Health TO YOUR
Midvalley Newspapers M
Quarterly September2010 2011
A guide to wellness and healthy living in the Mid-Willamette Valley
STAT Quick reads about health topics in the news
Dieting? Think almonds A recent study suggests that including almonds in the diet could help people manage their weight over the long term. The study was published in the June issue of Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases by Karen JaceldoSiegl of Loma Linda University and her colleagues. A key point is that the study participants who boosted their almond intake “were not counseled to reduce their intake of other foods,” said Jenny Heap, manager of health professional marketing for the Almond Board of California, in an e-mail Tuesday. The Modesto, Calif.-based board urges people to eat an ounce of almonds a day — about 23 nuts. Its marketing efforts have helped boost consumption of a food that used to have a reputation as a fatty indulgence. – McClatchy Tribune
Long-lasting phthalates Counselor Greg Warburton of the ABC House in Albany shows how he uses a teddy bear to teach children a method of stress release that involves tapping pressure points on the body. David Patton | To Your Health
Tapping into healing Technique stimulates pressure points to help manage stress By JENNIFER ROUSE
ABOUT ABC HOUSE
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reg Warburton’s job is to help kids who’ve been through trauma move on with their lives. As a counselor at the ABC House in Albany, a center that works with children who have been abused or neglected, he is constantly helping kids deal with the worst memories they have. And for the past 12 years, through a method called “tapping,” which combines physical tools with traditional talk therapy, he’s found a tool that can help kids “get on with growing up,” as he puts it. The problem with traditional counseling, Warburton has found, is that merely talking about the problems and abuse kids have endured sometimes can make things worse. “When you’re talking about a traumatic event, the thinking part of the brain can shut down,” he said. “Blood flows to the emotional part of the brain then, for self-protection.” Clients often find themselves having a full flight-or-fight response going on physically, even though they’re sitting in the safety of a counseling office. Often, it’s not just when talking about their problems — for many clients, every time something comes up that reminds them of their past, extra energy floods the body and makes it difficult to function. “Tapping is essentially a stress-management tool,” Warburton said. “It’s a dependable way to relax the body and calm the mind when stressed.”
Buttons on the teddy bear show kids where the pressure points are.
certain points — above the eyebrows, on the sides of the eye sockets, on the sides of the hands, and at multiple other locations. Then he shows them how to tap the energy points using their index and middle finger together. “Hard enough that you can hear it, but not so hard that it hurts,” he says. Eventually, he asks patients who are willing to tap on their own pressure points. Warburton said that he’s seen kids use the technique successfully. For child clients who have to testify in a court process about abuse they have suffered, Warburton asks them to picture testifying while tapping on certain stress-relieving points until they can think about it without “getting tied up in knots.” A 10-year-old patient of Warburton’s wrote in a statement Tapping technique about tapping that she uses it Tapping borrows from the when she is sad, or when she has acupuncture field the idea that headaches or stomachaches, and pressure on certain points of the especially when she thinks about body can help release trapped en- the death of her grandfather. ergy. “Ever since I learned it I have Warburton often starts out by felt better about Poppy and I showing children a teddy bear haven’t been crying so much,” with buttons sewn on its body at she wrote. “I’m starting to un-
derstand that Poppy’s gone.” Marleen Arends, another counselor at the ABC House, said that she was initially skeptical about the tapping technique. However, after trying it, she says she saw its benefits. “It works. It really calms you down quickly,” she said. She also noticed that some of the techniques are similar to things many people do naturally for stress relief, without any knowledge of energy flow or pressure points. “A lot of people will often rub their foreheads when they are stressed,” she said. “And when my daughter was little, before I knew about this technique, I used to rub the points just above her eyes to help her go to sleep.”
Energy psychology Warburton said that tapping is a part of the mental health field called energy psychology, which has been around for about 30 years. The tapping tool is also called “Emotional Freedom Techniques.” He describes it as the mental health field meeting the acupuncture system.
