QUOTE FOR THE WEEK: "'I don't care about the wather...GET OUT AND VOTE!"
GARY CASTEEL

Celebrating - our 60,000th visitor to this web page!

On June 8, 2005 I put a counter on this page. We have already gone over 60,000 "HITS." This is proving to be a very busy web page!

Are you aware that this is the very FIRST city web page in Lake County, Oregon, on-line in 1998?

Lake District Hospital Bond Issue Passes!

We can all now look forward to a progressive and even more effecient hospital in the not to distant future. Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Lake District Hospital, Rosvi Casteel, R.N. would like to thank the Board members, the hospital administration and the entire staff for the many, many hours of hard work to design the new facility. She would also like to thank the voters for approving this improtant bond issue. The final vote was 1,456 YES, and 1,256 NO and a turn out of 88.5%.
As the development progresses, this web page will keep everyone informed.

Special Transportation agreement signed by Lake County.

Lake County Senior Citizens Association and Lake County signed a fund services agreement. The Oregon Department of Transportation distributes monies to aid with particular types of special transportation needs. Due to the size of Lake County and lack of public transportation it qualifies for this funding.

Oregon DOES NOT provide Senior or Disabled discounts at State Parks. They also DO NOT provide discounts to disabled vets! WHY NOT? We should be ashamed! Doesn't a returning disabled vet deserve to use their own state parks free or at least at a discount?

This is a letter from Marcy Teal: Oregon State Parks and Recreation Dept. Information Center 1-800-551-6949
"The Oregon State Parks are funded by user fees, park maintenance and repairs are funded by lottery dollars. Additional funding is not available to offer a disability discount. The State parks offer ADA accessible campsites and restrooms but there is no fee reduction. The Federal parks do offer some type of senior or disability discount. For more information on the forest service parks pass program, call toll free 800-270-7504 or check on line at www.fs.fed.us/r6/passespermits/index.shtml"
"Please call or e-mail with your mailing address if you would like a packet of information mailed out on the Oregon State Parks."

I wrote a letter complaining about this unfair treatment of our Seniors, Disabled, and our Disabled Vets to our Governor, Senators and Congressional reps. The following are the responses I received:

"Thank you for contacting me regarding Oregon State Parks. As a federal legislator, I do not have jurisdiction over state or local matters. I urge you to contact your state and local represenatives about this matter." Gordon H. Smith, United States Senator

"Thank you for sharing your ideas and concerns. I believe citizen input is vital to a strong and healthy society and I urge your continued involvement. Should your comments require an additional response, appropriate staff will contact you. I look forward to hearing from you in the future. Sincerely, Theodore R. Kulongoski, Governor

"Thank you for contacting me regarding the high price of admittance to Oregon State Parks. I appreciate hearing from you, and I share your concern.
Like you, I believe that America owes its veterans a great debt, and we must honor the commitment we have made to them. With this in mind, I have cosponsored the Public Land Military Pass Act. This legislation establishes a new kind of admittance pass only available to veterans for a low yearly rate of $10.00 which would allow them to visit all of our country's beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands for no additional fees. This bill has passed the Senate Committee on Energy and National Resourses and is awaiting further action on the Senate floor.
However, this legislation does not address admission to state parks because the federal government does not have jurisdiction over those parks. To ensure that your concerns are heard and fully addressed, I have taken the liberty of forwarding your inquiry to Governor Kulongoski. I have asked the Governor to reply to you directly and to provide me a copy of his response. Please be assured when related matters come before me in the Senate, I will keep your thoughs in mind."
Ron Wyden, United States Senator (July 31, 2008)

Fairness for Disabled Vets

Under current law, most military retirees with disabilities incurred during service have their retirement pay reduced by the amount of their disability compensation. As a result, most retired veterans with disabilities fail to receive disability pay. Senator Wyden has voted repeatedly to change the law and allow all veterans to receive both their military retired pay and veterans’ disability payments. This is known as concurrent receipt.

