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Club Information
Welcome to the Rotary Club of Homer-Kachemak Bay - Celebrating Over 37 Years Serving Homer and the World
Homer-Kachemak Bay

Four Way Test: True, Fair, Goodwill & Beneficial to All

We meet In Person
Thursdays at 12:00 PM
Best Western Bidarka Inn
575 Sterling Hwy
PO Box 377
Homer, AK 99603
United States of America
Currently meetings are being held both "in person" and by Zoom.
District Site
Venue Map
2021 Rotary Scholarship Applications Due April 15, 2021
Alaska Department of Health & Social Services Weekly Case Update
March 28-April 3, 2021

Alaska Department of Health & Social Services Weekly Case Update
March 28-April 3, 2021

Increasing

Statewide transmission
Rt 1.03

HIGH

Statewide alert status
23.5

Adequate

Hospital capacity

Moderate

Test positivity
3.0%

45.23%
Alaskan 16 years and older vaccinated

Red- quickly increasing, Rt>1.2

Orange- increasing, Rt 1-1.2

Yellow-decreasing, Rt<1

Red- 14-day average case rate per 100,000 people >10

Orange- 5-10

Yellow- <5

Red- <3 weeks until beyond capacity

Orange- 3-6 weeks

Yellow- >6 weeks

Red->5%

Orange- 2-5%

Yellow- <2%

At least one shot Estimated AK population 16 and older of 569,699 from census.gov (American Community Survey 2019)

Brief Status Report

  • Virus transmission increased for the second consecutive week with higher case rates and test positivity. Anchorage, Fairbanks, and the Matanuska-Susitna regions saw a sustained rise in case rates, while Juneau, Kenai Peninsula, Northern Southeast, and Southern Southeast regions had higher rates than last week.
  • Anyone 16 years or older who lives or works in Alaska is eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Alaska was the first state to offer vaccines to everyone over a certain age without prerequisites.
  • More vaccinations lead to fewer COVID-19 infections, illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths. Vaccinations are the key to ending this pandemic.
  • Alaska is currently the fourth most vaccinated state per capita. 48.25% of the State/IHS vaccine allocation so far has been administered.
  • DHSS encourages all Alaskans who are currently eligible for COVID-19 vaccination to make appointments as soon as possible by visiting covidvax.alaska.gov or by calling 1-907-646-3322. The call line is staffed Monday-Friday from 9AM-6:30PM and 9AM-4:30PM on weekends. The call line can also be used to answer general questions about vaccine safety and to request appointments to receive a specific type of vaccine. Alaskans receiving health services through a Tribal Health Organization or the Department of Defense should contact those organizations directly to determine their eligibility.
  • One new case of a COVID variant of concern was detected in Alaska during the past week.

What Alaskans Can Do

  • Every Alaskan who chooses to get vaccinated, wear a mask, stay 6 feet from others, and avoid indoor gatherings helps protect themselves and the health of all Alaskans. These are our best tools to decrease the chance of a new variant entering Alaska and spreading.
  • Fully vaccinated people can visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or socially distancing. They can also visit with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 without wearing masks or socially distancing. Vaccinated people can also refrain from quarantine and testing following a known exposure to someone with COVID-19 so long as the vaccinated person is asymptomatic. We expect that CDC guidelines for people who have been vaccinated will continue to be updated as new evidence becomes available. 
  • To stop COVID-19, including new strains of virus, from coming into Alaska and spreading, testing within 72 hours before returning to Alaska or on arrival and then strict social distancing until the test result is available is recommended. A second test 5-14 days after arrival is also recommended if the traveler is not fully vaccinated. As of Jan 26, 2021, the CDC requires international travelers to show proof of a negative test from within the last 72 hours on arrival back in the US.
  • CDC guidelines recommend regular asymptomatic testing for critical infrastructure workers and other groups at higher risk for COVID-19.
  • Alaskans should get tested immediately at the first sign of any symptoms. Tests work best when obtained promptly after symptoms start. Testing early helps people know if they are positive quickly and helps prompt them to take immediate precautions to minimize the risk of transmitting the virus to others.
  • Most Alaskans get COVID-19 from a friend, family member, or coworker. Many Alaskans who are diagnosed with COVID-19 report that they went to social gatherings, community events, church services, and other social venues while they were contagious but before they knew they had the virus.

Case Trends and Predictions

  • 1,160 cases were reported in Alaskans last week. This was a 6.2% decrease from the week before, however it is the second straight week of rising rates in the Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Matanuska-Susitna Regions.
  • 14-day average daily case rates were similar or higher in most regions of Alaska compared with last week. The Anchorage case rate increased from 22.0 last week to 25.7 this week. This is the highest case rate since mid-January. Fairbanks North Star Borough increased from 13.7 to 16.2 this week. Case rates in Matanuska-Susitna Region continued to rise to 49.2, the highest level this region has seen in 2021.
  • The Northwest Region decreased to from 4.5 to 3.2. The Interior Region except Fairbanks decreased from 40.9 to 30.0.
  • Case rates increased in Kenai Peninsula Borough, from 6.7 to 11.8, Northern Southeast Region from 6.3 to 7.4, Southern Southeast Region from 4.7 to 5.4, and Juneau City from 3.8 to 5.4. Case rates slightly decreased in Northwest Region from 4.5 to 3.2.
  • The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Region daily case rate decreased for a second week to from 26.4 to 25.9.
  • The estimated statewide daily growth rate as of April 5, 2021 is 0.9% and new cases are expected to double every 77.2 days based on current modeling.

