Seattle Seahawks rally to defeat Washington Redskins

Seahawks-RedskinsGregg Rosenthal, Around The League editor, www.nfl.com

The Seattle Seahawks found themselves in an unfamiliar position early in Sunday’s NFC Wild Card Game against the Washington Redskins, trailing by two touchdowns. They didn’t blink.

Pete Carroll‘s crew will play the Atlanta Falcons next week after dispatching the Redskins 24-14, scoring 24 unanswered points to close out the game. Robert Griffin III finished the game on the bench, but his presence in the final six minutes wouldn’t have made a difference late because the Seahawks‘ defense was too dominant. The Seattle Seahawks found themselves in an unfamiliar position early in Sunday’s NFC Wild Card Game against the Washington Redskins, trailing by two touchdowns. They didn’t blink.

Pete Carroll‘s crew will play the Atlanta Falcons next week after dispatching the Redskins 24-14, scoring 24 unanswered points to close out the game. Robert Griffin III finished the game on the bench, but his presence in the final six minutes wouldn’t have made a difference late because the Seahawks‘ defense was too dominant.

 

Top 10 ways to beat the post-Christmas blues

www.realbuzz.com, healthy active living

Make a plan

After the excitement of Christmas, going back to a regular, mundane routine is enough to lower anybody’s spirits. A good way to alleviate this feeling of ennui is to create something to look forward to. Depending on your budget and lifestyle, this could be anything from planning a night out to booking a trip away. Whatever you plan, make sure it is something you will really look forward to, then start counting down the days.

laughterExercise your funny bone

Laughter has been proven to be an extremely effective mood booster; releasing endorphins which instantly raise spirits and give a feeling of wellbeing. To help raise your spirits, grab a funny DVD or book and spend a few hours exercising your laughter muscles.

Brave your fears

If you are feeling listless and uninspired following the Christmas period, there is nothing guaranteed to energize you so much as stepping out of your comfort zone and taking a few risks. Make a commitment to doing one thing a week (or day) that makes you feel scared and takes you out of your comfort zone.  Whether it is something small (like starting a conversation with a stranger) or big (like emigrating to another country), conquering your fears is guaranteed to put you in a positive mood.

Get active

Although feeling glum is unlikely to put you in the mood to exercise, getting up and active is actually one of the best things you can do. Exercise not only releases mood boosting endorphins, but if weight gain is one of the things getting you down following Christmas it will help you to quickly shift those excess pounds. Get out in the fresh air for a run, or try a spot of yoga or Tai Chi to help put you in a better frame of mind.

salmonWatch what you eat

While it may be tempting to bury your sorrows under piles of junk food, a healthy diet is actually much more effective at helping you feel good. Some mood-boosting foods to stock up on are those containing B vitamins (which help the brain produce serotonin) such as wholegrains, nuts and marmite, and those containing Omega-3 fatty acids (which can help lift depression), such as oily fish or flaxseeds.

Don’t be SAD

If you think that the darkness and cold weather surrounding the festive season might be contributing to your blues, you may be one of many people suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD). If you find that you feel more depressed or lethargic over the autumn and winter months, it may be worth investing in a SAD light box which can help reduce the negative effects caused by the lack of natural light during this season.

Be selfless

If you find that you are fixated on your mood post Christmas, it is a good idea to distract yourself by putting the focus on to others. Take some time out to do some volunteer work, or if you are short of time make a commitment to doing one small act of kindness a day such as listening to a friend’s problem or smiling at a stranger. Not only will helping others distract you from your own feelings but it will help you put things into perspective. As an added bonus, smiling is contagious and helping others feel happy will also put you in a better mood.

Perk up your social life

Spending time with others can be one of the greatest mood boosters, but you can’t always rely on everybody else to make the plans. If your social life could do with a boost following Christmas, it’s time to get proactive. Pick up the phone and give someone a call or arrange to visit someone who lives a long way away. Alternatively, take up a hobby or join a club and start meeting some new people to spend time with.

