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The INDEPENDENT, July 20, 2011
Between the Bookends
by Nancy Burch, Librarian
Vernonia Public Library
With only one more
craft/story session on
Tuesday, July 26, The
Knights of Veritas on
Thursday, July 28, and
the Jamboree parade on
Saturday, August 6, the
library’s Summer Read-
ing programs for young-
sters will be completed
for another year. Partici-
pation has been amazing at both the morning
story/activity times and at the evening presenta-
tions, due to the efforts of Jennifer Moloney and
Linda Johnston. These programs are vital in
helping youngsters maintain reading skills dur-
ing the summer break from school and in provid-
ing a safe environment in which to take part in
educational, entertaining activities. The evening
entertainment has been made possible by the
Ready to Read Grant from the Oregon State Li-
brary, The Friends of the Library, and the Ore-
gon College Savings Plan, in conjunction with
the Oregon State Library and the American Li-
brary Association. It is so gratifying to see that
entire families are attending and enjoying these
programs.
The “novel destinations” for adults will contin-
ue through August and possibly longer if enough
interest is shown. The Scavenger Hunt to some
of Vernonia’s historic buildings will begin at the
library at 1:00 on Wednesday, July 27. All ages
are invited to participate as they follow clues to
learn some of Vernonia’s history. Check the
schedule in the library and on the City’s website
under library events for future activities—for all
ages. This site will have the topic, time and date
of the monthly book discussion meeting (Narcis-
sus Leaves the Pool, Monday July 25, 5:30). It
also has the dates and time for the annual
Friends of the Library Book Sale—Friday,
August 5 from 4-6 and Saturday, August 6
from 9-6. Library staff can now update this site,
so it should be up-to-date with library informa-
tion. Check it out!
New acquisitions for adult readers include
Betrayal of Trust—J.A. Jance’s latest mystery
featuring detective J.P. Beaumont, and The
Silent Girl—Tess Gerritsen’s new thriller featur-
ing detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examin-
er Dr. Maura Isles. Janet Evanovich’s latest
Stephanie Plum (mystery? comedy?), Smokin’
Seventeen, and Linda Castillo’s action-packed
novel of suspense, Breaking Silence, are prov-
ing to be very popular with Vernonia’s readers.
Young adults continue to request books from
Erin Hunter’s Warrior Series faster than she can
publish them. Several of the books from the Pa-
cific NW Young Reader’s Choice List for 2012,
including Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick,
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen and Shiver
by Maggie Stiefvater, have proven to be fa-
vorites this summer.
To insure that new materials meet the desires
of all ages of readers, new picture books includ-
ing My Mom Has X-Ray Vision, The Ice Cream
King, and Gilbert Goldfish Wants a Pet, have
also been added to the library’s collection.
Watch for the “Summer Readers” in the Jam-
boree parade as their entry depicts the summer
theme of One World, Many Stories.
Vernonia Public Library: 701 Weed Avenue
Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri. 10 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Tues., Thu. 1:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Sat. 10 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Preschool Story Time: Mondays, 10:30 a.m
when school is in session.
Phone: 503-429-1818
Survey shows fewer uninsured kids
Oregon Healthy Kids Pro-
gram has added 94,000 chil-
dren to care in the last two
years.
The percentage of children
without health care in Oregon
has dropped dramatically –
from 11.3 percent in 2009 to
5.6 percent in 2011 – according
to the Oregon Health Insurance
Survey, a statewide survey re-
leased by the Oregon Health
Authority July 11. This puts
Mariolino’s
Oregon on the leading edge in
the country in bringing health
care access to children.
“Today over 90,000 more
children have affordable health
coverage and their families
have the peace of mind that an
accident on the playground
won’t bring financial ruin,” says
Cathy Kaufmann, Healthy Kids
administrator. “When kids and
teens have health coverage,
they’re more likely to receive
Serving Vernonia for
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preventive and other care
when they need it. That means
fewer emergency room visits
and more peace of mind for
families.”
Oregon’s Healthy Kids, one
of the Oregon Health Authori-
ty’s first initiatives, was
launched in 2009 to bring af-
fordable, quality health insur-
ance to all Oregon children in
the face of ever increasing
health care costs.
