SJHS Track and Field Teams clean Mt. Rest Cemetery
by Maralyn Fink
Since 2008 the boys and girls track and field teams at St. Johns High School have conducted a Community Service Fundraiser by spring cleaning and beautifying Mt. Rest Cemetery in St. Johns. The first team clean-up project at the cemetery in 2008 took place on a Saturday morning with 32 athletes participating. This year 121 athletes raked leaves, cleared stones by the roads, picked up sticks and branches and cleaned the mausoleum.
Two weeks before the clean-up, the student-athletes write letters to possible sponsors. Each student writes eight letters asking for sponsorship of the clean-up day.
Chris Robbins, Mt. Rest sexton, indicated that he was very pleased with the amount of work the team was able to complete this year.
I was notified by a local resident who was at Mt. Rest Cemetery that there were a lot of students there that were cleaning up the grounds. This was a great community project they did, and I felt this should be known in our community.
A big thank you to the High School boys and girls track team for doing a great service.
Habitat and Toolmen partner to build ramp in St. Johns
The Tuesday Toolmen partnered with Clinton-Gratiot Habitat for Humanity on April 30 for another Handicap ramp build in St. Johns. The weather wasn’t great but we got another ramp done. It’s always nice when we can work together to help those in need. A very deserving couple in need in St. Johns had a wheelchair ramp built .
Thank you to Tuesday Toolmen for your great work in the chilly weather and helping Habitat complete this ramp. The Tuesday Toolmen are a group of volunteers who work every Tuesday to help low income seniors and adults with disabilities remain in their homes. https://www.facebook.com/tuesdaytoolmen.
Keck to serve as Army recruiter
Army Staff Sergeant Spencer Keck from St. Johns visited Rep. Graham Filler recently to talk about his service in the U.S. Army.
Spencer graduated from St. Johns in 2007, completed basic training, served in Germany and South Korea, and now serves as an Army recruiter for the mid-Michigan area.
Spencer is the son of Curt and Karen Keck of St. Johns.
County Cleanup event a success
Clinton County Department of Waste Management volunteers performed a great service at the Clean Community Event this past Saturday. Volunteers included the DeWitt High School Football coach and team, township board members, current and past County Commissioners, Sheriff deputies and posse members, Friends of the Briggs Library Group, pharmacists, retired nurses, past and current county staff, and favorite volunteers who come back every year.
About 608 residents took advantage of this program. Volunteers filled three semi trailers with tires at this event.
St. Peter 150 years in photos: Sunday School staff, 1960s
Do you remember ?
Can you name the St. Peter Sunday School staff in this photo from the 1960s? Email Rhonda Dedyne at rdedyne@gmail.com
No prizes – just the fun of participating in the St. Peter Lutheran Church 150th Anniversary celebration. Correct names of the staff and names of the correct responders will be posted on SJ Indy and the St. Peter website, http://www.stpeterriley.org/
Letters – Superhero event a huge success
The 6th Annual Superhero 5K Run, Walk, or Fly! was a huge success for Clinton County Children’s services.
The Voice for Clinton County’s Children extends our sincere appreciation to the nearly 300 race registrants and their cheerleaders, event sponsors and in-kind supporters, and event volunteers.
Your superhero support of our signature event ensures children in Clinton County who have experienced neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse receive necessary support through their healing journeys. We look forward to April 25, 2020–will your cape be ready?
Sincerely,
Kelly Schafer, Executive Director
The Voice for Clinton County’s Children
Maralyn’s Pet Corner – Can Cats Be Allergic to Dogs?
courtesy of Paula Fitzsimmons
Although veterinarians say it’s not well-documented or very common, cats can be allergic to dogs. “When we perform intradermal allergy testing in cats, ‘dog epithelia’ is one of the allergens that we test cats for out of a panel of about 60 environmental allergens, including pollens, molds and house dust mites,” says Dr. Elizabeth Falk, a board-certified veterinary dermatologist at Cornell University Veterinary Specialists in Stamford, Connecticut. “We can include that in the cat’s allergy vaccine.”
Generally speaking, cat allergies are not very well-studied, so knowing whether certain dog breeds are more allergenic than others is tough. It’s not much of a stretch, however, to suspect that certain breeds can potentially present more of a risk, veterinarians say.
“In general, there seems to be significant breed-related variability in ‘allergenicity’ of dogs, whereas most cat-allergic people are allergic to all cats, regardless of breed. This is likely because people are allergic to different dog allergens (for example, dog saliva, Can f 1, and dog albumin, among others), whereas the major cat allergen, Fel d 1, is shared across all cat breeds,” says Dr. Falk.
There are no specific studies identifying what particular dog allergens cats are allergic to, but, according to Dr. Falk, it is reasonable to suspect that, similar to people, there will be breed-related variability.
While it may not yet be possible to pinpoint which specific breeds will cause a cat’s allergic reaction, dogs more prone to shedding could, theoretically, spread more allergens, suggests Dr. Susan Jeffrey, a veterinarian at Truesdell Animal Care Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. “These include both long- and short-haired dogs. I’d think the dogs that don’t typically shed would be less allergenic to cats.”
Keeping Your Allergic Cat Happy and Healthy
There is no way to prevent the onset of allergies, but treatment and management is available if they do develop, says Dr. Falk. “We have two main treatment approaches: managing their symptoms with medications and/or building their tolerance to their allergens with immunotherapy (an allergy vaccine).”
“The goal of the vaccine is to decrease or eliminate altogether the need for medications. It is effective in about 70 percent of patients,” says Dr. Falk. “Trying to keep the animals separate and limit exposure might be possible, but making the cat less allergic to the dog with an allergy vaccine is likely a good idea.”
Veterinarians say allergies are often a combination of environmental conditions and genetics. While you can’t control your cat’s DNA, there are things you can do to change his environment. For example, owners can “clean often to try to keep the hair to a minimum. Bathing a dog often is also helpful, as this will help keep the allergens to a minimum,” says Dr. Jeffrey.
Correct amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, found largely in fish oils, may also play a role in good skin health, veterinarians say.
How to Determine If Your Cat Is Allergic to Dogs
If your cat is allergic to something, it will be pretty noticeable. The most prevalent clinical sign of allergies in pets is itching, says Dr. Jeffrey. “Allergic animals will scratch their skin until they lose fur and cause trauma to the skin.”
This may lead to overgrowth of yeast and bacteria, resulting in an infection, she says. “These skin infections can look like crusts on the skin, excoriations, scales, papules, pustules (bumps on the skin) as well as generally pink/red skin.”
You may also notice that your cat is pulling out his hair, has runny eyes, is sneezing or has red plaques associated with eosinophilic granuloma complex, says Dr. Falk.
To be certain that what you’re seeing in your cat is an allergic reaction to your dog and not an allergy to something else, “Owners can pursue blood testing and/or skin testing like that done for humans,” says Dr. Jeffrey.
While not a common occurrence, cats can be allergic to dogs. If you suspect your cat is allergic to your dog or other allergens, take him to the veterinarian for diagnosis and, if necessary, allergy testing. There’s not much you can do to prevent the onset of allergies, but you can work with your veterinarian to treat them and keep your cat as symptom-free as possible.
Now and Then – Won’t you be my neighbor?
by Jean Martin
The signs had been up here and there around St. Johns for a couple of years. Then on Sunday night one that was located on a private lawn was suddenly burned to the ground.
“It wasn’t scary; it was surreal,” says the homeowner. “We just stared at it trying to figure out what we were seeing.”
First the homeowner filed a police report. Then she immediately ordered another just like it.
She also purchased another sign to add to it: “Hate has no home here.”
