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November 2008 |
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By MATT NICHOLS
Staff Writer
A former Wapakoneta law enforcement officer’s future is now in the hands of seven state Supreme Court justices.
Former Wapakoneta Police Chief Dave Harrison’s 6-year-old sex crime case reached the pinnacle in Ohio’s court system Wednesday, as justices heard arguments from Harrison’s attorney Dean Boland and state prosecutor Scott Longo.
Each party had 15 minutes to present their case to the justices. After both attorneys argued their cases, a single word in Harrison’s sentencing entry and a grilling delivered to Longo by justice Maureen O’Connor left Boland optimistic about his client’s future.
In June, 2003, Harrison plead guilty to a six-count bill of information after child pornography was found on his computer. After entering his plea, the man who served as police chief from 1988 to 2002 was sentenced to one year in jail.
Seven months after he completed his sentence, it was discovered by county prosecutors that Harrison should have been sentenced with an additional five years of mandatory post release control, or probation.
During a court hearing, Harrison was given the option to either be re-sentenced or withdraw his plea. Harrison chose the latter, taking things back to square one.
With the plea withdrawn, the state of Ohio slapped Harrison with a 23-count indictment which he was ultimately found guilty of and sentenced to six years in prison.
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Wednesday, 13 August 2008 |
Whooping cough cases reported in Mercer County; Auglaize County officials encourage getting vaccination
By KAREN CAMPBELL
Staff Writer
After several cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, were confirmed in neighboring Mercer County, Auglaize County health officials are advising residents here to get vaccinated.
Residents, especially those who come in contact with children younger than 5 years old, should be fully immunized, Auglaize County Health Department Nursing Supervisor Cindy Jones said.
“It’s highly contagious,” Jones said Tuesday after the regular monthly meeting of the Auglaize County Health Board.
“We’re hoping it won’t invade Auglaize County,” she said of the infection to the respiratory system that causes severe coughing spells that end with a distinguishable “whooping sound.”
So far, there haven’t been any reported cases of Auglaize County children with pertussis. The last known case in Auglaize County was a 59-year-old woman who was infected with whooping cough in June, Jones said.
Cases of pertussis can be difficult to confirm through lab tests, but using clinical histories and other factors, Joyce Jansen, director of nursing and communicable diseases coordinator for Mercer County, said she believes there have been eight cases there.
Two were diagnosed earlier this year, beginning in March, while the other six have been in June and July.
The youngest patient to be diagnosed with whooping cough was 15 months old. The oldest was 39.
“We’ve seen cases in teenagers and everything in between,” Jansen said in a telephone interview with the Wapakoneta Daily News on Tuesday.
All but two of the patients were vaccinated for pertussis, however Jansen said a booster may have helped prevent some of those previously vaccinated from getting whooping cough. Others may have a higher immunity to the vaccine.
“It all plays a part,” Jansen said. “I think if it was a vaccine failure we would have seen a heck of a lot more.”
Because the cases are not as severe as they could have been, Jansen said she believes the vaccine did impact patients some.
Anyone in close contact with those cases has been ordered treated or vaccinated. Other Mercer County residents are being encouraged to get their vaccinations as well, practice good hygiene and good health habits such as eating right and exercising.
“I think we’re very lucky,” Jansen said. “I hope if we get any more cases its minimal. You just don’t know. It’s so easily spread.”
The first symptoms of whooping cough are similar to those of a common cold and may include a runny nose, sneezing, mild cough and low-grade fever, Jones said.
After one to two weeks, the dry, irritating cough evolves into coughing spells. During a coughing spell, which can last for more than a minute, children may turn red or purple. At the end of a spell, a child may make the characteristic whooping sound when breathing in or may vomit. Between spells, the child usually feels well.
“Coughing spells can be so bad that someone may have a hard time breathing, eating or drinking,” Jones said. “In adults, it can just be a persistent annoying cough, but children’s airwaves are so small they can become easily obstructed.”
Pertussis can cause prolonged symptoms. The child usually has a couple weeks of common cold symptoms, followed by up to four weeks of severe coughing. The last stage consists of another several weeks of recovery with gradual resolution of symptoms. In some children, the recovery period may last for months.
Jones recommended that residents who think they or their children may have whooping cough to see their medical provider. Pertussis can lead to pneumonia, seizures, brain damage and can be life threatening.
Pneumonia occurs in about one in five children under the age of 1-year-old who have pertussis, according to Kidshealth.org. Up to 75 percent of infants younger than 6-months-old with whooping cough will receive hospital treatment.
The infection is treated with an antibiotic, which not only can limit symptoms, but also can help lessen its spread.
Whooping cough can be prevented with the pertussis vaccine, which is part of the TdaP (tetanus, diphtheria, acellular, pertussis) immunization. Pertussis immunizations are routinely given in five doses between the ages of 2 months and 5 years old.
To give additional protection as immunity fades, it also is recommended that children ages 11-18 get a booster shot of the relatively new combination vaccine, ideally when they’re 11- or 12-years-old. Once TdaP is given, it’s immunity is expected to last indefinitely.
“Many times, it’s the adults who come down with the whopping cough and they do well with it other than the annoying cough,” Jones said. “But they transmit pertussis to vulnerable children.”
She said she highly encourages parents, grandparents and child care providers who have any contact with children younger than 5 to get the vaccination.
“We’re just watching out for it here now,” Jones said. “These are highly contagious droplets and these people who have it cough like crazy.”
In addition to the vaccine, Jones recommended that residents continue to practice good hygiene, including hand washing, sneezing into sleeves not hands, and keeping shared items clean.
Before a vaccine was available, pertussis killed between 5,000 and 10,000 people in the United States each year. The pertussis vaccine reduced the annual number of deaths to less than 30, according to Kidshealth.org.
But in recent years, the number of cases has started to rise, reports Kidshealth.org.
In 2004, the number of whooping cough cases spiked past 25,000, the highest level it has been since the 1950s. It’s mainly affected infants younger than 6 months old before they’re adequately protected by immunizations, and children 11- to 18-years-old whose immunity has faded.
Experts believe that up to 80 percent of nonimmunized family members will develop whooping cough if they live in the same house as someone who has the infection. For this reason, anyone who comes into close contact with someone who has pertussis should receive antibiotics to prevent spread of the disease.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 14 August 2008 )
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