Spi ly:jy Ty woo, IVi in ) Springs, Oieon
October 18, 2001
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Pholot by Mlk Van Meier
CoIdStorage
A piece of history was pulled
from the Warm Springs
Market this week - an ice
machine and cutting
implements that used to
supply much of the need for
blocks of frozen water as
heavy as 300 pounds
throughout north central
Oregon. Robert Macy and
Tom Grant (pictured) pulled
the old equipment, which will
make way for an expansion
of the store's retail space.
Road construction continues on Wolf Point project
New route
to:KahTNee.rTa.
Work is well under way on
phase one of a road that eventu
ally could become a main route to
Kah-Nee-Ta.
Workers with Warm Springs
Construction Enterprise have been
making steady progress since this
summer on the Wolf Point, or
Webster Flat road project.
This is a realignment of route
13, starting along Highway 3 and
working northeast toward Kah-Nee-Ta.
,. The current project involves
straightening the road, paving and
lining. Eventually, the Culpus
Bridge will be improved, as will the
road from the bridge to Kah-Nee-Ta.
At that point the new route
from the Warm Springs area to
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Photos by Dave McMechan
Crews and heavy equipment have been working this summer on the
project, which will be completed next summer.
Kah-Nee-Ta would be completed.
For now the crews are working
on phase 1, which makes up about
40 percent of the roadwork from
Highway 3 to the Culpus Bridge,
said Glenn Carpenter, construc
tion supervisor.
Phase 2 should be finished next
summer, said Carpenter. Total
length of phases 1 and 2 is about 4
miles.
Tenino Road also saw some
improvement this summer.
This work has been put on hold
now that the cooler weather has
set in.
In colder temperatures it is not
possible to apply the necessary oil
mixture onto the surface of the
roadway, said Carpenter.
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Questions about bioterrorism concerns addressed by experts
From OSU Extension
Warm Springs
In an attempt to answer ques
tions about bioterrorism that may
arise this information was prepared
by the Johns Hopkins Center for
Civilian Biodefense Studies.
Bioterrorism Concerns after
September 11
Since the terrorist attacks of
September 11, public concern re
garding a potential biological at
tack has heightened. The Johns
Hopkins Ci.-nter for Civilian
Biodefense Studies received a
steadv stream of phone calls from
the general public seeking more
information about bioterrorism
and ways to protect themselves. In
response, the Center prepared the
following "Frequently Asked
Questions" (FAQ) fact sheet.
Should I buy a gas mask?
No. A mask would only protect
you if you were wearing it at the
exact moment a bioterrorist attack
occurred. Unfortunately, a release
of a biological agent is most likely
to be done "covertly," that is, with
out anvone knowing it. That
moans von would n! know ahead
of time to put on your mask. To
wear a mask continuously or "just
in case" a bioterrorist attack oc
curs, is impractical, if not impos
sible. Should I have my own supply
of antibiotics?
There are a number of different
germs a bioterrorist might use to
carry out an attack. Many antibi
otics are effective for a variety of
diseases, but there is no antibiotic
that is effective against all diseases.
Thus, no single pill can protect
against all types of biological
weapon attacks. Keeping a supply
of antibiotics on hand poses other
problems because the antibiotics
have a limited "shelf life" before
they lose their strength.
There is currently no justifica
tion for taking antibiotics. Also, it
should be known that antibiotics
can cause side effects. They should
only be taken with medical super
vision. Is it safe for me to drink wa
ter from the tap?
It would be extremely difficult
for a bioterrorist to contaminate
our drinking water supplies to
cause widespread illness. There are
two reasons. First of all, huge
amounts of water are pumped
daily from our reservoirs, most of
which is used for industrial and
other purposes; very little is actu
ally consumed. Thus, anything
deliberately put into the water sup
ply would be greatly diluted. Sec
ondly, water treatment facilities
routinely filter the water supply
and add chlorine in order to kill
harmful germs. .
What is smallpox?
Smallpox is a disease caused by
the Variola virus. Historically, 1
out of 3 people who contracted the
disease died. The disease can spread
from person to person. Transmis
sion usually occurs only after the
patient develops a fever and rash.
Although there is no treatment for
the disease, a vaccine against small
pox provides excellent protection
and serves to stop the spread of the
disease. While many vaccines must
be given weeks or months before
a person is exposed to infection,
smallpox vaccine is different. It
protects a person even when given
2 to 3 days after exposure to the
disease and may prevent a fatal
outcome even when given as late
as 4 to 5 days after exposure. ,
' Smallpox was stamped out glo
bally by 1980 and vaccination
stopped everywhere in the world.
However, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC)
maintain an emergency supply of
smallpox vaccine. Currently, there
are 12-15 million doses in storage,
and a program to produce more
vaccine began a year ago. For more
information on smallpox, go to
agentsmallpox.html. t
If smallpox is a potential
threat to the U.S., why shouldn't
we all get vaccinated?
The vaccine may cause serious
side effects. In 1972, the U.S. de
cided to stop routinely vaccinating
its citizens because many people
were experiencing side effects,
while they had almost no risk of
getting smallpox. By 1972, the dis
ease was present only in a few
countries of Asia and Africa. To
day, health authorities would only
recommend vaccination if there
was clear evidence that the disease
had resurfaced and those in the
U.S. were at risk of acquiring in
fection. Many people over age 30 have a
vaccination scar. Vaccination con
sists of introducing the virus into
the top layers of the skin. Over the
following few days, a blister forms
at the site of vaccination (usually
the upper arm). The arm is sore,
and there is fever. Very rarely, some
people get a vaccine-related infec
tion of the brain (about 1 case per
300,000 vaccinations); one fourth
of these cases are fatal. Other po
tential negative effects of the vac
cine are a severe skin reaction,
spread of the vaccine virus (known
as Vaccinia) to other parts of the
body, and spread of the Vaccinia
virus to other people.
If I was vaccinated against
smallpox before 1980, am I still
protected?
Probably not. Vaccination has
been shown to wear off in most
people after 10 years but may last
longer if the person has been suc
cessfully vaccinated on multiple
occasions. If health authorities de
termine that you have been ex
posed to smallpox or are at risk of
infection, they would recommend
that you be re-vaccinated immedi
ately. What can I do to protect my
self and my family?
Unfortunately, there is pres
endy little that individuals can do
in advance to protect themselves
from a bioterrorist attack. How
ever, there is much that govern
ment agencies, health care institu
tions and public health depart
ments can and should be doing to
improve the capacity to protect the
public following a bioterrorist at
tack. For more information, go to
congress.html.
Oregon State University Exten
sion Service offers educational pro
grams, activities, and materials
without regard to race, color, reli
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