HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015- February Jefferson County
Public Health
Agenda
Minutes
• ezon
Public Health
File Copy
. February 19, 2015
JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH
February 19, 2015
• Jefferson County Public Health
615 Sheridan
Port Townsend, WA
2:30—4:30 PM
DRAFT AGENDA
I. Approval of Agenda
II. Approval of Minutes of January 15,2015
III. Old Business and Informational Items
1. Jefferson County Recycling Update
2. Marijuana Then and Now—Chimicum High School 3/9/15
3. E-cigarettes Follow-up
4. Public Records Request Tracking and Expense Update
5. Board of Health Member Resignation—Election of Vice-Chair
6. Board of Health Correspondence
IV. New Business
• 1. Jefferson County Environmental Health Fee Revisions—Recommended Call for Public Hearing
March 19, 2015
2. Proposed Shellfish Rule Changes for Vibriosis Prevention
3. Measles Outbreak Prevention—National, State, and Regional
4. Influenza Update—Seasonal and Avian
5. Public Health Heroes Subcommittee Report
V. Activity Update
1. 2014 Jefferson County Board of Health Action Items
2. 2015 Meeting Schedule
VI. Public Comments
VII. Agenda Planning Calendar:
VIII. Next Scheduled Meeting: March 19, 2015
2:30—4:30 Jefferson County Public Health
615 Sheridan St.
Port Townsend, WA 98368
s
JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH
• MINUTES
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Jefferson County Public Health, 615 Sheridan Street, Port Townsend WA 98368
Board Members Staff Members
Phil Johnson, County Commissioner District#1 Thomas Locke,MD,MPH Health Officer
David Sullivan, Chair, County Commissioner,District#2 Jean Baldwin,Public Health Services Dir
Kathleen Kler, County Commissioner,District#3 Julia Danskin,Public Health Manager
Sally Aerts, Citizen at large Jared Keefer,Env. Health Services Dir
Kris Nelson, Port Townsend City Council Veronica Shaw,Public Health Deputy Dir
Sheila Westerman, Vice-Chair, Citizen at large
Jill Buhler,Hospital Commissioner,District#2
Chair Sullivan called the January 15, 2015 meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Health to
order at 2:35 p.m. A quorum was present.
Members Present: David Sullivan, Jill Buhler, Sheila Westerman, Phil Johnson, John Austin,
Catharine Robinson, Sally Aerts
Staff Present: Jean Baldwin, Jared Keefer, Julia Danskin
• ELECTION OF 2015 CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR
Member Buhler Nominated Sheila Westerman for the position of Chair of the Board of
Health. Member Johnson seconded the nomination. No further discussion. The
nomination was put to a vote and passed unanimously.
Chair Westerman Nominated Sally Aerts for the position of Vice Chair of the Board of
Health. Member Buhler seconded the nomination. No further discussion. The nomination
was put to vote and passed unanimously.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Suggested amendments to the agenda: Old business: (4) Tobacco at bus stops; New business:
(5) public health heroes; (6) review of permitting of marijuana businesses
Member Kler moved to approve the agenda as amended; the motion was seconded by
Member Johnson. The motion passed unanimously.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Chair Westerman called for review and approval of the minutes of the 12/15/2014 meeting of the
Board of Health.
1110
Ir
r
Member Sullivan moved to approve the minutes as presented; the motion was seconded by
• Member Buhler. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously.
PUBLIC COMMENT
None
OLD BUSINESS AND INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
1. Community Health Improvement Meeting and Plan
The Community Health Improvement meeting, held on January 8th, was well attended by
the BOH. Included in the BOH agenda packet for review, are the goals which the project
group agreed were important short-term outcomes. Four draft fact sheets and action
,plans were reviewed: (1) Access to care, (2) Immunizations, (3)Access to mental health
and substance abuse care, (4)Nutrition, exercise and chronic disease prevention. Groups
will be formed and begin work on these plan areas in the next couple of months.
2. Application for Olympic Accountable Community of Health Planning Grant
A grant has been submitted to the Washington Healthcare Authority. Clallam, Jefferson
and Kitsap are included in the grant funding which will be used to implement the
regionalization and health system reform efforts called for in the State innovation plan.
• The first step in working with the funding is to gather data, and then to develop a plan.
This grant is expected to be funded, but does not cover the full cost of implementation;
however there are partners (such as Jefferson Healthcare) who will likely be able to fill in
the funding gaps.
3. 24-Hour Public Health Answering Service Protocols
Since 2001,the Centers for Disease Control provides money for public health emergency
preparedness. One of the deliverables locally is 24 hour access to public health—a phone
line and a regional answering service. Notification of the availability of this service is on
Jefferson County Public Health's main phone answer line (after hours)which dials
through to the answering service.
4. Tobacco at Bus Stops
The Jefferson County clean indoor air act and ordinance was adopted in 2006. This is a
nine year old ordinance and could be updated to include vaping and e-cigarettes, and to
include bus-stops as an enforcement area. Current ordinance does include transit
facilities, but doesn't specify covered bus-stops. Enforcement might be managed through
transit employees. Enforcement in Jefferson County currently focusses on restaurants
under the ordinance and could be expanded to include bus stops. A first step in managing
the issue might be to post no smoking signs. Staff will look into what other rural counties
are doing to manage this issue.
• NEW BUSINESS
I ;
• 1. Solid Waste Changes in Recycling
Laura Tucker, Jefferson County Solid Waste Education Coordinator, reviewed a
PowerPoint presentation regarding changes in recycling. New plastics will be accepted
for recycling soon. Jefferson County hasn't historically accepted#1, and#3-7 because
they've historically not been recycled responsibly at the end of the recycle stream(ex:
plastics burned in China). Jefferson County Public Works Solid Waste has identified a
responsible recycler, and more plastics will be able to be recycled beginning on March
1St. JCPH manages the outreach and education component of the Jefferson County waste
stream management team.
There are various County and other webpages offering information for recycling issues in
Jefferson County. The departments and agencies are working to consolidate these
information streams.
The Port Townsend School Board has begun drafting a recycling policy for the school
district. Staff has drafted a letter of support for the program, for the Board of Health's.
Member Johnson moved to approve sending a letter of support to the Port
Townsend School Board with the addition of"Please let the Board of Health know if
there's anything the Board can do to help with the process." Member Buhler
seconded the motion; no further discussion; all in favor.
• 2. Second Review of Environmental Health Fee Revisions
Staff continued environmental health fee revision assessment and activities review.
Activities tracked were pre-application discussion/planning, intake, initial inspection,
design review, multiple inspections,permit completion process. Support staff time and
client education time were tracked. A detailed analysis was included in the Board's
agenda packet.
Repair fees: Chair Westerman suggested a base fee plus an hourly charge. A base fee
plus additional hourly charges as justified incentivizes effective and cooperative permit
processing. Staff will develop recommended changes and bring to the board's next
regular meeting.
3. 2014-15 Influenza Season Update
Tabled due to time constraint.
4. 2015 Legislative Session Preview
Tabled due to time constraint.
5. Public Health Heroes
Staff called for volunteers to help screen nominations and applications for Public Health
Heroes. Sheila Westerman and Sally Aerts volunteered to work on this.
•
•
6. Review of 502 Businesses Permitting Issues
• Tabled due to time constraint.
ACTIVITY UPDATE
None.
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
AGENDA PLANNING CALENDAR
None.
NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING
The next Board of Health meeting will be held on Thursday, February 19, 2015 from 2:30—4:30
p.m. at Jefferson County Public Health, 615 Sheridan Street, Port Townsend, WA.
ADJOURNMENT
Chair Westerman adjourned the January 15, 2015 Jefferson County Board of Health
meeting at 4:33 p.m.
•
JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH
Phil Johnson, Member Jill Buhler, Member
Sally Aerts, Member David Sullivan, Chair
Kris Nelson, Member John Austin, Member
Sheila Westerman, Vice Chair
Respectfully Submitted:
Cara Leckenby
41111
JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH
•
MINUTES
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Jefferson County Public Health, 615 Sheridan Street, Port Townsend WA 98368
Board Members Staff Members
Phil Johnson, County Commissioner District#1 Thomas Locke,MD,MPH Health Officer
David Sullivan, Chair, County Commissioner,District#2 Jean Baldwin,Public Health Services Dir
Kathleen Kler, County Commissioner,District#3 Julia Danskin,Public Health Manager
Sally Aerts, Citizen at large Jared Keefer,Env. Health Services Dir
Kris Nelson,Port Townsend City Council Veronica Shaw,Public Health Deputy Dir
Sheila Westerman, Vice-Chair, Citizen at large
Jill Buhler,Hospital Commissioner,District#2
Chair Sullivan called the January 15, 2015 meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Health to
order at 2:35 p.m. A quorum was present.
Members Present: David Sullivan, Jill Buhler, Sheila Westerman, Phil Johnson, John Austin,
Catharine Robinson, Sally Aerts
Staff Present: Jean Baldwin, Jared Keefer, Julia Danskin
• ELECTION OF 2015 CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR
Member Buhler Nominated Sheila Westerman for the position of Chair of the Board of
Health. Member Johnson seconded the nomination. No further discussion. The
nomination was put to a vote and passed unanimously.
Chair Westerman Nominated Sally Aerts for the position of Vice Chair of the Board of
Health. Member Buhler seconded the nomination. No further discussion. The nomination
was put to vote and passed unanimously.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Suggested amendments to the agenda: Old business: (4) Tobacco at bus stops; New business:
(5) public health heroes; (6)review of permitting of marijuana businesses
Member Kler moved to approve the agenda as amended; the motion was seconded by
Member Johnson. The motion passed unanimously.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Chair Westerman called for review and approval of the minutes of the 12/15/2014 meeting of the
Board of Health.
• Member Sullivan moved to approve the minutes as presented; the motion was seconded by
Member Buhler. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously.
PUBLIC COMMENT
None
OLD BUSINESS AND INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
1. Community Health Improvement Meeting and Plan
The Community Health Improvement meeting, held on January 8th, was well attended by
the BOH. Included in the BOH agenda packet for review, are the goals which the project
group agreed were important short-term outcomes. Four draft fact sheets and action
,plans were reviewed: (1) Access to care, (2) Immunizations, (3)Access to mental health
and substance abuse care, (4)Nutrition, exercise and chronic disease prevention. Groups
will be formed and begin work on these plan areas in the next couple of months.
2. Application for Olympic Accountable Community of Health Planning Grant
A grant has been submitted to the Washington Healthcare Authority. Clallam, Jefferson
and Kitsap are included in the grant funding which will be used to implement the
regionalization and health system reform efforts called for in the State innovation plan.
• The first step in working with the funding is to gather data, and then to develop a plan.
This grant is expected to be funded, but does not cover the full cost of implementation;
however there are partners (such as Jefferson Healthcare) who will likely be able to fill in
the funding gaps.
3. 24-Hour Public Health Answering Service Protocols
Since 2001, the Centers for Disease Control provides money for public health emergency
preparedness. One of the deliverables locally is 24 hour access to public health—a phone
line and a regional answering service. Notification of the availability of this service is on
Jefferson County Public Health's main phone answer line (after hours) which dials
through to the answering service.
4. Tobacco at Bus Stops
The Jefferson County clean indoor air act and ordinance was adopted in 2006. This is a
nine year old ordinance and could be updated to include vaping and e-cigarettes, and to
include bus-stops as an enforcement area. Current ordinance does include transit
facilities, but doesn't specify covered bus-stops. Enforcement might be managed through
transit employees. Enforcement in Jefferson County currently focusses on restaurants
under the ordinance and could be expanded to include bus stops. A first step in managing
the issue might be to post no smoking signs. Staff will look into what other rural counties
are doing to manage this issue.
111 NEW BUSINESS
• 1. Solid Waste Changes in Recycling
Laura Tucker, Jefferson County Solid Waste Education Coordinator, reviewed a
PowerPoint presentation regarding changes in recycling. New plastics will be accepted
for recycling soon. Jefferson County hasn't historically accepted#1, and#3-7 because
they've historically not been recycled responsibly at the end of the recycle stream (ex:
plastics burned in China). Jefferson County Public Works Solid Waste has identified a
responsible recycler, and more plastics will be able to be recycled beginning on March
1st. JCPH manages the outreach and education component of the Jefferson County waste
stream management team.
There are various County and other webpages offering information for recycling issues in
Jefferson County. The departments and agencies are working to consolidate these
information streams.
The Port Townsend School Board has begun drafting a recycling policy for the school
district. Staff has drafted a letter of support for the program, for the Board of Health's.
Member Johnson moved to approve sending a letter of support to the Port
Townsend School Board with the addition of"Please let the Board of Health know if
there's anything the Board can do to help with the process." Member Buhler
seconded the motion; no further discussion; all in favor.
• 2. Second Review of Environmental Health Fee Revisions
Staff continued environmental health fee revision assessment and activities review.
Activities tracked were pre-application discussion/planning, intake, initial inspection,
design review, multiple inspections, permit completion process. Support staff time and
client education time were tracked. A detailed analysis was included in the Board's
agenda packet.
Repair fees: Chair Westerman suggested a base fee plus an hourly charge. A base fee
plus additional hourly charges as justified incentivizes effective and cooperative permit
processing. Staff will develop recommended changes and bring to the board's next
regular meeting.
3. 2014-15 Influenza Season Update
Tabled due to time constraint.
4. 2015 Legislative Session Preview
Tabled due to time constraint.
5. Public Health Heroes
Staff called for volunteers to help screen nominations and applications for Public Health
Heroes. Sheila Westerman and Sally Aerts volunteered to work on this.
•
6. Review of 502 Businesses Permitting Issues
Tabled due to time constraint.
A ACTIVITY C UPDATE
None.
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
AGENDA PLANNING CALENDAR
None.
NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING
The next Board of Health meeting will be held on Thursday, February 19, 2015 from 2:30—4:30
p.m. at Jefferson County Public Health, 615 Sheridan Street, Port Townsend, WA.
ADJOURNMENT
Chair Westerman adjourned the January 15, 2015 Jefferson County Board of Health
meeting at 4:33 p.m.
•
JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH
Phil Johnson, Member ill Buhler, ember
1 /
Sally Aerts, Member David Sullivan, Chair
46-,(ItL2/2, vL 7<&
Kris Nelson, Member Jel+n-A-144364t, Member
IerSh ---- Ka -h Ieery Kier-
Sheila
eila Westerman, Vice Chair
Respectfully Submitted:
Cara Leckenby
Board of Health
III
Old Business
Item 1
Jefferson County Recycling Update
Public Health
February 19, 2015
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•
Board of Health
III
Old Business
Item 2
Marijuana Then and Now
•
eireXSOn
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Public Health
February 19, 2015
401
r
The Chimacum Prevention Coalition
40 Invites You to Attend
WHEN:
Marihuana March 9, 2015
Then and Now 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Join Scott McCarty, Prevention System Project Manager from the
Department of Health and Human Services, as he explains:
• The neurological impact marijuana has on the WHERE:
developing teenage brain Chimacum High School
• The difference between marijuana today and in the past Library
• What are all of the new delivery systems (vaping, 91 West Valley Road
edibles, etc.) and their impact Chimacum, WA 98325
Presenter Bio:
SCOTT MCCARTY EATS:
PREVENTION SYSTEM PROJECT MANAGER
Hearty Snacks
ilScott McCarty is currently the
Prevention Systems Project Manager A
with the Washington State Department #.
of Social and Health Services, Division
of Behavioral Health and Recovery. _ .s LEARN MORE:
He is the division lead on the subject *P. Kelly Matlock
of marijuana and the implementation i ® a , ,
of Initiative 502. `
kmatlock . co,'efferson.wa.us
JeffersonCountyPublicHealth.org
He works diligently to help community
members make sense out the recent z
change in laws, policy and health
implications around marijuana legalization in our state. Scott has a
immintomm
great ability to intertwine scientific facts with real world application
in a light hearted and engaging style. Scan this QR code to get all the details
directly on your smart phone!
He is a proud graduate of Aberdeen High School as well as from .
Eastern Washington University with a degree in Bio-Chemistry and 0 =•1-I�,Iibi 1 in
a Doctorate in Pharmacy from Washington State University. iiiiiii : -
�.+{1•: ��
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u by: AM s•,•< ¶11
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Health and Recovery Public Healt
Revised 02122015
• Board of Health
III
Old Business
Item 3
E-cigarettes
, \
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Public
• February 19, 2015
r
•
E-cigarettes:
Evidence and policy options
for Washington State
•
University of Washington
School of Public Health
Department of Health Services
January 2015
Amy Hagopian PhD
Abigail Halperin MD, MPH
Patricia Atwater
Nick Fradkin
Joy Hamilton Gilroy MPH
Elizabeth Medeiros
Available online at: http://depts,washington,edu/tobacco/
0-c) SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH • UNIVERSITY „j WASHINGTON
• z.s
i- t'A'cTThI!!SCYGi1C'P, cht71 edpcl5SlClll, C'JJC111:717-
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Executive summary
This report was researched and written by a team from the University of Washington School of
Public Health and circulated among subject matter experts for review.
E-cigarettes aerosolize potentially harmful chemicals
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are nicotine delivery devices that aerosolize nicotine and
other chemicals to simulate the sensation of smoking a combustible cigarette. E-cigarettes were
developed with the goal of mimicking the efficient nicotine delivery system of a conventional
cigarette without the significant and harmful effects of tobacco smoke. The chemical
composition of e-cigarettes can include metals, tobacco byproducts, volatile organic
compounds,flavor agents and nicotine. Some of the contents and inhaled byproducts of e-
cigarettes and vaping product liquids are carcinogenic or contain toxic substances. Nicotine is a
highly addictive product to which children, adolescents, and young adults are particularly
vulnerable. Unlike combustible and smokeless tobacco products, the federal government does
not currently regulate e-cigarettes; therefore, designs and ingredients vary greatly from brand
to brand, and even within brands.
E-cigarettes are inexpensive relative to cigarettes
E-cigarette prices are so low that the average daily e-cigarette user spends about$33 per
month compared to$150-200 spent by a pack-a-day conventional cigarette smoker. One
recent study found that increasing e-cigarette prices would reduce consumption by youth and
adults.This mirrors findings of numerous economic studies published in peer-reviewed journals
that demonstrate price increases, usually from taxes, reduce both adult and underage cigarette
smoking. Results from these price elasticity studies show that every 10 percent increase in the
real price of cigarettes reduces cigarette consumption overall by 3-5 percent, among young
adults smokers by 3.5 percent, and among children under 18 years by 6-7 percent.
E-cigarette use among youth tripled between 2011-2013
A significant increase in e-cigarette use in the US has been spurred by marketing that promises
a "safe" product, especially in comparison to other tobacco products. Perhaps as a result of this
marketing, which includes product designs—like candy flavored e-cigarettes—that appeal to
youth, e-cigarette use tripled among high school students between 2011 and 2013, and there is
now evidence that e-cigarettes surpass conventional tobacco products in popularity among
youth. Relative to combustible products, e-cigarettes are probably less dangerous, but there is
little evidence to support the claim that there is no risk of harm.
The jury is still out on the efficacy of e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation aid
Harm reduction in public health consists of a set of strategies to minimize the risk associated
with certain behaviors or use of drugs. As a harm reduction tactic, e-cigarettes hold promise.
However, while the inhaled compounds associated with e-cigarettes may be fewer and less
toxic than conventional cigarettes, public health officials still advise caution. There is no
evidence that e-cigarettes are a more effective cessation aid than the nicotine patch. Other
research points to a potential role of e-cigarettes as an entree to other, more harmful tobacco •
E-cigarettes:Evidence and policy options for Washington State 2
_. . .._ . . . .
products, particularly when used by children, adolescents, and young adults. For example, in
• 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a study that documented
the surge in e-cigarette use among school-aged youth and highlighted the possibility that use of
these products could serve as a "gateway" to combustible products.
Nicotine is a highly addictive drug
Studies of the developing brain provide substantial evidence that children,adolescents and
young adults are especially vulnerable to nicotine addiction. Exposure to nicotine at a young
age leads to an increase in nicotine receptors in the brain, and it is these receptors that cause
dependency.Adult brains (ages 26 and older) are generally unable to create these nicotine
receptors. As a consequence, virtually all daily smokers will have smoked their first cigarette
before the age of 26, and nearly 90 percent will have started before the age of 18.
The precautionary principle suggests that, in the absence of evidence assuring the safety of a
product, policymakers should act conservatively in protecting consumers. Fortunately,
numerous tobacco control policies have already been tested on the national, state and local
levels—resulting in an estimated 8 million lives saved.These include:
• Retail licensing
• Taxation, and use of tax revenue to reduce use and offset associated healthcare costs
• Restrictions on age of purchase
• Labeling and disclosure requirements
• • Restrictions on product flavorings
• Requirements for child-resistant packaging
• Limitations on Internet sales
• Regulation of marketing
• Restricting use in public and/or indoor places
Strength of evidence supporting policy options
We adapted the Washington State Board of Health's "Health Impact Review"guidelines to
synthesize the research findings related to tobacco and e-cigarette regulation. We assume for
the purposes of this paper that many tobacco-related findings (i.e., the efficacy of raising
tobacco taxes for reducing smoking prevalence) are generalizable to e-cigarettes. We created a
graded scale to communicate strength of evidence.
Grading system
A B C D
At least 10 well- At least five well-or At least two studies Evidence is mixed,with
designed studies appropriately-designed support the association more studies showing a
support the association studies support the negative association
association
•
E-cigarettes:Evidence and policy options for Washington State 3
Strength of evidence behind e-cigarette policy options .
Policy option Strength of evidence
Tobacco Retail Score: B
licensure Several small studies support the efficacy of licensure laws in
reducing smoking prevalence and improving health outcomes.
Tax Score:A
Numerous large, well-designed studies support the efficacy of
taxation in reducing smokingprevalence and improving health
p g
outcomes.
Age of purchase Score:A
Significant evidence demonstrates that preventing youth
initiation will result in a reduced smoking prevalence and
improved health outcomes.
Labeling and Score: B
disclosure A number of well-designed studies demonstrate that tobacco
product labeling is positively associated with consumer
knowledge of health effects.
Flavored products Score:A
A number of well-designed studies show that flavored products
appeal to youth, who are vulnerable to nicotine addiction.
Child-resistant Score: B
packaging Child-safe packaging requirements for other potentially
dangerous products resulted in a decline in child mortality as a
result of poisoning.
Internet sales Score:C •
There is insufficient evidence about the efficacy of laws
regulating online sales of conventional products. To date, there
is little evidence that e-cigarettes are being purchased online by
minors.
School policies Score:C
There is substantial evidence that tobacco use norms are highly
influential in youth initiation, but there is no specific evidence
demonstrating that primary and secondary school policies result
in decreased prevalence.
Marketing Score:A
restrictions There is abundant evidence of a dose-response relationship
between exposure to tobacco marketing and use, including in
convenience store settings.
Cessation Score:C
While there is emerging evidence that e-cigarettes may help
reduce the use of more harmful tobacco products, we do not yet
know if there are effective in treating tobacco dependence
compared to other evidence-based cessation methods.
•
E-cigarettes:Evidence and policy options for Washington State 4
Gov. Inslee cites new data showing alarming increase in adolescent use of electronic cigar... Page 1 of 2
Washington Governor - Jay Inslee
! Gov. Inslee cites new data showing alarming increase in adolescent use of
electronic cigarettes
February 12, 2015
Summary
Gov. Jay Inslee today released a report that shows Washington's 8th and 10th grade students use electronic cigarettes, or"vaping," at
more than twice the rate that they smoke tobacco. Vaping and e-cigarettes put young people at risk of serious health harm, including
nicotine addiction, potential effects of nicotine on the developing adolescent brain, and can be a gateway to smoking cigarettes and
using other tobacco products. Gov. Inslee has requested legislation that will serve to curb the increase in use.
Quotes
"It's too easy and too cheap for teens to buy and use vaping products. We have to change that. We must have a
system in place like our well-honed tobacco control and prevention efforts that help prevent initial use to begin
with and educate kids and parents about the risks of these drug delivery devices."
Governor Jay lnslee
"If immediate action is not taken, poisonings related to these products will only increase as they become more
readily available and accessible."
Dr. Alexander Garrard, Poison Control Center
"While some claim these are less harmful alternatives to cigarettes, e-cigarettes still have the potential to cause
great harm to teens and young children."
• Governor Jay Inslee
"This is an urgent health concern that must be immediately addressed. Many kids believe e-cigarettes are safer,
but scientific evidence suggests they are not.Vaping may expose our children to harmful toxic chemicals such
as lead and formaldehyde as well as nicotine. Prevention can save our children a lifetime of serious health
challenges and reduce overall health care costs."
John Wiesman, Secretary of Health
"School administrators and school nurses across the state are seeing a rapid shift in the use of these devices.
By strengthening the laws related to these products,we protect our school-aged children from harmful chemicals
and their toxic effects, as well as addictive nicotine. This type of legislation will help build a healthier next
generation."
Scott Martin, Cedarcrest Jr. High Principal and Heather Graham, school nurse from the Spokane Valley with the
School Nurses of Washington
Story
OLYMPIA —Gov. Jay Inslee today released a report that shows Washington's 8th and 10th grade students use electronic cigarettes,
or"vaping," at more than twice the rate that they smoke tobacco.
Inslee cited preliminary results from the 2014 Healthy Youth Survey that show 8.5 percent of 8th graders, 18 percent of high school
sophomores and 23 percent of high school seniors in Washington state reported using an e-cigarette in the past 30 days. Preliminary
data shows consistent trends for cigarette smoking, indicating e-cigarette use is completely additional.
0 In addition, the Washington Poison Center reports an increase in calls related to vaping fluid from two in 2010 to 182 in 2014. Of the
182 calls in 2014, 133 were in pediatric patients of which 82 percent were in children 1-3 years of age.
http://www.governor.wa.gov/news-media/gov-inslee-cites-new-data-showing-alarming-inc... 2/12/2015
Gov. Inslee cites new data showing alarming increase in adolescent use of electronic cigar... ?age 2 of 2
Dr. Alexander Garrard of the Poison Control Center said, "If immediate action is not taken, poisonings related to these products will
only increase as they become more readily available and accessible."
Inslee said the rate of vaping among Washington's children is alarming and unacceptable.
. "It's too easy and too cheap for teens to buy and use vaping products," the _ IGA T OUTPACES
governor said. "We have to change that. We must have a system in place like our
well-honed tobacco control and prevention efforts that help prevent initial use to CIGARETTE USE IN TEENS
begin with and educate kids and parents about the risks of these drug delivery The rate of raping among our children is
devices." awning and unacceptable-Gay:fader
18
Vaping products should not be left around children who may be attracted to fruit '
or HiCaH seHoot sOeHontoRfs
and candy smells and pictures on labeling. usf f-CtGARETTtS
"While some claim these are less harmful alternatives to cigarettes, e-cigarettes still r*"
have the potential to cause great harm to teens and young children," Inslee said. 8%
Of HIGH.SCHOOL SOPHOMORES
CALLS TO POISON CONTRO To help explain the critical USE CIGARETTES
problem, Inslee was joined by a rj }
ON THE RISE group of bipartisan legislators, err
health and education leaders, .
including Bethel Superintendent p"�m
Tom Seigel and Cedarcrest Jr. High Principal Scott Martin; along with Sarah 2
C
Bridgeford, Drug Free Communities Coordinator with Franklin Pierce Schools; Dr.
%CALLS LS David Ricker, Pediatric Pulmonologist with Mary Bridge Children's Hospital; Heather
toisnnccnxroloncomrol Graham, a school nurse from the Spokane Valley with the School Nurses of
related to to Washington, and others to discuss the new data and critical problem youth face
vaping fluid fluid
with these drug delivery devices.
Vaping and e-cigarettes put young people at risk of serious health harm, including
2010 2014 nicotine addiction, potential effects of nicotine on the developing adolescent brain,
dyorerteshave the potenriottocome greet harm and can be a gateway to smoking cigarettes and using other tobacco products.
to teens and young children"-row tnsree
gwemorwa.gaw Inslee's requested legislation builds on efforts related to his Healthiest Next
Generation initiative to help ensure healthy kids grow up to become healthy
• adults. The legislation would require retailers to become licensed to sell vaping products, prohibit Internet sales, ensure child-safe
packaging and restrict marketing and sales activities targeted at youth. The bill also implements a tax on vaping products equal to the
tax applied to other tobacco products, a proven strategy for reducing consumption of harmful and addicting substances, particularly
among youth.
"This is an urgent health concern that must be immediately addressed. Many kids believe e-cigarettes are safer, but scientific
evidence suggests they are not," said Secretary of Health John Wiesman. "Vaping may expose our children to harmful toxic chemicals
such as lead and formaldehyde as well as nicotine. Prevention can save our children a lifetime of serious health challenges and
reduce overall health care costs."
The Washington State Department of Health will release final Healthy Youth Survey data and reports in March.
ReEevant Links
Policy Brief:Youth Substance Use Prevention
Governor's Youth Substance Use Prevention Bill: House version
Governor's Youth Substance Use Prevention Bill:Senate version
Governor's Healthiest Next Generation Initiative
Contact
Jaime Smith
Governor Inslee's Communications Office
360.902.4136
•
http://www.governor.wa.gov/news-media/gov-inslee-cites-new-data-showing-alarming-inc... 2/12/2015
• Board of Health
III
Old Business
Item 4
Public Records Request Tracking and Expense
Update
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•
• Board of Health
III
Old Business
Item 5
Board of Health Member Resignation
Election of Vice-Chair
J 1570,1
Public Health
• February 19, 2015
• January 29, 2015
Sally Aerts
637 H Street
Port Townsend,WA 98368
360-774-1534
Sheila Westerman
Chair,Jefferson County Board of Health
Dear Sheila,
I am submitting this letter to you as my resignation from the Jefferson County Board
of Health.As we recently discussed,I have accepted a job in Salt Lake City beginning
February 17, 2015. Please accept my immediate resignation.
I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. I did not anticipate leaving my
position before the end of my two-year appointment. I have enjoyed my time on the
Board of Health and even though it was a brief time, I have learned a lot from other
Board members.
• Sincerely,
Sally Aerts, PT, MPH
•
V
• Board of Health
III
Old Business
Item 6
Board of Health Correspondence
I
SOfl
k
Public Health
• February 19, 2015
.................. .
•
Jefferson County Board of Health
I am concerned that the recent televised negative depiction of Zoog's Caveman Cookin
Barbecue's neglect of customer health and disregard for standard food safety practices may
result in actions against our current food safety inspector, Mina Kwansa.
Mina is by far the most thorough food safety inspector Jefferson County has had in the
past 9 years that I have been in the area. It is my belief that Mina is one of the finest inspectors
I've encountered in my 26 years in the trade. Over the past 4 years, Mina has inspected 5
different kitchen/food operations that I have been in charge of or related with. Mina keeps me
abreast of current food safety practices and tools. I expect Mina's inspections to be rigorous
and detailed oriented with attention to the safety of our community and I respect Mina for this.
I fear that a negative televised depiction of Jefferson County health practices may be
detrimental to Mina's position and the firm attention she pays to ensure the safety of our
community. I have seen the harmful results of sensationalized reality television on good hard
• working people and hope that this does not occur here.
Thank you,
Arran Stark
Food service Director Jefferson Healthcare
Chef/Owner Cultivated 'alette Catering
Food service Consult .N Fort Worden PDA
j
f ,`+
1
e
•
Board of Health
Iv
New Business
Item 1
Environmental Health Fee Revisions
Recommended Call for Public Hearing:
March 19, 2015
yr
" Macon
Public Health
February 19, 2015
Fir
JEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DIVISION
• ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH 2015 Additional Fees and Other Information
GENERAL
Health Officer Administrative Hearing 314.00
Administrative Hearing Appeal 314.00
Technical Assistance/Plan Review-Minimum 86.00
Technical Assistance/Plan Review-Per Hour 86.00
Filing Fee 54.00
Recording Fee 65.00 Plus the Auditors Office recording fees
Notice to Title Rescission 525.00
ONSITE SEWAGE DISPOSAL
Sewage Disposal Permits
New Conventional 569.00 Valid for 3 years
New Alternative 829.00 Valid for 3 years
New septic tank and/or pump chamber only 340.00 Issued in conjunction with an existing sewage disposal
system or community system
New Community or Commercial or>1000 G.P.D.(base fee) 56900 ' - :.!CU :• -_ - _ _ . .e : -
New Commercial>1000 G.P.D.
