Desert Messenger

8 www.DesertMessenger.com March 16, 2016 Zika updates School Board openings Quartzsite Animal Clinic Dr. John Hadlock 745 W. Main Street, Quartzsite Open M-T-W-TH 9am-noon 928-927-6404 Walk-ins Welcome Serving Quartzsite for 28 years! Local Resident • FREE Estimates Larry - Cell 928-273-3719 DAY NIGHT SHADES REPAIRED GUARANTEED WORK! Factory Parts! Factory Chords! Cara M. Christ, M.D. ADHS Director While Arizona is holding steady with no Zika cases reported (yet), we are still working hard to make sure we're prepared at the state and local levels to respond to cases of Zika virus infection and take steps to prevent disease spread within our communities. Public health, en- vironmental health, and vector con- trol agencies across the state have been collaborating to ensure plans, staff and materials are in place. Last Friday, we convened our Coun- cil on Infectious Disease Prepared- ness and Response to ensure that partners outside of the public health community have input into Zika preparedness activities. The meet- ing kicked off with a situational overview of Zika virus at the global, national, and state level and transi- tioned into a discussion of Arizona- specific response activities. To maintain and enhance Zika pre- paredness in Arizona, our staff mon- itor the national and international Zika situation and keep state, local and healthcare partners informed of the most recent and relevant de- velopments. We continue to sup- port county health departments in conducting Zika risk assessments of returning travelers in order to coor- dinate Zika testing with healthcare providers and our state and CDC laboratories. Our Arizona Arboviral Workgroup meets on a monthly ba- sis to coordinate mosquito surveil- lance and control across the state. Our Arizona State Public Health Laboratory now maintains capacity to conduct Zika virus testing. Last week, we also published our Ar- izona Arboviral Handbook for Chi- kungunya, Dengue, and Zika Virus- es. This comprehensive tool serves as a preparation and response plan for mosquito-borne diseases. It in- cludes information about each of the diseases and response scenarios for public health and vector control agencies. While we expect to get at least a few travel-associated Zika cases reported in Arizona, we're confident that these statewide plan- ning efforts will better prepare us to respond to and prevent widespread outbreaks of the disease here. Cara M. Christ, M.D. became the Director for the Arizona Depart- ment of Health Services (ADHS) in May 2015. Dr. Christ has served the agency for more than nine years and has demonstrated her strong commitment to the health of all Arizonans. She obtained her bach- elor's degree in Microbiology and her master's degree in Microbiol- ogy, Virology from Arizona State University. She earned her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Arizona College of Medicine. For latest updates, visit the website, www.azdhs.gov. Parker, AZ - Elections for school board members will be held this November across Arizona. In support of commitment to qual- ity leadership for Arizona's public schools, the Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) will be shar- ing information this spring about the rewards, challenges and legal requirements of board service, primarily geared to those individu- als who are considering running for these essential community leader- ship positions. WEBINARS ASBA will be providing free in- formative webinars for individu- als throughout the state who are interested in running for a seat on their local school district governing boards. The webinars will be held: • March 29, from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. • April 20, from Noon – 1 p.m. Links to register are now on the ASBA website, http://azsba. org/becoming-a-board-member/. Under the Services & Resources tab, click on Becoming a Board Member. This workshop will help individu- als interested in running for their local school board understand what is involved in being elected to and serving on the local school board. Hear from three diverse school board members about their own experiences and where to find in- formation about being a candidate. Participants will also have the op- portunity to submit questions to be answered live during the webinar. PUBLICATIONS/ PROMOTIONAL FLYERS • The information booklet, "Interested in School Board Service" can be found on the http://azsba.org/wp-content/ uploads/2016/02/2016-ASBA- School-Board-Service-Booklet_ LowRes.pdf. Visitors can find and download all the information on the ASBA web- site (www.azsba.org). Under the Services & Resources tab, click on Becoming a Board Member. " For more information contact The La Paz County Education Service Agency. Jacquline Price, School Superin- tendent, 1112 Joshua Avenue, Suite 205 Parker, Arizona 85344 (928) 669-6183, http://www.lapazschools.org/ DEADLINE : WED. MARCH 30 TH for the april 6 th edition Desert Messenger News Email: editor@DesertMessenger.com 928-916-4235 www.DesertMessenger.com

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