Tuesday, January 10, 2017
OFF PAGE ONE
FLU: Not a live vaccine, can’t get sick from it BROWN: Agenda includes creating
reported that 41 percent of get sick from it.”
Continued from 1A
adults received the vaccine
In the tri-county area of
$20 million graduation equity fund
149 patients for flu in the last season. Only 37 percent Clackamas,
Multnomah
Page 8A
East Oregonian
month of December and 30
percent came back positive.
The two nurses said
things are playing out a little
differently than last year.
For one, flu activity spiked
earlier. The strain also seems
to be more heavily influenza
A, rather than B, which
prevailed last year. At St.
Anthony in Pendleton, 13 out
of 14 cases were identified as
influenza A.
Unvaccinated visitors to
St. Anthony and Good Shep-
herd are asked to don masks
to prevent possible spread of
influenza to hospital patients.
Statewide, flu is rolling,
with multiple outbreaks in
long-term care facilities and
a barrage of hospital admis-
sions hitting a month earlier
than last season.
“It’s definitely looking
like a more severe year
than last year,” said Dr. Ann
Thomas, public health physi-
cian from the Oregon Health
Authority. “It’s taken off in
the last two weeks.”
Victims face dry, hacking
cough, fever, sore throat,
chills, severe body aches and
profound fatigue. However,
less than half of Americans
get flu shots. A CDC survey
of children between six
months and 17 years old
got vaccinated. There was
a three percent decrease in
those aged 50 and older from
two years ago to the 2015-16
season, though six percent
more pregnant women got
shots.
Some dismiss the idea
of getting a flu shot because
they feel healthy and able to
successfully fight off illness.
Wart urged those people to
take an altruistic approach.
“For those of us who are
young and healthy, we may
not take it that seriously,”
she said. “But we may give
(influenza) to someone who
is more vulnerable. We are
the spreaders.”
“You would never know
that the 80-year-old that
followed you into the grocery
store is now on a ventilator
somewhere,” Schulz said.
“You can share this virus
for 48 hours before you start
feeling bad.”
Others avoid getting
vaccinated thinking the shot
might actually bring on flu.
That’s simply not the case,
Wart said.
“It’s not a live vaccine any
longer,” she said. “You can’t
and Washington counties,
which are the only counties
reported in the state’s Flu
Bites tracking, 143 people
were hospitalized for the flu
in the last week of December,
compared with 79 for the
week before. The majority of
those hospitalized involved
patients 65 and older.
Number of adult deaths
is not one of the categories.
Thomas said determining
how many deaths are
flu-caused is difficult because
often multiple causes are
involved. The CDC, she
said, figures that a certain
percentage of heart- and
lung-related deaths are inten-
sified by the flu. The state
tracks only pediatric deaths
and so far, there are none that
have been verified.
Thomas urged people to
get vaccinated even if they
remain on the fence.
“Help prevent spreading
to someone who is more
vulnerable than you,” she
said. “It’s better for everyone
if everyone possible gets the
shot.”
———
Contact Kathy Aney at
kaney@eastoregonian.com
or call 541-966-0810.
PRIMMER: ‘Simply complaining takes no talent’
Continued from 1A
running tab at the hardware
store,” Doug said.
Family dinner around
the dining room table was
a must each night, and Dale
said all of the Primmer kids
held down jobs during their
teenage years.
“We did sports until high
school and then cars and
girls came along, and they’re
expensive,” Dale said.
Doug eventually moved
on to a career in correc-
tions, while Dale headed to
Western Oregon University
to become the first Primmer
to graduate from college. His
graduation was attended by
the entire family, including
siblings who flew in from out
of state as a surprise.
Lots of people can’t wait
to get out of their hometown,
Dale said, but he and Doug
never had that burning desire
to leave Eastern Oregon.
Even when Doug had to
spend a year and three days
(not that he was counting)
in Pendleton for work, he
returned to Hermiston as
soon as he was able.
“He couldn’t figure out
the one-way streets,” Dale
joked.
“It just wasn’t home,”
Doug countered.
Dale, however, did stay
in Pendleton after work first
brought him there. He said
it was strange, once he had
kids in sports, to suddenly
realize he was rooting for
the Bucks after a lifetime as
a Bulldog. But somewhere
along the way Pendleton
became home.
That doesn’t stop the rest
of the family from playing
up the Pendleton-Hermiston
rivalry.
