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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (June 4, 2016)
4 A ❘ SATURDAY EDITION ❘ JUNE 4, 2016 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 DISASTER PREP B Y D AVE R OBINSON Special to the Siuslaw News ccording to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Red Cross, the mantra for disas- ter preparedness is: Get A Kit, Make A Plan and Be Informed. Trust me when I say that survival is not a kit. Knowledge is more important than “stuff.” Preparedness and survival is all about a plan, your kit is sim- ply a big part of your plan. I must admit that building a kit is more fun than making a plan, but it is all about a balanced approach to coming out ahead in the event of a disaster. For the past few columns, I have been providing a shopping list and a list of tips for building a 72-hour kit. I firmly believe a 72-hour kit is only a good start. Your plan should be to extend your kit to a 14-day supply as most disasters don’t know to stop at 72 hours. After seven weeks, those who participate will have a well-rounded starter kit that should see them through most emergencies. Because we all have different needs, every- one’s kit will be different. Some of us have babies in the house, so those families will want to stock up on infants’ things, others will have folks with special needs and those requirements must be considered as you build your kit and make your plan. For those reasons, I don’t recommend buying one of the kits on the market, as they will probably not meet your family’s complete needs during an actual emergency. So having said that, let’s get to it! A Things to buy for Week 5: 1. Gloves. Latex or non/latex, plus a good pair of work gloves. 2. Paper plates, cups and utensils. 3. Canned vegetables, soup/stew. 4. Toilet paper (lots) and paper towels. 5. Travel sizes of personal hygiene items, dental care, soap, feminine care, deodorant, etc. RYAN CRONK , EDITOR ❘ 541-902-3520 ❘ Opinion Kit building: Weeks 5 & 6 6. Disinfectant wipes. 7. Supplies for baby, elderly or special needs. Tips for Week 5 Select an emergency contact person residing out of the area for family members to contact in case they are separated. Sometimes it’s easier to connect a phone call out of the area than it is to get through locally. Keep a copy of this seven-week list in your car when you go shopping. Check off items as you go. Make sure that all adults and teens in your household know how to shut off water and utilities. Never use a portable generator in an enclosed area. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions. *** Funny thing about disaster preparedness, our parents and grandparents simply “put up” their garden produce, butchered a half of beef and froze it and otherwise laid up stores for the winter months. The current generation goes to the store nearly every day to decide what to have for dinner, has no idea what to do with real flour and is nearly crippled without electricity. With all the microwaveable conveniences and our fast-food on-demand mentality, the thought of actually preparing in case some- thing goes wrong is often times a foreign concept. Nevertheless, there are some of us who remember life without microwave ovens and Hamburger Helper. Some who have lived through events that knocked out power and weather that precluded safe trav- el. Improving conditions during times of difficulty can be as simple as having some extra food on hand, or a camping stove or alternative lighting or maybe just fresh bat- teries for the flashlight. Things to buy for Week 6: 1. Blankets and small pillows. A good quality sleeping bag is a good substitute. 2. Towels. Set aside some extra towels and if you are preparing a go-bag for each family member, a towel is a must-have. 3. Extra clothing and outerwear, and stur- dy, comfortable footwear. 4. Small photo album with current photos of family members and pets 5. Assorted crackers and nuts (low salt or salt-free are best to reduce thirst). Tips for Week 6: Do you have home fire extinguishers? Are they rated ABC? If so, check with your local fire department to have them inspect- ed and learn when they should be replaced. Residential fires are the most frequent dis- asters and having a working fire extinguish- er can mean the difference between minor damage and losing your home. Consider using five-gallon plastic buck- ets with lids for storing your supplies. They are light, strong and dust-, water- and bug- proof, and relatively inexpensive. Remember to pick up a “lid lifter” at your hardware store. You can also ask if they are “food grade” plastic. Markings on the bot- tom of the bucket tell the tale. Mark your storage containers with a per- manent marker. Also mark expiration dates and plan to rotate supplies every six months. Some folks use the change to Daylight Savings Time to remind them it’s time to change out the old stuff for new. ______________________ Dave Robinson is the postmaster in Bandon, Ore., and author of “Disaster Prep for the Rest of Us.” He may be contacted at disasterprep.dave@gmail.com. Visit his website for more disaster preparedness tips, www.disasterprepdave.blogspot.com. LETTERS feeding dry corn to the deer, and lots of it. I per- sonally have found four dead deer with their stom- achs completely packed full of corn that has swollen up after consump- tion, and I’m sure this was- n’t a pleasant way to die. Please don’t feed the deer. It’s illegal. It harms the animals and upsets the natural chain of life for wild animals. Store-bought apples with paraffin-coated peels and plastic stickers, dried corn, oats and barley are not natural food sources. Brian Gray Dunes City Disappointing outcome I was disappointed to see that residents of the Siuslaw School District failed to pass the bond measure for a new high school. As a retiree on a fixed income, I also under- stand that we only have a limited amount of money to spend. However, failing to pass this bond measure will have an unintended ramifi- cation that we might not have thought about — namely, the quality of our health care. We are in a situation in Florence where it is extremely difficult to find health care providers who want to move to our communi- ty. One of the issues that is often raised by potential employees is the educational system in Florence. What doctor is going to want to send their children to a school that is unsafe and inadequate when they can find another community that obviously values educating its children more, providing them with a first- class educational system from kindergarten through high school? I hope that Siuslaw School District will con- tinue to work on a plan to improve our educa- tional