A4
V IEWPOINT
Hood River News,
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
O ur readers write
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Publisher/President,
Eagle Newspapers, Inc.
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Publisher, Emeritus (1933-2011)
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Past President,
Eagle Newspapers, Inc.
KIRBY NEUMANN-REA
Editor
TONY METHVIN
Columbia Gorge Press Manager
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Production Manager
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Choosing Tools
Hunger, and now housing
T housands of our neighbors will get a major help
next month with nutrition challenges they may face, via
the opening of the FISH headquarters on Tucker Road.
May 4 will be the first day of operation at the site, and
the existing food bank site in Concordia Lutheran
Church on the Heights will be retired this week.
The rise of the FISH headquarters is a welcome devel-
opment for the community, though not just for those whose
lack of income or other circumstance put them in the posi-
tion of needing assistance with putting food on the table.
It’s a healthy development for us all, because it creates
one more gathering place, and one more resource for inter-
action and outreach. In addition to serving the needs of
food bank clients, the new FISH site provides a commer-
cial-scale kitchen and meeting area for groups to learn
about nutrition and safe and healthy food preparation and
preservation.
Adiverse range of people will be able to learn about nu-
trition and other tools they can use to improve their lives.
The new headquarters was designed with clients and
volunteers in mind. It has easy access for clients and visi-
tors, ample room for delivery and unloading, and the stor-
age and distribution areas are built for growth.
The four-year project is all but complete. Now comes an-
other community effort that has to be considered related:
affordable housing.
The City of Hood River is studying the growing prob-
lem of housing availability to low- and moderate-income
people, and with assessing how much land could be avail-
able to construct housing to meet these income needs. The
city is making an earnest attempt to tackle the issue, and
is coordinating with the other agencies with the highest
potential impact, the county and the ports. Currently the
issue is at the Technical Advisory Committee level, which
will continue this spring to devise policy changes that
could lead to higher availability of affordable housing.
Changes to codes or regulations is another step that likely
won’t happen before this fall.
The citizen-based TAC and city staff are looking at a va-
riety of potential tools the city could use, but some are not
feasible or legal, for one reason or another. While the
process has been open (city planning director Cindy Wal-
bridge has given regular updates to city council in the past
three months) it’s by nature somewhat circuitous.
Where the issue really comes into a straightaway will
be the June 22 TAC meeting, where the group will begin to
look at specific recommendations to Planning Commis-
sion. The commission will have its first look on July 6.
Individuals, businesses, property owners, developers,
and agencies public and non-profit will have an opportuni-
ty to learn more and have a say in which tools to pick up,
and which to set aside, for the work of creating a wider
range of choices for diverse community members.
For Reitz
I’d like to tell you why I think
Chris Reitz is the right candidate
Hood River County School Board
Position 1. As an active member of
this community for the past sever-
al years, I have had the opportuni-
ty to meet some amazing hard
working volunteers. These people
want to know what’s happening,
but more than anything they want
to make things better!
Chris Reitz is one of those peo-
ple! She has played a strong role in
our community, not just for her
own school, but for all elementary
schools.
As the co-founder of the Gorge
Kids Triathlon, she saw the need
for PE support at the elementary
levels. For the last four years, with
her team of community volun-
teers, she led one of the most suc-
cessful kid-only events in the
gorge, raising just over $31,000 for
enhanced PE programs. People
just don’t do this because they have
nothing better to do with their
time. They do it because they want
things to be better!
As a team leader, Chris is objec-
tive, honest and not afraid to ask
the hard questions. She is a “do-
er!” She is willing to roll up her
sleeves and dig in. From my per-
spective, school board volunteers
need to be dedicated and commit-
ted to the results. Chris Reitz is
that kind of person. I encourage
you to vote for Chris Reitz.
Megan Spears
Hood River
For Wilhelm
I suppor t Kris Wilhelm for
School Board Position 1. Kris is
well infor med and passionate
about the current issues facing our
schools. She listens well and is not
afraid to speak up on important
matters. Honest and forthright, she
will do her best for our students.
Mary Bokovoy
Hood River
Better way
I’m glad that economic sanctions
are sometimes used as an alterna-
tive to war, but I think there is a
better way of using sanctions than
the way we are using them now.
As far as I know, the current
method we use is to impose general
sanctions and then leave them in
place until the targeted govern-
ment changes policy due to the
hardships created by the sanctions.
But in reality, I see very little
positive effect from the use of sanc-
tions. Cuba, Iran, and North Korea,
for example, have been subjected to
sanctions for decades, but they still
have not crumbled under the
weight of their economic difficul-
ties.
Perhaps at least one of the rea-
sons for their ability to withstand
prolonged periods of sanctioning
is that humans are very good at
adapting, both physically and psy-
chologically, to whatever condi-
tions they find themselves in, espe-
cially over time.