< Continued >

    Read more...
    Administration of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine Paused for National Safety Review
     

    DHSS Press Release

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    Media contacts: Clinton Bennett, DHSS, 907-269-4996, clinton.bennett@alaska.gov
    Public inquiries: State COVID-19 Vaccine Helpline, 907-646-3322

    Administration of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine paused for national safety review; mRNA vaccine administration will continue in Alaska and nationally

    April 13, 2021 ANCHORAGE – Out of an abundance of caution, vaccine providers in Alaska have been asked to pause all use of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine (Janssen) immediately, in accordance with a joint announcement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration this morning.

    All upcoming appointments with the J&J vaccine are being canceled in Alaska. This is because CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is reviewing six cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in women aged 18-48 years after vaccination with the J&J vaccine. Symptoms in these patients began 6-13 days following vaccination.

    ACIP will meet tomorrow, April 14, to review the relevant data. Meanwhile, administration of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will continue both in Alaska and nationally. The Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines are considered extremely safe and effective.

    Anyone who was scheduled to receive the J&J vaccine in Alaska this week should be aware that their appointment will be canceled or postponed. If you need help rescheduling your appointment to instead receive one of the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer or Moderna), please call the Alaska Vaccine Helpline at 1-907-646-3322 or toll-free 1-833-4-VAXLINE (1-833-482-9546).

    “We take every vaccine adverse event seriously. This pause is an important part of the process that ensures the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines,” said Dr. Joe McLaughlin, Alaska’s state epidemiologist. “This is how our safety checks work. DHSS is notifying vaccine providers via email and phone calls this morning and is also providing information to all health care providers. Alaskans should also know this appears to be a very rare event, with six cases out of 6.8 million doses of J&J vaccine administered to date.”

    As of April 12, there have been 11,178 Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses administered in Alaska out of 35,500 doses allocated in the state. This vaccine has been delivered to a number of sites in Alaska, including pharmacies, outpatient clinics, federally qualified health centers and local public health authorities.

    The six U.S. cases were flagged in the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), a component of national post-licensure vaccine safety monitoring. None of these six cases occurred in Alaska. Anyone who has received the vaccine who develops severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider or seek medical care.

    Health care providers are asked to report adverse events to VAERS.

    # # #

    Former Soccer Star Leaves It All on the Field to Improve Education in Tanzania
     

    Here’s how joining a Rotary club helped enhance Ashley Holmer’s work

    Ashley Holmer is a member of the Rotary Club of Lewis River (Battle Ground), Washington

    Photo by Fritz Liedtke

    Looking for a meaningful year-abroad experience, Ashley Holmer decided to teach in Tanzania. The former college soccer star coached and taught English in a Maasai community in 2005.

    But Holmer soon became more deeply involved in education in Tanzania. She co-founded the Indigenous Education Foundation of Tanzania (IEFT), which established a school in the village of Orkeeswa in 2008. In 2011, the leaders of Mungere village asked Holmer to help build its first community high school. That was the beginning of the Red Sweater Project, named for the color of the school uniforms. Since then, the Mungere School — and education — has been a central part of Holmer’s life.

    The Red Sweater Project focuses on three main areas: quality education, gender equality, and responsible innovation. In Tanzania, many children — especially girls — leave school around age 12, in part because of costs for uniforms, school supplies, meals, and transportation. To keep students in the classroom, the project makes education affordable by reducing those ancillary costs.

    In 2013, Holmer, who still spends about half her time in Tanzania, was invited to a meeting of the Lewis River Rotary club. She was struck by the way her values meshed with those of Rotary but was unable to join at the time because of attendance requirements. In January 2017, with those requirements having become more flexible, she became a member.

    The club has embraced Holmer’s work and sponsors scholarships for six students each year to attend the Mungere School. “We have students whose parents are illiterate,” Holmer says. “One of my students just finished her teacher training. It’s coming full circle.”

    — NIKKI KALLIO

    Did you know there are Rotary clubs all over the world?

    Find your local Rotary club, and learn more about joining.

    • This story originally appeared in the March 2021 issue of Rotary magazine.


    Anesha  "Duffy" Murnane is Missing!  Please Help Find Her!
    South Peninsula Hospital - Covid-19 Vaccine Update - April 13, 2021 

    South Peninsula Hospital is working closely with the State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services and other state and local agencies in our response to the outbreak of COVID-19.


    To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, you are encouraged to maintain a physical distance from others of at least 6 feet, practice frequent hand washing, clean regularly used surfaces, wear cloth face coverings while in public, stay home when sick, and get tested if you have been exposed or have symptoms.

    Covid-19 Vaccines

    April 13 Update

    WALK-IN COVID-19 VACCINATIONS
    PFIZER VACCINE
    Saturday, April 17th at Homer High School 9:00am-11:00am, no appointment necessary. Second doses will be scheduled for around 21 days after first doses
     
    Make an Appointment 
    For an individual appointment for Pfizer vaccination at the Covid Vaccine and Test Clinic on Bartlett street. Several dates available.

