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Wednesday, December 28, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Flu cases on the rise
Influenza cases are ris-
ing in Oregon, and although
the increase is expected this
time of year, Oregon Health
Authority officials say it
shows flu season is off to a
strong and early start.
It’s also a good reminder
that it’s not too late to get a
flu shot, said Paul Cieslak,
MD, of the OHA Public
Health Division.
“The winter months are a
time when we find ourselves
indoors a lot, gathering with
family, friends and col-
leagues, and it’s also a very
good time for the flu virus
to spread,” said Cieslak,
medical director in Public
Health Division’s Acute
and Communicable Disease
Prevention Section and
the Oregon Immunization
Program. “People can get
a vaccination now and be
ready for the festivities.”
During the week of Dec.
4-10, Oregon laboratories
reported 207 specimens that
were positive for influenza.
That’s up from 134 posi-
tive flu specimens during
Nov. 27-Dec. 3, and from
117 positive specimens dur-
ing Nov. 20-27. Most of the
cases have been influenza A,
this season’s predominant flu
type.
Hospitalizations have
jumped sharply in recent
weeks, too. So far, there have
been a total of 66 hospitaliza-
tions for influenza-like ill-
nesses—based on monitoring
in Clackamas, Multnomah
and Washington counties—
since flu season began the
first week of October. That
includes 23 hospitalizations
the week of December 4-10,
up from 17 during November
27-December 3, and 13 dur-
ing Nov. 20-26.
There have been no pedi-
atric deaths attributed to the
flu this season, officials say.
The Public Health Division
does not track adult flu
deaths.
“While this is shaping
up to be a heavy flu season,
this uptick during this time
of the year is fairly typical,”
Cieslak said. “Flu season
doesn’t usually peak until
late February or early March,
so people can and should get
their flu shots.”
Flu is a virus that causes
mild to severe respiratory ill-
ness and can lead to hospital-
ization. The virus kills thou-
sands of people in the U.S.
each year. People who are at
higher risk of severe illness
or death include children,
adults older than 65, preg-
nant women and those with
chronic medical conditions
or weak immune systems.
The flu vaccine is the
best protection against flu. It
can take up to two weeks to
become effective, so getting
it earlier in the season is ideal.
That said, it’s not too late,
since flu season usually lasts
until spring. Vaccinations are
recommended for everyone 6
months and older.
So far, flu vaccine manu-
facturers have shipped more
than 1.1 million doses to
Oregon during the 2016-
2017 flu season. More than
a million of these doses have
been reported to Oregon’s
ALERT Immunization
Information System as hav-
ing been administered.
Other ways to help pre-
vent flu:
• Stay home and limit
contact with others if you are
sick; that includes staying
home from work or school
when you are sick.
• Cover your nose and
mouth with a tissue when
you cough or sneeze. Throw
the tissue out when you are
done.
• Wash hands with soap
and water. Use an alcohol-
based hand rub if soap and
water are not available.
• Avoid touching your
eyes, nose and mouth.
• Clean and disinfect sur-
faces and objects that may
have flu germs on them.
• Avoid getting coughed
and sneezed on.
Flu vaccine is available
from healthcare providers,
local health departments and
many pharmacies. To find
a flu vaccine clinic, visit
www.flu.oregon.gov and use
OHA’s flu vaccine locator
tool.
APARTMENTS: Project
projected to cost
$5.5 million
Continued from page 3
to approve committing
$300,000 to the project, the
amount still needed after all
other funding sources were
secured. Council’s number-
one goal for 2016 has been
to secure affordable housing
in Sisters and this project will
go toward meeting that goal.
Sisters currently has only
33 affordable rental units at
Tamarack Village, which
consistently has a year-long
waiting list.
Kemper estimates the
entire project will cost
$5.5 million. The LIFT
fund money will provide
about $38,000 per unit. He
said many different fund-
ing sources are essential in
order to build the new project
because it costs just as much
to build affordable housing
as it does to build market-
rate apartments, and the costs
aren’t offset enough when
the rents need to be afford-
able for people who make 60
percent of the adjusted gross
income in Deschutes County.
The official announce-
ment for the LIFT funds will
be made January 6, 2017.
Shortly thereafter Council
will host an open house for
the public to see and hear
about the proposed town-
house development, which
will be built on currently
vacant land behind the shop-
ping center where Ray’s
Food Place is located, at the
west end of Sisters.
Help make snow
removal easier
Winter gave Sisters
Country an ample helping
of snow in December, and
if predictions are accurate,
we’ll be getting some more.
Dave Vitelle of Bear
Mountain Fire contracts for
snow removal, and he and his
crew have been exceptionally
busy. He offered some tips
to make snow removal more
efficient and effective.
He recommends that driv-
ers park their vehicles about
a foot short of the curb. That
way, clearing the sidewalk
with an ATV with a blade on
it is more efficient — not hav-
ing to work around bumpers.
If you have to park your
vehicle on the street, park it at
the end of a long row of park-
ing rather than in the middle.
That allows the plowing crew
to clear a swath of parking
without a major obstacle right
in the middle of it and makes
it easier to minimize plowing
a vehicle in.
“That would really facili-
tate better service across the
board,” he told The Nugget.
Vitelle noted that removal
crews have been very short
on places where they can
haul and dump snow, and he
expressed his appreciation for
Shane Lundgren, who opened
up his industrial park prop-
erty to allow snow disposal.
PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS
How you park has an effect on your snow removal.
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