Page 15
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Happy holidays can be dampened by unsafe Christmas decorations
With more than 32 mil-
lion homes decorating real
Christmas trees this season,
according to the National
Christmas Tree Association
(NCTA), there is no doubt
that this holiday season will
bring cheer.
While it’s easy to get
caught up in the holiday shuf-
fle of dinners, gifts and
travel, safety should be at the
top of everyone’s lists.
The National Fire Protec-
tion Association (NFPA) and
Underwriters Laboratories
(UL), an independent safety
testing organization, are part-
nering this season to remind
consumers about the impor-
tance of safe holiday decorat-
ing habits.
Keeping fresh Christmas
trees well-watered is not only
vital to the trees decorative
longevity, but also to keeping
consumers safe this holiday
season. If ignited, a dry tree
can become engulfed in
flames in a matter of seconds,
as opposed to a well-watered
tree, according to NCTA.
With so many people
decorating trees for the holi-
days, this safety detail is more
important than ever.
“Because many trees
have been dormant for a cou-
ple months, it’s typical
for them to absorb most of
their water within six to
eight hours after being
brought into a warm
home,” said Beth Walter-
scheidt, a tree farmer from
Texas and president
of NCTA.
“Families should
make a fresh cut to the
trunk and place the tree
in water as soon as possible
after getting it home. Trees
that are kept fresh during the
holiday season are extremely
difficult to ignite, which is
why it is critical for consum-
ers to commit to the care of
their Christmas trees.
“If the water level falls
below the cut surface for more
than four to six hours, the
tree’s ability to keep absorbing
moisture is inhibited.”
Besides keep- ing trees
watered daily,
John
Drengen-
berg,
consumer affairs
manager for UL, reminds
consumers to dispose of them
after four weeks.
“If you put up your
Christmas tree right after
Thanksgiving, it needs to be
taken down the week after
Christmas,” Drengenberg
said. “After New Year’s,
even well-watered trees can
become a fire hazard.”
On average, real and
artificial Christmas trees are
the first items ignited in an
estimated 210 home fires
annually, according to the
most recent NFPA statistics.
While this represents a
small portion of the estimated
85 million households that
display a tree, consumers
need to commit to taking care
of a fresh tree, and keep
flame sources away from
plastic trees, to reduce the risk
of their tree being involved in
a home fire.
“Christmas Day holds
the record for the highest
number of reported home
candle fires,” said Lorraine
Carli, vice president of com-
munications at NFPA.
“Consumers should keep in
mind that if they're going to
use candles, they need to
place them away from things
that can burn.
“It is also important to
keep candles away from chil-
dren and pets to avoid the
risk of having them acciden-
tally tipped over.”
NFPA also reports that
candles caused an estimated
15,600 home structure fires
reported to fire agencies in
just one year. These fires
caused an estimated 150
deaths, 1,270 injuries and
$539 million in direct prop-
erty damage.
Because of this high risk,
UL and NFPA urge practic-
ing a few safety precautions
before, during and after their
celebrations.
*Regularly check your
tree for fresh, green needles.
Trees that have dried out over
several weeks burn faster than
fresh, well-watered trees.
Remember to keep your tree
watered at all times.
*Always keep candles,
matches and lighters, out of
the reach of children, and
don’t leave children unat-
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Health folks needle public to obtain influenza shots
Oregon public health
officials this week are renew-
ing their push to get adults
and children vaccinated
against influenza.
“A flu shot or nasal spray
is an easy way to protect
yourself and your loved ones
from the misery of flu,” said
Lorraine Duncan, immuniza-
tion manager in the Oregon
Dept. of Human Services. “It
prevents you from infecting
others, which is important if
you have close contact with
people for whom the flu
might be especially danger-
ous such as the elderly, peo-
ple with a chronic illness, and
infants or young children.”
Oregon received a record
number of 1.25 million doses
of flu vaccine this fall.
“There is plenty of vac-
cine available, and influenza
season typically doesn’t peak
until February,” Duncan said.
“Getting vaccinated in No-
vember or December and
even beyond will offer pro-
tection from the flu.”
Duncan stressed that it’s
important for children and
those who have close contact
with them to get vaccinated.
Each year, more than 20,000
children under age 5 nation-
ally are hospitalized as a re-
sult of influenza.
The nasal spray vaccine
FluMist is a good alternative
to the injectable vaccine for
anyone who is healthy and
between ages of 2 and 49.
This September the U.S.
Early prospectors used colorful lingo
By DON KITTERMAN
(Originally printed in
Mt. Shasta Siskiyou Scene)
Along with the passing
of the century passed the ter-
minology of one important
memory of yesteryear in Jo-
sephine County -- mining.
And as always, where
men worked hard they came
up with their own slang, espe-
cially in names for everyday
activities. When a miner men-
tioned a self-shooter, he
wasn’t thinking of suicide.
The term referred to a con-
traption that automatically
released a flood of water
through his own sluice box.
Other terms:
*Sluice box -- This was a
wooden flume equipped with
“riffles” behind which the
miner sometimes deposited
quick silver to help separate
the gold from the sand and
gravel which washed over it.
