2017 Eburg Moms - Fall

Serving Ellensburg, Ronald, Roslyn, Cle Elum, South Cle Elum, Kittitas, Thorp & Easton | Fall 2017

A supplement to the Daily Record

BULLYING Coping with back-to-school bullying TEENS DELAY independence CARGO KIDS Getting on board with cargo bikes TEEN RISKS with tattoos & piercings

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Kittitas County’s resource just for parents

CONTENTS 4 Teens delay independence 6 Dealing with back-to school bullying 8 How to tell a guest she can’t hold your baby

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10 Free clothes, toys, food – even a wedding 13 A dventurous parents cart kids on cargo bikes

28 Couple finds spiritual rewards in foster care 28 R isks youths face when getting tattoos and piercings

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HINGS YOU CAN DO TO TAME THE FEAR

? H ER E A R

20 7 thing you can do to tame the fear of shots

E7T

IS YOUR CHILD SCARED OF SHOTS? ARE YOU

16 We got game…and now you can, too

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Why don’t you grow up?

Teens delay independence

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By Armin Brott Tribune News Service

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ack when I was in high school, all I wanted was to be independent. I wanted more responsibility, a job so I could have my own spending money, and I was obsessed with getting a girlfriend. Despite my parents’ warnings, I experimented with drinking alcohol and, well, a few other things.

I’m asking because my two teens have zero interest in any of that — and as far as I can tell, neither do their friends. Is there something different about teens today or am I imagining things?

You’re not imagining. Teens and young adults these days are very different than we were their age when we were doing many of the things you described. San Diego State University researcher Jean Twenge and her Bryn Mawr College colleague Heejung Park just published a study that confirmed what a lot of us have long suspected: Compared to their parents and grandparents, today’s young people are much less mature, much less interested in taking on the trappings of adulthood (more on that in a minute), and are content to be dependent on their parents for far longer.

The quest for independence starts very early.

Remember back when your kids were two and wanted to do everything themselves? And when they were three or four and wanted to do everything we did, whether it was talking on the phone, working on the computer, or washing dishes? That process — of seeking independence and engaging in adult-like activities — continues through adolescence and, theoretically at least, ends at actual adulthood.

But as Twenge and Park found, today’s teens are in no hurry to grow up. Their study looked at teenage behavior going back as far as the mid-to-late 1970s and up through 2016. Let me give you a few examples.

• From 1976-1979, 76 percent of 12th graders were earning at least some money. From 1990-1994, that number had dropped a little, to 72 percent.

But from 2010-2016, only 55 percent of teens were earning any money on their own.— In the 1970s, 88 percent of 12th graders had a driver’s license, 84 percent in the early 90s, and just 73 percent today.

• In the early 1990s, 72 percent of 10th graders and 84 percent of 12th graders had ever had a date.

Today, only 57 percent of 10th graders and 63 percent of 12th graders have dated.

• In the 1990s, 81 percent of 12th graders, 72 percent of 10th graders, and 56 percent of 8th graders had tried alcohol. Today, those numbers have dropped to 67 percent, 51 percent, and 29 percent, respectively (which is a good thing, in my view). Over that same period, even college-age and post-college young people are refraining from drinking (from 92 percent in the 90s to 87 percent today).

• Today’s teens are less likely than those 20 years ago to go out without their parents, to go on dates, or to have sex.

The big question, of course, is “Why is this happening?” I think some of the decline — particularly in dating and going out without parents — is the result of smartphones and social media.

With all the technology that’s available, today’s teens may actually be communicating with each other more than we did at their age. Although, if your goal is to have sex, there’s no substitute for in-person communication. But we can’t blame smartphones for everything. As Twenge and Park write, it’s “unclear how internet use could cause teens to work less and drink alcohol less.”

I also put some of the blame on parents. Because we’re having children later and we’re having fewer of them, we try to “protect” our “investment” by doing things for them — like giving them money instead of expecting them to earn their own, and driving them everywhere they need to go instead of expecting them to get a license, pay for their own insurance, and drive themselves. Given that, it makes sense to stay young for as long as possible, doesn’t it?

Armin Brott, also know as Mr. Dad, is a columnist for Tribune News Service.

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How to deal with back-toschool bullying From Mayo Clinic News Network

M

y daughter is 9 and worried about going to school this fall because she was picked on by some of her classmates last year. Should I talk to her teachers about this or wait to see how it goes? I am trying to avoid being overprotective but don’t want her to worry about being bullied.

What do you recommend?

Taking steps now to help your daughter — especially since she felt picked on during the previous school year — is the right approach.

There are things you can do at home to help her ease into going back and being among her peers.

If the teasing behavior continues, though, or if she feels that she’s not safe at school, talk to her teachers immediately.

First, ensure your daughter understands she has a right to be safe at school. Tell her that you want her to let you know if she ever feels unsafe at school. She may be concerned that others will see this as tattling, but reassure her that, when she is scared or feels threatened, she should talk to you and/or another trusted adult such as a teacher or school counselor.

Next, ask your daughter about the teasing. Are there behaviors or something about the way she interacts with others that you can help her manage? As an example, children who may not be comfortable in social situations can be labeled as awkward, and that can be a source of teasing. If this is the case, work with her specifically on social skills, including not interrupting others when they’re talking, praising others when they do a good job, and keeping her hands to herself.

You also could ask your daughter to talk with you about ways she could respond to teasing. For example, when teasing is mild, a little humor may help lessen it.

Walking away is an appropriate response, too. Let her know she doesn’t always have to respond to comments.

In addition, you can help your daughter by facilitating time with her friends so she can build and strengthen those relationships. Kids with at least one good quality friend are less likely to be picked on, and friendships mitigate the negative effects of teasing or bullying.

Finally, help your daughter understand that someone who teases her likely doesn’t know her well.

