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The INDEPENDENT, February 3, 2005__________
n. INDEPENDENT
Serving the upper Nehalem River valley. Published on the
first and third Thursdays of each month, by Public Opinion
Laboratory Ltd., 725 Bridge St., Vernonia, OR 97064, as a
free newspaper. Publishers, Dirk & Noni Andersen. Editor,
Noni Andersen. Phone/Fax: 503-429-9410, email: noni@
the-independent.net Display Advertising, Clark McGaugh,
email: clark@the-independent.net Classified Advertising,
Rebecca McGaugh, email: rebecca@the-independent.net
This may surprise you
Here is a quiz.
1. In 2000, 85,000 deaths in the U.S. were attributed
to what?
2. In 1999, 31.1% of those who died from uninten
tional non-traffic injuries had used this?
3. In 2003, 40% of the traffic deaths in Oregon were
attributed to what?
4. 40% of people convicted of violent crimes and
25% of victims had been using what at the time of the
event?
5. 7.5% of the adults in Columbia County abuse
this?
6. In the U.S. there is one traffic death almost every
1/2 hour attributed to this?
If you guessed an illegal drug, you are wrong. It’s a
legal drug - alcohol. For those who have a drink only
occasionally, alcohol is not a problem - for others, it is
a problem.
Heavy drinking is defined as drinking more than 2
drinks (1 for women) per day. Associated chronic
health conditions include chronic liver disease and cir
rhosis, gastrointestinal cancers, heart disease, stroke,
pancreatitis, depression, and a variety of social or
work problems. That’s in addition to the accidental
deaths and injuries that occur.
Could this be you? People who report three or more
of the following symptoms during the past year are
considered alcohol dependent (alcoholic);
• Tolerance (needing more and more alcohol)
• Withdrawal
• Alcohol use for longer periods than intended
• Considerable time spent obtaining or using alcohol,
or recovering from its effects
• Important social, work, or recreational activities giv
en up because of use
• Continued use of alcohol despite knowledge of
problems caused by or aggravated by use.
There is help for alcoholics. Many alcoholics live
healthy, happy lives without drinking. Call Alcoholics
Anonymous at 503-223-8569 or Columbia Community
Mental Health at 503-429-1053 for information on how
to stop drinking if you need to or just want to.
Most alcoholics die drunk, needlessly. Drinking is not
FUN or harmless when it gets to that point. Get help!
* z
By Dale Webb, member
Nehalem Valley Chapter, Izaak Walton League
Early in January, I at
tended a conference at
Oregon State University;
the subject was the Rela
tionship Between Forest
ry, Deer and Elk in West
ern Oregon. I was intense
ly interested, since this
conference would have
the latest science and the
ories about what is going
on with the deer and elk here on the Westside of
the state.
After the presenter outlined our day, the first
speaker, Bruce Coblentz from the OSU School
of Wildlife Science, knocked my socks off! In not
too subtle a manner, he asked the audience why
we were here today? In answering, he pointed
out the failure of the Oregon Department of Fish
& Wildlife to instigate studies in the past to an
swer questions which we are now facing, but in
a crisis situation. He made my day when he stat
ed that he had been rudely ignored in the past.
That sure sounded familiar to me. Coblentz went
on to talk about Hair Loss Syndrome (HLS), HLS
and any connection to herbicides, Elk/Deer com
petition, and the effect of herbicides on forage.
There was no new information about HLS that I
haven’t already covered in previous articles.
Coblentz pretty much put aside the notion that
herbicide spray is the cause of HLS. He said it
appears that elk have been more successful
than deer under current habitat changes, but
that there is no good understanding why. The
talk turned to herbicides in general, with the
crowd anticipating bad news...which never
came! Coblentz stated, in general, that herbicide
spraying at the worst could only be slightly detri
mental and could actually be good for wildlife as
far as providing desirable forage. Since there
were other speakers who were going to present
recent data on herbicides and the effects on pre
ferred forage Coblentz deferred.
Next up was DeWaine Jackson from ODF&W,
it was the usual presentation, with the noted ex
ception showing that the Saddle Mountain unit
elk population is below management objectives.
He also presented information that fawn rates
may have declined along with buck-to-doe ratios
in parts of the Westside of the state.
John Cook, from the National Council for Air
and Stream Improvement, presented interesting
data about forage requirements for elk and also
data about the forage in different habitat environ
ments. He also showed data on body fat profiles
in different elk populations, which illustrated the
low body fat rates of Roosevelt elk on the West-
side. This is nothing new, but the comparison
with the Rocky Mountain elk is interesting. Data
was also presented regarding pregnancy rates
as compared with body fat rates. One of the
most interesting aspects of Cook’s talk was the
suggestion that summer and fall forage are just
as vital, if not more so, than winter forage. This
is new information which does make good sense.
Please see page 20