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Colts quarterback Andrew Luck abruptly announces retirement

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<p>Most area schools are back in session tomorrow &#8211; and if not tomorrow, then definitely within the next week or so.</p><p>Pencils have been sharpened, new supplies have been purchased, lunches will be packed, and kids will be getting in bed early for what, hopefully, will be a fun and educational year for them.</p><p>But we know that in order to be successful in school, so much more is at play than simply learning in the classroom. A child must be physically and emotionally healthy in order to learn. While there are so many different components to one&#8217;s health, we at Northeast Sight Services are obviously focused on good vision for children.</p><p>While we spend much of our time advocating that children should receive comprehensive eye exams from an optometrist prior to starting school, we also are proud to offer free vision screenings to children entering kindergarten during local schools&#8217; kindergarten registration process. This allows for parents to know if there is a potential vision issue for their child before they enter school. Once a child is in kindergarten, the school district takes over and will provide the screenings for the kids from elementary through high school.</p><p>But what about our little ones? The children who are learning their ABCs, how to count, and recognize their sight words, colors and shapes in day cares and preschools throughout our area? Lucky for them, Northeast Sight Services is here in our local community and provides this free service to children and families in Luzerne, Pike, Wayne, and Wyoming counties. And we have done this for more than 50 years! We often say, whether you know it or not, you and your family has been touched by our organization in some way.</p><p>Because more than 5,000 children, ages 6 and under, receive vision screenings by our organization annually &#8211; with many needing glasses or other interventions to see clearly. This is a crucial population to reach because at that young age, children don&#8217;t know and therefore can&#8217;t express that they are not seeing as well as they should be. The same goes for the parents &#8211; how often do we hear a parent having no idea (and feeling guilty!) that that their young son or daughter needed glasses.</p><p>We are so proud to be able to offer this powerful service to our community &#8211; reaching our children at a young age to optimize their ability to learn. We wish a healthy, safe, and fun school year to you all!</p><p>If you want to learn more about our screenings (or want to share your personal stories of how a vision screening helped you or your child), feel free to contact us at 570-693-3555 x227 or at amy@northeastsight.org.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Sara Gorgone Peperno</p><p>Guest Columnist</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Sara Gorgone Peperno is the president and CEO of Northeast Sight Services. She contributes a monthly column to the Times Leader.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Their view: Make vision screenings part of your back-to-school routine