Reassure her that the people in her life who do know her, including you and other family members, care about her greatly. Also, remind her that if one of her friends makes an occasional unkind comment,

all friends disagree or have rough patches from time to time.

It is important to recognize that teasing sometimes crosses the line into bullying — even at a young age.

When teasing continues over time, especially if it is the same person or group of people who do it repeatedly, that is bullying. And it must be addressed. Bullying comes in many forms: physical, verbal, emotional and online. If anyone physically harms or threatens a child, or if behavior is inappropriate, that also requires immediate attention from parents and the school.

If what your daughter is experiencing fits the description of bullying, talk to her teachers and school administrators. They need to know what’s going on, so they can intervene. Creating a culture of respect in and out of the classroom is key to bullying prevention. Many schools now have anti-bullying policies that help prevent bullying,

and then guide what happens when it occurs.

Many children who are bullied come through it without long-lasting problems, though the experience is hard at the time. But bullying should be dealt with as soon as possible.

Children who are bullied often tend to start disliking school. Their classroom performance and grades often suffer as a result. If the bullying does not end quickly, they also are at risk for anxiety and depression. For more information, pacer.org/bullying is a reliable online resource that provides science-based advice about bullying and bullying prevention.

Right now, however, as you get your daughter ready to go back to school, take time to talk with her about ways to deal with teasing. And most importantly, ensure she knows that, whatever happens, you are there for her, and she won’t have to handle it alone.

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How to tell a guest she can’t hold your baby

By Susan Mokop Chicago Times

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our visitors can’t wait to get their hands on your new baby, but you’re concerned about passing along germs or waking the baby from a nap. How can you gracefully tell someone you don’t want her to hold your baby?

Explain that if the baby gets a cold, he will be admitted to the hospital. Say, “We really can’t pass the baby around in case someone doesn’t realize she’s sick.”

If that doesn’t work, blame the pediatrician.

For example, if a child wants to hold the baby, say, “We’re under strict orders not to let anyone under the age of 18 hold the baby until her 2-month shot.”

In large groups, make a general announcement, such as, “We can only touch the baby’s feet” or “The baby needs to eat, so we’re going to give him some space.”

Parents need to remain strong about who can and can’t hold the baby. They’re made to feel 8

guilty, but taking risks with a newborn is not worth it.

Give people a heads-up by saying, “The baby will be around. Is anyone sick? Is everyone up to date on vaccinations?”

If an ill person wants to hold the baby, there’s no shame in saying, “No, you’re coughing, and I don’t want the baby exposed to that right now.”

A great way to ward off people in big groups is called baby wearing. If you have the baby strapped directly to you via a carrier or swaddler, as opposed to lying in a stroller, people aren’t likely to ask to hold him.

And babies can always use more rest, so if she is in your arms, sleep is an applicable excuse. Say, “She just ate, and I’m trying to help her get some rest, so I don’t want to cause any stimulation.”

Above all, being upfront is the best way to handle situations involving your baby.

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By Scott Greenstone The Seattle Times

Free clothes, toys, food — even a wedding

W

hen Erika Dudra moved to Beacon Hill two years ago, she didn’t know any of her neighbors. The young chiropractor had just separated from her then-husband and found herself alone in her house with a 3-month-old she needed to feed and clothe.

Dudra soon discovered a Facebook group called Buy Nothing Beacon Hill North. The premise of the group was simple: Offer up something that you don’t need, or ask for something you do need.

She joined to get rid of a couch, but then started asking for baby

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things. As a result, “I have a 2-yearold now who basically cost me nothing,” she said.

When Dudra remarried on Sept.

21, she threw a “Buy Nothing wedding” with a donated dress, cake, decor, flowers, an American Sign Language interpreter for deaf relatives and a wedding photographer. Her biggest outlay was $300 for the venue.

To participants, Buy Nothing is about more than just fighting consumer culture, though. Today, all of Dudra’s best friends are people she met on Buy Nothing. Every time she walks down to her local coffee

shop, she sees someone she knows from the group.

She is one of almost 47,000 Seattleites who are part of a Buy Nothing group in their own neighborhoods. Since this network was started in 2013 by two Bainbridge Island women, members and volunteers have spread the Buy Nothing gospel to more than half a million people in 20 countries, from the Philippines to Luxembourg.

Dudra herself has a goal of offering up a gift every day. “The more you participate in the project, the more you get out of it,” Dudra said.

How the project began Buy Nothing co-founder Liesl Clark likes to say the project is one-half internet giveaway group and one-half prehistoric Himalayan economics.

Local internet giveaway groups are nothing new: Craigslist launched its “free” section around 2000, according to a Craigslist spokesperson. Arizona resident Deron Beal started The Freecycle Network in 2003 after a fruitless quest for a thrift store or friend to take a mattress he didn’t need; today, the site claims more than 9 million members.

Bainbridge Island’s local Freecycle site is where Liesl Clark met Buy Nothing’s other co-founder, Rebecca Rockefeller, who runs a Bainbridge nonprofit. But while Freecycle’s goal is mostly to avoid waste, Buy Nothing has a more esoteric inspiration.

This inspiration comes from high up in the Himalayas, where Clark has filmed archaeology documentaries for National Geographic and the PBS series “NOVA.” In 2007, Clark visited a village in the Upper Mustang area of Nepal that didn’t operate on currency.

“Your money is no good there,” Clark said.

Instead, the village of Samdzong operated on a “gift economy” — when a villager needed something, she or he would simply ask.

Residents kept communal goats and sheep and took turns watching each other’s fields.

Clark brought clothes to give away, but she was confused when an old, childless woman asked her for a pair of baby shoes. Villagers said the old woman should have something she could give to someone else, so “she can share with the neighbors and be tied to them.”

Coming back to the U.S. with this new idea filling her head, Clark became more frustrated with Freecycle, which has close to 2,000

Bainbridge Island users.

“It wasn’t ‘giving’ — it was posting what you want to get rid of,” Clark said.