Senator Wyden supported full concurrent receipt as part of the fiscal year 2004 National Defense Authorization Act, however, the House of Representatives refused to agree to full concurrent receipt and a compromise was reached. Unfortunately, this compromise only authorized concurrent receipt for retired service members with at least a 50 percent disability - regardless of the cause of disability - phased in over the next ten years.

Senator Wyden supported an amendment to the fiscal year 2005 Defense Authorization bill which allowed for immediate concurrent receipt for 100 percent disabled veterans. Although this is a step in the right direction, Senator Wyden continues to work for full concurrent receipt for all veterans.

Moreover, despite authorization of these limited concurrent receipt benefits, there have been problems in implementation. Tens of thousands of fully disabled veterans have been excluded from receiving concurrent receipt by the Bush Administration because their disability rating is due to wounds or ailments that make them “unemployable.” Because Senator Wyden believes that these veterans should be treated equally and receive the full concurrent receipt Congress authorized, he sent a letter to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness requesting they honor the wishes of Congress.

If you feel that you or a family member are entitled to receive concurrent receipt benefits, please visit: http://www.dod.gov/prhome/mppcrsc.html to learn more and apply.

Congressman Walden on county payments for Lake County

Lake District Hospital CEO Gordon Ensley and Lake Health District board Chairperson Rosvi Casteel, R.N. display the plaques available in honor of loved ones as a fund raiser for the hospitals new Chapel. The first two plaques were donated by Rosvi Casteel in memory her mother, Violet Van Buskirk and her son, Gary Casteel Jr.

A new fundraiser is in place at Lake District Hospital, with proceeded to benefit the new chapel that will be part of the hospital expansion. According to Lake District Hospital Board Chairperson, Rosvi Casteel R.N., citizens may sponsor a name of a loved one on what will be a "memory wall." For a minimum donation of $100.00, a plaque featuring the honored individuals name is purchased, and engraved at an additional cost of $10.00. All funds received for the memory wall will be deposited into the hospital's donation-specific fund budgeted this year, and will be utilized for the new chapel. Ms. Casteel noted that the new chapel was among her late mother Violet Van Buskirk's final wishes prior to her December 2007 passing.

Dell DOWNGRADING from Vista to XP.

Those who have put off purchasing a new computer because of Windows Vista problems, there is another choice. Dell has announced they will continue to "Downgrade" the operating system for certain PC's. After June 30, Dell will preinstall Win XP on computers which have Vista Business or Vista Ultimate. There of course are some strings attached. A fee of $20- $50 for the downgrade, but well worth it! You can downgrade until June 26 for most PC's/Laptops. After that time it is only available on certain models. Dell will ship the Vista operating system CD with your purchase of a Win XP PC, so at a point in time later, you can upgrade your system.

Fisher King Fly Shop.

Paisley now has an active Fly Shop. They sell all types of fly fishing equipment, give classes for all skill levels, and run the Chewaucan Challenge Tournament. Check out their new web page... Fisher King

Rural Factoid!

Rural residents are nearly twice as likely to die from unintentional injuries other than motor vehicle accidents than are urban residents. Rural residents are also at a significantly higher risk of death by gunshot than urban residents.

Rural residents tend to be poorer. On the average, per capita income is $7,417 lower than in urban areas, and rural Americans are more likely to live below the poverty level. The disparity in incomes is even greater for minorities living in rural areas. Nearly 24% of rural children live in poverty.

People who live in rural America rely more heavily on the federal Food Stamp Program, according to The Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire. The Institute's analysis found that while 22 percent of Americans lived in rural areas in 2001, a full 31 percent of the nation's food stamp beneficiaries lived there. In all, 4.6 million rural residents received food stamp benefits in 2001, the analysis found.

Abuse of alcohol and use of smokeless tobacco is a significant problem among rural youth. The rate of DUI arrests is significantly greater in non-urban counties. Forty percent of rural 12th graders reported using alcohol while driving compared to 25% of their urban counterparts. Rural eighth graders are twice as likely to smoke cigarettes (26.1% versus 12.7% in large metro areas.)