“I tell him all the time, ‘I
can’t believe you’re raising
Buckaroos,’” said Donna,
who graduated from Herm-
iston herself.
Doug became a Herm-
iston city councilor more
than four years ago after
Continued from 1A
Brown said to applause. “We
must not allow the rights
of any one person or class
of people to be degraded
in any way. We must stand
for our veterans. We must
defend the rights of LGBTQ
Oregonians.”
Brown also released
her priorities for the 79th
legislative assembly, which
convenes Feb. 1. Top
priorities are the state’s
high school graduation rate,
a transportation funding
package, measures to keep
firearms out of the hands of
high-risk individuals and
expansion of health care
subsidies to all children.
Revenue
Her agenda omitted
specific proposals to raise
taxes to address the state’s
$1.7 billion revenue shortfall,
an issue expected to be at the
center of lawmaker debate
during the 2017 session.
However, she continued her
call for better management
of state pension investments,
and she called on lawmakers
to work together to find solu-
tions to revenue problems.
Voters in November
rejected Measure 97, which
would have raised $3 billion
a year in corporate sales
taxes.
Brown said she has been
having “informal conver-
sations” with members of
the business community
and labor community about
potential tax reforms.
“I believe we cannot move
Oregon forward without
adequate and stable revenue
for key basic services, and I
will tell you that members of
the business community that
I have spoken with over the
last several months agree, so
now we have to figure out
the right solution that doesn’t
provide further burdens for
our working families across
the state and also ensures
that our economy continues
to thrive in every single
corner,” Brown said.
Education
Brown’s agenda includes
creating a $20 million gradu-
ation equity fund to replicate
successful practices from
around the state and address
chronic absenteeism and
expanding mentoring and
professional development
for teachers.
“My top priority will be
to work to improve Oregon’s
high school graduation rate,”
Brown said.
About 74 percent of
Oregon students grad-
uate within four years, the
third worst rate in the nation.
Gun control
In July, Brown announced
she would attempt to close
two loopholes in state law on
firearm possession.
One proposal would close
the so-called “Charleston”
loophole, which allows a gun
purchase to move forward
if law enforcement hasn’t
determined the buyer’s
eligibility within three days.
She also is seeking to close
the “boyfriend loophole,”
which expands the types of
relationships that qualify
for gun dispossession when
convicted of domestic
violence charges.
Her agenda does not
include another proposal she
unveiled in July to ban the
future purchases of expanded
capacity gun magazines.
“I was committed to
working with community
activists and gun control
advocates that believe in
common sense legislation,
and frankly we struggled to
get broad support to move
forward on that legislation,
but it doesn’t mean that I am
giving up,” Brown said.
Bipartisanship
Brown opened her speech
by invoking Republican
Gov. Tom McCall’s call
during his 1967 inaugural
address to govern in a spirit
of bipartisanship.
“It is in that spirit that I
address you, the members of
the 79th Oregon Legislative
Assembly; and it is that spirit
that I address all Orego-
nians,” Brown said.
Her comments came
shortly after Republicans
cried foul over Brown’s
decision to change her
proposal to place a public
records advocate in the
secretary of state’s office
after Republican Dennis
Richardson won election to
the position. Instead, Brown
decided to propose placing
the advocate in the Depart-
ment of Administrative
Services, which is under her
control.
Brown was sworn in
at about noon by Oregon
Supreme Court Justice
Thomas Balmer. In her
subsequent
inaugural
address, she gave a nod
to elected officials in the
chamber and singled out
state Rep. Vic Gilliam.
CATTLE: Backbones, hip bones visible on some
Continued from 1A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Pendleton city councilor Dale Primmer gets sworn in
by Pendleton municipal court judge Will Perkinson last
Tuesday in Pendleton.
being frustrated with the
controversies with the police
department that were then
enveloping the city.
“I saw a bumper sticker
that said ‘The world is run
by those who show up,’ and
it just clicked with me,” he
said.
When people started
suggesting a few months
ago that Dale run for one
of Pendleton’s open seats,
it was only natural that he
ask his brother for advice on
whether he should indeed
run.
“One of the things I told
him is ‘I’d love to tell you
not to run,’” Doug said,
noting the amount of time
and energy the position
takes. “But I can’t think of
anyone better.”
He told his brother to
make sure he felt he had the
time to devote to being on
the council, but also told him
about how rewarding it is
to see a project through that
makes community better.