One day, Clark scrolled past a Freecycle post for “curly sticks” from a corkscrew willow tree.

“Who would give away sticks?”

Clark thought.

That’s how she met Buy Nothing co-founder Rockefeller. The two started seeing each other because of Freecycle more and more.

“The weird things I offered, she wanted,” Rockefeller said, “and the weird things she offered, I wanted.”

They shared a passion for anticonsumerism, which is where the group’s name comes from: “We really needed to stop buying stuff — just buy nothing,” Clark said.

They started talking about

You get up in the “middle of the night and walk around your house thinking ‘What can I give away?’

”

launching their own project through Facebook. With Facebook, users could see names instead of handles, and the rules were much more flexible. They could be as silly as they wanted.

One morning in July 2013, Rockefeller started a Facebook group at 10 a.m. By noon, the group had 300 people, Rockefeller said.

Clark’s first offer was a dozen eggs from her chickens, and a neighbor she’d never met named Susan Sellen commented, asking for them. As Clark walked up to Sellen’s house, she pulled out her camera and filmed Sellen opening the door. She later posted the video to YouTube with the title “Introducing the Buy Nothing Project.”

“I’ve lived here for years and I don’t go out and talk to anybody,”

Sellen tells Clark in the video. Years later, the two still meet up for tea.

Explosive growth Buy Nothing grew exponentially.

Within a month, there was a sister group in North Kitsap, then one in California, then Seattle. By the end of 2013, 57 groups totaled 10,000 members across the U.S. Then, Buy Nothing spread to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K. Washington remains the U.S. state with by far the strongest following: 187,719 members in 293 groups, according to Buy Nothing volunteers.

Those early days were very exciting, Rockefeller said.

“You get up in the middle of the night and walk around your house thinking ‘What can I give away? I’m going to give away my entire house and get new things!’” Rockefeller said.

As the number of members grows, groups have to divide like cells, to keep notifications manageable.

Lissa Jagodnik, who helps manage Seattle’s groups, joined the Southeast Seattle Buy Nothing group when it had 250 members in February 2014.

Today, Southeast Seattle has seven groups totaling more than 6,200 members.

Clark and Rockefeller think the site exploded because its goal is not just to give away free things: Users are encouraged to share the stories behind why they’re getting rid of “great aunt Enid’s couch,” said Rockefeller. They encourage people to be colorful, or intimate. “‘Best reading of the summer,’ someone commented,” Clark said.

“Because people were reading about their neighbors.”

Typical internet shorthand like “ISO” — ‘in search of’ — is discouraged. A small army of about 3,000 volunteer moderators spends hours every day verifying would-be members and making sure the rules and codes of conduct are followed.

Their tasks often involve dealing 11

with people who disagree with the rules, want to talk about politics, use the groups for marketing or promotion — or are upset that a neighbor who didn’t pick up something when they said they would.

Rockefeller has also fielded plenty of criticism about race and class in Buy Nothing — some groups are very white and English-speaking, and it can be easy to judge a member’s socioeconomic status by what they can afford to give away — and Rockefeller says she tries her best to work against that.

“Not everybody has reliable, affordable internet access … not everyone has comfort being online,” Rockefeller says. “The best thing I know is to find the people who are missing and talk to them.”

The Buy Nothing Project’s rules state clearly that the group is not a charity, but sometimes the admins

will mobilize: When Hurricane Harvey struck Southeast Texas last month, they organized their countrywide network to get supplies to people who needed help. Some volunteers even drove from the Pacific Northwest to Texas.

Asks and offers generally stick to physical things, but can also ask for people’s time. In March 2014, Kate Goldston, a 33-year-old woman who’d struggled with life-threatening anorexia from the age of 12, posted in Buy Nothing Bainbridge asking for someone to play Scrabble with her. She had just been released from hospice care, weighed 65 pounds, and needed commitments. People responded, and soon Goldston was playing Scrabble every day.

“People were counting on me to show up for the game,” Goldston said in a recent interview. “It wasn’t like I ever wanted to die, but it was a possibility.”

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She followed that up with requests for clothes — getting more than she will ever need, she says.

Today, Goldston sees that first Buy Nothing post as the beginning of her recovery. A few months later, she posted again on the Buy Nothing group: “I have not ‘asked’ for anything on this site for a while for although I am desperately poor and in need of probably a lot of things, I am a proud owner of something I have not had for two decades,” Goldston said. “My life.”

Goldston isn’t alone: For thousands of members, the Buy Nothing Project has become a way of life.

“When I sit in my living room and turn on the news and get overwhelmed,” said Jagodnik, the volunteer site manager, “I go to my Buy Nothing group — it restores my faith in humanity.”

Al l Aboard!

Who needs a minivan?

‘Adventurous’ parents cart kids on cargo bikes

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By Richard Chin altogether. At least for a little while. hen Minneapolis mom Stephanie Star Tribune, Brodegard, her husband, Bill, and their Brodegard leaves the grocery store, Minneapolis three kids — Grant, 6; Darcy, 4; and Lewis, people do a double take.

1 — are halfway through what they’re calling Brodegard doesn’t load the groceries — “the bike year.” and her three kids — into the family minivan. Instead, “We just like adventures and we like bikes,” Stephanie they’re all loaded on her cargo bike.

Brodegard said. “We like the Earth, too.”

When she hitches a trailer to the bike, she can carry So they asked themselves, “How can we have an even more. “I can haul up to five kids or my three kids adventure with bikes that doesn’t cost a lot of money?” and a bunch of groceries,” she said.