system in Florence and the surrounding area that it serves and present another bond issue in the future that will be presented in EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM detail to property owners for their approval. It is not only important for the education of our children, it is important for all of us who want quality health care in our community. Patricia Reno Florence Don’t feed the deer The reason I’m writing is to let folks know why it’s illegal to feed the deer. I live on a beautiful piece of property just south of Florence in Dunes City. We have 165 acres and pretty much have a nursery for does and their fawns, and bucks visit during the fall. The last few years someone locally has been Bernie’s claim to fame Bernie Sanders’ one claim to fame after a long stint at the public feeding trough (politi- cian) is being the chair of a senate committee in charge of overseeing the Veterans Affairs. As we all have been made aware of, the Veterans Affairs has been and is still a horrible disaster. And now, there are those of you that would like to make him president. Let’s give America a chance to be great again and put Bernie out to pasture. Martin Cable Dunes City YESTERDAY’S NEWS MOMENTS IN TIME The History Channel On June 11, 1509, King Henry VIII of England marries Catherine of Aragon, the first of his eventual six wives. When Catherine failed to produce a male heir, Henry divorced her against the will of the Roman Catholic Church, thus precipitating the Protestant Reformation in England. On June 9, 1772, colonists, angered by the British Parliament’s passing of the Townshend Acts restricting colonial trade, board the HMS Gaspee, an armed British customs schooner, and set it aflame. When British officials arrived to investigate the incident, they found no one willing to identify those involved. On June 12, 1924, the first Bush president, George Herbert Walker Bush, is born in Milton, Massachusetts. Bush served in the Navy during World War II and survived a harrowing ordeal when his torpedo bomber was shot down over the Pacific. On June 8, 1948, a hand-built aluminum prototype labeled “No. 1” becomes the first vehicle to bear the name of Porsche. Dubbed the Type 356, the sports car used modified Volkswagen drivetrain components. On June 7, 1962, the banking institution Credit Suisse opens the first drive-through bank in Switzerland. The branch featured eight glass pavilions, seven outfitted for left-hand drive cars and one for right-hand drive vehicles. On June 6, 1981, more than 500 passen- gers are killed when their train plunges into the Baghmati River in India. The rail accident was caused by a Hindu engineer who slammed on the brakes to avoid a cow, considered a sacred animal. On June 10, 2002, Clint Messina and Rose Houk steal a Krispy Creme doughnut delivery truck and lead Louisiana police on a 15-mile chase, leaving a trail of doughnuts behind. As it involved cops and doughnuts, the incident kept late-night comedians busy for days. (c) 2016 King Features Synd., Inc. L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR P OLICY The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the editor concerning issues affecting the Florence area and Lane County. Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. All letters should be limited to about 300 words and must include the writer’s full name, address and phone number for verification. Letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed and depends on space available and the volume of letters received. Libelous and anonymous letters as well as poetry will not be published. All submissions become the property of Siuslaw News and will not be returned. Write to: Editor@TheSiuslawNews.com USPS# 497-660 Copyright 2016 © Siuslaw News John Bartlett Jenna Bartlett Ryan Cronk Susan Gutierrez Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Jeremy Gentry Publisher, ext. 327 General Manager, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 313 Advertising Director, ext. 326 Office Supervisor, ext. 312 Production Supervisor Press Manager DEADLINES: Wednesday Issue—General news, Monday noon; Budgets, four days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Monday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Monday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Friday 5 p.m. Saturday Issue—General news, Thursday noon; Budgets, two days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Thursday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Thursday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Wednesday 5 p.m. Soundings, Tuesday 5 p.m. NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In Lane County — 1-year subscription, $71; 10-weeks subscription, $18; Out of Lane County — 1-year subscription, $94; 10-weeks subscription, $24; Out of State — 1-year subscription, $120; Out of United States — 1-year subscription, $200; E-Edition Online Only (Anywhere) — 1-year subscription, $65. Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: www.TheSiuslawNews.com WHERE TO WRITE Published every Wednesday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County, Oregon. A member of the National Newspaper Association and Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. Periodicals postage paid at Florence, Ore. Postmaster, send address changes to: Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439; phone 541-997-3441; fax 541-997-7979. All press releases may be sent to PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com. Pres. Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461 TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213 www.whitehouse.gov Gov. Kate Brown 160 State Capitol 900 Court St. Salem, OR 97301-4047 Governor’s Citizens’ Rep. Message Line 503-378-4582 www.oregon.gov/gov U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5244 541-431-0229 www.wyden.senate.gov FAX: 503-986-1080 Email: Sen.ArnieRoblan@state.or.us U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley 313 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753/FAX: 202-228-3997 541-465-6750 State Rep. Caddy McKeown (Dist. 9) 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1409 Email: rep.caddymckeown@state.or.us U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.) 2134 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6416/ 800-944-9603 541-269-2609/ 541-465-6732 www.defazio.house.gov State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5) 900 Court St. NE - S-417 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1705 West Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich 125 E. Eighth St. Eugene, OR 97401 541-682-4203 FAX: 541-682-4616 Email: Jay.Bozievich@co.lane.or.us
