What Happens to Organs When Time Runs Out? And Other Donation Questions from Students
<p>Lifeline of Ohio Community Education Manager Ron Packard teaches students facts about organ, eye and tissue donation during a classroom visit.</p>

Lifeline of Ohio Community Education Manager Ron Packard teaches students facts about organ, eye and tissue donation during a classroom visit.

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Through the Community Educator program, Lifeline of Ohio visits high school and college classrooms in central and southeast Ohio to educate students about the facts and myths surrounding organ, eye and tissue donation. Students’ curiosity about the details of the organ donation and transplant process frequently reflect questions we hear in our own communities. We share a few of those questions and answers below as a benefit to all readers.

Q: Can you choose to be an organ donor only when you die?

A: Being a registered organ donor, or saying ‘yes’ when you get your driver’s license at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, means you are agreeing to donate when you die. People can donate organs while they are living by arranging it with a hospital, such as the Wexner Medical Center at The Ohio State University. The organs that can be donated while a person is living are: kidney, lobe of the liver, lobe of the lung, part of the small intestine and very rarely, part of the pancreas. A person has to be over 18 years of age to be a living organ donor.

Q: What happens if a recipient cannot be found in time to transplant a donor’s organs?

A: We do not recover the heart, liver, lungs, pancreas or small intestine from a donor unless the organ has a place to go. We know exactly who will receive that organ before it is recovered. For example, the heart must be transplanted within four to six hours after it is removed from the donor – we don’t recover a heart and then hope to find someone who would take it in four hours. Because kidneys can stay outside the body longer, sometimes they can be recovered before we find the right candidate match. In the case of weather or other emergencies that prevent us from getting the organ to the best candidate, we could pass the organ to a recipient who might not be the best candidate but is still a match and we can physically get it to them. Otherwise the organ can go to a research institute, or it will be left in the body to be buried with the donor.

Q: What is currently happening in the world of brain donation, if anything?

A: We can donate our brain for education or research. For example, universities are studying how concussions might affect the brain after a long period of time. They are also looking at issues like autism and Alzheimer’s, too. Usually a person has to set up donating a brain with a research program in advance of their death because it would be considered a special donation. The brain is not something we recover.

Q: Are organs sewn together after donation or will the tissue grow together?

A: When an organ is transplanted, it is sewn into place by sewing the blood vessels that go to it. This gives the organ the blood it needs to work in the recipient (the person who got the organ) and holds it in place. The vessels will heal and the stitches dissolve.

Q: Do you have to die to have your corneas donated?

A: Yes, a person can die of brain death or cardiac death (this means the heart stops beating) and donate cornea. We do not take cornea from someone who is living.

Organ and tissue donation saves and heals millions of lives every year. Be a hero and register as an organ, eye and tissue donor today at www.donatelifeohio.org.

If you are teacher or school administrator interested in having a Community Educator from Lifeline of Ohio come visit your school, please contact Ron Packard, community education manager, at (614) 384-7332 or rpackard@lifelineofohio.org.

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Severe weather threat enters area
Jun 14, 2013 | 347 views | 0 0 comments | 62 62 recommendations | email to a friend | print

PDT Staff Report

According to the National Weather Service, Scioto, Pike, Adams, Jackson and Lawrence Counties in Ohio are under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch. Greenup County in Kentucky is also under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch. For each county, the watch expires at 6 a.m.

A severe thunderstorm as defined by the National Weather Service is a storm with hail equal to or larger than 3/4 of an inch in diameter or convective wind gusts equal to or greater than 58 miles per hour. Even if a storm is not severe, it still remains a potential killer. Lightning, flash flooding, wind blown hail (even small hail), and general thunderstorm wind gusts pose a threat to life and/or property. Severe thunderstorms also have the potential of producing a tornado with little or no advanced tornado warning.

Power outages often accompany severe thunderstorms.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) is reminds Ohioans exercise caution during power outages. Downed electric lines, equipment and vegetation can potentially be hazardous and should be avoided.

Do not attempt to touch or move downed electrical lines and equipment. Downed lines pose a serious hazard to anyone who comes in contact with them and can be deadly. Immediately report downed lines to emergency responders and your local utility. Do not attempt to move fallen debris in the vicinity of a downed power line and keep at a safe distance at all times.

Additional safety tips during a power outage include:

•If using a generator, be sure it is properly ventilated to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

•Do not attempt to use a gas stove or oven to heat your home.

•Unplug electrical devices in case of a power surge. Leave one lamp on so you know when power has been restored.

•If possible, use only battery-powered light sources for emergency lighting instead of candles. Matches, lighters and candles are fire hazards.

•Check on your neighbors, friends and family to ensure they are okay.

•Call an electrician if you have standing water near electrical wiring or appliances. Do not enter the flooded area.

For additional safety tips during electrical power outages, visit the Ohio Emergency Management Association’s website at www.ema.ohio.gov.

To review the PUCO’s guide to being prepared for power outages, please visit the PUCO website at www.PUCO.ohio.gov.

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Johnson Introduces Bill to Expand Access to Narcan
Jun 12, 2013 | 1458 views | 0 0 comments | 50 50 recommendations | email to a friend | print

State Representative Terry Johnson (R-McDermott) has introduced House Bill 170, a bipartisan bill joint sponsored with Michael Stinziano (D-Columbus). House Bill 170 would expand access to Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of an opiate/opioid overdose in just a few minutes, potentially saving a life.

Narcan is a drug with a high safety profile that is non-abusable and has been utilized by emergency room physicians successfully for years. HB 170 would allow a physician or other medical professional with prescriptive authority to personally furnish Narcan to the family or friends of an addict who is at risk of overdosing. The family member or friend could then administer the Narcan by a squirt in the nose of the person overdosing potentially keeping them alive until medical help arrives.

“This is a critical piece of legislation as we continue to fight Ohio’s drug epidemic,” said Johnson. “My House Bill 93 shut down pill mills and dried up supplies of prescription opioids, but it did not cure addiction. We still have all of these addicted people, many of whom are now on heroin. Without access to this lifesaving drug, Narcan, people will die needlessly. There aren’t many bills passed out of Columbus that actually save lives; House Bill 93 is saving lives, and so will this one.”

The bill also takes steps to get Narcan into the hands of more emergency responders and to law enforcement. House Bill 170 would allow EMT-Basics and EMT-Intermediates to have and administer Narcan to a person who is apparently experiencing an overdose. Currently, the only emergency responder lawfully allowed to administer Narcan is a paramedic. Additionally, the bill would allow a law enforcement agency to get licensed with the Board of Pharmacy to stock Narcan and dispense it to its law enforcement officers.

“I’ve seen Narcan save lives in the emergency room,” said Johnson. “But people don’t always make it to the ER. The first people on the scene are often law enforcement and our emergency medical responders. By allowing them to administer this drug in emergency situations, we can help continue our downward trend in drug deaths that we’ve seen in the past year and a half.”

The introduction of this bill comes on the heels of the new numbers released from the Scioto County Coroner’s office which showed direct drug deaths in 2012 down to 15 from 21 in 2011. The 2012 number of direct drug deaths was the lowest number since 2004.

“That’s the kind of trend we want to see,” said Johnson, who is also a physician. “And by getting Narcan into the hands of more citizens in a smart way, we can do even better.”

HB 170 was referred to the House Health and Aging Committee where it will be considered before being voted on by the entire House of Representatives.

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Museum Welcomes New Directors
Jun 12, 2013 | 1043 views | 0 0 comments | 51 51 recommendations | email to a friend | print

With a wall of diplomas and more than 27 years of successful museum administration, Mark Chepp and Charlotte Gordon are poised to become Directors of the Southern Ohio Museum by July 1. The Museum’s Board of Trustees enthusiastically and unanimously approved their appointment as, respectively, Executive Director and Artistic Director on Tuesday.

