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Wayne County Hantavirus Case a “Close Call”
Are Your Pets’ Vaccinations Up-to-Date?
PANGUITCH - A recent case of rabies in Garfield County has spurred public health officials to urge all pet owners to check their pets’ rabies vaccinations records, and to update rabies vaccinations if necessary. Rabies is a fatal disease of the nervous system caused by a virus. It usually results from a bite or contact with an animal with rabies. Rabies has been detected in a bat found in Panguitch. Southwest Utah Public Health Department and the City of Panguitch advise all
pet owners to check the vaccination status of their pets. The frequency of rabies vaccination boosters pets need depends on whether a 1-year or 3-year vaccine is administered. Best Friends Animal Sanctuary has offered to give the rabies vaccination to pets for free if pet owners bring their pets down to Kanab. For more information call 435-435644-2001 extension 4210. For those who cannot travel to Kanab a vaccine clinic will come to Panguitch in the month of August. The date for
this will be determined and released to the Panguitch City office soon. A community effort is needed to protect against rabies. By vaccinating your pets against rabies, you protect them, yourself and your family, because your pet will be less likely to bring rabies into your house. If you find a bat do not touch it. For more information on rabies call Southwest Utah Public Health at 435-676-8800 or visit http://health.utah.gov/ epi/fact_sheets/rabies.html
The Nemo’s Gang—ready to serve you from early morning ‘til late at night.
WGCI Photo
Nights are Brighter with Nemo’s ESCALANTE - Suddenly, Escalante has a “nightlife.” Thanks to the extended hours kept by Nemo’s, the town’s new “burger joint,” a trip down Main Street at 9:30—or holy heck, even 10pm—no longer means your headlights are the only thing brightening the shadows. Pass by Nemo’s and the yellow lights are flashing full bore, and chances are you’ll find a small crowd that will include teenagers (of course), but also baby-boomers and even grandmothers taking in a hamburger or a late ice cream. Nemo’s owners Suzanne Robinson and Joe Catlett say they feel that, “People deserve a place to eat when they want to, and a place with lots of choices.”
To that end, Nemo’s offers “American Fare” that includes burgers, vegetarian wraps, pizza (offering free delivery) and occasional specials including exotic items like alligator. Yes, alligator. At the other end of the day, they will even serve you breakfast. Nemo’s opens at 7am, and has a variety of items including homemade doughnuts and breakfast sandwiches. To keep such long business hours requires a small army, and fortunately for Robinson and Catlett, they have one ready-made with a workforce of their own kids, including Bayley, Chaz, Aislynne, Alex, Cole, Cameron, Rayden, and Sage. In addition,
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Thursday, August 16, 2012 • Issue # 957
the restaurant employs five local, non-family workers. Initially opening May 17, Robinson says the reception Nemo’s has received this summer has been gratifying. “People cheer when you bring out a pizza. One group had been in Coyote Gulch for four days and they carried out our cheese-stuffed, bacon-topped Signature Burger like a trophy. And we like the smiles on kids’ faces when you hand them an ice cream cone.” Catlett says his favorite part about running Nemo’s is being able to live where they used to vacation, in addition to working with their kids and having the opportunity to show them the value of work and being in business. Robinson and Catlett intend to keep the restaurant running year-round, and plan to shake up the menu over the winter to help keep the offerings interesting for the locals. Nemo’s is located at 40 E. Main St. Hours are 7am – 10pm, 7 days a week. Tel. 8264500. Let us know if you have a new business you’d like to see featured in the Insider. Call (435) 836-2622 (Wayne) or (435) 676-2621 (Garfield) or email us at snapshot@live.com.
