Mom helps devise allergy program in Medina Schools
[10.11.08]

    MEDINA--Some allergies cause sneezing and itchy eyes, but for Teresa Newlands, allergies can be a matter of life and death for her children.

Newlands, a teacher at Brunswick High School, has two boys, Ronnie, 7, and Curtis, 9, who have life-threatening allergies.

She discovered Curtis was allergic to peanuts and nuts when he swallowed some at a restaurant. He began to cough violently, have trouble breathing and started throwing up, Newlands said.

Ronnie's allergies mainly manifest through his skin, Newlands said.

"We ended up traveling across the country to get him (Ronnie) help," she said. "We learned a lot about allergies then and how life-threatening they are."

Council Considering Food Allergy Legislation

[3.22.09]

   Medina City Council is considering ground-breaking legislation that would require restaurants in the city to post warnings and train its employees on the dangers of food allergies. 

     Concilman John Coyne has introduced the poroposal upon the urging of Teresa Newlands, founder of Food Allergy Focus, a local nonprofit organization for parents of children with dangerous food allergies. 

     Coyne, who is chairman of the council's special legislation committee, was cautious to say his committee had not yet reviewed th porposal to determine what council actions might be feasible or what the costs might be.  However, he considers it a serious issue that is worth exploring.

     Coyne and Newlands are not aware of any other Ohio cities that have adopted legislation similar to what is being proposed in Medina.  However, the state of Massachusetts enacted a restaurant law in January and New Hampshire and Connecticut have similar laws pending.