UPDATE: Balanced Life Assembly canceled

The Balanced for Life Assembly scheduled for P.E. and Health classes at Blair on Jan. 13 was canceled due to scheduling conflicts, according to Assistant Principal Linda Wanner.

According to a letter sent by Wanner to teachers and Blair administration on Jan. 3, the Balanced for Life Assembly was a national press event that featured professional football star and President of Bush's Council on Physical Fitness Lynn Swan as the keynote speaker. Wanner also noted in her letter that the event would be bringing several other unnamed dignitaries to Blair as well.

The program, sponsored by several vending machine companies including Monumental Vending, hoped to encourage healthy eating by giving "certain students access to a wide array of choices and [helping them] understand the importance of a balanced diet," according to the letter. The assembly was scheduled to take place during fifth period so that several Health and PE classes could attend.

According to Clark Communication's President Jackie Clark, MCPS Public Information Office Director Brian Edwards officially canceled the event, but limited information has been released regarding the nature of the cancellation.

Edwards said that, in the end, it was Blair Principal Phillip Gainous who canceled the event. "The decision was made on the school level," said Edwards. "I didn't make [or announce] the decision."

Gainous, however, stated that he had no involvement in the cancellation of the event. "Wanner made the announcement," he commented. Gainous did not know who decided to cancel the assembly and noted that he had no involvement in making the final decision.