President Damon welcomed us at 7:15am.  Thanks to our Greeter, KJ.    Bob is our greeter next week. Ross is today’s scribe followed by Jerry on the 24th and Diane on the 31st.  This day in history:
1990 - Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) eliminates homosexuality from the list of psychiatric diseases.
 
2004 - Massachusetts becomes the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage
 
1973 - Watergate scandal: Televised hearings begin in the United States Senate.
 
Upcoming Guest Speakers: 5/17 - Sandy Ladd; 5/24 - Turner; 5/31 - Jim M.; 6/7 - Michelle
 
Not In attendance: The members who did not attend.   
Guest Speaker –  Alexis Chesney of Sojourns Community Health Clinic spoke about tick born disease and prevention.  Sojourn is a Children’s Community Health Clinic.  Key is prevention.  The history started in Lyme CT where they saw a lot of cases juvenile arthritis.  Lyme disease is a great imitator – symptoms present in many ways.  Common is joint pain, headaches and fever.  Then becomes neurological – neuralgia, nerve pain, psychiatric illness.  Lyme disease is difficult to diagnose and treat.  Started in Long Island but has spread all over the country though concentrated on the eastern part of the US.  Some of this is by bird migration.  Vermont is seeing a lot of Lyme disease and a spread of ticks – large increase over the past few years.  Warmer winters hurt because it takes temperatures of at least minus 20 Fahrenheit to kill ticks.  Ticks become active at 28 degrees Fahrenheit.  Without cold winters, people can potentially get bit all year long. 
Lyme disease incidences in the US:  #1 state is Vermont (2015 statistics).  This is per capita.  Thirty thousand cases of Lyme disease were reported in 2013 this could possibly be only 10% or less of all cases.  It could be as high as twelve million not including misdiagnosis since it masks as other things.  It is quite an epidemic.  Incidence within Vermont – Bennington County is number one and Windham county is number two (2015).  Vermont Department of Health report that there are 13 species of ticks in the state; five of which bite humans.  Black legged deer tick is the main culprit and carrier of Lyme disease.
Black legged tick deer tick carries Lyme disease.  They are reservoirs of the disease and they spread the illness.  When engorged, they get bigger.  They typically bite and stay on their victim for three to five days then fall off.  The way to identify the type of tick is to look at dorsal shield.  It may be very hard to identify; you need to carefully inspect the between the legs.  There is a solid black shield on the deer tick.  Dog tick shields are greyish/whiteish.  Ticks carry multiple tick-borne diseases.  Ticks from different areas carry different diseases.  You can contact tickreport.com – at UMass Amherst – and can send ticks there to get examined.  49% of deer ticks carry Lyme disease.
Prevention - #1 is to do tick checks every night.  Do all over – make sure to check moist damp warm places – you know where these are on your body!  Can get lost in hair so check carefully.  The sooner you find the tick, the better.  #2 is to use tick repellent such as DEET.    Cedar Oil is the best and is 100% effective.  Very safe.  Can get it at Sojourn.  It repels and kills.  Put on before you go out and reapply as needed as it doesn’t last all days.  Permethrin is something that you should put on shoes if out where ticks are hiding.  Can use this on your clothes as well.  It is very toxic so be careful.
She reviewed the options if you do have a tick bite.  There are homeopathic choices.  For your land, use the Cedar product to spray on your lawn or your perimeter.  Ticks love where there are land transitions e.g. woods to meadow.  They also like places like leaf piles.  You can use tick tubes – tubes with cotton with Permethrin and mice take cotton to their nests.  Ticks tend to go to mice nests so this can be very effective.  Be very careful in pulling a tick off.  The more you upset it, the more it may regurgitate back into the bite area.  Best to twist it off, don’t burn.  Different opinions on how long a tick can be on you transmit Lyme disease.  Can be at 6 hours or longer.  Other diseases can transmit quicker.  Tip – if bitten, put on calendar to track.  Look for fever, flu symptoms, muscle or bone pain.  Happens usually three to thirty days after a bite.  Call Sojourn for more information.
Junior Rotarians – Evelyn, Natalie, Davie, Shoshanna
Student Rotarians –  From BUHS: Christol Long and Jack Spanierman.  Graduation is right around the corner.  Trying to get sashes for National Honor Society members to wear at graduation.  They are selling raffle tickets.  Money is also for general funds.  Tomorrow is youth government day.
 
Announcements
Josh – Friday is Camp for a Common Cause.  Need help so show up and help.  Grilling is 5:30pm to 8:30pm.  Saturday there is another disk golf green-up.  8am to noon.
Coffee shop is open.
Brewers Fest is on the 27th.
Green Mountain clean up on the 10th.
Birthdays –  Sandy Ladd was serenaded by the Birthday Singers
Cards
Three of heats –  KJ was the winner.
No Bowl of Life, Brags or Four Way Test
Adjourned at 8:30am.