OCR Text |
Show SOUTHERN UTAH NEWS WEDNESDAY MAY 24, 2000 Community Shell offers 10 tips for safer Memorial Day travel Memorial Day is fast approaching, which means millions of motorists will be hitting the road as America ushers in the start of the summer travel season. And with more and more vehicles jockeying for position on the nations heavily traveled highways this holiday weekend, the need for safety has never been greater. The fact is, driving smart and safe can be simple. All it takes is a little know-hoThats Oil Shell Company has why of compiled a list tips designed to help drivers avoid accidents and make sure this Memorial Day weekend is as safe and enjoyable as possible. These tips are taken from the Count On Shell series of safety booklets, which address six specific driving issues: hazards on the road; driving with children; how to handle an accident; keeping safe while driving alone; keeping safe during roadside emergencies, and how to safely share the road w. easy-to-follo- w with trucks, trains and motorcycles. The booklets are avail- able at more than 9,000 Shell stations in 39 states, or can be obtained by calling or by visiting Shells web site: www.countonshell.com. So this Memorial Day, take a tip from the experts. Better yet, take all 10 of them. Its the better, smarter, safer way to d it will keep you prepared for just about anything you go-an- We're your Best Friends might encounter down the road. the greater the protection. 6. If you come upon an acci1. If your tire blows out, dont slam on the brakes. You dent, pass well beyond the could lose control completely. scene and out of harms way. 7. If emergency crews are Instead, take your foot off the gas and concentrate on staying racing to a crash ahead of you, in your lane. Slow down gradu- pull over to let them safely ally and pull off the road to a pass. And dont assume the first ambulance or police car safe location. 2. If your car starts to skid, you see will be the only one. take your foot off the gas pedal Watch for other emergency and turn the steering wheel in vehicles following closely bethe direction you want the front hind the first. 8. Prevent driver fatigue on of the car to go. 3. If youre involved in an long trips by: Avoiding night travel, as accident, stay calm, move out of traffic and find a safe place the glare of the lights outside to wait for the police and emer- and from the dashboard ingency crews. Sometimes the creases the chance of highway safest place to be is in your car. hypnosis; Warn other motorists by turnKeeping the car temperature raison and flashers cool; your ing hood and or Snacking frequently, and trunk, ing your watch for traffic, fire and wires. Taking frequent breaks. 9. To help avoid being cut off, Also, turn off the ignition of all make sure youre not driving in vehicles. 4. When transporting chil- another drivers blind spot. dren, always use seatbelts. Glance into their rearview mirProperly used, child safety belts ror. If you cant see their face, are life preservers. They re- assume they cant see you. 10. When following trucks, duce the risk of death to infants by 69 percent, and that of dont tailgate. Trucks typically toddles by 47 percent. More cant see anything less than 30 than 1,000 children die every feet behind the trailer. Stay 100 year because they are pot buck- to 250 feet back or follow the d led in. rule; If you pass the 5. The safest place in the car same fixed point as a truck before reaching the count of four, for children is the back seat cenin the center, if you have youre following too closely. And ter belts and in an appropri- when passing a truck, change ate vehicle seat. The general lanes only when you can see rule is that the greater the dis- both of the trucks headlights in tance from the point of impact, your rearview mirror. Hoarding animals: A human disorder By Faith Maloney Doris had been dead for about two days before they found her. As the paramedics opened the door, the powerful stench of cat droppings hit them like a wall. Panicked cats were flying everywhere throughout the house; piles of cat waste and old empty food containers lay all around the floors. After the paramedics removed Doris body, they called the sheriff, who then called me to come and help remove the cats. had seen stories about people like Doris on the news, but this was the first time I I was to see the full effects of a mental condition known as animal hoarding. The cats were frightened and hostile. There was no food in evidence, and the only water was coming from a leaky kitchen faucet. My team and I set about with nets and carriers to catch the cats and kittens and get them the help they four-secon- needed. the time we finished the we had removed 56 cats job, and kittens from the house. Fortunately most of them went on to find new homes. The feral ones continue to live at East By Friends. I dont know how Doris started collecting cats. But experts tell us that animal hoarding is a mental health disorder related to obsessive-compulsiv- e disorder. Most hoarders are middle-age- d or older women living alone. Often the animal ofchoice is the cat - its easier to keep cats indoors, out of the prying eyes of neighbors. In the end, there may be hundreds of cats crammed into ahouse or trailer. Some animal hoarders start Kane County Dental Group PERSONALIZED & COMFORTABLE Ask us about our new orthodontic procedures, with new techniques that decrease treatment time up to 40! Call today for a consult with Dr. John Armstrong. with good intentions. But gradually the animals lose their identities, becoming ob- K. John Armstrong DDS Robert Gibson DDS Larry Staples DDS Nileen Whitlock RDH In Call now for an appointment 435-644-41- 81 355 N. Main Street Kanab, UT 84741 6 ! jects to be collected, like old magazines. Removing the animals is not enough; unless the perpetrators receive professional help, they often just move. to a new location and start all over again. Not everyone who ends up with too many animals is a hoarder. There is a big difference between a rescuer whose situation is getting out of control and an animal hoarder, using animals to feed her compulsion. I have met numerous caring animal lovers who have rescued more animals than they can cope with at home and who have found themselves in trouble. They are not sick people. Take Karen, for example. She came across a large group of uncared for feral cats in a busy downtown area. She and a friend trapped the cats, got them fixed and vaccinated, returned the adults to the colony, and set up daily feeding schedules. She kept the kittens at her home to tame them and make them ready for adoption. An excellent plan. But, along the line, things started to get out of hand. Karen brought in some adult cats who needed special care. One of them began spraying; then others followed suit. Karens husband began to see their investment in a beautiful home going down the drain. They both realized that something needed to be done for the sake of their marriage and for the cats. They looked for solutions, starting with a cattery for the sprayer and his friends, and began working with local animal groups to place some cats in new homes. If you recognize yourself or anyone else in any of this, then its time to stop and think and find some help. A slower, steady course of care will help more in the end by preventing burnout and disasters. To really help animals, we need to be healthy in mind and body. As in all things in life, balance is |