4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL January 28, 2015
O PINION
Offbeat Oregon
History
How to rob railroad trains
with dynamite: Tips from the pros
BY FINN J.D. JOHN
For the Sentinel
I
n a bit of a break with the usual format of Offbeat
Oregon History, today I’m going to share with you
the text of a promotional brochure mailed out shortly be-
fore the First World War by notorious criminal master-
mind/ motivational speaker Blackie DuQuesne*:
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Opt-out sought
Last school year, the schools of South Lane
School District had a just and sensible drug
testing policy. It allowed schools to drug-test
students when there was a reasonable cause to
do so. Schools are allowed to drug-test based
on much fl imsier evidence than is allowed in
law enforcement. and that is because they have
a responsibility to the rest of the student body.
This school year, the board decided all by
themselves that they should drug test anyone
wishing to take advantage of extracurricular
opportunities. The testing began with the ath-
letes this year, pulling kids out of class to uri-
nate for an adult. Next year, the board is con-
sidering extending their reach to all the clubs,
band and theater activities and down to the 12-
year old middle schoolers.
Many parents are opposed to this authoritar-
ian approach. They believe that they are the
real authorities in their children’s lives and
prefer to control any intrusive examination of
their offspring. Many of the students subject
to the new rules are offended and grieved that
they have been placed under suspicion and
subsequently stonewalled by their teachers
and supervisors when they objected. Having
met these young adults, I wonder at the school
board’s need to test these highly accomplished
and gifted students.
At the next board meeting on Feb. 2 at 5:30
p.m., an item will be presented to include in
the policy the choice of the parents to opt out
of pre-emptive drug testing. We hope that in-
terested parties will attend the meeting to sup-
port the right of parents to make these deci-
sions. Come early if you wish to sign up to
speak.
Sheila Hudson
Cottage Grove
DYNAMITE-ENHANCED TRAIN ROBBING TECH-
NIQUES: LEARN THE SECRETS OF THE PROS!
Dear Aspiring Train Robbers:
Look, boys, I understand. Being an express robber isn’t
the easy gig it used to be, back in the 1880s when the hills
were full of stagecoaches with gold in the boots and ‘rob
me’ signs taped to the back windows. In fact, I expect
some of you boys are in the same boat as poor old Bill
Miner — reading this in prison, after trying to use your
stage-robbing skills on one of the railroad trains that re-
placed them. I don’t guess I have to tell you so, but that
just don’t work. Luckily, I’m here to tell you what does:
Dynamite.
Yep, that’s right. There are dozens of ways you can
build a satisfying and profi table train-robbing career with
this modern wonder, and zero ways you can do so with-
out it. Yes, add dynamite to your business today — and
start enjoying the lifestyle of a successful train robber
tomorrow.
But watch out. Dynamite is tricky. It can — heh heh
— backfi re on you if you don’t know what you’re doing.
And that’s why you need me — and my special corre-
spondence course on Dynamite-Enhanced Train Robbing
Techniques. This course will teach you and your team
of robbers how to stay safe AND effective in using this
modern miracle product to grow your train-robbing busi-
ness.
Here’s just a taste of what you’ll learn:
Robbing passengers:
I’m going to give it to you straight: If you’re wanting
to learn how to rob the passengers on a train, don’t buy
this course, because you’re too dumb to teach. Seriously,
bub, there are 40 citizens in the car, half of them with
revolvers in their pockets, and you think you’re going to
just waltz down the aisle robbing ‘em one after another?
Good luck with that.
The smart operators never do this. That’s how poor old
Charles Manning got it when the Meadors-Stoner Gang
knocked over the Portland-Chicago train in Kamela back
in July 1914 — remember that? A lawman at the back of
the car had a six-gun and knew how to use it. It’s pretty
hard to fi nish a train-robbing job once one of your team
members has been picked off like that, and it’s hard to get
away clean once things have gone that badly south. Pro
tip: When you’re running for your life, you tend to leave
clues behind.
Now, some of my competitors will tell you that if
you’ve got dynamite, you actually can rob passengers.
Maybe they’re right — but it’s still mighty risky. My old
pals John Case and James Poole found that out when they
pulled the Cow Creek Canyon job in July 1895. John and
Jim lit off a stick every couple minutes or so, just to re-
mind the passengers that if they tried anything funny, the
whole works would go up in splinters. They got the loot
and got away. But one of them passengers made ‘em, and
they got picked up later. The best advice is, leave the pas-
sengers be.
School and Community Gardens: A growing movement
BY SUSTAINABLE COTTAGE GROVE
For the Sentinel
A
s this spring-like winter moves toward
actual spring, the thoughts of many
area residents turn to gardening. The Cottage
Grove area enjoys several community-ori-
ented gardens that serve schools, local neigh-
borhoods, or both. Recent discussions among
Grovers representing a broad range of interests
have led to exciting opportunities to increase
the number of such gardens in our region. If
you’d like to help any of the following gardens
thrive, please call 541-942-2360 for more in-
formation.
Existing gardens (not a complete list)
Harrison Elementary School: A very suc-
cessful school garden in which lots of students
spend a lot of time and take a lot of pride.
Adult volunteers who live nearby tend the gar-
den during the summer months when school is
out and are looking forward to using a recent
grant to improve the garden this year.
