Registration is now open for the 2011 St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend races to be held Saturday, Dec. 3.

Participants can register online at www.stjudemarathon.org for any of the four races: St. Jude Memphis Marathon, St. Jude Memphis Half Marathon, the Memphis Grizzlies House 5K and the St. Jude Memphis Family Race and Kids Marathon.

The Alzheimer’s Association of the Mid-South is proud to present the 2011 Caregiver’s Conference to be held on Thursday, May 5, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Agricenter International  at 7777 Walnut Grove.

This day long conference, made possible from generous funding from the Aging Commission of the Mid-South, is created specifically for those who are responsible for caring for a compromised family loved one who is suffering from dementia. The theme of this year’s conference is "Survivor… Prevail, Persist and Persevere."

Seminars include “To Drive Or Not To Drive," "Legal Issues”, “Enriching Your Life Through Their Memories,” “Drumming for Caregiver Stress Relief” and more. A vendor fair packed with educational information as well as giveaways is sure to please conference participants.

A free lunch will be offered and participants will also enjoy a non alcohol tropical drink from the Tiki Bar. 

The entire day is free including free parking.

Late last week, new county health rankings came down from the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, and it isn’t good news for the Mid-South. Shelby County ranks 82 out of the 95 counties in Tennessee when it comes to the percentage of obese residents. 

In Shelby County, 34% of people? are obese. In Crittenden County, it’s 35%. In DeSoto County, it’s 32%, but in Tunica and Quitman Counties, it reaches up to 42%. Throughout our area (including Missouri), there isn’t a single county that falls below 30% obesity.  That means at least one out of every three people in our community is obese.