    Note: Pfizer vaccine is authorized only for individuals 16 years of age and older, and Moderna and Janssen vaccines are authorized only for individuals 18 years of age and older. Who is eligible? Anyone living or working in Alaska is eligible. Vaccine Information: Information about COVID-19 vaccines approved by FDA Emergency Use Authorization:

    • mRNA vaccines
      • Pfizer-Biontech -approved for 16 years and up
      • Moderna  – approved for 18 years and up
    • Viral Vector vaccines
      • Janssen (Johnson & Johnson)  – approved for 18 years and up. Note: The FDA has temporarily suspended authorization for the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 Vaccine for review. Read the full Joint CDC and FDA Statement on Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine here.

    Getting your second dose?

    • If you already got your first dose at a mass vaccination event, there is no need to make another appointment. You reserved your appointment when you got your first dose.
    • If you have questions about your second dose appointment, or need to cancel, call 235-0235.
    • Saturday April 17 is the second dose clinic at Homer High School for those who got their first dose on Saturday, March 27.

     Vaccines are not available at Homer Medical Center or South Peninsula Family Care Clinic at this time. Check back here for regular updates. See the map of vaccine locations statewide

    Whoever Saves a Life, Saves the World..

    The Israel-based charity ‘Save A Child’s Heart’ reaches across conventional political boundaries for the welfare of children. Watford Rotarian, David Silverston, a trustee of Save A Child’s Heart UK, describes the amazing work which is taking place.

    By David Silverston
    Published Date: April 7, 2021
     

    Among the many causes which Rotary supports, none illustrates three of our missions better than the charity ‘Save A Child’s Heart’. The health of children, the training of doctors and working towards making the world a more peaceful place, are all fulfilled by this work.

    It is a little-known fact that one child in 100 is born with some form of heart disease. The generic name is Congenital Heart Disease (CHD).

    In developing countries, due to a complete lack of paediatric cardiologists and facilities, children born with CHD are likely to live very short, painful and debilitating lives, rarely making it past their teens.

    Save A Child’s Heart – SACH for short – has a mission to tackle CHD in children from developing countries.

    It does so by bringing the children to hospital in Israel for surgery, and sending medical missions to these countries to train doctors.

    Based at the Edith Wolfson Medical Center in Tel Aviv, SACH has treated children from 62 countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe and South America.

    SACH has also trained over 120 medical professionals in Israel, sent out more than 100 medical missions, where they work with doctors with no cardiology training, and been afforded special consultative status by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

    Rotary first got involved with SACH very early on through Walter Felman from Mill Hill Rotary in North London.

    A Rotarian for more than 40 years, Walter became involved with SACH when it was founded in 1995 by Dr Amram Cohen. In 1999, he involved Rotary by sourcing a grant for medical equipment.
    Since then, through Global Grants, Rotary has donated a number of items of medical equipment to the hospital, which can be easily identified by the acknowledgement plaques on them.

    "It is a little-known fact that one child in 100 is born with some form of heart disease.”

    Items such as a heart lung machine, revitalisation kits, electronic ventilators, dialysis machines, monitors, plus funding of surgeries have all been donated by UK clubs like Mill Hill, Edgware and Stanmore, Wembley and Willesden and Watford, plus clubs from France, Romania and Israel.

    SACH achievements are significant, having carried out more than 5,700 surgeries on children from 62 countries, half of them on children from Gaza and the Palestinian territories, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

    Stepping aside from the political complexities of seriously ill children being treated in Israel, this completed the third element of the charity’s mission, Mending Hearts – Building Bridges.

    If you were to visit the Edith Wolfson Medical Center, you would find an Israeli child in a bed next to a child from Gaza, or the West Bank, from Syria, Iraq, Kenya, Ethiopia or Tanzania.

    Members of the children’s families are there. With interpreters available, they talk to each other, bridges are built, friendships made and the barriers come down.

    "SACH achievements are significant, having carried out more than 5,700 surgeries on children from 62 countries, half of them on children from Gaza and the Palestinian territories, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.”

    After all, they all have the same thing in common; the health of their children.

    Patients are not charged for their treatment and the team of 80 surgeons and clinicians volunteer their time.

    But, there are other costs to cover, such as patients’ transport to Israel, plus pre- and post-operative care, medical missions, medical equipment and training. These costs are met by fund-raising around the world from organisations such as Rotary.

    The training of doctors rates as highly as the actual surgeries carried out on children. By training a doctor so they can return to their country to carry out surgeries, means they become less reliant on charity. In turn, they will train other doctors in paediatric cardiology.

    It’s the old saying: ‘give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime’.

    The medical missions to developing countries help resolve a number of issues. SACH can send a fully-equipped operating theatre, plus surgeons, to a country where they can operate on children who would be considered too ill to travel.

    "Patients are not charged for their treatment and the team of 80 surgeons and clinicians volunteer their time.”

    This allows surgeons to carry out many more surgeries in a short period of time, while also training doctors in situ and thus reducing costs.

    The medical missions also allow the clinicians to check up on children who they have previously operated on, as well as examining children with CHD to put them on a list for future surgeries.

    Any readers with students at university looking to do voluntary work during their gap year?

    The children’s house where the children stay prior and post-surgery is always looking for volunteers. It is an amazing experience which will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

    This year, SACH is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Both Watford and Hemel Hempstead Rotary Clubs are planning to work together to buy medical equipment for the new International Paediatric Cardiac Center.

    Eventually the center will enable SACH to double the surgeries carried out and double the number of overseas doctors trained.