Please see OFFBEAT, Page 5A
Bohemia Elementary School: A hybrid gar-
den of sorts; plots are worked by folks from
around town, and students from the school
visit and “work” in it during the spring and
fall sessions. The garden may have some open
plots this year and needs a small infrastruc-
tural investment (underground irrigation, tool
shed, etc.). It also needs an assistant manager
to help maintain the garden throughout the
growing season.
Community Sharing: A garden run by some
of the staff at Community Sharing; all of the
nutritious, great-tasting produce from the gar-
den goes to Community Sharing clients. Vol-
unteer workers from the community would be
most welcome.
Possible gardens
Cottage Grove High School: Currently at-
tracting the most attention. A fenced site with
water supply already exists; sweat and mate-
rials are needed to bring the raised beds into
production. Many members of the Cottage
Grove community, including staff and students
at CGHS, are discussing more ways to provide
opportunities for CGHS students and com-
munity members to grow, harvest and process
high-quality food.
Trailhead Park: An existing architectural
plan fi led with the city includes sites for a com-
munity garden and a community orchard. Lots
of work is needed at these sites, but…imag-
ine heirloom apples, or Asian pears, or other
delicious fruit trees, plus a sunny community
garden, both in the middle of downtown, with
easy car and bus access from Main Street!
Other privately owned sites have also been
discussed; currently, they are on the back burn-
er because they require more regulatory action
(e.g., provisional use permit). They are still on
the radar, though! In addition, other possible
sites probably exist. If you know of one and
want to propose it, please let us know.
Dozens of motivated community members
have volunteered to maintain existing school
and community gardens, and to develop new
ones. We invite you to join us! Call 541-942-
2360 for more information about ways to get
involved.
For bones, Vitamin D is more important than calcium
BY JOEL FUHRMAN, MD
For the Sentinel
A
bout 10 million Ameri-
cans already have os-
teoporosis, and 34 million are
at risk. Contrary to popular
belief, low intake of calcium is
not the primary cause of osteo-
porosis. Americans have some
of the high-
est calcium
intakes in
the world,
but we also
have one of
the highest
hip
frac-
ture rates in
the world.
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM
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Calcium taken into the body is
either deposited into bone or
excreted in urine. The standard
American diet – including large
amounts of salt, caffeine, sugar,
and animal products – causes
much of the calcium that Ameri-
cans consume to get excreted in
their urine. Milk and other dairy
products are no exception. The
Nurses’ Health Study followed
72,337 women for over 18 years
and found that dairy intake did
not reduce the risk of osteoporo-
sis-related hip fractures. In con-
trast, vegetables, beans, fruits,
and nuts are rich sources of
phytonutrients (including calci-
um) that do not promote urinary
loss of calcium.
Vitamin D also plays a critical
role in regulating bone density.
Vitamin D enables the absorp-
tion of calcium in the intestine
and stimulates activity of bone
building cells. The most natu-
ral way to obtain Vitamin D is
through sun exposure, but be-
cause of indoor jobs, our cli-
mate, and skin cancer risk it is
very diffi cult to achieve optimal
levels of Vitamin D safely from
the sun. Vitamin D supplemen-
tation is the best option.
Since Vitamin D and calci-
um work together to maintain
healthy bone, how much of each
are necessary to protect against
osteoporosis? Most Americans
take inadequate amounts of Vi-
tamin D and excessive amounts
of calcium.
Not enough Vitamin D:
Vitamin D supplements of
800-2000 IU were effective
in medical studies to protect
against
osteoporosis-related
fractures; however most multi-
vitamins contain only 400 IU,
and about 50 percent of Ameri-
cans have insuffi cient blood
Vitamin D levels. According to
a review of the research on the
subject, Vitamin D blood levels
(measured by a 25(OH)D test)
should be range between 36-48
ng/ml in order to achieve maxi-
mal health benefi ts – Vitamin D
is not only important for bones,
but also for cardiovascular
health, mood and cancer preven-
tion – Vitamin D has actions in
every cell of the human body. I
recommend getting a blood test
and supplementing accordingly
to keep Vitamin D levels in the
range of 35-50 ng/ml. If you
have not had your blood tested,
2000 IU is a reasonable dose to
supply your body with adequate
Vitamin D.
Too much calcium:
Taking too much calcium is
a concern because excess cal-
cium may actually interfere
with the bone-protective effects
of Vitamin D. In an analysis of
several studies, low-dose cal-
cium supplements (500 mg)
combined with Vitamin D were
found to reduce osteoporosis
fracture rates, but high dose cal-
cium supplements (1000 mg or
more) combined with Vitamin
D did not reduce fracture rates.
Furthermore, recent research
has revealed that high-dose
calcium supplements may in-
crease the risk of cardiovascular
disease. Much of the scientifi c
community agrees that calcium
recommendations for Ameri-
cans have been set too high.
The World Health Organiza-
tion advises an intake of 500
mg, whereas the U.S. Institute
of Medicine recommends 1000
mg. Calcium should not be tak-
en in excess, and I recommend
limiting supplemental calcium
to 400-600 mg. Most of your
calcium should be derived from
a diet laden with vegetables – a
healthful plant-based diet plus
vitamin D supplements and ex-
ercise is the best strategy for
bone health.
Dr. Fuhrman is a New York
Times best-selling author and
board certifi ed family physi-
cian specializing in lifestyle
and nutritional medicine. Vis-
it his informative website at
DrFuhrman.com. Submit your
questions and comments about
this column directly to news-
questions@drfuhrman.com.
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