Get your finances in order

One of the reasons many people feel blue after Christmas is because they have worries over their finances – and the damage Christmas has wreaked on them – hanging over their head. Rather than worrying about it, sit down and sort out your financial situation. See what shape you are in financially and, if necessary, set yourself a budget for the next few months or so. This may make you feel even worse right now but going on in ignorance means that your worries will only eat away at you. Face your finances, work out how to move forward, and then you can move on happier.

Ring the changes

If the thought of going back to your regular routine is really depressing you, perhaps you should see this as a sign you need to make some changes. Although everyone feels a bit down about returning to work, if the thought is really making you blue then maybe it’s time to think about changing your job. Alternatively, perhaps you need to think about ditching another aspect of your lifestyle that is making you unhappy; your partner, perhaps, or those extra pounds in weight. Look at what needs to be changed then make a plan to tackle it in small steps. Instead of despairing over the end of Christmas, go in to the new year motivated and ready to kick-start your best year yet.

 

Michael Moore’s Poetic Plea to Obama: “Dear Mr. President, Please Let Leonard Peltier Come Home”

www.democracynow.org

 

Singers Harry Belafonte and Pete Seeger hosted the “Bring Leonard Peltier Home in 2012 Concert” at the Beacon Theatre in New York City on Friday, December 14th to raise awareness of Peltier’s 37-year ordeal and plea for executive clemency from President Obama. Peltier is the Native American activist and former member of the American Indian Movement who was convicted of aiding in the killing of two FBI agents during a shootout on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1975. Among those who spoke was Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore, who read a poem he wrote urging Peltier’s release.

Influenza claims three lives in Snohomish County

Vaccination is the best protection against this severe flu; plenty of vaccine in the county

Press Release, Suzanne Pate, Snohomish Health District, www.snohd.org

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — The Snohomish Health District reports three residents of Snohomish County died in recent days from the severe flu that is circulating throughout Western Washington. A Bothell woman in her 40s, an Everett woman in her 80s, and an Edmonds woman in her 80s died in late December in Snohomish County hospitals. All had underlying medical conditions.

“We may be facing the most severe flu season since 2009,” said Dr. Gary Goldbaum. “I urge everyone over 6 months of age to get an annual flu shot. It’s still the best weapon we have to fight the flu strains that are circulating this year. Wash your hands often, stay home if you are sick, and cover your cough!”

Snohomish County is well supplied with flu vaccine in providers’ offices as well as community clinics, pharmacies, and the Snohomish Health District clinics. The Health District stocks about 1,000 doses of adult vaccine, and 300 doses of children’s vaccine. More is available as needed.

Dr. Goldbaum noted that this year’s vaccines appear to be well matched for the two strains of influenza A and one strain of influenza B that are circulating this year. The three strains are H1N1A, H3N2A, and B/Wisconsin. The dominant strain is H3N2, which can cause more serious illness. As of Jan. 2, a surveillance report from two area hospitals shows 52 people have been hospitalized with flu symptoms since Nov. 1 in Snohomish County.

During the 2010-2011 influenza season, we received reports of 16 persons hospitalized with influenza; there was one death reported due to influenza. During the 2011-2012 season, 39 were hospitalized and there were two deaths. Thus, in Snohomish County this season to date compared with each of the past two entire seasons, more people have been hospitalized for or died from influenza.

The Washington State Department of Health reported three deaths in December in King and Pierce counties. Lab-confirmed deaths are reportable although many flu-related deaths may go unreported because they are not lab-confirmed or tested for influenza. The CDC estimates that up to 49,000 people could die from the flu this season.

Flu shots are especially important for people at high risk for complications from the flu, including young children, people 65 and older, pregnant women and women who recently gave birth, and people with certain medical conditions like asthma, diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, and neurologic conditions. You need a fresh flu vaccine every year; last year’s vaccine won’t work on the current circulating strains.

