Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 136, Number 26, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 28 June 2018 — Page 6

Page A6

• Advance News • Thursday, June 28, 2018

Bremen Post of ISP announces promotion

MARSHALL COUNTY - Indiana State Police Superintendent Douglas Carter announced the promotion of Trooper Patrick O'Keefe to Sergeant, where he will serve as a pilot in the Indiana State Police Aviation Section. Sergeant O'Keefe grew up in Bremen, where he graduated from Bremen High School in 2006. O'Keefe went on to attend Indiana University - Bloomington

and Indiana University - South Bend, where he graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice in 2010. O'Keefe received his commission to the United States Army from the University of Notre Dame ROTC and served in the National Guard from 2005 - 2009, where he became Airborne Infantry. O'Keefe went on to become commissioned as an Officer in Aviation in 2010. He completed Army Right School in 2013 before being deployed to the Middle East in 2015, where he served as a Platoon Leader in an Air Assault Company flying UH6O Blackhawks. O'Keefe is currently assigned as the Company Commander for the LUH - 72 Lakota Security and Support Company out of Shelbyville. O'Keefe graduated from the 70th Indiana State Police Recruit Academy in March of 2011, where he was assigned to the Bremen Post. O'Keefe has patrolled in Marshall and Elkhart Counties and has worked with the All Crimes Policing Team. As an Indiana State Police Pilot Sergeant, O'Keefe will be responsible for planning and directing maintenance of department aircraft as well as ensure safe and efficient operation of department aircraft. He will conduct transportation flights for state and department personnel, and will also assist other agencies with air support and conduct routine flight patrols.

That ‘Living Will’ you signed? at the ER, it could be open To inteipretation. "Don't resuscitate this patient; he has a living will," the nurse told Dr. Monica Williams-Murphy, handing her a document. Williams-Murphy looked at the sheet bearing the signature of the unconscious 78-year-old man, who'd been rushed from a nursing home to the emergency room. "Do everything possible," it read, with a check approving cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The nurse's mistake was based on a misguided belief that living wills automatically include "do not resuscitate" (DNR) orders. Working quickly, Williams-Murphy revived the patient, who had a urinary tract infection and recovered after a few days in the hospital. Unfortunately, misunderstandings involving documents meant to guide end-of-life decision-making are "surprisingly common," said Williams-Murphy, medical director of advance-care planning and end-of-life education for Huntsville Hospital Health System in Alabama. But health systems and state regulators don't systematically track mix-ups of this kind, and they receive little attention amid the push to encourage older adults to document their end-of-life preferences, experts acknowledge. As a result, information about the potential for patient harm is scarce. A new report out of Pennsylvania, which has the nation's most robust system for monitoring patient safety events, treats mix-ups involving end-of-life documents as medical errors a novel approach. It found that in 2016, Pennsylvania health care facilities reported nearly 100 events relating to patients' "code status" their wish to be resuscitated or not, should their hearts stop beating and they stop breathing. In 29 cases, patients were resuscitated against their wishes. In two cases, patients weren't resuscitated despite making it clear they wanted this to happen. The rest of the cases were "near misses" problems caught before they had a chance to cause permanent harm. Most likely, this is an undercount, said Regina Hoffman, executive director of the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, adding that she was unaware of similar data from any other state.

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Community

Hope comes in many colors

by Amy Lant-Wenger Editor WAKARUSA - Just this past week, the summer solstice came to pass. It was on Thursday, June 21, the first official day of summer. And it's what many call "the longest day," because there are more hours of sunlight on that day than at any other time of the year. But for those living with, or taking care of, a loved one with Alzheimer's, "the longest day" has taken on an entirely different meaning. It's a seemingly endless cycle of a world where the past can be the present, and the present can vanish in an instant. Time becomes irrelevant to those suffering with Alzheimer's, for they may only know what was real long ago. Tereasa Cox, a whimsical artist who currently resides in Wakarusa, knows something about that sentiment. Cox lost her beloved mother, Sandra "Soni" Bartman to the disease on November 24, 2015. Bartman was 78 years old. Since then, Cox has been on a personal crusade to raise funds to continue the research and treatments for an incredibly devastating illness that robs those afflicted of their memories, their sense of current day happenings, and their recognition of once familiar faces and places. So Cox chose a special day,

Invasive European poison hemlock now found in all 92 Indiana counties, says Purdue forester

Poison hemlock, an invasive species native to Europe, has been rapidly exploding in the area according to Purdue Extension Forester Ron Rathfon. Extremely dangerous and even deadly to both humans and livestock, the plant has become a problem in the region within the last few years. Originating in Europe, the plant was initially brought to the United States as a garden plant because of its attractive flowers, according to the U.S Department of Agriculture. It is a biennial plant, meaning it takes two years to complete its life cycle. Rathfon said the invasive plant is spread by its seeds and can be found along roadsides, streams, ditches and throughout crop fields. Populations of this plant have been established

Land trusts offer future

MUNCIE - State parks across the country have a long history of providing natural preservation for education and recreation. In Indiana, parks like Eagle Creek in Speedway and Turkey Rim in Marshall are among the more wellknown areas set aside for preservation. But less-er-known land trusts are also helping to retain the state's natural beauty for generations to come.

