Flu shot clinics to be held
TEN - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, September 28,2005
With the approach of
flu season, clinics are being
held by the Morrow County
Health Departm ent, but
vaccinations are only
available for those who meet
certain criteria.
Flu vaccinations are
strongly encouraged and
reserved only for individuals
who meet any of the
following: Children ages 6-
23 months. Adults ages 65
and older. Anyone ages 2 to
64 with underlying chronic
medical conditions. Women
who will be pregnant during
influenza season. Residents
of nursing homes and other
long-term care facilities,
Children ages 6 months to 18
years on chronic aspirin
therapy, Health care workers
who deliver direct patient
care and Out-of-home
caregivers and household
contacts of children under 6
months.
Supply is limited at
this time, but shots will be
available at later clinics. Call
the Morrow County Health
Department for more
information at 676-5421 or
481-4200.
The clinic schedule is
as follows:
Monday, Oct. 10, 11
a.m. to 1 p.m., Stokes
Landing Community Center,
Irrigon;
Wednesday, Oct. 12,
10 a.m. to 1 p.m., St.
Patrick’s Senior Center,
Heppner;
Sisns and symptoms of depression Funding restored for Pesticide
Kids are back in the evening or take 20 Analytical Response Center
Monday, Oct. 31,11
a.m. to 2 p.m., Stokes
Landing Community Center,
Irrigon;
Wednesday, Nov. 2,
10 a.m. to 1 p.m., St.
Patrick’s Senior Center,
Heppner,
Thursday, Nov. 3,
8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and
1-7 p.m., Morrow County
Health
Department,
Heppner;
Monday, Nov. 7,
8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 -7
p.m.. Morrow County
Health
Department,
Boardman;
Wednesday, Nov. 9,
4-7 p.m., lone Fire Hall,
lone.
Remember to bring
your insurance card,
M edicare card and/or
Medicaid card. Cost for the
shot is $15. Tetanus and
Pneumococcal vaccinations
also available.
If you are young and
healthy, you are being asked
to wait until late October to
get a flu shot. Officials from
the Oregon Department of
Human Services (ODHS)
announced implementation
of a prioritized approach to
early season flu vaccination,
reserving inactivated vaccine
for those at high-risk, at least
until Oct. 24. However,
beginning immediately,
doses of live, attenuated flu
vaccine may be given to any
healthy person between the
ages of 5 and 49 years.
school and the seasons are
changing. Change often
brings on stress and stress
can lead to depression. This
article will help you
understand the symptoms of
depression and learn
techniques to manage them.
There are some warning
signs to look for when
identifying depression. Sleep
disturbance, changes in
appetite and withdrawing
from people and activities
that used to be pleasurable
can all be signs of
depression. Everyone has a
few bad days, but when they
persist it is important to seek
help.
Do you notice that it
takes longer for you to fall
asleep at night? Are you
waking several times a
night? Is your quality of
sleep
inadequate?
Depression is strongly tied to
inadequate sleep. It is helpful
to stick to a scheduled
bedtime to get your internal
clock on a regular schedule.
Skip that last cup of coffee
or caffeinated beverage in
the evening. Get out of the
habit of trying to solve
problems right before going
to sleep. These are ways to
get better quality sleep. If
sleep issues still occur, please
contact our office or your
physician to see if there are
medical
problems
contributing to your
insomnia.
Have you had a
recent loss of energy or find
it hard to become motivated
for simple tasks? Healthy
eating habits and regular
exercise can help minimize
the symptoms of depression.
Depression feeds on
inactivity, so regular physical
workouts can be helpful.
You don’t need to have
access to a gym or any
special equipment. Go for a
short walk with the kids in
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minutes out of your day to
do an activity you enjoy.
Balance is the key for healthy
eating habits. Your body
needs the proper amount of
food for energy. Eating too
little food is not good for
your body or your mental
health. Eating too much, or
comfort eating, can lead to
weight gain, which can lead
to more feelings of
depression.
Regular
balanced meals and healthy
snacks help to keep both
your energy level and your
mood up.
Do you wake up
feeling hopeless about your
life? Do you feel like there is
nothing to live for? Do you
feel like hurting yourself? If
you have any of these
symptoms or recognize these
in someone else, please
contact our office or a
physician. Many times
depression can be dealt with
by making some simple
changes in our lives. Other
times depression may need
to be treated with individual
therapy and/or medication. If
you or someone you know
are
experiencing
overwhelming feelings of
hopelessness or sadness,
please seek help. Morrow/
Wheeler Behavioral Health
is serving your community
and is here to help. To
schedule an appointment or
speak to a counselor please
call our Fossil office at 763-
2746, Heppner at 676-9161,
or Boardman at 481-2911.
We also have 24 hour on call
crisis services that can be
accessed by simply dialing
911.
Senate approves
funding for
Oregon military
facilities
U.S. Senators Ron
Wyden (D-OR) and Gordon
Smith (R-OR) recently an
nounced that the Senate has
approved more than $7 mil
lion in funding for Oregon
military facility construction
projects. The funding was
included in the FY 2006 Vet
erans Administration and
Military Construction appro
priations bill; the legislation
now moves to a conference
committee to work out dif
ferences between it and the
House version of the bill.
“Oregon’s military
personnel play an important
role in securing the North
west and all of the U.S.,”
said Wyden. “The Federal
government should ensure
that military facilities get the
improvements they need to
support our armed forces,
and the funds in this bill are
a major step toward that
goal.”
“Our armed services
are providing disaster relief
and security at home and
abroad,” said Smith.