    Contact David Silverston
    davidsilverston@btinternet.com
    or visit: saveachildsheart.com

     
    Rotary's Helping Our Alaskan Communities - Some Recent Highlights
    Dear District 5010 Rotarians:
     
    I want to spread the word about how District 5010 Rotarians are substantively delivering upon our promise to help Alaska's communities, despite the impediment of Covid this year.  Rotary in Alaska is truly Service Above Self.
     
    In this Email, I'd like to highlight a few of District 5010's substantive District-wide projects around the state, service about which virtually every Rotarian in our District has helped in some manner and about which we can all be justly be proud.  There are so many such projects across our District that I know I've missed many.  Email me with your Club's activities so that I can share them with all of our Rotarians! 
     
    This Email discusses some of our current in-state projects.  In a later message, I'll detail some innovative international projects being done by our District Rotarians.
     
    Food Security- Covid 19 has been a severe blow to many Alaskans, putting a higher proportion of Alaskans at risk for hunger, even in a relatively rich state like Alaska. Over the past year, PDG Andre` Layral, in concert with Anchorage Downtown Rotarian Diane Kaplan of the Rasmuson Foundation,  has raised more than $75,000 to help local food banks feed Alaskans.
     
    The Kenai Rotary club under President Scott Seitz organized a peanut butter challenge where clubs around Alaska and a few out-of-state Rotary clubs pitched in to provide pallet loads of highly nutritious, low cost peanut butter to local food banks.
     
    Many other clubs such as Anchorage East, Anchorage Downtown, Anchorage South and Soldotna have long-standing food security projects, including mobile pantries, support for the Children’s Lunchbox program, anonymously-donated Fred Meyer cards, and other food security related projects throughout Alaska. 
     
    Similarly, Fairbanks, Kenai and some other Rotary clubs have announced clothing drives to help economically distressed Alaskans over the winter .
     
    Rotary Cares For Kids is a now-classic district-wide project started by PDG Harry Kieling to assist children who are often left bewildered and clinging a black garbage bag of hastily-gathered clothes and personal care items when OCS is forced to remove them from their home due to abuse or danger. Many clubs currently participate in support Rotary cares for kids and it has been very active this year.  New clubs have signed on to actively participate in the coming year.  
     
    Grassroots Community and Economy Building:  The District and several Rotary clubs are now bringing no-cost rural community and economic development expertise to smaller areas in our state that have been negatively impacted by the slowing of Alaska's economy over the past five years.   Very recent State of Alaska employment statistics show that Alaska has lost 7% of its employment compared to just before Covid and those earlier low employment levels reflected already-diminished employment over the prior four years of recession. 
     
    Supported by a small District Excess Reserves grant, District 5010 is working with the USDA-supported Western Rural Development Consortium headed by our eClub Rotarian Professor Don Albrecht.  The Consortium has developed an award-winning process that helps local communities take charge of their own community and economic destinies, identify and better-use under-utilized local economic resources to build stronger communities and local economies, and  to access the Consortium's extensive rural community and grassroots economic development expertise.  This is particularly pertinent in more rural Alaska communities.
     
    District 5010 has already started that grassroots community-based process in Nenana, Minto, and Haines.  In Kodiak, a very strong Rotary-based working group has formed, involving both Kodiak Rotary Clubs, Kodiak's Chamber of Commerce ( headed by Kodiak Rotarian and Chamber Director Aimee Williams) and Anchorage Rotarians like our past Foundation Chair Woody Angst.   
     
    Through the good offices of another Anchorage Rotarian, we've also been in contact with the Alaskan Native Village Corporation Association about making a presentation about Rotary District 5010 and this District-wide project to the ANVCA conference late this summer and further extending this project to the most heavily impacted rural parts of Alaska.  If you would like to know more, check out our District's YouTube channel at:
     
    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMEyfaxur1Lp48I1ePZsLa9kAgl-gQ-dB  
     
     
    Emergency Safe Water for Alaskans, and beyond:  
     
    Safe water is one of Rotary's traditional areas of focus and such problems are not confined to far-away developing world countries.  Every year in Alaska, emergencies and natural disasters affect community water supplies across our state. 
     
    So far this winter, six villages have lost their water systems due to fire or other disasters.  Of course, the same can occur in our urban areas struck by natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunami, and severe storms.  Some of these Alaska water system losses, such as the recent Tuluksak water facility loss, repeatedly made national news in publications like the New York Times and the Washington Post.  Buying bottled water and flying that water into stricken areas is cost-prohibitive and not sustainable in any event.
     
    DGN-D Mike Pollen and a Delta-area water engineer have a better idea, devising a very cost-effective, highly portable emergency water system that can be promptly taken as needed within Alaska by readily-available helicopters or small cargo planes.  The systems are suitable for Arctic conditions and fit on an 8 foot square aluminum pallet, while producing several thousand gallons of safe water every day.   Two or three such emergency systems that can run for the duration of a disaster would cost less than the amount of money that was recently spent flying a limited amount of bottled water into Tuluksak.    
     
    This is a technology demonstration project - the same design can be reproduced by the State of Alaska, FEMA or Rotary International's WASRAG safe water group and can provide a  highly portable, flexible and cost-effective approach to providing safe water after disasters in many parts of the world.  
     
    District 5010 needs help devising and implementing a hybrid multi-source fundraising effort to fund this safe water project, raising funds from both traditional Rotary sources as well as more recent avenues such as GoFundMe.  Please Email DG Joe Kashi at kashi@alaska.net if you're interesting in helping.
     