Asa Jewett, President of the Museum board, expressed the board’s collective delight over the good fortune and ideal timing that brought Mark and Charlotte to our attention. “We are absolutely confident that they have the skills, personality, experience and passion to take the Museum to new heights of programming and policy in the 21st century, and we are eager to welcome them into our community.”

For their part, Chepp and Gordon are also eager. “It has always been a dream of ours to work together,” the husband-and-wife team agreed. “To discover that opportunity in a museum we have respected and admired for so many years is just amazing. We can’t wait to become part of it and everything southern Ohio has to offer.”

Mark Chepp, a native of Milwaukee, earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Art at the University of Wisconsin-Steven’s Point and then a pair of Master’s Degrees, one in Art

and another in Art History, from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Before moving to Springfield, Ohio, in 1991, he had served as curator of visual resources in the UW-M art history department, director of the art history gallery there, and ultimately curator of exhibitions and collections at the UW-M Art Museum. During his 15-year tenure as Executive Director of Ohio’s Springfield Museum of Art he built an impressive permanent collection, curated scores of outstanding exhibitions and secured national accreditation, a distinction awarded to only 6% of America’s museums. Upon his retirement a grateful institution honored him with the title of Director Emeritus. He has since been directing his energies to painting and to teaching at the college level. He has been a leader in Springfield’s cultural community, spearheadeding efforts to restore the Hartman Rock Garden, a 1930’s folk art environment, and the Westcott House, a Frank Lloyd Wright residence in Springfield. He will retain his role as an Accreditation Peer Reviewer for the American Alliance of Museums.

Charlotte Gordon hails from New Orleans. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at Newcomb College of Art at Tulane University, where she majored in ceramics, a specialty which took her the following year to North Carolina’s prestigious Penland School of Crafts. She has served as the Springfield Museum of Art’s sole curator for the last six years, a position that went far beyond the curatorial domain of selecting works for exhibitions to include as well the tasks of registrar, preparator and art transporter.

This spring she was awarded a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies from Southern University of New Orleans. She has frequently served as a guest curator or juror for numerous arts organizations throughout Ohio and is presently organizing a major touring exhibition of African art from the collection of Southern University of New Orleans. Gordon is a member of the Ohio Museum Association’s Board of Trustees.

Both Chepp and Gordon are practicing artists. He is a painter whose recent self-portraits have been exhibited throughout Ohio, including a featured role in the Southern Ohio Museum’s A Face in the Crowd exhibition last fall. He is represented by Keny Galleries in Columbus. Gordon is a respected ceramic artist whose work has appeared in solo and group exhibitions throughout the state. She is represented by the Sherrie Gallerie in Columbus’ Short North District.

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<p>Shown at the May 22 open house at Infra-Metals in New Boston are, from left, Oak Williams, Infra-Metals Co. General Manager; Jim Morgan, Fluor-B&W Community Commitment Fund Steering Group vice-chairman; Mike Dean, Infra-Metals Regional Vice President, Operations, Northern Division; Tim Poe, Fluor-B&W Steering Group member representing B&W; Don Hadsell (J&H Erectors).</p>

Shown at the May 22 open house at Infra-Metals in New Boston are, from left, Oak Williams, Infra-Metals Co. General Manager; Jim Morgan, Fluor-B&W Community Commitment Fund Steering Group vice-chairman; Mike Dean, Infra-Metals Regional Vice President, Operations, Northern Division; Tim Poe, Fluor-B&W Steering Group member representing B&W; Don Hadsell (J&H Erectors).

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Severe weather threat enters area
Jun 14, 2013 | 347 views | 0 0 comments | 62 62 recommendations | email to a friend | print

PDT Staff Report

According to the National Weather Service, Scioto, Pike, Adams, Jackson and Lawrence Counties in Ohio are under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch. Greenup County in Kentucky is also under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch. For each county, the watch expires at 6 a.m.

A severe thunderstorm as defined by the National Weather Service is a storm with hail equal to or larger than 3/4 of an inch in diameter or convective wind gusts equal to or greater than 58 miles per hour. Even if a storm is not severe, it still remains a potential killer. Lightning, flash flooding, wind blown hail (even small hail), and general thunderstorm wind gusts pose a threat to life and/or property. Severe thunderstorms also have the potential of producing a tornado with little or no advanced tornado warning.

Power outages often accompany severe thunderstorms.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) is reminds Ohioans exercise caution during power outages. Downed electric lines, equipment and vegetation can potentially be hazardous and should be avoided.

Do not attempt to touch or move downed electrical lines and equipment. Downed lines pose a serious hazard to anyone who comes in contact with them and can be deadly. Immediately report downed lines to emergency responders and your local utility. Do not attempt to move fallen debris in the vicinity of a downed power line and keep at a safe distance at all times.

Additional safety tips during a power outage include:

•If using a generator, be sure it is properly ventilated to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

•Do not attempt to use a gas stove or oven to heat your home.

•Unplug electrical devices in case of a power surge. Leave one lamp on so you know when power has been restored.

•If possible, use only battery-powered light sources for emergency lighting instead of candles. Matches, lighters and candles are fire hazards.

•Check on your neighbors, friends and family to ensure they are okay.

•Call an electrician if you have standing water near electrical wiring or appliances. Do not enter the flooded area.

For additional safety tips during electrical power outages, visit the Ohio Emergency Management Association’s website at www.ema.ohio.gov.

To review the PUCO’s guide to being prepared for power outages, please visit the PUCO website at www.PUCO.ohio.gov.

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(0)
Comments-icon Post a Comment
No Comments Yet
Johnson Introduces Bill to Expand Access to Narcan
Jun 12, 2013 | 1458 views | 0 0 comments | 50 50 recommendations | email to a friend | print

State Representative Terry Johnson (R-McDermott) has introduced House Bill 170, a bipartisan bill joint sponsored with Michael Stinziano (D-Columbus). House Bill 170 would expand access to Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of an opiate/opioid overdose in just a few minutes, potentially saving a life.

Narcan is a drug with a high safety profile that is non-abusable and has been utilized by emergency room physicians successfully for years. HB 170 would allow a physician or other medical professional with prescriptive authority to personally furnish Narcan to the family or friends of an addict who is at risk of overdosing. The family member or friend could then administer the Narcan by a squirt in the nose of the person overdosing potentially keeping them alive until medical help arrives.

“This is a critical piece of legislation as we continue to fight Ohio’s drug epidemic,” said Johnson. “My House Bill 93 shut down pill mills and dried up supplies of prescription opioids, but it did not cure addiction. We still have all of these addicted people, many of whom are now on heroin. Without access to this lifesaving drug, Narcan, people will die needlessly. There aren’t many bills passed out of Columbus that actually save lives; House Bill 93 is saving lives, and so will this one.”

The bill also takes steps to get Narcan into the hands of more emergency responders and to law enforcement. House Bill 170 would allow EMT-Basics and EMT-Intermediates to have and administer Narcan to a person who is apparently experiencing an overdose. Currently, the only emergency responder lawfully allowed to administer Narcan is a paramedic. Additionally, the bill would allow a law enforcement agency to get licensed with the Board of Pharmacy to stock Narcan and dispense it to its law enforcement officers.

“I’ve seen Narcan save lives in the emergency room,” said Johnson. “But people don’t always make it to the ER. The first people on the scene are often law enforcement and our emergency medical responders. By allowing them to administer this drug in emergency situations, we can help continue our downward trend in drug deaths that we’ve seen in the past year and a half.”