Conventional 719.00 Base Fee-Valid for 3 years
Alternative 919.00 Base Fee-Valid for 3 years
Each Connection 90.00 Add to base permit fee
Development and Review Financial Assurance and System
Operation Agreements 86.00 Per Hour
Septic Permit with Approved SPAAD(conventional) 307.00
tic Permit with Approved SPAAD(alternative) 569.00
Applies to existing installed sewage disposal system;the
Repair _:: .. ::' '__ :- ! •. _ 258.00 Technical Assistance/Plan Review hourly rate will be
charged for repairs that take longer than three staff hours to
complete
Modification or Reserve Area Designation 258.00
Expansion 538.00 Based upon waste strength or waste flows
Redesign 172.00 Applies to pending or active but not installed
Reinspection 215.00
Evaluation of Existing System/Monitoring Inspection
Septic system only 334.00
Septic system plus water sample 377.00
Retest/Reinspection 172.00
On Site Sewage -Building and Planning
OnSite-Site Plan Advanced Approval Determination(SPAAD) 397.00
Septic Permit with Approved SPAAD(conventional) 307:00
425.00
Subdivision Review Base Fee 516.00
Boundary line adjustment or Lot Certification base review fee 202.00
Planned rural residential development review fee 202.00
For Subdivision Review, Boundary Line Adjustment and
Per lot fee 90.00 Planned Rural Residential Development Review fees
Pre application meeting fee 202.00
160.00
Density exemption review fee 129.00
Field Work for Density Exemption Review 86.00 Per Hour
_0-Building application review fee:
Residential-Individual OSS 129.00 Review after Building Permit issued, is same fee
Commercial-Individual OSS 258.00 Review after Building Permit issued, is same fee
Community OSS 258.00 Review after Building Permit issued, is same fee
Revised Site Plan Review 65.00 Review of resubmission before Building Permit is issued
Other
Waiver/Variance Application 237.00
Waiver/Variance Hearing 387.00
Wet season evaluation 538.00
- - - - -- --160:98
Residential ggsg
Commercial 160.00
General environmental health review fee 86.00 Per Hour
Licenses
Installer, Pumper, Operator(maintenance person) 538.00
Retest 215.00
Homeowner Authorization 10.00
Annual Certificate Renewal 299.00
Delinquent Renewal after January 31 538.00
FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT FEES PERMIT FEES(Annual Permit)
Restaurants/Take-Out(Based on menu complexity&seating-menu changes may change category)
0-25 seats(Limited Menu) 191.00 No cooling or reheating
0-25 seats(Complex Menu) 339.00 Cooling and reheating allowed
26-50 seats 340.00
51-100 seats 407.00
101-150 seats 462.00
With Lounge, add 149.00 Separate lounge area
Bakery Business 149.00
B&B 191.00
Caterer 0_
w/commissary or catering-only kitchen 339.00
w/restaurant, additional fee for catering 191.00
Concession/Commercial Kitchen/Church 149.00
Espresso Stand 149.00
Grocery
1-3 checkouts 191.00 May serve pre-packaged baked goods
>3 checkouts 462.00
Meat/Fish Market 339.00
Mobile Unit
Limited Menu 191.00 No cooling or reheating
Complex Menu 339.00 Cooling&reheating allowed
School Cafeteria
Central Kitchen 339.00
Warming Kitchen 191.00
Tavern w/food(see Restaurants)
Annual Permit Issued after September 1 50%of fee 50% of Annual Permit Fee
Temporary Permits
Single Event
Initial Application (First Event) 107.00 Not to exceed 21 days at your location
Additional Event(Same Menu Only) 61.00 Not to exceed 21 days at your location
Organized Recurring Event(e.g. Farmers Market)
Limited Menu 107.00 Not to exceed 3 days a week at a single location
Complex Menu 142.00 Not to exceed 3 days a week at a single location
Late Fee for Temporary Permits +50%of fee Additional(Paid when application is submitted less than 7
days prior to the event) •_
Other Food Fees
Permit Exemption 41.00
Waiver/Variance 86.00 Per Hour
Reopening Fee 86.00 Per Hour
Manager's Course 231.00
Review
re-opening inspection 86.00 Per Hour
Minimum 86.00
Per Hour 86.00
Reinspection
First Inspection 95.00
Each inspection after first 163.00
Food Handler Card
Reissue Unexpired Food Handler Card 10.00
SOLID WASTE
Annual Permit Fees
Landfills requiring environmental monitoring 557.00
Biosolid/Composting Facilities 489.00
Inert Waste Landfills 353.00
Other Solid Waste Facilities 353.00
Drop Boxes 163.00
Miscellaneous Fees
New Facility Application 448.00
Exempt Facility Inspection 353.00
Facility Reinspection 50%of fee
Plan, Document and Waiver/Variance Review 345.00 +$86.00/hour for>4 hours
WATER
Inspection of well construction,decommission&
Application Fee 163.00 reconstruction
D�ination of Adequate Water Supply base fee 129.00 Esu e - "• =_- Tech Assist and Document Review
is billed at the hourly rate
Well Inspection&Water Sample for Loan 137.00
Well Site Inspection-Proposed public water supply 326.00
LIVING ENVIRONMENTS
Water Recreation Facilities Operation Permit
Single Swim Pool (in operation for<6 months of the year) 296.00
Single Swim Pool(in operation for>_6 months of the year) 299.00
Single Spa Pool(in operation for<6 months of the year) 259.00
Single Spa Pool (in operation for>_months of the year) 299.00
Single Wading Pool(in operation for<6 months of the year) 214.00
Single Wading Pool(in operation for?6 months of the year) 377.00
Spray Pool or Pools(in operation for<6 months of the year) 107.00
Spray Pool or Pools(in operation for>_6 months of the year) 162.00
Each Additional Swim, Spa,or Wading Pool(in operation for<6 64.00
months of the year)
Each Additional Swim, Spa,or Wading Pool(in operation for>_6 85.00
months of the year)
Reinspection 86.00 Per Hour plus associated lab costs
Plan Review 86.00 Per Hour
Indoor Air(Tobacco)
Compliance Enforcement 86.00 Per Hour
Reinspection 80.00
Rebuttal Application 160.00
Note: 2013 Fees have been adjusted per Ordinance 12-1209-96,Section 4-Annual Fee Indexing:Fixed amount fees established by this ordinance shall be adjusted annually on the first
business day of January(Adjusted Date)by the amount of the increase in the Consumer Price Index(CPIW). The CPIW is the Consumer Price Index-US City Average for All Urban
0iW rners and Clerical Workers,published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the United States Department of Labor.
The annual fee adjustment shall be calculated as follows: each fee in effect immediately prior to the Adjustment Date will be increased by the percentage increase in the CPIW as
........J...I A...JL..........JL...l C....1.....4..............4.... 4.,,.A 4:,..4.......4 n..4.. I..... ...:II I...........J...I 4..JL..............+9 I.,. A F......L. II....4 L. ..J 9 4... ..F......4.....I...,I..V.... LI
4.
JEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DIVISION
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH 2015 Additional Fees and Other Information
•RAL
Health Officer Administrative Hearing 314.00
Administrative Hearing Appeal 314.00
Technical Assistance/Plan Review-Minimum 86.00
Technical Assistance/Plan Review-Per Hour 86.00
Filing Fee 54.00
Recording Fee 65.00 Plus the Auditors Office recording fees
Notice to Title Rescission 525.00
ONSITE SEWAGE DISPOSAL
Sewage Disposal Permits
New Conventional 569.00 Valid for 3 years
New Alternative 829.00 Valid for 3 years
New septic tank and/or pump chamber only Issued in conjunction with an existing sewage disposal
340.00 system or community system
New Community or Commercial
Conventional 719.00 Base Fee-Valid for 3 years
Alternative 919.00 Base Fee-Valid for 3 years
Each Connection 90.00 Add to base permit fee
Development and Review Financial Assurance and System 86.00 Per Hour
Operation Agreements
Septic Permit with Approved SPAAD(conventional) 307.00
Septic Permit with Approved SPAAD(alternative) 569.00
Applies to existing installed sewage disposal system;the
Technical Assistance/Plan Review hourly rate will be
pair 258.00 charged for repairs that take longer than three staff hours to
complete
Modification or Reserve Area Designation 258.00
Expansion 538.00
Redesign 172.00 Applies to pending or active but not installed
Reinspection 215.00
Evaluation of Existing System/Monitoring Inspection
Septic system only 334.00
Septic system plus water sample 377.00
Retest/Reinspection 172.00
On Site Sewage-Building and Planning
OnSite-Site Plan Advanced Approval Determination(SPAAD) 397.00
Subdivision Review Base Fee 516.00
Boundary line adjustment or Lot Certification review fee 202.00
Planned rural residential development review fee 202.00
For Subdivision Review, Bounrdy Line Adjustment and
Per lot fee 90.00 Planned Rural Residential Development Review fees
Pre application meeting fee 202.00
Density exemption review fee 129.00
Field Work for Density Exemption Review 86.00 Per Hour
Building application review:
Residential-Individual OSS 129.00 Review after Building Permit issued, is same fee
Commercial-Individual OSS 258.00 Review after Building Permit issued, is same fee
Community OSS 258.00 Review after Building Permit issued, is same fee
Revised Site Plan Review 65.00 Review of resubmission before Building Permit is issued
010
Application 237.00
Waiver/Variance Hearing 387.00
Wet season evaluation 538.00
General environmental health review fee 86.00 Per Hour
Licenses
Installer, Pumper, Operator(maintenance person) 538.00
Retest 215.00
Homeowner Authorization 10.00
Annual Certificate Renewal 299.00
Delinquent Renewal after January 31 538.00
FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT FEES PERMIT FEES(Annual Permit)
Restaurants/Take-Out(Based on menu complexity&seating-menu changes may change category)
0-25 seats(Limited Menu) 191.00 No cooling or reheating
0-25 seats(Complex Menu) 339.00 Cooling and reheating allowed I
26-50 seats 340.00
51-100 seats 407.00
101-150 seats 462.00
With Lounge,add 149.00 Separate lounge area
Bakery Business 149.00
B&B 191.00
Caterer
w/commissary or catering-only kitchen 339.00
w/restaurant, additional fee for catering 191.00
Concession/Commercial Kitchen/Church 149.00
Espresso Stand 149.00
Grocery
1-3 checkouts 191.00 May serve pre-packaged baked goods
>3 checkouts 462.00
Meat/Fish Market 339.00
Mobile Unit
Limited Menu 191.00 No cooling or reheating
Complex Menu 339.00 Cooling&reheating allowed .
School Cafeteria
Central Kitchen 339.00
Warming Kitchen 191.00
Tavern w/food(see Restaurants)
Annual Permit Issued after September 1 50%of fee 50%of Annual Permit Fee
Temporary Permits
Single Event
Initial Application (First Event) 107.00 Not to exceed 21 days at your location
Additional Event(Same Menu Only) 61.00 Not to exceed 21 days at your location
Organized Recurring Event(e.g. Farmers Market)
Limited Menu 107.00 Not to exceed 3 days a week at a single location
Complex Menu 142.00 Not to exceed 3 days a week at a single location
Late Fee for Temporary Permits +50%of fee Additional(Paid when application is submitted less than 7
days prior to the event)
Other Food Fees
Permit Exemption 41.00
Waiver/Variance 86.00 Per Hour
Reopening Fee 86.00 Per Hour
Manager's Course 231.00
Plan Review
Pre-opening inspection 86.00 Per Hour
Minimum 86.00
Per Hour 86.00
Reinspection
First Inspection 95.00
Each inspection after first 163.00
Food Handler Card
Reissue Unexpired Food Handler Card 10.00
SOLID WASTE
• Annual Permit Fees
Landfills requiring environmental monitoring 557.00
Biosolid/Composting Facilities 489.00
Inert Waste Landfills 353.00
.er Solid Waste Facilities 353.00
p Boxes 163.00
Miscellaneous Fees
New Facility Application 448.00
Exempt Facility Inspection 353.00
Facility Reinspection 50%of fee
Plan, Document and Waiver/Variance Review 345.00 +$86.00/hour for>4 hours
WATER
Inspection of well construction, decommission &
Application Fee 163.00
reconstruction
Determination of Adequate Water Supply base fee 129.00 Tech Assist and Document Review, billed at the hourly rate
Well Inspection&Water Sample for Loan 137.00
Well Site Inspection-Proposed public water supply 326.00
LIVING ENVIRONMENTS
Water Recreation Facilities Operation Permit
Single Swim Pool(in operation for<6 months of the year) 296.00
Single Swim Pool(in operation for>_6 months of the year) 299.00
Single Spa Pool(in operation for<6 months of the year) 259.00
Single Spa Pool(in operation for>months of the year) 299.00
Single Wading Pool(in operation for<6 months of the year) 214.00
Single Wading Pool(in operation for>_6 months of the year) 377.00
Spray Pool or Pools(in operation for<6 months of the year) 107.00
Spray Pool or Pools(in operation for>_6 months of the year) 162.00
Each Additional Swim, Spa,or Wading Pool(in operation for<6 64.00
months of the year)
Additional Swim, Spa,or Wading Pool(in operation for>_6 85 00
'ths of the year)
Reinspection 86.00 Per Hour plus associated lab costs
Plan Review 86.00 Per Hour
Indoor Air(Tobacco)
Compliance Enforcement 86.00 Per Hour
Reinspection 80.00
Rebuttal Application 160.00
Note: 2013 Fees have been adjusted per Ordinance 12-1209-96,Section 4-Annual Fee Indexing:Fixed amount fees established by this ordinance shall be adjusted annually on the first
business day of January(Adjusted Date)by the amount of the increase in the Consumer Price Index(CPIW). The CPIW is the Consumer Price Index-US City Average for All Urban
Wage Earners and Clerical Workers,published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the United States Department of Labor.
The annual fee adjustment shall be calculated as follows: each fee in effect immediately prior to the Adjustment Date will be increased by the percentage increase in the CPIW as
reported for the month of September preceding the Adjustment Date. Increases will be rounded to the nearest dollar. A fee shall not be reduced by reason of such calculation. However,
fee increases in accordance with this calculation shall not exceed 5 percent per year.
•
Board of Health
IV
New Business
Item 2
Proposed Shellfish Rule Changes
For Vibriosis Prevention
Public Health
• February 19, 2015
• Board of Health
IV
New Business
Item 3
Measles Outbreak Prevention:
National, Regional, State
•
Heelith
February 19, 2015
•
m.
Ya e1ot2
r Measles ( U.S. Multi-state Measles Outbreak 2014-201 5 I UUC g
Centers for Disease
' P,` Control and Prevention
';'r..', CDC 24/7.Saving Lives,Protecting
• peoples,
U.S. Multi-state Measles Outbreak 2014-2015
The United States is currently experiencing a large,multi-state outbreak of measles linked to an
amusement park in California.
U .S. Multi-state Measles outbreak
December 28, 2014 - February 6, 2415
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IS
From December 28 to February 6, 2015, 114 people from 7 states [AZ (7), (A (99), CO
(1), NE (1), OR (1), UT (3),WA (2}� were reported to have measles and are considered
to be part of a large, ongoing outbreak linked to an amusement park in California*.
'Prartsionai data mooned to CDC's knior d Center ftv to tnUlt tatian and Ftespirstory Dartase .✓ +
CDC will update these data weekly on Mondays.(For the week ending February 15,the update will be on Tuesday.)
The outbreak likely started from a traveler who became infected overseas with measles,then
http://www.cdc.gov/measles/multi-state-outbreak.html 2/12/2015
Measles Vaccine Effectiveness
One dose of measles-containing vaccine administered at age >_12 months was approximately
94% effective in preventing measles (range: 39%-98%) in studies conducted in the WHO
Region of the Americas. Measles outbreaks among populations that have received 2 doses of
measles-containing vaccine are uncommon. The effectiveness of 2 doses of measles- •
containing vaccine was >_99% in two studies conducted in the United States.
References
• PREVENTION OF MEASLES, RUBELLA, CONGENITAL RUBELLA SYNDROME,AND MUMPS, 2013: SUMMARY
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON IMMUNIZATION PRACTICES(ACIP)
June 14, 2013/62(RR04);1-34 http://www.cdc.qov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr6204a1.htm
• Vaccines, 5th Ed., Plotkin, et al, 2008: p 364
CDC guidance for surveillance and outbreak control for measles, can be found in the Manual for the Surveillance of
Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/sure-manual/index.html
•
•
0ox�ou Clallam County Department of
' •
Health and Human Services
•
40 ,0 w 223 East 4th Street, Suite#14 • Port Angeles, WA 98362-3015 • 360-417-2274• FAX 360-417-2519
ti • 4‹,
NUMANS
February 6, 2015
To: Clallam County Health Care Providers
From: Tom Locke, MD, MPH, Clallam County Health Officer
Re: Clallam County Measles Update
Situation Update: Clallam County's single confirmed cases of measles remains hospitalized and is recovering
from his measles infections. The source of his infection has not been identified. The viral specimen isolated
from this individual's urine is undergoing genetic fingerprinting to determine if is linked to the "Disneyland"
strain of the virus. The earliest date that other community members might have been exposed to this individual
was 1/26/15. The earliest date that secondary measles cases might begin to present(assuming a7 day incubation
period)was 2/5/15. Measles incubation is typically 10 days or longer which would predict the first rash
illnesses linked to this case to begin on Sunday 2/8/15. Measles incubation times can extend as long as 18 days
with rash onset up to 21 days after exposure. The outside window for presentation of a rash illness associated
with this measles exposure is 2/22/15 (assuming a last exposure opportunity of 2/1/15 —the date of
hospitalization and isolation).
Active Surveillance: All community health care providers should be vigilant for the next 3 weeks for cases of
f er with cough, coryza, and/or conjunctivitis followed by a generalized rash. Patients are being advised to
ahead to offices or the emergency room if they have these signs and symptoms. Patients being evaluated
for a rash illness meeting the measles case definition should be immediately masked and taken to a closed exam
room. All clinical specimens should be collected in that room. These include: nasopharyngeal swab,urine
specimen, and blood serum for measles IgG and IgM. Do not send these specimens to private laboratories.
Contact the Health Department for instructions on how to facilitate testing by the State Public Health Lab.
Patients should be sent home and instructed to avoid all public gatherings and contact with those who are not
immune to measles.
Measles Vaccination Clinics: Public notices of community locations where measles exposure may have
occurred have been distributed. It is likely there will be a significant increase in demand for MMR vaccination.
Additional supplies have been ordered and Clallam County will hold a series of MMR vaccine-only clinics
starting 2/9/15.
Future Scenarios: If no secondary cases of measles are identified during the week bu 1/22/15, outbreak
control activities will wind down and efforts will shift to reducing measles susceptibility in the community.
Unvaccinated adults born after 1956, unvaccinated children, and those in need of their second MMR
vaccination (children, adolescents, health care workers,teachers, and students) are the priorities for vaccination.
If secondary cases emerge, an expanded outbreak control response will become necessary consisting of mass
vaccination clinics, expanded quarantine and work exclusions, and possible exclusion of unvaccinated children
from schools. The diligence with which new cases are identified and isolated will determine how extensive
these secondary control efforts need to be.
•
Attached is an excellent summary of measles control guidelines prepared by State Infectious Disease
Epidemiologist (and former deputy Clallam County Health Officer) Scott Lindquist, MD, MPH.
Recommendations during outbreaks of measles February 2015
•
• All persons at risk for exposure and infection should be vaccinated or have other acceptable
evidence of immunity as described below.
• Infants aged 6-12 months may be vaccinated with MMR during an outbreak, ideally 1 month
prior to any risk of exposure. Children who receive a dose of measles-containing vaccine
before their first birthdays should be revaccinated with two doses of MMR vaccine, the first of
which should be administered when the child is aged 12-15 months and the second at least 28
days later.
• Adults, and Children aged 1 through 4 years who have received their 1st dose may receive the
2nd dose as long as 28 days have passed since the 1st dose during an outbreak.
Routine evidence of immunity:
• Evidence of adequate vaccination for school-aged children, college students, and students in
other postsecondary educational institutions who are at risk for exposure and infection during
measles outbreaks consists of 2 doses of measles-containing vaccine separated by at least 28
days.
• Laboratory evidence of immunity or lab evidence of disease
• Born before 1957
• Documentation of age-appropriate vaccination with a live measles virus-containing vaccine:
• preschool-aged children and adults not at high risk: 1 dose .
• infants 6-11 months who travel internationally: 1 dose
• school-aged children (grades K-12): 2 doses
• health care workers: 2 doses
• students at post-secondary educational institutions: 2 doses
• adults with no other evidence of immunity who travel internationally: 2 doses
Assessing Evidence of Immunity
• The criteria for routine evidence of immunity apply only to routine vaccinations. During
outbreaks, recommended criteria for presumptive evidence of immunity might differ for some
groups
• Vaccine doses with written documentation of the date of administration at age >_12 months are
the only doses considered to be valid. Self-reported doses and history of vaccination provided
by a parent or other caregiver are not considered adequate evidence of immunity. Persons
who do not have documentation of adequate vaccination or other acceptable evidence of
immunity should be vaccinated.
• Serologic screening for measles immunity before vaccination is not necessary and not
recommended if a person has other acceptable evidence of immunity to these diseases.
Similarly, post-vaccination serologic testing to verify an immune response is not
recommended.
•
• Documented age-appropriate vaccination supersedes the results of subsequent serologic
testing. If a person who has 2 documented doses of measles- or mumps-containing vaccines
is tested serologically and is determined to have negative or equivocal measles titer results, it
is not recommended that the person receive an additional dose of MMR vaccine. Such
persons should be considered to have presumptive evidence of immunity.
• Persons who have measles-specific IgG antibody that is detectable by any commonly used
serologic assay are considered to have adequate laboratory evidence of measles immunity.
Persons with an equivocal serologic test result do not have adequate presumptive evidence of
immunity and should be considered susceptible, unless they have other evidence of measles
immunity or subsequent testing indicates measles immunity.
Outbreaks in Health-Care Facilities
• During an outbreak of measles or mumps, health-care facilities should recommend 2 doses of
MMR vaccine at the appropriate interval for unvaccinated health-care personnel regardless of
birth year who lack laboratory evidence of measles immunity or laboratory confirmation of
disease.
• Health-care workers include all persons (medical or nonmedical, paid or volunteer, full- or part-
time, student or nonstudent, with or without patient-care responsibilities) who work facilities
that provide health care to patients (i.e., inpatient and outpatient, private and public). Facilities
that provide care exclusively for elderly patients who are at minimal risk for measles and
complication of the disease are a possible exception.
• If documentation of adequate evidence of immunity has not already been collected, it might be
difficult to quickly obtain documentation of immunity for health-care personnel during an
outbreak or when an exposure occurs. Therefore, health-care facilities might want to ensure
• that the measles immunity status of health-care personnel is routinely documented and can be
easily accessed.
Background Information
• Measles Component: The measles component of the combination vaccines that are currently
distributed in the United States was licensed in 1968 and contains the live Enders-Edmonston
(formerly called "Moraten") vaccine strain.
• Immune Response to Measles Vaccination: Measles-containing vaccines
produce a subclinical or mild, non-communicable infection inducing both humoral
and cellular immunity. Antibodies develop among approximately 96% of children
vaccinated at age 12 months with a single dose of the Enders-Edmonston
vaccine strain. Almost all persons who do not respond to the measles
component of the first dose of MMR vaccine at age _>12 months respond to the
second dose.
• Response to the vaccine is similar in almost all respects to that noted in natural infection.
Antibodies first appear 12-15 days after vaccination and peak at 21-28 days. To assure
protection, vaccine should be given one month (28 days) before any potential exposure to
measles disease.
110
• Board of Health
IV
New Business
Item 4
Influenza Season Update: Seasonal and Avian
110
Vetter„v7
Public Heaith
February 19, 2015
Avian Influenza I Washington Department of Fish& Wildlife Yage 1 of 1
Wildlife Health
*Avian Influenza
Last updated January 2015
Avian influenza("bird flu")is a viral illness found in birds.Wild birds can carry a number of bird flu viruses,but most
strains do not seriously affect them. c s
Bird flu viruses are unlikely to infect people who practice good hygiene when handling birds.
Occasionally bird flu viruses evolve into forms that are deadly to domestic chickens and turkeys.These viruses are
known as"highly pathogenic avian influenza"(HPAI)viruses,a designation that refers to their ability to cause
disease in domestic poultry,not in humans or any other animals.
In 1996,a particularly virulent form of bird flu caused by a strain of virus known as Asian HPAI H5N1 sickened and
killed birds in Asia,Africa and Europe.After close contact with infected domestic birds,more than 100 people in Asia
died from this Asian HPAI H5N1 virus. Washington wild ducks
Since then,several different bird flu strains have been identified around the world in domestic birds,including HPAI
H5N2 in poultry farms with chickens and turkeys in British Columbia,Canada.After the disease was detected at a
B.C.poultry farm in fall 2014,the Washington State Department of Agriculture increased random testing among Contacts:
poultry flocks in areas near the border with Canada and alerted veterinarians and bird owners around the state. Kristin Mansfield
This heightened awareness led to a report in December 2014 of a gyrfalcon in northwest Washington that died after WDFW Veterinarian
eating a wild duck.The gyrfalcon,which was legally used for hunting by a Whatcom County falconer was tested and (509)892-1001,ext.326
confirmed to have a highly pathogenic H5N8 strain of bird flu. or cell(509)998-2023
In addition,a northern pintail duck that was part of a group of waterfowl that died of aspergillosis(an unrelated While it's highly unlikely that
fungal infection)near Wiser Lake in Whatcom County,tested positive for carrying the HPAI H5N2 bird flu virus. hunters or people feeding birds
could contract avian flu from wild
Since that time,HPAI H5N2 and HPAI H5N8 have spread quickly in the Pacific Flyway and have been found in birds here,following these standard
backyard poultry flocks,commercial poultry,and wild waterfowl.(See USDA's Update on Avian Influenza Findings in precautions reduces the risk of
the Pacific Flyway.)Both of these low-pathogenic strains have been detected in other parts of the world and have contracting any wildlife disease:
not been found to affect humans.
' Do not harvest or handle wild birds
In January 2015,a third form of the virus—HPAI H5N1—was detected in a wild duck shot by a hunter in Whatcom that are obviously sick or found
County,This novel form of the virus is genetically different from the Asian HPAI H5N1,which has infected humans in dead.
Asia.The new form of H5N1,a combination of Eurasian and North American strains,also has not been identified •,
as a human health risk. Wear rubber gloves while cleaning
game or cleaning bird feeders.
Detailed analysis of the virus is underway in cooperation with Center for Disease Control. Do not eat,drink or smoke while
faBird flu viruses are transmitted among birds through respiratory secretions and fecal droppings.The virus is not cleaning game.
easily transmissible from birds to people,but health officials are concerned that without proper hygiene,it could ' Wash hands with soap and water
develop into another form that spreads readily from person to person. or alcohol wipes immediately after
handling game or cleaning bird
While it is extremely unlikely that hunters or people feeding wild birds could contract bird flu from wild birds,the feeders.
following common-sense precautions are always recommended to reduce the risk of contracting any wildlife ,
disease: Wash tools and work surfaces used
to clean game birds with soap and
• Do not harvest or handle wild birds that are obviously sick or found dead. water,then disinfect with a 10
• Wear rubber gloves while leaning game or cleaning bird feeders. percent solution of chlorine bleach.
• Do not eat,drink or smoke while cleaning game. ' Separate raw meat,and anything it
• Wash hands with soap and water or alcohol wipes immediately after handling game or cleaning bird feeders. touches,from cooked or ready-to-
• Wash tools and work surfaces used to clean game birds with soap and water,then disinfect with a 10 percent eat foods to avoid contamination.
solution of chlorine bleach.
• Separate raw meat,and anything it touches,from cooked or ready-to-eat foods to avoid contamination. ' Cook game meat thoroughly,to an
• Cook game birds thoroughly.Meat should reach an internal temperature of 155 to 165 degrees Fahrenheit to internal temperature of 155 to 165
kill disease organisms and parasites. degrees Fahrenheit.
Dogs used in wild bird hunting are not considered at risk of acquiring bird flu,since there have been no documented
cases of the virus infecting dogs.There have been cases of cats acquiring the Asian H5N1 strain of bird flu in other parts of the world,but no cats have been
documented with the H5N1,H5N2,or H5N8 strains in North America.Dog and cat owners should consult their veterinarian for more information about influenza
in pets.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife(WDFW) has been collaborating for the past several years with the National Wildlife Health Center,the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service(USFWS)and the U.S.Department of Agriculture(USDA)in a nationwide surveillance effort for early detection of highly pathogenic
avian influenza in wild birds.
WDFW is part of a state network for collection and testing of dead birds.Die-offs of multiple wild birds should be reported to WDFW by calling 1-800-606-8768.If
the bird deaths appear unusual,samples are sent to veterinary laboratories to test for diseases,including bird flu.
From 2005-2011,WDFW tested over 10,000 wild birds for bird flu viruses.Bird flu viruses were found in about 10 percent of all birds tested,but none were
associated with any illnesses or mortality.
•
http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/health/avianflu/ 2/12/2015
Flu Season Continues; Severe for People bb and Udder I News (Flu) I CIA- Page I or s
Centers for Disease
,p 1 Control and Prevention
CDC 24/7:Saving Lives.Protecting People.'
•
Flu Season Continues; Severe for People 65 and Older
CDC and partners urge prompt treatment with anti-flu drugs for very ill and high risk patients
February 6,2015 -Despite declines in some key indicators,flu remains widespread across most of
the country and severity indicators are still high,according to this week's FluView.Another eight
pediatric deaths have been reported this week, bringing the total for the season to 69. Flu activity
has been elevated for 11 consecutive weeks nationally and is expected to continue for several more
weeks,especially in parts of the country where activity started later.
National influenza-like-illness levels are declining slowly; at a regional level some parts of the
country are seeing declines in activity while other parts of the country are seeing increases.An
average flu season lasts about 13 weeks (with a range of 1 week to 19 weeks for the past 13
seasons). However, because this season started relatively early, it could last longer than average.
Mismatched H3N2 flu viruses continue to predominate across the country, hitting older people
hard.The flu-associated hospitalization rate among people 65 and older this week is the highest rate •
recorded since CDC began tracking that data in 2005.Overall nearly 60 percent of flu-associated
hospitalizations have been among people 65 years and older.At the current rate of hospitalization,
more than 92,000 people 65 and older would have been hospitalized in the US so far this season.
Nearly 94 percent of all adults hospitalized for flu this season have had at least one reported
underlying medical condition;the most commonly reported conditions are heart disease, metabolic
disorders including diabetes,and obesity.
Children 0-4 years have the second-highest hospitalization rate so far this season. Like older people,
children often fare worse during H3N2-predominant seasons,however the hospitalization rate for
that age group this season is similar to what was seen for the same week during 2012-2013,which
was the last H3N2-predominant season.
The percentage of deaths due to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) remains elevated,although there
was a slight decline from last week.
This season's vaccine reduces the risk of having to go to the doctor from flu infection in vaccinated
people by 23%,which is about half of what is usually seen when vaccine viruses and circulating flu
viruses are well-matched. •
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/news/flu-season-continues.htm 2/12/2015
Measles I U.S. Multi-state Measles Outbreak 2014-201 I CDC Page 2 or 2
•
visited the amusement park while infectious. However,no source has been identified.
Analysis by CDC scientists shows that the measles virus in this outbreak is identical to the virus type
"'that caused the large measles outbreak in the Philippines in 2014
(http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/watch/measles-philippines) . However,the same virus type
has been identified within the past 6 months in 14 other countries and at least 6 U.S.states not
associated with the current outbreak.
On January 23,2015,CDC issued a Health Advisory(http://emergency.cdc.gov/han/han00376.asp)
to notify public health departments and healthcare facilities about this multi-state outbreak and to
provide guidance for healthcare providers nationwide.
^Top of Page
Related Pages
CDC Press Briefing Transcript: Measles in the United States,2015
(http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/t0129-measles-in-us.html),January 29,2015.
California Department of Public Health Measles
(http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HealthInfo/discond/Pages/Measles.aspx)
• Arizona Department of Health Services Measles (http://www.azdhs.gov/measles/)
<< Return to Measles Cases and Outbreaks
Page last reviewed: February 9,2015
Page last updated: February 12,2015
Content source: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases(http://www.cdc.gov/ncird/),
Division of Viral Diseases(http://www.cdc.gov/ncird/DVD.html),Division of Viral Diseases
(http://www.cdc.gov/ncird/DVD.html)
"'
http://www.cdc.gov/measles/multi-state-outbreak.html 2/12/2015
Flu Season Continues; Severe for People 65 and Older I News (Flu) I CDC rage 1, or i
CDC continues to emphasize the importance of prompt antiviral treatment for those who are
severely ill and those who are at high risk of flu complications.A meta-analysis published in The
Lancet(http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)62449-1/fulltext) •
last week reports on the benefits of antiviral treatment,including reducing the risk of
hospitalization by 63 percent.
Researchers analyzed individual patient data from nine published and unpublished randomized
controlled clinical trials which compared oseltamivir with placebo for treatment of seasonal
influenza in adults.This study joins a growing body of observational data which indicates that these
drugs have benefit beyond the treatment of uncomplicated influenza and can reduce serious
complications from flu including hospitalizations.