The ABC House is a center aimed at providing a safe, respectful, and healing environment for children who are the victims of abuse. Since 1997, children in Linn and Benton counties have come to the ABC House for medical evaluations and investigative interviews, rather than being taken to the police station or the hospital. A staff that includes medical doctors and counselors works with children and their families to help them get through the legal process and assist them in recovery. To help raise money for the center, the ABC House is planning its first half-marathon. The Runaway Pumpkin Half is planned for 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, in Lebanon. For more information or to register for the race, visit www.runawaypumpkinhalf.org. For more information about the ABC House, visit www.abchouse.org. He said that although there have been decades of supportive anecdotal evidence of its effectiveness, as well as some recent formal research into the method, it remains a field that has drawn skepticism from some in the medical community. He credits the leadership of the ABC House for being openminded about a technique that he feels is a powerful tool for kids. For those who may not feel comfortable tapping on their own face and body out in public when they’re feeling stressed (“It’s a little socially awkward,” he admitted), he sometimes teaches patients to massage pressure points instead. “I try to keep it as simple as possible,” he said. The goal of tapping, Warburton said, isn’t to erase memories of painful events. Instead, it’s to train the mind and body to deal with them without panicking. “It’s to clear out that emotional charge,” he said. And without those negative emotions weighing them down, it’s easier for kids to get on with growing up.
Yet another study suggests that phthalates – the chemicals which are found in many plastic toys, household items and personal care products – may be detrimental to children. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last year added phthalates to its list of “chemicals of concern” targeted for possible future regulation. In a study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers measured phthalates in the urine of 319 pregnant women, then followed the children born to these women until age 3. The study found that children whose mothers had the highest levels of phthalates had increased rates of behavior problems and decreased skills related to voluntary movement compared to children whose mothers had the lowest levels. Girls whose mothers had the highest levels were also found to have decreased mental development at age 3 compared to girls whose mothers had the lowest phthalate concentrations. It’s unclear why phthalates may be harmful to children. One theory is that the chemicals interfere with thyroid function, which is known to have a significant effect on all aspects of fetal, infant and child development. – Los Angeles Times
High and healthy? Recent studies indicate that there are definite health benefits to living at altitude. Start with obesity. “We’ve known since the 1920s (that) if you go to really high altitudes you will lose weight,” says Robert Roach, director of the Altitude Research Center in Aurora, Colo., which studies how hypoxia, a lack of oxygen, affects health and performance. “It was one of the major concerns when the British were trying to figure out how to climb Mount Everest, how to get enough calories to survive. There’s been no exception to this finding. Every expedition that’s gone to high altitude, people have lost weight.” In addition, a study published this year in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found that living at higher altitude may have a protective effect on ischemic heart disease. There is a potential downside, though: The risk of skin cancer is higher because ultraviolet intensity is greater at higher elevations. – Chicago Tribune
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To Your Health
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
FIVE QUESTIONS
Healthy living can stave off artery disease Learn more about PAD at seminar tonight at Corvallis hospital
Lunch helps fuel learning BY MARIA L. KIRKPATRICK
from throughout the state into the schools and introduces many children to items they have never had the opportunity to taste. Short said this helps children understand a bit about fresh food and recognize what can be grown locally.
TO YOUR HEALTH
Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day but nutritionists know that for learning minds, lunch is crucial. And so, regardless of whether a lunch is packed from home or purchased at school, it needs to fulfill daily nutrition requirements. In packing lunches, Carol Walsh, a nutritionist at The Corvallis Clinic, suggests parents start with the food groups. “Pick one thing from each group,” she said, “and make sure there is a variety of color. It makes lunch look more appealing.” Protein is an easy group to fill with plant protein, beans or nuts; animal protein, chicken or turkey; or dairy protein, yogurt. Fruits and veggies offer plenty of choices, so why not offer both and add a variety of color. Then whole grains can be found in the bread in a sandwich. “Make a list from each group,” Walsh said. “Then mix and match.” Try to avoid an overreliance on processed foods, which pack less nutrition. Instead, include locally grown produce such as cherry tomatoes, blackberries and blueberries and sliced apples. Include children in the planning and gathering process of lunch making and they can take pride in setting out their meal and tend to eat more from each food group.
