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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, May 21, 2008
OSU offers bio-ag course
Oregon State University
(OSU) Extension Service is
offering an introductory
class on biodynamic agricul-
ture Saturday, June 28 from 9
a.m. to 3 p.m. at the OSU
Extension Auditorium, 215
Ringuette St. in Grants Pass.
There is a class fee,
which includes lunch. Regis-
tration before June 25 is re-
quested by phoning 476-6613.
The instructor is Don
Tipping, co-owner and opera-
tor of Seven Seeds Farm, a
certified biodynamic farm in
Williams.
Introduction to Biody-
namic Agriculture is one of
the Small Farm program
classes offered through OSU
Extension Service.
The Hair, Face & Nail Place in Cave Junction’s Western Plaza was
presented its membership plaque in Illinois Valley Chamber of
Commerce Wednesday, May 9. (From left) LaVina Fonseca, a
new chamber associate member joined Dulcie Moore, chamber-
secretary and office manager, and Don Moore, board president
for the presentation to the crew. (Photo by Illinois Valley News )
Concrete
Remodel
New Construction
Fed funds to boost Oregon public health efforts
Public health officials in
the Oregon Dept. of Human
Services (DHS) will use
$550,000 in federal public
health emergency prepared-
ness funds to bolster local
efforts statewide.
The funds are from the
state’s cooperative agreement
with the federal Centers for
Disease Control and were not
spent during the previous
budget cycle. Under the
agreement, the Public Health
Division must use them this
federal fiscal year, which
ends this August
“Our joint state and local
leadership within public
health agreed that helping
communities meet local
needs is the best use of this
money,” said Mike Harry-
man, public health prepared-
ness manager in DHS.
“The plan we developed
focuses on a variety of pre-
paredness needs, and will
help fill gaps at the county
level,” he said. Harryman
outlined specifics of the com-
prehensive plan:
*Iridium satellite phones
will be provided to county
heath departments, hospitals
and tribal preparedness pro-
grams this summer. The
phones will be supported by
DHS through 2010.
*Amateur radio opera-
tions will be provided or en-
hanced county-by-county.
*Incident Command
System training, a nationally
accepted method of managing
emergencies, will be provided
to local health departments,
hospital personnel and emer-
gency medical responders in
locations around the state. An
intensive three-day course on
exercise design and compli-
ance with new U.S. Dept. of
Homeland Security require-
ments also will be offered.
*Some 400 intermediate
user licenses will be added to
the Health Alert Network
(HAN). HAN is a secure,
Web-based multimedia alert-
ing system and is the key
communication component of
the preparedness program.
*Standardized signage
will be provided to local
health departments for use
during activation of the Stra-
tegic National Stockpile. In
the event of a major disease
outbreak, medications would
be obtained from the federal
government and dispensed at
168 pre-identified locations.
The signs would help people
navigate the dispensing sites.
*Personal protective
equipment (PPE) and training
will be provided to local
health department staff for
use during a pandemic or
other highly pathogenic dis-
ease outbreak.
Harryman noted that
DHS also is using federal
Hospital Preparedness Pro-
gram funding in other ways to
benefit communities. Some
examples:
*The Hospital Capacity
(HOSCAP) Website on HAN
is being enhanced to allow an
increased ability to track and
display emergency depart-
ment status, supplies and re-
gional events. Regional train-
ings for HAN and HOSCAP
system administrators will
begin later this summer.
*Materials are being de-
veloped to inform health-care
providers about the Oregon
Health Care Volunteer Regis-
try, which will go online this
summer. Target audiences
include licensed physicians,
nurses, pharmacists and
emergency medical techni-
cians who would be needed
to help assist during a major
public health emergency.
*Statewide disaster burn
training, which is part of the
state emergency plan for burn
injuries, is being conducted
by the Oregon Burn Center.
*Geographic Information
System (GIS) software has
been purchased to allow rapid
identification of the locations
of critical infrastructure facili-
ties such as hospitals, nursing
homes, schools, and fire and
police stations throughout the
state. This cooperative project
involves the Oregon Dept. of
Administrative Services,
Dept. of Human Services
Public Health Division, Ore-
gon Military Dept. and Metro
Regional Government
Water Wells
Pump Sales
Installation
Service
592-6777
1470 Caves Highway
Licensed • Bonded • Insured
Locally owned and
operated in the valley
for over 25 years.
WWC #1504 • CCB #152266 • CPl #7-113
Member Oregon Ground Water Assoc.
Biodynamic agriculture,
conceived of by philosopher
Rudolph Steiner, is a method
of agriculture that treats farms
as unified and individual or-
ganisms, emphasizing the
interrelationship of the soil,
plants, and animals as a
closed, self-nourishing sys-
tem. It is considered to be one
of the first modern ecological
farming systems, and focuses
on the use of prepared ma-
nures and composts.
There will be a field visit
to Seven Seeds Farm. Infor-
mation
on
this
class and other Small Farm
classes is available at
extension.oregonstate.edu/
josephine/ under Small
Farms.
CCB 174891
592-6609
Need someone to watch your
Precious One?
Helping Hands
Day Care is here
Hours:
7:30am-5:30pm M-F
For more info contact
Cindy 541-592-4923
helpinghandsdaycare@gmail.com
Live music every Saturday through May
Karaoke every Friday & Monday
Largest selection of micro-brews
in the valley
Try our organic beer & quality food