January 18, 1996 5
SpilyayTymoo
Warm Springs, Oregon
Veterans Affairs launches new health
study of Persian Gulf veterans
The US Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) has begun new research
on the health of Persian Gulf War vet
erans and their families, the latest step
in a search for answers about the health
consequences of that conflect.
Unlike many of the earlier investi
gations that ate looking at specific
groups of veterans for unusual health
problems, the National Health Survey
of Persian Gulf Veterans and Their
Family Members is a broad epidemio
logical study that will compare a repre
sentative sampling of 15,000 Persian
Gulf veterans with a "control group" of
15.CXK) veterans who served stateside
or in other locations away from South
west Asia during the Persian Gulf War.
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jesse
Brown said, "While the health prob
lems of any Persian Gulf veteran arc
important and deserve immediate at
tention, these veterans and their fami
lies also want long-term answers. For
that, wc need a controlled scientific
basis to find prevalence of illnesses,
how they may differ from a control
group 'norm,' and whether early clues
to high-risk associations can shed light
on causes."
Brown added, "We have moved
forward in this scientific cndcavorcarc
fully, working with an advisory com
mittee over the last year, incorporating
New medal authorized....
Medal honors Americans
The government of Kuwait recently
joined its neighbor, Saudi Arabia, in
providing a new medal honoring US
military personnel who participated in
operations Desert Shield and Desert
Storm. The Kuwait Liberation Medal -Government
of Kuwait decoration will
be available to the roughly one third
million American troops who were
assigned to at least one of several des
ignated areas in Southwest Asia be
tween August 2, 1990, and August 31,
1993.
An individual's service must have
been in either the Arabian Gulf, the
Red Sea, the Gulf of Oman, the Gulf of
Aden, or that portion of Arabian Sea
which lies north of 10 degrees north
latitude, and west of 68 degrees east
longitude. Service may also have been
located on the land areas of Bahrain,
Iraq, Kuwait, Omar, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia or the United Arab Emirates.
According to the US Department of
Defense, a soldier or former soldier
must meet one of the following condi
tions to qualify.
(1) Have been attached to, or regu
larly served for one day or more, whit
an organization participating in ground
andor shore operations.
(2) Have been attached to, or regu
larly served for one day or more, with
a naval vessel directly supporting mili
National Children's
Dental Health
February 1996
DISCOVER THE
TO A HEALTHY SMILE
01995 Arnica Dentil Amniau Mlq Mat"
Think snow....
Survey shows
The Natural Resources Depart
ment has been collecting data on the
snow pack since 1973. Snow pack
data are obtained by manual readings
of snow depth and water equivalent
at our snow courses or by flying over
aerial snow markers and reading the
actual depth of the snowpack.
Ground surveys are carried out on
Bald Peter and Racing Creek Snow
Courses in the south of the reserva
tion and on Beaver Butte at the north
end of the reservation. Aerial mark
ers are located on Lionshead and on
Olallie Butte.
We have just completed our snow
survey for January and the results are
shown in the accompanying chart.
The basic interpretation that can be
made from this graph is that the
snowpack is only about 37 percent
of the 22-year average. The reserva
tion has received more moisture than
indicated by the snowpack in the last
month, but due to the uncommonly
warm weather most of it has found
its way into the streams and rivers.
However, some of the moisture we
had this month will help fill up our
ground water reservoirs. The outlook
for next summer and fall runoff is
difficult to predict because it is still
early and we may get a great deal
more snow in the next few months.
SO, THINK SNOW!
questions and subgroup analyses that
reflect the concerns typically voiced by
a veteran, such as whether his or her
spouse or offspring would be at risk of
health problems. We thank the outside
scientists and our veteran organization
partners who assisted us in the study
design through our blue-ribbon Per
sian Gulf Expert Scientific Panel."
The study initially will gather data
through a mail questionnaire and follow-up
telephone interviews, as re
quired. Medical records will be exam
ined for subsets of the cohorts to vali
date survey findings, and about 1,000
households in each group will be of
fered medical examinations. Counting
family members who are invited to
participate in the physical exams, the
cohorts' size may triple.
Both study populations include rep
resentative subgroups of men and
women in all services ranging from the
air national guard to active-duty ma
rines. Like the study group, the com
parison group sample is drawn from
service members on duty at the time of
the Gulf War.
VA and other federal agencies al
ready have dozens of studies in progress
examining a broac range of hypotheses
about Gulf veterans, such as detection
of any unusual pattens in thcircauscs of
death, thcirhospitalizauonsorthc health
tary operations,.
(3) Have participated, as a crew
member, in one or more aerial flights
that directly supported military opera
tions in the designated areas.
(4) Have served on temporary duty
(TDY) for 30 consecutive days or 60
nonconsecutive days during the desig
nated period. (The military will waive
the time requirement for TDY soldiers
who participated in actual combat op
erations. The eligibility time frames and the
geographical areas were designated by
the Kuwait government and cannot be
waived, according to US officials.
