Saturday, August 04, 2007

GHUSD and CERT

AED UPDATE

Research on the internet shows units right around $1250... There are already folks that say they would give $400 on the poll ... So, with very little effort we are a third of the way to the goal. But we haven't even begun yet and you saw what Donna Talarski said? 9 people are willing to do what they can and 1 is willing to serve on a committee... Very impressive.

There are 24 positive responses. Assuming that we deduct the 3 willing to donate $100. That would leave $950 for 21 people to come up with.. That works out to about $45 per person. We will get more responses.. That would mean even less to come up with. I keep an eye out for the big donators ... 3 people willing to give $100.. awesome.

Just a reminder, you can see the results of the poll as it is tallied instantly... All you have to do is click on the words "View Stats" in the bottom of the poll box on the left of these articles.

I have a few lines out and am fishing for help in some good places.. Hope they pan out... Will keep everyone updated from time to time.

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NewsGator Online: "'Give me the luxuries of life and I will willingly do without the necessities.'"

In the Hayloft - New York Times

In the Hayloft - New York Times: "In the Hayloft


By VERLYN KLINKENBORG
Published: August 4, 2007

At the moment, I’m sitting in my office watching someone else mow the lawn. He’s just caught the mower blades on some weed-barrier cloth at the edge of the hostas. He’ll probably clip the nearly hidden rocks just down the hill from the paperbark maple. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he got stuck in one of the holes I dug for a tree that never got planted. I never think about these things when I mow the lawn. I miss them instinctively. They’ve somehow grown into my bones like everything else about this place — bedrock surfacing in the middle pasture, monarchs drifting over the milkweed, bumblebees drinking at the edge of the spot we keep wet for the pigs."

National Geographic News Photo Gallery: Photo Gallery: Ancient Rome Reborn in 3-D


National Geographic News Photo Gallery: Photo Gallery: Ancient Rome Reborn in 3-D: "August 3, 2007—In a view fit for the ancient gods, the buildings and monuments of Rome sprawl across the countryside circa A.D. 320, arguably the height of the city's glory as the capital of the Roman Empire.

The scene is part of a recently completed project called Rome Reborn, a detailed digital reconstruction said to be the world's largest computer simulation."

Friday, August 03, 2007

An email from Larry Henson concerning the two salesmen in the park yesterday...


Hi Ron.
On August 2, 2007 there were apparently 2 insurance salesman walking door to door trying to sell insurance around noon. One resident in the Park told them soliciting was not allowed in the park and to get out. The resident called me but I was unable to locate the pair.
Evidently several people saw the two or had contact with them. Also the pair offered at least one resident a business card but it was refused. Someone said they were driving a white car but did not get the make, type or license number. Thought you may be interested to know this.
Thank you.
larry henson, CM/LA-LVHMHC

AARP

AARP - Rootonym
Build your vocabulary skills as you race against the clock to complete the missing word!

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NewsGator Online: "'I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something.'"

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NewsGator Online: "'Youth would be an ideal state if it came a little later in life.'"

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NewsGator Online: "'I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something.'"
You can take the person out of LVH but you can't take LVH out of the person...


Most of us know Donna Talarski she lived here for years and has served as a president of the Social Club. Helped community members less fortunate than she and written articles for the newsletter and on the website. Her love for critters is well known among the community and she volunteers time at the animal shelter and for her human friends she has served on the board at our community hospital... She is also responsible for all the computers that she got GP to donate for our computer lab.

We hope she will write something here about her new life in Florence and retirement. She is not lost to us as with others she is still on our website staff as a reporter at large..

Thank you for everything Donna...
How the Neighborhood Watch Broke Down Yesterday.....

Folks,

Because the following has a lot of Key Stone Kops in it, I hope we can all benefit from it. First, this story is told third hand and so it cannot be accurate but it is not a work of fiction either. It is rather an inaccurate report with a lot of lessons for everyone. The lessons make it valuable.

Marlene Crites called and reported this story to me. The story was told to her by Barbara Parks who witnessed it as we are told. So you see, already it is third hand. Here goes as I recall it....

Yesterday, or probably I should say Once upon a time? Two African American males came into the park driving a white car and began knocking on doors in the vicinity of the Parks' home and were selling insurance. When asked, they produced a temporary license issued by the city that was unreadable. They told folks they were there because they had responded to email that they wanted a salesman to talk to them. This was reported as bogus. They were observed going to 4 homes.. There is more but let's stop here and analyze what has gone on here and what happened and what should have happened.