Last week,CDC and public health partners including the American Academy of Pediatrics,the
National Foundation of Infectious Diseases and the American Medical Association among others
issued a letter to providers urging prompt treatment with flu antiviral drugs in people who are
severely ill and people who are at high risk of serious flu complications,including people 65 and
older and children younger than 2 years.To help medical office staff triage calls from patients with
flu-like symptoms and identify when it might be appropriate to initiate antiviral treatment- even
before a medical visit- CDC recently published a flowchart online for use by medical offices in
evaluating patients by telephone for possible influenza.
While flu antiviral medications have limitations, most notably that they work best when given early
in the course of illness,these are the only drugs approved to treat flu illness.
Related Links
• Key Facts About Flu
• What You Need to Know for the 2014-15 Season
• What You Should Know About Flu Antiviral Drugs
• Treating Influenza(Flu) [927 KB,2 pages,81/2u x 111
File Formats Help:
How do I view different file formats (PDF, DOC, PPT, MPEG) on this site?
(http://www.cdc.gov/Other/plugins/)
(http://www.cdc.gov/Other/plugins/#pdf)
Page last reviewed: February 6,2015 •
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/news/flu-season-continues.htm 2/12/2015
Protection from Flu Vaccination Reduced this Season l CDC Online Newsroom 1 UDC Page 1 of 2
Centers for Disease
per`' Control and Prevention
?Jf i" .� CDC 24/7:Saving Lives,Protecting People"
•
Protection from Flu Vaccination Reduced this Season
CDC urges early treatment of severely ill and high-risk patients
Press Release
Embargoed Until:Thursday,January 15,2014, 1:00 p.m. ET
Contact: Media Relations (http://www.cdc.gov/media)
(404) 639-3286
A report published in the January 16 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
(http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/) (MMWR) estimates that getting a flu vaccine this season reduced a
person's risk of having to go to the doctor because of flu by 23 percent among people of all ages.
Since CDC began conducting annual flu vaccine effectiveness (VE) studies
(http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaccineeffect.htm) in 2004-2005,overall estimates for each
season have ranged from 10 percent to 60 percent effectiveness in preventing medical visits
associated with seasonal influenza illness.The MMWR report says this season's vaccine offers
reduced protection and this underscores the need for additional prevention and treatment efforts
this season, including the appropriate use of influenza antiviral medications for treatment
(http://emergency.cdc.gov/han/han00375.asp).
"Physicians should be aware that all hospitalized patients and all outpatients at high risk for serious
complications should be treated as soon as possible with one of three available influenza antiviral
medications if influenza is suspected,regardless of a patient's vaccination status and without
waiting for confirmatory testing,"says Joe Bresee,branch chief in CDC's Influenza Division."Health
care providers should advise patients at high risk to call promptly if they get symptoms of influenza."
One factor that determines how well a flu vaccine works is the similarity between the flu viruses
used in vaccine production and the flu viruses actually circulating. During seasons when vaccine
viruses and circulating influenza viruses are well matched,VE between 50 and 60 percent has been
observed. H3N2 viruses have been predominant so far this season, but about 70 percent of them
have been different or have"drifted"from the H3N2 vaccine virus.This likely accounts for the
reduced VE.
http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/p0115-flu-vaccination.html 2/12/2015
Protection from Flu Vaccination Reduced this Season LUL Unlme Newsroom l;Ul: Page G or G
Flu viruses change constantly and the drifted H3N2 viruses did not appear until after the vaccine
composition for the Northern Hemisphere had been chosen.
Another factor that influences how well the flu vaccine works is the age and health of the person •
being vaccinated. In general,the flu vaccine works best in young,healthy people and is less effective
in people 65 and older.This pattern is reflected in the current season early estimates for VE against
H3N2 viruses.VE against H3N2 viruses was highest--26 percent--for children age 6 months
through 17 years.While not statistically significant,VE estimates against H3N2 viruses for other
age groups were 12 percent for ages 18 to 49 years and 14 percent for people age 50 years and
older.
CDC recommends that people get a flu vaccine even during season's when drifted viruses are
circulating because vaccination can still prevent some infections and can reduce severe disease that
can lead to hospitalization and death.Also,the flu vaccine is designed to protect against three or
four influenza viruses and some of these other viruses may circulate later in the season. Flu activity
so far this season has been similar to the 2012-2013 flu season,a"moderately severe"flu season
with H3N2 viruses predominating.
Antiviral Supply Update
While manufacturers of antiviral medications have stated that there is no national shortage of
antiviral medications at this time,and that there is sufficient product available to meet high demand,
there are anecdotal reports of spot shortages of these drugs.CDC's advice for patients and doctors
is that it may be necessary to contact more than one pharmacy to fill a prescription for an antiviral
medication. Pharmacies that are having difficulty getting orders filled should contact their
distributor or the manufacturer directly.
For large institutional outbreaks this season,CDC is taking new measures to help match demand
with supply,working with commercial partners to facilitate filling of large orders of antivirals for
long-term care facilities or institutions having difficulty accessing antiviral supplies in outbreak
settings. More information is available at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/antivirals/supply.htm
(http://www.cdc.gov/flu/antivirals/supply.htm).
###
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES(http://www.hhs.gov/)
Page last reviewed: January 15,2015
Page last updated: January 15,2015
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(/)
http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/p0115-flu-vaccination.html 2/12/2015
Board of Health
IV
New Business
Item 5
Public Health Heroes Subcommittee Report
O
9etiason
Public Health
February 19, 2015
•
4 615 Sheridan Street
-1/fr iQPort Townsend, WA 98368
( 1� ° www.JeffersonCountyPublicHealth.org
Public Health
January 28, 2015
Jefferson County Board of Health
Public Health Heroes Subcommittee meeting notes
Attendees: Sheila Westerman, Sally Aerts,Julia Danskin, and Jean Baldwin
Reviewed National Public Health 2015 theme: Healthiest Nation 2030, Let's make America the
healthiest nation in one generation, http://www.nphw.org/tools-and-tips/toolkit
Reviewed Jefferson County Community Health Assessment 2015 priorities,
http://www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.org/index.php?publications-data-resources:
- Access to Care
- Immunizations
- Access to Mental Health and Substance Abuse Care
- Healthy Eating, Active Living, and Chronic Disease Prevention
• Reviewed Public Health Heroes over the past 8 years.
Discussed who in the community has been working for long-term outcomes of healthy behavior,
beginning with the youngest citizens in the county,to fulfill the challenge of"healthiest nation in one
generation."
Since 1999 both Jumping Mouse Children's Center and Nurse Family Partnership have been working
with the youngest citizens in Jefferson County providing mental health treatment and substance Abuse
prevention interventions. Early intervention with infants and children provides the foundation for long
term healthy behavior. Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) reduces the risk of adult
mental health and substance abuse. Also, preventing ACEs reduces the risk of developing chronic
diseases.
The Subcommittee wants to honor programs that have been and currently are fulfilling the challenge of
providing critical services to our youngest community members and that represent our highest public
health priorities for the current year.
A representative of the subcommittee will nominate Jumping Mouse Children's Center and Jefferson
County Nurse Family Partnership for 2015 Public Health Heroes at the next Board of Health Meeting
February 19, 2015.
Notes submitted by Julia Danskin, Staff to the Subcommittee.
•
Environme ital Health
Cv;1 munily H2alY" Water Qualify
Dis �biiitiea
360-385-9400 360-385-9444
360-385 9401 (t) Always working for a safer and healthier community (f) 360-379-4487
• v
Activity Update
2014 Board of Health Action Items
2015 Meeting Schedule
„,:\\
•
cum
Public Heal.
• February 19, 2015
•
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• Media Review
1/1/411/\
Public Health
•
Jefferson County Public Health
• January/February 2015
NEWS ARTICLES
1. "The 7 Things You Should Know About Cervical Cancer," Port Townsend Leader,
January 9th, 2015.
2. "Marijuana trade association decries Jefferson County moratorium," Peninsula Daily
News, January 12th, 2015
3. "Jefferson County plans to talk pot(moratorium) at two public sessions," Peninsula
Daily News, January 13th, 2015.
4. "Jefferson County planners streamline process for residential building permits,"
Peninsula Daily News, January 15th, 2015.
5. "More than 100 ducks, chickens and geese destroyed after avian flu strikes east of
Port Angeles," Peninsula Daily News, January 19th 2015.
6. "First flu deaths of season reported at Olympic Medical Center," Peninsula Daily News,
January 21st, 2015.
7. "State's avian flu quarantine east of Port Angeles delayed; measure expected to be
put in place today," Peninsula Daily News, January 21st, 2015.
8. "Avian flu quarantine set in Agnew area as inspectors go door to door," Peninsula
Daily News, January 22"d, 2015.
9. "Farmers in avian flu quarantine area east of Port Angeles monitor poultry as
inspectors test birds," Peninsula Daily News, January 23rd, 2015.
10. "No avian flu spread in first Agnew tests as federal inspectors, go door to door,"
• Peninsula Daily News, January 25th, 2015.
11. "Jefferson County commissioners anticipate large, active turnout for pot business
moratorium hearing today," Peninsula Daily News, January 26th, 2015.
12. "Truck wreck blocked highway most of Monday near Brinnon; driver OK," Port
Townsend Leader, January 27th, 2015.
13. "UPDATE - State Patrol has to bring in crane to finally clear wreck on U.S. Highway
101," Peninsula Daily News, January 28th, 2015.
14. "North Olympic Peninsula avian flu quarantine area free of new cases; inspectors
close to finishing work," Peninsula Daily News, January 28th, 2015.
15. "Jefferson commissioner favors letting pot business moratorium expire while two are
left undecided after public hearing," Peninsula Daily News, January 28th, 2015.
16. "LETTER: Educate before you vaccinate," and "Jefferson County Public Health
Response," Port Townsend Public Health, January 28th, 2015.
17. "1-502 Marijuana: Wrestling with the roll out," Port Townsend Leader, January 28th, 2015.
18. "Most say 'take more time' on marijuana rules," Port Townsend Leader, January 28th,
2015.
19. "County DCD debuts new, faster permit process," Port Townsend Leader, January 28th
2015
20. "Hospital seeks two new physicians, plans clinic redesign project," Port Townsend
Leader, January 28th, 2015.
21. "Two more flu-related deaths reported in Port Angeles," Peninsula Daily News, January
29tH 2015.
22. "Door-to-door work in Clallam avian flu quarantine zone ends; no new infections
found," Peninsula Daily News, January 29th, 2015.
•
23. "Jefferson commissioners take no action on pot moratorium, making Feb. 11
expiration a possibility," Peninsula Daily News, February 3rd, 2015.
24. "BOCC leaves fate of pot moratorium in the air," Port Townsend Leader, February 4th,
2015. •
25. "PERSPECTIVE: Cervical cancer awareness — it's about health, not about sex," Port
Townsend Leader, February 4th, 2015.
26. "County invites applications for open space projects," Port Townsend Leader, February
4th, 2015.
27. "Clallam County Press Release — Measles Case in Clallam County," February 4th, 2015.
28. "Measles hospitalizes middle-aged man in Port Angeles; officials `intensely working'
to determine if anyone exposed in the community," Peninsula Daily News, February 5th,
2015.
29. "Clallam County health officials contact people known to have met man with
measles," Peninsula Daily News, February 5th, 2015.
30. "Clallam County health officials reach out to those who may have been in contact
with man with measles," Peninsula Daily News, February 5th, 2015.
31. "NEW: Planning commission narrows focus, says marijuana not like other
agriculture," Port Townsend Leader, February 5, 2015.
32. "State Rep. Tharinger lends support to bill to end child exemptions from vaccinations
for measles, other diseases," Peninsula Daily News, February 6th, 2015.
33. "Jefferson County commissioners to look again at marijuana businesses moratorium
at Monday meeting," Peninsula Daily News, February 6th, 2015.
34. Health Advisory From Flooding, Jefferson County Public Health, February 6th, 2015.
35. "Duckabush River recedes after flooding Brinnon-area neighborhood; another slide
falls," Peninsula Daily News, February 8th, 2015.
36. "State lists measles vaccination exemptions at North Olympic Peninsula schools,"
Peninsula Daily News, February 9th, 2015.
37. "Measles perilous yet preventable: Here are answers to your questions," Peninsula
Daily News, February 9th, 2015.
38. "Peninsula measles victim's trail traced while he remains hospitalized," Peninsula
Daily News, February 9th, 2015.
39. "Dungeness River bridge remains in precarious position as Peninsula dries out after
floods," Peninsula Daily News, February 9th, 2015.
40. "Jefferson County commissioners extend pot moratorium, but window allows
existing applicants to move forward with businesses," Peninsula Daily News, February
10th, 2015.
41. "State looks to share marijuana taxes with cities to encourage communities to
welcome pot businesses," Peninsula Daily News, February 10th, 2015.
42. "State to approve Port Townsend Paper mill boiler upgrade," Peninsula Daily News,
February 11th, 2015.
43. "Port Townsend Paper Corp., sold to Atlanta holding company," Peninsula Daily News,
February 11th, 2015.
44. At Zoogs, improvement possible: Caveman evolves in Hadlock," Port Townsend
Leader, February 11th, 2015.
45. "Tharinger offers bill to address dental crisis," Port Townsend Leader, February 11th
2015.
46. Flooding swells rivers, hits residents, spares roadway," Port Townsend Leader,
February 11th, 2015
47. BOCC extends less restrictive marijuana moratorium," PT Leader, February 11, 2015
•
The 7 Things You Should Know About Cervical Cancer
By NAPS, North American Precis Syndicate
.Posted: Friday, January 9, 2015 3:44 am, Port Townsend Leader
(NAPSI)-1. All women are at risk.
Unless you have had your cervix removed for noncancerous conditions (like fibroids), you can develop
cervical cancer, which is caused by abnormal cell growth.
2. Black women with cervical cancer die at a higher rate.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, black women have more than twice the
mortality rate of white women. Unfortunately, most of these deaths occur in women who have never been
screened or have not been screened in the past five years. The Black Women's Health Imperative
advocates that when found early, cervical cancer is highly curable.
3. Your Pap test screens for cervical cancer.
The Pap test is the most effective way to find and prevent cervical cancer. In addition to screening for
cervical cancer, the Pap test looks for cell changes (precancers) that can be treated before escalating to
cancer. Your health and peace of mind will more than make up for the minor effort it takes to get tested.
4. HPV is almost always the cause.
WThe human papillomavirus (HPV) has over 150 strains and is transmitted by skin-to-skin contact—usually
through sex. HPV can infect cells, causing genital warts and even cervical cancer. If you are found to
have HPV, don't panic. HPV is actually quite common—most women (and men) will have it at some
point. Usually, HPV is nonthreatening and goes away on its own; however, it can cause cervical and
other types of cancers. Your doctor can test for HPV during your exam.
5. There is an HPV vaccine but...
The HPV vaccine has been shown to reduce the risk of HPV in women under 27 when administered
properly; however, the vaccine only protects against the two most common strains that cause HPV and
genital warts. Even if you have been vaccinated, you should still see your doctor for routine Pap tests.
6. You may not have symptoms.
Women with cervical cancer may not show any signs early on. In more advanced stages, cervical cancer
can cause abnormal bleeding or discharge from the vagina, such as bleeding after sex. If you have any
of these symptoms, you should see your doctor.
7. Smokers have a higher risk.
Women who smoke cigarettes are more susceptible to developing cervical cancer.
For more information, visit the Imperative at www.bwhi.org and, on Facebook and Twitter,
www.twitter.com/blkwomenshealth and www.facebook.com/pages/Black-Womens-Health-
I m perative/124529610935724.
IllOn the Net:North American Precis Syndicate, Inc.(NAPSI)
J
Marijuana trade association decries Jefferson County moratorium
By Charlie Bermant , Peninsula Daily News, January 12'x', 2015
1 ,�4
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-
1
Recreational marijuana market participants (from left) Marty Gay,
Jean Ball and Kyle Craig talk about business in Gay's facility in the
Glen Cove Business Park. The three are part of a trade group that
seeks to leverage resources for all local growers and processors.
—Photo by Charlie Bermant/Peninsula Daily News
PORT TOWNSEND—A trade association formed to represent Jefferson County residents involved in
the recreational marijuana business has been sidetracked by the county's moratorium against such
businesses, say members.
110 "I'm not sure what the benefit of the coalition is right now," said Marty Gay, owner of Jefferson County
Cannabis and a member of the Olympic Peninsula Cannabis Association.
"We barely got started with the discussion of what the organization could be when the moratorium
happened, and it dovetailed into 'how can we do this?' and we had to get involved in politics," Gay said.
As the county moratorium edges toward expiration in February, commissioners are considering
extending it for four months.
Those who want to establish growing operations say that would be a fatal blow to getting a crop on the
market this year.
Others favor extending the moratorium, expressing concern about the impact of marijuana businesses in
existing neighborhoods and their specific impact on traffic and children.
Jefferson County initially followed a policy that marijuana should be regulated as any other crop.
Then, commissioners imposed a six-month moratorium after residents protested, saying marijuana
businesses could have a deleterious effect on residential neighborhoods.
The initial moratorium expires Feb. 11.
The county Department of Community Development is requesting that it be extended for another four
• months.
It has brought up two alternatives for county commissioners to consider: extend the moratorium as it is
now or extend it with an additional provision of not including parcels of land larger than 5 acres that are
designated either rural residential 1:10 or rural residential 1:20.
Either way, it seeks an extension that would keep a moratorium in place into June.
County commissioners will discuss the proposal during the meeting that will begin at 9 a.m. Monday in •
their chambers at the Jefferson County Courthouse at 1820 Jefferson St. in Port Townsend.
Commissioners are expected to schedule a public hearing on the moratorium at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 26 in
their chambers.
The Jefferson County Planning Commission also will consider the issue at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the
Tri-Area Community Center, 10 West Valley Road in Chimacum.
Elsewhere, the city of Port Townsend in August set zoning conditions for marijuana growing, and Clallam
County put a six-month pot moratorium in place in October.
The trade association has about 20 members, 12 of them active, according to Jean Ball, a Chimacum
resident who owns proposed grow operation Gnarley Dog Farm.
Big opportunity
Ball sees the farm as a tremendous opportunity.
"Washington grows the best weed on the planet," she said.
The group is now split between growers like herself who are looking for ways to deal with the moratorium
and those like Gay, who is located in a light industrial area and is not directly affected by the county
action. •
"We thought we would facilitate tourism. We thought we'd facilitate brand development. We would work
together with retail stores and make sure that Jefferson County stores got products from Jefferson
County growers," Gay said.
"Right now, I don't know what it could be, but I still think it's real important that we work together."
Said Kyle Craig, a horticulturist: "Lately, our focus has been on the moratorium rather than how do we
grow the business in a professional, sustainable way.
Craig believes that marijuana agriculture has more similarities to traditional farming than differences.
"We are obligated by law to collect data about every aspect of our yield and our potency, which gives us
the ability to provide a scientific analysis of marijuana production," he said.
"Marijuana is worth a lot now, but it won't be worth a lot forever, so right now, we have a unique
opportunity to finance research and experimentation in sustainable horticultural technology that is
applicable to all fruits and vegetables with similar growing requirements to producing marijuana."
Initiative 502, which voters approved in 2012 to legalize recreational marijuana for adults, incorporated
safety measures such as high fences and buffer zones, which are tailored to indoor growing operations,
said Craig, who favors outdoor grows.
While some security is needed, the idea that people will steal the crop is misguided, since a marijuana •
plant must be processed and refined for use, and most people don't know how, Craig said.
"People aren't going to rob from grow operations in the same way they don't rob brewers or distilleries or
tobacco farms," Craig said.
."They may rob liquor stores or hijack 18-wheelers, but that's about the money and not the drugs."
Craig said much of the fear about the marijuana business is because of perceptions of the black market
and a misunderstanding of participants in the new legal market.
"We are businesspeople, farmers, scientists, mothers and fathers, and we just want to farm this crop," he
said.
"There is a lot of fear without confirmation. There needs to be an example of a 502 business creating
problems with the neighbors or crashing house values before it can be presented as fact."
Ball said the state, in its complex licensing process, requested financial documents dating back several
years as well as information about juvenile arrest records.
"This is the hardest business that I've ever started," agreed Gay, who is chief financial officer of the
Quimper Mercantile Co. in Port Townsend.
"You are basically a partner of the government, and if you don't embrace that early on, you are going to
just give yourself ulcers.
"We understand we were given this opportunity and this is how the bill was passed, but it's got to
change," Gay said.
• Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant( peninsuladailynews.com.
•
4
Jefferson County plans to talk pot(moratorium)at two public sessions
By Charlie Bermant, Peninsula Daily News,January 13th, 2015
•
f • .
Chimacum resident Felicia Allen speaks out in favor of extending
a moratorium on recreational marijuana businesses at a Jefferson
County commissioners meeting on Monday.
—Photo by Charlie Bermant/Peninsula Daily News
PORT TOWNSEND — Discussion about a county moratorium on recreational marijuana business will
continue with a meeting this week of the Jefferson County Planning Commission and a public hearing
with county commissioners later this month.
After 40 minutes of spirited public comment Monday, the Jefferson County commissioners set their public
hearing date for 6 p.m. Jan. 26 at the Cotton Building, 607 Water St.
This special time and place were chosen in order to accommodate larger crowds, according to
commissioners.
The Planning Commission will meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Tri-Area Community Center, 10 West •
Valley Road in Chimacum.
The moratorium went into effect Aug. 11 and is set to expire Feb. 11, with the possibility of its extension
to June 11.
Two options are under consideration: to extend the original moratorium or put in place an amended
version that exempts parcels larger than five acres.
The commissioners also have the choice to allow expiration of the moratorium, though support for that
option is lacking.
"I would love to be able to end the moratorium," said District 3 Commissioner Kathleen Kler, who took
office Jan. 2 and was immediately deluged by people on both sides of the issue.
"But it's very complicated and we need more information, and if we end the moratorium without having
some of these questions, there could be consequences."
Kler hasn't tallied the numbers of those for and against extending the moratorium, saying preferences of
those approaching her are about equal.
There is a difference, she said, as older citizens are generally opposed to extending the moratorium
while younger people with families are in favor.
Kler said she is unclear about the differences between the marijuana regulations that have caused •
controversy and those governing hard cider, which the community has embraced.
y 4"
i
"Cider is a controlled substance that is produced locally and is kept out of the hands of minors, but there
hasn't been the same public interest and outcry over those regulations," she said.
*Security is also a concern, but Kler feels the current laws provide adequate protection.
On Thursday, Kler was visiting a grow operation when the alarm was inadvertently tripped and the police
arrived in minutes.
"It was quite impressive to see how quickly and professionally they responded," she said.
Under current code, marijuana processing and production is allowed in light industrial zoned areas,
which moratorium opponents have not opposed.
In question is the placement of grow operations in rural residential areas with lot sizes smaller than five
acres, with concerns voiced about traffic, trespassers and proximity to children.
"I do not want this in my backyard and do not want my son growing up near a marijuana growing
operation," said Felicia Allen of Chimacum.
"As a citizen of the United States of America, I do not feel there is any justice for me or my neighbors,
and if you have multiple people who don't want it in our backyard, we shouldn't have it in their backyard."
In response, District 1 Commissioner Phil Johnson said that neighbors not liking a business was not
grounds to prohibit the business if it is operating legally.
"This is a chance for Jefferson County to get it right, to derive a workable plan for the administration of
•this new industry," said Peter Davis, who favors the moratorium's extension.
"While I empathize with the business persons who are currently held up by the moratorium, I would urge
the county to place the importance of doing things the right way ahead of doing things quickly."
Growers have stated that if the moratorium is extended, it will endanger their ability to produce a 2015
crop.
"There were people who were playing by the rules, and if we extend the moratorium, they will miss the
growing season," said District 2 Commissioner David Sullivan.
"But we need to find a balance, and have a good reason for changing the rules."
Port Townsend resident Gary Felder criticized the "NIMBY effect," where people are opposed to new
enterprises in their own backyards while supporting them elsewhere.
"I have property rights too," Felder said.
"I think we need to stop messing with this son of a gun and let the free market that we all bow down to
have its way with it."
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermantpeninsuladailynews.com.
S
Jefferson County planners streamline process for residential building permits
By Charlie Bermant, Peninsula Daily News, January 15th, 2015
• PORT TOWNSEND —The Jefferson County Department of Community Development has
streamlined its permitting system for new residential construction to the point that officials
expect some permits to be issued the day of application.
"This will speed up the process and eliminate a lot of waste," said Associate Planner David
Wayne Johnson of the new Upfront Review Team.
"Ever since I began working at the county, I've been hearing how we need to issue permits
more quickly, and it has taken us some time to find an acceptable solution," he said.
Under the old system, a permit request was presented to county planning staff for review and
distribution to such other agencies as county Public Health and Public Works.
Under the new system, staff from all applicable agencies look at the permit at the same time so
there is immediate review and, in some cases, immediate approval of a residential building
permit.
"This drastically reduces the time, confusion and frustration that used to be common with the old
way of doing things," Johnson said.
"It's conceivable that an applicant could get their permit the same day they submitted their
application."
• Johnson said the new process is currently in place only for single-family residential permits but
could extend to other categories depending on the complexity of the request.
Walk-in help is available for some topics and is free for the first 15 minutes but charged at a $78
hourly rate thereafter.
Johnson said the new system won't need any more staff time but will require more organization
and coordination.
Under the new permitting process, an applicant is given a checklist upon scheduling an
appointment to submit a building permit.
This allows applicants to make sure they have everything needed to review their applications
once they are submitted.
The Upfront Review Team is then alerted to the appointment and starts reviewing the
application as it is submitted.
"This eliminates the delays caused by routing the application to different departments and the
chance that the applicant will get a letter weeks, sometimes months, later telling them they need
to submit more information," Johnson said.
"The review team can talk directly to the applicant and explain any issues that may come up,
and if they need more information, the applicant will leave the appointment knowing exactly
• what they need to submit to get their permit."
Johnson said applicants need to be more aware of what is required to make the new program
work. •
Currently, about 52 percent of applications are incomplete in some way.
To view the checklist, go to http://tinyurl.com/PDN-Permits.
The department is at 621 Sheridan St., Port Townsend.
Hours are from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. It is closed Fridays.
For more information, phone Johnson or Sally Ellis at 360-379-4450.
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant(a,,peninsuladailynews.com.
•
UPDATED—More than 100 ducks, chickens and geese destroyed after avian flu strikes
east of Port Angeles
By Paul Gottlieb, Peninsula Daily News, January 19th, 2015
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State officials said there is no public health threat from avian flu.
PORT ANGELES —Avian flu has been found in a backyard flock of ducks, chickens and geese east of
Port Angeles, and all the birds were destroyed.
The H5N2 bird flu strain is not harmful to humans. But the disease is very contagious and deadly among
birds, and the fear is that it could spread into commercially-raised chickens and turkeys.
A ban on the movement of eggs, domestic poultry and poultry products within and outside of a 10
kilometer radius— 6.2 miles — likely will be placed Tuesday around the home at 92 Cosmos Lane in the
Agnew area, state Department of Agriculture spokesman Hector Castro said this morning.
It wasn't done today, Castro said, because state offices were closed because of the Martin Luther King
Jr. Day holiday.
An emergency order must be officially adopted by the state before a quarantine zone is established.
• Once it's established, state inspectors plan to go door-to-door in the area this week looking for sick or
dead birds and voluntary testing of other flocks in the neighborhood.
The home where the birds were located is owned by Sherry and Gary Smith.
Castro said Sherry Smith had alerted state officials after several of her birds got sick.
Contacted by the Peninsula Daily News, she had no comment and referred all questions to state and
federal officials.
118 birds killed
Eight U.S. and state agriculture workers dressed in biohazard suits and masks euthanized 118 ducks,
chicken and geese at Smith's home on Sunday after the domesticated fowl apparently were infected by
wild birds, federal Department of Agriculture spokesman Dr.
Alan Huddleston said.
Avian flu does not affect meat or eggs, which are safe to eat.
"There are no people with any illness related to [flu-infected] poultry anywhere," state Department of
Health spokesman Donn Moyer said.
Clallam is the third county in Washington to report a case of avian influenza, joining Benton and
Whatcom counties.
•
About 700 chickens, turkeys, ducks and guinea fowl in two backyard flocks in the Tri-Cities area were
affected by the outbreak earlier this month.
Some of the birds died from the fast-acting H5N2 virus. The remaining birds were destroyed to prevent
the disease's spread.
Scientists are trying to determine whether the Tri-Cities outbreak was caused by the same H5N2 .
responsible for a December outbreak in southwest British Columbia, Canada, that led to nearly 250,000
chickens and turkeys being destroyed.
A northern pintail duck in Whatcom County south of British Columbia tested positive for H5N2 in
December. A mallard duck shot by a hunter in Eugene, Ore., also tested positive for N5N2.
The H5N2 strain contains gene segments both from a deadly Eurasian avian flu and from avian flu more
typically found in North America.
Take protections
State officials have said that it is important for backyard chicken and duck owners to keep their fowl
separated from wild birds.
Avian flu is usually carried by wild ducks and spreads from their feces.
The state Department of Agriculture has ordered a quarantine of at least 240 days for a 20-mile zone in
Benton and Franklin counties around the Tri-Cities properties with the infected flocks.
The quarantine prohibits the movement of eggs, poultry and other poultry products outside the zone.
A joint team of state and federal technicians worked to disinfect the two properties last week.
Castro said that generally involves deep-cleaning equipment, but it can also require taking down •
outbuildings.
The virus has not been detected in the state's commercial poultry operations or anywhere else in the
U.S., state officials have said.
But the Canadian government has banned imports of birds, raw poultry and poultry products from
Washington and Oregon.
China has also banned all U.S. poultry, eggs and poultry products.
Backyard bird owners are urged to monitor their flock closely and report sick or dead birds to the WSDA
Avian Health Program at 800-606-3056 or to the USDA at 866-536-7593.
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at
pgottlieb(c�peninsuladailynews.com.
•
First flu deaths of season reported at Olympic Medical Center
Peninsula Daily News, January 21st, 2015
•
PORT ANGELES—Three people have died of influenza at Olympic Medical Center, all of the
victims elderly persons with compromised immune systems.
Dr. Tom Locke, health officer for Clallam and Jefferson counties, informed the Clallam County
Board of Health on Tuesday about the deaths and said the flu season has yet to peak.
That should happen in the next two to three weeks, he said.
"This is a bad flu season," Locke told health commissioners, because the A-Texas strain that
the current flu vaccine guards against has "drifted" to a variety known as A-Switzerland.
"If everything had gone right, it would have been about 65 percent effective," Locke said of the
vaccine.
"As it is, it is about 25 percent effective."
No deaths have been reported at Forks Community Hospital or Jefferson Healthcare hospitals.
Nor have any deaths been reported among infants, the other segment of the population
especially at risk from influenza.
•
•
4,0
State's avian flu quarantine east of Port Angeles delayed; measure expected to be
put in place today
By Paul Gottlieb, Peninsula Daily News,January 21st, 2015
PORT ANGELES — State officials delayed late Tuesday afternoon imposing an expected 6.2-mile avian-
flu-related quarantine in the Agnew area east of Port Angeles.
The quarantine likely will be imposed today to guard against the spread of the bird virus, said Hector
Castro, state Department of Agriculture spokesman.
"I would imaging we will get approval of the emergency rule that allows us to implement the quarantine
[today]," Castro said.
The hold-up was due to complex administrative procedures required to impose the restrictions on the
movement of eggs, domestic poultry and poultry products and difficulties in determining the quarantine
areas's boundaries, Castro said.
The state Department of Agriculture wants to set the ban on the movement of eggs, domestic poultry and
poultry products within a 10-kilometer radius around property at 92 Cosmos Lane in the Agnew area
where infected birds lived.
A backyard flock of 118 ducks, chickens and geese on the property was destroyed Sunday to stop the
virus' spread after at least five ducks died.
A quarantine could last up to 240 days, Castro said.
"In reality, it could just be a few weeks."
• Contacted by the Peninsula Daily News, Sherry Smith, who owns the property with her husband, Gary,
referred all inquiries to state and federal officials.
Dr. Alan Huddleston of the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the Smiths did everything right in terms of
contacting state officials and having their birds examined.
"They could write the book on what you do," Huddleston said.
The USDA confirmed Friday that the Agnew birds were infected with the H5N2 strain of avian flu.
Jared Keefer, Jefferson County environmental health and water quality director, said in a prepared
statement Tuesday that there is no immediate public health concern due to the avian flu outbreak on the
property.
Avian flu virus has not been detected in the state commercial poultry operations or in any commercial
facilities in the nation, state officials have said.
The response to the Agnew detections has been jointly handled by state and federal health and
agriculture officials.
They include Huddleston, a veterinary medical officer with USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service in Maryland.
The quarantine was not imposed Monday because state offices were closed and state officials had to
draft and approve an emergency rule to establish the restrictions, Castro said.