The introduction of this bill comes on the heels of the new numbers released from the Scioto County Coroner’s office which showed direct drug deaths in 2012 down to 15 from 21 in 2011. The 2012 number of direct drug deaths was the lowest number since 2004.

“That’s the kind of trend we want to see,” said Johnson, who is also a physician. “And by getting Narcan into the hands of more citizens in a smart way, we can do even better.”

HB 170 was referred to the House Health and Aging Committee where it will be considered before being voted on by the entire House of Representatives.

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No Comments Yet
Museum Welcomes New Directors
Jun 12, 2013 | 1043 views | 0 0 comments | 51 51 recommendations | email to a friend | print

With a wall of diplomas and more than 27 years of successful museum administration, Mark Chepp and Charlotte Gordon are poised to become Directors of the Southern Ohio Museum by July 1. The Museum’s Board of Trustees enthusiastically and unanimously approved their appointment as, respectively, Executive Director and Artistic Director on Tuesday.

Asa Jewett, President of the Museum board, expressed the board’s collective delight over the good fortune and ideal timing that brought Mark and Charlotte to our attention. “We are absolutely confident that they have the skills, personality, experience and passion to take the Museum to new heights of programming and policy in the 21st century, and we are eager to welcome them into our community.”

For their part, Chepp and Gordon are also eager. “It has always been a dream of ours to work together,” the husband-and-wife team agreed. “To discover that opportunity in a museum we have respected and admired for so many years is just amazing. We can’t wait to become part of it and everything southern Ohio has to offer.”

Mark Chepp, a native of Milwaukee, earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Art at the University of Wisconsin-Steven’s Point and then a pair of Master’s Degrees, one in Art

and another in Art History, from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Before moving to Springfield, Ohio, in 1991, he had served as curator of visual resources in the UW-M art history department, director of the art history gallery there, and ultimately curator of exhibitions and collections at the UW-M Art Museum. During his 15-year tenure as Executive Director of Ohio’s Springfield Museum of Art he built an impressive permanent collection, curated scores of outstanding exhibitions and secured national accreditation, a distinction awarded to only 6% of America’s museums. Upon his retirement a grateful institution honored him with the title of Director Emeritus. He has since been directing his energies to painting and to teaching at the college level. He has been a leader in Springfield’s cultural community, spearheadeding efforts to restore the Hartman Rock Garden, a 1930’s folk art environment, and the Westcott House, a Frank Lloyd Wright residence in Springfield. He will retain his role as an Accreditation Peer Reviewer for the American Alliance of Museums.

Charlotte Gordon hails from New Orleans. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at Newcomb College of Art at Tulane University, where she majored in ceramics, a specialty which took her the following year to North Carolina’s prestigious Penland School of Crafts. She has served as the Springfield Museum of Art’s sole curator for the last six years, a position that went far beyond the curatorial domain of selecting works for exhibitions to include as well the tasks of registrar, preparator and art transporter.

This spring she was awarded a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies from Southern University of New Orleans. She has frequently served as a guest curator or juror for numerous arts organizations throughout Ohio and is presently organizing a major touring exhibition of African art from the collection of Southern University of New Orleans. Gordon is a member of the Ohio Museum Association’s Board of Trustees.

Both Chepp and Gordon are practicing artists. He is a painter whose recent self-portraits have been exhibited throughout Ohio, including a featured role in the Southern Ohio Museum’s A Face in the Crowd exhibition last fall. He is represented by Keny Galleries in Columbus. Gordon is a respected ceramic artist whose work has appeared in solo and group exhibitions throughout the state. She is represented by the Sherrie Gallerie in Columbus’ Short North District.

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<p>Shown at the May 22 open house at Infra-Metals in New Boston are, from left, Oak Williams, Infra-Metals Co. General Manager; Jim Morgan, Fluor-B&W Community Commitment Fund Steering Group vice-chairman; Mike Dean, Infra-Metals Regional Vice President, Operations, Northern Division; Tim Poe, Fluor-B&W Steering Group member representing B&W; Don Hadsell (J&H Erectors).</p>

Shown at the May 22 open house at Infra-Metals in New Boston are, from left, Oak Williams, Infra-Metals Co. General Manager; Jim Morgan, Fluor-B&W Community Commitment Fund Steering Group vice-chairman; Mike Dean, Infra-Metals Regional Vice President, Operations, Northern Division; Tim Poe, Fluor-B&W Steering Group member representing B&W; Don Hadsell (J&H Erectors).

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Opinion
Severe weather threat enters area
Jun 14, 2013 | 347 views | 0 0 comments | 62 62 recommendations | email to a friend | print

PDT Staff Report

According to the National Weather Service, Scioto, Pike, Adams, Jackson and Lawrence Counties in Ohio are under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch. Greenup County in Kentucky is also under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch. For each county, the watch expires at 6 a.m.

A severe thunderstorm as defined by the National Weather Service is a storm with hail equal to or larger than 3/4 of an inch in diameter or convective wind gusts equal to or greater than 58 miles per hour. Even if a storm is not severe, it still remains a potential killer. Lightning, flash flooding, wind blown hail (even small hail), and general thunderstorm wind gusts pose a threat to life and/or property. Severe thunderstorms also have the potential of producing a tornado with little or no advanced tornado warning.

Power outages often accompany severe thunderstorms.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) is reminds Ohioans exercise caution during power outages. Downed electric lines, equipment and vegetation can potentially be hazardous and should be avoided.

Do not attempt to touch or move downed electrical lines and equipment. Downed lines pose a serious hazard to anyone who comes in contact with them and can be deadly. Immediately report downed lines to emergency responders and your local utility. Do not attempt to move fallen debris in the vicinity of a downed power line and keep at a safe distance at all times.

Additional safety tips during a power outage include:

•If using a generator, be sure it is properly ventilated to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

•Do not attempt to use a gas stove or oven to heat your home.

•Unplug electrical devices in case of a power surge. Leave one lamp on so you know when power has been restored.

•If possible, use only battery-powered light sources for emergency lighting instead of candles. Matches, lighters and candles are fire hazards.

•Check on your neighbors, friends and family to ensure they are okay.

•Call an electrician if you have standing water near electrical wiring or appliances. Do not enter the flooded area.

For additional safety tips during electrical power outages, visit the Ohio Emergency Management Association’s website at www.ema.ohio.gov.

To review the PUCO’s guide to being prepared for power outages, please visit the PUCO website at www.PUCO.ohio.gov.

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Comments-icon Post a Comment
No Comments Yet
Johnson Introduces Bill to Expand Access to Narcan
Jun 12, 2013 | 1458 views | 0 0 comments | 50 50 recommendations | email to a friend | print

State Representative Terry Johnson (R-McDermott) has introduced House Bill 170, a bipartisan bill joint sponsored with Michael Stinziano (D-Columbus). House Bill 170 would expand access to Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of an opiate/opioid overdose in just a few minutes, potentially saving a life.

Narcan is a drug with a high safety profile that is non-abusable and has been utilized by emergency room physicians successfully for years. HB 170 would allow a physician or other medical professional with prescriptive authority to personally furnish Narcan to the family or friends of an addict who is at risk of overdosing. The family member or friend could then administer the Narcan by a squirt in the nose of the person overdosing potentially keeping them alive until medical help arrives.

“This is a critical piece of legislation as we continue to fight Ohio’s drug epidemic,” said Johnson. “My House Bill 93 shut down pill mills and dried up supplies of prescription opioids, but it did not cure addiction. We still have all of these addicted people, many of whom are now on heroin. Without access to this lifesaving drug, Narcan, people will die needlessly. There aren’t many bills passed out of Columbus that actually save lives; House Bill 93 is saving lives, and so will this one.”