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"the longest day" of June 21, to host a series of painting parties in Wakarusa. It was Cox's way of teaching others to appreciate the joy of painting, the splendor of creation, and the notion that hope comes in many colors. Cox, who has given her business the charming moniker of "Aunt T's Art," sponsored three separate sessions at the Comer Case in Wakarusa, with the ultimate goal of raising money for Alzheimer's awareness, treatment, and hopefully someday, a cure. The morning session was patterned after a "Coffee and Canvas" format, and the afternoon group was comprised of children creating an animated design called "Fish Lips," in which parents were welcome to participate as well. The early evening group focused on a newer technique of painting that Cox has recently embraced, known as "pour painting." Those artists went away with a set of case coasters at the end of the session. Cox is also the coordinator of an Alzheimer's and Dementia Caregiver Support Group that meetings monthly at the Nappanee Public Library. Although there is no upcoming session for July, the group will reconvene in August. For more information about Tereasa's work in artistry, Alzheimer's, or both, contact her at 574-354-7900.

in every county in Indiana according to Rathfon. County Highway Superintendent Steve Berg said the department has implemented . program to help eliminate poison hemlock in the area. The department begins spraying to kill the species in early spring along county roads in the area that are within the department's right of way. The department's weed board will meet Tuesday to discuss poison hemlock in the county and what landowners can do about it. So what makes the plant poisonous? According to Rathfon, the plant contains a group of highly poisonous alkaloid compounds, which are deadly to humans and animals. The Indiana Department of Natural Resourcessays that all parts of poison hemlock are poisonous, including the

Unlike state parks, which are funded through local and state taxes as well as admission, land trusts acquire tracts most often through easement rights, essentially working with landowners to keep untouched land from being developed. "If s all about setting aside land for nature's sake and for the future generation," said Julie Borgmann, executive director at the Red-tail Land Conservancy.

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Photos courtesy of Tereasa Cox The afternoon class of children in Tereasa Cox's recent painting party proudly present their interpretations of a artisan masterpiece known as "Fish Lips." Cox held a series of painting parties, in which she demonstrated techniques of art, in an effort to gather donations for Alzheimer’s research, a disease that claimed her mother in 2015.

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Tereasa Cox, also known to her loyal fans as "Aunt T," shows her students how to take on the process of 'pour painting" during one of her recent classes. From left are Shelly Newcomer and her daughter, Sam, and Kelsey Herr.

leaves, stems, fruit and roots. Fortunately, one cannot be harmed by mere touch; however, the consumption of the plant can be fatal. Symptoms as a result of ingestion can occur within 20 minutes and as late as three hours after consumption. Symptoms can include nervous trembling, salivation, dilation of the pupils, lack of coordination, rapid or weak pulse, respiratory paralysis, coma and eventually death. The invasive plant can be easily confused with wild carrot Daucus carota, or Queen Anne's Lace a look-alike, harmless plant. While both plants grow white flowers, poison hemlock grows many clusters of flowers in an umbrella shape, usually beginning in spring. The wild carrot produces one dense flower cluster later in the summer.

for Hoosier land owners

Borgmann's organization, based in Delaware County, protects more than 2,700 acres in east central Indiana, mostly through agreements with local farmers and large land owners who want to know their long-loved acreage will remain natural. As many farmers look at retirement, and fewer children are willing to take up the mantle of agriculture, some are working with land trusts to establish restrictive

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Poison hemlock can grow more than 8 feet high and has a hairless stem covered in purple spots. The wild carrot grows up to 3 feet tall and has a hairy stem. If you are to come across poison hemlock in your yard, on your farm, along the roadside or anywhere else, Rathfon advises to try and control the plant, if possible. It is easiest to control if it is still living in its first year, because it has not grown as tall and is closer to the ground. It can be controlled by spraying the plant with proper treatment. The plant can also be controlled by mowing it down before it begins to produce seeds. If you do mow the plant, be sure to wear protective clothing, gloves and eye protection.

deed liens. These easements legally ensure that, no matter who comes to own the land, it can't be used for certain purposes, such as mining or commercial development. The Red-tail Land Conservancy also retains the mineral, oil and logging rights to the land, guaranteeing it will not be stripped of its inherent natural beauty. Landowners still retain other rights, like living on the land and building small structures on it. Anyone offering their land to a trust can also apply for a significant tax incentive, usually about 30 percent of the land's assessment, because of the lost resale value they incur through the easement. "Most people have a really strong connection to the land," Borgmann said. "They are looking to who is going to take care of the land. People want to know that long after they are gone the land will be protected." Along with farmland, land trusts iso work to protect the state's forested areas. The Nature Conservancy, a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving land and water, recently added 360 acres to the Hoosier National Forest, in keeping with its charge to protect old-growth forest from invasive species.