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18 SPENCER NEW LEADER • Friday, October 1, 2010 State mandates training to reduce brain injuries BRAIN continued from page 1 number one priority, but it’s going to be hard to get these parents to take the test,” he said, citing parents’ schedules, possible language barriers and other concerns. Reaching the coaches, he said, is much easier — his goal is to have them take the online course by Oct. 1. Some have already done so, although Davis admitted computer problems stymied his own attempt to do it recently. “Football and head injuries, concussions — it’s a part of the game. It’s a major concern,” Davis observed. He said he couldn’t count how many such injuries he has seen in his 30 years of involvement with sports, but added, “I think I’ve seen my share of them. I’ve seen enough that [this law] is warranted.” He noted that <strong>Southbridge</strong> has outfitted its players with “revolutionary helmets” this year and started having a doctor and EMTs on the field at football games Sept. 10. At issue is the fact that blows to the head — and sometimes even blows that do not directly impact the head, but cause whiplash — can cause a wide range of problems that may not be immediately apparent. Depending on the severity and frequency of such blows, the damage can become permanent and sometimes even lethal. Although a concussed person may be briefly knocked unconscious, they often are not, and their symptoms take a while to manifest. Those can include headaches, memory trouble, moodiness, confusion, poor sleep and vomiting, among others. Most mild cases heal within a week or two, but doctors note it is very important to let the process take whatever time it takes (and the law requires a doctor or similar professional to approve in writing a player’s return to the game). According to the Traumatic Brain Injury pages at the University of Nebraska — Lincoln website (tbi.unl.edu), such new injuries have a chance of being lethal even days or weeks afterward. Such deaths are impossible to predict and most common among junior or senior high school athletes, “however, any athlete who returns to play too soon is a possible candidate.” “A second blow to the head, even if it is a minor one, can result in a loss of auto regulation of the brain’s blood supply,” the site states. “Loss of autoregulation leads to brain swelling. This results in increased intracranial pressure and leads to herniation of the brain. The average time from second impact to brainstem failure is quite rapid, taking two to five minutes.” That’s a rare but catastrophic event; far more common is what’s called “dementia pugilistica” or “Boxer’s syndrome,” in which repeated head injuries cause longterm brain and neurological damage. Such a condition can occur in many sports, not just boxing. That kind of long-term risk is why Davis argues the law is too narrow. To him, independent youth sports leagues and cheerleading should be included even though the Mass. Interscholastic Athletic Association doesn’t technically consider cheering a sport. “Why not? They’re being thrown around and tumbled around, and they’re not even wearing helmets,” Davis said about cheerleaders. “… It should be across the board. If you get hit enough in youth sports, you might not even be able to play in high school.” The state Department of Public Health is in charge of drafting any regulations related to this law. According to DPH spokesman Julia Hurley, the online training was designed by the National Federation of Coaches, and although cheerleaders are exempt, the agency recommends their participation. “The key take away message from this law is, if a kid suffers a head injury in practice or competition, they MUST be taken out of the game and not return until they receive medical clearance,” Hurley stated in e-mail. “DPH is working with the MIAA, the Mass Medical Society, and the Trainers’ Association, among others, to develop return to play protocols that we expect to complete by the end of this calendar year.” The department’s letter to school districts notes two places people can find the training: http://www.nfhslearn.com/elective Detail.aspx?courseID=15000 and www.cdc.gov/Concussion. Independent sports groups are also exempt, but Spencer Soccer Club President Joe White thinks they shouldn’t be. To him, any effort to reduce the chances and effects of injuries is beneficial. “We have the same players playing for the school as for the town. The only difference is the organization,” he said, later adding he’d require his players to participate in his club’s training session even if they have already taken it through the school or some other sports group. “It might be overkill, but in all honesty I’d rather sit through it three times than not at all,” White said. “… That way you know everybody had it, and no one falls through the cracks.” As one of the law’s sponsors, State Rep. Paul