The bill also takes steps to get Narcan into the hands of more emergency responders and to law enforcement. House Bill 170 would allow EMT-Basics and EMT-Intermediates to have and administer Narcan to a person who is apparently experiencing an overdose. Currently, the only emergency responder lawfully allowed to administer Narcan is a paramedic. Additionally, the bill would allow a law enforcement agency to get licensed with the Board of Pharmacy to stock Narcan and dispense it to its law enforcement officers.

“I’ve seen Narcan save lives in the emergency room,” said Johnson. “But people don’t always make it to the ER. The first people on the scene are often law enforcement and our emergency medical responders. By allowing them to administer this drug in emergency situations, we can help continue our downward trend in drug deaths that we’ve seen in the past year and a half.”

The introduction of this bill comes on the heels of the new numbers released from the Scioto County Coroner’s office which showed direct drug deaths in 2012 down to 15 from 21 in 2011. The 2012 number of direct drug deaths was the lowest number since 2004.

“That’s the kind of trend we want to see,” said Johnson, who is also a physician. “And by getting Narcan into the hands of more citizens in a smart way, we can do even better.”

HB 170 was referred to the House Health and Aging Committee where it will be considered before being voted on by the entire House of Representatives.

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Comments-icon Post a Comment
No Comments Yet
Museum Welcomes New Directors
Jun 12, 2013 | 1043 views | 0 0 comments | 51 51 recommendations | email to a friend | print

With a wall of diplomas and more than 27 years of successful museum administration, Mark Chepp and Charlotte Gordon are poised to become Directors of the Southern Ohio Museum by July 1. The Museum’s Board of Trustees enthusiastically and unanimously approved their appointment as, respectively, Executive Director and Artistic Director on Tuesday.

Asa Jewett, President of the Museum board, expressed the board’s collective delight over the good fortune and ideal timing that brought Mark and Charlotte to our attention. “We are absolutely confident that they have the skills, personality, experience and passion to take the Museum to new heights of programming and policy in the 21st century, and we are eager to welcome them into our community.”

For their part, Chepp and Gordon are also eager. “It has always been a dream of ours to work together,” the husband-and-wife team agreed. “To discover that opportunity in a museum we have respected and admired for so many years is just amazing. We can’t wait to become part of it and everything southern Ohio has to offer.”

Mark Chepp, a native of Milwaukee, earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Art at the University of Wisconsin-Steven’s Point and then a pair of Master’s Degrees, one in Art

and another in Art History, from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Before moving to Springfield, Ohio, in 1991, he had served as curator of visual resources in the UW-M art history department, director of the art history gallery there, and ultimately curator of exhibitions and collections at the UW-M Art Museum. During his 15-year tenure as Executive Director of Ohio’s Springfield Museum of Art he built an impressive permanent collection, curated scores of outstanding exhibitions and secured national accreditation, a distinction awarded to only 6% of America’s museums. Upon his retirement a grateful institution honored him with the title of Director Emeritus. He has since been directing his energies to painting and to teaching at the college level. He has been a leader in Springfield’s cultural community, spearheadeding efforts to restore the Hartman Rock Garden, a 1930’s folk art environment, and the Westcott House, a Frank Lloyd Wright residence in Springfield. He will retain his role as an Accreditation Peer Reviewer for the American Alliance of Museums.

Charlotte Gordon hails from New Orleans. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at Newcomb College of Art at Tulane University, where she majored in ceramics, a specialty which took her the following year to North Carolina’s prestigious Penland School of Crafts. She has served as the Springfield Museum of Art’s sole curator for the last six years, a position that went far beyond the curatorial domain of selecting works for exhibitions to include as well the tasks of registrar, preparator and art transporter.

This spring she was awarded a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies from Southern University of New Orleans. She has frequently served as a guest curator or juror for numerous arts organizations throughout Ohio and is presently organizing a major touring exhibition of African art from the collection of Southern University of New Orleans. Gordon is a member of the Ohio Museum Association’s Board of Trustees.

Both Chepp and Gordon are practicing artists. He is a painter whose recent self-portraits have been exhibited throughout Ohio, including a featured role in the Southern Ohio Museum’s A Face in the Crowd exhibition last fall. He is represented by Keny Galleries in Columbus. Gordon is a respected ceramic artist whose work has appeared in solo and group exhibitions throughout the state. She is represented by the Sherrie Gallerie in Columbus’ Short North District.

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<p>Shown at the May 22 open house at Infra-Metals in New Boston are, from left, Oak Williams, Infra-Metals Co. General Manager; Jim Morgan, Fluor-B&W Community Commitment Fund Steering Group vice-chairman; Mike Dean, Infra-Metals Regional Vice President, Operations, Northern Division; Tim Poe, Fluor-B&W Steering Group member representing B&W; Don Hadsell (J&H Erectors).</p>

Shown at the May 22 open house at Infra-Metals in New Boston are, from left, Oak Williams, Infra-Metals Co. General Manager; Jim Morgan, Fluor-B&W Community Commitment Fund Steering Group vice-chairman; Mike Dean, Infra-Metals Regional Vice President, Operations, Northern Division; Tim Poe, Fluor-B&W Steering Group member representing B&W; Don Hadsell (J&H Erectors).

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Severe weather threat enters area
Jun 14, 2013 | 347 views | 0 0 comments | 62 62 recommendations | email to a friend | print

PDT Staff Report

According to the National Weather Service, Scioto, Pike, Adams, Jackson and Lawrence Counties in Ohio are under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch. Greenup County in Kentucky is also under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch. For each county, the watch expires at 6 a.m.

A severe thunderstorm as defined by the National Weather Service is a storm with hail equal to or larger than 3/4 of an inch in diameter or convective wind gusts equal to or greater than 58 miles per hour. Even if a storm is not severe, it still remains a potential killer. Lightning, flash flooding, wind blown hail (even small hail), and general thunderstorm wind gusts pose a threat to life and/or property. Severe thunderstorms also have the potential of producing a tornado with little or no advanced tornado warning.

Power outages often accompany severe thunderstorms.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) is reminds Ohioans exercise caution during power outages. Downed electric lines, equipment and vegetation can potentially be hazardous and should be avoided.

Do not attempt to touch or move downed electrical lines and equipment. Downed lines pose a serious hazard to anyone who comes in contact with them and can be deadly. Immediately report downed lines to emergency responders and your local utility. Do not attempt to move fallen debris in the vicinity of a downed power line and keep at a safe distance at all times.

Additional safety tips during a power outage include:

•If using a generator, be sure it is properly ventilated to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

•Do not attempt to use a gas stove or oven to heat your home.

•Unplug electrical devices in case of a power surge. Leave one lamp on so you know when power has been restored.

•If possible, use only battery-powered light sources for emergency lighting instead of candles. Matches, lighters and candles are fire hazards.

•Check on your neighbors, friends and family to ensure they are okay.

•Call an electrician if you have standing water near electrical wiring or appliances. Do not enter the flooded area.

For additional safety tips during electrical power outages, visit the Ohio Emergency Management Association’s website at www.ema.ohio.gov.

To review the PUCO’s guide to being prepared for power outages, please visit the PUCO website at www.PUCO.ohio.gov.

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Johnson Introduces Bill to Expand Access to Narcan
Jun 12, 2013 | 1458 views | 0 0 comments | 50 50 recommendations | email to a friend | print

State Representative Terry Johnson (R-McDermott) has introduced House Bill 170, a bipartisan bill joint sponsored with Michael Stinziano (D-Columbus). House Bill 170 would expand access to Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of an opiate/opioid overdose in just a few minutes, potentially saving a life.