Schools step it up Walsh said mid-valley schools are doing much more these days to encourage healthy food selections in their lunch programs. While federal programs are requiring more in the way of nutrition from schools, Albany and Corvallis schools have taken things a step further and incorporated local produce and grains into their lunch menus. “We are proud of what we are doing and how far we have come,” said Sharon Short, nutrition services director for the Greater Albany Public School District. Short wishes parents would come see what the
Ahead of the curve
Provided photo
Members of the CVHS cross country team help harvest melons at the Red Hat Melons farm earlier this summer.
FEEDING YOUNG MINDS Fruits and vegetables make their way from farms into stores and onto family dinner tables, but the Corvallis School District is cutting out the middle man and bringing local produce directly to schools. Four years ago, the school district began working with the Corvallis Environmental Center in the Farm-to-School program to make connections between local growers and the classroom. Lincoln Elementary was the first school to participate. Now, all the district’s schools are included. “The purpose was to increase student access to healthy produce, to increase awareness of eating healthy, local, nutritious food,” said Sara McCune, education coordinator for the Environmental Center. “This is about agriculture and health.” McCune added: “One of the most fulfilling elements is introducing children to foods they haven’t tried.” Volunteers set up monthly testing tables at each elementary and middle school to present simply prepared foods for each student to try. The experience is followed up in the classroom with materials the school lunches offer. She said she walks through the lunch areas and sees that the food the schools are serving is sometimes much better than what children are bringing in their lunch boxes. While an occasional cookie is OK, Short said she sees soda and candy regularly included in lunches packed at home. At school, children are presented with foods from which to make healthy choices. The produce bar offers salad, fruit and vegeta-
center provides for teachers about the nutrition and other fun facts about the products. “It’s pretty fun to see how the kids receive different things,” McCune said. Recently, the Crescent Valley High School cross-country team trekked out to Red Hat Melons to learn how to select and harvest ripe watermelon. The watermelon was loaded into a truck and delivered throughout the Corvallis district for preparation and serving in school lunchrooms. Not only did the students learn about field-ripe melons – it turns out there’s more to determining a melon’s ripeness than just thumping the rind – the program benefits the area by helping local farms thrive. In teaching about growing and the benefits of eating locally produced foods, McCune said, it would be great to see every school grow some of its own produce. But the reality is that space restrictions would limit most of the schools from becoming self-sustaining. McCune’s next task with the program is to identify more farmers willing to help stock school lunchrooms. — Maria L. Kirkpatrick bles. From lentils to jicamas to plantains to turnips, the choices are plentiful. Albany also has been increasing calcium options and working with school nurses to offer foods for those with diabetes and gluten intolerance. “Kids at an early age are learning to make healthy choices,” Short said.“Can you imagine what kinds of eaters these kids will be by the time they get to high school?” Once a month in Albany, the Farm-to-Market event brings farm fresh offerings
Mid-valley schools have been leaps and bounds ahead of state and federal nutrition regulations in their meal offerings for some time now. Over the last four years, Corvallis public schools have been taking it upon themselves to establish relationships with local farms to ensure their lunchrooms offer fresh and local options. Right now, for example, schools are busy stocking their lunch counters with watermelons from Red Hat Melons. Tomatoes aren’t far behind, weather permitting. These schools have salad bars in the lunchroom filled with fruits and vegetables grown around the state. The district has its own bakery and has been making bread and pizza crust with whole grains harvested in Pendleton. So while the state may continue upgrading its nutrition requirements in the next few years, such changes may not have much impact in local schools, because they’re ahead of the curve. “We’ve been connecting the schools with the local farms,” said Sharon Gibson, Corvallis School District food services manager. “It’s not just about the good eating part. It’s about where the food comes from.” Gibson said it’s fun watching the kids understand that their food is grown nearby and she loves to see a child try something new for the first time. “It is important to learn where your food comes from and to support local and sustainable practices,” Gibson said. “I’m proud to be a part of all that.”
