Good afternoon to everyone in DCNR.

This Director’s report is a couple of days early this month due to some important news concerning the upcoming flu season. Please read the information below carefully and stay healthy as we enter the fall and winter (and flu) seasons.

A look at the flu season: prevention and recovery

As the typical fall through winter flu season gets underway, there will be, as always, several strains of flu circulating, including the newer strain known as H1N1.

Medical experts with the State Health Division recently provided information about the upcoming flu season to representatives of various state agencies. The message from these experts is that H1N1 presents symptoms differently in everyone. They may range from mild to moderately severe and are basically the same symptoms as other flu strains: fever/chills, cough/sore throat, body aches, runny nose, headache, vomiting, fatigue, etc.

What these medical professionals have stressed most is simple personal hygiene. Here are a few of the points they focused on:

• Nothing replaces washing your hand under warm running water. Viruses are killed by heat and a thorough job of washing your hands is your best defense. It was stressed that an individual needs to wash for a lengthy period of time (suggestions were to say the alphabet or singing a favorite song all the way through), washing under nails and making sure wrists are included in the process.
• Hand sanitizers are a convenient addition to personal hygiene, but should not be a replacement for hand washing. It is also advisable to keep your hands off of your face as much as possible.
• Routine cleaning at home and work with any common sanitizing wipes is beneficial as viruses can live anywhere between two and 8 to 12 hours on hard surfaces. Areas you commonly touch are recommended to be wiped once or twice daily.
• Using common sense by covering your mouth when you sneeze, or sneezing into your own sleeve, will help halt the spread of all seasonal illnesses. It is also important to honor the personal space of those around you.

Discussions about the upcoming H1N1 vaccines are common and this is what the health officials shared at this point:

• At the upcoming health fairs sponsored by the state, the H1N1 vaccine will not be available. However, seasonal flu vaccinations will be available. In addition, communities throughout Nevada also offer other opportunities to access regular flu shots.
• The DCNR Director’s Office is not aware of any plan calling for vaccination of all state workers. Even when the vaccine becomes available, priorities have been established by public health officials that focus on specific target groups primarily by age and underlying conditions.

Equally important in controlling the spread of any flu virus is for employees to simply stay home when they are ill. So if you feel sick, this is what the state experts have recommended:

If you have symptoms and even think you have the flu, let your supervisor know and STAY HOME, except to get medical care.

• Do not return to work until you are fever-free (or off of fever medications) for at least 24 hours.
• Stay hydrated, get lots of rest and seek medical care if you feel it is needed.
• The incubation period for all flu strains is 24-48 hours after exposure. If you are providing care, keep your distance as much as possible and practice good hygiene as described above.
• It is possible to get ill separately from both a seasonal flu strain and the H1N1 strain during a single flu season.
• As a note, the state health care experts are not recommending the use of protective masks.

Individual situations will be dealt with by your supervisor or agency management. Questions of leave time, work product deadlines, etc., need to be addressed to your supervisor should you fall ill with the flu. As the flu season progresses, experts advise that testing may not extend to every case, so there is a chance you may never know what strain of the flu you experienced.

The department has a dedicated team in place to address the flu outreach efforts. They are Kay Scherer, department deputy director, Bob Conrad, department public information officer, and Linda Mulkey, department safety committee chair. These three are joined by five department staff members: Anke Simpson, Debi Harvey, Audrey Brooks-Scott, Teri Hack and Bonnie Kordonowy. These individuals will help track absenteeism trends resulting from the flu season and help advise department and division management as needed.

As a final note, the State of Nevada has created two Web sites with information, one within the Health Division and one within the Department of Personnel. These sites are updated regularly and are a great source of additional information.

Jungo landfill Web site created

Recent news coverage has focused on the proposed Jungo landfill outside of Winnemucca. The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection is responsible for issuance of the environmental permits for the site; specifically permits for air pollution control and solid waste. Per federal and state law, if the company proposing the site, Recology, meets state and federal standards and requirements, the permits must be issued.

By statute, the State of Nevada has no jurisdiction over zoning or land use. Local governments are responsible for these approvals. Additional public information regarding the proposed landfill site can be found at the NDEP Web site:

http://ndep.nv.gov/jungo/index.htm
http://ndep.nv.gov/jungo/jungo_press.htm

State Lands assists with junk car removal from Carson River

The Nevada National Guard used a helicopter training exercise to airlift rusty junk cars from the Carson River that have lurked for years below the water surface, threatening the safety of whitewater rafters, kayakers and marring the river’s natural beauty. A CH-47 Chinook helicopter flew over several miles of the river downstream from the Deer Run Road Bridge and plucked out 20 vehicles illegally dumped in the river that could not be removed from shore. The aircraft deposited the cars at an onshore site to be hauled away for recycling and/or disposal. More…

United Way

The State of Nevada’s annual United Way fundraising campaign will begin on Monday, October 5. The state’s goal is to raise $90,000 for an organization state employees have supported for years. In addition to individual voluntary pledge cards, some buildings or groups in the department are planning fundraising events. I would like to thank Christi Latragna of the Division of State Parks for being DCNR’s representative on the statewide committee.

Be healthy and have a great October.

Allen