4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL March 9, 2016
O PINION
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Safety and security
On May 17, voters in South
Lane School District can ap-
prove a bond measure that will
replace Harrison School and up-
date school facilities throughout
the District. The primary goals
of the bond measure, in addition
to replacing Harrison School,
are to improve safety and se-
curity at each school, update
technology for student learning
and safety and extend the life of
school facilities, including the
swimming pool.
As a member of the Design
Planning Committee, I have
participated in the careful plan-
ning for how the bond funds
will be used. Harrison School,
built in 1948, is 68 years old and
was designed for 125 students.
Current enrollment is 419.
The safety and security needs
are especially signifi cant be-
cause the schools were built
when there was no conception
of someone attacking students
and staff at a school. Law en-
forcement offi cials have deter-
mined there are a number of is-
sues that need to be addressed to
better protect students and staff.
I’m confi dent no one wants a
tragedy in our schools similar to
what Umpqua Community Col-
lege and Douglas County has
endured.
Replacing leaky roofs, up-
grading of plumbing and elec-
trical systems and replacing
outdated heating and ventilation
systems, along with much need-
ed renovations to the pool, will
extend our investment in our
schools and in our children.
Myself and others have in-
vested time and made personal
fi nancial contributions in an ef-
fort to educate the voters on the
merits of this bond measure.
Please join me in support of this
much needed bond measure.
Don Strahan
Cottage Grove
Time for a new
Harrison
I encourage South Lane Vot-
ers to join me in voting “Yes”
for South Lane School District’s
May 17th bond levy. As a former
elementary principal, I know the
high duty of care schools have
to provide the safest and most
secure learning environment for
students. We need to protect all
the children in our community.
This levy will greatly strengthen
the security systems in all the
schools. In addition, the levy
will address long deferred main-
tenance projects (roofs, HVAC,
swimming pool improvements,
painting, for example), improv-
ing the longevity of the district’s
facilities and their functioning
and update technology tools for
students.
It’s time for a new Harrison
school. The district engaged
the community in creating plans
for a new school on the old
high school site. The timing of
the levy (extending the bond as
the high school levy expires)
will keep property taxes at ap-
propriate levels and provide the
needed funding to accomplish
major goals of the levy. The
district has been sensitive to
the community’s needs as it ad-
dresses the pressing needs of the
school. This bond levy will cre-
ate a new school for generations
of Harrison students and greatly
improve schools throughout the
district. Voting “Yes” on the
levy is a great investment in the
children of South Lane.
Bruce Kelsh
Cottage Grove
A ‘yes’ vote
Unbelievable — We can build
it for kids. With some of today’s
challenges —the safety of our
children in school, providing a
warm and dry classroom, hav-
ing the tools and technology to
learn and prepare for their fu-
ture, some roof replacements,
shiny paint, fi xes for our pool
and more — we can.
Support for the School Dis-
trict’s bond to build a replace-
ment school for Harrison El-
ementary and include space and
plans for A Primary Connection
will have many more benefi ts
for students in all our schools.
Another great aspect is a school
site for our alternative high
school students’ program at the
Delight Valley school site.
Yes, it will cost us some in
tax payments. Yes, our kids are
worth this investment in their
safety and learning and our car-
ing. These dollars will support
that caring. Join us with a ‘Yes’
for SLSD levy 20-240.
Jan and Jerry Settelmeyer
Cottage Grove
Offbeat Oregon History
The Circuit Preacher Chronicles: Rev. Wells’ Wild Ride
BY FINN J.D. JOHN
For the Sentinel
I
n the early years of Oregon Country,
back before it was a state — back even
before Idaho and Washington were separate
territories — newly arrived settlers found
themselves completely on their own. There
were some circumstances in which Native
American tribes might help out, but most of
the time, the early arrivals had to shift for
themselves as best they might.
