Volume XX, Number 30

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

First aid course for guides and outfitters

Teller Wildlife Refuge and Aerie Backcountry Medicine will offer a Wilderness First Aid course specifically designed for fishing guides and outfitters on Saturday, March 5, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Teller Wildlife Education Center in Corvallis.

This 8-hour class meets and exceeds the Montana and Idaho Board of Outfitters first aid requirements for guides and will include injury and illness prevention, patient assessment, injury management, improvised splint construction, and environmental emergencies. Approximately half of the course will be classroom lecture and half practical scenarios. Wilderness EMT and outfitter Eddie Olwell will teach the course. The course fee is $50.00 and includes the course manual.

CPR training is not part of the Wilderness First Aid Course. An American Heart Association Heartsaver CPR course will be offered on Wednesday, March 2, starting at 6 p.m. The cost of the CPR course is $35.

For information or to register, calI Aerie Backcountry Medicine at 542-9972, or email Aerie at aerie@montana.com. Registration is required and space is limited, so call soon to reserve a space.

Father Anthony Ravalli, whose influence on early Montana is still felt at St. Mary's Mission in Stevensville, and Whitefish native Dorothy Johnson, whose writings captured the spirit of the land she loved, will be inducted into the Gallery of Outstanding Montanans in the State Capitol Building Wednesday, March 16.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer and other dignitaries and friends and family will speak at the ceremonies that begin at 3 p.m. in the Capitol Rotunda.

"The gallery was created by the Legislature in 1979 in order to pay homage to Montanans who made contributions of state or national significance in their endeavors and who represented the spirit and character that defines Montana," said Montana Historical Society Director Arnold Olsen. "We are proud to add these to people to the gallery."

Father Ravalli was born in Italy in 1812 and was recruited by Father Pierre Jean DeSmet for missionary work among the Rocky Mountain Native Americans in 1844, when Ravalli took his final vows.

Ravalli came to St. Mary's Mission in the Bitterroot Valley in mid-summer 1845 and developed the church's agricultural program and built Montana's first grist mill and sawmill.

He learned the Salish language and earned a reputation among all people in the area for his skill and resourcefulness as a craftsman, physician and pharmacist.

St. Mary's closed in 1850 and Ravalli accepted a series of posts in other parts of the West, but in 1866 he returned to his beloved St. Mary's Mission and reestablished it, spending the rest of his life in the Bitterroot.

When he died in 1884, Ravalli was buried in the St. Mary's cemetery with the Indians whom he had worked along side for 40 years. He was honored as "a healer of souls and bodies."

Dorothy Johnson was a classic storyteller, who wrote 17 books and more than 100 short stories. She is best remembered for three works that were also turned into motion pictures: "The Hanging Tree," "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," and "A Man Called Horse."

Johnson was born in Iowa in 1905 and moved with her family to Great Falls and soon on to Whitefish where she graduated from high school. She studied at what is now the University of Montana-Missoula under H.G. Merriam and received her degree in English in 1928.

In 1935 she moved to New York and began a career in advertising and journalism including six years as editor of "The Woman" magazine.

In 1950 she returned to Montana and became news editor of the Whitefish Pilot, later moving on to Missoula where she worked for the Montana Press Association and taught journalism at the University of Montana. In her teaching she emphasized "persistence, detail, and precision."

In her later life Johnson was a frequent "letters to the editor" contributor to the Missoulian, and on her death one observer called them "a smile from a stranger on a grey day."

Photos and information about these two outstanding Montanans will be added to those on the wall just off the rotunda in the Capitol.

The Gallery of Outstanding Montanans is administered by the Montana Historical Society. Interested persons can call the Society at 406-444-2694 for more information about it.

The Bradley Method is a system of natural labor techniques in which a woman and her coach play an active part. It is a simple method of increasing self-awareness, teaching you how to deal with the stress of labor. Bradley teachers urge couples to find what is comfortable for them in labor. Instead of seeking to control the sensations of labor with distraction methods, the Bradley Method encourages you to trust your body using natural breathing combined with relaxation.

Any mom and her coach will find the instruction valuable. The 12 week in-depth classes teach techniques which are applicable in any birth location with any qualified birth attendant. A new 12-week series began Tuesday, February 22. Class time is 6:15 to 8:30 p.m.

