in other words
february7
WOEC Current: News and Notes From the Co-op
2013
7
West Oregon Electric Cooperative 2013 Scholarships
Two $1,000 WOEC Sam Hearing Scholarships will be awarded this year
By Sarah Rossi
High school seniors throughout
the West Oregon Electric service area
are eligible to apply for the WOEC Sam
Hearing Scholarship program. Seniors
looking to further their education
by attending any college, university,
community college, or trade school can
apply for one of two $1,000 scholarships.
The West Oregon Electric
Cooperative Sam Hearing Scholarships
are given in the memory of Sam
Hearing. Sam served on the WOEC
board of directors for 35 years, and his
commitment to the co-op and community
are symbolized in the continuing effort
of WOEC to help further the education
of our youth. Sam and his wife, Alvilda,
shared a strong commitment to education
– Alvilda as a school teacher in Vernonia,
and Sam serving as a member of the
Vernonia School Board and Columbia
County Education Service District. This
commitment led the WOEC board of
directors to establish the Sam Hearing
Scholarship fund in August of 2003
when Sam retired from the WOEC
board. Sam passed away in 2004, and so
the scholarships will remain to remind
us of his dedication to our Cooperative
and the community that he lived in and
served.
This year the applicants will
be judged on academic performance,
overall essay information, as well as their
commitment to their community through
their community service. Applicants are
asked to complete a brief application
form that will give a personal profile,
two essays, and activities chart.
The applications will be
reviewed by a scholarship committee
of co-op members who donate their
time to evaluate them and award
the scholarships. The WOEC board
of directors memorialized their
appreciation of the excellent and valued
work that has been done by our volunteer
Scholarship Committee by passing a
resolution at the January board meeting
Creature Comforts ~ Dental Health
By Michal Smith
February is Heart Health month for people and
National Pet Dental Health month too! Over the last
couple of years, we’ve been learning in the media how
our own mouth’s health (teeth, breath and gums) has a
direct effect on our heart’s health. It was recently re-
ported by the American Veterinary Dental Society that
“gingivitis and periodontal disease in cats and dogs
have become widespread and that more than 85 percent
of dogs and cats show signs of oral disease by the age
of 4.”
When food and bacteria build up in your pet’s
mouth it forms plaque and tartar which leads to gin-
givitis. If gingivitis is ignored it can then lead to even
more serious dental problems like periodontal disease
and tooth decay or even tooth loss. When bacteria from
periodontal disease travels into your pet’s bloodstream,
important internal organs like the lungs, heart, kidneys,
liver, and nervous system can be negatively affected,
and may even result in death.
It used to be that we’d all save up for an ex-
pensive pet teeth cleaning at the vet every couple of
years of so and that was that for mouth care. But the pet
industry has evolved to offer pet owners a variety of
products and types of applications to allow us to easily
be daily proactive with our pets oral care and success-
fully address the stinky breath and plaque buildup we
often complain about.
Of course the most obvious tools are the old
toothbrush and toothpaste—which we carry in the store.
(The toothpaste is chicken and beef flavor-mmm!) But
if opening your pets jaws and scrubbing away is not a
safe option for you, we carry the hard Petrodex beef-
hide dental chews for dogs; Greenies dental treats and
chews for both dogs and cats; mouth sprays, gels and
rinses that break down plaque and tartar; as well as wa-
ter additives that when the pet gets a drink of water
they are also treating their teeth! We also carry Flossy
Bones for the dogs which consist of a cotton rope bone
infused with spearmint for fresh breath and as the dog
chews on it, the cotton works to floss away plaque and
tartar.
Keeping our pet’s teeth and mouth cleaned and
their breath smelling fresh does not have to be daunting
anymore. However, we do recommend your pet receive
an oral exam by a vet at least once a year. And if your
pet displays really bad breath on a regular basis, visible
tartar buildup on the teeth, swollen, receding or bleed-
ing gums, fractured or abscessed teeth, or a change in
eating habits, take your pet to a vet as soon as you can.
