Wintering Over - Oregon Living History Program at Fort Clatsop January 14-15

Lewis and Clark National Historical Park presents a free special living history program during the Saturday and Sunday of Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. On Saturday, January 14, and Sunday, January 15, the Fort Clatsop replica will come alive from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition during the park's 11th annual presentation of "Wintering Over: snugly fixed in their huts."

During this two day Wintering Over event, visitors are encouraged to converse with expedition members (portrayed by first-person character interpreters) camped at their Fort Clatsop winter headquarters in 1806. Explore what it is like for these Corps members as they survive off of elk and the good graces of their Clatsop and Chinook neighbors, while preparing to return to the United States. Discover who these people were, where they came from and what their journey has been like so far. Come explore the people behind the story!

Visitors will start with an orientation that will introduce the story of the Corps of Discovery and prepare them to participate in the 'Wintering Over' program. First-Person living history interpretation is an experiential program with no script. This allows for a real experience (not a staged event); visitors direct their own discoveries. The Pacific Northwest Living Historians partner with the park to provide this program.


In addition to this event at the fort, there are movies in the visitor center theater. 'A Clatsop Winter Story',a 22-minute movie about the 1805-06 winter from a Clatsop Indian perspective, will be offered each hour. Also, 'Lewis and Clark: Confluence of Time and Courage',a 34-minute movie about the entire voyage, will be available.

A unit of the National Park Service, Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, Fort Clatsop is located southwest of Astoria, Oregon, three miles east of U.S. Highway 101. The park, including the visitor center, fort, trails, and the parking lots, is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. Lewis and Clark NHP also maintains the Salt Works site in Seaside. Come and visit these sites during the time of year the expedition stayed on the coast. Admission to the park, and all National Parks, is free for this holiday weekend. For further information, call the park at 503-861-2471 ext. 214 or visit the park's website at www.nps.gov/lewi.

MAKING A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION THAT STICKS

from Stephen Blakesley - Clatsop County Health Promotion Specialist

I read this morning on breaking MTV news that the rapper “50 Cent” publically declared that one of his New Year’s resolutions was to quit smoking – “... it's a very dirty, filthy habit," he said. "But not [only] is it my New Year's resolution to quit, but it's also my New Year's resolution to get my friends to quit as well."

I’m sure it’s no surprise to any of us that quitting smoking makes it onto the lists of the top ten most popular New Year’s resolutions year after year. And it should. The hard-to-break addiction remains the number one thing a person can do to improve his or her health. Also no strangers to those top ten lists are: losing weight, eating better, and exercise. These too are excellent ideas because poor choice of diet mixed with physical inactivity is the number two killer behind tobacco in America, Oregon, and not surprisingly in Clatsop County.

So if we are, in fact, focusing on the right lifestyle choices to change, why aren’t those changes sticking? When resolutions are too big or to broad we can easily get discouraged and give up on them, often before we ever even get started. So here’s what we can do to make them stick:

Motivation – Your motivation must come from within you, this must be something YOU want to do.

Start small – Instead of “eating better” start by adding a serving of fresh vegetables three days a week

Map out your steps – If losing weight is your thing, plan the steps it will take to lose the 30 pounds, don’t just focus on the thirty pounds. You have to have a plan to get there.

Change your habits – If quitting smoking is your goal and you have a cigarette every morning when you rise, change it to a glass of water, or brushing your teeth. Be prepared that it takes repeating something 200-300 times to make it a habit, so be intentional about it and stick with it.

Seek a supportive environment – My wife’s got me doing push-ups again. My straining helps her stay motivated with her own exercises…and gets me off the couch. Fifty Cent understands this. He’s going to change his environment by getting his friends to quit with him.

Announce your resolution publically – Fifty Cent’s fans will now help hold him accountable. We all want to do what we say we will do. Tell the world, make it public, you’ll be more likely to stick it out and do it!

Get help- We don’t have to do this alone. There are organizations and classes can help us.

In Clatsop County, tobacco users can turn to the Oregon Tobacco Quit Line

The Oregon Tobacco Quit Line is a free program offered over the phone and on the Web that helps Oregonians quit tobacco by offering confidential, evidence-based coaching. Contact the Quit Line at 1-800-QUIT-NOW (800-784-8669); 1-877-2NO-FUME (877-266-3863, Spanish version); or www.quitnow.net/oregon/. Callers may also be eligible for free nicotine replacement therapy, such as patches or gum.

If you want to learn more about taking charge of your health, setting goals, and making changes that address chronic conditions like heart disease, asthma, arthritis, diabetes, and other chronic health concerns, then “Living Well with Chronic Conditions” might be for you. This is a free six-week class that will get you moving towards a healthier you. To sign up call the Columbia Memorial Education Department at (503) 338-7564.

