Avenue of Flags
by Maralyn Fink
On Monday July 4th I visited the Cemetery to see the Avenue of Flags. Of course this was not my first trip. It brings me comfort to see the 200 plus flags waving and reminds me that behind each flag there is a Veteran who gave his or her life for the Freedom of our Country.
I have not donated my husband Brian’s flag as yet because I still view it in its case, and I am not ready to part with it. Maybe someday.
Maybe some people have seen this sight a few times, but for me it is something I must do whenever they are displayed because I am proud to be an American and I know the loss when a loved one has given that life for us.
I want to thank the men and women who volunteer their time to help place these flags and take them down. This is a lot of work, and I am thankful we have the people to do it.
Most cemeteries do not have a display of this kind, so that in its self is a reason to be proud.
This week’s Mystery Photo
Where is this?
Can you tell us where this is located? Drop us a line at mail@sjindy.com.
821 N. Clinton Ave.
The current owner is Victoria Bush. Previous owners include: Neva Padgett, Ralph Green, Stephen Fedewa, Mark White, and Michael and Karen Asher.
A Look Back – Dr. A. N. Sauders
Barry Clark Bauer
Dr A. N. Sauders, who has offices in St. Johns at 204 N. Oakland Street, has been elected to the six-man board of directors of the Michigan State Chiropractic Assn. He was named to the post at the annual meeting of the association last Wednesday in Lansing. His term on the board will run until 1970.
Benny and Jessie’s Pet Info – Why Dogs Lick and When to Worry
Dogs lick themselves, that’s a fact of life, but when does it get to be an issue? You may catch your pooch bathing daily to keep clean. This is an innate behavior in the animal kingdom. But there are times when licking can become excessive and can be a clinical sign of an underlying illness.
Allergies are the number one cause of excessive licking in dogs. Owners may note that their dog licks in between the toes (sometimes leading to staining of the fur due to enzymes in the saliva), they may lick and chew at their hind end and their inner thighs.
Environmental allergies are caused by dusts, danders, pollens, and other airborne particles which lead to build-up on the skin and fur of the dog and in turn cause itching. Allergies to flea bites and certain proteins in pet food can cause similar signs.
Cleaning your dog’s paws with doggie wipes or a warm washcloth after walks outside can help to decrease environmental allergens. Owners should seek veterinary attention for their dogs if the skin is changing color, if there are wounds, pimples, or crusts noted on the skin, if there is excessive scratching associated with the licking, and/or if fleas are seen.
Licking can also be a sign of nausea in some dogs. If your dog is licking abnormal places, such as the floors or the walls, or if your dog is licking his/her lips frequently, these can be a signs of gastrointestinal upset. Some dogs will also smack their lips or drool excessively when they feel nauseous.
If your dog is showing these signs and they last more than 24 hours, or if they are at all associated with vomiting, diarrhea, or lack of appetite, it is important to contact your veterinarian.
Addressing quality of life is the first step. There are shampoos that can help calm the itching as well as veterinary prescribed anti-histamines to keep your dog comfortable.
Your vet may also recommend some diagnostic tests, such as a fecal panel, blood testing, and/or x-rays, to rule out causes of belly upset. Your veterinarian can often prescribe or administer medications to help control and sometimes eliminate the nausea for your pet.
Dogs can also have behavioral causes of excessive licking, such as anxiety or a type of obsessive disorder where they over-groom themselves. Some studies have shown that the act of licking increases endorphins in the brain which calms the dog while it is licking. Loud noises, separation anxiety and/or change in environment can lead to this behavior.
It is important to intervene to lessen or stop this behavior before the dog licks off all of its fur (usually confined to one site on the body, such as a leg or the abdomen), which can lead to skin infection (hot spots) and acral lick granulomas (which are masses that occur secondary to chronic abrasion with the tongue and inflammation to the area). These infections and granulomas can be painful to the dog.
If there is trauma to the skin, your veterinarian will treat the skin infections and/or granulomas caused by the excessive licking and then determine if the licking is a medical disorder or something that can be alleviated with behavior training.
