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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 2001)
Page 8 The INDEPENDENT, Novem ber 7, 2001 Pilot project will allow clients to choose own home-care services A new state program is put ting seniors and people with disabilities in charge of choos ing the in-home services that allow them to live independent ly. “The idea is sim ple,” said Chris Pascual, who is manag ing the effort for the Oregon D epartm ent of Hum an Ser vices. “We think people who re ceive Medicaid are just as ca pable managing resources to meet their care needs - such as cooking, cleaning, shopping and personal care - as those who pay privately.” Pascual is implementing In dependent Choices, a federally approved project that began in three Oregon counties on No- Regional law-enforcement effort on domestic violence O ctober is D om estic Vio lence Awareness month and forty-eig ht law enforcem ent agencies in the Portland metro area worked together October 24 to arrest people with out standing family violence w ar rants ranging from harassment to murder. A gencies served warrants in their respective ju risdictions throughout the day. Am ong the participating agencies in this area were the Columbia County Sheriff’s O f fice, Banks Police Department, Columbia Comm unity C orrec tions, Oregon State Police and Scappoose Police Department. W orking as a team in Co lumbia County, the Sheriff’s Of fice, OSP and Scappoose PD made 24 attempts to appre hend people wanted on war rants, and made seven arrests. Five of the arrests were of peo ple who had outstanding war rants pertaining to Domestic Vi olence-related charges such as harassm ent or assault. Two people were arrested during the project for incidents that oc curred while the team was at work. One person was arrested for violating a restraining order and another person was arrest ed for felony assault during a dom estic disturbance; team members responded to that in cident while attempting to serve warrants. According to the 1999 Ore gon Governor’s Report on Do- mestic Violence, one out of every eight women in Oregon was physically/sexually a s saulted by her intimate partner. Domestic Violence can be fatal and, on average, at least three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends every day in the United States of Am erica. Law enforcem ent agencies want victims to real ize that help is available by call ing them. In Columbia County, law enforcement works in a col laborative partnership with the Domestic Violence Council, the W omen’s Resource Center and various counseling organiza tions with the goal of stopping violence in the home. vember 1, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Founda tion. The five-year program will serve 300 people in Clacka mas, Coos and Curry counties starting in November and in Jackson and Josephine coun ties starting in February. The goal is to put Medicaid consumers in charge of their own care. Consumers in the new project will decide what in- home services they need, whom to hire and how much to pay. They will receive the mon ey, arrange and pay for servic es themselves and manage all payroll and bookkeeping. En rollees will receive training in payroll management, budget ing and recruitment. Under the current system, Medicaid clients must use a state-approved provider who delivers a fixed set of services and is paid by the government. Some 18,268 Oregonians now participate in this program , started in 1981 and one of the first of its kind in the country. “O ur decision 20 years ago to use Medicaid money to pay for in-home services has al lowed thousands of Oregoni ans to live independently and saved m illions in long-term care costs,” said Lydia Liss- man, DHS assistant director for seniors and people with disabil ities. “But we can do more.” Although five other states are taking part in this dem on stration project, which required a federal waiver, only one other is allowing clients to fully act as the employer. The others are offering the kinds of client-em ployed provider services Ore gon pioneered 20 years ago. County Parks panel sets meeting The Columbia County Parks Advisory Commission will meet Thursday, N ovem ber 29, at 4:00 p.m. in Room 308 of the Columbia County Courthouse. The meeting is open to the public. Save on energy this winter while staying warm and comfortable Oregonians face a challenge this winter to save energy and money. Utility rates increaéed for most residents on October Following are some tips from the Oregon Office of Energy to help make this w inter more comfortable. Heating Set your heating thermostat to 55 degrees at night and 68 degrees during the daytim e when you are home. Install a program m able ther mostat to autom atically m ain tain temperatures. Insulate your attic, floors and walls. Replace your w indows with energy-efficient windows. Plug an unused chim ney flue with a flue "pillow." Water Heating Turn down your w ater heater to 125 to 130 degrees. Wrap your water heater with a water heater blanket if it is in an unheated space. An insula tion blanket costs only about $10 and quickly pays for itself. Follow manufacturer's instruc tions. Replace your w ater heater with a solar w ater heating sys tem. Install water-saving shower- heads. New models deliver a full spray using less than two- and-a-half gallons a minute. They cost between $5 to $15 and are easy to install. Install faucet aerators. Fix leaky fixtures. Thirty drips a minute of hot water wastes 50 gallons of water a month. Take a shower instead of a bath. The average bath uses twice as much hot water as a five-minute shower. Set a timer when you show er to remind you when five min utes is up. Showers make up about 2/3 of your water heating costs. Don’t allow hot water to run down the drain. Turn off the faucets immediately after use. Insulate hot water pipes. Waterbeds - Pull the covers up to insulate the top; insulate the bottom and sides with poly styrene foam insulation and lower the waterbed thermostat, if adjustable. Drain and clean hot tubs if not in use. Use an insulated cover. Use the cold water setting on clothes washers. Wash only full loads in clothes washers and dishwashers. Lighting Turn off lights whenever pos sible. Use task lighting, rather than lighting the whole room. Replace indoor standard in candescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. The new compact fluorescent bulbs use approximately 70 percent less energy than standard light bulbs. While more expensive initially, they last much longer. Replace outdoor lighting Country Kitchen & Pizza BREAKFAST • LUNCH • DINNER Soup & Salad Bar • Pies & Pastries “SOFT SERVE” CONES & SHAKES Home of the Paul Bunyan Burger Across from High School OPEN 7 AM - 8 PM Orders To Go 503-429-6523 DELIVERY AVAILABLE with motion-sensor floodlights or compact fluorescents. Refrigeration Don't keep your refrigerator or freezer too cold. Recom mended temperatures are 37 to 40 degrees F. for the refrigera tor and 0 degrees F. for the freezer. Check the tem pera ture. Replace your 10-year-old or older refrigerator with an ener gy-efficient model. Disconnect a second, sel dom-used refrigerator. Cooking Cook several meals at the same time to save energy. 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