DOWNED TREE CAUSES WRECK ON HIGHWAY 6 NEAR GALES CREEK

Shortly after 9:30 pm on Wednesday December 28th, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue (FGF&R) was dispatched to a reported incident of a tree and electrical wires down across Highway 6 at Milepost 42. While responding to the incident additional information was received that two vehicles had struck the tree. Crews arrived shortly thereafter and found a tree had fallen across the entire highway and energized electrical wires were on the ground. Firefighters found that one vehicle, with three occupants, had hit the tree and launched into the air approximately 7 feet and rested 75 feet away. A second vehicle also hit the tree and branches but was able to stop in a safely manner, where it had stopped was on top of live power lines. Due to this dangerous situation, the driver had to stay in the vehicle and a safety zone was established until PGE arrived on scene.


Approximately an hour after the incident originated, PGE crews deemed the scene to be safe and the driver was allowed to exit the vehicle. Firefighters assessed all occupants of both vehicles and no injuries were reported. Firefighters cleared the scene around 11:30pm and at that time ODOT crews were working on clearing the highway with an estimated time of 1-2 hours until it would re-open. Through the duration of the incident, crews experiences gusts of wind around 20-30 MPH. It is assumed the tree had fallen due to high winds that the area has experienced with the weather system passing through.


Forest Grove Fire & Rescue wants to remind drivers to use added precaution when you encounter adverse weather conditions. Debris can be blown into travel lanes and during dark conditions might not be seen on rural roads.


FGF&R was assisted on scene by Washington County Sheriffs Office, Oregon State Police, Oregon Department of Transportation and Portland General Electric.

SEASIDE TO TEST TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM

The City of Seaside will be testing its Tsunami Warning System on Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 beginning at 11:00 a.m. This test will be to monitor and assess the notification system and will not be used as a public information trial alert. The warning will begin with three beeps and consist of a voice message stating, "This is a test. This is a test of the emergency warning system. This is only a test." The message will be broadcast in English and Spanish.

Free Statewide Community Health Screenings i

Oregon Lions Club are working with the Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation (OLSHF) to combat preventative blindness & deafness in the community through free health screenings. The Oregon Lions Mobile Health Screening Program (MHSP) will provide free health screenings to the public in the following areas: visual acuity, hearing, blood pressure, diabetes (with a 3 hour fast) and glaucoma (see schedule below).
MHSP is the only free screening program of its kind in Oregon. It will serve over 30,000 Oregonians this year - 84% of them children - at over 300 events in nearly every county in the state.
Many community lacking primary care are unaware they have health conditions that threaten their sight, jobs, quality of life and potentially their lives. The MHSP has and will continue positively impact lives through the early detection that we provide.
The Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation, founded in 1959, serves as the non-profit arm of the Lions Clubs of Oregon. The Mission of the Foundation is "to screen, treat, save, and restore sight and hearing, in partnership with Lions Clubs, in order to prevent blindness and deafness for those in need." MHSP is one of numerous programs that the OLSHF operates to deliver humanitarian service; others include the Lions Patient Care Program, and the Lions Eyeglass Recycling Program. For additional information, please visit our website at www.olshf.org

January 24th:
Klatsop Homeless Connect
Seaside Convention Center
Times TBD

FIRST DAY HIKES DEBUT WITH FREE PARKING AT PARTICIPATING PARKS IN OREGON

Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) joins America's State Parks in sponsoring First Day Hikes in seven Oregon State Parks on New Year's Day. Park rangers or volunteers will lead most of the hikes. Day-use parking fees are waived for all visitors at participating parks Jan. 1 only.

"We are excited to participate in First Day Hikes as part of this national effort to get people outdoors and into their parks. They're a great way to start off the new year," said OPRD Director Tim Wood. "This is the first time day hikes are offered in all 50 states on January 1, and Oregonians can join a nationwide event."

First Day Hikes help families enjoy state parks close to their homes and encourage a healthy lifestyle. The purpose of America's State Parks is to promote and advance the state park systems of America, for the contribution they make to the nation's environment, heritage, health and economy.

Regence Revises Small Business Rate Hike Public Hearing Set for January 5th in Salem

Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon has filed for a 4.5% average premium increase, impacting 47,806 Oregonian with small-employer-sponsored coverage, effective April 2012.

According to the insurer, the proposal represents a 2.2% decrease from the previously-approved rate increase, due to lower-than-expected medical utilization.

Regence appears to have lost over 11% enrollment in its small business plans since the insurer’s last filing in March of 2011, when it reported enrollment of 54,299.

According to the filing, some employers could see rates increase as much as 8.5% while others could see a decrease of as much as 6.6%. The exact impact depends on the ages of employees, geographic location, and other factors.

January 5th, from 2:00-3:30pm the Oregon Insurance Division willhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif hold a public hearing on this pending rate increase. More information on the hearing is available on the Division’s website.

OSPIRG Foundation’s Health Insurance Rate Watch project will analyze the ODS Health Plan proposed rate increase, submit an comment to the Insurance Division and post it on the OSPIRG website.

Read the Regence rate hike proposal and post a comment of your own. The deadline for public comments is January 7, 2012.