OPINION
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
A5
Be a family during National Eat Better, Eat Together Month
IT’S ABOUT
HEALTH AND
WELLNESS
Ann Bloom
W
hen was the last time you ate a
meal with your family — the
kind where everyone sits down at
the table at the same time to eat together?
It’s really hard these days, what with dif-
ferent work schedules (kids and adults),
after-school sports and extracurricular
activities and meetings. Yet, there are many
reasons why researchers say people who
eat together eat better, enjoy better relation-
ships and do better in school.
Eating together can happen at any meal
according to Jill Ladd, MPH, a contributor
for HealthLinkBC, a British Columbia web-
site. If you are not used to eating together
as a family, start small. Maybe you can
only make one meal once a week to start. It
might be Sunday breakfast or Thursday din-
ner, and that’s OK. You can build on your
successes.
Try to incorporate as much healthy food
as possible. Studies have shown people
who eat together tend to eat more fruits and
vegetables.
Encourage family members to get in on
the meal planning and preparation. Chil-
dren who are involved with meal plan-
ning and making a meal are more prone
to eat the food they make and try different
foods. Children of all ages are capable of
doing tasks to help in the kitchen. Young
children can wash lettuce and other vege-
tables or set the table. Older children can
grate cheese for a pizza, roll out the dough
or pick herbs from the garden.
Meals do not have to be made entirely
from scratch. Why stress about prepar-
ing everything you put on the table from
scratch? If all you do is heat up some soup
and make toast, it’s still dinner, right? The
point is spending time together.
Cooking is a great way to connect
with family members, teach simple cook-
ing techniques and food safety. Everyone
should wash their hands with warm, soapy
water before beginning meal preparation.
If you have young or inexperienced cooks
in the kitchen, supervision is key. Cuts and
burns are a sure way to turn a fun activity
into a not-so-fun activity really fast.
If some foods are new to children,
don’t force them (or bribe them) to try
the food, though gentle encouragement to
try something new is a positive approach.
According to child nutritionist Ellyn Sat-
ter, author of “Child of Mine” and “How
to get your child to eat ... but not too
much,” children generally make seven
attempts at touching, putting a new food
in their mouth, chewing it and spitting it
out before they get around to swallow-
ing it.
Parents are good role models here. You
can use mealtime to teach your children
what you want them to say when they
don’t want a particular food. For example,
“No, thank you,” or “I don’t care for any,
thank you,” are good approaches to try.
“Yuck!” works, too, but the cuteness fac-
tor is short-lived.
Help children know how much food to
take and when they have had enough. Do
not encourage membership in the Clean
Plate Club. This teaches children to over-
eat and overrides their bodies’ natural
cues that tell them when they have had
enough food.
Eating together is about connecting.
This means TVs, cellphones, computers
and all other screens are turned off. It is
a time to teach children about family val-
ues and traditions, to hear about every-
one’s day. Keep the conversations upbeat
and positive. Schedule the tough or disci-
plinary conversations for a later time.
Ask open-ended questions (questions
which require more than a “yes” or “no”
or “OK” answer) as conversation starters
to get the table talk going. Questions such
as, “What is the best thing that happened
to you today and why?” or “If you could
have dinner with anyone, who would it be
and why? What would you eat?” may get
more of a response than the generic, “How
was your day today?”
There are also social and health bene-
fits of eating together. For teenagers who
participate in family mealtime, there tends
to be less alcohol, drug and cigarette use.
Teens do better in school and there is less
disruptive behavior at school and less neg-
ative behavior in general. Students get
better grades and do better on tests.
For all family members, eating together
establishes healthy eating patterns and
people who eat together tend to maintain a
healthy weight.
For all these reasons, eating together
is good for your health and your family’s
health. For more information, or ideas on
how you can start eating together and eat-
ing better, go to www.foodhero.org.
———
Ann Bloom lives in Enterprise and has
worked for the OSU Extension Service for
15 years as a nutrition educator. She stud-
ied journalism and education at Washing-
ton State University.
Celebrating with a good eight-day birthday week
MAIN STREET
Rich Wandschneider
L
ast week was my birthday week. My
friend, Russell Ford, born in 1942
just a few days before I was, and I
have celebrated decadal birthdays together
— 40th, 50th, 60th and 70th. We thought
we’d creep up on the 80th with a practice
run at M.Crow in Lostine last Sunday, so
a few friends gathered at that great, new-
old venue for pizza and beer. A good way
to start a birthday week.
I’m counting Saturday the 9th, when
the side channel at the Nez Perce Wallowa
Homeland was dedicated, as the begin-
ning of the great eight-day birthday week.
Working with Nez Perce Fisheries, the
Homeland has built small channels off the
main stem of the Wallowa River as places
of refuge for migrating fish. This remedial
work makes a small dent in the decades-
long scouring of the riverbed brought on
by straightening of the river in the 1940s
and ‘50s to make more land for crops and
pasture. Observers say birds and critters
started using the new river feature before
the backhoes left, and look for marshlands
of tule and grasses created when spring
floods rush over the side channels.