Former military personnel who be
lieve they qualify for the medal should
send a letter, and any supporting docu
mentation to the Army Reserve Per
sonnel Center, Attn.: DARP-PAS-EAW,
9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis,
MO 63132-5200.
The next-of kin of personnel who
were killed in Desert Shield and Desert
Storm may also be awarded the medal
posthumously. This award will be made
regardless of the service member's
length of service during the designated
period. Requests for these posthumous
awards should be sent to the Total
Army Personnel Command, Attn.:
TAPC-PDA, 200 Stovall Street, Alex
andria, VA 22332-0471
Month
low snowpack for season-
20 1
15 ' " flTl H
CC 1 1
I n I
o 10 II 1;- r Ir
S n I
"J i I
111 . -wl -ill . nil . -ni .
JAN
FEB
1996
of their children. VA health officials
already have been examining potential
risk factors of concern to veterans, from
a special neurological evaluation pro
gram aimed at detecting the kind of
long-term damage that would be ex
pected from chemical exposures to the
medical surveillance of service mem
bers who have retained fragments of
depleted uranium shrapnel. In addition,
three specialized VA Persian Gulf En
vironmental Hazard Research Centers
are coordinating more than a dozen
protocols with avaricty of approaches,
from small case-control studies to cellular-level
studies of possible biochemi
cal markers.
The National Health Survey is be
ing administered by VA's Environ
mental Epidemiology Service, which
expects initial survey data in June 1996
and final physical examination results
in June 1998.
While Gufl veterans cannot volun
teer for the new study due to the scien
tific quality controls of random selec
tion for a representative sampling, VA
continues to provide a medical exam
and battery of tests through its registry
program. All Gulf veterans are invited
to participate, free of charge. Addi
tional information is available through
the Persian Gulf Informatin Center at
1-800-PGW-VETS.
DE plant honors
employee
Warm Springs Composite
Products recently recognized
Clarence "Clancy" Dalin as employee
of the month for December 1995.
Dalin was selected for the award
for his contributions in safety in the
workplace, quality of work,
production quantity, attendance,
personal initiative, attitude and
cooperation with fellow employees,
lead people, supervisors and
management.
Support important Thanks
To the Editor,
The Worm Springs Panthers Girls
Basketball team would like to extend
their thanks to the following
volunteers, businesses and family
members for helping make their first
tourney a success.
Lilly Suppah, Tara Lee Suppah
and Lanna Leonard for keeping book.
Andy Leonard for running the clock.
Eric Powers, Tray Leonard, Andy
Leonard, Tony Holiday, Donald
Hoptowit volunteer refs. Oregon
Embroidery, Inter Tribal Sports, DM J
Automotive, Coast to Coast, WSFPI,
SNOW SURVEY DATA
AVERAGE WATER CONTENT
MAR
MONTH
APR
199S
1977
V4 .-A4i
Kelll Danzuka-Palmer walked away cut, bruised and sore from an accident that totalled her car. The
accident was caused by a large dead dog lying in the middle of the Tenino Road.
Is the illness real or imagined?
1 1
At least 10 percent of the
population believes a headache is the
sign of a brain tumor or that a rash is
a sign of an infectious disease.
In actuality, these symptoms
usually mean something much less
serious if anything at all. The people
who exaggerate them are known as
hypochondriacs. According to
psychologists, a person who is
regularly bothered by physical
symptoms and begins to believe that
they are constantly fighting those
symptoms is a hypochondriac.
Hypochondriacs are irrational
about their aches and pains, and this
preoccupation with physical
symptoms is problematic for these
people. The problem can get to be so
bad that it may interfere with the
individual's personal and
professional life.
Les Schwab, First Interstate, Miller
Ford Nissan, Warm Springs IHC,
Bart Bartow donations. Individuals
and families who made donations
and helped were: Dave Turner,
Carmen Alexander, Claude Smith III,
Warren Clements, JimVesta Miller,
GeorgeJanice Clements, Donnie
Angie Wilson, DelvisShirley Heath,
Jeff Shirley Sanders, SnuffVersa
Smith, Rosanna Sanders and
Casandra Frutos. The Community
Centerstaff instructed team aerobics.
As the coach of the time, I would
like to thank all the parents for the
opportunity to coach their kids, for
the support and involvement they
have had with their children. If it
weren't for the parents and families
involvement with the organization
and their children, the tourney
wouldn't have been possible. I also
want to extend my thanks to Versa,
Rosanna, Angie, Casandra and
Shirley (Heath) for all the work they
did in the concession stand
throughout the weekend. Thanks also
to Snuff and Verso for the team
uniforms.
This tourney was put together
without an entry fee for the local
teams and kids in hopes of getting
new teams started and parent
involvement.
I hope I didn't forget anyone!
Again, thanks to all who get
involved with the kids!
Coach Luther Clements
MAY
Q AVG(7395)
,,
is--V
tIii
'
Most hypochondriacs use the
preoccupation with their physical
symptoms as a defense mechanism
to protect themselves form dealing
with emotional problems. They
generally suffer form depression, but
use hypochondria as a way to delay
facing what's really bothering them
emotionally.