Narcan is a drug with a high safety profile that is non-abusable and has been utilized by emergency room physicians successfully for years. HB 170 would allow a physician or other medical professional with prescriptive authority to personally furnish Narcan to the family or friends of an addict who is at risk of overdosing. The family member or friend could then administer the Narcan by a squirt in the nose of the person overdosing potentially keeping them alive until medical help arrives.

“This is a critical piece of legislation as we continue to fight Ohio’s drug epidemic,” said Johnson. “My House Bill 93 shut down pill mills and dried up supplies of prescription opioids, but it did not cure addiction. We still have all of these addicted people, many of whom are now on heroin. Without access to this lifesaving drug, Narcan, people will die needlessly. There aren’t many bills passed out of Columbus that actually save lives; House Bill 93 is saving lives, and so will this one.”

The bill also takes steps to get Narcan into the hands of more emergency responders and to law enforcement. House Bill 170 would allow EMT-Basics and EMT-Intermediates to have and administer Narcan to a person who is apparently experiencing an overdose. Currently, the only emergency responder lawfully allowed to administer Narcan is a paramedic. Additionally, the bill would allow a law enforcement agency to get licensed with the Board of Pharmacy to stock Narcan and dispense it to its law enforcement officers.

“I’ve seen Narcan save lives in the emergency room,” said Johnson. “But people don’t always make it to the ER. The first people on the scene are often law enforcement and our emergency medical responders. By allowing them to administer this drug in emergency situations, we can help continue our downward trend in drug deaths that we’ve seen in the past year and a half.”

The introduction of this bill comes on the heels of the new numbers released from the Scioto County Coroner’s office which showed direct drug deaths in 2012 down to 15 from 21 in 2011. The 2012 number of direct drug deaths was the lowest number since 2004.

“That’s the kind of trend we want to see,” said Johnson, who is also a physician. “And by getting Narcan into the hands of more citizens in a smart way, we can do even better.”

HB 170 was referred to the House Health and Aging Committee where it will be considered before being voted on by the entire House of Representatives.

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Museum Welcomes New Directors
Jun 12, 2013 | 1043 views | 0 0 comments | 51 51 recommendations | email to a friend | print

With a wall of diplomas and more than 27 years of successful museum administration, Mark Chepp and Charlotte Gordon are poised to become Directors of the Southern Ohio Museum by July 1. The Museum’s Board of Trustees enthusiastically and unanimously approved their appointment as, respectively, Executive Director and Artistic Director on Tuesday.

Asa Jewett, President of the Museum board, expressed the board’s collective delight over the good fortune and ideal timing that brought Mark and Charlotte to our attention. “We are absolutely confident that they have the skills, personality, experience and passion to take the Museum to new heights of programming and policy in the 21st century, and we are eager to welcome them into our community.”

For their part, Chepp and Gordon are also eager. “It has always been a dream of ours to work together,” the husband-and-wife team agreed. “To discover that opportunity in a museum we have respected and admired for so many years is just amazing. We can’t wait to become part of it and everything southern Ohio has to offer.”

Mark Chepp, a native of Milwaukee, earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Art at the University of Wisconsin-Steven’s Point and then a pair of Master’s Degrees, one in Art

and another in Art History, from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Before moving to Springfield, Ohio, in 1991, he had served as curator of visual resources in the UW-M art history department, director of the art history gallery there, and ultimately curator of exhibitions and collections at the UW-M Art Museum. During his 15-year tenure as Executive Director of Ohio’s Springfield Museum of Art he built an impressive permanent collection, curated scores of outstanding exhibitions and secured national accreditation, a distinction awarded to only 6% of America’s museums. Upon his retirement a grateful institution honored him with the title of Director Emeritus. He has since been directing his energies to painting and to teaching at the college level. He has been a leader in Springfield’s cultural community, spearheadeding efforts to restore the Hartman Rock Garden, a 1930’s folk art environment, and the Westcott House, a Frank Lloyd Wright residence in Springfield. He will retain his role as an Accreditation Peer Reviewer for the American Alliance of Museums.

Charlotte Gordon hails from New Orleans. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at Newcomb College of Art at Tulane University, where she majored in ceramics, a specialty which took her the following year to North Carolina’s prestigious Penland School of Crafts. She has served as the Springfield Museum of Art’s sole curator for the last six years, a position that went far beyond the curatorial domain of selecting works for exhibitions to include as well the tasks of registrar, preparator and art transporter.

This spring she was awarded a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies from Southern University of New Orleans. She has frequently served as a guest curator or juror for numerous arts organizations throughout Ohio and is presently organizing a major touring exhibition of African art from the collection of Southern University of New Orleans. Gordon is a member of the Ohio Museum Association’s Board of Trustees.

Both Chepp and Gordon are practicing artists. He is a painter whose recent self-portraits have been exhibited throughout Ohio, including a featured role in the Southern Ohio Museum’s A Face in the Crowd exhibition last fall. He is represented by Keny Galleries in Columbus. Gordon is a respected ceramic artist whose work has appeared in solo and group exhibitions throughout the state. She is represented by the Sherrie Gallerie in Columbus’ Short North District.

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<p>Shown at the May 22 open house at Infra-Metals in New Boston are, from left, Oak Williams, Infra-Metals Co. General Manager; Jim Morgan, Fluor-B&W Community Commitment Fund Steering Group vice-chairman; Mike Dean, Infra-Metals Regional Vice President, Operations, Northern Division; Tim Poe, Fluor-B&W Steering Group member representing B&W; Don Hadsell (J&H Erectors).</p>

Shown at the May 22 open house at Infra-Metals in New Boston are, from left, Oak Williams, Infra-Metals Co. General Manager; Jim Morgan, Fluor-B&W Community Commitment Fund Steering Group vice-chairman; Mike Dean, Infra-Metals Regional Vice President, Operations, Northern Division; Tim Poe, Fluor-B&W Steering Group member representing B&W; Don Hadsell (J&H Erectors).

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Severe weather threat enters area
Jun 14, 2013 | 347 views | 0 0 comments | 62 62 recommendations | email to a friend | print

PDT Staff Report

According to the National Weather Service, Scioto, Pike, Adams, Jackson and Lawrence Counties in Ohio are under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch. Greenup County in Kentucky is also under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch. For each county, the watch expires at 6 a.m.

A severe thunderstorm as defined by the National Weather Service is a storm with hail equal to or larger than 3/4 of an inch in diameter or convective wind gusts equal to or greater than 58 miles per hour. Even if a storm is not severe, it still remains a potential killer. Lightning, flash flooding, wind blown hail (even small hail), and general thunderstorm wind gusts pose a threat to life and/or property. Severe thunderstorms also have the potential of producing a tornado with little or no advanced tornado warning.

Power outages often accompany severe thunderstorms.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) is reminds Ohioans exercise caution during power outages. Downed electric lines, equipment and vegetation can potentially be hazardous and should be avoided.

Do not attempt to touch or move downed electrical lines and equipment. Downed lines pose a serious hazard to anyone who comes in contact with them and can be deadly. Immediately report downed lines to emergency responders and your local utility. Do not attempt to move fallen debris in the vicinity of a downed power line and keep at a safe distance at all times.

Additional safety tips during a power outage include:

•If using a generator, be sure it is properly ventilated to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

•Do not attempt to use a gas stove or oven to heat your home.

•Unplug electrical devices in case of a power surge. Leave one lamp on so you know when power has been restored.

•If possible, use only battery-powered light sources for emergency lighting instead of candles. Matches, lighters and candles are fire hazards.

