NEWS
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
A5
LETTERS to the EDITOR
Democrat party objective
It appears to me that the Democrat Party
has one and only one objective, to take
down President Trump.There are some
twenty plus prospective candidates and all
with radical so-called Progressive agen-
das...The Democrat party has swung so
far to the left that it has really become The
Socialist Party...
Listening to some of the top Democrat
Party members you can detect vitriol in
their comments toward President Trump...
They really do not seem to have a platform
other than that...all they appear to be doing
is to obstruct, obstruct, and they have the
full-fl edged support of the left-wing media.
My heart goes out to the average dem-
ocrat voter that is trusting their representa-
tives to work for them.It seems that, with-
out exception, every single Democrat
representative in the House and Senate is
committed to the single matter of getting
Trump impeached at all costs.
If Democrat voters are listening or
watching only news from the far left pro-
paganda, pro-democrat point of view, then
after constant “fake news” there is little
hope of getting an objective view. I would
challenge all Democrat voters to tune in to
Fox News, or One America News or News-
max plus some smaller outlets and get a
dose of the truth...That “Truth” is that Presi-
dent Trump is doing an excellent job of ful-
fi lling his promises with the goal of “MAK-
ING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Stormy Burns
Joseph
Dig hounds tongue NOW!
Houndstongue (Cynoglossum offi cial)
is an invasive, noxious weed in Wallowa
County that is just starting to bloom. It is
break off the blooms, and dig the weed.
If you do not get the root, the weed will
grow back with two or three bearing stems
instead of one. Do dig the houndstongue
NOW.
Ingrid Cook
Joseph
SAT Scores: No ‘Arbitrary
Points’ added
In Barrie Qualle’s column in the May
29, 2019, Chieftain, he laments the proposal
for the College Board to calculate an adver-
sity index for students taking the SAT test
and to use the index to adjust SAT scores, in
particular by adding points to the scores of
students deemed to be disadvantaged. This
would clearly be a gross injustice if it were
true, but it’s not exactly true.
It is true that the adversity score would
be assigned based on a combination of fac-
tors, including a student’s neighborhood
environment (based on crime and vacancy
rates), school environment (graduation
rates; the number of students receiving free
or reduced-price lunches), and family envi-
ronment (income, education level, and mar-
ital status of the parents). Race, by law, can-
not be considered as a factor.
But, it is decidedly not true that the adver-
sity score would be used to “give disadvan-
taged students extra points” on their SAT
scores. The adversity score would be a sepa-
rate, independent measure intended as an addi-
tional tool for use by college administrators to
assess the potential worth of students applying
for admission. In deciding between two stu-
dents with identical SAT scores, for example,
it could reasonably be assumed that the stu-
dent with a much higher adversity score might
have more intelligence, more native ability, and
more gumption than the student with a lower
adversity score, and thus more likely to suc-
Ellen Morris Bishop
Houndstongue produces small, attractive
fl owers that turn into burrs that stick to
everything.
poisonous to wildlife and domestic animals,
damaging the animal’s liver. It may cause
death to grazing animals. Ironically, hounds
tongue becomes more palatable after it is
sprayed with herbicides, according to the
Washington State Department of Agriculture.
For most people the main problem is that
houndstongue produces seeds that stick to
everything — you, your dog, and wildlife.
If you wait till the seeds form, they are as
big as your little fi ngernail with tiny barbs.
People call them beggars lice. They are just
the right height to get in your dog’s fur and
cling to fawns and calves that spread them
every where.
Houndstongue grows to about two feet
and is the tall broad leaf plant you see now
above the grass in the pastures and long the
road. The fl owers start to bloom a lavender
pink and turn blue as they come out. The
root is a long tap root so take your shovel,
ceed in college and beyond.
There can certainly be valid questions
about the algorithm used to assign the
adversity score and the score’s transparency.
But the assertion that the score will be used
to add “arbitrary points to someone’s SAT
score” is completely false.
Terry Hiatt
Enterprise
The plight of wolves
President Donald Trump plans to prema-
turely strip Endangered Species Act protec-
tion from gray wolves in nearly all of the
lower 48 states. But some of the country’s
top wolf scientists just pointed out major
fl aws in the administration’s proposal.
According to the peer reviews commis-
sioned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-
vice, the agency’s proposal contains substan-
tial errors and misrepresents the most current
science on wolf conservation and taxonomy.
Today, wolves have expanded their range
into more of the upper Midwest, the northern
Rockies and Oregon. But they remain absent
from the vast majority of their former range.
This includes areas that could support and ben-
efi t from wolves, like the southern Rockies,
most of western Oregon and Washington, the
Sierra Nevada and the Adirondacks.