The answer was to let Bill’s parents drive away with their The bikes — “long tails” with an extended frame only car, a 2013 Hyundai sedan with heated seats. behind the seat or “front-loaders” with a big, low-slung Since March, Bill has been commuting by bike about bin in front of the handlebars — are being used by local riders to haul the bulky, heavy, everyday stuff of life: bags 20 miles a day round-trip to his job in Bloomington, where he’s director of food safety at Schwan’s. of compost, kegs of beer, barbecue grills, coolers, lawn Stephanie, a stay-at-home mom, is using one of their mowers, boxes of cat litter, Costco-sized bales of toilet two cargo bikes for every trip she needs to make — to paper, even other bikes. school, church and the YMCA, as well as the grocery Surprisingly, they’re proving especially popular with store. Her long-tail Yuba bike has a platform behind the families, who see them as two-wheeled minivans. seat to carry passengers or cargo and an electric-assist Rob DeHoff, owner of Varsity Bike and Transit in the motor to help get up hills or ease long trips.

Dinkytown area of Minneapolis, said the decision to buy Cargo bikes aren’t new. They’re been around for a cargo bike is largely driven by moms. “It’s women who decades, used for deliveries and other commercial tasks. say, ‘I don’t want to have to drive,’?” he said.

Luke Breen, the owner of Perennial Cycle in Some families are using them to downsize from two Minneapolis, started carrying front-loading cargo bikes cars to one. Others, such as the Brodegards, are relying about 11 years ago. Back then, they were marketed as on the two-wheeled haulers to replace the family car 13

a two-wheeled version of a pickup truck.

“It was a flop,” he said.

Then about six years ago, he started selling Yuba bikes, which can be accessorized to carry passengers as well as heavy loads.

“It was all about carrying kids, and that just changed everything,” Breen said.

DeHoff said he now sells so many cargo bikes that “it’s gotten to the point where it’s not a weird thing anymore,” he said.

GOING ‘CAR LITE’ Of course, not everyone is going carless like the Brodegards. Many, however, are going “car lite” with the help of a cargo bike.

Stay-at-home dad Casey Andrus of Minneapolis and his wife sold one of their two cars and replaced it with a cargo bike made by a Dutch company, Babboe.

Their bike features a big, lowslung wooden cargo box mounted between the handlebars and the front wheel of the bike. The box, which Andrus has decorated with Grateful Dead decals, has a bench seat and shoulder straps for a passenger and is big enough to carry Andrus’ 2½-year-old son, Bruce, as well as the family’s two 50-pound English bulldogs. They also take along a Bluetooth speaker to play the Grateful Dead as they ride.

“Bruce and I are big Deadheads,” Andrus said. “I just chauffeur him and the dogs around when they need to go someplace.”

Chrissy Kannas of Minneapolis has transported her four kids, ages 1 to 7, about 1,000 miles around town over the course of the summer, using an electric-assist cargo bike.

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“There’s no stress to it. You use it like a car. Pile them on, and go to the pool,” she said. “We’ve hardly used the minivan.”

Parents who use cargo bikes say they are an improvement over Burley-style, pull-behind trailers.

“The trailers really weren’t that much different from riding in a minivan,” Breen said. “On the cargo bikes, kids are much more engaged in the experience.”

Andrus agreed. “It’s more time that he and I talk,” he said of biking with his son.

But the bikes aren’t cheap.

Nonmotorized cargo bikes can cost $1,000 to $3,000. And electric-assist models, such as the Yuba Spicy Curry bike used by the Brodegards, cost about $4,000. Still, riders say they can save money over the long haul by avoiding the expense of gas, insurance and repairs for a car.

A ‘BIKE YEAR’ On the first week of school, Stephanie Brodegard loaded Darcy and Lewis on her lime-green Yuba Spicy Curry to pick up Grant at school.

When they arrived at Burroughs Community School in south Minneapolis, there was another mom with her own cargo bike.

Melissa Albert had come to pick up her 10-year-old daughter, Kate, from fourth grade. When she bought the bike six years ago, she couldn’t find it in a local shop, so she ordered it online.

“I really wanted to get exercise, and I wanted a way not to ignore my kids when I get exercise,” Albert said.

After picking up Grant, the Brodegards biked to the Southdale

YMCA in Edina. While Darcy took a tumbling class and Grant went to basketball practice, Brodegard biked with Lewis to a Target and loaded three sacks of groceries in the trailer before taking everyone home.

The Brodegards have a blog, The Bike Year, which they call an “adventure blog about a family whose big adventures might consist of getting rained on a lot.” Posts are titled “How do you go to the airport?” “What do you do when it rains? (Part II)” and “This was actually Steph’s idea.”

In their blog, they admitted that Grant was at first skeptical about giving up the family car — even though it meant that they could keep the trampoline in the driveway.

“He was asking about our car daily. He was saying, ‘When are we going to get our car back?’?”

Stephanie said.

Bill said he and Stephanie have a plan for the car, “but Grant will not like it.”

Bill added, “Later on, when they are older, our children will have loads and loads of character. They will thank us. Or burn us in effigy.”

The Brodegards aren’t sure how their experiment will work over the winter. Stephanie plans to dress the kids in snow gear when it gets colder. Two of them will fit in the trailer, which offers some protection from the elements.

“I guess the third one will have to be tougher,” she said.

She’s also working on building a shelter out of plastic tubing that can fit over the back of the bike.

But for now, a cargo bike is the way the family wants to travel.

“It feels like an outing every time we go out,” Bill said.

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We got game …and now you can, too

By Armin Brott and Samantha Feuss Tribune News Service

These five fun family board games will keep you laughing and learning.

Awkward Family Photos (Loaded Questions) One player deals eight cards to all the other players. Each card has a line — some you know, others will leave you scratching your head — from movies (some you’ve heard of, others not so much).

The dealer then pulls an Awkward Family Photo card from the deck and turns it over for all to see.

Players decide which of their eight movie line cards would make the best caption for the picture. The dealer picks the winner and awards points accordingly. If you run out of pictures, you can download more from awkwardfamilyphotos.com.

Movie knowledge might help a little, but it’s by no means necessary. A good sense of humor, however, is essential. About $18. For 4-8 players, ages 12+.