NUTRITION QUIZ: FAST FO O D BY SAM MCMANIS
3. If you eat at Taco Bell, which would be the healthiThe Men’s Health magazine- est choice? inspired “Eat This, Not That” a) Steak Gordita Supreme franchise of books is the gift b) Chicken Quesadilla that keeps on giving for people c) Fiesta Taco Salad who like to eat out but not bulk 4. To those who have a up. The 2011 edition was reweakness for the orange cently released. chicken with steamed rice at Here’s a quiz based on the Panda Express — chosen as book. the chain’s worst entree for 1. When you go to Ben & your waistline — how many Jerry’s, the calorie damage calories does it pack on? is going to be considerable. a) 820 To mitigate it, which of these b) 920 three scoops do the authors c) 1,020 recommend? 5. What do the authors say a) Peanut Butter Cup ice is the “most dangerous item cream on the menu” at Chipotle, b) Strawberry Cheesecake weighing in at 610 calories ice cream and 27 grams of fat? c) Coconut Seven Layer Bar a) Crispy Chicken Tacos ice cream b) Fajita Chicken Salad 2. Why do the authors recc) Chips ommend eating Chipotle’s steak burrito bowl rather — Source: “Eat This, Not than the steak salad? That” by David Zinczenko with a) The corn salsa on the Matt Goulding (Rodale Books, salad adds too much starch. $19.95, 337 pages). b) The rice in the burrito bowl is a complex carbohydrate. c) The honey vinaigrette dressing on the salad adds 260 calories. MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
Answers: 1: b (210 calories for cheesecake; 340 for peanut butter; 276 for Coconut); 2: c; 3: a; 4: a; 5: c.
Mark Ylen | Democrat-Herald
Matthew Masnke and Mimi Mills, both 7, select fruits and vegetables from the salad bar at Takena Elementary in Albany last year.
Samartian Heart & Vascular Institute is hosting a free seminar on peripheral artery disease (PAD) today at 6 p.m. in the HP Starker Conference Room at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, 3600 N.W. Samaritan Drive in Corvallis. The session will feature Dr. Dimitri Greschner speaking about the disease. Heart-healthy snacks and beverages will be provided, and the first 25 registrants will receive a complimentary gift. To register, call 541-768-4752. To mark the seminar, To Your Health asked Greschner to answer “Five Questions” about PAD. Here they are: Question: First, what is peripheral artery disease, and why does it seem we’re just starting to hear more about it? Answer: PAD is disease of arteries in the body such as neck (carotid arteries), abdomen (aorta) or most commonly arteries in the legs. These arteries become diseased and can develop cholesterol plaques that can obstruct blood flow. PAD is more discussed nowadays because we are more aware of how much early identification, prevention and treatment can improve outcomes for these
patients; not only for their legs, but for overall health and longevity. Question: What are the risk factors for PAD? Answer: Smoking is the greatest one. Other risk factors include diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, family history, and presence of disease in other vessels, such as heart disease or a prior stroke. Question: Are there common symptoms that should make people at least suspect that they might be suffering from PAD? Answer: Symptoms are most frequently very vague or absent, which is why screening is beneficial. If symptoms do present, it is most often noted as pain in the legs (especially the calf areas) with walking that is relieved with rest. Question: Without giving away the whole seminar, what are some tips to help prevent PAD? Answer: Risk factor modification (see the risk factors in question two). Making the often dreaded “lifestyle changes” to lower your personal risk factors and most importantly, NO SMOKING! Question: What are the treatment options for PAD sufferers? Answer: We will expand on this greatly in the seminar, but treatment methods include: lifestyle modification, medications, and potentially stenting or surgery to restore blood flow to the impacted region.