The physical work is important, but
so too is the spiritual work, the joining
together of tribal offices and people with
local people on ancient lands, celebrat-
ing with drums, songs and a communal
salmon feed. In cloudy times, that Satur-
day was a bright event.
At work in the Josephy Library last
week, we moved books around to make
room for three major donations of books
about Indians and the Inland Northwest.
One seasoned, visiting librarian remarked
on the quality and unique nature of the
books and papers we have. Our goal in
2022 is to make most of these materials
available through interlibrary loans.
On Thursday, my actual birthday day,
granddaughter Oriana showed up from
Portland to wish me a happy day. We ate
Mexican food and talked about her new
life at a construction company in Portland,
and her new love of fishing. She bought
waders from Rob Lamb and caught a cou-
ple of fish with a fly rod — no steelhead,
though. She’ll go back to make crabbing
trips to the coast and fly fish nearby rivers.
On Friday, according to the Oregon
Health Authority, Wallowa County had
just two new COVID cases. I don’t think
there was a double-digit day the entire
week, after a couple of scary big weeks.
So maybe things are, in fact, slowing here,
as they are in much of the country.
As if to answer those questions, on Sat-
urday morning, I opened the N.Y. Times
online, and found my favorite COVID
columnist, Zeynep Tufekci, with a piece
called “The unvaccinated may not be who
you think.” (Her smiling face and her
name — Zeynep was always a favorite
Turkish name, and Tufekci means “gun-
smith” in the language I loved and spoke
for over four years a long time ago — was
another birthday gift.)
Like most of us loudly supporting vac-
cinations and wearing masks, I’ve focused
my thinking on the anti-vaxxers. Tufekci,
who teaches at the University of North
Carolina, using information from the
scant research being done on the subject,
focused on the “vaccine hesitant” rather
than the antis, and gave reasons for hope
in the national and local struggle against
COVID.
First, the fear of needles. A large num-
ber of the hesitant have great fear of all
injections. Some research — and a recent
study in England — suggest that up to 25%
of us have an immense fear of needles, any
needles.
Second, the most-vaccinated demo-
graphic in the country is people over 65.
Makes sense in our county, with its older
population, where most over 65 get vac-
cinated. Wallowa County’s adult rate of
Journalism is dying by its own hand
OTHER VIEWS
Rich Manieri
T
he news media is about as popular as a
first-century tax collector. This probably isn’t
breaking news if you are a consumer of jour-
nalism, or what passes for journalism.
According to a recent Gallup survey, a mere
36% of respondents said they had “some level
of trust” in the media to report news accurately.
That’s the second-lowest level in the history of
polling.
Just 7% of respondents said they had “a great
deal of trust” in news reporting.
The real tragedy of this survey is that the news
media won’t pay any attention to it, assuming, as
it almost always does, that people are either too
daft to understand subtlety and nuance or they’re
simply wrong on the issues. If these morons don’t
like our coverage, who needs them?
I think we understand just fine what this poll
reveals and Americans are well aware of what’s
going on.
At some point, the national media, and
assorted local outlets, decided that their primary
responsibility was no longer to merely cover the
news, opting instead to serve as members of the
resistance, advocates or activists.
Politicians understand this. In fact, they’ve
become used to it. How else would you explain
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s comments the
other day, when she admonished reporters for not
giving her party enough of an assist with its lav-
ish spending proposals?
“Well, I think you all could do a better job of
selling it, to be very frank with you,” Pelosi said.
This is an extraordinary statement when you
think about it. The U.S. Speaker of the House, not
some Banana Republic militarist, actually thinks
promoting her legislative agenda is the media’s
job. Where in the world did she ever come up
with such an idea? From a media that has been
more than happy to promote past agendas. That’s
where.
Truth is now subservient to political agendas;
not the agendas of politicians, but the agendas of
news organizations and individual reporters.
We don’t need to go back very far to under-
stand why just 7% of those surveyed have “a
great deal of trust” in the news media. From
the phony, “Border patrol whip migrants” story,
advanced by the national media and the Biden
administration; to Katie Couric’s admission in her
memoir that she edited out parts of an interview
with Ruth Bader Ginsburg — who was critical of
athletes kneeling during the national anthem — to
protect the aging justice; to the New York Times
overstating the number of children hospitalized
with COVID-19 in the U.S. by some 800,000 (the
real number is more like 63,000); there’s plenty
of evidence. And this was just within the past two
weeks.
There are still good reporters and solid news
organizations doing good work. I know and
worked with some of them and they’re still fight-
ing the good fight. But their work is often over-
shadowed by pundits and commentators pre-
tending to be journalists, by activist reporters
who see nothing wrong with using their platform
to advance an ideology, and by a media estab-
lishment that values firstness and clicks over
correctness.