     
    New and Interesting on District 5010's Website and YouTube Channel:
     
    1.    A conversation about effective club leadership:    Effective, motivating  leadership depends primarily upon your interpersonal skills.
     
    Join  Past District Governor Harry Kieling,  Bernie Griffard,  and 2020-2021 District Governor Joe Kashi for a conversation between them about how anyone become a more effective Rotary Club leader by developing the  interpersonal skills that help your members feel positively upon their involvement with Rotary,  reach consensus, feel energized,  and WANT to work with you.  Like any organization, Rotary clubs thrive when the club’s leaders develop their leadership skills.  PDG Harry Kieling and  Homer-Kachemak Bay Club Past-President Bernie Griffard have taught those skills for decades to new leaders.   https://youtu.be/1Dd4pCuYd8A 
     
    2.   A frank conversation about PTSD, alcohol abuse, and preventing suicide:  Retired US Marine Jeff Shilanski (ironically, no known relation to our own Floyd Shilanski) came to the brink as a result of 20 years deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan during the global war on terror.  That inevitably takes a total on every person.  Jeff’s lively and intense presentation to the District 5010 eClub looks squarely at that toll and how it nearly cost him his life.  He now helps similarly affected veterans in an innovative manner.  https://youtu.be/Yh14tiXjTgs 
     
    3.   In the next several days, we hope to post Anchorage Downtown Rotary Club's recent program by the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce about why improving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness is good both for the community and for business.
     
    Thank you and best regards to all District 5010 Rotarians
     
    Joe Kashi
    District 5010 Governor 2020-2021
     
    KPBSD SmartStart Plan Update

    *****FOR OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES ONLY*****Update  4/7/2021:

    Masks will be optional for students for outdoor recess. Masks will also be optional for outdoor classroom activities like PE, walking field trips, etc., if 6ft physical distancing can be maintained.

    Staff, volunteers, and visitors are required to wear masks at all times. Handwashing and 6ft physical distancing should continue to be taught and emphasized in all grades.

    Note: If a school is experiencing in-school transmission or high levels of COVID-19 community transmission, this option may be temporarily suspended, and masks will be required at all times.

    Sports, MOA’s and facility usage agreements require individual mitigation plans approved through the KPBSD Planning and Operations Department (find the update: KPBSD SmartStart plan pages 8-9)

      KPBSD COVID web hub: covid19.kpbsd.org  

     
     
    The Quest to End Parkinson's Disease
    A long time ago, (actually a year and three weeks after I was born), President Franklin Delano Roosevelt founded the March of Dimes, on January 9, 1938, with the goal of ending infantile paralysis -- Polio.
     
    Thousands of people mailed cards and letters, each containing a dime, to the White House.
     The theme "March of Dimes" was inspired by screen and radio star Eddie Cantor. Cantor's appeal collected more than $85,000 in what the press called "a silver tide which actually swamped the White House."
     
    "During the past few days bags of mail have been coming, literally by the truckload, to the White House," Roosevelt said during his birthday celebration broadcast on January 30, 1938. "Yesterday between forty and fifty thousand letters came to the mailroom of the White House. Today an even greater number — how many I cannot tell you — for we can only estimate the actual count by counting the mail bags. In all the envelopes are dimes and quarters and even dollar bills — gifts from grown-ups and children — mostly from children who want to help other children get well. … It is glorious to have one's birthday associated with a work like this."
     
    FDR's personal secretary Missy LeHand with 30,000 letters containing ten-cent contributions to the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis that arrived at the White House the morning of January 28, 1938.     Courtesy of Wikipedia.
     
    A "March of Dimes" funded polio research. And we all know the huge contribution that Rotarians made to the effort to End Polio.   Pink ribbons have raised millions for breast cancer.  An Ice Bucket Challenge did the same for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.  We need similar efforts that will translate into tangible progress to end Parkinson's Disease.
     
    Unlike COVID-19 there is no downward trend in the curve of deaths from Parkinson's.  But there are real things that turn the tide.  And we need to start at the top.  And that is the President.   We want to flood  the Whitehouse with Red Letters containing a dime, and these words:

    DEAR MR. PRESIDENT
    IN 1938 FDR AND MILLIONS OF
    AMERICANS LED A MARCH OF DIMES TO
     
    END POLIO.
     
    TODAY PARKINSON'S IS THE WORLD'S
    FASTEST GROWING BRAIN DISEASE,
    AFFECTING 1.2 MILLION AMERICANS.
     
    WE GIVE A DIME ABOUT
    PARKINSON'S AND TOGETHER
    WE CAN END IT.
     
    My Rotary friends, if you are willing to mail a Red Letter to the White House I will get the pre-addressed letter into your hands.  All you have to do is sign it, and perhaps add a personal note, and mail it.
     
    If you can do that, just reply to this email...  "I give a dime".
     
    I thank you,
    Maynard Gross   
     
     
    If you want to know more, or if you want to do more, I suggest starting at this web site:
     
    https://endingpd.org/
     
    Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA)
     
    Vaccine:  A Sign of Hope for Schools

    Three vaccine clinics in the KPBSD, 320+ shots, first dose 2-26-21, and second dose 3-19-21

    “Many staff have asked, ‘When will we be able to be vaccinated?’ It was complete sweetness when I could answer, ‘now.’ It gives light at the end of the tunnel that has taken a year to get through. Covid-19 is so much more than physical illness; it is mental and emotional as well. As a school nurse, the mental and emotional aspect that I have seen and experienced has come from not only students, but their parents and guardians, and from our staff. Working the clinic on Friday was amazing! Each person who came in showed excitement, relief, joy and of course, a few with anxiety, as they took what they feel is the first step to normalcy. A KPBSD teacher and his wife told me, ‘We truly felt that the experience was well-run, instilled confidence, and dripped of professionalism both from the staff and toward the patients.’”