The best treatment for
hypochondria is psychotherapy.
Once in treatment, the therapist needs
to gently point out to the patient that
the focus on physical symptoms is
preventing them from examining an
underlying problem.
They hypochondriac also needs
assurance that there's nothing
seriously wrong. It should be
expl ai ncd that there may be legitimate
reasons stress, for example for
the hypochondriac's symptoms. The
hypochondriac needs to realize that
everyone gets their dose of daily
aches and pains. It's normal.
While therapy may be the best
treatment, many physicians hesitate
to refer their patients to therapy.
Why? Many doctors are unfamiliar
with hypochondria, and even those
who do know of the disease may not
want to insult (and thereby lose a
patient by suggesting that he or she
may have mental or emotional
problems. Also, a physician may be
Separating myth from fact
MYTH: Everyone who experiences pain on a regular basis is a
hypochondriac.
FACT: Studies show that 60 percent to 80 percent of all healthy
individuals experience bodily pains on a weekly basis, including back
pain, ringing in the ears, or itching. The difference is that the hypochondriac
is irrational about these symptoms.
MYTH: Most hypochondriacs imagine that they have minor illnesses
or injuries.
FACT: Among the most common imagined diseases are cancer, heart
attacks and AIDS.
Timber meetings scheduled
Public meetings for next year 1997
Timber Sales are scheduled for Janu
ary 24 for the Agency district at the
Agency Longhouse. January 31 for
Seeksequa District at the Agency
Longhouse and February 1 for
ECE News-
In-Service Training
January ztj, 1996
Infant Center, School Age, and
Head Start personnel are all
participating in the In-Service
Training sponsored by and held at
ECE on the above mentioned date.
Head Start Workshop
Schedule:
8:00-8:40: ECE Staff Get
Together with snacks ECE lobby.
8:45-10:15: Space and Design
Principles, Rochelle Burnett, M.ED.,
C Pod Carpet Area.
10:15-10:30: 15 Minute Break
10:30-1 1:00: How to Soften and
Quiet Spaces, Rochelle Burnett, M.
ED., G Pod.
11:00-12:00: Classroom Visits
12:00-1:00:1 Hour Lunch on your
own.
1:00-2:30: Indian Language
Overview, Culture & Heritage
Language Program, F Pod Strider
Activity Room. Parents we encourage
you to join this training.
2:30-3:00: Speech & Language
Update, Phyllis Berger, Conference
Room 2E.
3:00-3:15: 15 Minute Break
3:15-4:00: ECE Policy Manual.
Nancy Seylcr, B Pod.
4:05-5:00: Cultural Crafts,
Culture & Heritage, Susie & Dallas,
F Pod Strider area.
ECE is hosting a series on
Positive Guidance and niscinline
this is a first of many series, the
it
afraid that the patient has a real
problem t hat just has not yet been
completely understood.
Many doctors who are afraid to
refer patients to therapy are only
making matters worse. They often
continue to see their patients during
brief office appointments. They offer
a sympathetic ear, and, in some
situations, may prescribe
tranquilizers since most
hypochondriacal symptoms are
stress-related.
But prescribing tranquilizers may
cause a more serious problem for
hypochondriacs since many are
seeing more than one doctor. If each
doctor is prescribing medication,
such as Valium, the hypochondriac
runs the risk of becoming
overmedicated and possibly addicted.
Dealing with hypochondria is also
difficult for family members.
Relatives may become too
sympathetic and therefore exaggerate
the problem; or, they may do the
opposite and avoid the
hypochondriac completely. Neither
is the right course of action.
The good news: Both family
members and physicians seem to be
getting more comfortable with
suggesting the idea of therapy to
hypochondriacs. People are now
beginning to see that therapy is
effective for treating a number of
problems, and is nothing to be
ashamed or embarrassed about.
Simnasho District at the Simnasho
Longhouse. All meetings will be from
1-4 p.m. and 6-9 p.m.
Snacks and drinks will be pro
vided. Forestry and the Timber com
mittee will be hosting,
program wants to welcome parents,
staff, and community members to
the first session on January 16, 1996,
time:5:30-6:30Dm. whenv at FrrJ
Conference Room 2E.
Four kinds of parent
participation in Head Start
There are at least four major kinds
of parent participation in local Head
Start Programs:
1. Participation in the process of
making decisions about the nature
and operation of the program.
2. Participation in the classroom
as paid employees, volunteers or
observers.
3. Activities for parents which
they have helped to develop.
4. Working with their children in
cooperation with the staff of the
center.
Suggested ideas for parents to
appear in the next Spilyay.
PARENT CLUB OFFICERS,
PARENTS, STAFF AND
COMMUNITY MEMBERS, the
first Parent Club Meeting for this
new year is scheduled for January
24, 1996,
Time:5:30-6:30p.m.
Where: ECE Conference Room
2E.
The program is looking forward
to seeing you there so that we can
move forward and schedule activities
for the upcoming holidays and
community activities. We need to
support our future generations. Be
there or be square.
V
!'
'.i
A
i