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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
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Community. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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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
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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.
See COLLEGE page 5A
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