I think a more effective method
of using sanctions would be to im-
pose randomly timed periodic
sanctioning cycles that are mea-
sured in terms of many months, or
even years.
This strategy would need to ad-
dress and deal with the defense of
stockpiling goods and resources.
Some commodities would need to
have sustained sanctions or strict-
ly limited and timed periods of
availability, while others could be
cycled at various intervals without
quantity limits.
An entire field of psychology
and methodology could be devel-
oped around this concept.
The idea is to prevent people
from adapting to the sanctions.
People will tire much more quickly
of repeated, unpredictable cycles
of having, and then not having,
than they will of simply not hav-
ing.
The ultimate goal is to create
conditions that will provoke the
general population into rising up
and forcing their government to
change, and to achieve this effect
as quickly as possible.
In a world of rapidly evolving
technology and sociology, the sci-
ence of sanctions seems to remain
lost in the Stone Age.
David Conner
The Dalles
No to Nestlé
The below letter I wrote in 2012
is ever more relevant now, but
shows that as Nestlé continues its
persistent push on this issue, we
too need to keep our persistent
presence and voice on this issue as
well:
I am deeply saddened and con-
cerned to see the momentum that
is happening in regards to Nestlé’s
proposed water bottling plant in
Cascade Locks.
If you think this might be OK
and a good thing for the local Cas-
cade Locks economy — or whatev-
er reason you think it might be OK
or not a big deal — I would strong-
ly urge you to pull up your Netflix
queue and put as number one the
movie “Tapped.”
It is a horrifyingly informative
documentary film on the history of
bottled water and its effects on the
planet, and if not stopped, the pos-
sible effects on the future of our sa-
cred rights in regards to water on
this planet.
Please educate yourselves on
this matter. I’m certain many of
you who think it’s no big deal
would come to change your minds.
Inform yourself sooner than later
because they are in their less-than-
upfront, sneaky and powerful bull-
dozing, corporate-greed way push-
ing big-time to do their thing right
here in our neighborhood, and if
you wait too long it could be too
late and you might be sorry! I know
I will!
Pamela Dussault
Hood River
‘Under attack’
Just an alert to let you know that
parental rights are under attack by
the Oregon Legislature. HB 2758
will require that health carriers
adopt procedures for enrollees
(your child) who receive sensitive
services (the bill does not define
sensitive services so it could be
anything ... Urinary tract infec-
tion? Syphilis? HIV? Abortion?) to
request to have personal health in-
formation protected from disclo-
sure to the policyholder (parent) if
the enrollee (child) fears that dis-
closure will result in harassment
or abuse of enrollee or will under-
mine enrollee’s ability to access
health care. On its face, this bill
seems to be directed toward keep-
ing minors safe from abusive par-
ents. However, it can also keep
good parents from knowing things
they need to know regarding their
child’s health and welfare. After
all, what kid won’t say, “Don’t tell
Dad, he might get mad!” If your
child undergoes a procedure, and
complications develop, you, as a
parent, can be prohibited from
knowing, but you will be held re-
sponsible for paying for it. Keep an
eye on this, folks. This might be a
bill you really don’t want to be-
come law.
Carolyn Hattrup
Mt. Hood/Parkdale
Vote Watson
Please vote for Stu Watson on
your Spring election ballot for the
board of Columbia Gorge Commu-
nity College.
Stu has been the ONLY board
member to question the leadership
at the college and the ONLY board
member attempting to extract in-
formation from the president.
In essence, Stu is the ONLY
board member fulfilling is respon-
sibilities as an elected official.
Rob Kovacich
Hood River
ANOTHER VOICE
The undetectable, un-majestic, caustic tick
BY MARY JANE HEPPE
“Check, check, check …” I’m re-
calling my halcyon microphone
days, examining the sound system
to determine its accuracy. Only
this time it’s not sound checking
… it’s tick checking.
Warmer weather is beginning to
beckon us to stay outside, and this
land abounds with ticks. There are
numerous species of ticks, and
some could be infected with a bac-
terium called Borrelia burgdor-
feri, a long name that means Lyme
disease.
These teeny critters — the size
of a poppy seed — love blood
meals mostly from mammals and
birds, and the moment they smell
carbon dioxide, they pounce on
you. The tick wanders and then it
cuts with a mouth that looks like
twin saws. Between the twin saws
is what’s called a “hypostome,” a
long, jagged sword just like a Fred-
die Krueger chain saw, that bores
into your skin making it nearly
impossible to extract the tick — a
real-life horror movie.
The greater horror is the possi-
bility of contracting Lyme disease,
a debilitating illness. Lyme disease
is serious business because symp-
toms are wide-ranging and can
mimic multiple sclerosis (MS), fi-
bromyalgia, chronic fatigue syn-
drome (CFS), rheumatoid arthri-
tis, Parkinson’s disease, bipolar
disorder, autism, and others.