    –Dixie St John, RN, Kenai Middle School Nurse

        Pegge Erkeneff, KPBSD Director of Communications, Community, and Government Relations reflects:    

    “This afternoon, Friday, February 26, 2021, across the Kenai Peninsula, about 320 school staff received their first vaccine, which will be followed up in three weeks by dose two, on March 19, 2021. Two weeks after that, they will be considered fully vaccinated. Three clinics were happening simultaneously in Seward, Soldotna, Homer. After school hours. At the central peninsula clinic, at old Soldotna Prep school, some thoughts from me:

    ♥️ Friday afternoon, sleet turns to snow, school nurses, city of Soldotna staff, office of emergency management friends, the local pharmacist, volunteers, all coordinated, and now welcome people who’ve been showing up for a year to keep teaching our next generation, and schools operating. People who choose to receive their first vaccine dose arrive

    ♥️ to the right of me the parking lot is full on busy with arrivals and departures

    ♥️ inside: kindness, trepidation, relief, reflection

    ♥️ one year ago I could never have imagined this scenario. For me, for many years, this parking lot has been a place of school visits, and stories. Or daily fire briefings at incident command in summer months

    ♥️ I received Pfizer vaccine dose one ten days ago, so today I showed up to be a witness and storyteller, and celebrate a community of effort

    ♥️ I stood here, slung my big camera over my right shoulder (first time in nearly 10 months), unzipped my pocket to iPhone catch this snowy sign 

    … 

    and walked into a place of hope.”

    Central Kenai Peninsula vaccination clinic, old Soldotna Prep School, February 26, 2021

    KPBSD Nursing Supervisor, Iris Nurse, RN, BSN, explains:

    “Because natural immunity cannot be proven past 90 days except in cases of severe disease, herd immunity will only be achievable when enough people get vaccinated. As with pandemics in the past like small pox and polio, vaccination is a key tool in stopping this Covid19 pandemic. The challenge now is getting people vaccinated quickly, before the virus can produce any more new variants that might be resistant.

    Thirty-five of our employees signed up for the vaccination clinic in Seward on Friday. Everyone over age 50 was able to get into a previous clinic.

    In Homer, we had about 87 people register for the February 26, 2021, clinic. Several of our school nurses will be staffing that clinic. I sincerely thank South Peninsula Hospital for their excellent effort to vaccinate people, and offer clinics.

    Homer High School students and alumni support Homer’s Unified Command at the COVID19 mass vaccination event Friday, February 26, 2021, at Homer High School

    In the central peninsula, ten nurses and three other staff will help at the Soldotna Prep clinic. And nurse friends are joining in like Nurse Tami from Public Health, and Nurse Tracy who retired from Soldotna High School, and Nurse Jane from the Allergy clinic. We will have nine vaccinating stations, and City of Soldotna volunteers are assisting in the observation room (everyone needs to stay for a minimum of 15 minutes after their vaccination) helping people to schedule their follow-up appointment in three weeks. On Thursday, we had 197 people signed up for our central peninsula vaccine clinic. Some staff who had signed up were able to receive the vaccination early after 42 doses needed to put in arms by 10:20 in the morning earlier this week. In addition, I have heard nearly 100 staff have had earlier opportunities to be vaccinated.

    With the new variants popping in, it will probably take a higher number of people to be vaccinated in order to achieve herd immunity. And, the longer the virus can spread freely, the more opportunity for mutations that turn into new variants. Vaccination, masks, physical distancing, hygiene, contact tracing. That is what is going to end the pandemic. I feel like our school district is significantly contributing to the effort so from the bottom of my little nursing heart, I thank everyone so much for their willingness and support.”

    February 26, 2021 vaccine clinic

    The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is committed to make it as easy as possible for everyone who wants to receive the vaccine to get it. The KPBSD does not require the vaccine, and is not tracking who has received it, or who has not, unless someone replied to an email last fall indicating that they wanted to receive the vaccine when it became available. The clinics are designed to be offered during times that work well with the schedules for staff and students.

     
     
    Read more...
    When You’ve Been Fully Vaccinated

    How to Protect Yourself and Others

    Updated Mar. 9, 2021

    COVID-19 vaccines are effective at protecting you from getting sick. Based on what we know about COVID-19 vaccines, people who have been fully vaccinated can start to do some things that they had stopped doing because of the pandemic.

    We’re still learning how vaccines will affect the spread of COVID-19. After you’ve been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, you should keep taking precautions in public places like wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces until we know more.

    Have You Been Fully Vaccinated?

