A6
State
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Four laws that made
an impact in 2017
Community HEALTH BEAT
By Paris Achen
Capital Bureau
Many of the hundreds of
laws Oregon legislators pass
each year may go largely unno-
ticed by the public.
Several laws, however, left
a palpable mark on the lives of
Oregonians in 2017. The Pam-
plin/EO Capital Bureau has
highlighted four recent laws
that made an impact in the past
year.
Distracted-driving
restrictions
Quality Healthcare Close To Home
170 Ford Road, John Day • 541-575-1311 • www.bluemountainhospital.org
A New Year of Health & Wellness:
Massage Therapy
Massage therapy has been used since ancient times to relieve pain and promote healing. There
are many different types of massage but most offer similar benefits. Massage is not typically
considered a replacement for other types of medical care but can be used alongside with other
methods of treatment to provide the best possible outcome for patients.
I began my practice as a Massage Therapist in 2009 after seeing the benefits that comfort
massage and healthy touch gave to Blue Mountain Hospital Hospice patients in Grant County. I
worked as a CNA and assisted with the physical needs of in-home-care patients. It was a
blessing to be involved in simply being present with a Hospice patient and comforting them
with a gentle touch. I could sense from a patient how they would relax and how breathing
patterns changed. Human touch, in a context that is safe, friendly and professional, can be
incredibly therapeutic and reviving to the body and soul. If you have a loved one in our
Hospice program, I would encourage you to consider asking for massage as part of their care
and comfort measures. Massage is also offered, as needed, to caregivers who tirelessly spend
hours caring for their loved ones. Often times it is the caregiver who needs the care and
moments of rest so they can carry on in their labor of love.
Massage can be as simple as holding or stroking hands or feet for a Hospice patient or as
complete as a full body massage including effleurage to relax muscles; petrissage, the kneading
of muscles; cross manipulation to work muscles; friction to heat a muscle and stimulate blood
circulation; myofascial release, which is a pressure applied to connective tissue to help alleviate
pain and restore movement; and finally, tapotement, a rhythmic tapping of muscles for
circulation.
In Grant County, you will find a number of wonderful massage therapy practices, each with a
Holistic approach to a person’s wellbeing. The benefits of massage are extensive, relieving pain
for many people. A Licensed Massage Therapist is trained to assist with osteoarthritis,
fibromyalgia, lupus, back injuries, migraines, sports injuries and many other conditions.
So how does it work? What happens physically and what happens physiologically during a
massage? Great question, glad you asked…
Physically: massage increases metabolism, hastens healing, relaxes and refreshes the muscle and
improves the functions of the lymphatic system. Massage improves the circulation of blood and
lymph glands, thereby improving the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the cells. The
integumentary system, your skin, is the largest organ of the body. Massage aids in vitality and
elasticity of the skin, in the elimination of dead cells and sends messages to the brain through
sensory to relax the whole body.
Physiologically: massage relieves fatigue, reduces tension and anxiety, calms the nervous system
and promotes a sense of relaxation and wellbeing.
If you take the time to browse through the Grant County Wellness Guide, you will find a
Massage Therapist near you; this New Year, consider giving yourself or a loved one the gift of
health and wellness—a massage.
By: Cindy Qual LMT # 15697
Adoni’s Pine Massage Therapy, Phone # (541)792-0247
Specializing in Swedish, Hot Stone, Myofascial Release, Deep Tissue Massage
BLUE MOUNTAIN
CARE CENTER
Resident of the Month
ALMA JOSLIN
Alma Joslin was born on August 7, 1938 in Los Angeles California,
to Bert and Alma Sappington. She was an only child. At the age of
18 months old, her family moved to Sonora, California. On June
20, 1954, she married Lewis Joslin. Together they raised 4 children,
Linda, Glen, Ken and Casey. They lived in several different towns
in Northern California before moving to Mount Vernon, Oregon
in April of 1967, then to John Day in 1975.
Alma held several different jobs throughout the years that
included being a housewife, cook, clerk, dental assistant, deli
manager and an office manager.
One of Alma’s favorite things to do was to go to Warm Springs
Reservoir, out of Burns, Oregon and camp in a homemade
houseboat. Alma enjoys gardening and crocheting. She collects
bells and angels. She loves the Lord and her Church.
Between her grandkids, great grandkids and great-great
grandkids there are a combined total of 62 and she stated “I love
‘em all”.
Alma came to the Blue Mountain Care Center on
September 11, 2017.
Presents...
January
Visiting
Specialists
Oregon’s new distract-
ed-driving law closed loop-
holes in a preexisting ban on
holding a cellphone while driv-
ing and enhanced penalties for
violations. House Bill 2597 ex-
panded the ban to include hold-
ing any mobile electronic de-
vice while driving, even while
waiting at a stoplight. Drivers
face a fine of up to $1,000 for
their first offense.
Less than a month after the
law took effect Oct. 1, Rep.
Julie Parrish, R-West Linn —
who voted for the law — was
pulled over and fined $265 for
using her cellphone while driv-
ing.
She was using the phone to
get directions to the KATU stu-
dio in Portland, where she was
scheduled to give an interview,
she said.
“Old habits die hard for
those of us who were intro-
duced to cellphones before
there were specific laws related
to distracted driving and phone
use,” Parrish said. “It might
be difficult for people to break
a years-long habit of driving
and using a cellphone, but it’s
a habit I never want my kids to
start.”