Cranium Cadoo (Winning Moves Games) Another fun, active, creative no-batteries game from the folks who brought us Cranium. The goal is to get four of your tokens in a row on the 4x4 game board. You do that by solving challenges that appear on two types of cards. Solo cards are done on your own, so you might need to translate a series of 16

pictures into words. If you get the right answer (as verified by another player), you put your token on any open space on the board. Combo cards might require you to sculpt or draw something that another player has to recognize. Cadoo comes with two decks of challenge cards, tokens, modeling clay, sketch pad, a timer and instructions. For ages 7+.

About $21.

Loaded Questions (Loaded Questions) A fully updated version of the classic Loaded Questions game that’s even more fun than before. On your turn, read a Loaded Question that matches the color of the space your token is on. All the other players write down an answer to the question and someone reads those answers aloud. Then, you try to match each answer with the player you think wrote it. Move ahead one space for every correct match. Loaded Questions can be a blast to play with people you know well or with those you’d like to get to know better. Either way, be prepared to laugh yourself silly.

There are a variety of versions of the game, including Adult, Party, and Junior (which features questions like, “If you were a talking butt, what would you say?”). About $17. For 4-6 Players, ages 10+.

Picto Lingua (Helvetiq) Think bingo but with pictures. Each player has a game card that features 25 images.

Someone pulls a card from the deck and reads a word in any one of five languages (English, French, German, Italian or Spanish). If you have that image on your card, place a token on it. Five in a row wins. You won’t get fluent, but you’ll learn up to 50 words in as many languages as you can handle. About $24. For ages 7+.

The Mazins (Helvetiq) The Mazin clan is, to put it gently, a little disorganized. Like most tourists visiting a city for the first time, all they want to do is get from point A to B, take in the sights and do a few exciting things along the way. But the city is something of a maze and without your help, the poor Mazins will never get where they’re supposed to go. Your goal is to connect each of the five family members with a particular attraction by moving the board tiles around to create a path. Do it right, and you’ll win a trophy. About $17. Ages 8+.

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need-to-know numbers...

SERVICES Ambulance/Fire/Police...........................................911 KITTCOM/Dispatch....................................925-8534 Kittitas County Sheriff..................................962-7525 Cle Elum office.......................................509-674-2584 State Patrol (west interchange)....................925-5303 Ellensburg Police Department.....................962-7280 Code enforcement....................................962-7282 Cle Elum Police......................................509-674-2991 Kittitas Police.................................................968-0222 Public Works water maintenance................962-7261 After hours emergency............................962-7230 Animal Shelter...............................................962-7246 Energy Services electricity/light/natural gas/utility/maintenance...........................962-7124 Energy Services After hours emergency............................962-8534 Hazardous Substance Information.......................................800-633-7585 Poison Control.......................................800-222-1222 Kittitas County Public Health Department...............................................962-7515 Kittitas Valley Community Hospital...........962-9841 KVH Cle Elum District 2................509-674-5950 Cle Elum Urgent Care Clinic...............509-674-6944 Children and Family Services......................962-7740 Child Health Insurance Program (general information)......................877-543-7669 Child Abuse and Neglect Protective Services (CPS)............962-7740 or 24-hour, 800-562-5624 Immunization National Information Hotline...............................................800-232-2522 Better Business Bureau.........................509-455-4200 Ellensburg Public Library.............................962-7250 Carpenter Memorial Library...............509-674-2313 Kittitas Public Library...................................968-0226 Roslyn City Library...............................509-649-3420 Ellensburg Youth and Community Center.................................92 5-8604

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Schools Cle Elum-Roslyn School District Administration.............................509-649-2393 Cle Elum-Roslyn Elementary........509-649-3290 Walter Strom Middle School.........509-649-3560 Cle Elum-Roslyn High School.......509-649-2291 Damman School District Damman Elementary..........................962-9076 Easton School District.................509-656-2317 Ellensburg Christian School..............925-2411 Ellensburg School District Administration....................................925-8000 Community Schools............................925-8017 Lincoln Elementary School..................925-8050 Mt. Stuart Elementary School.............925-8400 Valley View Elementary.......................925-7316 Morgan Middle School........................925-8200 Ellensburg High School.......................925-8300 Kittitas School District Kittitas Elementary.............................968-3014 Kittitas Middle School.........................968-3902 Kittitas High School............................968-3902 Thorp School District..........................964-2107

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Environment

More like home, less like a hospital

Our pediatric treatment room has been transformed with a wall mural, cabinetry to keep much of the medical equipment out of view, stuffed animals, and even tablets loaded with kid-friendly games.

Equipment

Tools to improve the child’s experience

We use tools that are not only helpful in treating our young patients, but are also visually interesting, such as the Buzzy Bee, which combines vibration and ice to overwhelm pain nerves.

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Emergency staff receive Child Life Specialist-led training which helps them know what approach to use with young patients to relieve fear and anxiety.

Parents are included as their child’s care partners.

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Get to the Point!

Is your child scared of shots? Are you?

Here are 7 things you can do to tame the fear.

By John Murawski, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.

F

or the second year in a row, the Centers for Disease Control is telling doctors not to give patients FluMist, the nasal spray flu vaccine, and that’s a problem for kids and adults who are scared of needles.

Kids’ reactions to shots may range from a mild anxiety to a full-blown meltdown, say area pediatricians.

How many kids experience a fear of shots at some time in their lives?

“100 percent,” said Mike Steiner, the division chief of general pediatrics and adolescent medicine at UNC Health Care.

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“At some age, every kid has a fear of getting a shot,” Steiner said. “It’s basically a universal experience.”

And if the fear is not resolved it can turn into a problem for them as adults, causing them to avoid medical services over fear of injections.

“This may be a good time to deal with and navigate through this,” said Ravi Jhaveri, a pediatric infectious disease specialist with UNC Children’s Hospital. “Needles are a fact of life, whether for a vaccine or a blood test.”