“They’re the pride of Ore
gon’s communities and our
military should have the up-
to-date facilities they need to
successfully carry out to
day’s missions.”
Under the VA/Mil-
Con appropriations funding
legislation approved,
$6,132,000 would be pro
vided for the construction of
a new Navy Reserve Center
in Eugene. In addition,
$941,000 would be provid
ed for the planning and de
sign of an expansion of the
Oregon Military Depart
ment’s Joint Forces head
quarters in Salem.
The legislation also
includes $1.5 billion to pay
for closures of military in
stallations nationwide, in
cluding the planned closure
of the Umatilla Chemical
Depot.
1
O regon’s unique
program known as PARC-
the Pesticide Analytical Re
sponse Center- is back in
business this fall thanks to
restored funding by the 2005
Oregon Legislature. The
Oregon Department of Ag
riculture, along with seven
other member state agencies,
will soon begin to look into
specific cases involving pes
ticides that may have pro
duced adverse affects on
human health or the environ
ment. PARC had essentially
shut down when funding was
removed in 2003 due to a
statewide budget shortfall.
“We look forward to
providing, once again, a pro
gram that brings together
expertise on pesticide is
sues,” says ODA deputy di
rector Lisa Hanson. “We be
lieve the public is better pro
tected because of PARC and
that pesticide users may also
be better protected in that
the program can address al
legations and determine
whether or not they are val
id.”
Other agencies are
similarly eager to have fund
ing restored to PARC.
“For many years,
PARC has been an excellent
example of interagency co
operation, helping the agen
cies involved in pesticide
safety and protecting human
health in Oregon work to
gether more effectively,”
says Dr. Mel Kohn, state
epidemiologist with the Or
egon Department of Human
Services- Health Services.
“I’m very pleased the bud
get was fully funded by the
legislature.”
When pesticide-re
lated incidents result in sus
pected health or environ
mental effects, PARC is
mandated by statute to per
form the following activities:
-Mobilize expertise
for investigations
-Report results of
investigations
-Identify trends and
patterns of problems
-Make policy or oth
er recommendations for ac
tion
-Prepare activity re
ports for each legislative ses
sion
PARC does not have
regulatory authority; its pri
mary function is to coordi
nate investigations and to
collect and analyze informa
tion about reported incidents
of pesticide exposure.
PARC’s member agencies
conduct most of the investi
gations and take necessary
enforcement actions. Coor
dination includes collecting
reports produced by each
member agency and consult
ing with a medical toxicolo
gist from Oregon State Uni
versity (OSU). Other gov
ernmental bodies may also
participate in incident re
porting or investigations.
PARC maintains regular
contact with the OSU Exten
sion Service, United States
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), and other
public and private organiza
tions to facilitate the inves
tigation of specific incidents,
identify potential problems,
and assist in developing so
lutions. Under the restored
funding, ODA will adminis
ter and house the program,
including the establishment
of a telephone hotline that
will be available 24-hours a
day, seven days a week.
Members of the public may
call (503) 986-6470 and
leave details of a pesticide
incident. Someone will re
turn the call no later than the
next working day. Current
ly, the hotline is expected to
be operational by Oct. 1.
‘The restored fund
ing also allows PARC to hire
staff from OSU and DHS-
Health Services to conduct
evaluations of information
on individual cases,” says
Chris Kirby, administrator of
ODA’s Pesticides Division.
Pesticide-related in
cidents are usually reported
by an affected person, either
directly to PARC or through
a member agency. Health
care providers are required
to report suspected cases of
pesticide-related illness to
the local health department
or Health Services. Timely
reports of possible human
health or extensive aniipal or
environmental effects from
pesticide exposure are as
signed a case investigation
number. PARC also re
sponds to numerous requests
for information about poten
tial health effects of pesti
cides and related issues.
“Currently, there are
only a couple of states that
have a program like PARC
that brings together multiple
state agencies- each in
volved, in some way, in the
regulation of pesticides, each
with their own set of exper
tise,” says Kirby. “These
agencies are brought togeth
er to focus on various spe
cific cases and questions
about health or environmen
tal concerns where pesticides
are involved.”
ODA- which regu
lates the distribution and use
of pesticide products in Or
egon- assures compliance
with the Oregon Pesticide
Control Act and the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
Oregon-OSHA has expertise
in the training of employees
who use pesticides. Other
member agencies have
unique responsibilities in the
area of pesticides and their
effects.
All pesticide expo
sure incidents that are as
signed a PARC case number
are entered into a data man
agement system, investigat
ed, and summarized for pre
sentation to the PARC board
at bimonthly meetings.
These case reports are re
viewed by the board to iden
tify trends in problems relat
ed to use of a particular
chemical, to an application
method, or to a specific in
dustry. The board then dis
cusses potential actions that
could prevent or reduce ex
posures. PARC has statuto
ry responsibility to make rec
ommendations to state agen
cies concerning these ac
tions. PARC may also make
suggestions to private
groups for their consider
ation.
“In some cases, a
pesticide product label has
been changed because of
recommendations brought
forward by the PARC
board,” says Kirby.
The restoration of
funding is bringing all the
players back to the table for
the first time in three years.
Rather than simply gathering
the information but not be
ing able to do anything with
it, member agencies and the
PARC board can resume in
vestigations, determinations,
recommendations, and the
annual report that will give
Oregonians a better idea of
health and environmental
impacts of pesticide use.
WE PRINT
LETTERHEAD
Heppner
Gazette-Times
188 West Willow
676-9228