Diversion techniques can be instituted if your pet is over grooming. This entails close monitoring and side-tracking your dog when he starts to obsessively groom. Give him/her a favorite toy or treat to focus on, go for a walk, or even spend some quality time brushing your dog. This can help get his/her mind off of the compulsions.
If your veterinarian determines after examination (and possible diagnostic testing) that your dog is licking due to compulsive behavior or anxiety, there are some natural calming products that can be instituted. These include calming drops for the water, calming treats, pheromone collars, and thunder shirts. Very dilute apple cider vinegar can also be sprayed on the skin to deter licking but should be discussed with a veterinarian first to be sure it will not irritate the skin further. These natural products tend to have little to no side effects and are safest when starting a treatment plan.
Keeping a low stress environment for anxious dogs can be very helpful also; quiet, low lighting, and slow movements. Still, sometimes natural products are not enough to calm your dog and stop excessive licking. This is when a thorough discussion should be had with your veterinarian about behavior modification drugs such as Fluoxetine and Clomipramine. However, these medications can have side effects and are usually only given for chronic conditions. It is important to discuss all of the pros and cons with your veterinarian prior to starting your dog on these medications.
Quality of life is the most important thing when it comes to our pets. Excessive licking can cause that quality to decrease over time. If you think your dog is excessively licking, it is pertinent to discuss these signs with your veterinarian. Together you can determine if the signs are something to be concerned about, or if your pet is simply taking his/her daily bath.
Letters – Kudos for a young man and July 4th thanks
I would like to say something nice I say Monday at Mount Rest Cemetery. The people were there putting up the flags for the 4th, and there was this nice looking young man named Josh Reed helping everyone. It seemed so out of place to see someone his age working so hard.
It is so impressive to see a young person helping everyone. Thank you, Josh.
Judy Winslow
******
I am the Chairman for the Rotary Club of St. Johns Fireworks display again this year, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my fellow Rotarians for their support and selling their share of the raffle tickets to help pay for this event. I would also like to give a very special thank you to all of the following businesses for their sponsorship as well:
Platinum Sponsors $900
– Koenigsknecht Dentistry
– Spicer Group
Gold Sponsors $500
– Edward Jones Offices
– Ferrall’s Tree Trimming
– Journey Federal Credit Union
– LAFCU
– McDonalds
– McKenzie-Crosby Insurance
– RSI Home Improvement
– Sparrow Clinton Hospital
Silver Sponsor $250
– Allaby & Brewbaker Insurance
– Hub Tire Center
– Dr. Jansen
– Jackson & Jackson and Hayes
– Maco Tool
– Quest
– Clinton County Medical Center
Bronze Sponsor $125
– Agro Liquid
– Applebee Oil
– Avery Eye Care Center
– Clinton Opthamology Center
– Dr. Mark Connelly, DDS
– Fosters Wheel Inn
– Gilroys Hardware
– Mahle
– Martin Brower
– Pinnacle Foods/Big Boy
– Uncle Johns Cider Mill
– Weichert Realtors
Please make sure to thank these businesses and support these businesses by shopping locally.
Al Nelson
Rotary Club Fireworks Chairman
Maralyn’s Pet Corner – How to Find a Lost Cat
Your cat has vanished from inside the house. He either got outside when you opened the door and you weren’t quick enough to catch him, or he pried open a screen or found an exit and is now outside. If you were fortunate enough to watch him escape, you have a general idea of where he’s at. But if you have no idea where he went, how do you find a lost cat?
Take Precaution
Before we approach the issue of the cat being outside, let’s just present some preventative measures that you can take before this occurs.
Micro-chip your cat. Most vets offer micro-chipping now. It is a safe, inexpensive way to safeguard your cat. There is a drawback involved with micro-chipping. Not all shelters or vets have the hand-held scanning device that is universal for all the chips. Your best bet is to find the chip that is used in your area. Micro-chips are non-invasive. Your cat will be identified through the scanner ID code. Collars can be taken off easily, and ID tags removed. But micro-chips which are about the size and shape of a grain of rice, stay hidden underneath your cat’s skin.
Keep a current photograph of your cat handy. Don’t just make it a cute face shot; make it a full body shot so the cat can be identified with the help of this photo if the need arises.