That meant, of course, that folks had to
grind their own wheat, whipsaw their own
lumber and birth their own babies without
any kind of professional assistance. For the
most part, they made do pretty well.
But one category of professional was in
particularly short supply, especially in the
more rough-cut districts and mining camps
of Eastern Oregon: preachers.
Preachers might not seem, to a secular
modern reader, to be nearly as important
as, say, doctors, or even blacksmiths. But
to those old-time pioneers, they very much
were. There was a whole lot of sinning go-
ing on, especially in those mining camps on
Saturday nights. And yes, once in a while
there was a funeral to be preached on Sun-
day morning as a result of those sins — but
most Sundays there were just several dozen
grimy miners with emptied purses and repen-
tant headaches, trying to get close enough to
the Almighty to sort of whisper an apology
in His ear before taking up the pickaxe and
pan for another week in the toils.
To help these poor souls get back into
Heaven’s good graces, a cadre of itinerant
clergymen took up the task of ministering
to their souls. Called “circuit riders,” these
preachers would travel from village to town
to camp, making a regular circuit; upon ar-
riving, they’d usually stay with a hospitable
family for the night, preach a rousing ser-
mon the next day, perform any marriages
and other ceremonies that might be required,
and ride on for the next town.
Marriages, in particular, posed a problem
in pioneer communities. Legally, the local
Justice of the Peace could do the job; but
the quality of that experience varied rather
widely from place to place. One J.P., in the
town of Murphy (in what’s now Idaho),
employed a ceremonial style with minimal
input from the bride and groom, dispensing
entirely with that whole “I do” rigmarole.
“Take hold of hands,” he’d instruct the hap-
py couple. “What God and me put together
nobody can put asunder. Now you buss her.
Now you’re married!”
Like the green frontier moonshine dis-
pensed in the nearby saloon, this ceremony
was a bit rough, but it got the job done. Well,
most of the time it did. On at least one oc-
casion, the Justice of the Peace accidentally
grabbed the wrong dressed-up gent, and 12
seconds later — before anyone could inter-
rupt him — he’d married the bride off to the
best man.
But even at its best, this quasi-legal swear-
ing-at lacked a certain dignity and solem-
nity which many affi anced couples looked
for in a wedding celebration. So they’d wait
for a week or two and present themselves
ready for nuptials when the circuit preacher
arrived in town.
One particular circuit rider — Lemuel H.
Wells, who would one day become Episco-
pal bishop of Spokane — seemed to have a
particular knack for getting into strange sit-
uations (or maybe he just had a great talent
for telling a good story and a little human
weakness when it came to strict adherence
to the letter of the Ninth Commandment). In
fairness, these episodes weren’t always ran-
dom misfortune. Some poor decision-mak-
ing on his part occasionally played a role.
One fi ne day, the Rev. Wells arrived in
the town of Weston, near Pendleton; he was
invited to stay for the night at the home of
a local Episcopalian family. When bedtime
came along, he found the arrangements very
crowded: two beds in a single room, with
Mama and Papa in one and their three chil-
dren in the other. Wells was to sleep on the
bed with the children.
Please see OFFBEAT, Page 8A
Tomatoes protect against heart attack and stroke
BY JOEL FUHRMAN, MD
For the Sentinel
C
arotenoids are a family of
over 600 phytochemicals,
including
alpha-caro-
tene, beta-
carotene,
lycopene,
lutein and
zeaxan-
thin. Ca-
rotenoids
are abun-
dant in green and yellow-or-
ange vegetables and fruits and
help to defend the body’s tis-
sues against oxidative damage,
which is a natural byproduct of
our metabolic processes; oxida-
tive damage from free radicals
contributes to chronic diseases
and aging.
Lycopene is the signature
carotenoid of the tomato. The
lycopene in the American diet
is 85 percent derived from to-
matoes. Lycopene is found cir-
culating in the blood and also
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM
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concentrates in the male repro-
ductive system, hence its pro-
tective effects against prostate
cancer. In the skin, lycopene
helps to prevent UV damage
from the sun, protecting against
skin cancer. Lycopene is known
for its anti-cancer properties, but
did you know that lycopene has
also been intensively studied for
its benefi cial cardiovascular ef-
fects?
