SIUSLAW NEWS | WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 2018 | 7A
Siuslaw News
Community Voices
Military Heritage Chronicles —
Armed forces and Rhody Days
O
ur annual Rhody Days
is fast approaching,
where the entire com-
munity comes out in a variety
of ways to celebrate this centu-
ry-plus tribute to our commu-
nity’s heritage.
Our streets and highways
will fill with tourist traffic, not
to mention us locals, for several
days. Our town will be buzzing
with activities such as a ven-
dor’s fair on Maple Street. The
Port will be overflowing with
Cal Applebee
Special to Siuslaw News
the Davis Carnival, who has
been a part of the celebration
since 1955!
Shows for flowers, cars and
motorcycles will be spread
around town. There will be a
car cruise for vehicles, a Rhody
Run for pedestrians, and the
Rhododendron
Court
Coronation for the whole com-
munity kicking the festivities
off Thursday night.
Parades will be held on
Saturday for the little kids, and
on Sunday for us bigger kids.
While our community has
been celebrating this way since
1908, it isn’t actually the 111th
such celebration because the
Florence community took
breaks in the previous century
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when interrupted by WWI, the
stock market crash, and again
by W II.
Despite all this bustling
activity going on the third
weekend of May, one celebra-
tion that is always overlooked is
the recognition of Armed
Forces Day, observed on
Saturday May 19.
It might be considered iron-
ic that those very Veterans who
served in WWI and WWII
when our Rhody Festival tradi-
tion was interrupted, were actu-
ally off in foreign lands serving
our nation to preserve our
opportunities to so celebrate.
Yet, during this annual cele-
bration when our community is
so busy celebrating the flower
and traditions, we fail to cele-
brate Armed Forces Day and
recognize our military tradi-
tions.
Since the five armed branch-
es were all established on vari-
ous dates ranging from 1775 to
1947, originally each branch
celebrated their own birthday
on dates pertinent to those
established dates.
Armed Forces Day was for-
mally created in 1949 to honor
Americans currently serving in
all of those branches, combin-
ing the various ‘birthdays,’ and
President John F. Kennedy
established Armed Forces Day
as an official federal holiday in
1962.
So, as we celebrate Rhody
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Behind the headlines
1749 Highway 101 • 541-997-1200
Bob Horney
Special to Siuslaw News
My comments this month
go beyond prostate cancer to
include aging and prescription
drugs.
Several months ago, I pur-
chased the book, “Are Your
Prescriptions Killing You?” The
author, Armon Neel, is a
board-certified geriatric phar-
macist who details the effects
our aging may have on the pre-
scription drugs we take.
Let Paul show you a new car or truck.
Stop by today!
2150 Hwy. 101 • Florence
(541) 997-3475 • 1-800-348-3475
The book’s cover lays out his
message: How to Prevent
Dangerous Interactions, Avoid
Deadly Side Effects, and Be
Healthier with Fewer Drugs.
I’m barely touching the
highlights of his book. It is over
225 pages of startling informa-
tion (at least for me). If my
comments pique your interest,
you might want to talk with
your doctor or maybe buy the
book.
Neel has opened my eyes to
the fact that my life is much
more than prostate cancer. I’ve
naturally been pulled toward
that disease following my own
diagnosis, treatment and sur-
vival. However, that’s no excuse
for not realizi ng I have grown
older and my body’s response
to many prescription drugs has
changed dramatically.
What is it with aging that
suddenly causes us problems
with the drugs that are sup-
posed to be keeping us healthy?
Well, it isn’t so much “sud-
denly,” as it is a gradual decline.
Neel states, “If you study
geriatrics, at some point you’ll
hear about the “basic rule:
namely, that by age 70, the
body’s organ functions will
have diminished to about half
their peak levels.”
Neel points to kidneys as
being the most important fil-
ters in our body and that we
start losing, on average, about 1
percent of their efficiency per
year starting at age 30.
As to the liver, Neel states
that our blood supply to it starts
dropping around age 20 for
women and 25 for men, declin-
ing 0.3 to 1.5 percent per year.