So if you have a kid who runs, faints or puts up their fists at the sight — or thought — of a needle, how do you deal with it?

Here are some suggestions from area doctors.

1. Ask your doctor about a new needle-free vaccine available for children as young as 5 years old.

The vaccine, called Afluria, is administered under high pressure directly through the patient’s skin.

In September, it was approved for children age 5 and up. The most common side effects are tenderness, itching and bruising.

2. There are ways to minimize the physical sensation of a hypodermic needle. Ask your doctor or nurse to use numbing creams, lidocaine patches and ethyl chloride spray.

Another technique is to press the thumb firmly into the child’s arm,

producing a temporary soreness than can mask the sensation of the flu shot.

3. If your child is truly needlephobic, talk to your doctor about whether anti-anxiety medication is needed.

4. If your child is simply anxious, try distractions: play games, ask questions, tell stories, sing songs, blow bubbles, show a movie or a cellphone video. Pre-schoolers can be caressed in a parent’s arms and comforted gently.

5. Don’t shame or humiliate.

Acknowledge the fear as genuine and help your child work through it, even if it requires seeing a therapist. Most people do not have an insurmountable phobia, but many have an instinctive aversion to foreign objects entering the body.

6. Don’t lie to your child that the doctor’s visit won’t involve a shot or that that the shot will be absolutely

painless. Dishonesty and trickery could exacerbate your child’s fear and distrust.

7. Don’t be afraid to abandon ship.

“I’ve had parents decide not to give it if the child is really fearful or upset at the appointment, but I haven’t ever had to cancel the vaccine if the parents are OK with us trying,” pediatrician Sophie Shaikh with Duke Children’s Primary Care in Brier Creek, wrote in an email. “For something that is recommended but considered more optional, such as the flu vaccine, we will take our lead from the parent. We obviously want to avoid traumatizing a child!”

And don’t give up hope. More solutions could be on the way.

Steiner said that last month, at the annual conference of the American Academy of Pediatrics, he saw a vendor promoting virtual reality goggles as an emerging tactic to calm jittery kids during shots.

Researchers at Georgia Tech are working on a Band-Aid like patch with dissolvable microneedles that deliver the flu vaccine. The testing is in early stages yet, but a clinical trial at Emory University found the vaccine was just as effective as the traditional needle and syringe and was well-tolerated by test participants. One tester told NBC News it was like pressing down on the hard size of Velcro.

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Did you know?

n u F s t c Fa 22

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

e largest egg laid by a living bird is that of the North African Th Ostrich. It is 6 to 8 inches in length and 4 to 6 inches in diameter.

The smallest is that of the hummingbird. It is less than 0.39 inches in diameter. at dust on rugs and your furniture is not only dirt. It’s mostly made Th of dead skin cells. Everybody loses millions of skin cells every day which fall on the floor and get kicked up to land on all the surfaces in a room. You could say, “That’s me all over.” e smallest fish in the world are the pygmy goby and the Luzon Th goby, from the Philippines, which are only one-half-inch long when they are full grown. e leatherback is the biggest sea turtle, and it can weigh as much as Th 1,500 pounds.

The longest conga to this date included 119,986 people.

Vultures can soar for hours without one beat of their wings. iller Whales are the only sea animal that outranks the Tiger Shark as K top predator of the sea.

Salamanders breath through their skin.

The largest baby to be born so far weighed in at 15 pounds, 5 ounces!

The average housefly lives for one month.

There is only one insect that can turn its head — the praying mantis.

A snail can sleep for 3 years straight!

I t takes food seven seconds to go from the mouth to the stomach via the esophagus.

There are worms in Australia that are over 4 Feet Long! braham Lincoln probably had a medical condition called Marfans A syndrome. Some of its symptoms are extremely long bones, curved spine, an arm span that is longer than the persons height, eye problems, heart problems and very little fat. It is a rare, inherited condition. our blood takes a very long trip through your body. If you could Y stretch out all of a human’s blood vessels, they would be about 60,000 miles long. That’s enough to go around the world twice.

Th ere are as many hairs per square inch on your body as a chimpanzee. You don’t see all of them because most are too fine and light to be noticed. e smallest dog recorded was a Yorkie and was only 4 inches tall.

Th The biggest dog weighed 344 pounds- more than two full grown men!

85% of the population can curl their tongue into a tube. ere were about 300 bones in your body when you were born, but Th by the time you reach adulthood you only have 206. oughing can cause air to move through your windpipe faster than C the speed of sound – over a thousand feet per second!

A cockroach can live for up to 3 weeks without its head!

Recipe Mini Popcorn Balls with Chocolate Fondue Prep time: 25 minutes Servings: 12 Ingredients 1 bag fat-free butter microwave popcorn Nonstick cooking spray 1/4 cup stick butter or margarine (1/2 stick) 1 package (10 ounces) marshmallows 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1-1/2 cups light chocolate syrup Colored candy sprinkles (optional)

Preparation Prepare popcorn according to package directions. Remove all un-popped kernels. Spray large bowl with nonstick spray; add popped corn.

In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add marshmallows and vanilla. Heat 5 minutes, or until marshmallows melt, stirring frequently. Pour over popcorn; mix well with spoon sprayed with cooking spray. Moisten hands with water before shaping popcorn mixture into 24 small balls, about 1/3-cup popcorn mixture each. In small saucepan, heat chocolate syrup over medium heat 5 minutes, or until warm, stirring occasionally. Transfer to small, fondue-style pot. Use wooden skewers or fondue forks to pick up popcorn balls and dip into chocolate and sprinkles, if desired.

The news you want to know doesn’t always happen on your doorstep. It happens out in the community. It happens fast and you want to know about it as soon as it does. At the Daily Record, we’re delivering more news in more ways than ever, because we know you want to know. We’re putting the community in your hands.