•Check on your neighbors, friends and family to ensure they are okay.

•Call an electrician if you have standing water near electrical wiring or appliances. Do not enter the flooded area.

For additional safety tips during electrical power outages, visit the Ohio Emergency Management Association’s website at www.ema.ohio.gov.

To review the PUCO’s guide to being prepared for power outages, please visit the PUCO website at www.PUCO.ohio.gov.

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No Comments Yet
Johnson Introduces Bill to Expand Access to Narcan
Jun 12, 2013 | 1458 views | 0 0 comments | 50 50 recommendations | email to a friend | print

State Representative Terry Johnson (R-McDermott) has introduced House Bill 170, a bipartisan bill joint sponsored with Michael Stinziano (D-Columbus). House Bill 170 would expand access to Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of an opiate/opioid overdose in just a few minutes, potentially saving a life.

Narcan is a drug with a high safety profile that is non-abusable and has been utilized by emergency room physicians successfully for years. HB 170 would allow a physician or other medical professional with prescriptive authority to personally furnish Narcan to the family or friends of an addict who is at risk of overdosing. The family member or friend could then administer the Narcan by a squirt in the nose of the person overdosing potentially keeping them alive until medical help arrives.

“This is a critical piece of legislation as we continue to fight Ohio’s drug epidemic,” said Johnson. “My House Bill 93 shut down pill mills and dried up supplies of prescription opioids, but it did not cure addiction. We still have all of these addicted people, many of whom are now on heroin. Without access to this lifesaving drug, Narcan, people will die needlessly. There aren’t many bills passed out of Columbus that actually save lives; House Bill 93 is saving lives, and so will this one.”

The bill also takes steps to get Narcan into the hands of more emergency responders and to law enforcement. House Bill 170 would allow EMT-Basics and EMT-Intermediates to have and administer Narcan to a person who is apparently experiencing an overdose. Currently, the only emergency responder lawfully allowed to administer Narcan is a paramedic. Additionally, the bill would allow a law enforcement agency to get licensed with the Board of Pharmacy to stock Narcan and dispense it to its law enforcement officers.

“I’ve seen Narcan save lives in the emergency room,” said Johnson. “But people don’t always make it to the ER. The first people on the scene are often law enforcement and our emergency medical responders. By allowing them to administer this drug in emergency situations, we can help continue our downward trend in drug deaths that we’ve seen in the past year and a half.”

The introduction of this bill comes on the heels of the new numbers released from the Scioto County Coroner’s office which showed direct drug deaths in 2012 down to 15 from 21 in 2011. The 2012 number of direct drug deaths was the lowest number since 2004.

“That’s the kind of trend we want to see,” said Johnson, who is also a physician. “And by getting Narcan into the hands of more citizens in a smart way, we can do even better.”

HB 170 was referred to the House Health and Aging Committee where it will be considered before being voted on by the entire House of Representatives.

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Museum Welcomes New Directors
Jun 12, 2013 | 1043 views | 0 0 comments | 51 51 recommendations | email to a friend | print

With a wall of diplomas and more than 27 years of successful museum administration, Mark Chepp and Charlotte Gordon are poised to become Directors of the Southern Ohio Museum by July 1. The Museum’s Board of Trustees enthusiastically and unanimously approved their appointment as, respectively, Executive Director and Artistic Director on Tuesday.

Asa Jewett, President of the Museum board, expressed the board’s collective delight over the good fortune and ideal timing that brought Mark and Charlotte to our attention. “We are absolutely confident that they have the skills, personality, experience and passion to take the Museum to new heights of programming and policy in the 21st century, and we are eager to welcome them into our community.”

For their part, Chepp and Gordon are also eager. “It has always been a dream of ours to work together,” the husband-and-wife team agreed. “To discover that opportunity in a museum we have respected and admired for so many years is just amazing. We can’t wait to become part of it and everything southern Ohio has to offer.”

Mark Chepp, a native of Milwaukee, earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Art at the University of Wisconsin-Steven’s Point and then a pair of Master’s Degrees, one in Art

and another in Art History, from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Before moving to Springfield, Ohio, in 1991, he had served as curator of visual resources in the UW-M art history department, director of the art history gallery there, and ultimately curator of exhibitions and collections at the UW-M Art Museum. During his 15-year tenure as Executive Director of Ohio’s Springfield Museum of Art he built an impressive permanent collection, curated scores of outstanding exhibitions and secured national accreditation, a distinction awarded to only 6% of America’s museums. Upon his retirement a grateful institution honored him with the title of Director Emeritus. He has since been directing his energies to painting and to teaching at the college level. He has been a leader in Springfield’s cultural community, spearheadeding efforts to restore the Hartman Rock Garden, a 1930’s folk art environment, and the Westcott House, a Frank Lloyd Wright residence in Springfield. He will retain his role as an Accreditation Peer Reviewer for the American Alliance of Museums.

Charlotte Gordon hails from New Orleans. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at Newcomb College of Art at Tulane University, where she majored in ceramics, a specialty which took her the following year to North Carolina’s prestigious Penland School of Crafts. She has served as the Springfield Museum of Art’s sole curator for the last six years, a position that went far beyond the curatorial domain of selecting works for exhibitions to include as well the tasks of registrar, preparator and art transporter.

This spring she was awarded a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies from Southern University of New Orleans. She has frequently served as a guest curator or juror for numerous arts organizations throughout Ohio and is presently organizing a major touring exhibition of African art from the collection of Southern University of New Orleans. Gordon is a member of the Ohio Museum Association’s Board of Trustees.

Both Chepp and Gordon are practicing artists. He is a painter whose recent self-portraits have been exhibited throughout Ohio, including a featured role in the Southern Ohio Museum’s A Face in the Crowd exhibition last fall. He is represented by Keny Galleries in Columbus. Gordon is a respected ceramic artist whose work has appeared in solo and group exhibitions throughout the state. She is represented by the Sherrie Gallerie in Columbus’ Short North District.

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<p>Shown at the May 22 open house at Infra-Metals in New Boston are, from left, Oak Williams, Infra-Metals Co. General Manager; Jim Morgan, Fluor-B&W Community Commitment Fund Steering Group vice-chairman; Mike Dean, Infra-Metals Regional Vice President, Operations, Northern Division; Tim Poe, Fluor-B&W Steering Group member representing B&W; Don Hadsell (J&H Erectors).</p>

Shown at the May 22 open house at Infra-Metals in New Boston are, from left, Oak Williams, Infra-Metals Co. General Manager; Jim Morgan, Fluor-B&W Community Commitment Fund Steering Group vice-chairman; Mike Dean, Infra-Metals Regional Vice President, Operations, Northern Division; Tim Poe, Fluor-B&W Steering Group member representing B&W; Don Hadsell (J&H Erectors).

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Severe weather threat enters area
Jun 14, 2013 | 347 views | 0 0 comments | 62 62 recommendations | email to a friend | print

PDT Staff Report

According to the National Weather Service, Scioto, Pike, Adams, Jackson and Lawrence Counties in Ohio are under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch. Greenup County in Kentucky is also under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch. For each county, the watch expires at 6 a.m.

A severe thunderstorm as defined by the National Weather Service is a storm with hail equal to or larger than 3/4 of an inch in diameter or convective wind gusts equal to or greater than 58 miles per hour. Even if a storm is not severe, it still remains a potential killer. Lightning, flash flooding, wind blown hail (even small hail), and general thunderstorm wind gusts pose a threat to life and/or property. Severe thunderstorms also have the potential of producing a tornado with little or no advanced tornado warning.