Dale said that if only
one seat had been open, he
probably would have left
it to someone else. But it
was exciting to think about
the opportunity to help the
city change course with a
new mayor and four new
councilors. He also saw it
as a next step in serving the
community.
Eastern
Oregon
“Simply
complaining
takes no talent,” he said.
On Jan. 3, when Dale took
his seat on the Pendleton City
Council, Doug was there
watching. It proved to be an
eventful meeting — Dale
got “sworn in and sworn
at,” as he put it. He said he
appreciated the opportunity
afterward to get his older
brother’s perspective on
the difficult decision the
council made to start levying
nuisance fines on the owners
of the former city hall
building that was damaged
in a 2015 explosion.
Mirroring the relationship
between most brothers,
the relationship between
the cities of Pendleton and
Hermiston has historically
been a mix of rivalry and
partnership. The Primmers
said they will both work in
the best interests of their
cities, but they will also have
plenty of opportunities to
share ideas over texts and
family get-togethers in the
home they grew up in. They
hope their personal relation-
ship will be an asset to the
two communities.
“I think there’s times to
work together, and times to
compete,” Dale said.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
Forum
across Columbia Lane. A
search warrant was served
Saturday, and Rowan said
they found a total of 14 dead
cattle — mostly yearling
calves.
Fifteen more cows
were badly malnourished,
Rowan said, and separated
from the rest of the herd
where they were treated by
veterinarians. During their
investigation, officers found
that a water trough for the
sickest animals was frozen
over with six inches of ice.
“They weren’t able to
get to water for a couple of
days,” Rowan said.
Some of the cattle were
also very skinny, Rowan
said, with their backbones
and hip bones showing.
“These
are
Angus
cattle that are typically
well-rounded animals,” he
said. “Our evaluation and
evidence would point to
neglect or inadequate feed.”
The bodies of the dead
animals had been left
outside for several days,
Rowan said, though state
law requires carcasses be
buried or burned within 15
hours.
Hockensmith, who did
not return calls Monday for
comment, was apparently
the only one caring for the
animals. Rowan said Hock-
ensmith seemed willing to
work with the sheriff’s office
to care for the animals while
they remain on his property.
“Hopefully, we can create
a partnership there to where
he is willing to provide
adequate care,” Rowan said.
“We will just continue to
monitor it.”
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
WHAT INSPIRED ME TO WRITE MY FIRST BOOK.
After my 4th tour in Iraq back in November 2009,
I was having a hard time shutting off the war mindset.
While I struggled to keep the inner rage from war under
control, I fought three years to get seen by the Mental
Health Department from the United States Army . Once
I established my fi rst appointment with a Psychologist
I wrote a 25 page statement about my side effects
from war and gave it to them a week prior to my fi rst
appointment . I fi gure when you spent 6 years running
back and forth to Iraq “January 2003 to November
2009” it’s hard to explain or share all your problem
to a Psychologist who will only give you a 50 minute
session. The 25 pages has became a book which is
now on a mission to stop the 22 suicided Deaths a
day amongst our fellow War Veterans.
GET YOUR COPY TODAY AT:
Pendleton Book Co.
125 S. Main St.
Pendleton, Oregon
Book & Game
38 E. Main St.
Walla Walla, Washington
Diabetes Education Series
Diabetes Self
Management Series
GUN FACTS, REGULATIONS, AND THE
SECOND AMENDMENT
F eaturing : S tuart R oberts , J erod B roadfoot & Lou J affe
January 17, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.
BMCC, Rm ST-200, 2411 NW Carden Ave., Pendleton
For more information please call Karen at 541-966-3177. Need not be member to attend.
Please detach and send with payment
Name
Phone #
Address
City
E-mail address
Please include a season fee of $20 per individual member.
Please make checks payable to BMCC.
$6.00 at the door, students free
Lecture reminders will be sent via E-mail, as will weather cancellation notices, if necessary .
Thank you for mailing your membership forms to:
InterMountain ESD (IMESD) 2001 SW Nye Ave. Pendleton, OR • Attn: Karen Parker
Jan. 18 th , 25 th & Feb. 1 st , 8 th
1:30PM to 3:30PM
Advance Registration Required
Most Major Insurances,
Medicare, Medicaid
For more information or to register
541-278-3249
Melissa Naff, RD, LD, CDE
Diabetes Educator • 541-278-3249
2801 St. Anthony Way
Pendleton, OR 97801
www.sahpendleton.org