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New report cites risks youths face when getting tattoos and piercings

By Kate Thayer Chicago Tribune

R

ecognizing a growing trend, the American Academy of Pediatrics released its first report on tattoos and piercings, warning parents and teens of rare but possible risks, and offering safety tips.

The report will be published in the October issue of the journal Pediatrics.

“Tattooing is much more accepted than it was 15 to 20 years ago,” said lead author Dr. Cora C. Breuner in a statement released Monday. “In many states, teens have to be at least 18 to get a tattoo, but the regulations vary from place to place. When counseling teens, I tell them to do some research, and to think hard about why they want a tattoo, and where on their body they want it.”

In “Adolescent and Young Adult Tattooing, Piercing and Scarification,” authors note a 2014 survey that shows 76 percent of 2,700 people with a tattoo or piercing believe it hurt their chances of getting a job, according to an AAP release announcing the report.

The report also explains how the rate of complications, mainly infection, is unknown, and advises teens to research a facility before getting a tattoo or piercing, the release states.

Facilities should be clean and offer tips on how to care for a tattoo or piercing.

The report also notes that scarification, the practice of burning or branding words or images into the skin, is not as highly regulated and is banned in some states.

The AAP also offers guidance to pediatricians on how to distinguish typical tattooing or piercing from nonsuicidal selfinjury syndrome. Those with the affliction tend to impulsively cut, scratch or burn themselves, the release states.

“In most cases, teens just enjoy the look of the tattoo or piercing, but we do advise them to talk any decision over with their parents or another adult first,” said Dr. David Levine, co-author of the report. “They may not realize how expensive it is to remove a tattoo, or how a piercing on your tongue might result in a chipped tooth.”

“These services have come a long way, safety-wise, but it’s best to proceed with caution,” added Breuner.

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local parks

Cle Elum City Park West Second Street & Reed Ave. Features: Picnic shelter, barbecues, restrooms, playground equipment, horseshoe pits

Kiwanis Neighborhood Park “A” Street & 14th Ave. Features: Picnic shelter, children’s play structure, basketball hoop/court, junior baseball field, restrooms

CWU Community Fields 18th Ave. & Alder St. Features: Softball fields, soccer/multipurpose fields, restrooms

Lake Easton State Park I-90 Exit 70, Easton Features: Open year-round for camping, hiking trails, cross country, snowmobiling

Irene Rinehart Riverfront Park Umptanum Road and I-90 Features: Boat landing, lake swimming (no lifeguard), sand volleyball, picnic and barbecue facilities, hiking/biking trails, grass areas, dog park, restrooms Iron Horse Park Sixth Street and Milwaukee Street, South Cle Elum (access points throughout county) Features: Access to hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, bird watching, fly fishing, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing

Paul Rogers Wildlife Parks Judge Ronald Road Features: Trails with natural setting

Lions/Mt. View Community Park 1200 E. Seattle St. Features: Soccer fields, baseball field, roller hockey rink, picnic shelter, barbecues, toddler and youth play structures, swings, restrooms

Reed Neighborhood Park 1200 E. Fifth Ave. Located at the top of Craig’s Hill Features: Views of Ellensburg and Kittitas Valley, turf areas, picnic tables

McElroy Park 1703 Brick Rd. Features: Walking trails, pond, natural areas, picnic tables, natural play structure

Roslyn City Park Third Street & Idaho Ave. Features: Picnic tables, gazebo shelter, restrooms, softball field and tennis court, swings

Memorial Neighborhood Park 700 N. Poplar St. Located next to the pool Features: Picnic shelter, children’s play structure, basketball, open turf area

Rotary Park 1200 W. Fifth Ave. Features: Multi-use fields, full-sized softball/baseball fields, youth baseball fields, walking trail, play structure, dog park, bathroom and parking lot

North Alder Park 2400 N. Alder Street Features: Picnic shelters, playground equipment, trails, turf area, restrooms

Skate Park Second and Pearl Street Features: Ramps and jumps for skate boarders South Cle Elum Firemen Park Madison Avenue and Main Street Features: Picnic tables, shelter, barbecues, restrooms Wanapum State Park I-90 Exit 136, Vantage Featuring: Picnic area, swimming, boating, fishing, camping, trails.

West Ellensburg Neighborhood Park 900 W. Third Ave. Features: Picnic shelter, children’s play structure, tennis court, restrooms, youth baseball fields, full-sized softball fields, full-sized baseball fields, walking/bike trail Wippel Neighborhood Park 400 W. Elliott St. Features: Picnic and barbecue facilities, basketball, open turf area

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Browned Pumpkin with Maple and Sage Servings: 4 Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes

Low Carb

Ingredients 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter stick 1/2 pound pumpkin 1/8 cup chopped shallots Salt Freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup bouillon vegetable broth 1/16 cup sugar-free maple syrup 1/8 teaspoon sage, ground

R EC I PE

Preparation In medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat butter. Cube pumpkin into 3/4-inch chunks. Add pumpkin and shallots to pan; season with salt and pepper. Saute until pumpkin is lightly browned and shallots are translucent, approximately 5-6 minutes. Turn heat to low, add vegetable broth and simmer, covered, 8-10 minutes until pumpkin is tender. Add maple syrup and sage, tossing to combine. Serve immediately.

Tip: Use fresh sage (7-8 leaves), if possible.

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WIC Eligibility Eligibility depends on household size and income.

• WIC is a nutrition program for pregnant women, new and breastfeeding moms, and children under five.

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Getting WIC does not affect your immigration status.

One child

132

led to

S

usan Vrenios held the baby boy, less than 6 months old, in her arms as the infant cooed and flashed his big heart-melting smile.

Over the span of nearly 30 years as a foster parent, Vrenios has become a pro tending to infants and children in the care of the state. Vrenios and her husband, Tom, so far have touched the lives of 132 kids, including two children the couple adopted into their own family.

“We couldn’t keep them all,” the 53-year-old Vrenios said with a laugh. “They don’t make cars for 132 kids.”