Power outages often accompany severe thunderstorms.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) is reminds Ohioans exercise caution during power outages. Downed electric lines, equipment and vegetation can potentially be hazardous and should be avoided.

Do not attempt to touch or move downed electrical lines and equipment. Downed lines pose a serious hazard to anyone who comes in contact with them and can be deadly. Immediately report downed lines to emergency responders and your local utility. Do not attempt to move fallen debris in the vicinity of a downed power line and keep at a safe distance at all times.

Additional safety tips during a power outage include:

•If using a generator, be sure it is properly ventilated to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

•Do not attempt to use a gas stove or oven to heat your home.

•Unplug electrical devices in case of a power surge. Leave one lamp on so you know when power has been restored.

•If possible, use only battery-powered light sources for emergency lighting instead of candles. Matches, lighters and candles are fire hazards.

•Check on your neighbors, friends and family to ensure they are okay.

•Call an electrician if you have standing water near electrical wiring or appliances. Do not enter the flooded area.

For additional safety tips during electrical power outages, visit the Ohio Emergency Management Association’s website at www.ema.ohio.gov.

To review the PUCO’s guide to being prepared for power outages, please visit the PUCO website at www.PUCO.ohio.gov.

Comments
(0)
Comments-icon Post a Comment
No Comments Yet
Johnson Introduces Bill to Expand Access to Narcan
Jun 12, 2013 | 1458 views | 0 0 comments | 50 50 recommendations | email to a friend | print

State Representative Terry Johnson (R-McDermott) has introduced House Bill 170, a bipartisan bill joint sponsored with Michael Stinziano (D-Columbus). House Bill 170 would expand access to Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of an opiate/opioid overdose in just a few minutes, potentially saving a life.

Narcan is a drug with a high safety profile that is non-abusable and has been utilized by emergency room physicians successfully for years. HB 170 would allow a physician or other medical professional with prescriptive authority to personally furnish Narcan to the family or friends of an addict who is at risk of overdosing. The family member or friend could then administer the Narcan by a squirt in the nose of the person overdosing potentially keeping them alive until medical help arrives.

“This is a critical piece of legislation as we continue to fight Ohio’s drug epidemic,” said Johnson. “My House Bill 93 shut down pill mills and dried up supplies of prescription opioids, but it did not cure addiction. We still have all of these addicted people, many of whom are now on heroin. Without access to this lifesaving drug, Narcan, people will die needlessly. There aren’t many bills passed out of Columbus that actually save lives; House Bill 93 is saving lives, and so will this one.”

The bill also takes steps to get Narcan into the hands of more emergency responders and to law enforcement. House Bill 170 would allow EMT-Basics and EMT-Intermediates to have and administer Narcan to a person who is apparently experiencing an overdose. Currently, the only emergency responder lawfully allowed to administer Narcan is a paramedic. Additionally, the bill would allow a law enforcement agency to get licensed with the Board of Pharmacy to stock Narcan and dispense it to its law enforcement officers.

“I’ve seen Narcan save lives in the emergency room,” said Johnson. “But people don’t always make it to the ER. The first people on the scene are often law enforcement and our emergency medical responders. By allowing them to administer this drug in emergency situations, we can help continue our downward trend in drug deaths that we’ve seen in the past year and a half.”

The introduction of this bill comes on the heels of the new numbers released from the Scioto County Coroner’s office which showed direct drug deaths in 2012 down to 15 from 21 in 2011. The 2012 number of direct drug deaths was the lowest number since 2004.

“That’s the kind of trend we want to see,” said Johnson, who is also a physician. “And by getting Narcan into the hands of more citizens in a smart way, we can do even better.”

HB 170 was referred to the House Health and Aging Committee where it will be considered before being voted on by the entire House of Representatives.

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No Comments Yet
Museum Welcomes New Directors
Jun 12, 2013 | 1043 views | 0 0 comments | 51 51 recommendations | email to a friend | print

With a wall of diplomas and more than 27 years of successful museum administration, Mark Chepp and Charlotte Gordon are poised to become Directors of the Southern Ohio Museum by July 1. The Museum’s Board of Trustees enthusiastically and unanimously approved their appointment as, respectively, Executive Director and Artistic Director on Tuesday.

Asa Jewett, President of the Museum board, expressed the board’s collective delight over the good fortune and ideal timing that brought Mark and Charlotte to our attention. “We are absolutely confident that they have the skills, personality, experience and passion to take the Museum to new heights of programming and policy in the 21st century, and we are eager to welcome them into our community.”

For their part, Chepp and Gordon are also eager. “It has always been a dream of ours to work together,” the husband-and-wife team agreed. “To discover that opportunity in a museum we have respected and admired for so many years is just amazing. We can’t wait to become part of it and everything southern Ohio has to offer.”

Mark Chepp, a native of Milwaukee, earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Art at the University of Wisconsin-Steven’s Point and then a pair of Master’s Degrees, one in Art

and another in Art History, from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Before moving to Springfield, Ohio, in 1991, he had served as curator of visual resources in the UW-M art history department, director of the art history gallery there, and ultimately curator of exhibitions and collections at the UW-M Art Museum. During his 15-year tenure as Executive Director of Ohio’s Springfield Museum of Art he built an impressive permanent collection, curated scores of outstanding exhibitions and secured national accreditation, a distinction awarded to only 6% of America’s museums. Upon his retirement a grateful institution honored him with the title of Director Emeritus. He has since been directing his energies to painting and to teaching at the college level. He has been a leader in Springfield’s cultural community, spearheadeding efforts to restore the Hartman Rock Garden, a 1930’s folk art environment, and the Westcott House, a Frank Lloyd Wright residence in Springfield. He will retain his role as an Accreditation Peer Reviewer for the American Alliance of Museums.

Charlotte Gordon hails from New Orleans. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at Newcomb College of Art at Tulane University, where she majored in ceramics, a specialty which took her the following year to North Carolina’s prestigious Penland School of Crafts. She has served as the Springfield Museum of Art’s sole curator for the last six years, a position that went far beyond the curatorial domain of selecting works for exhibitions to include as well the tasks of registrar, preparator and art transporter.

This spring she was awarded a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies from Southern University of New Orleans. She has frequently served as a guest curator or juror for numerous arts organizations throughout Ohio and is presently organizing a major touring exhibition of African art from the collection of Southern University of New Orleans. Gordon is a member of the Ohio Museum Association’s Board of Trustees.

Both Chepp and Gordon are practicing artists. He is a painter whose recent self-portraits have been exhibited throughout Ohio, including a featured role in the Southern Ohio Museum’s A Face in the Crowd exhibition last fall. He is represented by Keny Galleries in Columbus. Gordon is a respected ceramic artist whose work has appeared in solo and group exhibitions throughout the state. She is represented by the Sherrie Gallerie in Columbus’ Short North District.

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<p>Shown at the May 22 open house at Infra-Metals in New Boston are, from left, Oak Williams, Infra-Metals Co. General Manager; Jim Morgan, Fluor-B&W Community Commitment Fund Steering Group vice-chairman; Mike Dean, Infra-Metals Regional Vice President, Operations, Northern Division; Tim Poe, Fluor-B&W Steering Group member representing B&W; Don Hadsell (J&H Erectors).</p>

Shown at the May 22 open house at Infra-Metals in New Boston are, from left, Oak Williams, Infra-Metals Co. General Manager; Jim Morgan, Fluor-B&W Community Commitment Fund Steering Group vice-chairman; Mike Dean, Infra-Metals Regional Vice President, Operations, Northern Division; Tim Poe, Fluor-B&W Steering Group member representing B&W; Don Hadsell (J&H Erectors).

slideshow
Severe weather threat enters area
Jun 14, 2013 | 347 views | 0 0 comments | 62 62 recommendations | email to a friend | print

PDT Staff Report

According to the National Weather Service, Scioto, Pike, Adams, Jackson and Lawrence Counties in Ohio are under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch. Greenup County in Kentucky is also under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch. For each county, the watch expires at 6 a.m.