Additionally, as we grow
older, some of the chemicals
and enzymes that are essential
for breaking down medications
also start to gradually disap-
pear, further impairing liver
function.
These age-related changes
in our bodies affect our drug
therapy in two ways: first, in
DENTURE SERVICES INC.
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Open 4 days a week!
Florence Regional Arts Alliance Presents
Here to serve your denture needs:
Rhody Days
ARTS FESTIVAL
An Eclectic Show and Sale of Unique
Works of Art and Fine Craftsmanship
Dentures
Partial Dentures
Immediate Dentures
Implant Dentures
Relines & Repairs Same Day
Monday-Thursday
10am - 2 pm
524 Laurel St.
541-997-6054
Friday ~ May 18th
11am ~ 5pm
Saturday ~ May 19th
10am ~ 5pm
Free
Admission!
Florence Events Center
715 Quince Street
(Behind Safeway)
10% of Artists’ Sales Benefit
Florence Art Center
Days this May, hoist an
American flag or your favorite
military branch flag. Or, stop by
the Oregon Coast Military
Museum and view our Armed
Forces Day display.
Take the time to thank the
Veterans of our community and
reflect on what the traditions of
our nation’s military heritage do
for us.
You can learn more about
military heritage by visiting our
website at www.oregoncoast
militarymuseum.com or visit
the museum, which is open
Wednesday through Sunday,
noon to 4 p.m., located at 2145
Kingwood St.
William Foster LD
Sherry, Offi ce Manager
“As a denture wearer myself,
I can answer your
questions and address
your denture concerns.”
~ William Foster, LD
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Always Something Happening
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WHAT’S COMING UP:
17 - Rhody Court Coronation - 6:30 p.m.
18 - FRAA Art Festival – 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
19 - FRAA Art Festival – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
19 - Rhody Run – 9 a.m.
19 - Siuslaw Rhododendron Flower Show - 1 to 5 p.m.
20 - Siuslaw Rhododendron Flower Show - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
21 - Florence City Council Meeting - 5:30 p.m.
24 - Vivace Pre-concert Talk - 6:15 p.m.
24 - SEAcoast presents Vivace – 7:00 p.m.
26 - Music Matters - 7:00 p.m.
27 - Music Matters - 3:00 p.m.
the choice of age-appropriate
medications and, second, in the
determination of age-appropri-
ate doses. In addressing a group
of physicians on the topic of
drug therapy in the older
patient, he used nitrofurantoin
(Macrobid) as an example of a
drug that should not be pre-
scribed to older people.
The reason was because
their kidneys lack the ability to
excrete it in a timely manner,
and the consequent drug build-
up can lead to many serious
adverse events.
This is one of many instanc-
es where a drug that is effective
with young adults, leads to seri-
ous consequences with older
adults because our kidneys and
liver are functioning at about
50 percent efficiency. Because
we are not flushing out the
excess from each dose, our
organs are accumulating more
of the drug from each subse-
quent dose.
That leaves us vulnerable to
a toxic buildup of the pre-
scribed drug and potential seri-
ous problems, including death.
We patients need to take
this seriously … and some
don’t. One local physician told
me that some of the most diffi-
cult patients are those who
have successfully used these
drugs for years and strongly
resist giving them up, even
though they may now cause
great harm.
Neel cites Beers’ criteria for
classifying medications as inap-
propriate for older adults if
their potential risks outweigh
their potential benefits. This
list was compiled by Mark H.
Beers and a 13-member panel
of experts in 1991.
It has undergone several
revisions since then with 2012,
2015 and 2017 being the latest
ones. It is available online —
Beers criteria.
Neel includes his own anno-
tated version of Beers criteria in
his book.
Neel also talks about poly-
pharmacy, meaning “many
drugs,” and the multitude of
patients taking 10 to 20 or more
drugs daily.
Beers stated, “Once you’re
taking more than two or three
drugs you have to realize that
every time you add a new drug,
the risk of something going
wrong goes up exponentially,
not linearly.” Neel adds, “Soon
after five medications a day,
you hit the 100 percent risk
threshold.”