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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 2019)
in other words march21 2019 17 Celebrating Life: Getting to Know Essential Oils By Korina Buehrer HOWDY! Let me introduce myself. My name is Korina Buehrer and I fancy many titles; Birth Doula, board member of a nonprofit called Mama Baby Haiti, mama of four boys, wife to my high school sweetheart, sister to five siblings, daughter to Yahweh, world trav- eler, homeschooler, animal lover, and healer. Lets’s zoom in on the last title, healer. Healer by definition is, “someone that alleviates a person’s dis- tress or anguish.” It never gets old helping people dig deep to make well thought out choices, to be empow- ered. I use three very powerful tools to empower oth- ers: essential oils, nutrition, and mindset. My passion for essential oils began seven years ago, and continues to grow. Serving as a birth doula since 2006, and doing humanitarian work over the last 10 years, has changed my life. Hearing babies cry for the first time and helping women transform into moth- ers drops me to my knees speechless... literally, I get to witness miracles for a living. Working with Mama Baby Haiti, a 100% Haitian-staff run nonprofit birth center based in Cap Haitian that offers free prenatal, birth, and postpartum care to any women who walks through the doors, I have held the hands of women giv- ing birth, breaking the language barrier by touch and encouragement. In this first column I want to act as matchmaker and introduce you to my friends, essential oils. They are incredible and never cease to amaze. The use of essential oils goes back to some very humble beginnings, yet have passed the test of time, having been used medicinally since the begin- ning of recorded history: • The Egyptians were the first people to discover aro- matherapy, and use aromatic herbs for religion, cos- metics, as well as medicinal purposes. • At the same time the Egyptians were developing their knowledge on plant based medicine the Chinese made use of herbs and aromatic plants. They were an integral part of the Indian Ayurvedic medicinal system. • The life changing benefits discovered by the Egyp- tians were adopted and put into practice by the ancient Greeks. The most well-known physician of that time - Hippocrates (c.460 - 377 BC) was also a firm believer of treating the patient holistically and included aroma- therapy massage as a treatment. • Good things can’t be kept secret for long. The wisdom of the Greeks made its way to the Romans. Romans were strong believers in hygiene to promote health and also placed great stock in aromatherapy and the power of fragrances. • Frankincense and Myrrh essential oils were a gift of the Magi. • After the fall of the Roman Empire and the subse- quent Dark Ages we saw the emergence of the Arabian empire which was in the position to draw not only from Greek and Roman teachings, but also those of China and India. The Persian physician Avicenna (980 - 1037 AD) is being credited with perfecting the distillation process of essential oils. • The term aromatherapy as we know it today was first coined in 1937 by the French chemist and perfumer Rene Maurice Gattefosse. He was not a believer of the natural health movement but was interested in the prop- erties that essential oils exhibited. In 1910 he burned his hand badly in his laboratory and being the first available compound handy, treated his badly burned hand with pure undiluted lavender oil, which not only immediately eased the pain, but helped heal the hand without any sign of infection or scar. He also found that minute amounts of essential oils are absorbed by the body and interact with the body chemistry. • During the Second World War, as a result of Gatte- fosse’s experiments, Dr. Jean Valet used essential oils to treat injured soldiers with great success. • Since the late 1970s and early 80s the use of essen- tial oils and aromatherapy has become a major part of alternative and holistic health systems, and has a huge following across the world. Now that you’ve been introduced I hope you might be interested in learning more about essential oils and the many ways they can benefit you, your fam- ily, and your health. Next month: A Date With Essential Oils Korina Buehrer is a Birth Doula and a Wellness Edu- cator. She teaches in-home, or online essential well- ness classes. Feel free to reach out at celebratinglife. me@gmail.com for more information. President Signs Bill to Protect Lands and Rivers in Oregon Oregon Wildlands Act provides protections for southern Oregon President Donald Trump has signed into law the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management and Recre- ation Act, a public lands package that includes the Oregon Wildlands Act (S. 1548) and the Frank and Jeanne Moore Wild Steelhead Special Management Area Designation Act (S. 513/H.R. 1308). The legislation adds a total of more than 1.3 million acres of public land to the National Wilderness Preser- vation System, and 621 miles of rivers to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund. It also in- cludes dozens of other bipartisan pub- lic lands measures that would conserve some of our nation’s wildest lands and rivers. The Natural Resources Manage- ment Act passed the U.S. Senate on Feb- ruary 12, 2019, and the U.S. House of Representatives on February 26, 2019. The Oregon Wildlands Act por- tion of the legislation designates the