For the past 10 years, Vrenios and her husband have worked with UCAN, which is one of 70 social service agencies that work with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services helping at-risk children.

“Foster parents like Vrenios provide stable and nurturing care for youth whose world has been upended by loss, abuse or neglect, and whose families have been unable to safely care for them,” according to Derrick Baker, vice president, marketing communications for UCAN.

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Hawthorn Woods couple finds spiritual rewards in foster care

By Frank S. Abderholden Chicago Tribune

According to DCFS statistics, as of July there were 13,953 children either in foster or relative care, institutional homes or group homes after being removed for abuse or neglect. DCFS licenses foster homes, and private agencies such as UCAN license their own foster homes.

UCAN is headquartered in Chicago’s North Lawndale community, and has other offices around Chicago, along with the one in Vernon Hills, Baker said. UCAN currently has about 170 foster homes, Baker said. About 65 of them are in Lake and McHenry counties, and the agency is always looking for more foster parents, he said.

Foster parents receive a stipend from the state to support the youths in their homes, with the amount varying from $500 to $2,200 depending on the needs of each child, Baker said.

“It’s important that you want

to take care of children,” Nancy Hencier, who is based out of UCAN’s Vernon Hills office, said.

Hencier said it takes four to six months to become a licensed foster parent, and candidates must undergo a background check and fingerprinting.

“I’m always looking for foster parents. Once we place one child we need another foster parent,” she said.

According to information posted at UCAN’s website, the organization began in the 1860s at the start of the Civil War when St. Pauls United Church of Christ decided it would take care of the children of fallen soldiers and in 1869, after a piece of property was donated for a permanent home, the state legislature incorporated the Uhlich Evangelical Lutheran Orphan Asylum.

Today UCAN serves approximately 10,000 at-risk

children, youth and families in Illinois. They offer more than 30 programs to either prevent violence, help children aging out of the system deal with independent living, workforce development, support for pregnant teens, youth leadership classes and foster care placement.

The agency trys to help affected youth through their therapeutic youth home and they run a K-12 therapeutic day school. Clinical and counseling services are provided as well as help with regular medical issues.

“Whether it’s our adolescent program, specialized foster care or traditional foster care, UCAN has a strong track record. It is not easy work,” UCAN President and CEO Zack Schrantz said in a statement about the professional fostering program in Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.

“We know that sometimes family

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dynamics can change with the addition of a new person in the household. Some young people may come with physical, mental health or developmental challenges that a family may not be prepared to handle,” added Schrantz, who himself has been a foster parent for nearly seven years.

UCAN staff members provide Vrenios and other foster parents with services and support to direct them in support foster youths while their family works to overcome the circumstances that led to them being placed outside of their homes, Baker said.

On this day, Vrenios is in Vernon Hills because one of the babies she is fostering has an appointment to spend time with a parent. In the meantime, Vrenios, takes the other baby to the doctor for a check up.

Foster parenting seemed to come to Vrenios naturally, she said.

“We had no children of our own, and we felt very blessed by life. We wanted to give back, so we decided to become foster parents, and one child led to 132,” Vrenios said.

“My husband and I have also had 12- and 13-years-olds, up to age 18,”

30

she added, saying the “reaction to foster care varies widely” from child to child.

“They can be scared or happy and excited. (They) want this new norm, because the old norm was neglect and abuse,” she said. “It’s very different for every child.”

Even newborns babies are traumatized when separated from their biological family, she said.

“It’s still considered trauma,” she said. “Any baby requires a lot of patience and calm parenting. You feel like you had a part in helping this infant.”

With babies, “My focus is largely, 98 percent, just nurturing,” Vrenios added.

Vrenios said UCAN is very strong about advocating for the parents, and it is always working in the best interest of the child.

“No parent wants their child in foster care,” she said. “That’s a safe assumption. As part of the team, you assure the parent that foster family is a temporary home until they can get back on their feet. You work together for the health of their child.

“And then you say goodbye. That’s a real hard one. But now there is a

healthy, happy child and a family reunited.”

Contact with biological parents varies by each case. The agency sets up the visit and foster parents provide a note to the parent telling them how the week went and what is new with their child.

“This agency encourages the contact, but they are realistic,” she said.

For one of her babies, the parent, a father, will visit twice a week with his son at the Vernon Hills office.

“That relationship has continued to grow,” she said.

“My husband and I see the need and value in there being good foster parents,” she added. “When it has been appropriate and with guidance from our UCAN case manager, we have enjoyed our involvement with the birth parents. Often times, it has led to a healthier relationship between child, foster parent and birth parent.

“I feel there is nothing better than helping children for a brighter tomorrow,” Vrenios said. “You understand the goal is a mature healthy adult.”

Recipe Beef and Potato Tzimmes In heavy 5-quart pot over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Add beef and brown on all sides.

Remove beef from pan, add remaining oil, if necessary, and saute onion until tender. Return beef to pan; add carrots, garlic salt and 4 cups water to cover ingredients. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour. Add potatoes, sweet potatoes, honey, cinnamon and pepper; stir and return to boil.

Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, 30 minutes, or until potatoes are barely cooked. Add apricots and prunes and simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes, or until beef is tender. Liquid should be slightly thickened. If necessary, dissolve flour in 3 tablespoons water and stir into stew; return to simmer, stirring frequently.

Sprinkle with parsley before serving, if desired. Serves 6.

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2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided 2 pounds beef, cut into 1-1/2-inch chunks 2 cups chopped onion 2 cups carrots, sliced 1-inch thick 2 teaspoons garlic salt 4cups water, plus 3 tablespoons (optional) 2 cups potatoes, cubed 1-inch thick 2 cups sweet potatoes, cubed 1-inch thick 1/3 cup honey 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper 4 ounces dried apricots 4 ounces pitted prunes 2 tablespoons flour (optional) 2 tablespoons chopped parsley (optional)

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