Make sure to go over where the bus stop is as well, even if it’s in your neighborhood. Children have a tendency to forget even the little things, so it never hurts to make sure they know the route. These are just a few ways to keep your kids safe to and from school as we approach back-to- school season. If you liked these or want to learn more tips to keep your kids safe, you can visit the National Safety Council’s website, NSC.org.

• Always use hand signals. Drop off the right way. Not knowing the drop- off procedures at your kids’ school can make for a very dangerous and stressful experience. Make sure to go over the drop-off steps with your children before the first day of school to ensure everyone is on the same page. While some procedures vary from school to school, the National Safety Council provides some universal steps and recommendations. Double parking can decrease the visibility of other drivers and kids at the drop-off zone. Always pick up your kids right at the drop- off/pick-up zone. Never try to have your kids cross the street to your car; the closer, the better. Carpooling reduces the risk of car accidents and the chances of a child being hit in the drop-off zone. This is also a great way to reduce the headache of traffic. • • •

-Dathan Hill

Don’t ride on sidewalks.

Learn bus stop etiquette. With kids, you can never overstress the importance of staying in

Abide by all traffic signals.

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HELPING HUMANS SLOW DOWN AND LOOK UP The Art of Stargazing

Modern humans are stuck in a routine of expected and constant industriousness. But with all this rushing, people often drag themselves home at night with no energy left to enjoy the most splendid show nature has to offer: the wondrous night sky. Most people go through life looking straight ahead, but if they would stop and peer skyward, they’d bear witness to a massive, unexplored frontier made up of the moon in all its phases, burning stars sailing through the sky, constellations with epic origin stories, and meteor showers bright enough to warrant sunglasses. If you’re looking for a hobby to help you slow down and appreciate the world around you, stargazing is a great option. Here are some tips to get you started. 1. The Higher, the Better If you’re a city dweller, meander a little way out of town or try to find a tall building to keep the light pollution to a minimum. 2. Extra Set of Eyes While novice stargazers often want to immediately throw their money at a new telescope, astronomy experts recommend starting with binoculars instead. You’ll need

to identify several anchor planets or constellations to help you navigate the sky before using a telescope.

3. Utilize Assets Put your phone to good use by downloading apps like Stellarium, Starwalk, and Google Sky Map. Each of these apps offers a unique benefit for aspiring stargazers. For example, Starwalk lets you point your phone at the sky to see stars, constellations, and planets in real time based on your location. 4. Mark Your Calendar In 1972, beloved singer-songwriter John Denver wrote about a meteor shower he witnessed during a camping trip in Colorado. He describes the scene by singing, “I’ve seen it raining fire in the sky.”The “fire” he recounted was actually the Perseids meteor shower, the most recognized shower on Earth. This astrological wonder takes place every year from July 17 to Aug. 24. During this time, viewers should be able to see shooting stars associated with the Perseids, but the shower reaches its maximum rate of activity on Aug. 12–13 this year. Grab some friends and family, and head outdoors to put your newfound stargazing knowledge to work. experienced a traumatic event during a routine trip to the lady’s room. In 2007, a schlocky horror plot came to life in a building along Philadelphia’s famous Market Street. The culprit was a faulty plumbing system. The woman was inside a restroom stall on the eighth floor, and, as she sat on one of the old toilets customary in the building, pressure building from inside the tank caused a massive explosion that sent her body hurling out of the stall. You don’t need to know the details of her injuries to understand the extent of her grievances. Some forms of suffering are better left to the imagination, especially if the aggressor was a literal stink bomb. She sued the building’s landlords for anxiety, pain, and medical expenses, but it’s hard to determine which party was truly at fault without more information. IT’S RAINING CATS AND DOLLARS You can’t predict the weather, no matter what your weather app says, but some people tend to forget that. A few years ago, an Israeli weatherman was faced with a lawsuit by a woman who claimed his inaccurate forecast caused her a great deal of suffering. She claimed he misrepresented a particularly harsh day in the forecast, and it encouraged her to wear insufficient layers that left her health to the whim of the elements. As a result, the woman caught the flu from the downpour and missed work for four days. Citing lost income, large medication costs, and tremendous anxiety, she sought reparations from the fraudulent weatherman and was amazingly awarded a four- figure settlement!

