St. Johns Councilman Eric Hufnagel recognized
The Michigan Municipal League honored 25 graduates of its 2018 Elected Officials Academy during the League’s annual Capital Conference in Lansing March 21, 2018.
Recipients of the 2018 Level One Education Award who have completed 25 academy credits are the following elected officials: Jennifer Antel, Councilmember, Wayland; Clint Bryant, Councilmember, Saginaw; Constance Cobley, Councilmember, Durand; Eric Hufnagel, Councilmember, Saint Johns; Charlotte Kish, Councilmember, Caro; Valerie Kindle, Councilmember, Harper Woods; Melanie Piana, Councilmember, Ferndale; Yvonne Ridge, Councilmember, Charlotte; Kimberley Sims, Mayor, Muskegon Heights; Doris Taylor Burks, Councilmember, Pontiac; Roberto Valdez, Councilmember, Blissfield; Matt Waligora, Mayor, Alpena; Thomas White, Councilmember, St. Charles; and Herbert Winfrey, Councilmember, Flint.
Now in its 21st year, the Elected Officials Academy is an ongoing four-level program that educates and recognizes elected officials across the state for their dedication to becoming as professional and knowledgeable as possible in the role of public servant. The Elected Officials Academy, a voluntary education and recognition program, was created in 1997 by a board of elected officials working with League staff.
Michigan Municipal League is dedicated to making Michigan’s communities better by thoughtfully innovating programs, energetically connecting ideas and people, actively serving members with resources and services, and passionately inspiring positive change for Michigan’s greatest centers of potential: its communities. The League advocates on behalf of its member communities in Lansing, Washington, D.C., and the courts; provides educational opportunities for elected and appointed municipal officials; and assists municipal leaders in administering services to their communities through League programs and services. Learn more at mml.org.
East Olive School auction set for April 17
Items which are located at the now-closed East Olive School will be placed for auction on April 17. The online only bidding ends at 1 pm. The items may be seen on April 11 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and April 16 from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. Load out is April 18 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
The East Olive Elementary School building is located at 2583 Green Rd. St. Johns, MI. The auction is being conducted by Sheridan Realty and Auction Co. For more information visit https://bid.sheridanauctionservice.com/m/view-auctions/catalog/id/17890/ or call Neil Sheridan 517-749-7616.
A Look Back – Check Presentation
by Barry Clark Bauer
Left to right: Wayne Banner, Janet Scott, and Roger Beebee.
Janet’s making a Jaycettes Halloween Party check presentation.
Wayne used to be the manager of the D & C store, Janet along with her husband, Dennis, used to own the Western Auto store, and Roger is still in business at the State Farm Ins. Agency in St. Johns.
Bennie and Jessie’s Pet Info – 9 Facts About Your Dog’s Tongue
You probably don’t think twice about your dog’s tongue, but it does a lot more than just lick your face.
“The tongue is an essential part of the mouth in a dog,” says Dr. Alexander Reiter, professor of dentistry and oral surgery at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Dogs use their tongues to eat, lap water, swallow, and cool themselves down, too.
“The tongue is a muscle,” says Dr. Ann Hohenhaus, a staff doctor at Animal Medical Center in New York City. “Like all muscles, it’s controlled by nerves. And in the case of the tongue, the nerves come straight off the brain to control the tongue.”
Here are nine facts about dog tongues that may surprise you.
Some Dogs Have Blue Tongues
Chow Chows and Shar-Peis both have blue or dark tongues, and no one knows exactly why, Hohenhaus says. The link they share is that they’re both Chinese breeds and closely genetically related, she says.
It can be more difficult for a veterinarian to identify certain problems when a dog’s tongue is blue. “These animals are at a minor disadvantage in a veterinarian’s ability to assess health,” Hohenhaus says. “In a dog whose tongue is normally pink, a blue tongue tells us that they’re not oxygenating well.”
In some cases, a blue tongue can be a sign of lung or heart disease or a rare hemoglobin disease, Hohenhaus adds.