To Your Health
When it takes injury to heal injury Controversial Graston Technique is popular with professional athletes “In construction, you have to tear down to rebuild.” Dr. Ted Forcum, D.C. BY ROGER PHELPS TO YOUR HEALTH
ombine a percapita crush of amateur athletes in the mid-valley with a trendy sports-medicine healing method and you might expect to hear the technique being discussed at every street corner. But for various reasons, the so-called Graston Technique isn’t yet attracting that kind of popularity – in fact, it’s attracting its share of controversy. The Graston Technique, popular among professional athletes, is a form of healing for repetitive-strain injuries. It belongs to the family of treatments known as myofascial release. With a set of medieval-looking, specially designed metal tools, the technique seeks through infliction of micro-injuries under the skin to break down tissue structures that bar continued healing of a previous injury. Researchers haven’t gotten around to publishing much on the method yet. “The end result we are trying to get to is releasing myofascial scarring and/or myofascial adhesions,” said Dr. Ron Grice, an Albany chiropractic practitioner who has had Graston training and uses a similar instrument-based method. One reason the technique isn’t a household word seems to be money. Practitioners wish they could afford the equipment, but the equipment is slow to pay for itself. “The tools are almost prohibitively expensive — around $3,600,” Grice said. The technique is not for everybody. Grice said that because of potential bruising and bleeding at minute points under the skin, he does not offer the technique to patients who are on a blood-thinning medication or who are hemophiliac. Testimonials suggest the Graston Technique is a career-saver for professional and college athletes. Dozens of U.S. universities offer it to members of their athletic teams. “Graston Technique was used to relieve and eliminate plantar fasciitis caused by excessive backpedaling, planting and sprinting forward while officiating NFL games,” wrote league referee John Parry. “When my symptoms returned after normal therapy, my physical therapist and athletic trainer suggested GT. Without a doubt, the recovery accelerated, the pain diminished within days and the tendons and muscles were allowed to be stretched and strengthened to eliminate recurrences.” But the technique also has firm opponents, who cite the pain and bruising that can
C
BY BARBARA QUINN
Nutrition may not be the first thing you think about as you embark on college life. But hear me out, young men and women. As you feed your body, so you feed your mind. Here are some nutrition equations that may be important to learn. • Count to four. According to national data collected from almost 17,000 Americans, four basic lifestyle behaviors predict who will likely live a longer healthier life. No. 1: Never smoke. No. 2: Eat a healthy diet. No. 3: Get adequate physical activity. No. 4: Drink alcohol moderately (or not at all). Practice these behaviors, say health experts, and you have
Send them to Mike McInally at mike.mcinally@lee.net or 600 S.W. Jefferson Ave., Corvallis, OR 97333.
FOR YOUR PET
Bad breath may be sign of disease BY SUE MANNING
David Patton | Democrat-Herald
Chiropractor Ron Grice uses the the Graston Technique to treat a softball injury for Bethany Keesee recently at his office in Albany.
A stainless steel Graston tool is used in soft tissue therapy to break up scar tissue. occur, and a comparative that are not based in science. “The 6th century Chinese lack of research behind the apparently liked otter feces technique. (as a treatment),” wrote Dr. David Ramey, a veterinarian, Conventional on the website “Sciencevs. alternative Based Medicine.” The opposition is part of a The Graston dispute is a microcosm of the rancor be- broad camp that advocates tween traditional Western what it calls “evidencemedicine and a medley of based medicine.” “(The Graston Technique) less conventional healing seems to violate the ‘pritechniques. Graston testimonials are mum non nocere’ principle sincere, critics say, but no (of the Hippocratic Oath — scientific guarantee causally ‘first, do no harm’),” wrote links the Graston Technique Dr. Harriet Hall, on the “Scito any observed healing. ence-Based Medicine” This is bad, critics say, be- website. “It is unpalatable. cause then what remains are Of course, that wouldn’t medical practitioners mak- matter if the evidence ing “extraordinary claims” showed it was effective.”
