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wallowa.com
November 9, 2016
Wallowa County Chieftain
This songbird has a broad repertoire
BIRD-
WATCHING
EH Van Blaricom
The white-crowned sparrow is a very
common song bird that can be found in a
variety of habitats from Alaska to Mexi-
co. It is rather confusing to study white-
crowned sparrows as there are several dif-
ferent “races” to be observed all along the
western states to Mexico. There are differ-
ences in the stripes on their heads and even
in their songs from one area to another. In
other words, a white-crowned sparrow in
San Diego can have a different song than
one here in Wallowa County. However,
REPORT
Continued from Page A1
More than half of all infec-
tions occurred outside of the
intensive care unit, in nurs-
ing homes, in kidney dialysis
treatment centers or in the
general ward of the hospital.
Some targeted infections can
be decreased by more than
70 percent, and that is the im-
mediate goal of the CDC and
health service organizations.
The 2015 report does show
a general reduction in infec-
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I’m going to leave that to the nit-picking
ornithologists as that takes the joy out of
bird-watching for the average observer.
I think this photo I took shows the
dignity of his posture. As far as its song,
it is rather wheezy compared to some of
the more melodious songs of the sparrow
family.
As near as I can tell, the race we have
here in Wallowa County is called the
Mountain White Crown and breeds in the
high mountains from the Canadian border
to the Sierras of California. They winter
mostly in the southwestern states. Accord-
ing to my observations, their preferred
habitat seems to be the brushy areas where
they usually nest on the ground. Howev-
er, it isn’t unusual to see them in backyard
gardens in the suburbs of towns.
They eat both seeds and insects and
can be observed scratching in the leaves
to find food underneath dense shrubs. For
those of you who climb clear up above the
timberline in the Wallowa Mountains, you
will see these sparrows along with gray-
crowned rosy finches and neither species
show much fear of humans. I have person-
ally observed most of the white-crowned
sparrows while trout-fishing in Joseph
Creek where there is dense bushes and
plenty of water.
One other peculiarity of these sparrows
is they scratch with both feet and jump
back to see what they have uncovered. I
used to watch them under our juniper trees
outside our windows. We always got to
see them in the spring and autumn as they
made a “pit-stop” at our acreage while mi-
grating.
E.H. Van Blaricom resides in Joseph.
E.H. Van Blaricom
The White-Crowned sparrow.
tions at hospitals across the
state — do show but not by
much.
Furthermore, incidences of
one of the most virulent hospi-
tal-associated infections — C.
diff. — increased, resulting in
the highest percentage ever re-
ported in the state.
C. diff. is increasingly re-
sistant to antibiotics. Accord-
ing to the CDC it continues to
cause hundreds of thousands
of infections and tens of thou-
sands of deaths every year.
Wallowa Memorial is re-
quired to report only four of
the possible bacterial infec-
tions since incidence of the
others is rare for so small a fa-
cility. Of those four, the hospi-
tal reported only a single case
of C. diff. in 2015, down from
three in 2014.
By comparison, Grande
Ronde Hospital in La Grande
reported three health care as-
sociated infections in 2015, up
from one in 2014.
Karvoski attributed Wal-
lowa Memorial’s success to “a
very good team.”
“We are very vigilant about
our infections,” she said.
“We also do a very good job
training for standard precau-
tions, we use special cleaners
that kill C. diff. and we have
a wonderful housecleaning
crew. All of that goes into play
to keep infections down. It
takes a team to make it hap-
pen.”
Hospitals are not always
responsible for an infection.
Patients sometimes arrive for
treatment with an existing in-
fection on board. In 2014 the
state passed a law requiring
health care facilities to no-
tify receiving facilities of a
patient’s C. diff. status upon
transfer. The law makes it
possible for hospitals to place
such patients immediately into
isolation, helping stop the ac-
cidental spread of the infec-
tion to other patients.
Oregon hospitals as a
whole performed better on
hospital-onset MRSA blood-
stream infections compared
to hospitals nationally. They
also did better in preventing
surgical site infections follow-
ing heart, hysterectomy, hip
and colon surgeries in 2015;
in particular, surgical site in-
fections following coronary
artery bypass grafts was statis-
tically better than the national
average and lower than the
2014 national average. Oregon
dialysis facilities also report-
ed fewer bloodstream infec-
tions and fewer access-related
bloodstream infections than
the national average.