At the front (main gate) there is a sign that says "No Soliciting". Every resident should be aware of that. A call to the Park Manager should have had him taking the action of confronting the two.

Each of the 4 people that they spoke to knew that they had not made a request for a salesman about insurance. Neighborhood Watch did not receive a heads up until the next day. Why? Here comes another breakdown... The Parks' say they turned their radio on and called on CH 6 and nobody answered. Well, there is 24/7 monitoring most of the time by volunteers (thank you those folks for your selflessness). Why did she not get an answer???? Those who have read the clubhouse door and the clubhouse bulletin board saw posters that were up for more than a month explaining why... Those that read this website have had an explanation and at the top of the web page is the correct channel to tune to. If folks read the newsletter there was an article in there explaining that the correct channel to tune to is channel 6.16 not Ch 6... We won't go into the long litany of why this was done because it has been said over and over. Suffice it to say that those who have a radio with CH 6 only can only listen to Neighborhood Watch transmissions but cannot transmit to CH 6.16..... During an emergency the CERT team will monitor both CH 6 and Ch 6.16 and then you can transmit on ch6 and be heard. In this case a block captain should have been called, the park manager should have been called and maybe the police business phone to report a suspicious circumstance.

If the Block Captain had been called they would have radioed the neighborhood with an announcement and probably all of the above would have happened and in addition maybe a neighborhood watch patrol volunteer would have gone for a look see and got a description of the car and people and a license plate number... Later they would file a report on the Newport Police Website whereupon the police would have entered it into their patrol log. So the system broke due to a failure to communicate.

Later, not during, the Parks' told Larry Henson about the problem but my sense of the report is that the salesman were already gone. Larry took no action and remarked that the Neighborhood Watch system didn't work. He did not do anything according to the Parks'. He was right.. the system did not work.

The system is only as good as its weakest link. Until we all understand how to use the system it will break down. This is a wake up call for all of us. 5 residents had a chance to initiate the system... Nothing happened. We have volunteers that take the security, your security, of the community very seriously. We ask that you honor their diligence and commitment by learning the Neighborhood Watch Radio system. Don't be a weak link. Be strong! You can do it! We are here for you.

Every CERT team member is a FRS radio expert and will help anybody that asks a question... Use their expertise.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Getting certified to use an AED (Automatic Electric Defibrillator)


Our instructor said it was time to learn how to use the Defibrillator. She handed it to me and Bill Furgason and said go ahead. We opened the unit. A placard with pictures showed how to place the 2 large pad electrodes on the (dummy in this case) and then plug them into the machine (AED). There was only one way the plug would fit. Then the placard said to turn the on switch on. We did. From that point on the AED spoke to us telling us what it wanted us to do next. In this case it said to stand back away from the patient while it used a voltage to analyze the patient. After it analyzed the patient it advised to push the shock button and everyone stand clear of the patient. That done it said to remain clear while it analyzed the patient. It said heart rate has been restored. Maintain the patients airway and wait for help or transport the patient.

That's it! It is so simple that in my opinion I don't see how anyone could go wrong at any step.

Thank you Donna for your comment on how easy to use this thing really is... We are going to get one for the clubhouse I just don't know how yet...

Say Donna, remember how GP donated those computers to us? What do you suppose they do with their old AED's?

Health Alert: Childrens toys made in China. USPSC issues NATIONAL recall of Fisher Price toys made in China with excessive lead. - The Emergency Email

Health Alert: Childrens toys made in China. USPSC issues NATIONAL recall of Fisher Price toys made in China with excessive lead. - The Emergency Email & Wireless Network .......... www. EmergencyEmail.ORG ........ NewsEmergency.com: "Health Alert: Childrens toys made in China. USPSC issues NATIONAL recall of Fisher Price toys made in China with excessive lead. "
New Help... New Ideas!

A few weeks ago two volunteers came to me and asked to help in a lot of the facets of the computer work that goes on behind the scenes for the park. They both were adept at using the computer so the task of showing them how we have been doing this stuff for a long time was begun.

It has been a pleasant teaching experience for me and watching them grasp concepts that were hard won by me is completely gratifying. Not only do they learn easily but they have begun removing a lot of the work load that had built up.

They have been learning how to make the programs on their computers do extraordinary things and having a good time doing it. Our classes run about two hours and follows a loose format dictated by their, "How to?", questions. What I mean is things like how to make Posters. How to go behind the scenes and make our web pages do new things ... Yep, they have been learning the ins and outs of writing the code that makes our web pages work. You can't see what they have done but trust me a lot of the web work I was doing is now in their hands and is working fine.

