Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/45190
Thursday, October 20, 2011 – Daily News FEATURES Posting progenies' pictures prompts protest Dear Annie: Yesterday, our daughter-in-law announced that she did not want pictures of her chil- dren posted on Facebook. My wife is beside herself, saying that ''Mary'' has no right to do this. My wife refuses to respect the request. She has many pictures of the grand- children that she took and has already posted on Face- book. Personally, I agree with my daughter-in-law, and as a result, my wife won't speak to me. She accused me of not being supportive because I'm taking Mary's side. Can you help? Should my wife take the pictures down? — Annoyed Husband Dear Annoyed: Yes, and for her purse or on her smart- phone. Dear Annie: I go to a Annie's Mailbox by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar wonderful doctor. The only problem is, he has horren- dously bad breath. I don't understand how a health care professional can have such terrible oral hygiene. You would think he knows better. He drinks coffee con- stantly, so I don't know whether that's contributing to the odor or whether he believes it covers it up. The really perplexing thing is several reasons. It's one thing to post a picture of an unknown drunk at a bar. That is fair game. But when someone specifically asks you to remove a picture, it is a sign of good will to do so. Also, these are pho- tographs of children, and parents can be highly sensitive to having those pictures plastered in a public space. Your wife should be respect- ful of Mary's parental authority. But the overriding reason should be maintaining a warm and loving relationship with your daughter-in- law. By refusing this request, your wife is creating unnecessary rancor. Once the kids are posting their own pictures on Facebook, we suspect Mary will ease up. Please urge your wife to be patient. She can still dis- play the photographs at home, in that he works in an office with sev- eral other people, including his wife, who is also a physician. The nurses and receptionist all carry on conversations with him like every- thing is fine. I was beginning to think his breath odor was a figment of my imagination until I referred a colleague to him. After her appoint- ment, she told me, ''He was really nice. Too bad his breath smells like something crawled into his mouth and died.'' I don't have the guts to tell him, and I can't understand why those closest to him don't say anything. Shouldn't a physician be on top of things like this? — Puzzled Patient Dear Puzzled: You are assuming his halitosis is caused by poor oral hygiene, but that may not be the case. Sometimes there are underly- ing, even intractable reasons for bad breath, and your physician may be doing all he can to remedy the prob- lem. If neither you nor anyone in his office is willing to speak up, we rec- ommend you offer him a breath mint at your next visit. If you also pop one into your own mouth, it will lessen any embarrassment. Dear Annie: I know how ''Wid- owed and Confused'' feels about dating again. I was widowed sud- denly at the age of 45. For months, I went to work and came home and sat on my couch until bedtime. Then a good friend took me out to a bar with a live band. When a man asked me to dance, I said yes. My children were grown when their father died, and my oldest was upset to learn I was seeing some- one. I said, ''Can you tell me when Dad is going to come back? If you can, I'll sit right here and wait for him.'' After a few minutes, she replied, ''You're right, Mom. He's not coming back, and you need to live your life.'' Tell ''Widowed'' to ask that same question of anyone who thinks she should mourn forever. If they can give her a ''date of return'' on her deceased husband, fine. I sus- pect they'll see the simple truth and stop trying to make her feel guilty. — Didn't Wait Forever Annie's Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please e-mail your questions to anniesmailboxcomcast.net, or write to: Annie's Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Ste. 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. Teen driving class aims for smart starts The statistics are sobering: A teenager is more likely to die during their first year of driving than any other year of life and the California High- way Patrol is here to try and help improve those statistics. On Oct. 26, the CHP and Tehama County Sheriff's Department are sponsoring a Start Smart class. In the United States, the crash rate per mile dri- ven for 16-19 year-olds is four times that of older drivers and risk is highest at age 16. According to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the crash rate per mile driven is twice as high for 16 year-olds as it is for 18-19 year-olds. "We are all working hard to keep our young drivers safe, but there is more we can do," said Red Bluff Area CHP Office Commander Lt. Todd Garr. "Studies have shown that the biggest influence on teen drivers is the attitude and guid- ance of their parents. We need parents to ensure they are teaching their kids the cold hard facts about driving and the incredible responsibility it places on their shoulders. The Start Smart class can help parents do this." The Tehama County Sheriff's Department has been helping to teach the Start Smart classes for the about two years. "I have been in Tehama County for a lot of years and have watched a lot of kids grow from toddlers to adults," Tehama, Coun- ty Sheriff Dave Hencratt said. "Knowing I have helped keep these kids safe has been one of the most satisfying parts of my career in law enforce- ment. This program helps educate our youth and their parents on just how easy it is to die behind the Deer hunting tags in the B Zones now sold out The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) advises hunters that tags for a popular deer hunting zone in northern California are sold out. Although Archery Only (AO) tags are still available for purchase and use in the B zones, no general season tags will be available for hunting within the B zones for the balance of the hunting season. The B zones are located in northwest California and include all or part of the counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Glenn, Tehama, Shasta, Trinity and Siskiyou. While the general deer hunting season within the B-4 zone is closed, areas within the B-1 through B-3, and B-5 and B-6 are still currently open. Check the DFG mammal hunting regulations for specific season closure dates at www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/deer/tags/docs/2011WE B-APPROVEDDeerZoneSeasons.pdf. For the 2011 deer season, the Fish and Game Commis- sion approved a quota of 35,000 tags for the B zones, as recommended by DFG staff. That represented a reduction of about 2,000 tags from the total sold for the B zones the previous year. The primary reason for the recommenda- tion was that objectives for hunter success have not been reached in the B zones for many years. Hunter success