    People are considered fully vaccinated:

    • 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, like the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or
    • 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, like Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine

    If it has been less than 2 weeks since your shot, or if you still need to get your second dose, you are NOT fully protected. Keep taking all prevention steps until you are fully vaccinated.

    illustration of people receiving vaccination

    What’s Changed

    If you’ve been fully vaccinated:

    • You can gather indoors with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask.
    • You can gather indoors with unvaccinated people from one other household (for example, visiting with relatives who all live together) without masks, unless any of those people or anyone they live with has an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
    • If you’ve been around someone who has COVID-19, you do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms.
      • However, if you live in a group setting (like a correctional or detention facility or group home) and are around someone who has COVID-19, you should still stay away from others for 14 days and get tested, even if you don’t have symptoms.
    illustration of people eating insideillustration of person visiting family

     

    What Hasn’t Changed

    For now, if you’ve been fully vaccinated:

    • You should still take steps to protect yourself and others in many situations, like wearing a mask, staying at least 6 feet apart from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces. Take these precautions whenever you are:
      • In public
      • Gathering with unvaccinated people from more than one other household
      • Visiting with an unvaccinated person who is at increased risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 or who lives with a person at increased risk
    • You should still avoid medium or large-sized gatherings.
    • You should still delay domestic and international travel. If you do travel, you’ll still need to follow CDC requirements and recommendations.
    • You should still watch out for symptoms of COVID-19, especially if you’ve been around someone who is sick. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should get tested and stay home and away from others.
    • You will still need to follow guidance at your workplace.
    illustration of people enjoying a party inside

     

    What We Know and What We’re Still Learning

    • We know that COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing COVID-19 disease, especially severe illness and death.
      • We’re still learning how effective the vaccines are against variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. Early data show the vaccines may work against some variants but could be less effective against others.
    • We know that other prevention steps help stop the spread of COVID-19, and that these steps are still important, even as vaccines are being distributed.
      • We’re still learning how well COVID-19 vaccines keep people from spreading the disease.
      • Early data show that the vaccines may help keep people from spreading COVID-19, but we are learning more as more people get vaccinated.
    • We’re still learning how long COVID-19 vaccines can protect people.
    • As we know more, CDC will continue to update our recommendations for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

    Until we know more about those questions, everyone — even people who’ve had their vaccines — should continue taking basic prevention steps when recommended.

    illustrations of prevention steps after vaccination

     

    Want to learn more about these recommendations? Read our expanded Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People, and corresponding Science Brief, and recommendations for healthcare providers.

     

    Last Updated Mar. 9, 2021
    Content source: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Division of Viral Diseases
     
    IMPORTANT!  Fire Extinguisher Recall
    This is some very important information, and very timely. Recently one of the subject fire extinguishers discharged itself, and spread a white powder into the owner's house.  The powder MUST be vacuumed up, as it can be quite corrosive, and definitely shortens the life of moving parts as it is also very abrasive.  The extinguishers can self-discharge or not discharge at all!  Please check. Please note that there are several different brand names included in this recall.
     
    Kidde Recalls Fire Extinguishers with Plastic Handles Due to Failure to Discharge and Nozzle Detachment: One Death Reported
     
    ·  https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/styles/thumbnail/public/110%20and%20Excel%20FX%20Identification%20Guide.jpg?4UuTu3RhWgLocT6MZ9J57XE39R76Kr50&itok=l_sHwRUR
    ·  https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/styles/thumbnail/public/Pindicator%20ID%20Guide.jpg?YBUwMb.UZSgcriCoDi0cWeQu4orHym_X&itok=Ayu1icKv
    Name of product:
    Kidde fire extinguishers with plastic handles
    Hazard:
    The fire extinguishers can become clogged or require excessive force to discharge and can fail to activate during a fire emergency. In addition, the nozzle can detach with enough force to pose an impact hazard.
    Remedy:
    Replace
    Recall date:
    November 2, 2017
    Recall number:
    18-022
    Consumer Contact:
    Kidde toll-free at 855-271-0773 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday, or online at www.kidde.com and click on “Product Safety Recall” for more information.
    Recall Details
    In Conjunction With:
    Description:
    This recall involves two styles of Kidde fire extinguishers: plastic handle fire extinguishers and push-button Pindicator fire extinguishers.
    Plastic handle fire extinguishers: The recall involves 134 models of Kidde fire extinguishers manufactured between January 1, 1973 and August 15, 2017, including models that were previously recalled in March 2009 and February 2015. The extinguishers were sold in red, white and silver, and are either ABC- or BC-rated. The model number is printed on the fire extinguisher label. For units produced in 2007 and beyond, the date of manufacture is a 10-digit date code printed on the side of the cylinder, near the bottom.  Digits five through nine represent the day and year of manufacture in DDDYY format. Date codes for recalled models manufactured from January 2, 2012 through August 15, 2017 are 00212 through 22717.  For units produced before 2007, a date code is not printed on the fire extinguisher.
     