Visit CDC for more information about the 2012-2013 flu season. To find flu vaccine in your ZIP code, go to the Flu Vaccine Finder page. You also can find good health tips and background about the flu at the Department of Health website.

Established in 1959, the Snohomish Health District works for a safer and healthier Snohomish County through disease prevention, health promotion, and protection from environmental threats. Find more information about the Health Board and the Health District at http://www.snohd.org.

Thomas Paquin

Tom PaquinTom was born on August 22, 1947 in Tacoma, WA, and he went to be with the Lord on January 2, 2013.

He resided in Tacoma, WA most of his life. He graduated from Lincoln High School in 1967, and he was a dedicated Lincoln Abe fan. He also held season tickets to the Tacoma Rainiers for many years. He was a fast-pitch coach for the boys and girls club until his health began to deteriorate. He loved the holidays and birthdays, so he made sure that those times were special. He was very dedicated to his family, and he was the best daddy.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Lavita Lamm, his father, Augusta Wooster, and his brothers, Johnny Paquin, Ernie Wooster, and William Craft.

He was survived by his brothers, Larry and Gary Wooster, his children, LaDawn Brewster, Dameon Criteser, and Angelica Paquin, and his grandchildren, NaTasha Brewster, Angelia, Isaac, and Lily Paquin.

There will be a dinner and a rosary held Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 5pm in the Tulalip tribal gym 6700 Totem Beach Road Tulalip, WA 98271, and his service will be held Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at 10 am also in the Tulalip tribal gym.

Tulalip Tribes Diabetes Day 2013, Jan 16

Tulalip Diabetes DayProviding culturally sensitive diabetes health care to promote the overall well-being of our people

Join the Karen I Fryberg Tulalip Health Clinic staff on Wednesday, January 16 for Diabetes Day 2013.

The event is schedule for 9:20 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., and will being 8:00 a.m. with an opening prayer and song. Lunch will be served at noon.

Clinic staff will be offering comprehensive Diabetic Services for all Tulalip Tribal members and authorized patients of the Karen I Fryberg Tulalip Health Clinic.

 

 

Tribes monitor Hooper Creek after culvert removal

A cutthroat trout is counted and measured in newly accessible habitat in Hooper Creek.
A cutthroat trout is counted and measured in newly accessible habitat in Hooper Creek.

Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, www.nwifc.org

When Sierra Pacific replaced an inadequate culvert with a 45-foot bridge over a tributary to the Skagit River, enough sediment had accumulated behind the fish barrier to fill 30 dump trucks.

Biologists with the Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC) monitored the channel, habitat quality and fish distribution before and after the 2008 culvert removal in Hooper Creek near Concrete. SRSC is the natural resources management arm of the Swinomish and Sauk-Suiattle tribes.

As the landowner, forest products company Sierra Pacific is required to fix culverts that block fish passage.

Forest and fish biologist Mike Olis was pleasantly surprised to discover an increase in habitat quality downstream of the project area. A year after the bridge was built, Olis counted almost three times the number of the large pools (with at least 3 square feet of surface area and 1 foot of residual depth) fish need to feed, rest and stay cool.

“We were expecting some pool-filling from the released sediment,” he said. “The increase in pools is good for the fish.”

Hooper Creek’s resident cutthroat trout quickly took advantage of the newly accessible habitat. In 2009, a year after the project was completed, surveys found 23 trout above the new bridge, including one as far as about a half mile upstream. In 2010, there were 137 fish. Of those 101 were younger than one year.

Coho also spawn in Hooper Creek, but year-to-year spawner surveys don’t necessarily reflect changes in habitat following the culvert removal because run sizes vary. More coho were seen spawning after fish passage was restored, but there also was a larger coho run that year. What the numbers do show, however, is that the release of 300 cubic yards of sediment didn’t have a negative effect on coho spawning.

For more information, contact: Mike Olis, SRSC biologist, molis@skagitcoop.org or 360-708-2809; Kari Neumeyer, NWIFC information officer, 360-424-8226 or kneumeyer@nwifc.org.