Patients can reduce the risk
of infection by taking all the
pre-hospitalization steps such
as a pre-surgical antibacterial
shower or bath, not shaving
before surgery and stopping
smoking. They should also
take antibiotics and other
medications exactly as direct-
ed by their doctors, and ask
their visitors to clean their
hands before visiting and to
stay home if they are sick.
Individuals who know
they will be scheduling sur-
gery or hospital stays can
check an Oregon hospital’s
record of preventing these
dangerous infections by
searching the infection by in-
fection breakdown at http://
tinyurl.com/obz537n.
LAWSUIT
velop their private property.
• A “temporary taking”
took place when the stop-
work order was placed on
the property development in
April 2014.
• Neil, Young, Wallowa
County and Lindstrom and an
unknown number (estimated
at 10 total) of John and Jane
Does had colluded to deprive
the couple of their property
rights.
• The defendants en-
gaged in retaliatory prac-
tices against the couple for
exercising their right of free
speech and their right to de-
velop private property.
• An application for qui-
et title and declaratory relief
and injunctive relief was
sought (establishing owner-
ship to title of James property
and protecting it against any
claims by the city or county).
Three of the nine claims
in all were dismissed without
prejudice, meaning the de-
cision in those cases is open
for appeal. Those claims eli-
gible for appeal were against
the city, Neil, Young, Wal-
lowa County and Lindstrom
for racketeering; a claim of
negligence causing damage
against all defendants; and
the claim against the city and
county to quiet title and for
declaratory and injunction
relief.
The Jameses were repre-
sented by Benjamin Boyd
of the Hostetter Law Group,
LLP of Enterprise.
Boyd said he has no com-
ment on what his clients will
do or on the outcome of the
legal action.
The couple asked for a
jury trial, economic damag-
es of $9,470, non-economic
damages of $125,000, attor-
ney’s fees and costs, interest
at the highest lawful rates,
treble damages, punitive
damages, an injunction bar-
ring city, county and workers
from entering the property
for purposes other than de-
scribed in the city’s easement,
a declaration concerning the
terms of that easement, a dec-
laration concerning Oregon’s
“essential facilities” statutes
and damages for the depri-
vation of their constitutional
rights.
The decision for dismissal
was brought down Aug. 10.
City/County
Insurance
Services provided council for
the city, county and individu-
als working for both entities.
Continued from Page A1
• The defendants retali-
ated against the couple for
exercising their right of free
speech and their right to de-
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21 st Annual
Healthy Futures Dinner Auction
Exciting Live Auction Items!
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• Gail Swart’s world famous champagne brunch for eight
• Day trip for two on Grande Ronde from Winding Waters River Expeditions
• Dr. Boyd’s one-of-a-kind whiskey barrel head coff ee table with barrel from Stein Distillery
• Oak steamer trunk, camel back & cedar lined, hand-crafted by Dr. Boyd
• Hand-crafted wood love seat made from 100 year-old rough-sawn
yellow pine & retired white oak whiskey barrel, by Dr. Boyd
• Weinhard Hotel Weekend Wine Getaway to Dayton, two nights, lunch for 2, wine tasting
• “December Serenity” framed oil painting by famous artist Sharon Calahan
• Stihl MS 271 Farm Boss Chainsaw with 18” bar, WC Grain Growers
• Wildhorse Weekend Getaway, one night + dinner for two
• Sterling silver pendant necklace with cabochon garnet in 18k gold, Stewart Jones Designs
• Wine tasting for 4, Doubleback Winery, plus two signed bottles by owner Drew Bledsoe
• Spa package from beecrowbee and friends
• Linda Barrett Courtney & Bill Courtney’s 3 bedroom home, Big Island, up to 6 guests
• John Gorsline’s Maui Condo for Two
• Locally raised, grass-fed lamb from NP Farms
• Shop Local basket of local gift certifi cates, Community Bank
Heads & Tails Sponsors: Wheatland Insurance, Wallowa Title, Winding Waters
Saturday, 5:00 pm • November 12
CLOVERLEAF HALL, ENTERPRISE
Emcee Ted Hays; Auctioneer Jake Musser
Silent Auction & Social Hour at 5:00 pm
(note earlier time!)
Elegant Dinner by Backyard Gardens
with prime rib donated by McClaran Ranch
Special musical appearance by The Show Stoppers
Bar by La Laguna
Wine bar featuring L’ecole 41, Dumas Station and more
Live Auction at 7:30 pm
Tickets Sold Out! Call to get on waiting list. $60 per person
541.426.1913
Your support is greatly appreciated!
The Wallowa Valley Health Care Foundation