Dog Tongues Are Not Cleaner Than Human Tongues
The phrase “licking your wounds” is incredibly common, but letting a dog licks his wounds isn’t actually a good way to help heal a cut. Nor is it true that dog saliva has healing properties for human wounds. While the licking motion of the tongue may help a dog clean an area, the healing properties of canine saliva have never been proven, Reiter says. Another commonly held myth is that dogs have cleaner mouths than humans, but both contain more than 600 types of bacteria.
“That is just this constant myth that people have,” Hohenhaus says. “Nobody would put bacteria on a wound. Why would you put a tongue, which has all this bacteria, on a wound? It doesn’t make sense.”
Dogs Groom Themselves, Too
Cats regularly lick their fur to groom themselves. Dogs also partake in this ritual, but their tongues just aren’t quite as effective at getting the job done.
A lot of this has to do with basic biology. Cats have rough tongues that feel like sandpaper. That’s because the feline tongue is covered in papillae or tiny barbs, which help cats get knots and tangles out while grooming, Hohenhaus says. “A dog is at a disadvantage because it has a smooth tongue,” she says.
Although your dog can use his tongue to help remove dirt or shed fur, you will still need to brush him out to prevent or remove matts and tangles.
Dogs Use Their Tongues to Help Cool Themselves
When dogs pant, it serves as a way to cool themselves. The process is known as thermoregulation. Hohenhaus explains that dogs don’t have sweat glands all over their body like humans do, only on their paw pads and noses. This means dogs can’t sweat through their skin to cool off. Instead, they rely on panting. When dogs pant, the air moves quickly over their tongue, mouth, and the lining of their upper respiratory tract allowing moisture to evaporate and cool them down.
Some Dogs Are Born with Tongues That Are Too Big
“There are some rare situations where puppies are born with tongues that are too large to do normal functions such as suckling at the teat,” Reiter says. This rare condition is called macroglossia. In his 20 years of experience, Reiter has only seen two cases.
Some breeds—like Boxers—are prone to having larger tongues that hang of out of their mouths. This usually doesn’t cause the dog any problems, and doctors can surgically reduce the size of the tongue or recommend other treatments, if necessary.
A Dog’s Tongue May Influence the Way His Bark Sounds
In the same way that your tongue influences the way you speak, a dog’s tongue affects the way he barks. “Any structure in the mouth will to some degree participate in creating voice and sound,” Reiter says.
Think of what happens when you take a glass of wine and run your finger around the rim, Reiter says. The sound will change depending on how much liquid is in the glass. Likewise, the size of a dog’s tongue will affect the sound of his bark. “Most definitely the tongue plays a role in how a bark will sound,” Reiter says, but “the actual bark is made by something different.”
In terms of shape, dog tongues are longer and narrower than human tongues. “A dog tongue is differently mobile in part because dogs don’t speak,” Hohenhaus says. “They don’t need to move their tongue around to [pronounce] the letter S or T.”
Dogs’ Tongues Have Fewer Taste Buds Than Humans
Dogs have more taste buds on their tongue than cats, but not nearly as many as humans. (They have about one-sixth the number of taste buds of humans.) Dogs can taste thing that are bitter, salty, sweet, and sour. Cats, on the other hand, can’t taste sweetness, Hohenhaus says. “But we also think that dogs choose their food more by smell than by taste,” she says. “Smell is more important, and dogs have an incredible sense of smell.” All this suggests that a dog’s sense of taste is less sensitive than a person’s, Hohenhaus explains.
Dogs Use Their Tongues to Express Emotion
Many dog owners know how nice it can be to get “kisses” from their dogs. But it can be difficult to interpret exactly what a dog licks means, according to the experts. Hohenhaus says it’s probably a dog’s way of exploring his environment, in the same way that babies do with their mouths. “Dogs use their tongues to lick other dogs’ faces during times of happiness and excitement,” Reiter adds.
Be cautious about letting your dog constantly lick your face, though. “There is some research that bacteria causing periodontal disease can transfer from dogs to humans,” Reiter says.
Dogs Drink Water Differently Than Cats
Dogs and cats both use their tongues to drink water, but the process is very different. A cat uses the tip of his tongue to pull water upward and then quickly snaps his jaw shut to catch the liquid in his mouth. A dog uses “a simple lapping process with the tongue curled slightly backward to form a ‘spoon’ that collects as much water as possible and quickly puts it back into their mouth,” Reiter says.