Grovers Creek Coho Used for Stormwater Runoff Study

Coho-runoff-experiment-Grovers-Kate-Julann-Nov-2012-2267-thumbnail-300x200
Biologists place a coho (inside the PVC tube) in a bin of stormwater runoff.

Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, nwifc.org

Using fish from the Suquamish Tribe’s Grovers Creek hatchery, federal agencies and their partners are determining just how lethal polluted urban highway runoff is to salmon.

Staff from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NOAA) have been working with the tribe to expose a small number of adult coho spawners to polluted urban runoff.

“We know that toxic contaminants in stormwater are bad for salmon, and that adult coho are dying prematurely in urban watersheds throughout Puget Sound,” said Jay Davis, a USFWS contaminants specialist.  “The current study is designed to help us determine the underlying cause of death.”Last year, agency scientists exposed adult coho to cocktails of chemical contaminants that were prepared in a lab to simulate stormwater runoff.  The fish were largely unaffected by artificial mixtures of metals and petroleum hydrocarbons.

However, when exposed to actual urban runoff this fall, the spawners quickly developed the familiar symptoms of pre-spawn mortality syndrome. Symptoms include a gaping mouth, and loss of orientation and balance. Affected fish display these symptoms just before they die, and adult coho became symptomatic after just two to four hours of being exposed to the stormwater.

Blood and tissues were collected from the hearts, gills, and livers of the coho. Genetic analyses of these samples are expected to show physiological stress in fish, such as heart or respiratory failure. Samples from coho exposed to stormwater will be compared to samples from unexposed fish and symptomatic spawners found in Seattle-area streams this fall.

“Urban runoff is a very complex mixture,” Davis said. “But we’re getting closer to understanding why stormwater is so lethal to coho.”

“The tribe has been a good partner to work with,” said Nat Scholz, a NOAA research zoologist and ecotoxicology manager. “We like to use the Grovers Creek facility because of the easily available coho, the facility’s abrupt saltwater-freshwater transition, and the availability of protected space to do the exposures and tissue collections. The findings should be applicable throughout Puget Sound, including Kitsap.”

The contaminated water is taken for disposal to Kitsap County’s wastewater treatment plant in Kingston.

William G.Shelton

April 24, 1943 – January 1, 2013

William SheltonShelton peacefully passed away at home on Tuesday, January 1, 2013 surrounded by his family and friends. Bill was born in Tulalip, Washington in 1943 and moved to the SeaTac area as a young man.
He served three years in the United States Army. Bill met Janet Hartong from Tukwila, Washington while both were employed by the Boeing Company and were married in 1984. They built a wonderful life together in Kent, Washington filled with friends and family. Bill and Janet have a daughter Amanda, whom Bill loved and adored and was exceedingly proud of.

Bill retired from the Boeing Company in 1999 as a general first line supervisor after working for the company for 34 years. He received a bachelor’s degree in business manufacturing from the University of Washington. Bill loved his work at Boeing where he acquired many leadership skills that he continued to utilize in his retirement and established many friendships that endured throughout his life.
Bill and his family settled in Tulalip after his retirement from the Boeing Company where he became active in Tribal governance. Bill will be remembered for his tireless efforts to improve life on the reservation for all people who lived in the reservation community. He was a gifted leader who used his talents and influence fairly and respectfully.

Bill served as the Chair of the Tulalip Planning Commission for many years making a positive impact on land use and protection within the reservation. Recently he served as a member of the Tulalip Tribes Smart Growth Committee, the Tulalip Tribes/Snohomish County MOU Team and the Tidelands Policy Committee. He was honored to serve on the Tulalip Tribes Drug Task Force and Elders Court helping to guide Tribal members to a better path in life. Bill was also active in the Elder Committee, the Hunting Rights Committee and had volunteered many hours at Heritage High School.