^A,
Castro said Tuesday that owners of backyard and commercial flocks should prevent their birds from
coming into contact with wild waterfowl and that the owners should not share poultry equipment with
other poultry farmers.
Equipment that is used to care for the birds also should be disinfected after use, as should coveralls, •
boots and buckets, Castro said.
Avian flu is not harmful to humans but is highly contagious and deadly among birds.
The virus cannot be transmitted by eating eggs or meat from infected birds.
But the fear among state officials is that it could spread into commercially raised chickens and turkeys.
To prevent that, once the quarantine is established, government inspectors will go door-to-door within a 3
kilometer radius of the Cosmos Lane home— 1.9 miles —to find and talk with owners of domestic
poultry and fowl and conduct voluntary, free testing of animals if so requested.
They also will keep close watch on the 6.2-mile quarantine area.
Castro said turkeys and chickens are tested by examining swab samples from inside the birds' beaks,
while waterfowl such as ducks are tested by taking samples of their feces.
The samples are examined at a laboratory in Puyallup that detects the presence of avian influenza.
If the test is positive, the sample is examined further at a laboratory in Ames, Iowa., to determine the
strain.
At least five infected ducks on the Smiths' property looked sick Jan. 7 and died by Jan. 9, Huddleston
said.
The Smiths had set up an infirmary for the sick birds on their property.
The remaining 118 birds were euthanized in a chamber that was filled with carbon dioxide, Huddleston
said Monday.
The birds become groggy and lose consciousness before expiring.
"We moved very quickly because many of the animals were sick," Huddleston said.
"It agonized the family to see them sick."
The dead animals and the head-to-toe Tyvek polyethylene protective suits worn by the U.S. and state
agriculture workers during the cleanup operation were incinerated afterward, Huddleston said.
Government vehicles on the property also were scrubbed down, including the tires.
The virus does not survive on clothing for long, and the heat created by the friction between tires and
pavement also destroys it within five miles of travel, Huddleston said.
"We take extra measures," he said.
"We don't want to go on a farm and take some off."
Four other avian flu detections have occurred among birds in Washington state in recent months. ,
Two were in mid-December in Whatcom County in a falcon that had the H5N8 strain and a pin-tail duck
with the H5N2 strain.
Two detections of H5N2 also were found in flocks of backyard poultry in Benton County in the Tri-Cities
Orea, affecting about 700 chickens, turkeys, ducks and guinea fowl.
A December outbreak of H5N2 in southwest British Columbia led to the destruction of nearly 250,000
chickens and turkeys.
Keefer said die-offs of waterfowl, shore-birds and other wild birds should be reported to the state
Department of Fish and Wildlife at 1-800-606-8768.
Domestic bird and commercial poultry die-offs and illnesses should be reported to the state Department
of Agriculture Avian Health Program at 1-800-606-3056.
"This is a serious issue, and [bird owners] need to take steps to try to protect their birds," Castro said.
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb[a�peninsuladailynews.corn.
•
•
9/1.11n---
Avian flu quarantine set in Agnew area as inspectors go door to door
By Leah Leach and Paul Gottlieb, Peninsula Daily News, January 22nd, 2015
' ' '''' )
Colby Govan, barn manager of the Agnew Store east of Port Angeles,
holds an Ameraucana chicken named Frank on Wednesday after the
bird was tested for avian flu earlier in the week. Results of testing are
pending.—Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News
PORT ANGELES — State officials have imposed an avian-flu-related quarantine in a radius of about 6
miles around a residence in the Agnew area east of Port Angeles.
Two teams with the U.S. Department of Agriculture began traveling door to door Monday to talk with
residents and ask their permission to test their flocks, said Dr. Alan Huddleston.
The quarantine was put into place late Tuesday to guard against the spread of the bird virus, said Hector
i Castro, state Department of Agriculture spokesman.
The USDA ban is on the movement of eggs, domestic poultry and poultry products within a 10-kilometer
radius around property at 92 Cosmos Lane in the Agnew area where infected birds were found earlier
this month.
A backyard flock of 118 ducks, chickens and geese on the property was destroyed Sunday to stop the
virus' spread after at least five ducks died.
Avian flu is not harmful to humans. It does not affect poultry meat or egg products, which remain safe to
eat. As always, both wild and domestic poultry must be properly cooked.
However, the disease can be lethal for poultry. If the strain is one that is highly pathogenic, then it is very
contagious and deadly among birds.
Although the virus has not been found in commercial poultry anywhere in Washington or the U.S., Castro
said, the fear is that it could.
Daily through Saturday, inspectors are traveling door to door within a 3-kilometer radius of the Cosmos
Lane home — 1.9 miles —to find and talk with owners of domestic poultry and fowl and conduct
voluntary, free testing of animals if requested.
After Saturday, inspectors will cover the broader range of the quarantine area through Tuesday, he
gadded.
To see a map of the quarantine area, go to www.agr.wa.gov/lawsrules/rulemakinq.
The teams visited 317 premises Monday and Tuesday, 297 of which did not have poultry, Huddleston
said.
They collected samples from 14 places with birds. Four property owners declined testing.
•
Chickens, quail and pheasant kept at Agnew Grocery, 2863 Old Olympic Highway, were tested by USDA
workers Tuesday, said Colby Govan, barn manager for Agnew Grocery.
To test birds, team members wear protective clothing: head-to-toe Tyvek polyethylene suits, said
Huddleston, a veterinary medical officer with USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in
Maryland.
The birds are not killed for testing. Instead, samples of fluids and feces are taken to be examined at a
laboratory in Puyallup that detects the presence of avian influenza. That test takes three days,
Huddleston said.
If the test is positive, the sample is examined at a laboratory in Ames, Iowa., to determine the strain. That
test takes another three to four days.
If the strain is a highly pathogenic strain of avian flu, such as H5N2 or H5N8, then the animals are
destroyed. If it is a low pathogenic strain, meaning it is not as contagious or deadly, then they are not.
"It usually takes about a week" to get the final results and know if the birds must be destroyed,
Huddleston said.
The strain at the Cosmos Lane home was confirmed Friday as being H5N2.
That is the same strain of the virus found in a pintail duck in Whatcom County on Dec. 16 and in two
backyard flocks in Benton County, Castro said.
Earlier this week, Sherry Smith, who owns the Cosmos Lane property with her husband, Gary, referred
inquiries to state and federal officials.
Huddleston said the Smiths' quick action after a goose died Jan. 9 helped immensely in alerting state
and federal officials to the outbreak.
The Smiths immediately reported the death of a goose —which succumbed very quickly, after two days
of illness —to the USDA, then drove the dead bird to a regional lab for testing, Huddleston said.
In the time between submission of the goose for testing and confirmation of the virus, four more birds
died, Huddleston said.
The remaining 118 birds were euthanized Sunday in a chamber filled with carbon dioxide, Huddleston
said Monday.
The dead animals and the protective suits worn during the cleanup operation were incinerated, and
government vehicles on the property were scrubbed down, Huddleston said.
"The leading hypothesis is that [the birds] got it from waterfowl that were able to access the area that
they are in," he said.
The incubation period for avian flu can be as long as 21 days but can be much shorter, Huddleston said.
The earliest symptom is lethargy. •
"Then they show signs like you or I might express with the flu," Huddleston said.
Symptoms include mucous running from beaks and eyes growing swollen and puffy. Combs and wattles
swell and turn dark, and bruise-like blotches can appear on legs and feet.
• "Some don't show signs at all," Huddleston said. "The owner goes out, and they are dead."
USDA officials say bird owners should keep their birds from contact with wild waterfowl and should not
share poultry equipment with other poultry farmers.
Equipment that is used to care for the birds should be disinfected after use, they said.
The strain of H5N2 was found in two flocks of backyard poultry in Benton County in the Tri-Cities area,
affecting about 700 chickens, turkeys, ducks and guinea fowl.
A quarantine zone covers parts of Benton and Franklin counties.
In mid-December in Whatcom County, a falcon was found with the H5N8 strain and a pin-tail duck with
the H5N2 strain.
A December outbreak of H5N2 in southwest British Columbia led to the destruction of nearly 250,000
chickens and turkeys.
Die-offs of wild birds should be reported to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife at 800-606-8768.
Domestic bird and commercial poultry die-offs and illnesses should be reported to the USDA Avian
Health Program at 800-606-3056.
Managing Editor/News Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3531 or at leah.leach(a�peninsuladailynews.com.
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345,ext. 5060, or at paul.gottlieb(a?peninsuladailynews.corn.
110
Farmers in avian flu quarantine area east of Port Angeles monitor poultry as
inspectors test birds
By Paul Gottlieb, Peninsula Daily News,January 23rd, 2015
•
Ouarantne zone
`-Port .. -
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Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News
The quarantine zone in place for avian flu in Clallam County.
PORT ANGELES —As inspectors continued testing domestic birds for avian flu Thursday in the Agnew
area, Kelly Johnston monitored his chickens.
He and his wife, Christie, owners of Johnston Farms, have 25 chickens, about 15 of which were tested
Wednesday, Kelly Johnston said Thursday.
5 "They're all very healthy," she said. "So far, so good."
None has exhibited the runny beak, swollen-eyes, sluggish symptoms of the H5N2 virus.
On Sunday, at least five birds owned by Sherry and Gary Smith at 92 Cosmos Lane died of the infection,
prompting the destruction Sunday of 118 geese, ducks and chickens.
No cases have been reported in Jefferson County.
Two U.S. Department of Agriculture teams, each with two people, continued going door to door Thursday
within a 1.9-mile radius, or 3 kilometers, that lies within a 6.2-mile, or 10-kilometer, quarantine area
around the Cosmos Lane property.
The teams will be talking with residents and asking permission to test their birds through Saturday. After
that, they will visit residences within the larger quarantine area through Tuesday, according to Dr. Alan
Huddleston of the USDA.
The teams visited 481 properties Monday through Wednesday, of which 34 had poultry, mostly chickens,
Huddleston said Thursday.
The inspectors had collected samples from 20 properties with birds as of Wednesday.
Statistical samplings of flocks are obtained when more than 15 birds are present, Huddleston said.
el Thursday's totals were not available late that afternoon.
Occupants of 14 properties have declined the testing, although some delayed it because it was
inconvenient when inspectors arrived.
The operation is being conducted jointly by state and federal agriculture officials.
The state Department of Agriculture set the quarantine on the movement of eggs, domestic poultry and
poultry products within the 10-kilometer area around the Smiths' residence Tuesday. •
The quarantine could last up to 240 days.
After it ends, owners of infected birds will be allowed to buy new ones, Huddleston said.
Sherry Smith has referred all queries to state and federal officials.
The family does not plan to restart the flock, Huddleston said.
H5N2 and H5N8 avian flu are pathogenic strains that are contagious and deadly to wild and domestic
poultry and fowl, and are spread by wild waterfowl.
Humans are not susceptible to disease from eating eggs or meat from infected birds or being in their
proximity.
H5N2 has been found in Clallam County and H5N8 in a falcon in Whatcom County.
Turkeys and chickens are tested by examining swab samples from inside their beaks, while ducks are
tested by examining their feces.
The head-to-toe suits that were worn by inspectors who tested the Johnstons' chickens were discarded
after use as all the suits are after avian testing at a site, Huddleston said.
Christie Johnston was out of town earlier this week when she called her husband about the Cosmos
•
Lane outbreak after learning about it from a friend, she said Thursday.
"It was concerning, definitely," she said Thursday. "We are keeping a watch on our birds."
Inspectors showed up at the Johnstons' door at about 9 a.m. Wednesday, Kelly Johnston said.
"I figured that was coming, so it was no problem.
"They asked if I had chickens and gave me literature to look at on the symptoms, and told me to give
them a ring if any showed up."
The testing took about 45 minutes. Johnston went about his business while the inspectors swabbed the
chickens' beaks for samples.
Colby Govan, a manager at Agnew Grocery and Feed, which is in the quarantine area and located near
the Johnstons' farm, said Thursday the store's 12 chickens were tested Tuesday.
"It was kind of weird," Govan said.
"It looked uncomfortable for the birds, but it's worth it to make sure they don't have the flu."
Huddleston said owners of tested birds will be notified in three to seven days if the examinations turn out
positive and won't be if the tests are negative.
Govan was told no news is good news, he said. •
�•
To prevent the spread of the virus, owners of backyard and commercial flocks should prevent their birds
from coming in contact with wild waterfowl and should not share poultry equipment with other poultry
farmers.
The avian flu virus has not been detected in any commercial poultry operations in the nation, including
Washington state, state officials have said.
The H5N2 virus was first discovered in British Columbia, leading to the destruction of 250,000 chickens
and turkeys, then was discovered in backyard poultry in Benton County and the Tri-Cities area.
"I was surprised it was local here, although it always is surprising when it happens in your backyard,"
Kelly Johnston said.
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
•
No avian flu spread in first Agnew tests as federal inspectors go door to door
By Leah Leach, Peninsula Daily News, January 25"',2015
•
4
Alan Huddleston, public information officer of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture response team
investigating an outbreak of avian flu in the Agnew
area,wears an isolation garment worn by investigators
testing for presence of the disease.
—Photo by Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News
So far, tests have found no avian flu at residences neighboring an Agnew-area backyard flock that was
destroyed last week because some of the birds were infected with the virus.
Test results are available for the 22 samples taken from poultry in the area through last Thursday, Dr.
Alan Huddleston, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said Saturday.
"All [tests] were negative" for the avian flu virus, he said.
ID
Two more samplings were taken Friday, he said.
The initial tests —which are only for the presence of avian flu, not the actual strain of the flu —take at
least three days, so more results will be reported in the next few days.
But so far, there is no sign of the illness other than the initial cases at 92 Cosmos Lane.
"That's good news," Huddleston said.
At least five birds owned by Sherry and Gary Smith on Cosmos Lane died of the infection, prompting the
destruction last Sunday of their remaining 118 geese, ducks and chickens.
A 6.2-mile — or 10-kilometer—quarantine area circling the Smiths' property was established Tuesday.
Federal inspectors began their work Monday, even before the quarantine was put into place, going door
to door within a 1.9-mile (3-kilometer) radius of the initial case to talk with people and, if they owned
poultry, ask that they allow tests of the birds.
To ensure they don't spread the virus, inspectors wear disposable, head-to-toe, white Tyvek
polyethylene suits to take samples, Huddleston said, and the suits are bagged and sent to Olympia for
disposal after each sampling.
Samples of fluids and feces are taken from the birds for testing.
As of Friday, teams had visited 728 premises. Of those, 39 had poultry, Huddleston said.
Samples were taken from the birds at 24 of those residences, while no samples were taken at 15 places.
Two feed stores also were sampled.
The intensive surveillance, which is within the 3-kilometer zone, is expected to be wrapped up today,
Huddleston said. •
Inspectors then will begin visiting "high-risk" areas in the circle between the 3-kilometer and 10-kilometer
boundaries of the quarantine area.
High-risk areas are those bordering waterways or wetlands, which would be expected to host high
concentrations of wild birds.
Avian flu is most likely spread to domestic flocks through wild birds, according to health officials.
The state Department of Agriculture set the quarantine on the movement of eggs, domestic poultry and
poultry products within the 10-kilometer area around the Smiths' residence Tuesday.
For an interactive map of the quarantine area, go to http://tinyurl.com/PDN-avianflumap. Type in your
address to see if your home is within the quarantine area.
The quarantine could last up to 240 days, but Huddleston has said it could be lifted earlier than that.
If avian is flu is found in the initial test, then a second test will determine if the strain is either H5N2 or
H5N8, both of which are highly pathogenic and are lethal and very contagious among birds. That second
test takes at least four days.
So far, that second test has not been necessary.
If it becomes necessary and the results say the strain is a highly contagious one, then a new quarantine •
area will be established around the new site, Huddleston said, and the process will begin again.
That's what happened in Benton County, where two quarantine areas around two flocks with H5N2
covered some 20 miles.
No cases have been reported in neighboring Jefferson County.
In mid-December in Whatcom County, a falcon was found with the H5N8 strain and a pin-tail duck with
the H5N2 strain.
A December outbreak of H5N2 in southwest British Columbia led to the destruction of nearly 250,000
chickens and turkeys.
A new outbreak was reported last week in Canyon County, Idaho, Huddleston said.
The avian flu virus has not been detected in any commercial poultry operations in the nation, including
Washington state, state officials have said.
Managing Editor/News Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3531 or at leah.leach@peninsuladailynews.com.
410
Jefferson County commissioners anticipate large, active turnout for pot business
moratorium hearing today
By Charlie Bermant, Peninsula Daily News, January 26th, 2015
•
Charlie Bermant/Peninsula Daily News
Jefferson County Commissioner Kathleen Kier with the
marijuana-related emails received over a two-day period
that she was out of the office.
PORT TOWNSEND —Jefferson County commissioners expect to get an earful on two alternatives for
an extension of a moratorium on recreational marijuana businesses during a public hearing today.
"I expect that we will get a lot of comments that will go across the board about the marijuana business,"
said District 3 Commissioner Kathleen Kier.
"There may also be a lot of people who will make comments outside the focus of the hearing about
•issues that we are not addressing."
The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the Cotton Building, 607 Water St.
Commissioners are scheduled to incorporate public comment into deliberation of the issue at a meeting
at 10 a.m. Feb. 2 in chambers at the Jefferson County Courthouse, 1820 Jefferson St.
At the February meeting, commissioners are expected to select one of three available options: to extend
the moratorium, amend it to exempt larger parcels or allow it to expire.
While scheduling today's meeting back on Jan. 12, county commissioners decided to accommodate
larger crowds and full-time work schedules by providing a larger venue and holding the meeting in the
evening —the latter at the suggestion of District 1 Commissioner Phil Johnson.
Soon after the approval of Initiative 502 in November 2012, the county designated marijuana as a
standard agricultural project but changed that position after a series of public protests.
The moratorium went into effect Aug. 11, 2014 and is set to expire Feb. 11, with the possibility of its
extension to June 11.
Two options are mainly under consideration: to extend the original moratorium or put in place an
*amended version that exempts parcels larger than 5 acres.
The first alternative would extend the moratorium as it now exists.
In the second option, parcels larger than five acres that are zoned rural residential would be exempt from
the moratorium.
The commissioners also can allow expiration of the moratorium, though there is no board support for that
option.
•
Several marijuana grow operations have purchased land and equipment in anticipation of a new
opportunity but have had to put their businesses on hold due to the moratorium.
One grower, Jean Ball of Gnarley Dog Farms in Chimacum, told commissioners Jan. 5 that if the
moratorium is extended, she will lose the opportunity to grow a full crop in 2015 and that its existence
harmed her business.
Kler, who took office Jan. 2, said she has immersed herself in the topic by speaking with people on both
sides of the issue, visiting a grow operation and discussing the matter with other county officials and
those from other jurisdictions.
"I've talked this over with commissioners from other counties, and there is no place in the state that has
the level of citizen participation that we have in Jefferson County," she said.
"It's good news that we have such a high level of involvement but also shows there is a great
misunderstanding as to what public comment can and cannot do when there is a law."
Kler said that incorporating legal marijuana into Jefferson County "has caused a lot of confusion and
fear," much of which centers around the effects of a legal marijuana business situated close to where
children congregate.
"If it were just about land use, it would be easy," she said. •
"The fear and the public safety part is coloring and layering the conversation, as there is a difference of
opinion as to what degree of safety is involved in what is now a legitimate business operation.
Kler said that support and opposition for marijuana business haven't originated from the expected places
and that many people who use the drug and supported the initiative were surprised by its potential
impact on neighborhoods.
Kler said that generally, older citizens are opposed to extending the moratorium while younger people
with families are in favor.
Kler said that the attention given to marijuana and the moratorium is "absolutely disproportionate" and
has taken away from other priorities.
"I will look forward to addressing other issues in the county when we have this settled," she said.
Anyone attending the meeting can submit verbal or written testimony on the issue.
Efforts to reach Johnson and District 2 Commissioner David Sullivan on Sunday were unsuccessful.
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com. 1111
Truck wreck blocked highway most of Monday near
• Brinnon; driver OK
By Port Townsend Leader staff I Posted: Tuesday, January 27, 2015 10:07 am
The driver of a southbound semi-truck lost control on U.S. Highway 101 early Monday morning,
Jan. 26. His cab ended up off the road, while the empty container trailer blocked the highway.
The driver had minor injuries; the accident caused traffic delays all day. Photo by Brinnon Fire
Department
The driver of a semi-truck escaped serious injury Monday when his rig wrecked and blocked at
least one lane of U.S. Highway 101 for nearly 10 hours.
According to Patrick Nicholson, Brinnon Fire Department chief, a semi-truck hauling an empty
bulk container trailer left U.S. Highway 101 at about 6:15 a.m., Monday, Jan. 26 at milepost 307
near Dosewallips State Park, just south of Brinnon.
The commercial truck was traveling southbound at milepost 307.5 when a tire left the roadway
and caused the truck driver to lose control, traveling in the ditch as the empty bulk container
trailer swung out, according to a Brinnon Fire Department report.
The truck cab left the roadway and came to a stop in the brush, off the roadway, with the trailer
blocking both lanes.
The adult male driver was not seriously injured but was assisted out of the cab, which had gone
down an embankment, Nicholson said.
While rescuers were in the cab, the driver of a logging truck, who had connected a winch to an
axle of the disabled trailer, was attempting to pull it to open a highway lane, Nicholson said,
endangering personnel and the unstable truck involved in the accident. That logging truck driver
left the scene before he could be identified.
Brinnon Fire Department personnel accessed and bent the truck's fuel lines to slow a leak;
about 25 gallons of diesel hit the ground from an estimated 125 gallons in the truck's fuel tanks.
Personnel used special chemical absorbent and fluid that neutralizes fuel, rendering it non-
flammable.
The driver is based out of Vancouver, Washington, and the truck belonged to Caruso Produce,
licensed out of Oregon, Chief Nicholson reported.
Both lanes were blocked for several hours, and then one lane was opened to flagger-controlled,
alternating traffic. Both later had to be closed again upon the arrival of a tow truck; one lane was
opened after 4:30 p.m., and the roadway fully reopened by 5:30 p.m. Jan. 26.
The Washington State Patrol is investigating the accident.
•
UPDATE—State Patrol has to bring in crane to finally clear wreck on U.S.
Highway 101
Peninsula Daily News,January 28"',2015 •
BRINNON —A tractor-trailer crashed on U.S. Highway 101 near Brinnon early Monday, closing
the road in both directions for eight hours.
There were no injuries when the truck jackknifed partially off the road at Milepost 307 near
Dosewallips State Park.
The crash created a small diesel spill and blocked traffic from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., according
to the State Patrol.
The 2003 Freightliner semi-truck with a standard box trailer, driven by Donald Scroggie, 64, of
Vancouver, Wash., was southbound on Highway 101 when the right wheels crossed onto the
soft shoulder, said Trooper Russ Winger, State Patrol spokesman.
"The driver over-corrected, and the cab crossed the center line and hit trees on the northbound
side. The trailer swung around and blocked the highway," Winger said.
State Patrol had to bring in a crane and position it below the wreck to lift the badly damaged cab
from the wooded slope where it came to rest to put the rig back on the road, Winger said.
Traffic was diverted around the wreck on a nearby gravel road while the truck was removed
from the scene.
At about 2:30 p.m., the road reopened to alternating traffic and was reopened fully by 4 p.m. •
Scroggie was examined by medical personnel on the scene for minor injuries and released.
Winger said charges against Scroggie are pending. A State Patrol report said he would be cited
for "wheels off roadway."
Last modified:January 26.2015 8:31 PM
O
North Olympic Peninsula avian flu quarantine area free of new cases; inspectors close to
finishing work
By Chris McDaniel, For Peninsula Daily News, January 28th, 2015
PORT ANGELES —As of Tuesday, no new cases of avian flu in the Agnew area had been discovered
by inspectors with the state Department of Agriculture.
A quarantine was established Jan. 20 in a 6.2-mile —or 10-kilometer— radius around 92 Cosmos Lane
where a backyard flock of 118 birds owned by Sherry and Gary Smith were destroyed Jan. 18 after at
least five birds died of the H5N2 strain of avian flu.
Inspectors have gone door to door since Jan. 19 within a 1.9-mile (3-kilometer) radius of the initial case
to talk with people and, if they own poultry, ask that they allow tests of the birds.
The latest test results "have all come back negative," Hector Castro, state Department of Agriculture
spokesman, said Tuesday.
"So far, everything we have been getting back from our testing has come back negative, which is what
we want to see."
Testing is expected to continue into the near future, but the inspectors "are close to wrapping up," Castro
said.
The state Department of Agriculture set the quarantine on the movement of eggs, domestic poultry and
poultry products within the 10-kilometer area around the Smiths' residence.
For an interactive map of the quarantine area, go to http://tinyurl.com/PDN-avianflumap. Type in your
•address to see if your home is within the quarantine area.
Avian flu is lethal and highly contagious among birds but is not harmful to humans.
As of Monday, "it looks like the team has visited a total of 1,039 locations," Castro noted.
"Of those, there were 32 locations where there was poultry where we were able to take samples that we
can send for testing."
There were other properties visited whose owners did not allow inspectors to take samples.
"There were some premises that had birds but declined to allow us to take samples for testing," Castro
said. "Of those, there were 22.
"This is a voluntary testing program, so we rely on the cooperation of the bird owners to be able to get
the samples and send those off for testing."
Inspectors have been visiting "high-risk" areas — places near waterways that draw large numbers of wild
birds — in the rest of the quarantine zone.
"The way it works, when they find a location where there is an infected flock with avian influenza, they
draw a 3-kilometer circle around that, and they do this really intensive sweep of the area," Castro said.
"Beyond that, they draw a larger circle of 10 kilometers, and they do some spot checking in that area
where they go to some premises, but they are not going to go door to door outside of that 3-kilometer
*zone."
In the larger area, inspectors visited about 800 properties, Castro said.
Dr. Alan Huddleston, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, conducted a question-and-
answer session Monday night at the Sequim Prairie Grange hall, where he told the 25 attendees that
inspectors had found no news cases of avian flu in the Agnew area.
There is still no date set for the quarantine to be lifted, "but we just lifted the quarantine that was existing •
in parts of Benton and Franklin counties over in Eastern Washington, and that one was enacted on Jan.
7," Castro said.
"We are about three weeks in and lifting that quarantine, so that gives you some idea about how much
time we need to be able to go through and ensure that the virus hasn't spread beyond the infected site.
"It could be a few more weeks at least for us to make that determination."
Officials believe the contaminated birds were infected by wild fowl.
"Wild water fowl is definitely where we are thinking the disease is being spread," Castro said.
"Obviously, it is being spread from bird to bird, which is why you will see a number of birds get sick within
a flock once one becomes infected, but how they are getting sick seems to be tied with these migratory
water fowl."
Officials urge bird owners to protect their domestic birds from contact with wild water fowl and to remain
vigilant in their biosecurity measures.
Castro encourages poultry owners who suspect sickness among their birds to contact state Department
of Health officials at 800-606-3056.
Those who suspect wild birds of being ill are asked to call the state Department of Fish and Wildlife at
800-606-8768.
"We still want to hear about sick birds or people who have flocks of birds where they are seeing some of
the birds dying," Castro said.
The virus has not been detected in any commercial poultry operations in Washington or elsewhere in the
nation, health officials said.
The state's commercial poultry industry has a robust avian influenza testing program, officials said.
•
Jefferson commissioner favors letting pot business moratorium expire while
two are left undecided after public hearing
By Charlie Bermant, Peninsula Daily News, January 28th, 2015
4IkORT TOWNSEND — One county commissioner said he favors letting a marijuana moratorium expire, while the other
two remained undecided after a public hearing on a proposed extension of the ban.
The proposed four-month extension of a moratorium on recreational marijuana businesses in unincorporated
Jefferson County drew passionate testimony from people on both sides of the issue.
Testimony from Monday night's public hearing will feed the county commissioners' discussion and final action on the
moratorium at 10 a.m. Feb. 2 in commissioners' chambers at the Jefferson County Courthouse, 1820 Washington St.
The county Department of Community Development has recommended extending the moratorium to June 11 in one
of two ways:without change or with an exemption for parcels larger than 5 acres in certain zones.
Commissioners can choose to allow the moratorium to expire Feb. 11, a position that District 2 Commissioner David
Sullivan said he now supports.
"Most of the impacts that people are worried about are covered in our existing regulations," he said Tuesday.
"The main concern is that kids are safe, but there is a lot of misplaced fear that kids will somehow ingest the
marijuana from a legal grow operation," he continued.
"I think that our existing building covenants and regulations cover all the questions."
•fter the meeting, District 1 Commissioner Phil Johnson and District 3 Commissioner Kathleen Kler said they had not
made up their minds.
Johnson said he would like to investigate claims about a high incidence of explosions in marijuana facilities.
Kler said the hearing served an unintended purpose.
"I was pleased to see how civil the hearing was, and I was encouraged to see people from opposite sides talking to
each other after the hearing in small groups," Kler said.
"They were sharing information and trying to address each other's concerns."
About 85 people attended the hearing at the Cotton Building.
Of those, 42 people commented, with 25 favoring extending the moratorium and 17 advocating its expiration.
Soon after the approval of statewide Initiative 502 in November 2012,Jefferson County designated marijuana as a
standard agricultural project but changed that position after a series of public protests, and established the current
six-month moratorium Aug. 11.
"I believe fear and misconception is behind opposition to rural residential legal cannabis businesses," said Tami
Mendonca of Port Townsend during the hearing Monday night, "fear that is based on the unknown and
misconceptions about past illegal marijuana operations that have no government regulation or oversight.
*misconceptions
make your decisions based on fear is wrong. You need to make a decision based on facts, not fear."
Peter Davis of Port Townsend argued for taking more time "to consider residential zones and the proximity to be
established between marijuana facilities and residential neighborhoods.
"Rather than Jefferson County getting the reputation as an 'easy' county in which to operate marijuana businesses in
a fairly unregulated manner, let's instead set a goal of how it should be done with and get it right," he continued. •
"If we fail, the continued dissension in our county will serve as a cancer, impacting neighborhoods, pitting residents
against business and ultimately resulting in the destruction of our way of life in Jefferson County."
Some said a failure to extend the moratorium could endanger children.
"I have some property where I want to build the house of my dreams for my family," said Jeremiah Van Ness of Port
Townsend, who purchased land in Chimacum adjacent to a proposed marijuana growing operation.
"It's mind-blowing, and it crushes my family [to have an operation next door] and it kills me to think that my kids'
friends' parents won't want their children coming to our house when there is a grow operation right down the road,"
Van Ness said.
Others feared that extending the moratorium would cause people to lose their investments.
"There are about a dozen 502 business owners who have been discriminated against by this moratorium," said
Colum Tinley of Port Townsend.
"A four-month extension of the moratorium will absolutely kill those farmers.
"They will be unable to get plants in the ground for the summer's crop because the Jefferson County obstruction will
collectively cause a loss of about$36 million."
Tinley said this could prompt legal action against the county.
Said Roger Short of Chimacum: "There are going to be lawsuits on both sides."
Karen Page of Chimacum, whose multiple appearances during the commissioners' regular meetings started the
discussion that led to the moratorium, called for an extension of the ban while saying the system works.
"When I got involved in this months ago, this was what I hoped would actually happen: to get the Planning
Commission involved and to get the citizenry involved and get a chance to be heard and listened to," Page said.
"I appreciate the fact this is happening tonight, and I'd like to encourage this process to continue."
On Jan. 14, the county Planning Commission created a subcommittee to develop a report about the issue, according
to Kevin Coker, the commission's chair, who attended the hearing.
"It's up to the county commissioners to decide whether the Planning Commission is going to further address this
issue," he said.
"If they don't extend the moratorium, there will be nothing for us to do."
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com. •
LETTER: Educate before you vaccinate
• Posted: Wednesday, January 28, 2015 3:15 am
I was disturbed to see our health department's press release claim that the HPV vaccine can
prevent and significantly reduce the risk of cervical cancer. The agency should provide scientific
research and evidence to support that claim.
In October 2009, the CDC's [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's] lead researcher in
the development of the human papillomavirus vaccines, Dr. Diane Harper, came clean at the
Fourth International Public Conference on Vaccination "so that she could finally sleep at night."
"Dr. Harper explained in her presentation that the cervical cancer risk in the U.S. is already
extremely low, and that vaccinations are unlikely to have any effect upon the rate of cervical
cancer in the United States. In fact, 70 percent of all HPV infections resolve themselves without
treatment in a year, and the number rises to well over 90 percent in two years. All trials of the
vaccines were done on children ages 15 and above, despite them currently being marketed for
9-year-olds," reported the K.N.O.W. Vaccines website.
As of June 2013, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) statistics revealed the
HPV vaccine led to 30,352 adverse events, 140 deaths, 10,557 ER visits, 3,065 hospitalizations
... the list goes on. There are hundreds of reports of permanent neurological damage and
paralysis. Now consider this: The CDC itself estimates that only 10 percent of adverse vaccine
reactions are reported. Do the math.
