Health & Safety

Winter 2007

Town Hall Meeting: Light Brown Apple Moth Aerial Spraying
From Liz Koch

You are encouraged to attend the Town Hall Meeting on Sunday, December 9th, 6-8 pm, at the Santa Cruz City Council Chambers, for information and an update on the on going plan to spray for the Light Brown Apple Moth.

Get your questions answered and make your voice heard.

Safety Tips for Winter Heating
By Tai Stills

Portable heaters have made their way out of the corner and out of the closet to bring back that warm feeling, but they can also be hazardous to your safety. Choose energy efficient heaters, of course!! Most importantly, avoid fires by noting these 11 tips:

1. Keep electric portable heaters plugged in properly, not loosely connected.

2. Use extension cords only if necessary, 12-gauge or 14-gauge minimum.

3. Do not use a heater with frayed or damaged or ‘repaired’ cord.

4. Keep electric heaters away from water and moisture. Be sure your heater is safe for bathroom use, as moisture may affect some parts and proper operation.

5. Never run heater cords under rugs and carpet.

6. Do not place items on top of cords that may cause damage.

7. Clean the dust out of crevices and vents frequently.

8. Don’t put the heater up on a chair or unstable surface from which it might fall.

9. Keep heaters (far) away from babies, children, curtains, bedding, papers & furniture.

10. Never use portable propane heaters inside the home, they’re for outdoors only and are very unsafe inside.

11. Don’t even think about having flammables in the same room with a portable heater!

Fireplaces – When was the last time you checked the rooftop vent? How about cleaning?

1. Now is a good time to call in the chimney sweep if you haven’t recently.

2. In addition to cleaning, he may find some other problems that need a fix to keep you safe.

3. Move flammable items and floor covering away from the fireplace opening.

4. Keep paper and firewood at a minimum indoors, and well away from the opening.

5. Make sure that your roof is blown off of dry debris so that sparks can’t ignite to a blaze.

6. Use dry, seasoned wood that creates little smoke...make sure you have adequate ventilation in the room to protect your lungs.

7. Never, ever burn any type of plastic, soft or hard, indoors or out!  They emit terrible toxins.

Furnaces want a new filter right now! It’s the least you can do!!

For your health, if you haven’t had your heating ducts cleaned in the last couple of years, you should consider having it done. Indoor air pollution caused by circulation of dust and irritants by forced air furnace can really stir up respiratory conditions. Also, spiders and little critters can get into your system over the summer and create airborne hazards if not cleaned out.

Conserve Energy.  Plastic directional vent covers can help you move floor vent heat away from windows and into the room. Cover over vents in unoccupied rooms with a non-flammable cover for the purpose. Use a good thermostat to control the furnace.

And don’t forget- Use caulk and weather-stripping to close up leaks.  Wear something warm!

 Cheers! To your warm and safe winter in San Lorenzo Valley!

Confirmed:  Common Food Additives and Colorings Increase Hyperactive Behavior

The New York Times reported that, in a study released in September, researchers conclusively and scientifically confirmed a link, long been suspected by many parents, that some artificial additives (especially food colorings and the preservative sodium benzoate) increase hyperactivity and decrease attention span in a wide range of children, not just those for whom overactivity has been diagnosed as a learning problem.

http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?ppds=bylL&v1=ELISABETH

Numerous support groups for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have for years recommended removing such ingredients from diets, although experts had continued to debate the evidence. The new carefully controlled research, where groups of children were given identical beverages, with some containing the additives, was financed by Britain’s Food Standards Agency and published online by the British medical journal The Lancet.

It’s time we all read labels and conscientiously avoid giving products with artificial colorings and preservatives to our children, and endeavor to assure that their families, friends and schools do likewise. 

Reminders About Recognizing a Stroke
Submitted by Bobbi Faulk

If someone begins behaving strangely (slurred speech, distracted behavior) you may be dealing with a stroke.  A bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions based on the first three letters of the word, STROKE:

S * Ask the individual to SMILE and then to STICK out her tongue.

T * Ask the person to TALK to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE like, “It is sunny out today.”

R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.  If the smile is distorted, if the tongue is 'crooked' (going to one side or the other), if he or she has trouble speaking clearly or can raise only one arm, those are indications of a stroke. Call 911 immediately.

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