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March 4, 2015 VOLU M E 5 4 | I S S UE 9 | 7 5 ¢
PikesPeakCourier.net T E L L E R C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
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Vaccines: why do they matter? County upsurge in pertussis, officials also recommend flu shot By Kaitlyn Pratt
Contributing writer As pertussis and the flu make their way around Teller County, health practitioners are emphasizing the importance of vaccinations. “We are working to vaccinate more individuals,” said Martha Hubbard from the Teller County Public Health Department. “It’s not a perfect science, but your odds are much better if you get the vaccines.” While there are a lot of bugs that like to make their way around this time of year, there is currently one infection that Teller County doctors are particularly concerned about. Teller County has recently had an upsurge in pertussis — more commonly known as whooping cough — cases. There have been eight documented cases of pertussis, but that number is not completely accurate, since not all cases are reported. The best defense against pertussis is to get the pertussis immunization, but even an immunized person who comes in contact with the illness has a small chance of catching it. Since the vaccines are not 100 percent protective, those who are not immunized can still spread it to a lot of other people. Dr. Boschert, the pediatrician at Moun-
Teller County health officials are recommending flu and pertussis vaccinations as the bugs make their way around the county. Photo by Kaitlyn Pratt tain View Medical Group said, “It takes 95 percent of the population being immunized to get that herd immunity.” Pertussis is a very contagious bacterial infection and is sometimes called the “hundred day cough” because the accompanying cough lasts about three months. While most adults are back to full health after a few months, pertussis can be deadly for infants who can’t manage such a long lasting cough. Pertussis starts out looking like an ordinary cold, which means that a person is most contagious before they even know that they have it. “The problem is you don’t know you have whooping cough when it starts, so you
can spread it to a lot of people,” said Dr. Boschert. The pertussis vaccine requires the initial shot followed by four boosters over a span of time starting when a child is 2 months old, and ending with the last booster when the child is between 4 and 6. Most of the reported cases of pertussis have been in young children who have either not been immunized, or have not yet had their booster shots. While pertussis is the biggest concern at the moment, health practitioners recommend keeping up with all of your immunizations, including the flu vaccine. “There is a lot going around,” said Mar-
tha Hubbard. “People don’t realize how many germs are carried around on a menu at a restaurant, or a door handle.” All of the pharmacies and doctor’s offices in Teller County offer the flu shot, and most places offer it for free. “Everyone should get the flu vaccine,” said Martha Hubbard. “It’s two fold. You get it to protect yourself, but you should also get it to protect others.” Children can’t get immunized against the flu until they are six months old, so those that are younger are not protected. Anyone older than 65 is also more susceptible to flu and other illnesses because they don’t have the same defenses. These groups of people rely on others to have their immunizations to prevent these illnesses from making their way around. While vaccines are the best bet for keeping these illnesses at bay, they do not always provide absolute protection. This year there was a bit of a mismatch with the flu vaccine. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention puts together a flu shot that protects against three or four different strains of flu based on which strains are predicted to cause an outbreak, but sometimes the current flu strain may end up having a variance, or may even mutate. “Go ahead and still get it,” said Martha Hubbard. “There are three strains that are covered by vaccine; one was off target but the other two were right on.” To dispel fears about the side effects of vaccinations she goes on to add, “It’s a killed vaccine. You can’t get the flu from a flu vaccine.”
Clocks go cuckoo! POSTAL ADDRESS
PIKES PEAK COURIER (USPS 654-460)
OFFICE: 1200 E. Highway 24 Woodland Park, CO 80863 PHONE: 719-687-3006 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Teller County, Colorado, the Pikes Peak Courier is published weekly on Wednesday by Colorado Community Media, 1200 E. Highway 24, Woodland Park, CO 80863. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT WOODLAND PARK, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210 Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 DEADLINES: Display: Thurs. 11 a.m. Legal: Thurs. 11 a.m. | Classified: Mon. 10 a.m. G ET SOCIAL WITH US
P L EA SE R ECYC L E T H I S C OPY
Personalities evident in timepieces By Pat Hill
phill@coloradocommunitymedia.com
G
allery of clocks and keeper of artistic treasures, the home of Ted Stoughton and Haddie Frost in Woodland Park rings with the sound of “cuckoo!” and the tinkling melody of a music box. Dancers twirling, water wheels turning, or a hunting scene with deer and antlers, each hand-carved, the gallery is of a time gone by, before digital replaced the romance of marking time with the song of a bird. “Antique clocks have such personality — if they could tell a story ...’” Stoughton said. Stoughton brings old clocks back to life, restores the mechanism as well as the story. More than a meticulous repair job, Stoughton’s work is a revival of family history narrated by an old clock, perhaps one stored away in a box. “There’s something wonderful about them,” Stoughton said. “One of the side benefits of my hobby is that I meet the most interesting people.” The mother-son team collaborates on sprucing up the clocks, he repairs while she puts on the finishing touches. “When the family looks at the clock keeping good time, sounding out the hours, they always think of that ancestor who owned the clock,” Stoughton said. “Besides being valuable antiques, clocks that have been in the family really cement the bond between generations.” Many of the clocks reflect the skill of artisans in the Black Forest area of Germany in the 18th and 19th centuries. “These woodcarvers were superb artists,” Stoughton said. “The idea of planned obsolescence never entered the mind of these old clocks.” Along with the German clocks, the home highlights clocks made in America, among them, the “gingerbread,” timekeeper crafted from walnut. “American makers would steam the wood and press the decorations into the wood,” he said. Stoughton enjoys a good story, particularly one that has a connection to American history. “When the nation was younger and railroads were making inroads across the nation, every depot would have a very good clock, because railroad time had to be accurate,” he said. “The master clocks were made by Connecticut clockmakers and were horribly expensive and extremely accurate, for the day.” Of the grandfather clock, Stoughton weaves another tale. “Technically, they’re called `tall case clocks,’ because they were weight-driven,” Stoughton said. “In 1875, there was a popular song called ‘My Grandfather’s Clock.’” The new name stuck. “From then on they were called ‘grandfather clocks,’” he said. Many of today’s expressions stem from clocks such as “all keyed up,” or “all wound up,” and “I’m in the swing of things,” Stoughton said.
This cuckoo clock was designed and crafted in the Black Forest area of Germany. It is one of dozens in the Woodland Park home of Haddie Frost and Ted Stoughton, who repairs old clocks. Photo by Pat Hill “Every clock has a story.” Stoughton discovered his talent for intricacies early on. “As a youngster I used to take pocket watches apart and put them back together,” he said. Admittedly, the household is filled with clocks, some with objects of art popping out on the hour and once on the half-hour. “You gotta be kind of cuckoo to enjoy the tick-tock sound at midnight, when the cuckoo comes out at midnight and sings 12 times,” he said.