In June 2013, Dr. Uzi Beller, an international authority on gynecological cancers, came out
publicly against vaccinating 65,000 14-year-old girls in Israel with Gardasil. "I want to see
fundamental studies proving efficacy, and they do not exist," he said.
In December 2013, Utah's Southwest Health Department banned Merck's vaccine Gardasil,
citing "low demand, high costs, questionable benefits."
In 2009, the director of the CDC, Dr. Julie Gerberding, resigned to become president of Merck's
vaccine division.
Educate before you vaccinate.
ANNETTE HUENKE
Port Townsend
Editor's note: The Leader asked Jefferson County Public Health officer Dr.
Thomas Locke to respond to Annette Huenke's letter. He wrote:
"Over 10,000 women develop cervical cancer in the U.S. each year, virtually all of which
are caused by HPV. In addition, HPV causes thousands of cases of anal, vulvar, penile,
mouth and throat cancers annually. Over 70 percent of these are preventable by
vaccination. The scientific research supporting the safety and effectiveness of all
vaccines, including HPV, is not conducted by local health departments. The federal
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) evaluates and licenses vaccines after extensive
testing.
The letter writer appears to have gathered information from one or more of the many
anti-vaccination websites that litter the Internet. She repeats verbatim the discredited
2009 story about Dr. Diane Harper's remarks at an anti-vaccination conference. This
story has been circulating since 2011 and has been disavowed by Dr. Harper. The
statement that the HPV vaccine has led to large numbers of deaths, ER visits and
hospitalizations is simply untrue and shows a basic misunderstanding about how
suspected vaccine-adverse reactions are reported (VAERS).
The VAERS system collects all potential adverse reaction reports without analysis of
cause-and-effect relationships. Subsequent investigation is necessary to see if an
adverse reaction is truly linked to a vaccine. Follow-up studies of HPV-related adverse
reactions have consistently failed to show evidence of vaccine-related deaths or serious
adverse reactions. Detailed information about the benefits and risks of HPV vaccine can
be found at immunize.org/hpv.
i
S
1-502 Marijuana: Wrestling with the roll out
By Nicholas Johnson, Port Townsend Leader, January 28,2015
• As the state rolls out its legal marijuana market, local governments and the public continue to wrestle
with anticipated impacts.
As authorities work to craft land-use and zoning rules for growers and processors, Jefferson County
officials are regularly hearing from people concerned about fire, burglary, explosion, smell, chemical
runoff, water use, traffic, property values and other potential impacts to neighbors of these businesses.
Underlying it all are pleas to protect children, the environment, due process and the rural lifestyle.
But it's the concerns —the yet-unknowns —that have caused many local decision makers to scratch their
heads, bewildered and wanting for more information.
"I feel like I've got to do a lot more research on various aspects that came up from comments," Kevin
Coker, chair of the Jefferson Count Planning Commission, said Jan. 14 after hearing from county
residents.
The commission formed a subcommittee that evening charged with identifying a broad set of goals to
guide the larger commission. The subcommittee is set to report its findings to the larger commission at its
Feb. 4 meeting.
The Leader looked into some of those most commonly expressed concerns, finding that while many
questions have specific answers, many more are yet to be seen.
• CRIME
Since marijuana is considered a high-value product and many businesses have been unable to open
bank accounts, some say publicly listed growers, processors and retailers might be targeted by
potentially armed thieves looking for cash or crop, thus putting nearby residents in harm's way.
So far, no burglaries or other crimes to state-licensed marijuana businesses have been reported to the
Jefferson County Sheriffs Office, according to Undersheriff Joe Nole.
The state's Liquor Control Board (LCB), which wrote the rules and is overseeing the roll out, requires
marijuana businesses report any missing product or money through its online traceability system.
Since the LCB began keeping such records in April 2014, several losses and suspected thefts of
relatively small amounts of marijuana have been reported statewide, most of which cite possible
employee error or theft.
The most notable report in its records occurred Dec. 13, 2014 when a masked man made off with about
24 pounds of packaged marijuana after breaking into an indoor growing and processing facility in south
Seattle, costing PolygenixTHC an estimated $250,000 in losses and damages.
The man apparently disabled all of the cameras except one, which recorded him taking off his mask,
revealing his face. That suspect has yet to be found, meaning the case remains under investigation,
according to the Seattle Police Department.
Otherwise, burglaries have occurred at medical grows and dispensaries, which are entirely unregulated,
meaning security measures are up to them.
The LCB requires constant, comprehensive camera surveillance as well as an alarm system and —for
outdoor and greenhouse growers —an at least 8-foot-tall, view-obstructing perimeter fence.
"The likelihood is absolutely zero that you would get away with it without being caught on camera," Marty
Gay of Jefferson Cannabis said of burglarizing a marijuana business.
411
Gay's company is licensed to grow and process along Otto Street two miles outside the Port Townsend
city limits and is currently producing about 500 square feet of plant canopy. He said he's less worried
about a burglary at his facility than he is about getting hijacked while transporting product to a retailer or
another processor.
Gabe Greenstein of PDT Technologies, which operates a growing and processing business in Quincy,
Washington, and is awaiting a license to process in the Glen Cove industrial area, said he might feel
safer if his business's address wasn't publicly available.
"We take every security measure possible to ensure the safety of our staff, but it is a little scary to think
people could easily find us," Greenstein said.
Like unregulated medical grows and dispensaries, most legal marijuana businesses are unable to find
banking services because most banks fear potential federal prosecution as marijuana remains a
controlled substance under federal law.
"We're forced into an all-cash business and nobody can operate like that," said Gay. "It's medieval."
Some banks, however, are stepping up to meet the need. Greenstein said he tried several banks before
finding Timberland Bank.
"They've been great and allowed us to operate as a professional company, issue paychecks, pay our •
payroll taxes and work with our vendors," he said.
Unlike banking, commercial general liability insurance is not only available, it's required from a state-
licensed insurer in order to qualify for a marijuana license.
With the help of agent Eric Belgau of Nicholson &Associates Insurance of Olympia, Gay found an
underwriter for his insurance in Lloyd's of London.
"Policies are down to at least half of what they were at the beginning," said Belgau, who also said Kinsale
Insurance and James River Insurance are underwriting marijuana businesses. "We haven't really had
losses. People expected theft and that deliveries would be hijacked, but that hasn't really happened. Of
course, there will be losses, there will be theft. It is a business and it will happen."
EXTRACTION
Some say processors located near residences pose a threat of sparking a fire or causing an explosion
that may harm neighbors and their children. They point to TV news reports and online videos showing
home-based extraction, often using flammable butane gas.
East Jefferson Fire Rescue Chief Gordon Pomeroy said his staff has yet to inspect any state-licensed
processors embarking on extraction. That's because none have yet begun such an operation in Jefferson
County. Most are trimming and packaging marijuana.
"Illegal extraction of marijuana is what's causing issues around the state because they are clandestine in •
nature and are unregulated," he said.
So far, no fires or explosions have been reported at licensed processing facilities statewide, according to
the LCB, which now sends a letter to local authorities whenever an applicant indicates plans to do
extraction.
• Processors looking to extract must use professional-grade, closed-loop systems that can cost hundreds
of thousands of dollars. The systems must also be inspected by a local fire code official.
"It's about as safe as you can get," said Greenstein, who hopes to have his extraction system inspected
sometime in February. "We're adopting systems already in use in other industries. One of the reasons
you've had so much danger with solvent extraction is that it's been on a boutique scale."
ENVIRONMENT
Jared Keefer, director of the county's Environmental Health and Water Quality Department, said his
office began requesting applicants' operating plans after some failed to fully disclose the solvents they
planned to use.
"That has helped us a lot to know exactly what the applicant is going to do," he said. "We're finding some
applicants don't know what they're going to do or how they're going to do it. They don't always know how
to do extractions and are learning."
Keefer said his office is looking at waste water, potable water and solid waste, determining the strength
of any given chemical solvent and notifying the state Department of Ecology (DOE) who must issue a
permit if an applicant wants to use an industrial-strength solvent, such as ethanol.
"We started this thinking the LCB would be doing the things in their regulations and we've found that's
not the case," he said. "The applicant needs to come to us."
Still, Keefer said these processors operate under the same requirements a comparable industrial
processor would, which can vary from business to business depending on what exactly is planned.
Many processors, he said, put everything they could imagine in their application, though most have
pared those plans down and are putting off extraction, for now.
"We don't want them to have to come back and get a permit each year," he said. "We don't want
environmental contamination or adverse impacts after someone is permitted. We want to get it right the
first time."
Gay said he still plans to do extraction, but has put it off because the Glen Cove Business Park area,
unlike in the City of Port Townsend, is not connected to a public sewer system with water treatment.
Other processors in Glen Cove said the cost of treating wastewater is too high to jump in right away.
As for growers, Keefer said his office looks at how they plan to apply fertilizers and pesticides, while the
Department of Community Development (DCD) looks at stormwater and site runoff.
Growers must stick to a list of pesticides registered with the state's Department of Agriculture (WSDA)
and disclose any chemicals used in the production of their crop.
"Nothing is really set in stone," Keefer said. "Everyone will operate differently, as do other businesses.
Every one of these gets looked at on a case-by-case basis."
•Keefer said he can't imagine why a large-scale grower would want to locate in Chimacum where water
use is particularly limited. Even in less parched areas, obtaining a water right from the DOE to use more
than 5,000 gallons a day can take more than 15 years.
NEIGHBORS
Maplewood Meadows residents have said a marijuana business located within 1,000 feet of their homes
precludes them from establishing a public park or a state-licensed, in-home child care center.
In fact, that neighborhood could do both, according to the LCB, and the marijuana business would not be •
precluded from renewing its license.
The LCB's 1,000-foot rule is based on federal sentencing rules for distribution of illegal drugs in areas
where children congregate. It is also a reaction to guidelines set forth in an August 2013 Department of
Justice memo to prosecutors, which lists prevention of distribution of marijuana to minors first on an
eight-point list.
Many residents are also concerned about traffic, odor and negative impacts to property values.
Growers and processors are allowed a limited number of on-site employees. Otherwise, the county DCD
would regulate traffic.
For those disturbed by the smell of marijuana, complaints can be made to the Olympic Region Clean Air
Agency, which has authority to issue fines.
For a slew of reasons, many residents fear a nearby marijuana business will negatively impact their
home value. So far, it's hard to tell, said Nikki Casal, president of the Jefferson County Association of
Realtors.
"This is still far too new to know the impact it will have on communities," Casal wrote in an email to the
Leader, noting that there is not yet enough data. "We will cross that bridge if it arises and keep moving
forward." •
Many growers and processors say if a large-scale marijuana business moved in next door, they would be
concerned.
"Would I be upset if I was in a rural residential area and someone was putting up a big warehouse next
door?" said Gay. "Yes, I would be concerned because that's not the intended purpose of that area."
Greenstein echoed that sentiment.
"There's a reason why the commercial industries are located in commercial and industrial zones,"
Greenstein said. "I think we should be held to the same zoning and business restrictions any other
industry or manufacturer would be held to. You don't see manufacturing businesses in residential areas,
regardless of if they are using marijuana."
For Keefer, it's hard to point to any one concern.
"I think the unknowns are the biggest concerns," Keefer said. "I don't know if people will be casing the
neighborhood while my kids are out playing. I think there are things one can do to plan ahead, such as
clustering. If they are all in Glen Cove, it makes law enforcement easier because it's all together."
Gay and others agree, saying the cost of embarking on extraction is so high, it would make sense to
share resources and develop a community.
All parties agree: this budding industry is still too new to make solid conclusions. As Greenstein said, "It's
an overwhelming challenge to roll this out in a year and get it right."
Most say 'take more time' on marijuana rules
By Nicholas Johnson, Port Townsend Leader, January 28, 2015 3:30 am
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Moratorium hearing
Colum Tinley, whose marijuana growing and processing business outside,
Port Townsend was the only such business not held up by Jefferson County's
six-month moratorium, addresses the county commissioners Jan.26 during a
public hearing on whether to extend it another four months.Tinley spoke in
favor of ending the moratorium. Photo by Nicholas Johnson
Some 42 people spoke Monday evening, Jan. 26 as Jefferson County's commissioners sought public
input on whether and how to extend an expiring moratorium on marijuana businesses.
The majority (25) spoke in favor of extending the existing moratorium while many also called for its
expansion to all land-use zones.
"We need additional time to consider residential zones and the proximity to be established between
marijuana facilities and residential neighborhoods, even across zoning boundary lines," said Peter Davis
of the Maplewood Meadows neighborhood, which is concerned about a marijuana business moving in on
•industrial land less than 1,000 feet away. "Let's get it right."
About 85 people attended the hearing, which would count as the state-required public hearing if the
commissioners choose to extend the moratorium.
The board is set to discuss public comments and make that decision during its regular meeting at 10
a.m. Monday, Feb. 2 at the Jefferson County Courthouse.
Until then, the commissioners are expected to study more than 50 written comments received prior to
Monday's hearing, plus written and verbal comments received during the hearing.
The moratorium, which began Aug. 11, 2014, limits such businesses to areas zoned for agriculture,
forest or industry.
Since October 2013, the county had applied its existing land-use and zoning rules to marijuana
businesses, allowing growers to set up in any area without a land-use permit and requiring a cottage-
industry permit for processors in most areas.
Many who spoke in favor of extending the moratorium said once rules are adopted, the county won't be
able to go back and make changes.
"There is a process for changing rules and that's what we're doing right now," said chair of the board
David Sullivan, noting that many businesses would likely become vested under existing rules if the
moratorium ends without establishing updated rules.
Since county staff do not expect to complete the rules by Feb. 11, the end of the moratorium would mean
some 15 marijuana growing and processing businesses would be allowed to move ahead under the
•county's existing rules.
If the commissioners choose the modified version of an extension, three such businesses would be
allowed to move ahead.
County DCD debuts new, faster permit process
Port Townsend Leader, Wednesday, January 28, 2015 3:30 am S
The Jefferson County Department of Community Development (DCD) in
cooperation with the Environmental Health and Public Works Departments, has
announced a new process for reviewing Single Family Residential building
permits. It's called the "Upfront Review Team," and was developed out of DOD's
"lean" improvement project. The DCD said it works like this:
When a person calls to schedule an appointment to submit a building permit
application, they are given checklists to make sure they have everything DCD
needs to review their application once it's submitted. Then, the Upfront Review
Team is invited to the appointment, and starts reviewing the application while it's
still being taken in.
This eliminates the delays caused by routing the application to different
departments, and the chance that the applicant will get a letter weeks later,
telling them they need to submit more information, according to a press release
from DCD.
The Review Team can talk directly to the applicant and explain any issues that
may come up, or if they need more information, so the applicant can leave the
appointment knowing exactly what they need to do to get their permit.
According to a press release from the DCD, this new process was developed to
drastically reduce the time, confusion and frustration that used to be common
with the old permitting process. Ideally, an applicant in the new system could get
their permit the same day they submit their application. DCD anticipates applying
this process to all land use and building permit applications over time.
Contact Sally Ellis or David Wayne Johnson at 379-4450 for more information.
•
Hospital seeks two new physicians, plans clinic redesign
project
•By Allison Arthur of the Port Townsend Leader I Posted: Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Dr.Joe Mattern checks out a patient at Jefferson Healthcare. Mattern and other healthcare officials say there is a link between
a good healthcare system and education and community services.The hospital expects to hire two new doctors in 2015 as well
as make improvements to clinics. Submitted photo
Jefferson Healthcare is actively recruiting for two new primary care physicians in 2015 as it also aims to
redesign how its clinics operate.
Patient access is at the heart of the two-prong goal for 2015, said chief medical officer Joe Mattern, M.D.
Jefferson Healthcare expects to go through some physical changes this year as it embarks on building a
$22 million emergency services and speciality (ESS) wing onto the main hospital in Port Townsend. At
the same time, the public health care system is reaching out to grow its clinic in Port Ludlow.
One of the two physicians the hospital plans to hire in 2015 would be based in Port Townsend, and the
other likely would be based in Port Ludlow, Mattern said.
Accessibility issues —the ability of a patient to see a provider when needed — are not simply solved by
hiring more doctors, Mattern said recently.
"You can't solve patient access simply through recruiting providers," said Mattern, noting that there is a
nationwide shortage of primary care physicians.
That's why the second part of the plan —to redesign clinic operations— is critical, he said.
"We're looking to improve the care experience in the clinics and in particular, we're looking to better
coordinate how we provide care and redesign our care practices so that we have increased capability to
see people on the same day," he said.
3 DOCTORS LEAVE
Two physicians left Port Townsend in 2014. Dr. Carrie Day left Port Townsend in June for family reasons
and relocated to Bend, Oregon. After she departed, hospital officials took a look at what is called her
client panel — her list of patients — and compared it with existing provider capacity. They concluded that
the clinics had the capacity care for those patients without hiring another doctor.
Months later, Dr. Richard Meadows and his wife, Laura Hollister-Meadows, an advanced registered
nurse practitioner, left to move to the Tri-Cities in southeast Washington. And at that point, Mattern and
Jefferson Healthcare CEO Mike Glenn said, there was a consensus that the system didn't have the
capacity to meet the needs of patients whom Dr. Meadows had served.
The hospital has enlisted the services of three national recruitment agencies to help look for two
physicians. Candidates being eyed come from the Southwest, Midwest, Northwest and Northeast.
•"Once we started recruiting and we started looking at names, there was one out there we felt was a good
candidate. Luckily, now we have a bunch of leads and we're starting to identify some people," Mattern
said. "It's a competitive market right now to recruit primary care physicians."
"A really strong medical staff helps recruit a strong medical staff. We have great people here, and that's
the first place to start. We live in a beautiful community. So we're ahead of the game," Mattern said.
CLINIC REDESIGN
What could take just as long as finding two new physicians is the process of redesigning how the clinics •
actually function.
The goal would be to try to see patients quickly, ideally when they want to be seen.
"So maybe it doesn't involve more physicians. Maybe it means more medical assistants or a nurse care
manager in the clinic or, can you leverage even your receptionist to do more work in caring for the
patient?We're going down that path," Mattern said of exploring all ideas for streamlining the system.
"The goal is to come up with a patient flow that works better for the patient, works better for the provider
and that works better in a more challenging economic environment the clinics are in. It's truly a triple-aim
goal — patient, provider, organization," said Glenn.
NOT A CRISIS
The loss of Dr. Day and the Meadows came as more people were being seen at Jefferson Healthcare
clinics in 2014 than in previous years. In 2013, the clinic network had 57,200 patient visits; in 2014, it had
61,700 visits. That's about an 8 percent increase in one year.
Anecdotally, doctors say they are seeing more patients, and some who are coming in for the first time,
Mattern said.
But neither Mattern nor Glenn believe there is a crisis at Jefferson Healthcare. That's a conclusion
they've maintained for months, even as other health care systems on the North Olympic Peninsula are
reporting long wait times to see physicians, and a physician shortage.
Unlike many other communities, Jefferson Healthcare has providers open to seeing new patients, Glenn
noted.
"I think we're trying to be proactive," said Mattern of recruiting two new physicians. He said he believes •
that those hirings will make the clinics "right staffed" so that in a pinch, if there are physicians with family
emergencies, for example, other physicians won't be stressed.
Although there has been talk about Jefferson County's aging population —the county is one of the oldest
in the nation — Mattern and Glenn said they are not expecting to have the luxury of hiring a geriatric
specialist, because there are so few of them.
That said, if one candidate had more of an interest in geriatrics than another candidate, that interest
could give the candidate an edge.
There is no set deadline for the two doctors to come on board.
"If it's the right candidate, then that may mean waiting for someone to finish a residency or fellowship,"
Mattern said.
As for salary, the two said doctors are paid a base salary and then compensated based on a variety of
factors, including the number of patients they see.
"We try to be competitive for the market and the region," Mattern said.
"Providers are not vending machines," Mattern said of wanting also to hire physicians that will build good
professional relationships with patients, not just dispense prescriptions that patients want or feel they
need.
Mattern also said that the hospital hopes to improve how patients select doctors in the first place.
"To be honest, right now it tends to fall in the lap of the patient. I'd like for us to work toward a more
centralized process," he said. "With Dr. Day leaving, that illustrated that the process was not working •
well."
ATTRACTING GOOD DOCTORS
While the community needs more doctors, Mattern said doctors look for a variety of factors when they
select where they want to practice and that includes checking out the state of the community.
•"The stronger your community is, the more appeal, the easier it is for us to attract and retain good
people," Mattern said. "It is a big deal when we are looking at recruiting providers to show how the
schools are, what the community has to offer to families.
"I believe in people like [Port Townsend School Superintendent] David Engle, who are trying to do some
really great things. It is important to see him succeed because it helps my family stay in the community
and if he succeeds, it helps other professionals in this community stay.
"If we don't have good economic development in this community, we have a hard time attracting
professionals. Good medical professionals and technologists and nurses come with spouses who need
jobs."
Glenn chimes in, "To thrive as a community, we need strong schools, active parks and recreation
programs, and quality health care. The three are foundational and inextricably linked."
While Mattern and Glenn won't go so far as to say that any of the doctors who departed in 2014 left
because of community issues —schools, for example—the hospital board on Jan. 21 unanimously
endorsing a replacement school levy in Port Townsend, a Chimacum School District construction bond,
and a City of Port Townsend construction bond to keep Mountain View Commons in good condition.
An opportunity was given to those who oppose the proposal to speak and no one spoke up.
"I think there's a relationship between having a healthy community, healthy schools and healthy
healthcare organizations," Glenn said before the board took the votes last Wednesday.
"If you want to have a successful health care system, you will support initiatives that make the schools
better, thatmake the economy of the community better and that make the livability of families in this
community better," said Mattern.
•
Two more flu-related deaths reported in Port Angeles
By James Casey, Peninsula Daily News, January 29th, 2015
PORT ANGELES —Two more patients have died of influenza complications at Olympic Medical Center,
4rringing the North Olympic Peninsula's flu season toll to five.
. Tom Locke, health officer for Clallam and Jefferson counties, said: "All deaths have been in elderly
individuals who were chronically ill."
Locke added: "This is a bad flu year. We're seeing higher rates of hospitalizations. Everything's up."
Statewide figures
Statewide figures lag behind local reports, Locke said, but 62 people had died in Washington as of the week
ending Jan. 17.
They did not include the latest two deaths, he said.
A nationwide mortality total was unavailable, but 11 pediatric deaths had been reported as of Jan. 17.
Clallam County has about 1 percent of the state's population. Its flu mortality is higher, Locke said, because
"our age demographics are such that the number of seniors is over twice what it is in the state."
"We're . . . approaching 25 percent seniors," Locke said. "Influenza disproportionately impacts the elderly as far
as mortality."
H3N2 strain
410 his year's H3N2 influenza strain is especially virulent.
f all the different kinds of flus you can get, that's the one that can cause the highest number of
complications," Locke said.
What's called "genetic drift" of the flu variety beyond the protection offered by this year's vaccines also has
exacerbated the situation.
"This could be the worst season this decade," Locke said.
Estimated peak efficacy of a vaccine is about 65 percent, he said. This year's shots are only about 25 percent
effective.
Still, getting a flu shot can lessen its severity and the likelihood of hospitalization or death, although Locke
recommends that newly vaccinated at-risk people also take a prescription antiviral medication like Tamiflu for
two weeks.
"You've got to literally pick up a virus and inoculate yourself," Locke said.
And old-fashioned hygiene is still the first line of defense, he said.
It's especially important to use soap and water or an alcohol-based lotion on your fingertips, he said, which are
most likely to come into contact with eyes, nasal passages or mucous membranes, all of which are the portals
to viruses.
•w's the time for meticulous handwashing," Locke said. "Cover your cough [and] stay at home if you're ill."
Reporter James Casey can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jcasey peninsuladailynews.com
Door-to-door work in Clallam avian flu quarantine zone ends; no new infections found
By Chris McDaniel, For Peninsula Daily News, January 24th,2015
PORT ANGELES — Federal health officials have finished their door-to-door inspection of poultry in the
,Agnew area east of Port Angeles that have been quarantined since Jan. 20 in response to the discovery
of birds on a single property that were infected with avian flu.
No other instances of the bird flu have been found.
"Surveillance activities have concluded in Clallam County," Alan Huddleston, spokesman for the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, said Wednesday afternoon.
"I can also confirm that to date, all samples from Clallam County have been negative."
The quarantine encompasses a 6.2-mile — or 10-kilometer— radius around 92 Cosmos Lane, where a
backyard flock of 118 birds owned by Sherry and Gary Smith was destroyed Jan. 18 after at least five
birds died of the H5N2 strain of avian flu.
Avian flu is lethal and highly contagious among birds but is not harmful to humans.
Poultry, eggs
Inspectors had been going door to door since Jan. 19 within a 1.9-mile radius of the Smith property to
talk with people and, if they owned poultry, ask that they allow testing of the birds.
The state Department of Agriculture also set a quarantine on the movement of eggs, domestic poultry
and poultry products within a 6.2-mile radius of the Smith property.
•[For an interactive map of the quarantine area, go to http://tinyurl.com/PDN-avianflumap. Type in your
address to see if your home is within the quarantine area.]
There is still no date set for the quarantine to be lifted.
As of Monday, the team of inspectors had visited 1,039 locations, according to Hector Castro, state
Department of Agriculture spokesman.
Of those, there were 32 locations with domesticated poultry that allowed inspectors to take samples from
their birds. There were 22 other properties visited whose owners did not allow inspectors to take
samples.
Inspectors had been visiting "high-risk" areas — places near waterways that draw large numbers of wild
birds —within the outer perimeter of the quarantine zone because officials believe the contaminated
birds were infected by wild fowl.
"Wild water fowl is definitely where we are thinking the disease is being spread," Castro said.
Who to call
Officials urged bird owners to protect their domestic birds from contact with wild water fowl and to remain
vigilant in their biosecurity measures, and encouraged poultry owners who suspect sickness among their
birds to contact state Department of Health officials at 800-606-3056.
Those who suspect wild birds of being ill are asked to call the state Department of Fish and Wildlife at
800-606-8768.
The virus has not been detected in any commercial poultry operations in Washington state or elsewhere
in the nation, health officials said.
A quarantine that had been issued in parts of Franklin and Benton counties in Southeast Washington •
was lifted Tuesday.
Avian flu was found in two Benton County backyard flocks in December.
Jefferson commissioners take no action on pot moratorium, making Feb. 11 expiration a
possibility
By Charlie Bermant, Peninsula Daily News, February 3rd,2015
�
RT TOWNSEND —The Jefferson County commissioners took passive action Monday on a moratorium on
reational marijuana businesses by not voting on the measure's extension, setting the stage for its expiration
Feb. 11 if no further action is taken.
In August, commissioners imposed a six-month moratorium on such businesses located in unincorporated
areas with the purpose of taking the time to develop guidelines.
In January, the Department of Community Development requested another four months to complete that task.
But the board split Monday, with commissioners David Sullivan supporting the moratorium's expiration,
Kathleen Kler advocating its extension and Phil Johnson undecided.
The commissioners had two options for a moratorium extension: One to extend the measure as is and a
second to amend it to exempt businesses on parcels larger than five acres.
Kler moved to approve the latter option but it died for lack of a second.
The only other motion at the hearing came from Sullivan, who moved that the commissioners should study the
issue in conjunction with the Jefferson Count Planning Commission, which passed unanimously.
County Administrator Philip Morley said the commissioners had the option to pass a motion stating that it was
their intention for the moratorium to expire, a move that would close the door on any further action.
No such motion took place, leaving open the possibility that it could be addressed at the next regular
omissioners' meeting at 9 a.m. Monday in Jefferson County Courthouse chambers, 1820 Jefferson St.
Discussion of marijuana regulations is already on the agenda for the next scheduled Planning Commission
meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Tri Area Community Center, 10 Valley Road in Chimacum.
The decision to allow the moratorium to expire disappointed those on both sides of the debate.
"We were hoping that the moratorium would give us more time to work with the Planning Commission," said
Peter Davis of Port Townsend, who lives in proximity to a proposed marijuana grow operation.
"Our big concern is the 1,000-foot buffers. The Liquor Control Board has set up perimeters for schools, but not
for our children, where they live."
"I tend to believe our decisions should be based on facts and science and not on fear," said Jean Ball of
Chimacum, who is hoping to harvest a cannabis crop this year.
At previous hearings, Ball said the moratorium's extension would cut into her growing season, but she still isn't
getting started until after the moratorium's expiration date.
"Anything can happen, and as long as the moratorium is in place, we can't get started," she said, adding that
she plans to jump start the operation Feb. 11.
About 30 people attended the meeting Monday, which was moved to the Cotton Building in anticipation of
larger crowds.
II/bate of the issue during the public comment period preceding the commissioners' discussion was evenly
matched, with many previous commenters returning to restate their positions.
"There is no rush," said Chris Mayer of Chimacum, speaking in favor of the moratorium's extension.
"Too often counties are making decisions, seeing the impact on the community and then revisiting the rules. By
then the collateral damage is already done.
"Please respect our desire to live in neighborhoods that are free of the negative impacts of growing and •
processing marijuana, and place them in urban and industrial areas."
Tom Thiersch of unincorporated Jefferson County challenged the motives of those who seek to extend the
moratorium.
"They don't want a moratorium, they want a ban," he said.
"They don't want to restrict marijuana growing here or there they don't want it anywhere, which is really too bad
because that's not what we approved as voters.
"People bought houses located in a commercial zone who are now complaining that a commercial activity
might actually be started there.
"Well sorry, that's the way it is, the proposed use is completely consistent with the proposed use of the
property."
Discussion of the moratorium has taken center stage for the commissioners since the beginning of the year,
discussed at weekly meetings and taking over a majority of public comment time.
Last week, Sullivan announced that he was in favor of allowing the moratorium to lapse, stating the industry is
properly governed by regulations from other agencies, both state and county.
Kier distributed and read a statement that indicated her support of extending the moratorium. •
"Our present agricultural code has no limits for scale and intensity, no caps on number of buildings, number of
employees or setbacks," she said.
"The designation of cannabis as an agricultural crop or not will not and cannot be settled today."
Johnson, the potential swing vote, said he could see both sides and declined to second Kler's motion to extend
the moratorium.
Johnson said he was concerned about reports of explosions at marijuana facilities but found that such events
don't occur at legal or licensed operations.
Aside from formal discussions with the Planning Commission, Kler called for more informal discussions.
"There needs to be some kind of community where people begin discussing among themselves some of these
great differences about facts, opinions and fears," she said.
"I think the conversation needs to cross the aisle."
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at cbermant(a�peninsuladailynews.com.
•
BOCC leaves fate of pot moratorium in the air
By Nicholas Johnson, Port Townsend Leader I Posted: February 4, 2015
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Commissioner David Sullivan
Jefferson County commissioner David Sullivan addresses commissioner Kathleen Kler during board discussion of whether to
extend or let end a six-month moratorium on marijuana businesses Monday, Feb. 2 at the Cotton Building in downtown Port
Townsend. Sullivan supported allowing it to end. Photo by Nicholas Johnson
Once again, Jefferson County's commissioners failed to find consensus Monday, Feb. 2 on whether to
extend a six-month moratorium on marijuana businesses.
"One part of me says let's get moving on this," said Commissioner Phil Johnson, D-Port Townsend. "The
other part of me says let's do this right."
•
When commissioner Kathleen Kler, D-Quilcene, moved to extend the moratorium, which is set to expire
Feb. 11, neither of her cohorts would second the motion.
Unless the commissioners take action Feb. 9 during their regular Monday meeting, the moratorium
expires, allowing some 15 marijuana growing and processing businesses to move ahead under the
county's existing land-use and zoning rules. Those rules allow growers to set up in any area without a
land-use permit and require a cottage industry permit for processors in most areas.
In August 2014, the commissioners established a moratorium on 1-502 marijuana businesses, limiting the
areas in which such businesses could locate to those zoned for agriculture, forest or industry.
That came in response to neighbors' concerns about one applicant's plan to site a relatively large
marijuana growing and processing facility in a rural residential area, and it has allowed time for
commissioners and staff to develop new rules.
Since Department of Community Development (DCD) staff first suggested a four-month extension in
early January, the commissioners have been unable to agree on whether to extend it or allow it to end.
"Do we extend it in some fashion or do we let it lapse and work on that and risk vesting some of the
larger ones?" asked Commissioner David Sullivan, D-Cape George, who supports allowing the
moratorium to end and continuing to develop rules that treat marijuana like any other agricultural product.
"I really have a desire to treat everybody fairly."
The commissioners received more than 50 written comments prior to a Jan. 26 public hearing on the
matter, at which a majority of 42 speakers called for extending the moratorium, many of whom asked that
it be expanded to cover all zones.
While the commissioners wrestle with the moratorium itself, the county's planning commission is
•grappling with how best to regulate these businesses. It meets at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4 at the
Tri-Area Community Center in Chimacum.