Bill was an avid hunter who enjoyed many hunting and fishing trips with his daughter Amanda and close friends. He also loved playing golf and established great friendships throughout his life with his golf buddies. Bill adored his miniature pinchers, Annie, Maggie, Jackie and Zoe who brought him much joy.

Bill was a man who expected a lot from the people he knew and loved and in return he gave a lot to the people he knew and loved. He was a man that lived life to the fullest and he will be greatly missed.

He is survived by his wife, Janet Shelton; and daughter, Amanda; his uncle Moxie Renecker, who raised him and his siblings; sisters, Nina Goodman, Janice Arthur, Myrna Holland and Debrah Rowell; and brothers, Steven Warbus and Wesley Warbus; along with countless other relatives and friends.

Bill was preceded in death by Rebecca Warbus, Joseph Warbus, Bernice Renecker, Jim Renecker, Norma Rivera, Vivian “Babe” Reeves, Rose Alexander, Elizabeth Ross, Reuben Shelton and Calvin Shelton.

A visitation will be held at Schaefer-Shipman Funeral Home in Marysville, Washington on Sunday, January 6, 2013, 1:00 p.m. followed by an Interfaith service at the Tulalip Tribal Gym at 6:00 p.m. Funeral Services will be held at the Tulalip Tribal Gym, 6700 Totem Beach Road, Monday January 7, 2013 at 10:00 a.m.

Arrangements entrusted to Schaefer-Shipman Funeral Home.

Being Frank: Aloha, Senator Daniel Inouye

“Being Frank” by Billy Frank, Jr., Chairman, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

Billy FrankOLYMPIA – I’ve met a lot of people in my life, but no one like Sen. Daniel Inouye. A soft-spoken son of Japanese immigrants, he rose to become a war hero and represented Hawaii in Congress from the time it became a state. But I always believed he was an Indian at heart.

My good friend for more than 30 years, he died Dec. 17 at 88. He served in the Senate for 50 years, the second longest term in U.S. history, and became one of the greatest champions for Indian people that we have ever seen.

Danny understood us and our issues in a way that many Americans can’t. I think it’s because he knew what it was like to be different, to be someone who came from a people set apart.

As a 17-year-old, he rushed to enlist after Japanese bombs fell on Pearl Harbor in 1941. At a time when most Japanese Americans were rounded up and forced into internment camps around the United States, Inouye was fighting in Europe. In Italy he lost his right arm, and nearly his life, in actions that were later recognized by a Medal of Honor, our country’s highest military award.

Many might question why a Japanese American like Inouye would fight so hard for a country that treated his people so poorly. That same question could be asked of Indians, African Americans and many others. As a tribal member and a veteran, I can tell you that we did it for the greater good of everyone in the hope that things would get better.

But for Danny, and for many of us, it took awhile for things to get better.  On his way home to Hawaii while recuperating from his war wounds, he made a stop-over in San Francisco. Wanting to look good for his homecoming, he stepped into a barbershop, but was told they didn’t cut “Jap” hair.

Despite the injuries he suffered and the racism he experienced, he was never bitter. He became a quiet giant in the Senate, always with an eye toward helping those in need of social justice. He worked tirelessly to support the sovereignty of Indian tribes across the country, and equally as hard to gain that same recognition for native Hawaiians.

During his time in the Senate he helped pass many pieces of legislation important to Indian people. Among them are the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990, The Tribal Self Governance Act of 1994 and the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994.

Before enlisting in the Army, he was planning to be a doctor – a surgeon – someone who could help people. In the end, that’s just what he did, but he helped many, many more people while serving in the Senate than he ever could as a doctor.

I will miss him deeply and so will all of Indian Country. One of the things I’ll miss most might surprise you. Danny was one heck of a piano player.

We will not forget this man who understood and helped Indian people like few in this country ever have, a man who worked so hard and endured so much to make our country a better place for everyone.

Note: A more comprehensive remembrance of Sen. Inouye by Chairman Frank is available at: go.nwifc.org/1aq