These important animals remain threatened
by the same animosity, persecution and killing
that nearly drove them to extinction in the fi rst
place. For all these reasons, wolves need con-
tinued Endangered Species Act protections.
Wolves are integral to healthy wild lands. If
they are stripped of lifesaving federal protec-
tions, decades of work and millions of dollars
spent on their recovery would be undone. This
would be tragic for the wolves and the natural
systems they benefi t.
Collette Adkins
Center for Biological Diversity
Measles can easily be prevented with a vaccine
I
n recent months, the news has
began covering small outbreaks
of a disease that has mostly
become unfamiliar to our society—
measles. This virus causes cold-like
symptoms—fevers, cough, sore
throat, and infl amed eyes—which
makes it diffi cult to distinguish
from other common illnesses. How-
ever, the distinguishing symptom is
the development of a specifi c type
of rash which normally starts at the
hairline and moves downward.
The complications of the disease
range from the previously men-
tioned to neurological impairment
and even death. The two most omi-
nous complications are encephali-
tis (brain swelling) or a long-term
infection of the nervous system that
slowly causes deterioration to the
brain (SSPE). Both of these com-
MOUNTAIN
MEDICINE
Kelsey Allen
plications can lead to death. In
fact, 1 out of 4 people who con-
tract the measles virus will require
hospitalization.
Previous to our era, measles was
a common virus infection that dates
back to the 9th century. Before
the release of its vaccine in 1963,
approximately 3 to 4 million peo-
ple (in the US) were infected every
year—nearly all children were
infected before the age of 15. As
well as nearly 500 people a year
died from the illness. The disease
Wallowa County non-farm
employment holds steady
By Ellen Morris Bishop
Wallowa County Chieftain
was so prevalent due to its incred-
ible infectious nature. 9 out of 10
people exposed to an infectious
individual will become infected.
The transmission can happen via
contact or simply via breathing
the same air in a room. In fact, the
virus’ presence continues up to
2 hours after the infected person
leaves a room.
Upon the vaccine’s release,
reports of infections fell by the
thousands. In the 1980s, the CDC
planned to eradicate the disease by
increasing the required adminis-
trations to 2 occasions. With this
practice, in the year 2000, the dis-
ease was considered “eliminated.”
This means that no cases had been
observed for a 12-month period.
Since then, cases have ranged
from 63 to 667 a year. Most of
these infections are due to interna-
tional travelers who may have not
received the vaccine and enter the
USA already sick. In the year 2019,
we have already seen 940 reported
cases…and we’re only half way
through the year.
Often, doctors are asked if the
patient is immune to the measles
virus or not. Generally speaking,
if a person was born before 1957,
they are immune because the were
likely exposed to the virus. How-
ever, doctors can draw blood and
test if you have immunity or not.
No vaccine is perfect, but individu-
als who have received two doses of
the vaccine are 97% likely to never
contract the virus.
Nearly all individuals who are
over the age of 1 are recommended
to receive the vaccine. If some-
Wallowa County Current Labor Force
and Industry Employment
Labor Force
Percent
unemployment
rate
Number of
people
unemployed
3500
350
3000
300
2500
250
2000
200
1500
150
1000
100
500
50
10
8
Wallowa County non-farm employment rose from
slightly in April while unemployment fell from 9.9 per-
cent to 8.3 percent. Both fi gures calculate to a season-
ally-adjusted 6.4 percent unemployment, higher than
last April’s seasonally adjusted 5.9 percent, accord-
ing to statistics form the State of Oregon Employment
Department. Largest gains here were in local and state
government, construction, trade, transportation, and
utilities. Employment in logging and health services
fell slightly. Wallowa County’s April, 2019 payroll,
non-farm labor force stands at 3,039 people.
327
274
Health Line
6
2
Apr. Mar. Apr.
2018 2019 2019
0
0
Apr.
2018
Mar.
2019
Civilian labor
force
Apr.
2019
Number
employed
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call 541-426-4524
one plans to travel internation-
ally, it is recommended that you
have received the vaccine at least
2 weeks in advance. Those who
should not consider receiving the
vaccine are those who have com-
promised immune systems due to
treatments of disease (chemother-
apy, steroids, HIV, etc.…) or if the
individual is pregnant.
Measles is a serious and very
infectious disease that can easily
be prevented with a vaccine. If you
have questions or concerns, feel
free to speak with your doctor to
make the right choice for yourself
and your family.
Kelsey Allen, D.O., is a fam-
ily medicine physician at Mountain
View Medical Clinic in Enterprise.
Mountain Medicine is a collabora-
tion between Ron Polk and Allen.
wallowa valley
center for wellness
wvcenterforwellness.org
0
Apr.
2018
Mar.
2019
Unemployment
rate, in percent
Apr.
2019
Unemployment
rate, seasonally
adjusted
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