Kujawski, D- Webster, said the Legislature recognizes there are still some unresolved issues, but supporters felt it was important enough to get something in place before the sports season started this fall to promote greater safety. “We had to begin somewhere, and eventually we’ll amend it and expand it,” Kujawski said. Acknowledging the difficulty that’s likely in reaching some parents, he added the legislators were mostly concerned about making sure coaches “know and can see what’s going on.” The bill was filed by Sen. Stephen Baddour, D-Methuen, and Kujawski said he signed on after seeing something on TV in which several sports figures talked about the detrimental long-term effects such injuries had had on their lives. One was wrestler Chris Nowinski, who Kujawski said “had a career where he was very wealthy, and now he has dementia, has fallen into a severe state of depression, contemplated suicide and is nowhere in life.” Nowinski’s entry on Wikipedia notes he suffered post-concussion symptoms for a year after a wrestling match in Hartford, prompting his retirement. He later started the Sports Legacy Institute, which supports research into an injury-induced degenerative condition called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. According to the Aug. 18 New York Times, Boston University researchers now theorize that N.Y. Yankees great Lou Gehrig and many others diagnosed with the disease that bears his name may actually have been suffering from CTE. Gehrig was known for “playing through injuries like concussions,” and had experienced several over many years in both baseball and football, the Times reported. Gus Steeves may be reached at (508) 909-4135, or by e-mail at gsteeves@stonebridgepress.com. Communities take part in DEA’s Drug Take-Back Day DRUGS continued from page 1 natural progression for me to want to get these drugs off the street … and not have people flush them down the toilet and damage the environment,” she said before the event. Afterward, she noted that the recycling center already had a line of cars awaiting entry when it opened, and observers later noted a “rainbow” of pills in the collection bin. Kaminski said the most common drug received was warfarin (a blood thinner commonly sold under the brand name Coumadin), and she was surprised to receive quite a bit of nitroglycerin (a heart medicine). That drug was the only one that commonly came in small glass bottles, “and its pills are so tiny you can hardly see them,” Kaminski said. “We were very surprised. I didn’t anticipate as many people participating as they did,” she said. “Some people came with garbage bags full.” Protecting the environment might seem like an odd interest for such an event, especially since the DEA’s focus is definitely on preventing diversion to illegal use. According to the agency’s August press release promoting the day, “medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are increasing at alarming rates, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.” According to data at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, that trend isn’t new. The site has a graphic showing how unintentional drug overdose deaths have taken on a “hockey-stick” growth rate over the last 40 years, exceeding 27,600 in 2007. (That figure, however, fails to distinguish between prescription and illegal drugs.) The site notes that “prescription or overthe-counter drugs used non-medically” cause an equal number of emergency room visits as do illegal drugs. Almost 58 percent of the first group has been cases involving opioid painkillers (including Oxycontin) or benzodiazapine sedatives. Leicester Police Chief James Hurley said his department encounters someone in possession of prescription drugs they shouldn’t have about once a week, and those cases often involve multiple drugs. To him, it is driven by several factors, including greater availability of drugs in general, often “pilfered” by youths from their parents’ legal supply. “I see us as a society that’s becoming more and more when we’re not feeling well, we want a pill,” he said. All too often, though, people don’t know what to do with those pills when the illness passes or the pills expire. Historically, it was common practice — and even encouraged — to just flush them, but studies in recent years have been shown that the pharmaceuticals are passing through sewer treatment plants and having a detrimental impact on Nature. This month’s Conservation Magazine, for example, includes an article on severe antibiotic-resistant infections that are killing aquatic mammals around the world. Researchers aren’t yet certain how they happen, but know there is a human connection. They’re becoming concerned some microbes could decimate endangered species and/or “jump back to land and sweep through human populations,” author Rebecca Kessler wrote. “Widespread use of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture has given rise to bacteria that are invulnerable to many drugs,” Kessler reported. “These resistant bacteria have started spilling into the environment and trickling into a variety of species … and a whopping 16 percent [of samples tested in a three-year study] were resistant to five or more [antibiotics]. The star of the show was found in a harp seal … that [microbe] was resistant to 13 out of 16 antibiotics tested.” The ecological impact of many drugs is poorly understood, but studies have found dozens of them in public water supplies and David Dore photo Leicester Recycling Coordinator Ruth Kaminski pours pills into a collection container during National Drug Take-Back Day Saturday, Sept. 25. rivers in small quantities. In some cases, they were flushed directly, as intact doses. In other cases, they passed through the person who took them and were not completely metabolized. And in still other cases, they ended up in landfills, but leached into groundwater. Hurley said Saturday’s plan was to give the drugs to the State Police, who would arrange for them to be burned. A page at the University of Arizona’s Water Center website notes that drugs in the water first became an issue in Germany in the 1990s, but that was largely because earlier observations by U.S. scientists of sewage sludge containing aspirin, caffeine and nicotine, and groundwater containing a cholesterol-lowering drug were ignored. Since then, the U.S. Geological Survey has launched a nationwide study of hundreds of water bodies to identify pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals and other manmade contaminants. Numerous links discussing that research are at http://toxics.usgs.gov/regional/emc.html; the first one listed (as of Friday, Sept. 24) detailed findings of antidepressants in fish, water and sediment up to 5 miles downstream from treatment plants. Gus Steeves may be reached at (508) 909-4135, or by e-mail at gsteeves@stonebridgepress.com. EXTERIOR HOUSE WASHING REMOVES HARMFUL: Mildew • Moss Algae • Oxidation • Dirt & Pollutants FROM: Vinyl • Aluminum • Wood Brick • Painted • Stained GREAT FOR: Before Paint Prep Cedar Restoration • Decks • Patios Stairs & Walkways • Foundations HI-TECH MOBILE WASH OF WORCESTER PLEASE CALL 1-800-696-4913 • 508-248-4638 FOR MORE INFORMATION OR FOR A FREE ESTIMATE 10% Senior Citizen Discount Allow Us To Use Our Skills To Make Your Home Even More Beautiful And Valuable
B Section INDEX Friday, October 1, 2010 Obituaries . . . . . . .B2 Calendar . . . . . . . .B3 Legal Notices . . . .B5-7 Real Estate . . . . .B8-9 Our Towns . . . . . .B10 Ware Adult Learning Center (413) 967-9902 or visit our new location at 23 West Main St. Cut & Split Firewood 2 Cord Minimum $ 175 Per Cord/Green DELIVERED Seasoned Wood $ 200 Per Cord T. Jepson & Son, LLC. 508-885-3037 • 774-272-3729 Est. 2001 The Pet Parlour DOG SPA 67 Maple St., Spencer, MA 01562 The Pet Parlour would like to thank its customers for 10 wonderful years of service. We enjoyed helping your pets look their best. However, we are sorry to say that we have closed. Again, we would like to thank our loyal customers for entrusting us with your pet’s care We would like to recommend the Gingham Dog in Charlton 508-248-6400 Open Mon-Sat by appointment 1205 Main St. Leicester 508-892-9276 208 West Main St. W. Brookfield 508-867-9567 99¢ HOUSE DRAFTS NORTH EAST ALE We Deliver Open 7 Days a Week: Mon. - Sun. 11 am - 10 pm 548 S. Main St. Webster 508-949-3409 OCTOBER SPECIALS BLT Grinder Small $ 1.99 Large $ 2.99 Sausage Pizza Small $ 3.99 Large $ 6.99 Haddock Dinners $ 7.95 Everyday Fall Mums are Ready!! 570 Summer St. Barre 978-355-4333 9´´ MUMS 4/$14 or $3.99 each 12” Patio Mums Reg. $12 99 Now 2/$25 00 239 Main St. Spencer, MA 01562 508-885-6956 Family Preventive Dentistry NEW PATIENTS ALWAYS WELCOME • Late evening hours • Sportsguards • Handicap accessible • Snoreguards • AED on premises • Invisalign • Implants restored • Bruxism/Grinding • Cosmetic Dentistry: Guards • Bonding • LASER Dentistry - • Veneers for cavities & gum • Crowns infections; • Whitening no novocaine Visit our Website: www.graceyoursmile.com Dresser Hill Ice Cream We also offer life transitions & emergency support services Made possible by The Literacy Project and a Ware River Valley Block Grant THE CLAM BOX Rt. 9, Brookfield • 508-867-2047 Big Portions, Great Prices! Wednesdays are Senior Discount Day Twin Lobster Dinners 19.99 while they last OPEN YEAR ROUND! Kids Meals Over 30 Lunch Items $6.99 & under everyday! Starting at $3.99 .99¢ Hamburgers • 4 Hotdogs $4 Desserts of Pumpkin the Month Ice Cream OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK! 11:30AM-8:00PM Buy 1 Get 1 Free Special Every Day! Homemade Soups Made Daily $1.99 Sundaes Daily We accept Visit us online! www. the heart of massachusetts .com Updated weekly! Ernie & Berts Tree Service Jeff Brunelle Cell: 1.508.331.0701 Office: 1.508.867.9917 45’ Aerial