To help support pets clean teeth AND give
owners something to smile about, Creatures is offer-
ing all pet dental products at 15% off regular price all
month!
Need something new to motivate Fluffy and
Fido? Consider CORN FREE Buddy Biscuits by
Cloud Star. In the store now - they’re a mouthwater-
ing soft bite size chew in flavors bacon/cheese; duck;
peanut butter and roasted chicken. (These have been
endorsed by who else but Buddy, Richard’s farm pit-
bull). Also in the store are the Greenies new cat treats
that not only support dental health but that also support
fur and skin; digestion & hairball.
Creatures Pet Store is open M-F 10-6; Sat 10-
5; Sun 12-4; 503-429-PETS (7387).
Natural Path to Health: Our New Office Space!
By Dr. Carol McIntyre
large space with bright natural light that
I hope will help her to enjoy her work
I am happy to announce that and I am more than happy to honor her
I am moving into a larger office space with that after all of her diligent and
here in town! The new address is: 758 tolerant service she has provided for all
Weed Ave. My new office will be locat- of us. I will actually have my own of-
ed in the blue house on the one way sec- fice~ which is a huge ‘step up’ for me.
tion of Weed Ave across from the City The space is beautiful and I can’t wait
Hall building and the library, next to the for you all to experience it. We will have
new veterinary clinic.
an open house once the entire space is in
This new space will offer… place.
well, MORE SPACE! A large waiting
There are planter boxes in the
area where I will incorporate a chil- front of the house which of course will
dren’s’ space as well as some therapeu- be planted with wonderful fresh herbs
tics including a personal infrared sauna and medicinals. The potential is there
and inversion table are just some of the for more gardening to be done on site
new features. There will be two treat-
ment rooms total, one upstairs and one
downstairs. This will allow me to ac-
commodate more patient load in a more
private setting.
There is also a full kitchen on
site in which I plan on providing “fam-
ily cooking classes” and herbal classes. I
plan to offer evening classes to individ-
ual families in an attempt to help them
prepare healthy meals using the ingre-
dients they already have in their pantry.
Herbal classes are endless but in short,
I would like to have some herbal salve
Warranty on all parts and labor
making classes to start.
Now offering
The move has been in my heart
2 and 4 wheel
for some time. I would like to thank the
community at large for such amazing
alignments
support, without it I could not have made
58605 NEHALEM HWY. S.
this happen! The new space will serve all
of us well.
Next to Storage, Too
Kimberly will have a nice, new,
VERNONIA
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SER PAIR
& RE
503/429/7972
acknowledging them for a job well done.
The committee is another great example
of our cooperative members’ values and
commitment to the community.
To apply, contact your high
school counselor or West Oregon
Electric. The application form as well as
all instructions will be available starting
February 1 st , please visit our website at
westoregon.org (go to the news tab and
click on scholarships) to print the forms.
The information and forms will also be
available at the front desk in the WOEC
office.
The deadline for receiving
completed applications is April 15th by
5:00 PM.
and I have big visions for the future of
the space. I even spotted a stray cat that
has made its home in the shed so maybe
we’ll have an “office cat”!
The whole transition has hap-
pened rather quickly. We moved into our
new building February 1 st and I have al-
ready begun seeing patients at the new
office. There is plenty of parking on the
street but for those patients who need
handicap access, the driveway will be
reserved for that purpose.
This is a wonderful new frontier
for my clinic! I am very happy to share
this with all of you and even more so,
happy to be able to serve you better.
Please call me directly if you have any
issues getting through on the office line
in the first days of transition… other-
wise~ I await your presence in our new
space!
I know I promised more about
the Chinese medicine philosophy se-
ries~ that will follow next month. With
all said, I was just too excited to keep the
news silent! Everyone involved has been
exceptional. The entire transition has
flowed perfectly. I am very thankful for
the outcome and all that has gone into
the process. Looking forward to serving
you from a new space~ Be Well~ Dr. C