Things like the birthdays and the calendar were becoming neglected but now they are upto date all the time. New articles appear from time to time with fresh points of view. The website is becoming more flavored with these new additions as is the clubhouse bulletin board and they know how to make tickets now... Trust me the community is benefiting from our behind the scenes gurus.. we are... I am lucky to have them on board.

Who?

Ginger Dale and Barb Dudley.
WHO GETS BILLED FOR A 911 AMBULANCE CALL? THE PERSON THAT CALLED?

This was a question posed by Jim Dunlop at yesterday's Neighborhood Watch Block Captain meeting. Frankly, that had never occurred to us but Jim may have a point... After all as a good Samaritan, you call and then get billed if the person you call refuses to pay the bill?

At first blush that just doesn't seem possible but this is an instance where it is best to know the facts and not spout what I think are the facts. So I posed the question to our CERT Advisor, Retired Newport Police Sergeant Dean Sawyer (27 years on the on the force and recently retired) He is now the Emergency Coordinator for the tribe in Siletz... He knows his stuff.

Here is his answer by email....

Ok here is how it goes.

The person calling does not get billed. The person that receives the service gets billed, his insurance first, then what is not paid gets billed to him. If he does not pay then they go to collection agencies.

If they show up and the person is not transported, they have a response bill. The bill goes to insurance first then to the person.

If the person is unconcioous, they transport him to the hospital and bill insurance.

If the person refuses services, they bill a response fee.

Hope that helps

Later, Dean called me and pointed out some other points.. Most everyone up here has Medicare and there is no problem when they get the bill.

In short this is a non-issue. If you need to call 911 for an ambulance DO IT.

NASA - Constellation Program: Orion Crew Vehicle


NASA - Constellation Program: Orion Crew Vehicle: "America will send a new generation of explorers to the moon aboard NASA’s Orion crew exploration vehicle. Making its first flights early in the next decade, Orion is part of the Constellation Program to send human explorers back to the moon, and then onward to Mars and other destinations in the solar system.

A component of the Vision for Space Exploration, Orion’s development is taking place in parallel with missions to complete the International Space Station using the space shuttle before the shuttle is retired in 2010. "

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NewsGator Online: "'I know the answer! The answer lies within the heart of all mankind! The answer is twelve? I think I'm in the wrong building.'"

Mount St. Helens VolcanoCams - Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument

VIEW MOUNT ST. HELENS..........

Neat way to view the Mountain and has many other informtion sites with this.






Mount St. Helens VolcanoCams - Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

From an email from Rod McCready.....


Hi Ron,
Did you see the evening news? An attorney remembered that there was a unit just down the hall when a co-worker clenched his fists and grabbed his chest. He ran and got it and set it up and saved the mans life.....Kudos.....
Upon interview of (Hass), he remarked how easy it was to set it up and use it. If there is no heart problem then the unit won't tell you to "clear" and push the button.
Perhaps if others, here in the park, hear this news item,
we will have more enthusiasm for purchasing the AED.
-----Coach----

NewsGator Online

NewsGator Online: "'I am not sincere, even when I say I am not.'"

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NewsGator Online: "Thomas Jefferson
7/29/2007 6:00:00 PM [rss@quotationspage.com (Quotes of the Day)]

'The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it always to be kept alive.'"

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NewsGator Online: "'Students achieving Oneness will move on to Twoness.'"

Credit Card Buyer Beware - New York Times

Credit Card Buyer Beware - New York Times: "That experience has become all too common as the credit card industry has stealthily adopted methods designed to maximize burdensome penalties and fees, while ratcheting up interest rates as high as 30 percent. Companies bombard unwary consumers with teaser packages that promise very low interest rates to start, while reserving for themselves the right to raise rates whenever they choose. The details are buried in deliberately arcane contracts that run 30 pages long and that even lawyers have trouble understanding."

Hybrids better for the environment than for your wallet - International Herald Tribune

Hybrids better for the environment than for your wallet - International Herald Tribune: "'But,' the magazine concluded, 'for those who are considering buying a hybrid for purely financial reasons the figures just don't add up.'"

Monday, July 30, 2007


The garden Picture on the banner of our site...

Maybe Ginger will tell us about it?

click here

For Charles.....

Sunday, July 29, 2007

extreme funny

In Holland, Housing Goes With The Flow, Flood-Prone Country Builds Homes Designed To Work With Rising Tides, Instead Of Against Them - CBS News

EDITOR: What about using this for New Orleans instead of flood control dikes that will inevitably do the same thing again at some future date?