For most couples the fifth month is the suggested time to seriously start training for labor and for their upcoming role as parents. The earlier you start the better prepared you will be physically, emotionally, and mentally. Free review classes are offered up until the day your baby decides to be born.

Class size is small and held in the comfortable surroundings of instructor Diane Gacekšs home in Stevensville. Gacek wants you and your baby to have the best, safest, and most rewarding birth experience possible. For that reason she endorses and teaches: natural childbirth, active coaching, excellent nutrition, avoidance of drugs, natural breathing combined with relaxation techniques, tuning into and working with your body, immediate and continuous contact with your new baby, breastfeeding, positive communications, informed parents sharing in the making of responsible decisions, parents prepared for unexpected situations.

You can make a difference in your labor, delivery and health of your baby. Call Diane Gacek, AAHCC, at 777-0747 for more information or for class fee and registration.

CWD highlights Hamilton symposium

A symposium scheduled in Hamilton will provide a glimpse at Montana's chronic wasting disease (CWD) management plan and will highlight decades of research that is increasing scientists' knowledge of CWD and related diseases.

The symposium ­ which is free and designed for a general audience ­ will take place on Wednesday, March 9, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center in Hamilton High School. Co-sponsors are Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML), the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP), Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association.

"Montana is fortunate that CWD has not been found in wild deer and elk herds, but many people think it's only a matter of time before it is here," says Richard Race, D.V.M., an RML veterinarian and one of two RML scientists who will speak at the symposium. The disease, which devastates the brain, affects wild deer and elk herds in Wyoming, Colorado and a handful of other states. In 1999, CWD was found in captive elk on a Montana game farm.

Dr. Race will provide an overview of CWD and its place in the family of so-called prion diseases. Scientists believe proteins called prions play a key role in transmitting the disease, but they don't know if prions act alone or in combination with, for example, an unknown virus. Prion diseases include CWD in deer and elk; bovine spongiform encephalopathy, better known as mad cow disease, in cattle; scrapie in sheep; and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.

Following Dr. Race, Dr. Suzette Priola, Ph.D., of RML, will discuss current issues in prion diseases, including work under way at RML. Tim Feldner, M.S., who coordinates the state's CWD management plan for FWP, will conclude the speakers' program by sharing details of Montana's draft CWD action plan, which is scheduled for public comment later this year. Mr. Feldner is also involved with the annual CWD testing of deer and elk harvested in Montana and will present those results from the 2004 big game hunting season.

A question-and-answer session will follow the presentations.

In the 1960s, RML became one of the first places in the world to begin research on what were then known as "slow viruses." Dr. William Hadlow, a retired RML scientist still residing in Hamilton, is credited with starting RML's prion disease research program, which is now directed by Dr. Bruce Chesebro, M.D. Present RML research focuses on learning how the disease spreads and whether drugs might be developed to interrupt that infectious process.

Much remains to be discovered about prion diseases. Scientists are investigating how and why normal prion protein molecules transform into abnormal forms that clump together and attack brain tissue, destroying portions of the brain and leaving "spongy" gaps. Scientists believe prion diseases might be linked to similar neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

RML is part of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). NIAID is a component of the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIAID supports basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose and treat infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria and illness from potential agents of bioterrorism. NIAID also supports research on transplantation and immune-related illnesses, including autoimmune disorders, asthma and allergies.

Country gospel performance

Dennis Agajanian, award winning country gospel recording artist, will be performing on Saturday, March 5 at the Hamilton Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. Dennis has recently returned from touring tsunami ravaged countries with Franklin Graham and Samaritan's Purse, so he should have lots of information to share. From his fast picking bluegrass to his melodic instrumentals, to his upbeat rock and country hits, Agajanian has something for everyone to enjoy. Opening for Dennis is the Bitterroot's very own Kent Curtiss Band. The concert is free to the public. For more information call 363-3431.

Child care provider orientation

Are you interested in learning more about the rewards and requirements of running a child care business?

Child Care Resources can help you create a nurturing environment for children and a vital business. CCR promotes high quality, readily available and affordable child care for families in Missoula, Mineral and Ravalli counties.

Child Care Resources is sponsoring a Child Care Orientation for individuals interested in having a child care business in their homes.

The next orientation will be Tuesday, March 8 in Hamilton. Contact Child Care Resources at 728-6446 in Missoula or 363-4599 in Hamilton to inquire about a child care licensing packet, location, and details for the next child care orientation.