The Right Place at the Wrong Time A LOOK AT SOME INTERESTING PERSONAL INJURY CASES

There is no shortage of crazy cases that come through a court of law, but those revolving around personal injury can be especially surprising. Whether it’s a slip-and-fall accident or something a little more eccentric, there are a million ways to hurt yourself while simply going about your day. The problems arise when it’s determined to be another party’s fault. Let’s take a look at some notably strange cases where bizarre miscalculations led to injuries and ailments. AS BELOW, SO ABOVE Time spent in the restroom is inherently private. We don’t normally talk about it, but that’s not the case for a Pennsylvania woman who

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TAKE A BREAK

WHAT’S NEXT FOR MARVEL MOVIES? 3 Marvel Movies to Watch Out For

For the past 10 years, Marvel movies have delighted families and comic book nerds alike with their memorable characters, incredible action scenes, and sprawling, interconnected storylines. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is the story of the Avengers so far, told through 23 movies. Even though this year marked the end of a massive arc that Marvel Studios dubbed “The Infinity Saga,” there are still more movies coming out that will feature everyone’s favorite heroes. Here are a few films coming up next in the MCU. International assassin Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson, was the first female member of the Avengers and made her debut appearance in “Iron Man 2.” She never got her own movie, but Marvel announced recently that a Black Widow movie is officially in the works for the next phase of Marvel movies. Besides the fact that they’ve started filming, there’s not much information about it yet. But for many excited fans, this movie has been a long time coming. A BLACKWIDOW SOLO MOVIE

ROASTED CORN SALSA

‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3’

Ingredients

Inspired by Bon Appétit Magazine

Star-Lord, Rocket, Groot, and the gang are all back in the third installment of this smash-hit franchise. Without getting into too much detail, “Avengers: Endgame” and the post-credits scene of the second “Guardians”movie provided some clues about the plot and possible main villain. Though details are slim, “Vol. 3” is sure to be another rollicking ride through the cosmos.

2 medium ears of corn, shucked

1 large tomato, cored, seeded, and finely chopped

1 jalapeño or Fresno chile, seeded and thinly sliced

1/4 bunch cilantro leaves, sliced

1/2 red onion, diced

Juice of 1 lime

Kosher salt, to taste

‘BLACK PANTHER 2’

Directions

“Black Panther”was immensely popular (it earned nearly $700 billion domestically), and its success removed all doubt that there would be a sequel. Audiences will journey back to Wakanda and see the newest adventures of King T’Challa and crew, although not much is known about the plot or the release date as of now. But you can rest assured that the creative minds behind the sequel are taking their time to make it as good as the first. The future storyline of the MCU is up in the air, but, if the previous movies are any indicator, families, fans, and audiences everywhere have a lot to look forward to.

1. Heat a cast-iron skillet to high. Char corn, turning occasionally, for 10–14 minutes until kernels begin to blacken in spots. 2. Using a sharp knife, remove corn kernels from cobs and transfer to a large mixing bowl. 3. With a wooden spoon or potato masher, gently crush corn to release starch and juices. 4. Add jalapeño, onion, tomato, and cilantro. Mix to combine.

5. Top with lime juice and season with salt. 6. Serve alongside your favorite tortilla chips.

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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

225-224-6412 www.DathanHillLaw.com 301 Main St. #2200 Baton Rouge, LA 70801 INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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School Route Safety

Roasted Corn Salsa The Next Phase of Marvel Movies The Art of Stargazing Bizarre Personal Injury Cases

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How to Best Protect Yourself From Scam Calls

RING, RING — IT’S A ROBOT What You Can Do to Protect Yourself From Phone Scams and Robocalls

PUT UP SOME DETERRENTS. You can even go a step further and block the calls. Many phone service providers offer call-blocking options, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. You can sign up for this service in-store or on your service provider’s website. Each service costs about $4 per month. There are also a number of call-blocking apps available on Android and Apple devices, but if you subscribe to a blocking service through your phone provider, these apps are unnecessary.

Two of the most common scams are phone scams and robocalls. These calls are incredibly annoying and can trick you out of valuable information if you’re not careful. While it might seem like these scams are inescapable, there are some precautions you can take to avoid their traps. GIVE THEM THE SILENT TREATMENT. One thing you can do to avoid these fraudulent, time-wasting calls is to simply hang up. If possible, it is best to not answer at all. It’s always good

to have a list of numbers you can reference, so you never have to guess who is calling. Think of it as going one step beyond caller ID. In some cases, answering and then hanging up can actually do more harm than good. Answering the phone gives the scammers confirmation that the number works and that they should try again. Once your number is confirmed as active, it often gets put on an “active number” list that can then be sold to other scammers who market in these types of phone numbers. If you can’t verify who is calling without picking up, don’t answer. Let it go to voicemail. If it’s important, the person will leave a legitimate message and you can respond afterward.

Finally, you can sign up for the Federal Trade Commission’s “Do Not Call” program (DoNotCall. gov). While the Do Not Call program can help cut back on calls, this list is largely ignored by scammers. If you’re getting a ridiculous number of robocalls every day, signing up can offer you some brief respite. Thankfully, Congress is already attempting to fix this problem by making it harder for scammers to call you. But until they are able to pass tough, effective legislation, it is up to us as consumers to remain vigilant and do what we can to keep our personal and financial data safe and secure.

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