Dr. Ted Forcum, team chiropractor for a pair of Portland professional sports franchises, responded: “I don’t see how it could (violate the Hippocratic Oath). In construction, you have to tear down to rebuild. If a person has surgery, you cut the person, and you ‘do harm.’ And many medications have side effects, that ‘do harm.’” Added Grice: “Surgeries are performed by the thousands every day. Doing a little subdermal or inter-muscular bruising is significantly less invasive, and the recovery is much faster.” At Forcum’s Beaverton clinic, members of the Portland Timbers professional soccer team and the Portland Winterhawks professional hockey team line up to receive treatments — “hockey hamstrings,” he said — alongside a wide variety of competitive amateur athletes. “We’ve got the spectrum — running, swimming, fencing and cycling are the biggest,” Forcum said. “Plateaus in healing are more distinct in different individuals — for example, if they’re no longer resting, or it’s a matter of nutrition or personal stress.”
a much lower risk of dying too young from cancer, heart disease or other causes. • Divide your plate by three. That’s the “Plate Method” for a healthy diet: In the cafeteria line or out with your friends (trust me), make half your plate vegetables ... the nonstarchy variety such as salad greens, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli. Fill one-fourth of your plate with protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, soy or other meat substitute. Use the other fourth of your plate for starches such as bread, rice, pasta or pizza crust (whole grains preferred). • Add two or three. That many daily cups of milk, yogurt or other calcium-en-
riched foods fortify young bodies for the rigors of college life with valuable protein, vitamins and minerals. • Add five. That’s how many cups of fruits and vegetables to aim for each day, say experts. What college students actually eat, however, is
“less than ideal,” according to researchers at Oregon State University. They found that college men and women ate less than one serving of fruit or vegetables a day. (They also found that males skip more meals and snack more often than females.)
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“It hurts and it’s very smelly,” said veterinarian LOS ANGELES — Dogs Edgardo Ortiz, Banfield’s have 42 teeth, humans have medical director for New 32, cats have 30 and Mario York and New Jersey. has none. “When the pets are The cat was eating poorly, healthy, owners will kiss hiding in the closet, and had them. With severe tooth red, sore gums when he was trouble, people don’t want diagnosed with a mouth in- to kiss their pets so they fection called stomatitis. don’t get as much love. Three surgeries and That’s reality.” $10,000 later, all his teeth Mario’s symptoms even had been pulled. included a squeaky meow, “Once he started feeling though it returned to norbetter, he again became a mal after his surgery. Still, happy, normal, healthy cat, there are a few things the very loving, affectionate toothless cat can’t do, and playful,” said Mary Roever said: “He has no Roever of Green Bay, Wis., teeth to pick things up who with her husband with. We pile his canned adopted Mario from a shel- food up into a mountain so ter. “His cheek appears ever it’s easier for him to eat.” so slightly sunken in, but She also buys extra-small you really have to look to kibble. see it.” He will ignore furry toys The American Veterinary and go for smooth, clothMedical Association esti- covered ones instead, she mates that by age 2, 80 per- said. “I suspect the furry cent of dogs and 70 percent cloth feels funny on the of cats have some form of gums.” dental disease. Infections Tooth decay can happen have been linked to dia- at any age, but is more betes, heart attacks, likely in older pets and in strokes, kidney disease and smaller toy breeds. “They other life-threatening eat more canned food and problems. more will get Dental disstuck in their “Ask yourself teeth,” Ortiz ease was the most common the question: said. Larger dogs problem found ‘If you did not tend to eat more among the 2.2 dry food, which brush your million dogs scrapes the and 450,000 teeth, and helps teeth daily, cats treated at remove tartar, he what would Banfield Pet said. happen?’ In Hospitals in “Ask yourself 2010, accordthe question: ‘If a few days ing to the you did not group’s “State you would have brush your teeth of Pet Health daily, what significant 2011 Report.” would happen?’ plaque and With 770 hosIn a few days you within a few would have sigpitals in 43 states, Banfield more, increased nificant plaque is the world’s and within a few tartar.” largest general more, increased vet practice. tartar,” StepaDR. KEVIN It can be niuk said. S. STEPANIUK, hard to tell if Owners are PRESIDENT-ELECT your dog or cat advised to take has a toothache OF THE AMERICAN their pets to the VETERINARY but there are vet twice a year DENTAL SOCIETY for warning signs, routine said Dr. Kevin checkups and S. Stepaniuk, president- get their teeth cleaned once elect of the American Veteri- a year. nary Dental Society, and asIn a perfect world, Ortiz sistant clinical professor and said pet owners would veterinary dentist at the brush their dog’s or cat’s University of Minnesota’s teeth twice a day, but twice College of Veterinary Medi- a week will produce amazcine. ing results. Bad breath, loose or disAdd dental chews and a colored teeth, cowering if water additive that helps touched on the jaw or prevent tartar and pets snout, drooling, dropping should stay very kissable, food, bleeding from the Ortiz said. gums, loss of appetite and Stepaniuk warned not to loss of weight are some give pets human toothsigns, Stepaniuk said. paste. “If human toothPets might also paw at paste is swallowed, which their mouth and make ex- pets will do, it is toxic (due aggerated jaw movements to the high levels of fluowhen eating or drinking, ride) as well as a gastrointestinal irritant,” he said. he said. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Equation for a healthy first year of college THE MONTEREY COUNTY HERALD
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
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OREGON/WEST
ALBANY DEMOCRAT-HERALD, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2011
Cooler winds likely to aid fire crews BY JONATHAN J. COOPER ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cooler marine winds from the west provided relief for firefighters Monday as they worked to contain a wildfire on the north side of Mount Hood. Lower temperatures and higher humidity set in Sunday and calmed the blaze, keeping growth of the Dollar Lake Fire lower than expected. It grew a few hundred acres to about 6,200, and officials said it was about 35 percent contained.
Firefighters were working to box in the fire from the north and west fronts to protect Bonneville Power Administration power lines and the Bull Run Watershed, which supplies 900,000 Portland residents with drinking water. The fire was burning three miles from Bull Run and nine miles from the nearest buildings. “We haven’t had any growth on the west, so we’re happy those lines have held,” said Alexis West, a public information officer for
the Dollar Lake Fire. Crews worked to solidify those containment lines Monday. The shifting winds were expected to provide some relief from smoke in the Willamette Valley but prompted officials in Hood River County to issue a health warning. A monitoring station at a school in Parkdale indicated air quality levels were hazardous, according to the county’s Environmental Health Department. Officials advised against any outdoor exertion and said schools
and daycare facilities should hold recess indoors. People with respiratory and heart diseases, the elderly and children should stay inside, officials said. Farther south, crews battling the Shadow Lake Fire near Sisters also were benefiting from cooler temperatures and higher humidity, said Kristen Bowles, a fire spokeswoman. Crews used helicopters and air tankers to cool hot spots west of the blaze so firefighters could move in.
Welcome back, Moe
Muslim convert in Italy following release in Britain
AP Photo/The Bulletin, Ryan Brennecke
M
ary Lee kisses her ball python, Moe, shortly after being reunited with him at The Reptile Zone in Bend. The 3foot snake was discovered in the passenger compartment of a U-Haul truck.
UO sets goal for efficiency in energy use It wants to make its campus bigger without needing more power
for older buildings, and the new buildings will have to meet the highest standard in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, program for judging conservation in conEUGENE (AP) — The struction. University of Oregon has set a “It draws a line in the goal of building out its cam- sand,” said Steve Mital, the pus without expanding en- university’s sustainability coergy use. ordinator. Meeting the goal of no net Although the university increase in the amount of has added a number of enpower for came rg y- e f f i c i e n t pus buildings buildings to its ‘It draws a line and grounds campus and renin the sand.’ ovated others could cost the university as over the past STEVE MITAL much as $10 decade, univermillion in a sity planner decade when it C h r i s t i n e expects more than a million Thompson said a recent additional square feet of con- study showed enough potenstruction, the Eugene Regis- tial in upgrades of older ter-Guard reports. buildings to achieve the enNew campus buildings ergy savings to offset the would have to meet higher added load of future conenergy efficiency require- struction. The new standards won’t ments, at least 35 percent be applied to buildings almore efficient than required under state building codes. ready under construction or in the design phase. That’s significantly more The new policy also has a than the requirement for storm water component that other state-owned build- would help improve the manings, which must be at least agement of runoff from ex20 percent more efficient isting streets and parking lots than required by code. by having development help The cost of new construc- fund measures to filter or tion would include helping slow runoff from existing to pay for efficiency retrofits sources.