    Plastic-handle models produced between January 1, 1973 and October 25, 2015
    2A40BC
    Gillette TPS-1 1A10BC
    Sams SM 340
    6 RAP
    Home 10BC
    Sanford 1A10BC
    6 TAP
    Home 1A10BC
    Sanford 2A40BC
    Ademco 720 1A10BC
    Home 2A40BC
    Sanford TPS-1 1A10BC
    Ademco 722 2A40BC
    Home H-10 10BC
    Sanford TPS-1 2A40BC
    ADT 3A40BC
    Home H-110 1A10BC
    Sears 2RPS   5BC
    All Purpose 2A40BC
    Home H-240 2A-40BC
    Sears 58033 10BC
    Bicentenial RPS-2  10BC
    Honeywell 1A10BC
    Sears 58043 1A10BC
    Bicentenial TPS-2  1A-10BC
    Honeywell TPS-1 1A10BC
    Sears 5805  2A40BC
    Costco 340
    J.L. 2A40BC
    Sears 958034
    FA 340HD
    J.L. TPS-1 2A40BC
    Sears 958044
    FA240HD
    Kadet 2RPS-1   5BC
    Sears 958054
    FC 340Z
    Kidde 10BC
    Sears 958075
    FC Super
    Kidde 1A10BC
    Sears RPS-1 10BC
    FC210R-C8S
    Kidde 2A40BC
    Sears TPS-1  1A10BC
    Fire Away 10BC Spanish
    Kidde 40BC
    Sears TPS-1 2A40BC
    Fire Away 1A10BC Spanish
    Kidde RPS-1 10BC
    Traveler 10BC
    Fire Away 2A40BC Spanish
    Kidde RPS-1 40BC
    Traveler 1A10BC
    Fireaway 10 (F-10)
    Kidde TPS-1 1A10BC
    Traveler 2A40BC
    Fireaway 10BC
    Kidde TPS-1 2A40BC
    Traveler T-10 10BC
    Fireaway 110 (F-110)
    KX 2-1/2 TCZ
    Traveler T-110 1A10BC
    Fireaway 1A10BC
    Mariner 10BC
    Traveler T-240 2A40BC
    Fireaway 240 (F-240)
    Mariner 1A10BC
    Volunteer 1A10BC
    Fireaway 2A40BC
    Mariner 2A40BC
    Volunteer TPS-V 1A10BC
    Force 9 2A40BC
    Mariner M-10  10BC
    XL 2.5 TCZ
    FS 340Z
    Mariner M-110 1A10BC
    XL 2.5 TCZ-3
    Fuller 420  1A10BC
    Mariner M-240 2A40BC
    XL 2.5 TCZ-4
    Fuller Brush 420 1A10BC
    Master Protection 2A40BC
    XL 2.75 RZ
    FX210
    Montgomery Ward 10BC
    XL 2.75 RZ-3
    FX210R
    Montgomery Ward 1A-10BC
    XL 2-3/4 RZ
    FX210W
    Montgomery Ward 8627 1A10BC
    XL 340HD
    FX340GW
    Montgomery Ward 8637  10BC
    XL 4 TXZ
    FX340GW-2
    Quell 10BC
    XL 5 PK
    FX340H
    Quell 1A10BC
    XL 5 TCZ
    FX340SC
    Quell RPS-1 10BC
    XL 5 TCZ-1
    FX340SC-2
    Quell TPS-1 1A10BC
    XL5 MR
    Gillette 1A10BC
    Quell ZRPS  5BC
    XL 6 RZ
     
    Plastic-handle models with date codes between January 2, 2012 and August 15, 2017
    AUTO FX5 II-1
    FC5
    M10G
    FA10G
    FS10
    M10GM
    FA10T
    FS110
    M110G
    FA110G
    FS5
    M110GM
    FA5-1
    FX10K
    M5G
    FA5G
    FX5 II
    M5GM
    FC10
    H110G
    RESSP
    FC110
    H5G
     
     
    Push-button Pindicator fire extinguishers: The recall involves eight models of Kidde Pindicator fire extinguishers manufactured between August 11, 1995 and September 22, 2017. The no-gauge push-button extinguishers were sold in red and white, and with a red or black nozzle. These models were sold primarily for kitchen and personal watercraft applications.
     
    Push Button Pindicator Models manufactured between  August 11, 1995 and September 22, 2017
    KK2
    M5PM
    100D
    AUTO 5FX
    210D
    AUTO 5FX-1
    M5P
    FF 210D-1
     
    Remedy:
    Consumers should immediately contact Kidde to request a free replacement fire extinguisher and for instructions on returning the recalled unit, as it may not work properly in a fire emergency.
     
    Note: This recall includes fire extinguisher models that were previously recalled in March 2009 and February 2015. Kidde branded fire extinguishers included in these previously announced recalls should also be replaced. All affected model numbers are listed in the charts above.
    Recall information for fire extinguishers used in RVs and motor vehicles can be found on NHTSA’s website.
    Incidents/Injuries:
    The firm is aware of a 2014 death involving a car fire following a crash. Emergency responders could not get the recalled Kidde fire extinguishers to work. There have been approximately 391 reports of failed or limited activation or nozzle detachment, including the fatality, approximately 16 injuries, including smoke inhalation and minor burns, and approximately 91 reports of property damage.
    Sold At:
    Menards, Montgomery Ward, Sears, The Home Depot, Walmart and other department, home and hardware stores nationwide, and online at Amazon.com, ShopKidde.com and other online retailers for between $12 and $50 and for about $200 for model XL 5MR. These fire extinguishers were also sold with commercial trucks, recreational vehicles, personal watercraft and boats.
    Importer(s):
    Walter Kidde Portable Equipment Company Inc., of Mebane, N.C.
    Manufactured In:
    United States and Mexico
    Units:
    About 37.8 million (in addition, 2.7 million in Canada and 6,730 in Mexico)
     
    Report an Incident Involving this Product
     
    The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to help ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals -– contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years.
    Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.
     
    To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to www.SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC's Hotline at 800-638-2772 or teletypewriter at 301-595-7054 for the hearing impaired. Consumers can obtain news release and recall information at www.cpsc.gov, on Twitter @USCPSC or by subscribing to CPSC's free e-mail newsletters.
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