The county commissioners did agree Monday to direct the planning commission to focus on scale and
intensity impacts —such as building size, traffic, setbacks, number of employees and hours of operation
—when drawing up land-use and zoning rules for marijuana businesses. The BOCC also expressed
interest in setting up a special, joint meeting with the planning commission, which has not yet been set.
"Our present agricultural code presently has no limits for scale and intensity, no caps on number of
buildings, number of employees or setbacks," said Kler.
Some 14 people spoke during the public comment portion of Monday's meeting, which was held at the
Cotton Building in downtown Port Townsend. Of those, eight used the opportunity to call for extending
the moratorium, four spoke in favor of letting it end and two others did not specify.
After reading a prepared statement, Kler said she would support extending the moratorium as "there
seems no other alternative.
"Do our present codes address the concerns of both the public and the business owners sufficiently?"
she asked. "Or do we need more time?"
That left Johnson as the swing vote.
"I have concerns about extending this because a lot of people are held up," Johnson said. "But, there's
also plenty of reason for extending it."
Johnson said he looked into crime data for Colorado, finding that general criminal activity had gone down
since marijuana's legalization in that state, as had violent crime and property crime.
"I'm not too sure how much impact this industry will have over the next five years," Johnson said. "I think
it'll just be another industry."
He said he also looked into whether marijuana is an agricultural product.
"Is marijuana ag [agriculture]?" he asked. "According to every definition I've read, yes."
Johnson then wondered how marijuana would be regulated if treated like any other agricultural product. go
"That's the route to go — look at it as ag and look at the impacts from there," said Sullivan. "Dealing with
marijuana as a different type of ag would take more time than the alternative."
Those issues, as well as impacts of scale and intensity, are up for discussion Wednesday night, Feb. 4
when the county's planning commission meets in Chimacum.
A subcommittee of the planning commission is set to present a set of goals to guide the commission.
"We take all of our cues from the county commissioners," said Kevin Coker, chair of the planning
commission. "If they're saying limit your focus in this area, that's what we'll do. But if we decide there are
more areas of importance than they are seeing, we will still look into those and comment on those."
If the county commissioners allow the moratorium to end, efforts to craft rules won't stop, but those
businesses currently held up would be allowed to move forward under existing rules.
"I don't want to be bouncing this ball around forever," said Coker, who said the public has a chance to
speak during the Feb. 4 meeting, though he may push that part to the end and ask people to avoid
redundancy. "I want to focus and get this done."
Kler said the community, not just commissioners, needs a better forum to share information and gain a
better understanding of others' perspectives on this issue. She also acknowledged some would be
unhappy with whatever decision is made.
"The county's attempts at 'getting it right' have not been, nor will be, acceptable to all parties," she said.
Sullivan said the moratorium has been an opportunity for people to listen to each other and discover
nuances not previously considered.
"I don't really regret having this moratorium as it's given people a chance to speak," Sullivan said. "That •
said, I don't think I've found much that is new in the last year."
PERSPECTIVE: Cervical cancer awareness - it's about health,
not about sex
Posted: Port Townsend Leader, Wednesday, February 4, 2015
• By Linda Martin Port Townsend
The Seattle Times op-ed page carried a commentary on Jan. 21 by pediatrician Neil Kaneshiro, a
physician who practices in Woodinville. Kaneshiro is concerned about a common bias against vaccines
that prevent childhood diseases. He believes this is creating a dangerous environment for the broader
public, and makes a strong case for immunization.
However, he didn't reference a cancer vaccine that is suffering a similar fate. The vaccine preventing
human papillomavirus (HPV), known as the primary cause of cervical cancer, is available and free to
youth up to 18 years old, and is recommended by the CDC, FDA and Jefferson County Public Health
professionals. The latter assure me that most insurance companies now cover the cost of the series, yet
parents and even primary care providers are ignoring the implications of this life-altering cancer.
Why is this an issue for me, a 75-year-old married gal, retired and living in Port Townsend?
I was diagnosed with class 4 cervical cancer back in the 1960s, when we knew very little about cancer
and causation. After surgery, the pathology report seemed to indicate the cancer had been completely
removed, but 10 years later, I was diagnosed with Bowen's disease, a form of squamous cell cancer that
affects the genitals.
After years of surgical procedures and skin grafts, and finally recovery, I returned to the University of
Hawaii to complete a graduate degree in public health. I was determined to become a better advocate
on women's health care issues.
Today, we know that my life was probably saved by that first Pap smear in 1967. Before testing became
routine in most gynecological practices, cervical cancer was often a death sentence. We also know that
my subsequent cancers were caused by HPV. It wasn't until the '80s that the research community made
Othe connection between cervical/genital cancers and HPV.
Last year, this cancer struck again. After three more surgeries, my cancer is in remission and monitored
closely by my surgeon, Melinda Hawkins. At her suggestion, my husband and I have both had the HPV
series. Hawkins has researched this cancer and believes the Gardasil series will help improve my
immune system and might prevent the growth of new cancerous lesions.
These HPV-related cancers have haunted me my entire life. They prevented me from having my own
biological children; the surgeries and skin grafts complicated intimate relations with my partner for more
than three decades; and finally, returned as an aggressive cancer that could result in an early death. I
would not wish my medical history on my worst enemies.
Yet, today, parents are ignoring the opportunity to immunize their youngsters against this life-altering
cancer. The federal government pays for the HPV series up to age 18. This is not about tweens and
teens being sexually active — it is about cancer that can appear in the genitals, mouth, throat and anus.
More than 80 million Americans are already infected with HPV, and many will not develop cancer. But
last year, more than 27,000 Americans were diagnosed with an HPV-related cancer. Thanks to the Pap
test, cervical cancer is no longer the leading killer of women. But we could see yet another epidemic of
HPV cancers as sexual activity begins at an earlier age, including oral and anal sex.
My California step-grandsons and step-granddaughters are getting the vaccine series as they enter
puberty, but some of their contemporaries are not— often due to misinformation spread to their"well-
educated" parents through social media. This is not an issue of fighting "Big Pharma" or a conspiracy by
the government to promote more sexual activity among teens— it's about avoiding a preventable cancer,
and having a life.
(Linda Martin and her husband moved to Port Townsend from Del Mar, California, in 2006. She volunteers with the Marine
`Science Center, Friends of the Library and the League of Women Voters. She has a master's of public health degree from the
University of Hawai'i.)
County invites applications for open space projects
• Port Townsend Leader, February 4, 2015
Jefferson County is seeking applications for open space projects; the deadline to
submit is Monday, March 2, 2015. For application and more information, contact
Tami Pokorny at (360) 379-4498 or tpokorny@co.jefferson.wa.us.
Chimacum and Snow Creek watersheds, Bolton Farm, Tamanowas Rock, and
"Cappy's Trails" are all examples of open space lands protected, in part, through
Jefferson County's Conservation Futures Program and Fund. The program was
created in 2002 to help ensure that the county retains adequate wildlife habitat,
working farms and forests, scenic areas, and culturally and historically significant
open space lands — all for the health, benefit, and welfare of residents.
Open space lands provide important functions such as:
• Provide safe passage for native wildlife
• Conserve or enhance natural, economic, or cultural resources
• Help maintain natural flood water control systems
• • Protect existing habitat, water quality, water supply and soils
• Enhance or protect scenic views
• Provide opportunities for education and passive recreation
• Ensure that current and future generations realize benefits from maintaining a
balanced natural system.
The annual conservation futures project application process is overseen by the
Conservation Futures Citizen Oversight Committee. Each spring, this committee
evaluates project applications for their public benefit and makes
recommendations to the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners who,
after a public hearing, decide which projects merit funding. In the 2015 funding
cycle, approximately $205,000 is available to new projects. Of this amount, up to
$30,750 is available to reimburse operations and maintenance expenses for any
property acquired using conservation futures funds. A minimum matching amount
of 50 percent of the total project cost is required of the project sponsor. Sources
of match must be non-county funds such as private contributions, state and/or
• federal grants, and/or the value of other open space lands linked to the project.
• • • Clallam County Department of
• • Health and Human Services
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Press Release
February 4, 2015
Measles Case in Clallam County
Late in the day on February 3, 2015 tests performed at the Washington State Public Health Lab confirmed the
diagnosis of an active case of measles in Port Angeles, WA. The infected is a middle aged male and is being
cared for at Olympic Memorial Center. The source of the measles exposure is unknown at this time. The
Clallam County Department of Health and Human Services in partnership with Olympic Medical Center and
the Washington State Department of Health is conducting an initial investigation of this measles outbreak to
determine who may have been exposed to the infection.
Measles is among the most contagious viral disease known. It is spread by an airborne route and over 90%of
susceptible individuals will become infected if exposed. Over 100 cases of measles have been diagnosed in 14
states linked to the Disneyland amusement park in California. It is not yet known whether the Port Angeles
case is linked to this outbreak.
Individuals born before 1957 are presumed to be immune to measles. Individuals born in 1957 or later should •
have at least one dose of MMR vaccine. Children, adolescents and some people with occupational or travel
exposure risk should have at least two doses of the MMR vaccine. A blood test is available to determine
whether a person is immune to measles.
The highest priority for the public health department is to identify and notify exposed community members and
assess whether they are susceptible to measles infection. Available vaccine is prioritized for those at highest
risk of exposure. As vaccine supplies improve, everyone who is a candidate for MMR vaccine is strongly
encouraged to be vaccinated.
Additional information can be obtained at: 360-417-2274.
•
Measles hospitalizes middle-aged man in Port Angeles; officials'intensely working'to
determine if anyone exposed in the community
By JAMES CASEY, Peninsula Daily News, February 5, 2015
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The Associated Press
Measles is one of the most contagious infectious
diseases. Its rash consists of small red spots, some
of which are slightly raised.
PORT ANGELES — Measles has reared its unwelcome spotty head on the North Olympic Peninsula.
A case appeared Sunday in the emergency room of Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles, Dr. Scott
Kennedy told hospital commissioners Wednesday.
The unidentified middle-aged man was admitted to the hospital, said Kennedy, OMC's chief medical
ioofficer. The man remains there, although he is no longer infectious.
Meanwhile, public health officials are "intensely working now to try to detect any potential contacts [of the
ill man] in the community," Kennedy said.
The contagious period for the disease begins four days before symptoms appear and lasts for four days
afterward.
"We're out of that window now," Kennedy said.
One health care worker who was in the emergency room when the man arrived had not been immunized
and so will be isolated from the workplace until Feb. 24, reflecting what Kennedy called "the abundance
of caution" with which measles is treated.
Beyond that individual, "we don't expect to see any additional cases emerging" from OMC, Kennedy
said. Nurses and doctors caring for the patient have been immunized.
The Port Angeles case could be the fourth confirmed in Washington state, Kennedy said.
No cases have been reported in Jefferson County. More than 100 cases in the U.S. have been linked to
the so-called Disneyland outbreak in California in late December.
It was unknown if the Port Angeles case was related to that outbreak or came from contact with a
traveler who had not been vaccinated but who had visited a measles-prone region, Kennedy said.
"'Some of Washington's cases had been linked to travelers from South America passing through Seattle-
Tacoma International Airport, said
Dr. Tom Locke, health officer for Clallam and Jefferson counties.
Measles is characterized in its early stages by a fever as high as 105 degrees, cough, runny nose and
red, watery eyes (conjunctivitis), Kennedy said. •
It is followed by a rash of small spots that may begin in the mouth or on the face and spread to the
body's lower extremities. The illness may last for several days more.
The disease can be fatal but rarely in developed counties, where one to three cases per 1,000 results in
death, usually from a brain infection, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Symptoms may not appear for as long as 14 days after exposure, the CDC said.
Kennedy cautioned people who suspect they have measles or think they may have been exposed to call
their health care providers and ask for advice.
Immunization
He urged parents to have their children immunized against measles, saying that suspected links between
the measles vaccine and autism "have been disproved, basically."
According to Locke, people born before 1957 are presumed to be immune to measles. Those born in
1957 or later should have at least one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine.
A blood test can determine if a person is immune.
Available vaccine is prioritized for those at highest risk of exposure, Locke said. As supplies improve,
anyone who is a candidate for an •
MMR shot should get one, he said. For more information, call 360-417-2274.
"Measles is an airborne illness," Kennedy said. "It is highly communicable, even more than the flu."
As for the flu, Kennedy said Wednesday, no new deaths have been reported on the Peninsula, and
positive results for influenza tests at the hospital have slightly declined.
Five persons have died of influenza complications at Olympic Medical Center. All the deaths have been
of elderly individuals who were chronically ill.
The flu season will last for "at least four to six more weeks," Kennedy said.
Reporter James Casey can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jcasey@peninsuladailynews.com
•
Clallam County health officials contact people known to have met man with
• measles
Peninsula Daily News, February 5, 2015
Clallam County public health officials have contacted people known to have met a man
diagnosed with measles while he was contagious.
As of today, they had traced what Christina Hurst, public health programs manager for Clallam
County Health and Human Services, called "exposure sites" visited by the middle-aged man
who remained in Olympic Medical Center.
Hurst said individuals known to have been in contact with the measles patient had been warned
about the illness.
Hurst said the department hoped to provide to the public soon with a list of public places such
as stores or restaurants the man had visited while he was contagious.
Residents then can call the department for advice at 360-417-2274.
The patient no longer is infectious but remains at OMC with what Hurst called "underlying health
issues."
The unidentified man went to OMC's emergency room on Sunday. Tests confirmed that he had
measles. Officials have not determined where he got the disease.
• Some Washington state cases have been traced to the so-called Disneyland outbreak of late
December; others, to travelers returning through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport from
South America.
Meanwhile, the hospital announced that 99 percent of its personnel have been immunized for
measles.
One health care worker who had not been vaccinated and who was in the emergency room
when the man was hospitalized has been sent home until the contagion period has passed,
OMC officials said.
Last modified: February 05. 2015 11:45AM
•
Clallam County health officials reach out to those who may have been in
• contact with man with measles
Peninsula Daily News, February 5th, 2015
Special immunization clinics scheduled
CLALLAM COUNTY HEALTH and Human Services has scheduled special
immunization clinics this week and next for populations who do not have
evidence of immunity to measles:
• Today: Children 1-17 years old and health care workers who are not
immunized or are under-immunized with the measles, mumps and rubella
(MMR) vaccine.
• Monday and Tuesday: Adults who are not immunized with the MMR
vaccine.
The clinics will be at 111 E. Third St., Suite 1-A, Port Angeles.
Call 360-417-2274 to schedule an appointment.
People born before 1957 are presumed to be immune to measles. Those
born in 1957 or later should have at least one dose of the MMR vaccine,
• officials said.
Children, adolescents and some people with occupational or travel
exposure risk should have at least two doses of the MMR vaccine.
A blood test can determine if a person is immune to measles.
PORT ANGELES — Clallam County public health officials have contacted people known to
have met a man who was contagious with measles.
As of Thursday, they had traced what Christina Hurst, public health programs manager for
Clallam County Health and Human Services, called "exposure sites" visited by the middle-aged
male who remained in Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles.
OMC would not reveal the man's name or hometown.
Hurst said individuals known to have been in contact with the measles patient had been warned
about the illness.
Hurst said the department hoped to make public soon a list of places such as stores or
restaurants the man had visited while he was contagious.
Residents then can call the department for advice at 360-417-2274.
• The patient no longer is infectious but remains at OMC with what Hurst called "underlying health
issues."
The man went to OMC's emergency room Sunday. Tests confirmed that he had measles. •
Officials have not determined where he got the disease.
Some Washington state cases have been traced to the so-called Disneyland outbreak of late
December; others, to travelers returning through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport from
South America.
Meanwhile, the hospital announced that 99 percent of its personnel have been immunized for
measles.
One health care worker who was thought not to have been vaccinated and who was in the
emergency room when the man was hospitalized has been determined to have measles
immunity, OMC officials said.
Last modified: February 05. 2015 10:07PM
•
•
NEW: Planning commission narrows focus, says marijuana
like other agriculture
.not
By Nicholas Johnson of the Port Townsend Leader I Posted: Thursday, February 5, 2015
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Commissioner Tom Giske
Planning commissioner Tom Giske gives a report Wednesday evening, Feb.4 to his fellow appointed commissioners from the
subcommittee he lead in identifying goals to guide the larger commission in crafting land-use and zoning rules for marijuana
businesses in Jefferson County during a regular meeting of the commission at the Tri-Area Community Center in Chimacum.
Photo by Nicholas Johnson
A subcommittee of Jefferson County's planning commission suggested Feb. 4 focusing on impacts from
traffic, light and noise, as well as impacts to property values, when crafting land-use and zoning rules for
marijuana businesses.
The subcommittee —comprised of four of the commission's nine appointed members and lead by
commissioner Tom Giske, set out after the commission's Jan. 14 meeting to identify goals to guide the
•larger commission.
Giske reported during Wednesday evening's meeting that the goal should be to strike a balance between
the interests of those pursuing marijuana businesses and those neighbors and residents concerned
about potential impacts to public safety and quality of life.
He also reported that the subcommittee identified areas of concern outside the commission's scope that
should be left to other agencies or departments. Those concerns include safety related to traffic and
explosions, children passing facilities or playing at nearby parks, fear related to smell and crime, and
environmental harm related to water, chemical and waste disposal.
"These areas, we felt, are outside of our domain," Giske said. "To take a considerable amount of time
considering them and debating them would keep us from getting into the meat."
Commissioner Matt Sircely, who was not a member of the subcommittee, said he feels efforts so far
have adequately addressed many of the issues considered to be outside the commission's scope.
"Of all of the issues you rose as being unresolved or unapproachable, I would wager that all those issues
are covered in one way or another, either by the cottage industry ordinance and the language we've
been looking at or 1-502 itself," he said. "It seems to me that a lot of those sticky issues have already
been covered."
AGRICULTURE?
Carl Smith, director of the county's Department of Community Development (DCD), then refocused the
commission's discussion toward the question of whether to treat marijuana like any other agricultural
product or as a distinct agricultural product with its own set of zoning and land-use rules.
•"Staff, from the beginning, has thought of marijuana as a particular kind of use that we would identify and
treat as a particular use," Smith said. "At least a couple members of the board [of county commissioners]
have a different feeling."
Commission chair Kevin Coker and many of his cohorts said that in many ways marijuana as an
agricultural product like any other, yet also acknowledged it comes with a unique set of potential issues,
making it distinct from other such crops
."Marijuana is an agricultural product, in my opinion," said Coker. "I don't think there's anyone who can
claim legally that it's not."
Smith then suggested taking a poll of all nine commissioners on that question. Eight preferred treating it
as a distinct agricultural product, while one — Gary Felder— preferred treating it like any other agricultural
product.
"I think a large portion of the problem comes from the fact that we are treating it as distinct," Felder said.
"I think we need to get our head out of the sand and deal with it in a way that's intelligent."
Commissioner Lorna Smith, on the other hand, said treating it distinctly is "just the prudent, conservative
approach," while Sircely said it seemed smart to treat it distinctly.
THREE OPTIONS
Of three options presented by DCD staff, option one suggested taking no action and allowing marijuana
businesses to proceed under existing rules, the second suggested banning such businesses in rural
residential areas while allowing them in other areas with specific conditions, and the third suggested
allowing such businesses in rural residential areas and other areas with specific conditions.
The first two options are new, while the third has been discussed in past meetings. Smith said the
options were drawn up prior to the board of county commissioners' regular 9 a.m. Monday, Feb. 2
meeting, at which they suggested the planning commission limit its focus to scale and intensity impacts.
"I don't feel that we have to take direction from the county commissioners for us to discuss this in a way
we want to discuss it, based also on what we're hearing from the public," Coker said. "From my
perspective we should look at marijuana as a distinct, different agricultural product."
II/While most of the commission agreed to rule out option one, some were split between options two and
three.
"I think the language of that third option is precisely what we've been working on this whole time," said
Sircely. "Every single recommendation we've made has been incorporated into that. Every single
comment, every single criticism has been incorporated into that draft. I don't understand why we're not
sending this forth today."
Commissioner Richard Hull disagreed.
"One could make a good argument that it's prudent to wait," he said, adding that because the county has
more than enough agricultural land, he sees no reason to allow marijuana businesses on rural residential
land.
When the 27-person audience got a chance to speak, some 13 did just that, including Chimacum
marijuana license applicant Jean Ball.
"I live on my 5 acres and I want to work on it," she said. "I have health issues and physical ailments, and
leaving my property to go do my business is a hardship for me."
Commissioner Cynthia Koan, who assumed her seat on the commission Jan. 14, said she needs more
time as the answers to too many questions remain unknown.
"I'm brand new to the commission and I'll tell you if you think this is simple, it is not," she said. "If I'm
being asked to come up with my recommendations, I don't have enough information yet."
Smith reassured the planning commissioners, calling the subcommittee's work and the commission's poll
progress.
•"This is a difficult process and we're in the messy phase," Smith said.
MORATORIUM
Some commissioners worried about whether there was any point in proceeding if the county's six-month
.
moratorium on marijuana businesses looking to locate in agricultural, forest or industrial areas expires
Feb. 11.
Unless the commissioners take action Feb. 9 during their regular Monday meeting, the moratorium
expires, allowing some 15 marijuana growing and processing businesses to move ahead under the
county's existing land-use and zoning rules. Those rules allow growers to set up in any area without a
land-use permit and require a cottage industry permit for processors in most areas.
"Whether or not the moratorium is extended or not, you still have the role of crafting recommendations,"
said Smith. "Even if the moratorium lapses and even though some would be vested, you still have the
opportunity to craft what you feel are the proper regulations for it and forward those to the board. Your
work will not be eliminated."
Still, some in the audience asked the commissioners to urge the board of county commissioners to
extend the moratorium.
"I want to have more time to do this," said Koan. "It is really clear from this conversation that I am not the
only one who does not know what to do."
Giske made a motion to send a letter to the board of county commissioners urging them to extend the
moratorium and commissioner Lorna Smith seconded that motion. It died, however, after commissioners
Tom Brotherton, Patricia Farmer, Sircely, Felder and Coker opposed the idea.
"If the moratorium expires and a certain number of permits are processed and allowed to operate in rural
residential areas, then we're going to have this situation where some people have an advantage because
they got in early," said Lorna Smith.
Coker said it wouldn't be the first time someone did that.
•"That's just the way it is," he said.
Giske said he feels it's important for the planning commission to take a position on whether to extend the
moratorium. Coker said each of the commissioners should attend the board of county commissioners'
Feb. 9 meeting at the Jefferson County Courthouse to make their positions heard, just as he encouraged
members of the audience to do.
Coker also directed DCD staff to find a time when the planning commission members and the Board of
county commissioners could gather for a workshop on land-use and zoning rules.
Brinnon marijuana license applicant Gary Johnson said he and other applicants could also offer valuable
insights.
"It's real frustrating sitting here listening to the talk going on and not being able to clarify some things," he
said. "It would help this discussion if there was an industry representative who could clarify things for
you."
Sircely suggested taking another poll at the planning commission's next meeting to find out where all
nine commissioners stand on whether to allow marijuana businesses in rural residential areas,
considering such businesses are also subject to conditions in those areas.
The next planning commission meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. March 4 at the Tri-Area Community Center in
Chimacum.
•
State Rep.Tharinger lends support to bill to end child exemptions from vaccinations for
measles, other diseases
By James Casey, Peninsula Daily News, February 6'h,2015
OLYMPIA— State Rep. Steve Tharinger has signed onto a bill to end parents' permission to opt out of
vaccinating from measles and other diseases the children they send to school.
House Bill 2009 was introduced Wednesday, three days after a middle-aged man was diagnosed with
measles at Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles.
The legislation echoes a bill introduced the same day by legislators in California, where an outbreak of
measles was traced to Disneyland in late December.
Tharinger, a Democrat from Dungeness who represents the 24th Legislative District—which includes
Clallam and Jefferson counties and part of Grays Harbor County — is one of 11 co-sponsors of the bill
introduced by Rep. June Robinson, a Democrat from Everett, that would cancel vaccination exemptions
for personal or religious beliefs.
Both Clallam and Jefferson counties lag behind statewide rates for vaccinating children.
In Clallam County, according to statistics for 2011-12, the most recent year available for the North
Olympic Peninsula, 80.3 percent of kindergartners had complete immunizations.
In Jefferson County for the same year, 47.5 percent of kindergartners were completely immunized.
That compared with a statewide figure of 84.6 percent.
From the previous period that was measured — 1998-99 —those figures had slipped from 92.1 percent
in Clallam County, 73 percent in Jefferson County and 88.5 percent statewide, decreases of 13 percent,
35 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
Washington is among 20 states that allow personal exemptions and among 48 that allow religious
exemptions.
Current state law allows parents to send their children to public school without being vaccinated against
measles, mumps and rubella, among other diseases, if it is against their religious beliefs or they have
philosophical or personal objections to immunizing their children.
They also must show statements signed by health care practitioners saying they have been informed
about immunization, or they can demonstrate membership in religious groups whose beliefs or teachings
preclude health care practitioners from providing medical treatment to children.
Exceptions for medical reasons also are permitted.
Robinson, who works for Public Health Seattle-King County, told The Associated Press the philosophical
exemption "just makes it too easy for parents to not think about the effect that they're having on the
community."
11°
"I think people really need a legitimate reason to send their kid to school and not have them vaccinated,"
she said.
"They're putting the rest of the school, the rest of the community, at risk by doing that."
Rep. Eileen Cody, a Democrat from Seattle, said the bill was filed close to a cutoff deadline but that she
hoped she could schedule a public hearing by the House Health Care & Wellness Committee she chairs.
In 2011-12, 7 percent of kindergartners' parents in Clallam County claimed exemptions from
vaccinations, as did 9.5 percent in Jefferson County and 4.5 percent statewide.
In Clallam County, exemptions had risen from 2.7 percent in 1998-99 (a 159 percent increase) but had
fallen from 10.9 percent in Jefferson County (a 13 percent decrease). Exemptions statewide stayed level.
For children 19 to 35 months old in Clallam County, 44 percent had complete immunizations in 2010, the
most recent year available for regional statistics; in Jefferson County, the number was 48 percent;
statewide, 50 percent.
Those rates were up from 43 percent in Clallam County in 2008, 38 percent in Jefferson County and 42
percent statewide.
By comparison, 41 percent of adults in both Clallam and Jefferson counties were vaccinated against
influenza in 2009-10.
Statewide, 39 percent received immunizations. That rate stayed level from 2003 in Clallam County but
rose from 36 percent in Jefferson County and from 35 percent statewide.
These figures came from the Clallam County Community Health Status Assessment published in
December 2012. •
It can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-CHSassessment2012.
Measles is one of the most contagious viral diseases known, with more than 90 percent of susceptible
people contracting it after exposure, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
It is spread mostly by coughing and sneezing or from touching a surface where the virus is present and
then touching the nose, eyes or mouth.
The virus can live on a surface or hang in the air for as long as two hours after an infected person has
coughed or sneezed, according to the CDC.
Deaths are rare in developed countries. More common complications include pneumonia, encephalitis
(swelling of the brain) and deafness.
Pregnant women who get the measles may give birth prematurely or deliver low-birth-weight babies,
according to the CDC.
Reporter James Casey can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jcasey(&,peninsuladailynews.com.
Jefferson County commissioners to took again at marijuana businesses moratorium at
Monday meeting
By Charlie Bermant, Peninsula Daily News, February 6th,2015
r ; iri !rj% i.' ,'' f '.:'. :-
4 -41401 'b$f
..<
Jefferson County Planning Commission members Cynthia Koan, left, and Tom Giske discuss potential marijuana
regulations at a meeting Wednesday.—Charlie BermantlPeninsula Daily News
PORT TOWNSEND—After declining to act Monday on a proposed four-month extension of a moratorium on
marijuana businesses in unincorporated areas, the Jefferson County commissioners have decided to address the
topic again next Monday.
The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. at the Cotton Building, 607 Water St., in anticipation of the larger crowds that
have attended previous meetings about the topic.
Discussion and possible action on the moratorium are expected after the public comment period, said County
•dministrator Philip Morley on Thursday.
Prior to the last meeting, Commissioner David Sullivan expressed a desire to let the moratorium expire.
During the meeting, Commissioner Kathleen Kler made a motion for its extension, which died for lack of a
second.
The third commissioner, Phil Johnson, had not made up his mind, which led to the default action for the
moratorium to expire this coming Wednesday.
Johnson did not return a call requesting comment Thursday.
In August, commissioners imposed a six month moratorium on marijuana businesses in unincorporated areas to
provide time to develop guidelines.
In January, the county Department of Community Development requested another four months to complete that
task, which would extend the moratorium to June 11 and allow more study of the rules in cooperation with the
Planning Commission.
The commissioners had two options for a
orat
orium extension: to extend the.measure as it is or to amend it to
dwiexempt businesses on parcels larger than 5 acres.
At the end of Monday's meeting, the commissioners had exercised a third option: to take no action, thus allowing
e moratorium to passively expire.
Carl Smith, DCD director, said then that about 25 local growers who had applied for producing and processing
permits were affected by the moratorium.
If it expires, the department will begin processing those applications, he said.
If the moratorium is extended, the Planning Commission would discuss guidelines and make recommendations
to the county commissioners, something members said they were not able to accomplish during the allotted time. .
At its Jan. 14 meeting, the Planning Commission assigned its member Tom Giske to write a report about the
issue.
He gave that report at the planning board's Wednesday night meeting.
Giske's report said regulations should protect residential areas from excessive traffic, noise and light; ensure that
large-scale production and processing operations do not introduce traffic or other hazards to a residential
community; and seek to minimize negative financial impact to landowners and neighbors.
Impacts outside of the board's purview were safety, effect on children, fear of crime and environmental harm
because these topics are addressed by other agencies, Giske said.
He moved that the commission pass a resolution encouraging the county commissioners to extend the
moratorium to give the Planning Commission a chance to make a recommendation.
The motion was not seconded after board member Matt Sircely said such a resolution was outside of the board's
purview; its mission is to make code recommendations and discuss land-use issues.
The county initially treated marijuana as standard agriculture, a distinction that led to public protests and the
eventual implementation of the moratorium.
At Smith's suggestion, planning commissioners took a "straw poll" as to whether marijuana was standard •
agriculture.
All commissioners except one, Gary Felder, said marijuana should be treated differently.
"We need to get our head out of the sand here and deal with this intelligently," Felder said.
"We deal with tobacco and alcohol on a daily basis, and they are a whole lot worse than marijuana."
License applicant Jim McRae of Quilcene told commissioners during the public comment period: "If you open the
door for regulating a specific crop, you open the door for crop-specific regulation in the future, and that is not a
world where I as an existing farmer want to live in."
McRae said concerns about light and noise are addressed by existing statutes, and one possible restriction on
hours of operation could decrease traffic and impact on the neighbors.
Sharon Hall of Chimacum said marijuana operations threaten local rural life.
"Many people came here just to have a quiet life," she said.
"I'm really scared about the type of life we are about to enter if the moratorium is lifted."
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
JCPH Page 1 of 1
Jefferson County Public Health
Always working fora healthier Jefferson.
Port Townsend,Washington
• Home About JCPH Community Health Environmental Health/Water Quality information News&Events
Public Health News and Events.
l'1?aw 5
Welcome>>News&Events
HEALTH ADVISORY FROM FLOODING
February 6,2015
Port Townsend-Heavy rains have caused flooding in southeastern Jefferson County including Quilcene and Brinnon.The National
Weather Service has issued a flood warning and reports that as much as 7 inches of rain has fallen in the eastern foothills of the
Olympics. Hazardous conditions exist and emergency personnel are assisting residents and travelers; please heed their warnings and
take these precautions to protect your health and safety:
• Wells may become contaminated and household water may be unsafe to drink. Drink bottled water instead.
• Wash your hands frequently with soap and clean water if you come in contact with floodwaters.Septic systems may be flooded
and adding pathogens to pollutants picked up by rising rivers and streams.
• Do not use your septic system when water is standing on the ground around it.The ground below will not absorb water from sinks
or toilets.
More rain is predicted and conditions may change rapidly. Even after floodwaters recede,caution is advised. Saturated soils on steep
slopes can result in landslides. Roads and buildings may be unstable. Falling trees and downed power lines are a possibility.If your well
is flooded,assume the water in your home is contaminated.If you are on a public water supply,contact your purveyor if you have
concerns about the safety of your tap water,or call Jefferson County Public Health.To treat drinking water that is potentially
contaminated with viruses or bacteria, boiling or purifying with bleach are recommended:
• Bring water to a rolling boil for one minute,OR;
• Add 1/4 teaspoon chlorine bleach per gallon of clear water. Filter cloudy water before adding bleach.
illMore detailed recommendations for treating drinking water for emergency use are available at:
www.doh.wa.00v/Portals/1/Documents/Pubs/331-115.pdf
Flood safety information is at:
www.doh.wa.oov/EmeroenciesLEmerciencyPreparednessandResponse/Factsheets/Floods
For more information,contact Jefferson County Public Health, Water Quality at(360) 385-9444.After business hours, please call(360)
385-9400 and select option 3.This will direct you to a regional answering service agent who will connect you with the appropriate
Jefferson County Public Health staff.