FISH CREEK COVE – Prior to this summer, Wayne County resident Scott Berry didn’t spend much time thinking about Hantavirus. That changed in early June when Berry’s thirty-three year old son, Dane, contracted Hantavirus while staying at his parents’ home in Fish Creek Cove. For several weeks it was a very scary situation as Dane fought for his life in the intensive care unit at the Salt Lake Regional Medical Center. Dane is extremely fortunate in that he survived and is now doing well. Hantavirus causes a deadly disease of the lungs called Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS). Because the majority of people who contract HPS die from the disease, the family considers themselves very lucky that Dane survived. But it’s the nature of how Berry’s son contracted HPS that has him thinking a lot more about it since this summer’s incident. The Berry’s have had a cabin located on Fish Creek Cove—about seven miles or so south of Torrey— for over 30 years. In 2010 they tore down the old cabin and built a new small home in the same location as the old structure. As Berry says, “The structure is brand new and as tight as anything you can find in Wayne County.” The official literature about Hantavirus largely discusses the risk of getting the disease as a result of cleaning up droppings from deer mice—as one would do in sheds or garages that are not mouse-proof. Deer mice are the only known carrier of the virus, and according to a release this week from the Central Utah Public Health Department, “Activities that can put people at risk are: improperly cleaning up mouse urine, droppings and nests; cleaning a shed or cabin that has been closed for some months; and working in areas
where mice and rats may live (such as barns).” The disease risk comes from breathing air borne rodent urine and droppings that contain Hantavirus. Dane, however, engaged in none of these activities prior to becoming infected with Hantavirus. Dane lives in Ottawa and was visiting his parents from June 8 through June 18, while on vacation with his wife and their nine month old daughter. (Dane spent some years growing up in Wayne County, and attended Wayne Middle School.) During their visit Dane and his wife slept outside on the deck. The best guess that his father, Scott, can surmise is that deer mice had at some time been running along the deck and had urinated on a foam pad or on a pillow where Dane had been sleeping. Dane had already left his parents’ house for the Salt Lake area prior to becoming sick. HPS is known to take about two weeks to incubate, and initial symptoms are characterized as a fever greater than 100.5 degrees F and muscle aches and chills. Dane developed flu-like symptoms and eventually had difficulty breathing, and was admitted to the hospital on June 28. “The surprising thing for us is we’ve spent practically our whole life here recreating outdoors. I’ve traditionally ignored mice as a nuisance, never thinking they are a danger. Now I think that is too casual an attitude,” says Berry. Berry says he’d never even seen deer mice near the house during the day, but as an experiment he put out some bucket traps, and caught five deer mice the very first night. “Turns out they’re all over the place,” he says. Now, Berry is working to reduce deer mouse populations near the house. For example, he is no longer feeding birds because the fallen bird seed attracts lots of rodents. But while he is definitely tak-
ing more precautions about rodent exposure than before, he doesn’t think it makes sense to become overly paranoid about Hantavirus risk. “With so many people sleeping outside it still seems like a pretty rare event,” he says. Indeed it is. There have been just 587 reported Hantavirus cases in the U.S. between 1993 and 2011, with 25 of those cases in Utah. However in May of this year, two Utahns died from Hantavirus, one in Millard County and one in Utah County, the first fatalities in the state from the virus since 2009. The Central Utah Public Health Department says you can a help prevent infection by avoiding contact with any rodents and their droppings, as well as activities that stir up dust around rodent-infested areas. Now that Hantavirus has been identified in Wayne County, they are warning people to be cautious about rodent contact. In situations where it is necessary to clean up rodent urine and droppings, the CUPHD provides the following guidelines: Wear a mask, glasses and rubber or plastic gloves. Spray urine and droppings with disinfectant or a mixture of bleach and water, getting the area very wet, and let it soak for five minutes. Use a paper towel to wipe up urine or droppings and throw the paper towel in the garbage. Mop the area with disinfectant or bleach solution. Wash gloved hands with soap and water or spray a disinfectant or bleach solution on gloves before taking them off. And wash hands with soap and warm water after taking off your gloves. The recommended cleaning solution is a mixture of 1.5 cups of household bleach and 1 gallon of water. A smaller amount can be made with 1 part bleach and 10 parts water. —Insider staff report
Local Fiddler Heads to National Finals TROPIC - Miriam Wagstaff, 12, of Tropic competed on Saturday, August 12 in Richfield against some excellent competitive fiddle players. Miriam took first place to become the new Utah State Junior-Junior fiddle champ. She will represent Utah in the “Jr-Jr Certified Winners” division in June 2013 at the Fiddle Nationals in Weiser, Idaho. In a fiddlers contest, players prepare one or more “sets” for the contest. A set consists of a hoedown, a waltz and a tune of choice, and must be performed in four minutes or less. Fiddlers may have up to three accompanists. This is usually gui- Miriam Wagstaff will head to the Fiddle Nationals. tar, but could be other instruments. If it goes into a second round (or more) the new set may not include any pieces already played. Three judges sit in the orchestra pit and the contestants are identified only by numbers so that the judges don’t recognize the players. Fiddlers are rated in four areas: danceability, old-time style, rhythm, and tone. The winner of each division plays a show piece at the Winner’s Contest that evening where they are awarded a plaque and money. Division winners have their entry paid to the National Fiddle Contest. Miriam has been studying the violin since age 6 when Megan Cottam established her violin studio in Garfield County. She is the daughter of Clay and Rebecca Wagstaff. You can listen to Miriam play Draggin’ the Bow in the Winner’s Concert at this link: http:// youtu.be/8ZY-70rtqhc —Rebecca Wagstaff Wayne Phone: 435-836-2622 Garfield Phone: 435-676-2621 Fax 1-888-370-8546 PO BOX 105, Escalante, Utah 84726 snapshot@live.com
Conscience is what makes a boy tell his mother before his sister does. —Evan Esar
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