In Holland, Housing Goes With The Flow, Flood-Prone Country Builds Homes Designed To Work With Rising Tides, Instead Of Against Them - CBS News: "The Dutch, half of whose country lies below sea level, have been fighting off the water for centuries, building their massive sea defenses higher and higher. But, with the prospect of sea levels rising even more, they're taking a new tack.

Instead of worrying that their homes will be swamped by the water, they're building homes designed to float on it — big homes, developers like Mark Van Ommen offer open-plan living areas, rooftop dens leading out onto decks, and bedrooms — like everything else — with water views. "

State Government - StatesmanJournal.com

EXPRESS your opinion in the current poll

Portable Defibulator
We need one at LVH... At least 20 CERT and OSP people were re certified on how to use one last week here in a Red Cross class but we do not have one... What would you be willing to do to get one? Fill out the new poll on the left side of the page...

State Government - StatesmanJournal.com: "'Steve stopped breathing, and we couldn't get a pulse. He was gone,' Hass said. 'At that time, the defibrillator showed up. They are idiot-proof. But if you don't know it, it can be intimidating.'

Hass said he put Kullowatz, who weighs about 300 pounds, onto the floor, where he removed Kullowatz's shirt and put the pads on his bare chest. A mechanical voice said it was analyzing data 'for what seemed like a long time, although 30 seconds is a long time in that situation.'

Hass said he was ready to administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation when the machine said an electrical charge should be administered. Lisa Ackerman, one of the state employees helping him, did so.

'His huge body exploded off the ground, he started coughing, he was breathing, and he came back to life,' Hass said. 'He could not have survived without the defibrillator.'"

State Government - StatesmanJournal.com

State Government - StatesmanJournal.com: "Among the Medicare changes: cancellation of a planned cut in payments to doctors, reductions in payments to private health plans that serve about 20 percent of the nation's 43 million Medicare recipients and expansion of preventive services such as screenings for disease.

Doctors in low-reimbursement states, such as Oregon, also would get a little more money.

That's good news to Dr. Klaus Martin, a family-practice physician in McMinnville and this year's president of the Oregon Medical Association.

Medicare reimbursement rates in Oregon are below the national average, largely because doctors avoid hospitalization and high-cost services. House Democratic leaders have promised to try to fix the formula for reimbursement within two years."

NewsGator Online

NewsGator Online: "'A great many people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices.'"

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NewsGator Online: "History is indeed little more than the register of the crimes, follies and misfortunes of mankind.'"

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NewsGator Online: "'No one really listens to anyone else, and if you try it for a while you'll see why.'"

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NewsGator Online: "
'Humility is the embarrassment you feel when you tell people how wonderful you are.'"

Small Farm Report - New York Times

Small Farm Report - New York Times: "Here is how things stand at midsummer. One of the Tamworth pigs is tame enough to be scratched behind the ears. The other isn’t. Two of the white geese have clubbed together and banished the third white goose from their society. The lame Ancona duck has taken refuge under the old chicken house. We would put her out of her misery, except that her misery is her life. The old Dominique rooster seems to be in a vertiginous state, always leaning and nearly always dozing. During the listless heat of the day, the chickens all lie in the dust beneath the pickup. The horses stand in the hickory shade, incognito in fly-masks, tails flicking."

KTVZ.com Central Oregons News, Weather and Sports Leader - Oregon town prepares to put an officer on a Segway

KTVZ.com Central Oregons News, Weather and Sports Leader - Oregon town prepares to put an officer on a Segway: "ASHLAND, Ore. (AP) - The city of Ashland is ready to become 1 of the few cities in the nation to patrol its downtown with a battery operated two-wheeled personal vehicle called a Segway.

Ashland Police Chief Terry Holderness plans to ask the City Council in August to authorize spending $6,000 to purchase one Segway, geared up specifically for police use with lights and a siren."

Hattiesburg American - www.hattiesburgamerican.com - Hattiesburg, Miss.

Neighborhood Watch in other neighborhoods.....

Hattiesburg American - www.hattiesburgamerican.com - Hattiesburg, Miss.: "'The key word is communication,' Marjorie Cervantes said. 'It's very important to know your neighbors, how many people live in the house and what kind of cars they drive.'

It was that kind of knowledge that led block captain Buddy Klein to think something might be amiss at the home of a couple who was on vacation. Although the strange car that pulled into the drive turned out to be friends who were taking care of the home, the eyes were watching, Klein said.

'I almost decided to call the police, but I saw them taking in the trash and getting the mail,' he said. 'It's just about trying to stay alert to something unusual in the neighborhood.'"