# # #
Always working for a safer and healthier community
Jefferson County Public Health
615 Sheridan Street..Port Townsend,WA 98368
'7i ' Community Health 360.385 9400 I Environmental Health:360.385.9444
. ' info@ieffersoncountypublichealth.org
JCPH Employee Resources
•
http://www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.org/index.php?health-advisory-from-flooding-2 2/6/2015
4
Duckabush River recedes after flooding Brinnon-area neighborhood; another slide falls
Peninsula Daily News, February 8th, 2015
_
y -
A swift-water rescue team operates with an inflatable boat
in the Duckabush floodwaters Friday morning in this photo
from Patrick Nicholson of Fire District No.4(Brinnon).
BRINNON — Flood waters began
Saturday
a dozen peopleanother
out slide
of thei�homesacked � of Duckabush Road
floods
near Brinnon after Friday pushed about
lled
The Duckabush River, eled by at least 7 Shorewood Road lnches of rain in the and Duckabush Roadympic Mountains,on Friday, flooding ain area that had
banks in
the areas of Kelly Road,
been hard-hit by high water in December.
"It's quieted down," said Bob Hamlin, director of Jefferson County Emergency Management, on
Saturday.
the rain in the upper basin that causes the problem," he said. "That has significantly slackened."
•"lt's
Ga9 e height of the Duckabush near Brinnon reached 6.56 feet by 11:45 a.m. Friday, according to the
U.S. Geological Survey, and had fallen to 4.40 feet by late Saturday afternoon
Rescue teams — about 2o to dooOleaand helping g thosetwo unteers —who were trapp dorked from
to leaveearly
flooding homesg to early
that afternoon, going do
They visited at least 14 homes on the Kelly Road side of the river and nine on the other side of the river,
said Patrick Nicholson, Brinnon fire chief.
Swift-water teams from Clallam County and state Fish and Wildlife rescued three people— an adult and
two children —from a Ford pickup truck swept away by the river at 7:30 a.m. Friday, said Nicholson.
A family of five that was trapped in a home in the area of Kelly and Duckabush roads was rescued —
and another five chose to leave their homes temporarily.
Two people were helped from their homes on Trailwood Drive on the other side of the river, he added.
None of the unidentified people was injured, he said.
The people who evacuated left with family or friends, Nicholson said.
Hamlin said he was not aware of anyone being homeless Saturday.
• A mudslide at Shorewood and Kelly roads reported at about 3 a.m. Friday was the first sign of the effects
of flooding, according to Nicholson.
"When we arrived, the water was rising very rapidly through the neighborhood," he said.
"I saw the potential of how bad [the flooding] was going to get" and called out swift-water teams and fire
department personnel. •
The slide was cleared by 3 p.m. that day, Hamlin said.
Another, smaller slide was reported at about noon Saturday near the site of Friday's slide, Hamlin said.
At midafternoon, the slide blocked one lane of the road some 100 yeards east of Friday's larger one,
according to Karen Sickle, who lives on Duckabush Road.
"Except for some unstable slopes, I think things are in pretty good shape," Hamlin said.
Although the Department of Emergency Management had arranged with the American Red Cross
Olympic Peninsula chapter to open the Brinnon Community Center as an emergency shelter, it was not
needed, Nicholson said.
Janet Halvorson, a store clerk at Brinnon General Store, said at 1 p.m. Saturday that the flooding had
noticeably receded.
"It's definitely gone down and getting better today now that it's slowing down on the raining," she said.
Sickle agreed. "There are big puddles in people's yards," she said Saturday.
Krista Carlile, assistant manager at Pleasant Harbor Marina near Brinnon, said Dosewallips State Park,
with 5,400 feet of freshwater shoreline on each side of the Dosewallips River, "was pretty much
underwater" when she drove to work Saturday morning. •
"The high tide didn't help any this morning," Carlile said.
High tide Saturday was at 6:52 a.m.
Rain is expected through Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
"Rainfall amounts will not be as much as we've seen recently," said Ni Cushmeer, meteorologist with the
Weather Service's Seattle office.
"It will exacerbate any flooding we're seeing now and increase the threat of landslides," she added.
The area that was flooded Friday was the same that had been hit hard in a Dec. 9 storm, Nicholson said.
The Red Cross ran an emergency shelter for a day in Brinnon, and eight people were rescued from their
homes while others fled on their own.
Brinnon Fire Station 42 on Shorewood Drive, which contained several pieces of equipment, was flooded
badly then, suffering some $200,000 worth of damage.
The station flooded again Friday, although the damage was less because no equipment was stored
there, Nicholson said.
In the Lazy C housing development, which was flooded in December, several homes were threatened •
Friday, but no one chose to leave, he said.
At least 7 inches of rain fell in the Olympic Mountains during a 24-hour period ending at 7 p.m. Friday,
briefly driving other North Olympic Peninsula rivers such as the Dungeness, Elwha and Bogachiel to
•ood stage.
The hardest-hit lowland area on the Peninsula was Brinnon, which received 5.18 inches of rain between
midnight and 7 p.m. Friday, Cushmeer said.
Over the same period of time, from midnight to 7 p.m., Port Townsend and Sequim received less than an
inch of rain, while Port Angeles had slightly more than 1 inch and Forks nearly 2 inches.
The deluge is from an "atmospheric river of moisture" coming from the subtropics west and south of
Hawaii, Cushmeer said.
Friday's storm was the second in a line approaching the Pacific Northwest. The first, a weak system, hit
Thursday. The next arrived Friday night, and another is expected to drop rain on the area tonight and
Monday.
"It doesn't look as wet as the recent one," Cushmeer said, but with much of it falling in the Olympics, "the
rivers will remain pretty high."
Last modified:February 07. 2015 6:07PM
IP
•
State lists measles vaccination exemptions at North Olympic Peninsula schools
Peninsula Daily News, February 9th, 2015
•The state Department of Health has reported statistics on school students who were exempted from
immunization requirements, including those for measles, for the 2011-12 school year, the last for which
figures were available.
Some schools reported no exemptions; others made no report. About a third of schools in the state did
not comply with the reporting requirement. The law carries no enforcement provision or funding to
implement it.
Arranged alphabetically by community in the North Olympic Peninsula, each listing gives the school or
program, its exemption rate, the total of exempt students and the reason their parents or guardians
claimed the exemptions — personal preference or medical reasons.
BRINNON
• Brinnon Elementary: No report.
CHIMACUM
• Chimacum Elementary School: 13.7 percent, 32 exemptions (all personal).
• Chimacum High School: No report.
io■ Chimacum Middle School: 9.1 percent, 24 exemptions (23 personal, one religious).
• PI Program: 36.2 percent, 25 exemptions (21 personal, two medical, two religious).
CLALLAM BAY
• Clallam Bay High & Elementary: 8.6 percent, 11 exemptions (10 personal, one religious).
FORKS
• Forks Elementary School: 1.9 percent, nine exemptions (eight personal, one medical).
• Forks High School: 3.8 percent, 12 exemptions (six personal, three medical, three religious).
• Forks Middle School: 1.7 percent, four exemptions (three personal, one medical).
• Home School: No report.
• Insight School: 6.4 percent, 143 exemptions (133 personal, four medical, six religious).
• Queets-Clearwater Elementary: No exemptions.
1111
JOYCE
• Crescent School: No report. •
■ Home Connection: No report.
NEAH BAY
• Neah Bay Elementary: No report.
• Neah Bay Junior and Senior High schools: 4.1 percent, 12 exemptions (six personal, three medical,
three religious).
PORT ANGELES
• Dry Creek Elementary: No report.
• Franklin Elementary: 7.7 percent, 30 exemptions (26 personal, four medical).
• Hamilton Elementary: 4 percent, 13 exemptions (all personal).
■ Jefferson Elementary: 14.4 percent, 46 exemptions (43 personal, one medical, two religious).
• Lincoln High School: 3.7 percent, four exemptions (all personal). S
• North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center: No report.
• Olympic Christian School: 18.4 percent, 19 exemptions (all personal).
■ Parents as Partners: No report.
• Port Angeles High School: 6.1 percent, 74 exemptions (62 personal, 10 medical, two religious).
• Queen of Angels School: 3.3 percent, four exemptions (all personal).
• Roosevelt Elementary: 6.5 percent, 28 exemptions (26 personal, two medical).
• Special Education: No report.
• Stevens Middle School: 5.4 percent, 33 exemptions (28 personal, three medical, two religious).
PORT HADLOCK
• Cedarbrook Adventist Christian: No report.
• Chimacum Creek Primary: 14.6 percent, 31 exemptions (25 personal, five medical, one religious). •
• Sunfield Waldorf School: No report.
*PORT TOWNSEND
• Blue Heron Elementary: No report.
• Grant Street Elementary: 24.2 percent, 94 exemptions (84 personal, five medical, five religious).
• Jefferson Community School: No report.
■ Port Townsend High School: 14.4 percent, 74 exemptions (69 personal, five religious).
• Port Townsend Special Education: No report.
• Swan School: No report.
QUILCENE
■ Crossroads Community School: No report.
• Homeschool Exploration Program: No report.
• Quilcene High and Elementary: 2 percent, four exemptions (all personal).
•
SEKIU
■ Cape Flattery Preschool: No report.
SEQUIM
■ Five Acre School: 36.5 percent, 23 exemptions (all personal).
• Greywolf Elementary: 11.6 percent, 64 exemptions (55 personal, six medical, three personal).
• Helen Haller Elementary: 11.8 percent, 71 exemptions (62 personal, seven medical, two personal).
■ Mountain View Christian School: No report.
• Sequim Community School: 27.4 percent, 34 exemptions (32 personal, two medical).
a Sequim Middle School: 8.9 percent, 59 exemptions (47 personal, 10 medical, two religious).
• Sequim High School: 9.4 percent, 92 exemptions (85 personal, two medical, five religious).
•Source:State Department of Health
Last modified:February 07. 2015 11:04PM
7
•
•
,10
Measles perilous yet preventable: Here are answers to your questions
By Denise Grady, New York Times News Service, Peninsula Daily News, February 9th, 2015
Measles has been spreading in the United States at a rate that worries health officials.
Most infections are linked to an outbreak that began in Disneyland in December, almost
certainly started by someone who brought the disease in from another country.
A "smattering" of other imported cases have also occurred, according to Dr. Anne Schuchat,
director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
Measles was eliminated from the United States in 2000, meaning that the infection no longer
originates here. But worldwide, there are still about 20 million cases a year; in 2013, about
145,700 people died of measles.
Travelers can bring the virus into the United States and transmit it to people who have not been
vaccinated.
Measles spreads through the air and is among the most contagious of all viruses; in past
epidemics, it was not uncommon for one patient to infect 20 others.
Some 90 percent of people exposed will get sick (unless they are immune because they have
had measles already or have been vaccinated).
• The virus can hang suspended in the air for several hours, so it is possible to catch measles just
by walking into a room where an infected person has recently spent time.
Inhaling a tiny amount of viral particles is enough to cause illness.
The disease is cause for particular concern because it can have severe complications, including
pneumonia and encephalitis, which can be fatal.
Those who survive encephalitis can wind up with brain damage.
Measles can also cause deafness.
And even without complications, the virus makes children very sick, with high fevers, a rash and
sore eyes.
Painful ear infections are also common.
Here are some commonly asked questions about measles and the vaccine that prevents it.
Has the United States been particularly hard-hit?
Many relatively wealthy countries are having worse outbreaks.
• Virtually all of continental Europe has been undergoing a large outbreak since 2008, with more
than 30,000 cases in several years.
France, which gets more tourists than any other country, had 15,000 measles cases in 2013, i
with at least six deaths.
About 95 percent of the cases were in people who had never been vaccinated or had not had
both recommended doses.
In the United States, vulnerable communities have had outbreaks in the last few years, including
Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn, N.Y., and the Amish in Ohio.
But vaccination rates are also relatively low in some wealthy, liberal neighborhoods.
The Seattle suburb of Vashon Island is believed to have the lowest vaccination rates of any
health district in the country.
Who is most at risk of becoming seriously ill from measles?
Babies and young children who have not been vaccinated are most vulnerable, and most at risk
for dangerous complications.
"Even in developed countries like the U.S., for every thousand children who get measles, one to
three of them die despite the best treatment," Schuchat said during a recent news
teleconference. •
In the United States from 2001 to 2013, 28 percent of young children with measles needed to be
treated in the hospital.
In pregnant women who have never been immunized or never had measles, the disease
increases the chance of premature labor, miscarriage and having a baby with a low birthweight.
People with leukemia and other diseases that weaken the immune system are also at risk of
severe illness from measles.
The best protection for high-risk people, Schuchat said, is a high rate of vaccination in everyone
else, so the disease cannot gain a foothold and start spreading.
Is the measles vaccine safe?
There is no evidence that the vaccine causes harm.
Research in 1998 linking it to autism was proved fraudulent and was retracted.
Children may briefly run a low fever— an increase of about 1 degree Fahrenheit — after the
shot and may develop a mild rash.
•
• When should children get the measles vaccine?
They need two shots: one when they are 12 to 15 months old and another when they are 4 to 6
years old, according to the CDC.
The injections contain a mix of vaccines to prevent measles, mumps and rubella.
Why do babies have to wait until they are a year old to receive the vaccine?
During the first year of life, infants may carry antibodies from their mothers that can prevent the
vaccine from working, so the shot is delayed.
But if there is a risk of exposure — say, from international travel —the first shot can be given at
6 months and is thought to provide some protection.
But those babies will need two more shots: the second at 12 months and the third at least 28
days later.
How long does it take the measles vaccine to start working?
• The shot usually provides protection in 10 days to two weeks.
How effective is the measles vaccine?
More than 95 percent of people will become immune after receiving one dose, according to the
CDC. With two shots, the efficacy reaches about 97 percent.
The vaccine does fail in a small percentage of people for unknown reasons.
One possible cause is mishandling of the vaccine; failure to keep it cold can inactivate it.
Is there anyone who should not receive the measles vaccine?
Pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems and with certain illnesses are
among those who should not be given the measles vaccine.
The CDC maintains a detailed list on its website of conditions in which the measles vaccine
should be postponed or avoided.
• I don't know if I've ever had measles or the measles vaccine. What should I do?
The easiest solution is to be vaccinated. Even if you had been vaccinated, there is no harm in •
getting another shot.
Measles vaccine is always given in combination with the mumps and rubella vaccines.
People born before 1957 are assumed to be immune to measles, because the disease was so
common in the prevaccine era that virtually everyone caught it and became immune.
It is possible to have a blood test that will look for measles antibodies, which would indicate that
you had had measles or the vaccine, and therefore are immune.
But testing would require two doctor visits and a wait for lab results.
Just getting the shot is simpler, easier and cheaper.
Is it safe to stretch out the immunization schedule so babies do not receive more than
one or two vaccines at a time?
Some parents fear that multiple vaccinations will overwhelm an infant's immune system.
But infectious-disease experts say there is no reason to stretch out the vaccination schedule or
to worry that a child's immune system cannot handle multiple vaccines administered at one
time.
•
"From the moment the child enters the world through the birth canal, that child's immune system
is being stimulated by all kinds of bacteria," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease
expert at Vanderbilt University.
"The child is constantly being stimulated, and that's the way the child's immune system was
designed by nature to work and become competent."
A child's immune system can easily respond to all the vaccines given according to the standard
schedule recommended in the United States, Schaffner said.
He warned that stretching out the schedule was not only unnecessary, but may endanger
children by lengthening the time during which they are susceptible to the diseases that vaccines
can prevent.
Do people catch measles from animals?
No. It is strictly a disease of humans.
Last modified: February 07.2015 6:02PM
•
Peninsula measles victim's trail traced while he remains hospitalized
By James Casey, Peninsula Daily News, February 9th,2015
•
YI
A dose of the measles-mumps-rubella,or MMR vaccine
that's available on the North Olympic Peninsula.
—Photo by The Associated Press
Where Peninsula measles victim traveled
The Clallam County Department of Health and Human Services has listed the approximate times when and
places that a man hospitalized for measles visited while he was contagious.
The man,who was from the Port Angeles area,was hospitalized at Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles
last Sunday. He remained in OMC's intensive care unit Saturday.
Close contacts of the man already have been notified of their exposure and have been evaluated for
immunity.
• Anyone who was in one of the following locations during the indicated times may have been exposed to
measles.Times may overlap, said Dr.Tom Locke, health officer for Clallam and Jefferson counties.
Clallam County
■ Jan. 27
3:30 p.m.to 5:45 p.m.—Wendy's Restaurant, 1830 E. First St., Port Angeles.
4:45 p.m.to 6:55 p.m.—Mount Pleasant IGS and Texaco station, 3010 E. U.S. Highway 101, Port Angeles.
■ Jan. 29
9:01 a.m.to 11:15 a.m.—Longhouse Market&Deli,271020 U.S. Highway 101, Sequim.
3:10 p.m.to 5:30 p.m.—Mount Pleasant IGS and Texaco station.
■ Jan. 30
11:13 a.m.to 1:23 p.m.—Mount Pleasant IGS and Texaco station.
King County
■ Jan. 29
11 a.m. to 1:10 p.m.—SeaTac rest area on Interstate 5 north, Federal Way.
11:24 a.m.to 1:35 p.m.—Owen Equipment Co., 8721 S.218th St., Kent.
• 11:45 a.m. to 1:50 p.m.—Bent Bike Motorcycle Salvage,4337 Auburn Way N., Auburn.
11:58 a.m.to 2:15 p.m.—Arby's Restaurant, 140 15th St. N.E., Auburn.
A district manager for Wendy's said the man"did not come into the restaurant at all"and referred questions to
the restaurant's corporate spokesman,who did not return calls to the Peninsula Daily News.
An employee at Mount Pleasant IGS said she had no knowledge that the health department had visited the
store and referred queries to owner Glenn Johnson,whom she said could not be reached until Monday. •
A worker at the Longhouse Market said she had not"heard anything at this point."
All three local employees declined to identify themselves.
According to the health department:
• People who were in any of these locations at the listed times should find out if they have been vaccinated
for measles or have had measles previously. People born before 1957 are presumed to have had measles
and are immune.
• People who are not vaccinated,aren't sure if they're immune and develop an illness with fever or an
unexplained rash should consult a health care professional immediately.
• It is important for those who suspect they have measles to call ahead to their clinic, doctor's office or
emergency room before arriving to prevent exposing people in the waiting room.
• Measles vaccine given longer than 72 hours after exposure is not effective in preventing measles in
someone who has been infected.
• Measles is highly contagious even before the rash starts and is easily spread when an infected person
breathes, coughs or sneezes.
Unvaccinated people can get measles just by walking into a room where someone with the disease has been
in the past couple of hours.
• Children should be vaccinated with two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine,with the first dose
between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.
• Adults should have at least one measles vaccination. Some people need two.The state Department of •
Health immunization program has online information about measles and the measles vaccine at
http://tinyurl.com/PDN-measlesinformation.
PORT ANGELES — Public health authorities have traced the movements of a man who was contagious
with measles when he was admitted to Olympic Medical Center one week ago.
The unidentified middle-aged male from the Port Angeles area remained Saturday in OMC's intensive
care unit, where health officials said he was recuperating from the illness.
"We believe he is going to make a complete recovery," said Dr. Tom Locke, health officer for Clallam and
Jefferson counties.
Locke said Friday the Clallam County Department of Health and Human Services had sought doses of
the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine from other counties.
The department will conduct immunization clinics Monday and Tuesday at 111 E. Third St., Suite 1-A,
Port Angeles. Call 360-417-2274 to schedule an appointment.
"We're planning on those clinics for however long the need exists," Locke said. "We're trying to get 500
or so doses."
As for tracing the man's movements, "we're proceeding with the initial-phase responses that a health
department does," Locke said, to determine what people, if any, should be quarantined, treated or •
vaccinated.
The locations are "anywhere we've determined he was inside the building and may have shared air," he
said.
.One
of the most contagious of diseases known, the measles virus can linger on surfaces or in the air for
two hours after a contagious person has coughed, sneezed or touched objects.
"The risk of transmission in that kind of setting is very low, but it's possible," Locke said.
"We would expect anyone who had been exposed to measles at the same time [as the man] to be sick
by now. They should actually have gotten sick and be recovered by now."
However, Locke said, "now is the time we watch very carefully for what we call the secondary outbreak"
among people he said should start feeling the effects of measles now.
Early symptoms of measles resemble colds or the flu, with fever, sneezing and coughing. Measles'
telltale rash shows up about four days after the onset of symptoms, Locke said.
"That's when this usually gets people's attention."
If people suspect they have measles, they should not go directly to their doctor, clinic or emergency room
but should call ahead.
If health care workers suspect a case of measles, the sufferer will be masked outside the facility and
examined in isolation, Locke said, then sent home or hospitalized.
Initial reports of measles in the Peninsula Daily News wre heavily accessed by readers of the website at
www.peninsuladailynews.com/, and Locke acknowledged the issue has generated a high degree of
public interest.
"People are starting to wake up to the realization that having a lot of unvaccinated people in the
community is not a good thing," he said.
Although it nearly vanished in recent years and is regarded as a childhood illness, measles is a serious
threat to infants, pregnant women, recipients of organ or bone marrow transplants, and people who take
immunosuppressant drugs. Fatalities usually result from encephalitis.
In short, he said, "Measles can kill you."
Reporter James Casey can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jcasey@peninsuladailynews.com.
Last modified:February 07.2015 5:52PM
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Dungeness River bridge remains in precarious position as Peninsula dries out after
floods
iiiy Arwyn Rice, Peninsula Daily News, February 9th, 2015
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Dungeness River Audubon Center
The crippled trestle leading up to the steel-and-concrete Railroad Bridge
at the span's Sequim-area namesake park shows broken and missing piles
as overflow waters of the flooded Drungeness River rage underneath.
Flooding on the North Olympic Peninsula was reduced Sunday as rivers pulled back into their banks, and
officials are sorting out the damage left behind by raging waters from the heavy rains that washed over
the region.
On Sunday, the damaged bridge over the Dungeness River at Railroad Bridge Park still stood, a Brinnon
neighborhood flooded by the Duckabush River was beginning to return to normal, a section of the
Olympic Hot Springs Road in Olympic National Park was still under water and Dosewallips State Park
was closed due to flooding.
While more rain is in the forecast through Tuesday, it isn't expected to be enough to cause more
flooding, said Johnny Burg, forecaster for the National Weather Service in Seattle.
However, a National Weather Service special weather statement warned of possible mudslides on steep
hillsides saturated by rains.
Dungeness bridge
Six pilings and parts of a truss section of the 100-year-old bridge over the Dungeness—washed away
by storm waters Friday —were being secured Sunday to ensure the creosote-treated timbers were not
going to float downstream and cause further damage, said Powell Jones, director of the Dungeness
River Audubon Center, adjacent to the bridge.
Some of the timbers were still partially attached to the bridge, and others were disconnected and
•threatened to be washed away, Jones said.
Secured in concrete
The iconic overhead truss railroad bridge itself is anchored in concrete at both ends and is not
considered at risk, he said.
The bridge, located on Jamestown S'Klallam tribal property, forms the centerpiece of Railroad Bridge •
Park and is the only Dungeness river crossing for the Olympic Discovery Trail.
Tribal officials have said the bridge is not repairable in the short term, and they are working with the State
Department of Transportation to access emergency money to repair and open the bridge as soon as
possible.
Dungeness River Bridge is expected to be closed for more than two months, tribal officials have said.
Trail users may detour around the Dungeness bridge area by using the nearby U.S. Highway 101 or Old
Olympic Highway bridges.
Elwha River
Olympic Hot Springs Road, in the Olympic National Park southwest of Port Angeles, remained closed
Sunday with water on the road, said Park Ranger Greg Marsh.
The road was flooded near the Elwha Campground in an area that is prone to flooding in big rain events,
Marsh said.
Jefferson County
Damage to homes and other properties on the Dosewallips and Duckabush rivers was minimal and
limited to fences, outbuildings and some erosion, while two nearby mudslides have been cleared, Bob •
Hamlin, director of Jefferson County Emergency Management Department said Sunday.
"It's not as bad as the December storm," Hamlin said.
Both the Dosewallips and the Duckabush rivers flood regularly, and many of the residents in the area
have either raised their homes on floodwater-resistant pilings or have sold their properties and the
houses have been razed to permanently reduce the impact of flooding on those rivers, he said.
Hamlin said the Duckabush River in particular is a challenging river for predicting floods and for warning
residents.
"It's rate of rise is extremely fast. You need to really watch it. There is not a lot of warning," he said.
The Duckabush River, fed by more than 7 inches of rain in the Olympic Mountains on Friday, flooded
areas of Kelly, Shorewood and Duckabush roads near Brinnon on Friday — an area still recovering from
a similar flood in December.
Friday's flood affected different areas than the December flood, Hamlin said.
In December, the floods hit the Dosewallips harder, and this time it was the Duckabush River that
threatened homes, he said.
At its highest, the Duckabush River rose to a height of 6.37 feet and a flow rate of 4,970 cubic feet per
second at 12:30 p.m. Friday, and by Sunday, it had fallen to 3.70 feet and 1,580 cubic feet per second, •
according to the U.S. Geological Survey website.
The Duckabush does not have an official established flood stage.
On Sunday, Dosewallips State Park near Brinnon was temporarily closed due to damage caused by the
•osewallipS River flooding the day-use area and large portions of the campground, according to the
Washington State Parks website.
The Dosewallips does not have an official river gage.
* * * OUR EARLIER REPORT ON THE DUNGENESS RIVER BRIDGE DAMAGE
By Peninsula Daily News staff
SEQUIM —The Dungeness River Bridge is expected to be closed for weeks, if not months, after flood-
strength waters knocked loose several support pilings, threatening collapse of the span's western
walkway.
The bridge, on Jamestown S'Klallam tribal property and the centerpiece of Railroad Bridge Park, will be
repaired "within the next couple of months," tribal Chairman Ron Allen said Saturday.
Concern is focused not on the iconic steel railroad bridge itself across the Dungeness— it is anchored in
concrete at both ends— but on the bridge's old trestle portion, which continues across the west side of
the river.
"We're gonna take a very active leadership on repairing it," Allen said.
"We've already alerted [state Department of] Transportation folks and are trying to access emergency
money to make it available as soon as possible.
."We're definitely moving as fast as we can."
Allen said tribal Chief Operating Officer Annette Nesse and representatives of the tribe's excavation
company were at the site Saturday morning, as well as Clallam County Engineer Ross Tyler.
"This is not repairable in the short term," Tyler said.
Detour for trail users
Railroad Bridge Park is also home to the Dungeness River Audubon Center.
Powell Jones, director of the center, said that as of Friday night, six bridge piles had been torn away by
debris and the rushing river.
The walking and bike paths through the park and over the bridge are part of the Olympic Discovery Trail.
The trail will eventually run from Port Townsend to the Pacific Coast, but for now, most of it is about 60
miles in and around Port Angeles and Sequim.
Walkers, horse riders and bikers using the trail will now need to detour around the Dungeness bridge
area by using the nearby U.S. Highway 101 and Old Olympic Highway bridges, Powell said.
"You're talking about a mile of trail that's been cut off," he said.
• Repairs cannot begin until the end of the rainy season, Allen said.
Permitting also is complicated because the river is home to endangered fish species, Tyler said.
The Dungeness River's chinook and summer chum salmon, steelhead and bull trout are listed as •
threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act, according to the state Department of Ecology.
The old railroad trestle, now a planked walkway, is held up by wooden pilings, some rising 20 feet from
the ground.
The Dungeness River, normally a placid and shallow waterway, swelled to a torrent early Friday from
heavy rains that gorged the waterway, which overflowed its banks in many areas, reaching about a foot
below its official flood stage.
Trees undermined by the flooding also have crashed down on the trestle.
'Hazardous situation'
Repair crews were called in to assess the situation, and late Friday, the Clallam County Sheriffs Office
closed the entire bridge and its eastern and western approaches and in a news release warned of"a very
hazardous situation":
"The bridge at Railroad Bridge Park has been damaged due to high water in the Dungeness River and
trees falling on it to the point where it is suspected that collapse [of the western trestle portion] is possible
if not probable.
"Authorities have closed the [Olympic] Discovery Trail at either side of the bridge and are warning
citizens to stay out of the area.
"Emergency personnel are on scene and monitoring the situation." •
Last modified: February 08. 2015 9:42PM
•
State looks to share marijuana taxes with cities to encourage communities to
welcome pot businesses
By Gene Johnson,The Associated Press, February 10'h, 2015
SEATTLE —Washington legalized marijuana more than two years ago, but in much of the state, there's
still no place to get the sanctioned stuff: More than 100 cities and counties have banned pot businesses,
making it tough to undermine the black market.
Lawmakers think they have at least a partial solution: paying the locals to let licensed weed come to
town.
Under bills introduced in both houses in Olympia, the state would share a chunk of its marijuana tax
revenue with cities and counties — but only if they allow approved marijuana businesses in their
jurisdictions.
It's an approach that has worked to some degree in Colorado, said Kevin Bommer, deputy director of the
Colorado Municipal League.
"It definitely made a difference," he said.
"Without it, you would not have as many municipalities in Colorado approving retail marijuana sales."
Washington's legal pot law, Initiative 502, passed with 56 percent of the vote in 2012. Voters approved
the measure in Clallam and Jefferson counties.
But in many parts of the state —especially in central and eastern Washington —voters opposed it.
40Officials in many cities have imposed bans on the pot businesses, seeing little reason to let them
operate, and courts have upheld their authority to do so.
Even if areas that favored legislation, residents' concerns have led to moratoriums and stricter codes.
Among them is Sequim, which set a six-month moratorium on marijuana businesses in August, with
council members saying that the state should share excise taxes with cities.
A moratorium on recreational marijuana businesses in unincorporated areas of Jefferson County was
extended Monday by county commissioners, but with the aim of allowing current applicants to proceed
with their businesses as the county develops permanent rules.
Poulsbo Councilman Ed Sterns said that city's ban was motivated entirely by the lack of revenue sharing.
Sterns serves on the board of the Association of Washington Cities — an organization that was formed
to press the state to share liquor revenue after alcohol prohibition ended in 1933.
Local governments continue to get a cut of liquor revenue, and if the state does the same with marijuana,
Sterns said he'd urge Poulsbo to reconsider its ban.
"The impacts are entirely local — planning, permitting, inspection and most importantly good community
policing," Sterns said. "Those impacts are partly mitigated by revenue sharing."
Since legal marijuana stores opened in Washington last summer, the state has collected $20 million in
Oot taxes.
In Colorado, sales and excises taxes on pot hit $50 million in the first year of legal sales, with about $6
million sent back to local governments.
But even in Colorado, three-quarters of the state's 271 cities ban marijuana businesses. •
Under 1-502, the tax money was dedicated largely to health care: After the state paid off a few items,
including the cost of administering the new law, half of the remaining tax collections were directed to a
program that provided health insurance for low-income workers.
Under the national health insurance overhaul known as the Affordable Care Act, that program vanished.
Some lawmakers, led by La Center Republican Sen. Ann Rivers, want to split the money that would have
gone to it: One-third of it would go to cities and counties based partly on how much pot-related revenue
they generate for the state. The rest would go into the state's general fund.
Sen. Karen Keiser, a Democrat from the Seattle suburb of Kent, said at a committee hearing on the
measure last week that she was concerned about the turn away from health care, noting that local health
departments are chronically underfunded.
The issue is one of many facing lawmakers on the marijuana front—the most pressing of which is
reconciling Washington's unregulated, largely untaxed medical marijuana system with taxed and
regulated recreational sales.
Other measures under consideration include requiring a vote of the public for communities to ban pot
businesses, and allowing communities greater flexibility in where the businesses can be located.
Last modified: February 09.2015 7:57PM
•
•
Jefferson County commissioners extend pot moratorium, but window allows existing
applicants to move forward with businesses
By Charlie Bermant, Peninsula Daily News, February 10', 2015
I
Jefferson County Administrator Philip Morley, rear, helps county commissioner Kathleen Kler
craft a motion concerning the extension of a moratorium on recreational marijuana businesses
on Monday as fellow commissioners Phil Johnson, center and David Sullivan look on.
—Charlie Bermant/Peninsula Daily News
PORT TOWNSEND —The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners has extended a moratorium on
recreational marijuana-related operations in a way that allows current applicants to proceed with their
businesses as the county develops permanent rules.
The compromise resolution was crafted by District 2 Commissioner David Sullivan and presented to the
District 1 Commissioner Phil Johnson and District 3 Commissioner Kathleen Kler on Monday and was a
modification to a resolution that died at the commissioners' Feb. 2 meeting for lack of a second.
"We have found an adequate balance that protects everybody," Sullivan said.