Letters – Postal worker identified and thanks for the mystery theater
The fourth person featured in the picture of Postal Employees in last Friday’s SJ Indy was Harvey Thornton, who was a City Carrier originally, and then later became a Supervisor. That was his position at the time the picture was taken.
Ronnie Hyler, Warren Anderson, and Dick Worral were all Rural Carriers at the time of the picture. I just wanted to help identify the last person in the picture.
Gary Brown, Retired City Carrier
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A great big “Thank you!” to everyone who supported the library by attending the event, helping to decorate, or the equally important but much less fun, turning the space back into a library.
Maralyn’s Pet Corner – Cat Hairball Problems?
Courtesy of Jennifer Coates, DVM
Hairballs are the bane of cat ownership. These clumps of hair bond together in the stomach and then are vomited up in our shoes, carpets and floors. But are cat hairballs normal, and is there any way to prevent them in the first place? Let’s take a look.
Are Cat Hairballs Normal?
Technically speaking, cat hairballs are not normal. Cats have been grooming themselves for thousands of years and their digestive tracts are built to handle the hair that is inevitably swallowed. Hairballs should move through the digestive system and come out the other end. However, when this process goes awry, the hair can clump together in the stomach and does not pass into the intestinal tract. It causes enough irritation that a cat will usually vomit up the wad, and voila … you have a hairball.
When I’m presented with a cat that brings up the occasional hairball and absolutely everything else appears to be perfectly normal, I don’t initially recommend an exhaustive work-up (that would take gastrointestinal biopsies). I will perform a physical (looking for both GI problems and dermatological conditions that could increase shedding), run a fecal exam, and if I feel they’re warranted (or the owner wants to be especially thorough), recommend a comprehensive panel of blood work (including a check of thyroid levels) and a urinalysis.
Why Do Hairballs Occur?
Cat hairballs can occur for a few reasons, but the vast majority of cases can be attributed to:
1. Ingesting more hair than normal.
Skin diseases (e.g., external parasites, infections, and allergies) can all cause cats to shed and/or groom themselves excessively, which in turn may lead to hairball issues. Extreme grooming can also be associated with stress, boredom, compulsive behaviors, and concurrent illness that is seemingly unrelated to the skin or gastrointestinal system. For example, a cat with osteoarthritis may attempt to soothe herself by stimulating the release of pain-relieving endorphins through repetitive grooming behaviors.
2. Altered gastrointestinal motility.
When a cat’s gastrointestinal tract is not functioning correctly, it may not be able to process even a normal amount of hair in the way that it should. Hairballs can be associated with inflammatory bowel disease, internal parasites, pancreatitis, hernias, foreign bodies, cancers, and other potentially serious diseases.
What are the Best Ways to Prevent Cat Hairballs?
If your cat is having an issue with hairballs, consult a veterinarian. Assuming your cat’s veterinarian finds nothing unusual during an exam, the following is typically recommended:
1. Add fiber to the diet.
The bulk of additional dietary fiber essentially “sweeps” hair through the digestive tract, preventing it from clumping together in the stomach. Discuss with your veterinarian on the best method to add fiber to your cat’s diet. One option is to choose a diet specially formulated with soluble and insoluble fibers to increase digestive activity.
2. Changing diets to a formula with fewer potential allergens.
Gastrointestinal inflammation (often caused by food allergies and/or inflammatory bowel disease) is at the bottom of many chronic cases of hairballs. A prescription, hypoallergenic diet is ideal, but over-the-counter limited antigen foods can be tried as long as owners understand that if a cat’s response isn’t ideal, a more restrictive food trial will still be necessary.
3. Take on some of the grooming ritual yourself
Increasing the number of times per week the cat is brushed will help any of the above solutions work better since any hair that is removed during the brushing sessions are not swallowed by the cat.
As long as your cat is not losing weight or vomiting up hair more than once a week or so, feel free to try some or all of these recommendations before calling your veterinarian. But if they don’t work, it’s time to make an appointment. Your veterinarian can look closely for any health conditions that may be playing a role in the formation of hairballs and make appropriate treatment and dietary recommendations.