Healthy Kids offers no-cost
and low-cost health coverage
for uninsured Oregon children
and teens 0-18, providing them
with all the care they need, in-
cluding preventive care such
as regular check-ups, vision
and dental care, prescriptions
and more. Depending on in-
come, working families may
pay a portion of the monthly
premium, but no family earns
too much money to qualify.
When the program was
launched two years ago, OHA
leadership set a goal of bring-
ing 80,000 children into care, a
goal that has been met and ex-
ceeded.
“The Healthy Kids Program
shows that Oregonians know
how to step up and solve the
problems in our health care
system,” says Bruce Goldberg,
M.D., Oregon Health Authority
Director. “We’ve made great
strides in insuring children and
improving the lives of tens of
thousands of families. The next
step is building a strong health
insurance exchange and trans-
forming the state’s delivery
system for better health and
lower costs.”
The Oregon Health Insur-
ance Survey will be conducted
every two years, gathering de-
tailed health insurance and
health-related information from
more than 10,000 Oregonians
throughout the state.
Oregon families with unin-
sured children can apply for
Healthy Kids today by calling 1-
877-314-5678 or by visiting
www.OregonHealthyKids.go
Algae blooms in fresh water can
cause illness in people and pets
In May many Oregon lake
managers started to monitor for
cyanobacteria, a signal that al-
gae bloom season is on its
way.
Algae are microscopic or-
ganisms that grow naturally in
the ocean and fresh waters.
Under certain conditions, algae
can rapidly grow into a large
mass in the water. Most algae
are harmless but cyanobacte-
ria, or blue-green algae, can
produce toxins capable of
causing illness in people and
animals.
When an algae bloom is de-
tected and lab results show
that cyanobacteria is present,
the Oregon Harmful Algae
Bloom Surveillance (HABS)
program issues a health advi-
sory warning people to stay out
of affected water to avoid ill-
ness.
Jennifer Ketterman, HABS
program coordinator, empha-
sizes that the HABS program
does not close lakes, but does
issue advisories to inform peo-
ple of a potential health risk.
People and animals can be
exposed to these toxins in sev-
eral ways: through contact with
bloom-affected water while
wading or playing in the water,
swallowing affected water
when swimming, or inhaling
water droplets while enjoying
high-speed activities like water-
skiing. Exposure can result in a
range of symptoms including
skin rash, diarrhea, cramps,
vomiting, numbness, dizziness
and fainting. Children, people
with weakened immune sys-
tems and pets are most vulner-
able to illness.
During the past 10 years,
Oregon has seen a steady in-
crease in the number of algae
blooms that triggered the is-
suance of a health advisory. In
2005, five such advisories were
issued for fresh water bodies in
three counties. Last year, the
number increased to 22 advi-
sories in nine counties. It is not
known why there has been an
increase.
Ketterman cautions, howev-
er, that only a fraction of Ore-
gon’s fresh waters are moni-
tored, and the public won’t al-
ways be notified about all
harmful algae blooms. “For this
reason, people should always
be aware of conditions before
they go into the water,” she
said. “If it is foamy, scummy,
and thick like paint and pea-
green, blue-green or brownish-
red in color, it’s best to stay
out.”
In 2009 and again in 2010,
confirmed dog deaths due to
algae toxins were reported to
the HABS program.
Dogs become exposed
when they drink bloom-affected
water or when they lick their fur
after swimming in the water.
Once toxins are in the animals’
system, illness occurs quite
rapidly and there is little that
can be done beyond providing
supportive care. The HABS
program made specific efforts
last year to reach veterinarians
and pet owners, Ketterman
said. “We want people to be
aware so they know to keep
their pets out of potentially dan-
gerous water.”
The HABS program is fund-
ed through a federal grant from
the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. The
program relies on local, state
and federal agencies that man-
age water bodies to alert it
when a potentially toxic bloom
has been detected.
Additional information can
be found on the HABS website
at www.healthoregon.org/hab
or by calling 971-673-0400.