A severe thunderstorm as defined by the National Weather Service is a storm with hail equal to or larger than 3/4 of an inch in diameter or convective wind gusts equal to or greater than 58 miles per hour. Even if a storm is not severe, it still remains a potential killer. Lightning, flash flooding, wind blown hail (even small hail), and general thunderstorm wind gusts pose a threat to life and/or property. Severe thunderstorms also have the potential of producing a tornado with little or no advanced tornado warning.

Power outages often accompany severe thunderstorms.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) is reminds Ohioans exercise caution during power outages. Downed electric lines, equipment and vegetation can potentially be hazardous and should be avoided.

Do not attempt to touch or move downed electrical lines and equipment. Downed lines pose a serious hazard to anyone who comes in contact with them and can be deadly. Immediately report downed lines to emergency responders and your local utility. Do not attempt to move fallen debris in the vicinity of a downed power line and keep at a safe distance at all times.

Additional safety tips during a power outage include:

•If using a generator, be sure it is properly ventilated to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

•Do not attempt to use a gas stove or oven to heat your home.

•Unplug electrical devices in case of a power surge. Leave one lamp on so you know when power has been restored.

•If possible, use only battery-powered light sources for emergency lighting instead of candles. Matches, lighters and candles are fire hazards.

•Check on your neighbors, friends and family to ensure they are okay.

•Call an electrician if you have standing water near electrical wiring or appliances. Do not enter the flooded area.

For additional safety tips during electrical power outages, visit the Ohio Emergency Management Association’s website at www.ema.ohio.gov.

To review the PUCO’s guide to being prepared for power outages, please visit the PUCO website at www.PUCO.ohio.gov.

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Comments-icon Post a Comment
No Comments Yet
Johnson Introduces Bill to Expand Access to Narcan
Jun 12, 2013 | 1458 views | 0 0 comments | 50 50 recommendations | email to a friend | print

State Representative Terry Johnson (R-McDermott) has introduced House Bill 170, a bipartisan bill joint sponsored with Michael Stinziano (D-Columbus). House Bill 170 would expand access to Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of an opiate/opioid overdose in just a few minutes, potentially saving a life.

Narcan is a drug with a high safety profile that is non-abusable and has been utilized by emergency room physicians successfully for years. HB 170 would allow a physician or other medical professional with prescriptive authority to personally furnish Narcan to the family or friends of an addict who is at risk of overdosing. The family member or friend could then administer the Narcan by a squirt in the nose of the person overdosing potentially keeping them alive until medical help arrives.

“This is a critical piece of legislation as we continue to fight Ohio’s drug epidemic,” said Johnson. “My House Bill 93 shut down pill mills and dried up supplies of prescription opioids, but it did not cure addiction. We still have all of these addicted people, many of whom are now on heroin. Without access to this lifesaving drug, Narcan, people will die needlessly. There aren’t many bills passed out of Columbus that actually save lives; House Bill 93 is saving lives, and so will this one.”

The bill also takes steps to get Narcan into the hands of more emergency responders and to law enforcement. House Bill 170 would allow EMT-Basics and EMT-Intermediates to have and administer Narcan to a person who is apparently experiencing an overdose. Currently, the only emergency responder lawfully allowed to administer Narcan is a paramedic. Additionally, the bill would allow a law enforcement agency to get licensed with the Board of Pharmacy to stock Narcan and dispense it to its law enforcement officers.

“I’ve seen Narcan save lives in the emergency room,” said Johnson. “But people don’t always make it to the ER. The first people on the scene are often law enforcement and our emergency medical responders. By allowing them to administer this drug in emergency situations, we can help continue our downward trend in drug deaths that we’ve seen in the past year and a half.”

The introduction of this bill comes on the heels of the new numbers released from the Scioto County Coroner’s office which showed direct drug deaths in 2012 down to 15 from 21 in 2011. The 2012 number of direct drug deaths was the lowest number since 2004.

“That’s the kind of trend we want to see,” said Johnson, who is also a physician. “And by getting Narcan into the hands of more citizens in a smart way, we can do even better.”

HB 170 was referred to the House Health and Aging Committee where it will be considered before being voted on by the entire House of Representatives.

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Comments-icon Post a Comment
No Comments Yet
Museum Welcomes New Directors
Jun 12, 2013 | 1043 views | 0 0 comments | 51 51 recommendations | email to a friend | print

With a wall of diplomas and more than 27 years of successful museum administration, Mark Chepp and Charlotte Gordon are poised to become Directors of the Southern Ohio Museum by July 1. The Museum’s Board of Trustees enthusiastically and unanimously approved their appointment as, respectively, Executive Director and Artistic Director on Tuesday.

Asa Jewett, President of the Museum board, expressed the board’s collective delight over the good fortune and ideal timing that brought Mark and Charlotte to our attention. “We are absolutely confident that they have the skills, personality, experience and passion to take the Museum to new heights of programming and policy in the 21st century, and we are eager to welcome them into our community.”

For their part, Chepp and Gordon are also eager. “It has always been a dream of ours to work together,” the husband-and-wife team agreed. “To discover that opportunity in a museum we have respected and admired for so many years is just amazing. We can’t wait to become part of it and everything southern Ohio has to offer.”

Mark Chepp, a native of Milwaukee, earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Art at the University of Wisconsin-Steven’s Point and then a pair of Master’s Degrees, one in Art

and another in Art History, from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Before moving to Springfield, Ohio, in 1991, he had served as curator of visual resources in the UW-M art history department, director of the art history gallery there, and ultimately curator of exhibitions and collections at the UW-M Art Museum. During his 15-year tenure as Executive Director of Ohio’s Springfield Museum of Art he built an impressive permanent collection, curated scores of outstanding exhibitions and secured national accreditation, a distinction awarded to only 6% of America’s museums. Upon his retirement a grateful institution honored him with the title of Director Emeritus. He has since been directing his energies to painting and to teaching at the college level. He has been a leader in Springfield’s cultural community, spearheadeding efforts to restore the Hartman Rock Garden, a 1930’s folk art environment, and the Westcott House, a Frank Lloyd Wright residence in Springfield. He will retain his role as an Accreditation Peer Reviewer for the American Alliance of Museums.

Charlotte Gordon hails from New Orleans. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at Newcomb College of Art at Tulane University, where she majored in ceramics, a specialty which took her the following year to North Carolina’s prestigious Penland School of Crafts. She has served as the Springfield Museum of Art’s sole curator for the last six years, a position that went far beyond the curatorial domain of selecting works for exhibitions to include as well the tasks of registrar, preparator and art transporter.

This spring she was awarded a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies from Southern University of New Orleans. She has frequently served as a guest curator or juror for numerous arts organizations throughout Ohio and is presently organizing a major touring exhibition of African art from the collection of Southern University of New Orleans. Gordon is a member of the Ohio Museum Association’s Board of Trustees.

Both Chepp and Gordon are practicing artists. He is a painter whose recent self-portraits have been exhibited throughout Ohio, including a featured role in the Southern Ohio Museum’s A Face in the Crowd exhibition last fall. He is represented by Keny Galleries in Columbus. Gordon is a respected ceramic artist whose work has appeared in solo and group exhibitions throughout the state. She is represented by the Sherrie Gallerie in Columbus’ Short North District.

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