Many observational studies
have made a connection be-
tween higher blood lycopene
and lower risk of heart attack.
For example, a study in men
found that low serum lycopene
was associated with increased
plaque in the carotid artery and
triple the risk of cardiovascular
events compared to higher lev-
els. In a separate study, women
were split into four groups
(quartiles) according to their
blood lycopene levels; women
in the top three quartiles were
50 percent less likely to have
cardiovascular disease com-
pared to the lowest quartile.
A 2004 analysis from the Phy-
sicians’ Health Study data found
a 39 percent decrease in stroke
risk in men with the highest
blood levels of lycopene. New
data from an ongoing study in
Finland has strengthened these
fi ndings with similar results.
One-thousand men had their
blood carotenoid levels tested
and were followed for 12 years.
Those with the highest lyco-
pene levels had the lowest risk
of stroke – they were 55 percent
less likely to have a stroke than
those with the lowest lycopene
levels. Previous data from this
same group of men found that
higher lycopene levels were as-
sociated with lower risk of heart
attack as well. A meta-analysis
of 12 trials also found that daily
supplemental tomato products
(approximately one cup of to-
mato juice or 3-4 tbsp. of toma-
to paste) reduced LDL choles-
terol by 10 percent — this effect
is comparable to low doses of
statin drugs (with no risk of side
effects, of course).
Of course, lycopene is not the
only nutrient in tomatoes – to-
matoes are also rich in vitamins
C and E, beta-carotene and fl a-
vonol antioxidants, just to name
a few. Single antioxidants usu-
ally don’t exert their protective
effects alone; we learned this
lesson from clinical trials of
beta-carotene, vitamin C and vi-
tamin E supplements, which did
not reduce cardiovascular dis-
ease risk. It is the interactions
between phytochemicals in the
complex synergistic network
contained in plant foods that is
responsible for their health ef-
fects, and this is something that
we cannot replicate in a pill.
Out of all the common dietary
carotenoids, lycopene has the
most potent antioxidant power,
but combinations of carotenoids
are even more effective than any
single carotenoid – they work
synergistically. Blood lycopene,
as used in many of these stud-
ies, is simply a marker for high
tomato product intake; similarly
high alpha-carotene and beta-
carotene levels are markers of
high green and yellow-orange
fruit and vegetable intake. Col-
orful fruits and vegetables pro-
vide signifi cant protection.
In a given year, a typical
American will eat about 92
pounds of tomatoes. Enjoy those
92 pounds and even add some
more! Add fresh, juicy raw to-
matoes to your salad, diced or
unsulphured sun-dried tomatoes
to soups, and enjoy homemade
tomato sauces and soups. Be
mindful of the sodium content
of ketchup and other tomato
products – choose the low so-
dium or no salt added versions.
No salt added, unsulphured
dried tomatoes are also great.
Diced and crushed tomatoes in
glass jars are preferable to those
in cans, to avoid the endocrine
disruptor BPA. Also keep in
mind that carotenoids are ab-
sorbed best when accompanied
by healthy fats – for example, in
a salad with a seed or nut-based
dressing. Lycopene is also more
absorbable when tomatoes are
cooked – one cup of tomato
sauce contains about ten times
the lycopene as a cup of raw,
chopped tomatoes – so enjoy a
variety of both raw and cooked
tomatoes in your daily diet.
Dr. Fuhrman is a #1 New
York Times best-selling author
and a board certifi ed family
physician specializing in life-
style and nutritional medicine.
Visit his informative website at
DrFuhrman.com. Submit your
questions and comments about
this column directly to news-
questions@drfuhrman.com. The
full reference list for this article
can be found at:
DrFuhrman.com.
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