They also were working to strengthen and extend containment lines on the north and northwest edges of the fire as winds from the southwest pushed the blaze in that direction. “Firefighters are going to be very heads-up for spot fires across that north line,” Bowles said. Crews expected heavy smoke in the area and advised travelers to be careful when driving on highways 20 and 126. The Shadow Lake Fire was about 25 percent contained.
McLEAN, Va. (AP) — The family of an Oregon man who traveled to England by boat because of his apparent placement on the no-fly list says he has been released from custody by British authorities after being detained upon arrival from a trans-Atlantic cruise. Michael Migliore, a 23year-old Muslim convert and dual citizen of the U.S. and Italy, had been trying unsuccessfully for months to fly to Italy. Migliore says he believes he was placed on the no-fly list because he refused to cooperate with FBI agents after an acquaintance was charged last year in a plot to bomb a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland. The family reported that Migliore was detained Mon-
Associated Press
Michael Migliore in a photo provided by his family. day by British authorities upon his arrival in Southampton. But after eight to 10 hours of questioning, he was released.
Rembrandt heist fuels intrigue BY JOHN ROGERS ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — On the surface it looked like an open-and-shut case: A pair of thieves drop by an art exhibition at the Ritz-Carlton and, while one distracts a curator, the other snatches a valuable, centuries-old Rembrandt drawing and bolts with it. Apparently finding the small pen-and-ink work by the Dutch master too hot to fence, the thieves have second thoughts. They abandon it, undamaged, at a church on the other side of town. Then the real mystery begins. Three weeks after recovering the framed, 11-by-6 inch drawing called “The Judgment,” authorities aren’t sure whether it really is a Rembrandt or if it even belongs to the art dealer that displayed it with other works at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Marina del Rey. “They have to show us something to prove that they own it, and they haven’t been able to do
that,” said Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He said authorities are keeping the alleged Rembrandt under lock and key until the ownership issue is resolved. Officials with the Linearis Institute, which says it owns the work that it values at $250,000, did not respond to phone calls and email messages. However, the institute’s attorney, William Klein, said Linearis purchased “The Judgment,” from a legitimate seller. He said the institute’s officials just don’t want to say who that was. “Things like that really are trade secrets,” Klein told The Associated Press. “We don’t believe we need to reveal trade secrets to get back what is ours.” He acknowledged the institute has no trail of paperwork (called provenance in art-world speak) to prove “The Judgment” really is a Rembrandt. But he added that officials at Linearis believe it is and it
shouldn’t matter what authorities think. Art appraisers and other experts have said they cannot find “The Judgment” listed in any catalog or database chronicling the works of Rembrandt, who created hundreds of paintings, drawings and etchings before his death in 1669. The Sheriff’s Department is continuing to investigate the theft, although Whitmore said Linearis officials have told authorities they are not interested in having the people who snatched the drawing prosecuted. “Which I find curious,” he said. Klein said Linearis is most interested at this point in getting its drawing back, although he added that if investigators happen to catch the thieves, “We’d like the
Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s office to do anything they need to do that’s in the interests of justice.” Meanwhile, he said he’s hoping to work out a compromise that will allow the drawing’s return. If he can’t he says he’ll take the Sheriff’s Department to court. Even in the art world, where questions about who owns what and how they got it arise frequently, the Rembrandt mystery has evoked curiosity. It’s not as unusual as one might think for a low-level thief to drop in on an exhibition and grab something, said Anthony Amore, who is head of security for the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and co-author of the book “Stealing Rembrandts.”