ap- proximately 30,000-acre Devil’s Stair- case Wilderness in the Oregon Coast Range, northeast of Reedsport. It also safeguards 311 miles of rivers, includ- ing nearly 256 miles as Wild and Scenic Rivers, like the Molalla and Elk Rivers and tributaries to the lower Rogue River. The bill also permanently withdraws portions of the salmon-rich Chetco River, the drinking water source for the City of Brookings, from mining claims. “The Oregon Wildlands Act is a huge win for southern Oregon and the Rogue River!” said Pete Wallstrom, owner of Momentum River Expeditions. “The Rogue is one of the central engines of the growing tourism and recreation economy in Southern Oregon. Common sense and well thought out protections like these are important for our environ- ment and for creating healthy and sustain- able rural economies. Thanks to everyone involved including senators Wyden and Merkley and Representative DeFazio!” The signing of this bill into law is the culmination of years of effort to protect some of Oregon’s most unique lands and rivers treasured by Orego- nians as sources of clean drinking wa- ter, for their economic benefits derived from outdoor recreation, and for their wilderness character that provides a unique backcountry experience. There is broad public support from Oregonians across the state, including hunters and anglers, business owners, veterans, com- munity leaders, and conservationists. “Without protected watersheds and clean water, neither the wild land- scapes nor our craft brewing industry could thrive,” said Ross Putnam, Co- Founder and General Manager, Base Camp Brewing. “We are lucky to have Oregon leaders that appreciate the value of outdoor recreation and craft beer to the state economy.” “Approval of the Oregon Wild- lands Act after so many years of fed- eral inaction is a landmark bipartisan achievement,” added John Atkins, presi- dent of the Molalla River Alliance. The Frank and Jeanne Moore Wild Steelhead Special Management Area Act permanently safeguards an area in the North Umpqua basin that contains some of the best wild steelhead spawning areas in the Pacific Northwest and honor Frank Moore, a World War II veteran, and his wife of over 70 years, who are both legendary stewards of the North Umpqua. “I’m very proud to have mine and my wife’s name associated with this bill. It’s important that we priori- tize our land management policy to put the resources and our wild salmon and steelhead first. That’s the least we can do to ensure these treasured lands and fish will be around for future generations,” said Frank Moore, the namesake of the legislation. Loggerbots’ First Competition continued from page 11 during the Sandstorm portion of the competition, and tied for the 2 nd most points scored on day one using the vid- eo camera to drive the robot. On the second day the Logger- bots lost their two matches and failed to advance in the competition. Costley said this is the first year the Loggerbots have been able to keep their fully functioning robot from the previous year while they built their new robot for this year’s challenge. “Usu- ally we have to take apart last year’s robot and reuse electronic components. This year we got all new electronics with the help of OMIC, so we were able to use last year’s robot to practice driv- ing, which really helped in our prepara- tions.” Costley says the team, with 12 members, is a little larger this year, due to the student participants recruit- ing more members themselves. He said consistent participation has also increased. Sean Coffey and Zack Larke are senior captains of the team. Other important members have been senior Grace Costley, junior Levi Bur- ton, sophomores Larissa Vandehey and Nick Costley, and the team has even included two 8 th graders – Tyler Riddell and Vance Landry. Costley says one of the good things about having a fairly small group of students participating in the program, is the team members get a lot of hands- on experience doing a variety of tasks. “They have to be able to do everything.” The Loggerbots will have one more competition in Lake Oswego on March 28-30 where they can earn more points and try to advance to the Region- al competition. Passage of these bills will be a boon to local economies. Visitors from across the country and around the globe come to explore and enjoy Western Or- egon’s outstanding fishing, rafting, hik- ing, and other outdoor recreation op- portunities. The Outdoor Industry As- sociation recently found that outdoor recreation in Oregon generates $16.4 billion in consumer spending, 172,000 jobs, $5.1 billion in wages and salaries, and $749 million in state and local tax revenue. Dan Courtney, Chairman of the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians, said: “The Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians applauds the passage of the Frank and Jeanne Moore Wild Steelhead Special Manage- ment Area. Our tribe wants nothing more than a healthy Oregon, with clean rivers and a rich biodiversity of our native fish populations. This special designation will help achieve that. We thank Sena- tors Wyden, Merkley and Representa- tives DeFazio and Walden for all of their efforts here. We also thank Frank and Jeanne Moore for a lifetime of work to bettering our state and southern Oregon.” Don’t Sell it! Pawn it! For fast cash! Baseline Pawn, Inc. 2245 Baseline St., Cornelius (Across from Fred Meyer) 503-530-8119 State Licensed PB-0388 Open everyday at 10 a.m.