Hypertension was also higher in rural than urban areas (101.3 per 1,000 individuals in MSAs and 128.8 per 1,000 individuals in non-MSAs)

The suicide rate among rural men is significantly higher than in urban areas, particularly among adult men and children. The suicide rate among rural women is escalating rapidly and is approaching that of men.

Medicare payments to rural hospitals and physicians are dramatically less than those to their urban counterparts for equivalent services. This correlates closely with the fact that more than 470 rural hospitals have closed in the past 25 years.

Abuse of alcohol and use of smokeless tobacco is a significant problem among rural youth. The rate of DUI arrests is significantly greater in non-urban counties. Forty percent of rural 12th graders reported using alcohol while driving compared to 25% of their urban counterparts. Rural eighth graders are twice as likely to smoke cigarettes (26.1% versus 12.7% in large metro areas.) **

This information is provided by The National Rural Health Association. For more information see: Rural Health Care Association

ODOT Stops Lakeview Safeway expansion!

The Oregon Department of Transportation Division 51 rule was applied to the Safeway store in Lakeview. Safeway proposed an enlargement of their store and services that would have created 18 badly needed new jobs. The store is located on Main Street which is also Highway 395. Traffic is normally such that when they see a car on the street they wave because it is their neighbor. Regardless of this fact, ODOT applied the Division 51 rule the same as if it were being applied on Sandy Boulevard in downtown Portland. ODOT denied Safeway a second access to the street that was critical to the success of the increased service effort. Rather than fight ODOT for a small store in Lakeview, Safeway chose to abandon their expansion plan. The outcome of this inappropriate application of a statewide rule was the loss of expanded services, the loss of construction jobs, and the loss of about 18 critically needed permanent jobs for the citizens of Lake County.

If this upsets you, contact your state representative at: http://www.leg.state.or.us/writelegsltr/

Lake County United Fund needs members.

"We meet quarterly except during the campaign which runs from September thru January when we meet monthly." "We would like to see some representation from Paisley and North Lake on our board as well."

What are our gas prices as compared to the rest of Oregon? Where can you find the least expensive gas?

Look at this new Web site that lets you send a FREE printed postcard to the U.S. servicemen and women stationed overseas. All you do is pick your favorite card, enter your message and then Xerox does the rest! Visit www.LetsSayThanks.com and send the troops some mail today.

To send a card... Click on * Support our Troops. *

Low-income energy assistance program.

Brenda Dickenson has been hired by the Lake County Senior Association as the LIEAP Coordinator to manage the low-income energy assistance program. She has an office downstairs at the center and is processing applications now. She will be distributing flyers to let county residents know that funding is available.

Diabetics Support Group

The Lakeview Senior Center has a Diabetes Support Group. To attend or become involved, please contact the Senior Center at 947-4966

Paisley Airport Information!

Recently we have had several calls from pilots regarding the Paisley Air port. We have a page with all of the information a pilot requires to use our airport. For additional information click on: Paisley Airport TURN ON YOUR SOUND! It also has pictures and information about its Grand Opening, Festival Fly-In, Air Show, and the first jet to land at Paisley.

I have posted pictures and maps of the Winter Rim Fire of 2002.

This involved ALL of the Paisley and nearby communities. It, along with the Toolbox fire and the Silver Fire, burned almost 150,000 acres. The pictures are fantastic and frightening! Click to see them and read the details..., * Winter Rim Fire of 2002 *.

Share your WWII Legacy.

Did you know World War II veterans are not automatically listed in the WWII Registry of Remembrances? (http://www.wwiimemorial.com/default.asp?page=registry.asp&sub page=intro) Veterans must submit their names - or loved ones may do it for them - to this national electronic registry of Americans who helped with the war effort. Home front workers are also listed, for example, my father was 4F, so he built ships in Long Beach. My mother joined him in the tool crib. To add a name, go to wwiimemorial.com or call (800) 639-4992. I have just added my parents who both sold their own businesses to work in the Long Beach Naval Ship Yard building Liberty Ships.