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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Wilderness first aid course offered
A “Wilderness and Re-
mote First Aid” class will be
held in Medford on Saturday
and Sunday, June 12 and 13,
from 8 a.m to 5 p.m.
The class teaches partici-
pants how to prevent, assess
and treat medical and trau-
matic emergencies in remote
environments or urban disas-
ters where definitive care of a
physician and/or rapid trans-
port is not readily available.
The course follows the
Boy Scouts of America Wil-
derness First Aid Curriculum
and Doctrine Guidelines, as
well as requirements of other
organizations such as Girl
Scouts of the USA and the
American Camp Association.
It offers enhanced con-
tent and topics to meet
OSHA’s Best Practices for
Workplace First Aid Training
Programs. It can be adapted
to meet the needs of training
for youth-oriented organiza-
tions, adult participants in
outdoor recreational activities
or remote locations, and em-
ployees working in wilder-
ness and remote settings.
Prerequisites: Minimum
age of 14.
*Adult CPR/AED certifi-
cation (Adult and Child CPR/
AED recommended).
*Ability to learn and
perform advanced first aid
and other physically demand-
ing skills, such as evacuating
an injured victim.
The fee is $130. Pre-
registration is required by
phoning 541-779-3773.
BSA requires Wilderness
and Remote First Aid certifi-
cation for all its high-
adventure camps and other
programs.
Plant give
away set
Illinois River Valley Arts Council (IRVAC) Learning Through Art volunteers brought the sounds and
flavors of Africa to Lorna Byrne Middle School 6th-grade students. (Above) Rebecca Saavedra,
Ross Welcome and Sam Kurz demonstrated African drumming while Gabriella Salas shared a vari-
ety of foods which originated in Africa. (Photos by Michelle Binker, Illinois Valley News )
Plant-A-Row will distrib-
ute free plants at the Josephine
County Food Bank Family
Garden behind its warehouse
at 1470 S.E. M St. on Friday
and Saturday, June 4 and 5,
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The plants have been
donated by Greenleaf Indus-
tries and the Master Garden-
ers Association to support the
Plant-A-Row Program and
generate more food for the
food bank network.
Plant-A-Row is a com-
munity-driven effort of local
gardeners to provide fresh,
healthy food to those who
receive emergency food from
soup kitchens and emergency
food pantries.
For more information on
the plant give-away, Plant-A-
Row, or how to receive emer-
gency assistance, phone the
Josephine County Food Bank
at 541-479-5556.
Cougar Kayla Johnson earned third place in the 4-A discus com-
petition at the OSAA state track and field meet at Hayward Field
in Eugene on Saturday, May 29. The junior set a new personal
record of 123 feet, 7 inches. Johnson was the only athlete from
Illinois Valley to earn a berth in the state contest.
(Photo provided by Donna Johnson)
Medical debt relief bill proposed
Legislation that will pro-
hibit companies from using
paid-off or settled medical
debt in assessing consumer
credit scores has been intro-
duced by six U.S. senators.
Sponsors are Senators
Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.),
Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.),
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.),
Robert Menendez (D-N.J.),
Dick Durbin (D-Mich.), and
Tom Harkin (D-Iowa).
The Medical Debt Relief
Act would assist approxi-
mately 72 million Americans
affected by medical bill prob-
lems and medical debt.
“It’s already incredibly
difficult for families to pay
off the high cost of medical
treatments for serious injuries
and diseases,” said Merkley.
“To add insult to injury, after
families pay off their exorbi-
tant medical debt, they con-
tinue to take a hit on their
credit scores.
That’s simply unfair.
This bill will give families a
fair deal and ensure that their
future financial transactions
won’t be negatively affected
by a bad credit score just be-
cause of past medical debt.”
Added Dorgan, “This is a
straight-forward solution to a
problem plaguing thousands
of Americans.
“Right now, just one
unresolved medical bill –
whether or not it is being dis-
puted – can damage a con-
sumer’s credit score for years.
In other cases, patients who
face costly treatments suffer
the after-effects of dealing
with poor credit even after
their debts are paid.
“With this legislation, we
are standing up for the
American consumers who
need protection from such
practices.”
Currently, even medical
debt collections that have
been completely paid off or
settled still can significantly
damage a consumer’s credit
score for years. As a result,
consumers can be denied
credit or pay higher interest
rates when buying a home or
obtaining a credit card.
Because many medical
bills are submitted first to
insurance companies, con-
sumers often do not learn that
they are responsible for a
medical bill until they hear
from a collection agency, by
which time their credit score
already has suffered.
The Medical Debt Relief
Act would fix this inequity by
prohibiting consumer credit
agencies from using paid off
or settled medical debt collec-
tions in assessing a con-
sumer’s credit worthiness, the
senators said. Additionally,
the bill would require the
creditor or credit rating
agency to expunge the medi-
cal debt from consumer re-
cords within 45 days from the
day it is paid off or settled.
Illinois Valley High School
has a new electronic sign,
which was installed on Thurs-
day, May 27. A car raffle,
general student body funds,
a gift from the classes of
2008 and 2009, inactive
student body accounts and
the remainder of a special
projects fund all contributed
to covering the cost of the
sign. Cougars in the school
Leadership and Rise-Up Com-
mittee programs, advisors
and others worked to raise
the funds for the much-
needed asset. (Photo by
Michelle Binker, Illinois Valley
News )
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.
Edsen Donato, DPTSc, PT, OCS, CHT, CSCS
Jeff Wood, MS, PT
Joint Replacement
Andrew Roberts, DPT
Back & Neck Injury
Jim McCall, PTA
Sports Injury
Austin Nickerson, PTA
Certified Hand Therapist
Three Convenient Locations
Grants Pass
(541) 476-2502
1619 NW Hawthorn Ave. #109
Advertising doesn’t cost -- it pays.
541-592-2541
Cave Junction (541) 592-6580
218 N Redwood Hwy.
Glendale
(541) 832-2765
300 Pacific Ave.
Gait/Balance Training
Anodyne Therapy
Aquatic Therapy
Auto Claims
Work Related Injuries
Accept Medicare
Assignment
Blue Cross Preferred
Provider
Most Insurance Plans
Accepted
Member APTA &
NW Rehab Alliance
Watch for coverage of Illinois Valley High School’s 2010
Graduation ceremony in next week’s I.V. News
Dear Friends, Family &
Supporters,
Thank You for believing
in me and this cause. Your
efforts & contributions made
this campaign a success!!
Respectfully,
Paid for by Friends of Simon Hare