objectives of 12-15 percent in zones B-1 through B-6 have only been met once in the last eight years. It is not expected that the current lower quota in the B zones will result in a dramatic increase in hunter success compared to past years. However, it is a modest reduction in tags compared to the number sold in recent years and should increase the likelihood that DFG's objectives for hunter success will be met. California residents who wish to hunt in the state must purchase a hunting license and species-specific tags and permits as required by law. A first deer tag costs $29.16 and a second is $36.21. Licenses and tags can be pur- chased at local DFG license offices or online at www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/ols/ and must be carried at all times in the field. More information about hunting in California is at www.dfg.ca.gov/hunting/. wheel of a car or to be responsible for the death of a friend, It is our hope that this knowledge will help keep our children safe during a very danger- ous time of their lives." The free "Start Smart" class for new drivers will be held 6-8 p.m. on Oct. 26 at the Sheriff Depart- ment Office, 22840 Ante- lope Blvd. "Start Smart" classes help educate new teenage drivers and their parents on what can kill teens at the start of their driving careers* It also provides teaching tech- niques and intervention tactic ideas to parents. "By educating teens and their parents together, we provide a starting point and ideas for par- ents to best mold young drivers into safe drivers," Garr said. "A one-time class helps but teens need consistent follow up and guidance from people who care and personally involved in their driving career." Topics of discussion for the class include the responsibilities of driving a motor vehicle, the pri- mary causes of accidents, seat belt use, cell phone and texting laws and pro- visional license laws per- taining to young drivers. Interspersed throughout the class are real life experiences and stories shared by officers that help drive home the over- arching theme of the class: Driving is a serious responsibility and must be treated as such. Those attending the class should be accompa- nied by a parent or guardian. Interested par- ties should call Red Bluff CHP office at 527-2034 to reserve a place in the class. Expiration dates matter for some medications DEAR DOC- TOR K: My hus- band refuses to throw out pills that are past their expiration date. I think this is dan- gerous. I hope you'll convince him to clean out his medicine cab- inet! DEAR READ- Dr. K by Anthony L. Komaroff, M.D. ER: I understand your concern. But you may be able to cut your husband a little slack about his pills. Believe it or not, there is relatively little scien- tific data about outdated medication. As pills get older, it's fair to ask two questions about them: Do they lose their strength, and do they become toxic or harm- ful? There is little evi- dence that outdated med- ications are toxic or harmful. However, some drugs do lose their poten- cy, or effectiveness, over time. The most notable is nitroglycerin, which should be replaced every six months. The epineph- rine in EpiPens also loses its potency past its expi- ration date. In addition, liquid drugs are less stable than tablets or powders. Liq- uid drugs include oral suspensions and solu- tions and injectable products. Most drugs, however, retain their strength past their expiration dates. In one study, for example, researchers tested 96 dif- ferent drugs stored in their original containers. They found that more than three-quarters of these drugs would remain stable for nearly five years beyond their expiration dates. And a study of two anti- influenza drugs found that these drugs remained fully active after 25 years of storage! Drug companies gen- erally give their products an expiration date two to three years from the date they're manufactured. Then, your pharmacist labels your bottle with an expiration date that's usually one year from the day your prescription is filled. So the expiration date you see on your pill bottle is usu- ally sooner than the expiration date the drug company has assigned your pills. Expiration dates shouldn't really matter with a medicine you get just once, treating a tem- porary problem — like taking an antibiotic for strep throat, for example. You should swallow the last medicine long before its expiration date. And they shouldn't matter for a medicine that you are supposed to take regularly for a chronic problem, such as to keep your blood pres- sure normal. Such medi- cine should never have an expiration date that already has passed. Unless, of course, you haven't been taking your medicine as prescribed. Then you do have a prob- lem, but it's not with the expiration date. Expiration dates should be an issue only when you have a medi- cine for a recurring, tem- porary problem. I'm thinking of a strong pain pill for back pain that flares up from time to time, for example, or an antibiotic for a recurrent urinary tract infection. Remember that the favorable results I men- tioned apply to medica- tions that have been stored properly. Always keep your drugs in a cool, dry place in their original containers. Never take a drug that looks, smells or tastes funny. And discard med- ications you no longer need. A tidy medicine chest will reduce the risk of errors. Dr. Komaroff is a physician and professor at Harvard Medical School. Go to his website to send questions and get additional information: www.AskDoctorK.com. Recycle The Warmth Yes, I can help! Who do you know that needs a coat? Yourself? Children? Grandchildren? Mother or Father? Neighbor? Homeless? Friend? Co-worker? Elderly? C ome to: Bethel Church, 625 Luther Rd., Saturday, Nov. 12th 8:00am to 12 noon Help us get the word out. Every year the Daily News associates have sponsored a warm clothing/soup kitchen giveaway. It is our way of saying " we care about others". Clothing, blankets and food will be available for all. Please help us pass the word to families and individuals that would benefit from this event. If you would like to donate, bring your gently used: • BLANKETS • COATS • HATS • SCARVES • WINTER CLOTHING, to the Daily News, 545 Diamond Ave. We will be accepting items until Nov.11th. This event is open to any family or individual in need of winter clothing. THANK YOU Senia Owensby Getting the word out about Recycle The Warmth. Setting up night before giveaway, Nov. 11th. Roving help during giveaway. Tearing down afterward, boxing up, cleaning up. Transporting leftover items back to Daily News. We Also Need: Clothes racks of any size Trash/Leaf - sized bags Your own unique skill or talent Name Phone # E-mail Senia Owensby Daily News, 545 Diamond Ave. Call 527-2151, (DailyNews), 526-2173, (cell), or e-mail production@redbluffdailynews.com wowensby@gmail.com 3B Pl The greatest needs each year are for X-Lar sincerely appreciate everyone' g e warm clothes. We sizes and Children' s participation. s ease r e t u r n t h i s f o r m t o