Lift • Chipping Excavator Services • Firewood Tree Removal • Etc… Fully Insured NOW TAKING FALL REGISTRATION ★ Classes for Ages 2 - Teen ★ Tumbling Classes ★ Birthday Parties ★ 8 Week Sessions ★ Aerobics ★ Competitive Programs TWISTERSGYMNASTICS.INFO 508-885-6810 117 Main Street, Spencer 1-508-753-7221 • www.alsoil.com Call Today for PRE-SEASON SPECIALS Locally Grown Holden 788 Main St. 508-829-4794 Prime Rib Dinner Join Us Friday Nights 4:00PM-8:00PM * Reservations Required Village Garden Centers SHREWSBURY Formerly Spag’s Garden Center Soup from the Hearth Queen-cut Prime Rib Roasted Potatoes & Vegetable Homemade Dessert Spencer 389 Main St. 508-885-3500 All for $ 19.95 Live Music! Theheartof massachusetts.com Cash in your closet TREASURES IN YOUR HOME WAYNE TUISKULA When a client calls me while they are in the process of cleaning out an estate, I advise them not to throw anything away before I see it. I have had to recover a wide variety of items from the trash that we were able to turn into cash for them. I’ve retrieved old postcards from the early 1900s, sports equipment from the 1930s and costume jewelry from the 1960s and earlier. In one case, there was some old clothing that the executor was going to throw away but we were able to sell the Victorian era clothing that brought the estate thousands of dollars. Our next auction will be a specialty auction where we will be selling antique clothing, vintage clothing, quilts, linens, textiles and buttons. An auction house like ours typically sells a wide variety of items from multiple estates at each auction. We typically sell everything from antique furniture, paintings, Sterling silver serving pieces and flatware to estate and costume jewelry, pottery, glassware and china. We also sell collectibles of all kinds, including 1960s or earlier baseball cards, comic books, vintage toys, advertising signs and posters. The estate that we are now handling belonged to a woman who was a collector and dealer of vintage clothing and textiles. There are enough items to warrant an auction with just her collection. We have run specialty auctions in the past when we have had a large collection to sell. We typically get a smaller number of bidders at a specialty auction but the bidding is competitive because all of the bidders are collectors or dealers of those particular items. As with any other antique or collectible, the reasons to collect it vary. There are so many options that collectors typically find a niche. I’ll give you a short overview of some of these areas. 1920 is generally accepted as the dividing line between antique and vintage clothing. As with most antiques and collectibles, the earlier examples are usually worth the most money. Clothing from the Civil War era and into the Victorian era late 19th century are very desirable, with pieces selling into the hundreds of dollars. Brightly colored 1960s clothing in good condition sells well. Collectors are always looking for something out of the ordinary. Campbell’s Soup offered a paper dress that was said to be inspired by Andy Warhol’s painting of the Campbell’s soup cans. We sold one at one of our auctions several years ago that brought about $400 even though it had some scratching and soiling. In rural America women were often making homespun cloth. Flax was grown and the fibers were collected. They were washed and carded and spun on a spinning wheel. The cloth could be used for linen, bedding or clothing. With the Industrial Revolution, material became more plentiful and cheaper and most people began to purchase cloth. Quilting is believed to have begun in ancient Egypt. Around the time homespun materials were falling out of favor quilting was becoming more widespread. Commercial materials were being produced for quilts and some of the scraps used in making clothing were used to make quilts. Quilt making adapted as it kept pace with the changing times in our nation’s history. Womenfolk.com “The Art of Quilting” offers a great amount of information on quilting and its history. During the Civil War quilts were sold to help support the troops and keep them warm. Log cabin quilts are made with a center shape, usually a square with strips sewn in sequence around the sides. “Womenfolk” states: “The 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition was a big event in Victorian society. One of the most popular exhibits was the Japanese pavilion with its fascinating crazed ceramics and asymmetrical art.” The photo that appears with this column is of a pre-Victorian dress that we will be offering at our clothing and textile auction. We will publish the selling price in a future column, or you can attend the auction to see what this and the other items sell for on Thursday, Sept. 30 at the Vernon Hill Post at 267 Providence St. in Worcester. Preview of the items begins at 1 p.m., and the auction is at 6 p.m.
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