"It gives the Planning Commission time to do their work and judge the impacts of these businesses."
About 25 businesses that were placed in limbo by the moratorium will be allowed to proceed through the
licensing process and will be approved as long as they meet requirements from other agencies, Sullivan
said.
In August, commissioners imposed a six-month moratorium on marijuana businesses in unincorporated
areas to provide time to develop guidelines.
In January, the county Department of Community Development requested another four months to
complete that task, which would extend the moratorium to June 11 and allow more study of the rules in
cooperation with the Planning Commission.
The commissioners had two options for a moratorium extension: to extend the measure as it is or to
amend it to exempt businesses on parcels larger than 5 acres.
At the end of the Feb. 2 meeting, the commissioners had exercised a third option: to take no action, thus
allowing the moratorium to passively expire.
Sullivan's revision to the second option created a fourth choice, allowing outdoor growing on any sized
parcels of rural residential land, allowing indoor growing operations on any parcel larger than five acres
end inside a temporary building and production and processing on any parcel designated as industrial.
Still restricted is the processing of crops outside of harvesting and drying in rural residential areas, with
the commissioners' intention to develop regulations that address the differences between marijuana and
other agricultural products.
After Sullivan presented his proposed revisions they were discussed and unanimously approved by the •
board.
The revised moratorium replaces one that expires Wednesday and will be in effect until June 11.
As part of the process, the county commissioners hope to hold a joint meeting with the Planning
Commission as soon as possible in the hope that its completed work will lead to new guidelines that
would lead to the moratorium's cancellation.
"I want to expedite this," said Planning Commission Chair Kevin Coker after Monday's meeting.
"We will schedule special meetings, and I'd like to see this done in two months."
Department of Community Development Director Carl Smith said the work wasn't accomplished during
the initial six months due to staff shortages and the inability to address the matter at the Planning
Commission's monthly meetings.
Smith first requested the extension at the Jan. 5 county commissioners' meeting, at which time several
growers stated opposition to the extension as it would delay planting enough to endanger their growing
season.
On Monday, Smith said DCD had not considered this delay prior to its mention at that meeting.
Grower Jean Ball, who first advanced that argument, said Monday that she will be able to plant a crop
this year. •
Steve Ramsey of Port Ludlow, who has testified at several public hearings, said he was disappointed
with the commissioners' action.
"I think this was a real punt on the issue," Ramsey said.
"Sullivan was consistent in that he didn't want any meaningful regulations and the other two had enough
questions that it was clear this needs more air time."
The meeting took place at the Cotton Building due to the expectations of high public interest.
More than 50 people were present for the public comment period which was extended to an hour, double
its normal time, due to those who wished to speak.
About 25 people spoke during the comment period, with about twice as many favoring the moratorium's
extension as those opposed.
"This has turned into a win-lose situation when it didn't need to," said Kristina Mayer of Chimacum, one
of many speakers calling on the commissioners to allow the Planning Commission time to make its
recommendation.
"The environment loses, young families lose and worst of all our county government is losing the respect
and appreciation of many of our rural residents."
"Pro marijuana business people have reminded us that 65 percent of the county voted for this," said John •
Hacko of Chimacum.
"They did not vote for marijuana businesses in their neighborhood or next to their home, they voted so
they could purchase, smoke and possess marijuana legally."
Hacko criticized the county's failure to provide notices about businesses locating in neighborhoods.
"I received notice from the county about a new public trail planned a quarter of a mile from one of my
properties but I didn't get a notice of a marijuana farm and processing business going in next to my
house," he said.
Jason Serinus of Port Townsend said that concerns about crime connected to legal marijuana are
groundless as the legal pot business will eventually destroy the black market.
Several growers commented, saying the moratorium interfered with their legitimate, legal business.
"It wasn't cheap to start up this operation," sad Nan DuMond of Port Townsend about her proposed grow
business.
"My worries are that if you don't let this moratorium lapse, I don't think this small operation can make it,
which means that I won't have a job in this amazing new little business."
After the comment period, most of those who addressed the board began leaving, with only about 20
people present to witness the commissioners' final deliberations and extension of the moratorium.
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermantpeninsuladailynews.com.
•ast modified: February 09.2015 7:47PM
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•
S
State to approve Port Townsend Paper mill boiler upgrade
By Charlie Bermant, Peninsula Daily News, February 11, 2015
S
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The Port Townsend Paper Corp. mill is set to change hands when
Crown Paper Group Inc. of Atlanta closes on the sale later this week.
—Charlie Bermant/Peninsula Daily News
PORT TOWNSEND —The state Department of Ecology will issue approval for a notice of construction
today for a boiler upgrade at the Port Townsend Paper Corp., agency representatives said Tuesday.
"Once this is installed, the mill will run more efficiently and is necessary so it can meet new federal
pollution requirements," said Garin Schrieve, Ecology's section manager.
The approval was expected, according to company President Roger Hagan.
"We certainly anticipated they would grant the permit because this is a project that must occur and has a
deadline," he said Tuesday.
"I appreciate Ecology acting in a timely manner so we could move ahead."
4110 The final order would allow Port Townsend Paper to proceed with construction on the boiler unit, which
includes changes to the boiler's air supply and the addition of new pollution-control equipment to allow
the mill to meet new federal air pollution requirements.
Ecology held a public comment period and hearing on the proposed order in late 2014 that included a
meeting at Fort Worden State Park.
At the time, Hearing Officer Angela Fritz said that if comments led to a change in the permit, another
draft of the proposal would be prepared and a new comment period scheduled.
That did not occur, according to Stephanie Ogle, industrial section engineer.
The estimated cost of the upgrade is between $10 million and $12 million, with construction on the
project to begin in the spring and finish by the fall, according to company spokesman Kevin Scott.
Critical of move
Gretchen Brewer, president of PT AirWatchers, said the installation of the new equipment may decrease
pollution in the short term but that there are no long-term guarantees.
"The PB10 pollution equipment is the minimum mandated by EPA," Brewer said in an email.
"But the air supply equipment is not a mandate, but rather the second-to-last piece of equipment needed
•to also become an operating biomass power generator, despite citizen objections," she added.
"The remaining piece of equipment is a steam turbine.
"At that point, PT air pollution is projected to increase three-fold, which will accelerate and aggravate
cancers, heart and lung disease and a multitude of other breathing issues, especially among children
and our aging community members."
•
Schrieve said Ecology reviewed mill's application to upgrade its boiler unit and found that the project met
all applicable federal and state rules and regulations for emissions.
"Ecology's review found that the air supply system was needed to meet federal air emission standards,
which it achieves by improving combustion efficiency and reducing carbon monoxide emissions," he said
in an email.
"Any additional construction on the site would be subject to a new notice of construction and review
process."
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant(a.peninsuladailynews.com.
Last modified: February 10. 2015 7:17PM
Port Townsend Paper Corp., sold to Atlanta holding company
By Charlie Bermant, Peninsula Daily News, February 11, 2015
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Port Townsend Paper Corp. President Roger Hagen stands in front of the company's new generator.
—Charlie Bermant/Peninsula Daily News
PORT TOWNSEND — Port Townsend Paper Corp. is changing ownership this week with a newly
formed holding company purchasing the mill and its assets, it was announced Tuesday.
Crown Paper Group Inc. of Atlanta will close on the sale later this week as it purchases Port Townsend
Holdings Inc. in its entirety, which controls Port Townsend Paper Corp. —the mill — and Crown
Corrugated, which does business as Crown Packaging and Boxmaster in Vancouver, B.C.
"This is very positive for the mill because the people who are buying us know our business and how they
can make it more profitable," Port Townsend Paper Corp. President Roger Hagan said Tuesday, when
the news of a sales agreement having been signed was announced.
"This is good news for the mill and the community because it means we will be here for a very long time."
IllHagan said the new company has no connection with Crown Zellerbach, the company that built the mill
in 1928.
The amount of the sale will not be publicly disclosed, Hagan said.
The purchase will not immediately change operations at the facility, which employs about 300 employees
and is Jefferson County's largest private employer.
Hagan said he will stay on as president and there will be no change in personnel in the near future.
While Hagan would not divulge any long-term plans, he said in the short term, the investments will be
incremental and will use the existing workforce.
"We will work to improve the safety performance, bring our manufacturing excellence methodology to the
operations, build on the performance improvements and customer satisfaction that the employees have
already achieved," said Alan Ulman, a spokesman for the new company, in an email.
He said the company plans to invest capital to ensure that the mill and packaging plants have the right
tools to accomplish their mission.
According to a news release, Crown Paper Group has the resources to invest in building businesses
over the long term.
It was created by the investment firm Lindsay Goldberg, which manages $10 billion of equity capital,
Alit
to its website, and is focused on acquiring businesses and helping to build long-term value.
The sale process took approximately six months to complete, Ulman said.
Port Townsend Holdings Inc. was purchased from GoldenTree Asset Management, a New York-based
company that was planning to sell the property as part of its long-term strategy, Hagan said. .
"Their goal has been to sell the company at one point," Hagan said.
"Several months ago, they determined it was a viable time to enter into a process.
"There were several entities that were interested, but this one ultimately prevailed."
In a public letter, Crown CEO Steve Klinger said, "We look forward to the opportunity to continue and
enhance the partnership with community leaders in Port Townsend and Jefferson County for the mutual
benefit of the community and Port Townsend Paper for years to come."
Crown Zellerbach began construction of the mill in 1927 and opened the following year, owning and
operating the facility until 1983, when it sold the mill to Haindl Papier GmbH of West Germany, which
renamed it Port Townsend Paper Corp., according to a report on www.HistoryLink.orq.
The mill property had changed hands twice again prior to this week.
Several of the new company's executives are now in Port Townsend to determine the mill's future
direction, Hagan said.
"They looked at all aspects of our operation and saw a lot of potential," Hagan said of the new owners.
"They bring a lot of expertise in how to reshape our business."
Hagan said the Tuesday announcement was timed to accommodate the deadline of the weekly Port i
Townsend & Jefferson County Leader and ensure the story appeared simultaneously in that paper and
the Peninsula Daily News.
"We want to keep everyone on our side and want to be friends with everybody," Hagan said.
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant(c�peninsuladailynews.com.
Last modified: February 11.2015 12:37AM
•
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At Zoogs, improvement possible: Caveman evolves in Hadlock
By Patrick J. Sullivan, Port Townsend Leader, February 11, 2015
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Bret`Zoog" Forsberg removes a brisket from his wood-fired barbecue smoker outside his restaurant in Port Hadlock. Now that he is
allowed to speak about his business's appearance on the Food Network's"Restaurant Impossible"TV show, he said the remodeled
building is cleaner, the kitchen is not as dirty as it was made out to be on TV, and there was no fault found with his style of barbecue.
Photo by Patrick J. Sullivan
Not many people are willing to lay everything on the line, from personal financial and family
issues to commercial kitchen cleanliness.
That's what Bret "Zoog" Forsberg did to land a starring role for Zoogs Caveman Cookin on the
Food Network TV show "Restaurant Impossible," a program filmed Nov. 16-18, 2014 in Port
Hadlock, and aired Feb. 4.
Forsberg is glad he did. He said business has increased, the number of sit-down customers
has surpassed the number of take-out orders, and there are more customers using credit or
debit cards instead of cash, indicating a change in clientele.
Ike whole experience, we couldn't ask for anything better," Forsberg said. "It's given us a
chance."
The show's premise is that with $10,000 for a physical makeover, expert advice and a ton of
volunteer work, restaurants deemed to be failing financially can be given a fresh start.
Forsberg, his family and his employees were not allowed to discuss the TV experience in
public until after the program aired. Here are some of their big "takeaways" from the three-day
experience in November 2014:
• Business had improved by 20 percent in January, still a slow time of year. Customers
definitely appreciate the interior remodel (even if some things were a bit incomplete), and
many of the menu items (including roasted Brussel sprouts), suggested by celebrity chef
Robert Irvine are still being served.
• Chef Irvine did not complain about the quality of food being served (although he actually did
not eat anything himself). In fact, Forsberg said that his Texas-style barbecue "pit master"
skills have been validated.
• There was not as much yelling on the TV program's final cut as actually happened during
the two and a half days that Irvine was around the business.
• The issue of Forsberg tending to drink beer while on the business premises was front-and-
center during the show; he said he is changing his ways. (He has also made two trips to the
apital with cardiac and blood pressure issues since November).
• A casual viewer of the show would come away with the impression that the restaurant •
kitchen was not fit to serve the public. In fact, the kitchen had passed a food safety inspection
on Nov. 5, less than two weeks before TV cameras arrived.
Overall, the restaurant crew is happy with the changes, and that includes the menu that
includes nightly specials. •
"It has improved business," said Charlie Babcock, line cook, who has worked at the location,
off and on, for six years. "It changed everything. The look, the feel, the energy, the people.
The whole environment of the place has changed."
THE SHOW
Celebrity chef Robert Irvine had filmed about 125 episodes of "Restaurant Impossible" since
the program debuted in January of 2011 . The loud, burly Englishman is known to tell it just
like he sees it and his first impression of the building's exterior, complete with cavewoman
and dinosaur: "ridiculous." Inside, he notes the "beat up walls," a stone fireplace that
protrudes into a public walkway between interior rooms, and old carpet.
"One thing that hits me more than anything and that is the disgusting putrid smell of
Y g g ga mix
between urine, dirt, grease." [The words "disgusting" and "disgusted" are used at least nine
times].
The restaurant, housed in one of Hadlock's oldest commercial buildings, immediately draws
the chefs attention.
"If a fifthly restaurant and bar wasn't bad enough, the kitchen is beyond foul." Irvine says on
the show. "This has got to be the worst place I've ever seen."
He took issue with how fresh food was labeled, the cold unit's temperature, the grease vent's
cleanliness, and a lower section of a food prep area that was never used, but did not appear
to have been cleaned for some time.
"With every moment I spend here I realize there is no part of this restaurant that should be
used for anything, especially food service," he says on the program.
"Shut this down now," Irvine yells, and adds, "You should be ashamed of yourself. You are
seriously going to hurt somebody and it's going to come back and bite you."
Customarily, the chef samples the food as well as checks it out for plating. He told Forsberg
to prepare five of his signature dishes for him to inspect — but he would not taste, due to his
concerns about kitchen cleanliness.
Forsberg told the Leader Feb. 6 that "we had it as clean as it had ever been," after having a
Jefferson County Public Health Department inspection Nov. 5, and knowing the nit-picky chef
was due Nov. 16.
FOOD SAFETY
According to public records obtained from Jefferson County Public Health:
• There have been no customer complaints about food-related sickness at Zoogs in 2014.
The JCPH responds to every public complaint regarding something like food poisoning, which
generally occurs within 24 to 72 hours of a person dining. "Studies show that one is much
more likely to get a food-borne illnesses from a private residence than out of a restaurant," .
said Jared Keefer, director of the county's Environmental Health and Water Quality
operations.
• • The only restaurant subject to emergency closure in 2014 on a health violation was Zoogs —
but it was not for anything people may have seen on the Reality TV show. A complaint was
made to JCPH last July that Zoogs was operating without hot water, and that prompted an
inspection July 29 where that proved to be true. The lack of hot water for sanitary facilities
d hand washing is an automatic closure, Keefer said. The broken water heater was
placed and the restaurant was reopened July 30.
Overall, about 10 different food service businesses scored poor enough in 2014 to merit a
prompt re-inspection to ensure corrective action was taken, said Mina Kwansa, the JCPH
environmental health specialist who conducts inspections. Zoogs was one of those
businesses.
"People take pride in their food. It reflects on them and you have a responsibility to your
customers" Kwansa said.
The top four basic rules of food handling, things that score "red" points, deal with this
sequence of events: Cook, chill, separate and wash hands, Keefer noted.
Establishments are closed immediately for these imminent health hazards: lack of water, lack
of hot water, sewage backup and lack of electrical power. Other problems revealed on
inspection must be fixed immediately, and some must be done within 30 days.
[In our next issue, the Leader will examine more about our local food safety inspections].
Still, the kitchen clearly was not clean enough for Chef Irvine, who ordered in a kitchen
equipment repair person (from Sequim), and a crew that spent 14 hours cleaning the kitchen.
Zoog staff realized that Reality TV needs excitement, and feel the chef made a scene in the
Aiihen mostly to add spice.
Illrne production crew said he's been in much worse conditions than ours and he allowed
them to keep operating," noted Holly Pritchett, restaurant manager.
THE MONEY
The profit margin in the restaurant world is generally thin, and Forsberg admitted to being
over their head, or should it be, underwater, in terms of finances.
"I've lost everything," Forsberg tells Irvine, saying he has lost his home and is $65,000 in
credit card debt. Employees were let go, he cashed in his 401 K, and being short on money
meant being unable to buy enough food product.
In what Irvine said was "the first time ever" in his program's 11 seasons, a government
representative actually came to the business in search of money. "At the end of the day the
tax man will always get their money," Irvine said on camera.
Forsberg told the Leader that he knew he owed the state Department of Labor and Industries
the fourth-quarter payment for 2014, and that a representative stopped to deliver paperwork.
It was not a stop-work notice or anything that serious, he said.
The reality is that $400 goes to pay the credit cards, every day. Pritchett said she pretty much
works without a salary, hoping to get the restaurant in the black so someday, the money she
and her husband, Zac, invested could at least be recouped.
oe put so much into this already, I don't want it to all be for nothing," she said. Her husband,
an experienced cook who on the TV program was put in charge of the kitchen, is now working
a different job.
FOOD QUALITY
Fans of the TV show know that in most cases, food quality is a major issue, often because of
the lack of fresh, homemade ingredients. Not so at Zoogs.
Although Irvine berated kitchen cleanliness, and did suggest a few menu changes and •
additions, little time was spent debating actual food quality.
Forsberg told the Leader that two of the show's producers and crew had eaten at Zoogs, and
the word had already gotten to Irvine that food quality was not an issue. A barbecue
consultant from Texas was brought in to go over things with Forsberg, who said, "gave me
validation" that his methods are good.
"I was really upset that [Irvine] did not try my food. I take great pride in my smoked barbecue
meats," Forsberg said.
DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION
Contractors had visited two weeks prior to filming, so the show's designer and builder knew
the building's size and shape, and came prepared with a re-design idea. The concept of a
"rustic, industrial man cave" was developed, including driftwood turned into wall art, and a
metal gate transformed into a room divider. The floor plan was opened up, the fireplace from
1964 was resurfaced and, first of all, the old carpeting was ripped out and replaced with a
laminate.
"One way they can tell what a community thinks of the business is how many volunteers show
up," Forsberg said. "They were impressed that we had more than 200 people. They did a
place in Renton after ours, and they had 20 volunteers."
Although the construction effort did a lot of amazing work, and the staff is unquestionably
•
happy with the end result, it was not a complete job. For example, the screws used to
attached the reupholstered cushions to the wooden chairs were too short, and fell out within a
week or two of installation. The dining room tables had been sanded and varnished but not
sealed.
The laminate flooring, a huge improvement over the carpet, bubbled, particularly near the
sloped side-door (now front door) entrance. It has been re-stretched once.
While some construction problems took weeks to arise, one became clear on opening night,
Nov. 18: a phone line had been accidentally cut, and no credit card machines would work. It
took three days to get the break fixed.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Irvine is famous for being loud. Forsberg grew up in a military family and served six years in
the U.S. Air Force, so he was prepared to follow orders, not willing to let "$10,000 in work and
a million dollars of publicity slip through my grasp.
"I do have a temper, but I've seen the episodes where people have gotten in his face and he
just gets in their face that much more," Forsberg said. "He yelled at the camera crew as much
as he does at us."
How did the finished show compare with the live experience?
"What they showed on TV didn't match up," said Brandy Hendricks, a Zoogs employee. "They.
made Robert Irvine a lot nicer than he really was."
Forsberg did note that Irvine pulled him off camera and said, "No matter what you think of me,
I'm here to help. I can fix the decor but I can't fix your family. If you can fix that, you will have
a successful restaurant."
ETTING PERSONAL
itchett's application to be on the Reality TV show made it clear that family and staff morale
had been affected by Forsberg's apparent lack of passion for the job, complicated by financial
woes and his beer consumption.
For TV purposes, producers asked Pritchett and her sister, Sara Steele, to approach Irvine in
the production tent and ask for help about the drinking. "That was staged," Pritchett said,
although the concern is real.
The sisters noted that their father has acquired a reputation for drinking on duty, although
Pritchett noted that since he lives in an apartment upstairs, and is not always working, he may
be seen with a drink when he is not actually cooking.
The women suggested that Zoog drank about a keg of beer (33 gallons) a week, a type of
draft beer [Bud Lite] generally not served to patrons.
Forsberg told the Leader he did not believe he ever drank a keg a week; now, his Bud Lite is
purchased in cans.
Irvine sat Forsberg at a table and made an elaborate presentation based on poker, a game
Zoog understands quite well. He dealt a hand of a Jack of Diamonds with the words "broken
equipment," a 6 of Clubs (filthy restaurant), a 9 of hearts (poor management), a 7 of
Diamonds (unsatisfactory food) and the final card, a 4 of Spades (drinking while working.
is is the hand you showed me," Irvine told Forsberg. "You are betting your life on this
nd."
Forsberg acknowledged it as a "losing hand."
Fixing each of those problems resulted in new cards, ending up as a Full House — poker's
highest hand.
"What I came away with is, it's not like you're getting drunk every day, but people are seeing
you drink," Forsberg told the Leader. "I have made the decision that while I'm on duty, I won't
touch anything but [water]. My family was having to make excuses, and they won't have to do
that anymore."
•
Tharinger offers bill to address dental crisis
• Port Townsend Leader, February 11, 2015
House Bill 1421 , cosponsored by Rep. Steve Tharinger, D-Dungeness, would
educate new dental therapists in order to provide needed dental services on the
Olympic Peninsula and in other areas across the state where oral health care is
difficult to access.
Tharinger's district, which encompasses Jefferson and Clallam counties and
most of Grays Harbor County, contains one of the state's eight federally
designated dental health professional shortage areas.
On the North Olympic Peninsula and in other areas across the state, kids and
families can't find a dentist who will treat them, Tharinger learned. Fewer than
one in 10 adults using Apple Health (Medicaid) saw a dentist in 2013. Even
among kids ages 5 and younger assisted by the state's ABCD program, only one
in three used a dental service in 2013.
"We have an oral health access crisis on the North Olympic Peninsula," said Dr.
Tom Locke, health officer for Clallam and Jefferson counties, in a press release.
"Good oral health is a crucial part of overall health. We are not serving the need
that exists for basic dental care, resulting in a significant amount of preventable
suffering and disability. Dental therapists can help."
• HB 1421 would educate a new generation of oral health care professionals,
called dental therapists. Similar to a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, a
dental therapist can put affordable care within reach of more people. Adding
dental therapists to the workforce is a cost-effective way to use state resources
more efficiently and improve the health of kids and families.
"Dental therapists allow every member of the dental team to maximize their
efficiency and deliver more care to more people," said Tharinger. "Our busy
health clinics can bring in more providers to serve the needs of more families in
my home district."
Oral health is vital to overall health. Poor oral health can also lead to diabetes,
stroke and heart disease.
•
Flooding swells rivers, hits residents, spares roadways
By Nicholas Johnson, Port Townsend Leader I Posted: Wednesday, February 11, 2015
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Brinnon flooding
The Duckabush River, Friday, Feb. 6 in Jefferson County-the same floodplain area where residents were stranded Dec. 10,
2014. Video of the Duckabush flood scene filmed by Seattle TV was broadcast on national news Friday evening. Photo by Anna
Maria Gardner
Another bout of heavy rainfall over the Olympic Mountains brought flooding to south and
west Jefferson County communities last week, garnering national news coverage over
the weekend.
An estimated four inches of rain fell in the Olympic Mountains from Wednesday, Feb. 4
through Friday morning, Feb. 6., though it wasn't until about 11 :15 a.m. Feb. 6 that the
National Weather Service issued a flood watch warning for the area.
•'lt was a rapid rise," said Bob Hamlin, director of the county's Department of Emergency
Management. "It almost would have qualified as a flash flood. I don't want to say it was a
surprise, but usually we have a couple of days of spin up from the weather service with
an advisory and so on, but we were way into the flooding before we got any of that. So
I'm going to look into that."
By the time a flood watch had been issued, emergency responders had been working for
hours, tending to landslides over roadways south of Brinnon and visiting homes in the
flood plain to offer help in evacuation.
The Lazy C Ranch subdivision along the Dosewallips upstream from Brinnon flooded, as
did Dosewallips State Park near the river's mouth.
While many families refused to leave their homes, some 10 people were evacuated with
help from swift water rescue teams.
"I don't think the water in residential areas got too deep at all," said Hamlin. "It was
mostly just moving really rapidly."
The first 911 call related to the flooding came in at 12:52 a.m. Feb. 6 reporting mudslide
along Duckabush Road in Brinnon, to which sheriffs deputies and public utility district
crews responded initially.
Brinnon Fire Department crews came on scene at about 4 a.m. and swift water rescue
greams from Clallam County and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife began going
door to door at about 6:30 a.m.
An adult and two children in a pickup truck along Kelly Road near by Duckabush called
for rescue at 7:37 a.m. A swift water rescue team evacuated a family of five from a home
along Kelly Road at 9:52 a.m. Two more people were evacuated from a home along
Trailwood Drive in Brinnon, on the south side of the overflowing Duckabush River. •
Brinnon Fire Chief Patrick Nicholson said he terminated his command by 1 p.m. Feb. 6,
but remained working in the area until dark.
Jefferson County became the center for flooding news in Western Washington.
Helicopter video from a Seattle TV station was broadcast on national television with the
weather story of another "Pineapple Express" turning a fire hose on California, Oregon
and into Washington.
County crews worked over the weekend and into this week cleaning up debris and
clearing roadways.
"I'm talking to people down here [in Brinnon] who say this flood was worse than the last
one," said Hamlin. "We've got more debris, more gravel and more silt. Most of what looks
like erosion out there is gravel from the river."
WEST END ROADS
The board of county commissioners declared a state of emergency Monday, Feb. 9 for a
stretch of Oil City Road on the county's West End, allowing county public works officials
to take fast action to prevent further bank erosion.
"We haven't lost the road yet but we lost a lot of ground between the road and river,"
said Monte Reinders, county engineer, who said he has begun getting cost quotes to
haul riprap to the site to armor the bank. 11111
A stretch of the Hoh River a couple miles upriver from its mouth into the Pacific Ocean
has eaten away at its bank for years, each time coming closer to the county road.
In 2010, there was 350 feet of land between the river and the road. That had been cut to
90 feet in 2013 and now stands at 20 feet.
"The river level has dropped now and it's not eroding as fast, but as soon as it comes up
again we expect it would disappear," said Reinders.
Other costly county roadways, such as Dosewallips Road, South Shore Road, Upper
Hoh Road and Undi Road, did not suffer major damage, though some areas saw bank
erosion causing roadways to sink.
Since roadways were largely spared, state and federal aid is not expected.
"This was a small situation that will not be eligible for FEMA funds, as far as we can tell,"
said county administrator Philip Morley.
DECEMBER STORM
Facing more than $500,000 in road repair costs after a December 2014 storm, the
county received $190,000 from the Federal Highway Administration(FHA) Jan. 7 for
repairs to South Shore Road along the Quinault River in the county's West End. •
Brinnon neighborhoods, such as The Lazy C, Snow Creek and Dosewallips, did not rise
to the necessary cost threshold to garner Federal Emergency Management Agency
reimbursement. The county has spent more than $100,000 in repairing Dosewallips
ORoad alone.
The FHA awarded another $350,000 Jan. 7 to offset costs to repair Upper Hoh Road,
which was washed out Thanksgiving Day, 2014.
In December's storm, Brinnon Fire Department's Station 42 was filled with about 5 feet of
water, sustaining an estimated $200,000 in damage to vehicles, equipment and
structure. Fire district commissioners were to discuss the station's future during the
board's regular 7 p.m. public meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at Station 41 in Brinnon.
•
•
BOCC extends less restrictive marijuana moratorium
By Nicholas Johnson, Port Townsend Leader I Posted: Wednesday, February 11, 2015
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Marijuana moratorium
Commissioner Kathleen Kler address the audience after listening to public comment
Feb. 9 during the commissioners'regular weekly meeting at the Cotton Building in
downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Nicholas Johnson
Jefferson County's commissioners unanimously agreed Monday, Feb. 9 to extend for another four
months a less-restrictive version of a moratorium marijuana businesses first established in August 2014.
Like the original, the new moratorium, which is set to expire June 11, limits marijuana growing and
processing businesses to agricultural, forest and industrial areas.
Now, it also allows outdoor growing on any rural residential lot and indoor growing on any rural
residential lot greater than 5 acres. It also allows processing on any rural residential lot at least 1 acre in
size so long as the business has a cottage industry permit from the county.
Exactly how many businesses are now free to proceed in applying for county building and land-use
permits remains unclear.
others delayed receiving a state license until the moratorium was lifted.
Aside from those, the original moratorium held up some 19 businesses —whether planning to grow,
process or both. Four of those are located on rural commercial land. The remaining 15 are on rural
residential land, eight of which had plans to set up on more than 5 acres, meaning they are now allowed
to move forward.
Jean Ball, who has more than 5 acres in Chimacum, is one of those growers now able to apply for county
building and land-use permits.
"I'm going to DCD [Department of Community Development] with a fist full of cash to get my permits,"
Ball said after the commissioners' decision, adding that she will now be able to get her crop in the ground
in time for the spring season. "I'm relieved, but still concerned about those who didn't make it through."
LOOPHOLE
Commissioner David Sullivan, who introduced the revised moratorium, said it aims to strike a balance
between the interests of businesses and concerns of neighboring residents while allowing time to
address a potential loophole in county codes governing agriculture on smaller residential lots.
"There is a possibility of a loophole there and a loophole that would allow impacts greater than we might
desire," said Sullivan, referring to an exemption from building permits and land-use review of temporary
growing structures, such as greenhouses, on residential land. "What does temporary mean? That
warrants a close look."
Aside from the new moratorium's restrictions, the county's existing rules allow growers to set up in any
area without a land-use permit and require a cottage industry permit for processors in most areas.
'Rome 60 people filled the Cotton Building in downtown Port Townsend during the commissioners' regular
Monday meeting, with some 26 people speaking during an extended public comment period.
All but one spoke on marijuana, with most calling for the moratorium's extension and telling the
commissioners to "do the right thing" and "take the time to do it right."
"There has not yet this morning been much new information that's been given to me in public comment
that has not been shared in emails and the volume of letters we have received," Commissioner Kathleen ip
Kler said after hearing public comments.
By the time the commissioners began deliberating on the moratorium, the audience had dwindled to
about 40 people and by the time they voted, about 25 remained.
FOUR MONTHS
"A four month extension is good, but can we do it?," asked Commissioner Phil Johnson. "That's the
question. I think there's a substantial amount of work to do to make sure this works well."
Planning commission chair Kevin Coker said he is confident his group's work can be completed in two
months.
"I want this done much quicker than four months," said Coker, who expects that a planning commission
subcommittee dedicated to this issue will begin meeting weekly.
In an initial report to the wider planning commission Feb. 4, that subcommittee found the commission
should focus on impacts from traffic, light and noise, as well as impacts to property values, with other
concerns such as crime, explosion and environmental harm set aside.
The planning commission has so far met three times to discuss marijuana businesses. It next meets at
6:30 p.m. March 4 at the Tri-Area Community Center in Chimacum.
DCD director Carl Smith said staff shortages and an increasing backlog of cases has overwhelmed his
staff and could continue to limit DCD's ability to support this process in coming months.
AGRICULTURE?
Most planning commission members agreed Feb. 4 that while marijuana is agriculture, it's not equal to •
traditional agriculture such as corn or kale and should be regulated distinctly.
Though the county commissioners have not yet been able to agree on that question, they did agree
Monday afternoon to let board chair Sullivan and DCD director Carl Smith draft a letter to planning
commissioners requesting they review county code governing agricultural and focus work on scale and
intensity impacts, such as building size, setbacks, fencing, parking, hours of operation and number of
employees.
Rather than board members and planning commission members working together in a joint special work
session, the county commissioners agreed to let Sullivan present the board's thinking during the planning
commission's next meeting.
Sullivan has favored treating marijuana like traditional agriculture and regulating specific impacts while
Johnson has favored treating it distinctly. Kler has generally favored treating marijuana distinctly, as well.
•
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them a symbol of hope and support as they performed their heroic duties away from home and families. Hope Senders are currently
• HopeSeworking allnder over the world recognizing quiet heroes. They have now turned their attention to you. You have been nominated by
Headquarters for your willingness to make a difference. It is appreciated! May you spread more hope and peace with a
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In response to all the wonderful letters, on behalf of my team, I would like to thank each and
everyone of you for your kindness, support, and efforts shown towards our team. We very much
appreciate it and you have no idea how good it feels to know that we are not forgotten. III
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