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Letters
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- Written by: Hiroshi Inomata
Dear Californians,
One year ago on March 11, 2011, Japan was struck by one of the most powerful earthquakes in modern history. The earthquake and accompany tsunami claimed thousands of lives and, coupled with the nuclear accident, presented one of the gravest challenges Japan has ever faced.
Yet in the darkest hour, Californians from communities large and small, global and local, offered us unbounded compassion, comfort and hope. Please accept our deepest appreciation for every condolence, show of support and demonstration of our common humanity.
Japan's reconstruction has advanced greatly with your help and friendship, but there is still much to do in the days ahead. Our country is dedicated to working with you to share lessons from the earthquake, build disaster-resistant societies, ensure nuclear safety, and promote human security and economic stability.
We will continue to keep you updated on Japan's recovery and development. Thank you once again for everything you have done for us.
Hiroshi Inomata is consul general of Japan. He is based in San Francisco, Calif.
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- Written by: Dr. Karen Tait
We often hear of remarkable acts of heroism in the news, but there is another kind of hero who quietly steps up to the plate and goes the extra mile with relative anonymity.
This was the case in a recent event in which a child experienced a serious infection that required rapid public health response to protect contacts.
Lake County’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness program develops plans for situations like this – especially when it is necessary to deliver medical “countermeasures” like vaccines or antibiotics to a large segment of the community.
In this case, the need to deliver “medical countermeasures,” i.e., antibiotics to reduce the risk of getting sick from the infection, involved just over 70 people (both children and adults) who were contacts to the ill child – not enough to call a major emergency, but definitely a stress on the system.
Dr. Luis Diaz, a pediatrician at Clearlake Family Health Center, along with his staff, recognized the need to work with the Lake County’s Public Health Division, Lake County Office of Education, and the local school district to take care of approximately 50 children who were judged to be at risk.
With calmness and professionalism, they coordinated with public health to identify the best treatment option, coordinated appointments, and worked into the evening to quickly evaluate and treat the majority of the contacts.
Similarly, Lake Pharmacy worked quickly to acquire sufficient antibiotics and prepare the pediatric suspensions needed. At the other end of the Lake, North Lake Pharmacy coordinated closely to quickly dispense treatment for the exposed adults.
Lake County Office of Education worked with all of the health providers to facilitate the process.
Individually, other health providers in the community provided the necessary care for other involved individuals who sought care through their own physicians.
As public health officer for Lake County, I would like to recognize these unsung heroes whose efforts were responsible for a successful intervention to protect the health of our community. They expected no praise or reward, yet without their help, we would not have completed this effort with the efficiency we needed.
No doubt, there are numerous other examples of understated excellence in our health care community. This is one event that stood out for me, not only because of its great benefit in this particular incident, but also for its broader significance.
This experience demonstrated to me that we have hidden “gems” in our community who will be the ones to step up during disasters or other emergencies to do what needs to be done.
We should be grateful for their presence and let them know that we appreciate efforts, even if they consider their extraordinary acts just “part of the job.”
Dr. Karen Tait is public health officer for Lake County, Calif.
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- Written by: Cherie DeChaine
Riviera Elementary PTO is pleased to announce that our annual dinner and silent auction fundraiser will be on Saturday, April 21, 2012.
The theme this year is “Spring Fiesta.”
This family-fun event will be held at the Riviera Elementary School in Kelseyville, Calif.
Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and admission is free.
Advance dinner tickets are available now for only $6 per adult and $4 per child. Dinner tickets will be available at the door for $7 per adult and $5 per child, so its best to purchase tickets in advance.
Dinner will be catered by Michelle Malm and her staff and will include enchiladas, tamales, taco bar, Spanish rice, refried beans, and a delicious, tropical dessert.
Michelle was recently featured nationally on the “CBS Early Show” for her incredible work in the Kelseyville Unified School District. For a recent expose featuring the strengths of Kelseyville Unified, please google “The Early Show-Lunch Lady makes fresh food.”
The evening will include a silent auction with items donated by the community as well as themed baskets inspired by our teachers, in addition to various raffles.
All money raised will benefit school projects such as classroom supplies, assemblies and playground upgrades.
At this time, we are soliciting donation items for our silent auction.
This is a great opportunity for your business to market services or products to over 150 parents and friends of the Riviera Elementary School.
Contact Cherie DeChaine at Riviera Elementary at 707-277-6050 to inquire about donations or to make reservations. Fiesta attire is encouraged!
Hope to see you there!
Cherie DeChaine is president of the Riviera Elementary PTO.
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- Written by: Phil Smoley
The nature of the Glenn Neasham case presents a problem. There are laws that prohibit any form of discrimination due to race, color, religion … and age. So unless someone is determined by law to not be competent, vendors are forced to do business with everyone, regardless of age.
The reality is that many older people have lost some or much of their faculties, but can still legally make decisions for themselves due to insufficient family intervention or other factors. So in some cases it can be “damned of you do, damned if you don't.”
If Neasham said, “No, you are old and seem to my untrained eye to not be able to make a sound decision,” he could have been held to violating a myriad of anti-discrimination laws.
If a vendor does business with the elderly, and they choose a product that others may deem inappropriate, then the vendor may be accused of taking advantage of the elderly, or abusing them, as with what happened with Neasham.
The Neasham verdict, if it stands, will send a chill out to all businesses who cater to the elderly: Sell to the elderly, go to jail. Don't sell to the elderly, go to jail.
How is your typical business person, untrained in the science of mental degeneration, going to be able to make the right call in every case regarding a persons mental state?
It puts an impossible burden on the vendor to determine whether the elderly client is of sound mind or not, and if they make the wrong call either way, they face losing everything, including their liberty.
With so much risk related to having elderly clients, who in their right mind will still want to work with them? Could this effort to protect the elderly actually do more harm than good?
I was not at the trial, and I got most of my information from the local news, so I am in no position to say if the verdict was right or not. But the papers reported on some disconcerting elements, including possible jury misconduct, the report that the alleged victim's investment made her over $40,000 and the prosecution allegedly withholding an audio recording of the victim taken soon after the incident until nearly the end of the trial.
These reports made me wonder if there was overzealous prosecution. There has to be more clear-cut examples of elder abuse out there that should be dealt with, and the possibility that Neasham was railroaded should be considered by all fair minded people.
Perhaps he is guilty and he is getting what he deserves. But from my limited perspective, this looks more like a travesty of justice and a warning to everyone who treasures a fair and just due process.
Phil Smoley lives in Lakeport, Calif.