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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 2018)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM | SIUSLAWNEWS | SATURDAY EDITION | OCTOBER 6, 2018 | $1.00 @ SIUSLAWNEWS SIUSLAW BEATS MARIST SPORTS — B SPECIAL EDITION INSIDE 128TH YEAR | ISSUE NO. 8O EMAC proposes to curb single- use plastic bags Officials urge residents to get flu shots Following a season of high mortality, vaccination is highly recommended By Damien Sherwood Siuslaw News D ips in the thermostat mark the annual return of flu season. Health authorities are priming to fight the virus with a well-vaccinated public. “We have received our first con- firmed test of influenza — and it’s a type B influenza — in Lane County,” said Lane County Health and Hu- man Services Public Information Officer Jason Davis. “That was about a week and a half ago, so we definite- ly have it.” Health authorities recommend that everyone age six months and older get their flu vaccines, particu- larly those in at-risk groups. “Getting the vaccine in especially important for those who are at high risk of having serious flu-related complications, including young chil- dren, older adults, pregnant women and people with chronic medical conditions or disorders,” said Dr. Ron Shearer, medical director at PeaceHealth Medical Group at Peace Harbor, in a press release. Colder times of the year tend to see an exponential rise in influenza cases. Flu season is broadly consid- ered to be between the months of October and May, with peak out- breaks between December and Feb- ruary. Influenza viruses infect millions Survey seeks community input on plastic bag use By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News The problems with plastics continue to grow. Landfills are now the end destina- tion for most plastic containers and plastic grocery bags used by consumers in Lane County and in much of Oregon. The dangers of plastic in the environ- ment are becoming more widely known and communities around the world and across the state are attempting to reduce the environmental damage by eliminating single-use plastic bags. Florence is now in the initial stages of a process that will determine if it joins this growing list of municipalities. According to the Environmental Protec- tion Agency (EPA), over 380 billion plastic bags are used by Americans every year and 100 billion of these are single-use carry-out plastic bags. The average length of use of the sin- gle-use plastic bags is 12 minutes, with only one in 200 being recycled. Even cities that continue to offer plastic recycling for their residents often do not accept the single-use plastic bag, as they can damage machines used in the recycling process. See PLASTIC page 7A of Americans annually, hospitalizing hundreds of thousands and caus- ing tens of thousands of deaths. Yearly vaccina- tion is recommended by both the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reduce the vi- ruses’ effects. The CDC estimates 5.3 million influenza illnesses were prevented by immuni- zation efforts during the 2016-2017 season. Last year, however, marked one of the dead- liest seasons in 40 years, resulting in what the CDC estimates to be as many as 80,000 flu-re- DAMIEN SHERWOOD/SIUSLAW NEWS lated deaths nationwide. Pharmacies, medical clinics and doctor’s offices are beginning to offer flu shots Two years ago, Flor- to counter flu season, which usually runs from October to May each year. ence itself saw a partic- There are two kinds of influen- ly offer protection, getting [a vac- ularly heavy inundation of flu-re- lated illnesses among school-aged za — A and B — which commonly cine] as soon as possible is critical,” spread in human populations and Shearer said. children. Vaccines cannot cause flu illness, Influenza is a viral respiratory in- vaccines are made to target three fection and most deaths are caused or four particular strains of these though side effects to the vaccine are possible and can vary per indi- by the resulting complications rather types. Flu vaccines contain inactivated vidual. For some, the immune sys- than the virus itself. The most com- mon indirect cause of death is bacte- virus particles which prompt anti- tem response as the body “learns” to rial pneumonia, but other complica- bodies, a protective protein, to de- fight the virus may cause achiness or low-grade fever. tions such as multiple organ failure velop as an immune response. “Since the antibodies from the and inflammation of the heart, brain or muscle tissue can be fatal as well. vaccine take about two weeks to ful- See VACCINATE page 7A Get ready to play Siuslaw Vision hosts all ages ‘Play Day’ on Oct. 13 INSIDE Siuslaw Vision 2025, a community-focused, regional effort to improve quality of life for lo- cal residents, is coor- By Mark Brennan dinating an all ages Siuslaw News Play Day on Saturday, Oct. 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The purpose of the event is to provide adults and youth the opportunity to participate in a number of free activities for the simple pur- pose of having fun. There is a growing appreciation among scien- tists and researchers that “playing around” can have a much greater positive impact on overall wellness than previously thought. Research has shown that laughter created when people play with family and friends, and pets, can relieve stress by releasing endorphins in the brain that activate the body’s opiate receptors, causing a pleasant analgesic effect in the body. Playing with others helps people feel good and improves their physical and mental wellbeing. Playing has also proven to improve communi- cation among family members and life partners, in addition to fostering empathy, cooperation, compassion and trust. Siuslaw Vision Coordinator Stephanie Sarles feels that giving adults and children a chance to participate in activities designed to relax and entertain is also a great way to spend some free Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community. . . . . . . . . . . . . Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B5 A3 A4 A2 FLORENCE, OREGON SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 COLLEGE BOARD DAY 2018 By Steve Moser Siuslaw High School Counselor F SIUSLAW NEWS FILE PHOTO Siuslaw Vision brings a giant game of stack- able blocks to its events around town. The Vision’s next event, Play Day on Oct. 13, will feature the game, as well as a chance to play in the area’s parks. time in one of the city’s parks. “This is the first of our Siuslaw Play Days featuring recreational activities in our region,” she said. “We want to showcase what’s available See PLAY page 5A Sideshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B This Week on the Coast. . . . . A6 Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 THIS WEEK ’ S or many students, tak- ing the PSAT is their first tangible step towards college. Created in 1959 by the Col- lege Board, the Preliminary SAT (shorted to PSAT later on) is distributed annually to all sophomore students at Siuslaw High School during October in order to test each student’s abil- ities in math, reading and writ- ing. Additionally, juniors may also take the PSAT, as it is used as a qualification standard for the National Merit Scholarship program. Juniors and seniors also have the option of taking the SAT, which many colleges use as a reference point for admittance. Taking the SAT is an incredi- bly important step for attend- ing a university. It can benefit students looking at two-year schools as well since scores on the SAT can replace the need to take placement tests. TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY 61 45 61 49 64 52 61 45 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 In years past, Siuslaw offered the PSAT and the SAT only a single time per school year , in October and December respec- tively; however some Siuslaw seniors and juniors were re- quired to travel to other schools to take the SAT if they are un- available to take it in Florence, or if we reach our limit for stu- dents who can test on a single SAT testing day (which we did last year). This year though, Siuslaw High School will hold its inau- gural College Board Day, which will be an amazing day of PSAT and SAT testing. Most schools are only autho- rized to administer the SAT on a single Saturday during the school year, and each school is limited to one day in October to administer the PSAT. Fur- thermore, the PSAT is free for students to take, but the SAT costs each student upwards of $60, unless they receive a fee waiver. Even then, students have been limited to the single testing date or they must take it at another SAT administrat- ing school. The next closest SAT testing school is nearly 50 miles away. That situation includes additional negative variables like travel time and testing in an unfamiliar envi- ronment. So Siuslaw asked how it could make taking the PSAT and SAT more favorable for its students. How can we lim- it those undesirable points of contention with schedul- ing and cost and at the same time strengthen students’ col- lege-going mindset? With support from the dis- trict and funding from Mea- sure 98, Siuslaw High School will hold College Board day on Wednesday, Oct. 10. SHS College Board Day, held for the first time this year, will include our regular scheduled PSAT testing for sophomore students — 104 total — in ad- dition to adding an SAT testing time for juniors and seniors. 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