Investigate the different agencies that help with identifying your pet. Aid-A-Pet out of Gresham, Oregon, Friskies Lost PetServices, Infopet, and Petfinders are some of the many organizations out there equipped to help answer your questions and try to safeguard your cat. You can find all these agencies on the Internet.
What to Do if Your Indoor Cat Escapes Outside
You are home and someone opens the front door. Your cat scoots out, turns the corner of the house and vanishes!
What do you do?
First off, you go after your cat, but you don’t run, and you don’t make loud noises. Try to keep the cat in sight, but normally when an indoor cat gets outside, the smells and the sounds tend to be overwhelming and the first thing they want to do is hide close to home. Any loud noises like shouting their name or clapping your hands will tend to further startle them. If they stop and look at you, drop immediately to a kneeling position, don’t look them in the eyes and stretch your hand out. Using your calmest voice, call the cat. If there are no distractions around you, they will sometimes come right to you.
But, what if they don’t?
The cat has now disappeared under your porch. You can see him in the farthest corner. So how do you get his attention? Fetch the litter pan. Sprinkle soiled litter in a path in front of the porch leading to the pan. Set out food and water for him nearby. Then you retreat, and you wait. You want the pan and the food as near to your front door as possible. If you are lucky, the cat will come out when he is calmer and eat, use the pan and come in the house.
Gone Without a Trace
You have returned home only to find that your cat is missing. The first thing you do is make a systematic search of your home. Take each room and search thoroughly. Get down on your knees and think like a cat. Remember when scared or hurt, they can crawl up into things you would never dream they could even fit under. You want to look under chairs, inside arm rests, inside recliner chairs, (a lot of times a cat will tear the underside lining of either a chair or a bed and vanish up into the springs). You want to look in cupboards and make sure you cover every inch of your living space before even thinking about looking outside.
After your careful home search, you need to do a few things. One is to find an old tee-shirt that you don’t much care about, or a pair of old sneakers. Put the sneakers on without socks, or throw the shirt on and just start walking around your property calling to your cat. Take a box of dry cat food or treats, and shake it gently as you walk. You want to get that shirt and those shoes really sweaty with your scent, in case you don’t find your cat, because the shoes and shirt will help scent the cat home. If unsuccessful in your search, when you return home, hang up the shirt outside where the wind can blow your scent around, and set your shoes up outside as well near your front door.
How to Find a Lost Cat
Here are a few tips to help you find a missing cat and bring him home safely:
Take a large cardboard box and flip it over. Cut a cat sized hole in the side and place it outdoors with some soft bedding inside. Weight the bottom down and make this a safe place your cat can return to. Place food and water and litter pan nearby.
The best time to search for a lost cat is when the world is asleep. The best time-frame is around 2:00 a.m. Go out with a flashlight and food. You can take a few cans of cat food with you, stand out in the open and pop the cans, or shake a treat jar. You will be surprised how the sound can travel in the quiet of the morning, and oftentimes your cat will appear within minutes of the first can being opened. Enterprising cat owners have also recorded the sound of their can openers opening a tin of food, and played the tape over and over while looking for their lost cat.
Make up fliers. Include a picture of your cat and offer a reward as incentive. Post these fliers in grocery stores, at vet offices, feed stores, anywhere you can. Post them at eye level. DO NOT stuff them in mailboxes. You can get into trouble for doing this. Walk your neighborhood with these fliers, put them on telephone poles, and talk to the kids of the neighborhood, the paper boy the UPS driver, the mailman anyone who walks your neighborhood.
Call the local papers and place a lost cat ad. Call the local radio stations, many of them will run free air spots for lost critters. Call your vet and let the staff know your cat is missing. Tack up a flier at all the vets in your area, and take one over to any rescue shelters nearby. If you have recently moved and brought the cat with you, check out your old address as well.
Locate a Hav-A-Heart trap and set it in a safe place near your home. You may trap another cat, or perhaps a possum or even a skunk (depending on where you live) but you might also trap your cat.
If you see a dead animal on the road near your home, remove it with a shovel and take it to the weeds off the road. There have been instances where domestic cats will become curious about road kill and go out to investigate, only to become fatalities themselves.