*Quick silver or mercury
has a natural tendency to ad-
here to gold. This forms a
gray, putty-like mass called
an amalgam, and is separated
from the gold by heating it in
a retort.
*A retort is a simple
“still,” wherein heated mer-
cury becomes vapor and is
turned back to its original
form by cooling. This frees
the gold from the amalgam.
Many miners were salivated
by escaping mercury fumes
while using a retort.
*Salivated” refers to a
man becoming ill after breath-
ing vaporized mercury. The
whites of his eyes would turn
yellow, and his teeth would
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fall out. Some men died of
this while working placer
mines.
*A placer mine is a
place where particles of pure
gold can be washed from the
earth. This gold is not ore.
*Stone containing gold or
other precious metals is called
ore. Geologists have many
names for gold-bearing rock
that names ending in i-t-e, but
the one for which prospectors
were looking was called
jewelry rock.
*Jewelry rock describes
gold ore that had enough gold
to be used for jewelry. It was
sometimes found in what was
called a glory hole.
*Glory hole refers to a
spectacular find by a hard rock
miner or a pocket hunter,
which assured him of great
wealth. His first words upon
discovery were, “Oh, Glory !”
*Prospectors who used
the pan and posthole method
to find isolated deposits of
pay dirt were pocket hunters.
*Pay dirt is any gold-
bearing material worth min-
ing at $32 an ounce troy.
*One ounce troy weight
equals 480 grains or 24 penny
weight. This is a universal
method of weighing precious
metals.
*A penny weight is equal
to 24 grains and worth $1.60
in $32 per ounce gold. In
1930 a miner felt lucky if he
gathered enough gold in his
clean up to net him one penny
weight for each day of his
labor.
*Clean up is a term for
the proof of the pudding after
a few days work in a placer
mine, when materials behind
the riffles are carefully gath-
ered and panned out.
*If there was little or no
gold behind the riffles, this
prospect didn’t pan out, and
one’s work was for naught.
But if one wants to see the
results of some clean ups that
did pan out, visit the foyer in
the Siskiyou County Court-
house in Yreka, Calif. And
view the collection of raw
gold exhibited. At today’s
gold prices, it was to be val-
ued at millions of dollars.
Most people get a thrill
from looking at this pile of
yellow metal, and that feeling
is the first symptom of Gold
Fever.
Food and Drug Administra-
tion approved FluMist for use
in healthy children as young
as 2 years; previously it was
limited to youngsters age 5
and older.
However, noted Duncan,
not all insurance plans cover
FluMist, and in some cases it
may be more expensive than
the injectable vaccine.
Influenza is characterized
by abrupt onset of high fever,
headache, sore throat, cough
and muscle aches. Unlike
other common respiratory
illnesses, it is associated with
extreme fatigue and loss of
appetite lasting several days.
Vaccine is readily avail-
able and information on vac-
cination clinic locations and
date can be found on the Web
at flucliniclocator.org/ or by
phoning (800) SAFENET.
tended with lit candles.
*Look for the holo-
graphic UL Mark on light
strings and electrical decora-
tions. The UL Mark means
that UL engineers have tested
samples of the product for
safety hazards.
(Green holographic UL
Mark = Indoor-only use. Red
holographic UL Mark = In-
door and outdoor use).
*Carefully inspect each
electrical decoration, new or
old, before plugging it in.
Cracked sockets, frayed, bare
or loose wires can cause seri-
ous electric shock or start a
fire. Replace damaged items
with new, UL-Listed decora-
tions.
*Take down holiday
lights after 90 days of use to
prevent damage from weather
and neighborhood animals.
READY TO DIG & AIMING TO PLEASE 24 HOURS A DAY
CCB#159580
1-(541) 597-4486
SISKIYOU COMMUNITY
HEALTH CENTER
OUTREACH PROGRAMS
WISH TO THANK THE FOLLOWING
BUSINESSES AND
INDIVIDUALS FOR THEIR GENEROUS
DONATIONS DURING THE 4TH ANNUAL
A.B.A.T.E. TOY RUN
A.B.A.T.E. of Josephine County
Lead Foot Band
Kendall’s Art Glass
Hiler’s Iron Works
Casablanca Coffee and Grill
Fruitdale Grange
Buck Canyon Gardens
Michelle Terrill
Avenue Salon—Honey Glenn
Don’s Bike
Peggy & Tom Housel, D.D.S.
Grant Roberts
Oregon Wigs & Beauty Supply
Coffee Heaven
Bridgeview Vineyards, Inc.
Lewis Saw Shop
The Crystal Kaleidoscope
Northwest Pawn
Bear Images Boutique
Zarifras
Out-N-About Tree Houses
Mom’s Club
Cat-N-The Fiddle Toy Store
LaBella Faccia
Never-A-Bum Steer
Taylor’s Sausage
Action Hair Design
Aubra Johnson
Great Cats World Park
SCHC Staff
Action Rehabilitation & Sports Medicine
Jolene Smith-Southern Oregon Medical Massage, LLC