Nearly 3,500 people were
killed and about 391,000 in-
jured in motor vehicle crashes
involving distracted drivers
in the United States in 2015,
according to the most recent
statistics from the National
Highway Traffic Safety Ad-
ministration.
“We all share the roads, and
we have an obligation to keep
each other safe,” Parrish said.
Pumping your
own gas in
Eastern Oregon
Oregon is one of only two
states in the nation where res-
idents are prohibited from
pumping their own gas. While
this may seem to be a luxury
for some urban dwellers, it has
been a source of consternation
for motorists and gas station
owners in rural parts of Eastern
Oregon.
In Heppner, for instance,
there is only one gas station in
town, and it isn’t open 24 hours
a day.
During hunting season, the
line of motorists waiting for the
gas station to open sometimes
extended four blocks down
Main Street, said Heppner res-
ident LeAnn Wright, an office
support specialist for the Mor-
row County Juvenile Depart-
ment.
Two years ago, the Leg-
islature passed a bill to allow
self-fueling between 6 p.m. and
6 a.m. in certain rural counties,
to prevent travelers from being
stranded overnight. Earlier this
year, lawmakers expanded the
timeframe for self-fueling to
24 hours in 15 Eastern Oregon
counties, with populations of
less than 40,000. The expan-
sion of the law was primarily
designed to keep solo gas sta-
tions such as Heppner’s in op-
eration. Some stations were in
jeopardy of going out of busi-
ness because owners couldn’t
afford to hire enough pump-
ing attendants, said Rep. Cliff
Bentz, R-Ontario, the bill’s
sponsor.
Stations are still required
to have at least one attendant
between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., but
customers could pump their
own gas if the attendant is
busy and a cardlock machine is
available.
“Now, I think a lot of that
impact is off because (motor-
ists) don’t have to sit and wait
for someone to pump their gas
so they flow through a little bet-
ter,” Wright said.
Minimum wage
The state’s landmark law to
increase the minimum wage for
seven consecutive years was
enacted in 2016, but the great-
est jump in wages happened in
2017.
Minimum hourly pay in the
Portland metro area climbed
from $9.75 to $11.25 in July
2017, after a 50-cent increase
in 2016. The minimums were
lower in other parts of the state,
an acknowledgement from
lawmakers of the variety of
economic realities and cost of
living in different parts of the
state.
Rep. Janelle Bynum,
D-Happy Valley, who owns
four McDonald’s franchises
in the Portland area, support-
ed the minimum-wage hike,
despite the added cost to her
business.
“I’m going to be honest
here. It is hard,” Bynum said of
balancing the increase in pay-
roll with her family expenses.
“Life in the Portland metro
area continues getting hard-
er for people with entry- to
mid-level wages, so it’s good
that raising the minimum wage
helped give some relief to
working families.”
However, Bynum said rais-
ing the minimum wage fails to
address the root cause of why
so many families are struggling
to make ends meet: the cost and
availability of housing.
Full-day
kindergarten
Full-day kindergarten began
in Oregon in 2015, thanks to
funding approved by the Leg-
islature, but the law continues
have to ripple effects, both for
children’s long-term education
and families’ short-term finan-
cial outcomes.
For instance, students in
full-day kindergarten are more
likely to read proficiently in the
third grade, a critical bench-
mark for reaching on-time
graduation in high school, Sen.
Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, has
said.
Plus, the longer children
are in school, the less childcare
parents have to pay for or work
they have to miss.
Court says Sweet Cakes must
pay fine for refusing to bake
By Paris Achen
January 8th
Dr. Rushton
Baker Podiatrist
Capital Bureau
January 10th
Dr. McLellan
Bend Cardiology
January 18th
Korina Farris
Bend Neuro
PA Libby
Bend Ortho
Dr. Jacobson
Bend Ortho
January 22nd
Dr. Rushton
Baker Podiatrist
January 24th
Dr.McLellan
Bend Cardiology
33088
Oregon’s Court of Appeals
has upheld a decision to re-
quire the owners of a Gresh-
am bakery to pay a lesbian
couple $135,000 in damages
for refusing to make them a
wedding cake.
Sweet Cakes owners Aar-
on and Melissa Klein’s re-
fusal to bake the cake for
Rachel and Laurel Bow-
man-Cryer in January 2013
made national headlines and
prompted Bureau of Labor
and Industries Commission-
er Brad Avakian to award
the damages for emotional
distress.
On Thursday, Dec. 28, the
court affirmed BOLI’s con-
clusion that the Kleins vio-
lated the civil rights of the
couple and Oregon’s law that
businesses not discriminate
based on sexual orientation,
as well as the associated dam-
ages.
“For the past 10 years, the
Oregon Equality Act of 2007
has protected Oregonians
from unlawful discrimination
in housing, employment and
public places,” Avakian said
in a statement. “Today’s rul-
ing sends a strong signal that
Oregon remains open to all.
“Within Oregon’s public
accommodations law is the
basic principle of human de-
cency that every person, re-
gardless of their sexual orien-
tation or gender identity, has
the freedom to fully partici-
pate in society.”
The court found that “the
record of the complainants’
emotional distress from the
denial of service was ade-
quate to support the damages
award and that the award was
not inconsistent with awards
in other BOLI enforcement
actions.”