It’s fair to ask why I spend my days prepar-
ing college students to be journalists while, at
the same time, decrying the profession. There are
days when I ask the same question.
The answer is journalism needs saving and is
worth saving. Yes, the so-called Fourth Estate
might look more like an ice fishing shed at the
moment, at least in the eyes of consumers, but
that doesn’t mean it can’t be salvaged.
Sadly, community newspapers, the last bas-
tions of local news coverage, are disappearing.
About 1,800 local papers have closed or merged
in the U.S. since 2004. Eventually, all local
papers will go digital, if they’re still around.
Still, even though the delivery systems change,
there will always be a need for honest, truth-seek-
ing, truth-telling journalism.
But if the profession is going to regain the
public’s trust, it needs to take some serious inven-
tory and acknowledge its failings. And printing
a retraction doesn’t qualify as honest self-reflec-
tion. I’m more interested in the reporting that led
the retraction.
The Gallup survey would be a good place to
start. The news media should look at these num-
bers, acknowledge its predicament and ask some
difficult questions. Or, it can ignore them, at its
own peril.
———
Rich Manieri is a Philadelphia-born journal-
ist and author. He is currently a professor of jour-
nalism at Asbury University in Kentucky. You can
reach him at manieri2@gmail.com.
65% is pretty good, significantly better than
neighbors in nearby counties and in Idaho.
Third, the best predictor of being vac-
cinated is having health insurance — and
direct contact with health care provid-
ers. Highly unvaccinated places have low
scores on both. The age of our local popula-
tion — many on Medicare — and our vig-
orous, local health care system account for
our 65% rate.
Fourth, mandates and personal contact
with the health care system are persuasive
with high numbers of the vaccine hesitant.
With gradual ongoing vaccinations,
immunity by sickness, upcoming mandates,
the extension of vaccinations to children
and the cessation of the tourist season, I’m
optimistic. I liked the quieter Joseph Main
Street this weekend, with fewer Florida,
Texas, South Carolina and Idaho license
plates. (Has anyone correlated local COVID
numbers with visitor counts?)
So even if locals refuse to wear masks
— one storekeeper not wearing a mask
bragged about his vaccination — I am
beginning to think we’ll be all right. Thanks
to Medicare, our great local health care sys-
tem and my many vaccinated friends.
A good eight-day birthday week!
———
Rich Wandschneider is the director of
the Josephy Library of Western History
and Culture.
Concluding another
successful year at Alpine
Meadows Golf Course
TEE TIME
Rochelle Danielson
U
nimaginable shades
of green, touches of
dark plum, russet reds
scattered here and there gen-
tly reminds the golfer that it
is autumn at Alpine Meadows
Golf Course.
A less subtle reminder of
the season’s change is the
brisk chill in the air along
with frosty mornings that go
with fall’s magnificent colors.
There’s no prettier place to
be than the golf course on a
warm October afternoon, but
it can be a bit miserable when
there’s a cold breeze blow-
ing and temps dip — that is,
unless you remember to tuck
away a hoodie, a coat and a
blanket in the cart for such
rare moments.
With fall, the AMGC sea-
son officially ended Oct. 15,
but it doesn’t mean that you
can’t continue to golf. What
it does mean is the clubhouse
is closed and the course is not
maintained. Rental carts, tee
markers and yardage signs are
stored away. In other words,
no amenities.
Nonmembers play on your
honor. Deposit green fees in
box at clubhouse door.
Bill Williams, board pres-
ident, says, “Alpine Mead-
ows Golf Course has had a
very successful year. In addi-
tion to our regular members
playing golf, there were also
many golfers from outside of
the county who either discov-
ered our little gem or came
back for more rounds. Our
course Manager JD Hagan and
his crew worked very hard to
keep the fairways and greens
in pristine condition.
“Our clubhouse Manager
Douglas McKinnis and his
crew put in many hours mak-
ing sure that golf carts were
available and scheduling tee
times. Brandy Bronson was
in charge of the kitchen and
dining room and served great
meals on Thursdays. We hope
to expand that next year.
“Board members Mike
Harshfield and Brian Rahn
have finished their terms and
we thank them for their ser-
vice. Allison Cornett also
served her last year on the
board.
“New board members
elected for the next three years
are Amy Wellens and Brad
Stephens. The will join John
Lawrence, Chad Conrad, Ryan
Collins, Tanner Shelton and
Bill Williams as members.
“Projects for next year
include driving range
improvements and two
bridge replacements. We are
also looking to replace our
13-year-old golf carts.
“Finally a big thank you to
our local businesses and indi-
viduals who have supported us
financially.”
The course will reopen
April 15, 2022.
———
Rochelle Danielson of Enter-
prise loves the game of golf and
has golfed for many years at
Alpine Meadows.