Keep a list of everything you do to find your missing cat. Get on cat boards and ask for ideas if nothing seems to be working. There are businesses such as Pet-Detective.com and Sherlockbones.com have great tips on their websites and are available for hire or advice.
Check your newspaper for the lost and found ads daily.
Weekends work outside. Putter in your garden, or just sit out near your home, talk in a soft voice, sing, or chatter so if your cat is close she will hear you. If she has a canine friend, bring the dog outside, or take the dog for a walk around the neighborhood to see if the cat will come out and join you.
Check the trees on your property; if you live near the woods, then the soiled litter is the best attractant for your cat. She will scent her scent over the wild critters and come to the comfort zone she is used to.
Make a map of where you place your posters and or fliers. Check every 3 days to be sure they are still there. Keep tape, pushpins or thumbtacks, black felt markers and white poster board in your car, so you can make up any that might go missing.
Go door-to-door with a photo of your cat. Talk to all the inhabitants of the house, kids especially. Past experience has shown that little girls make the best finders of lost cats.
Keep the hope alive. There are countless stories of people who have lost cats for long periods of time, only to have the animal show up at their door one day.
Not every cat will return home, but if you cover all your bases as completely as you can, you can lessen the probability that your cat will stay lost. As hard as it sounds, you have to stay focused and not become stressed. Your cat will sense any stress coming from you, and may stay hidden until you calm down. Most cats go to ground immediately-which means they hide close to the home they know- unless they get chased off or scared away. If you can hold your emotions in check, you increase the odds in your favor.
We hope that these tips will help you find your cat in the event that he becomes lost. Both of us have experienced the overwhelming sadness of going to bed at night knowing that our beloved cats were out there somewhere in the world and we were powerless to find them. If they don’t come home, there is always hope that someone else has made them their cherished pet. It is our hope that our combined experiences will help you find your cat and bring him back to the home he is used to and the people he loves.
Lucille Maxine (Hall) Ordway passed away Sunday, July 3, 2016 at the age of 93. She was born April 5, 1923 in Beal City, MI the daughter of Rueben and Frances (Henning) Hall. Lucille was a member of Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Fowler, MI and the Clinton County Senior Center in St. Johns. She was a Clinton Memorial Hospital retiree where she worked in the Dietary Department. On June 29, 1946 she married the love of her life, Aaron Ordway, in St. Johns and he preceded her in death in December 1991. 
Arline Rose Smith, age 79, of Fowler, MI, passed away Saturday, July 2, 2016, at her home.
Leta Mae Nichols passed away at the age of 100 on July 2, 2016. She was born November 30, 1915 to Frank and Beatrice (Longcor) Nichols. Leta graduated from Lansing Eastern in 1936, enrolled in insurance courses through MSU and became a licensed insurance agent. She retired in 1971 as a partner in the former Stanton Agency. She loved to travel, play cards, hand quilt and was a member of the Lansing Women’s Insurance Association.
Chad Jeffrey Love of Laingsburg, MI, died on Friday, July 1, 2016, at the age of 43 after a brief battle with cancer. He was born on May 25, 1973, the son of Jack and Karen (Spitzley) Love.
Agnes Regina Cole, age 73, of Fowler, MI, passed away Friday, July 1, 2016 at her home surrounded by her family.
Richard D Taylor, age 86 of St. Johns, Michigan passed away on Thursday, June 30, 2016 at Hospice House of Mid-Michigan, Lansing, MI.
William A. Harris Sr. “Bill”, age 66 of St. Johns, Michigan passed away Thursday, June 30, 2016 at his home with his family.
Donald E. Adair died Thursday, June 30, 2016 at the age of 86. He was born February 24, 1930 in Bennington Twp., Shiawassee County, MI the son of Raymond Adair and Nellie (Ferman) George. Don attended the Duplain Church of Christ, was an Army and Marine Corps veteran and a member of the Elsie American Legion Post #502 for 33 years. He was an avid bowler and golfer. He enjoyed hunting, fishing and camping with family and friends. Don retired in March of 1990 as an inspector for Federal Mogul Corporation. On November 28, 1959 he married Iola Levey Trowbrige and she preceded him in death in 2008.