The impact on our children is
particularly severe, affecting en-
exposed to ticks, clinicians should
tire childhood, educational
consider a Lyme disease diagnosis,
process, and future adulthood.
even with a negative test result
Children miss their formative
(danielcameronmd.com/daniel-
years; some die. For
cameron-md-lyme-
example, in 2013, a
blog).
17-year-old honor stu-
Most patients who
dent in New York
get bitten by a tick
died from cardiac ar-
never saw the tick
rest, which the autop-
and never see a rash.
sy demonstrated was
By the time they get
due to Lyme carditis.
to a doctor, it may be
He had just returned
too late to prevent
home from a two-
chronic Lyme dis-
week stay at a camp
ease.
in Rhode Island, a
Even if a patient
state that is endemic TEENY, TEENY ticks from visits a doctor in Ore-
for Lyme. His parents larvae to adult
gon, the likely re-
said he had a mild
sponse will be, “You
cough, fevers, fa-
don’t have Lyme;
tigue, headaches and body aches,
there is no Lyme in Oregon.” Doc-
but his blood test for Lyme disease tors are dictated by Oregon Lyme
was negative.
guidelines that require them to see
The Centers for Disease Control a bull’s-eye rash (less than 50 per-
(CDC) point out that patients test-
cent get a rash).
ed during the first few weeks of ill-
Two primary antibody tests are
ness often test negative because
used to diagnose Lyme disease, the
there are not enough antibodies in ELISA and Western blot. Doctors
the bloodstream to be detected.
commonly order an ELISA first to
The two tests used in the U.S., the
screen for the disease and then
ELISA and Western blot, can miss
confirm it with a Western blot.
up to 60 percent of well-defined
However, current ELISA tests are
Lyme disease cases (Molins CR, et
not sensitive enough for screening
al. Development of a Metabolic
and may miss over half the true
Biosignature for Detection of
cases. Because of this, the best an-
Early Lyme Disease. Clin Infect
tibody test to use for diagnosis is
Dis. 2015 Mar 11).
the Western blot
Bottom line: When an individual (www.lymedisease.org/lyme101/ly
manifests symptoms consistent
me_disease/lyme_diagnosis).
with Lyme disease and has been
The CDC acknowledges more
than 300,000 cases per year nation-
wide (roughly 100 per 100,000). Ore-
gon reported 43 cases of Lyme dis-
ease in 2013 (roughly 1 per 100,000;
or 1 percent of national rate per
CDC). Multiple flaws in reporting
criteria include no testing in “non-
endemic” areas and over emphasis
on physician-observed rash and
two-tiered blood testing.
Let’s look at dogs! Veterinarian
data tells a different story
(www.capcvet.org/parasite-preva-
lence-maps). Nationwide, over last
five years, roughly 1 in 16 dogs
tested were positive for Lyme. In
Oregon, over last 5 years, roughly
1 in 80 dogs tested were positive
for Lyme. Difference is 5:1, not
100:1 as implied by Oregon’s offi-
cially reported cases.
The actual rate of human infec-
tion in Oregon is likely on the
order of 20 per 100,000. Given Ore-
gon’s population of approximately
4 million, this means roughly 800
cases per year, far greater than the
“official” 43 reported cases in Ore-
gon.
We are also aware of 800 current
patients in various support groups
around Oregon (Portland, Bend,
Hood River, Corvallis, Medford,
Eugene to name a few). This is in-
consistent with a rate of infection
of only 43 per year.
For 2014, one CDC proficient
CLIA lab reported to Oregon Lyme
Disease Network (OLDN). They
had 161 positive CDC tests for
Lyme disease, but Oregon health
departments only reported 31
cases to the CDC that same year.
Only 12 were confirmed cases.
That means only 7 percent of the
CDC positive patients were given a
diagnosis using the Oregon guide-
lines for Lyme disease.
Patients and their caregivers are
searching for answers, but they
can’t always receive proper care
from medical doctors in Oregon.
Some go out of state. Many pa-
tients rely on naturopathic physi-
cians who are not bound by the re-
strictive guidelines of the medical
mainstream. Medical boards in
Oregon enforce a single de facto
standard; patients cannot get care.
The impact on families, adults,
and children is severe.
We patient advocates remain
passionate about changing things
in Oregon.
For more information on ticks
and tick prevention, please go to:
■ lymedisease.org/lyme-
101/ticks/about_ticks
■ www.ilads.org
■ www.igenex.com (click “tick
test request forms”)
For Oregon information on
Lyme, got to:
n oregonlyme.com/about.html
■
Mary Jane Heppe is a Certified
Cancer Coach and Lyme Coach, Na-
tional Patient Advocate, and Co-
leader of the Mid-Columbia Lyme
Group in Hood River.