pmerv
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1504
posted
I've been sending out proclamations to city and county clerks, changing the language a tiny bit for each location. The councils pass the proclamation, it is picked up by local media and/or public tv if the meeting is taped, and you educate a few more people. Not that hard to do.
The Mayor of Fort Bragg ( a very small town on the coast) actually invited me to the meeting to receive the proclamation after they pass it. He said it would be done at the beginning of the meeting so I don't have to hang around waiting. CALDA executive director Lorraine Johnson has actually been invited by her supervisor in LA County (~10 million people) to address their meeting as well as receive the proclamation. I will take some brochures with me to put on the table for whoever attends the meeting. Maybe I'll wear my green CALDA Ticks Suck Tshirt!
Government phone numbers are at the front of the phone book - last year I only did my own town but this year I noticed several other towns besides my own right there on the list, so called them too. Why not? Emails are cheap! All you have to do is find out whose email to send it to. They do the rest.
You don't have to wait for your state legislature to pass a resolution to do a local one.
The California State resolution was chaptered on April 21st, 2006 by the Secretary of State. Resolution Chapter number 32, Statutes of 2006. It passed out of the Assembly Floor with a vote of 75-0.
Use this one to write one that fits scientific info available for your community. If there's nothing local, use state or regional info. If you need help finding info, I may be able to find time to help you. Keep the language simple. This fits on a legal size sheet, which is their requirement.
Good luck and let me know if you do it! I'd love to put samples of different peoples' efforts on our CALDA website. Start with one this year and next year expand. It's not hard!
Phyllis Mervine CALDA
PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS the California Legislature has declared May, 2006, Lyme Disease Awareness Month;
WHEREAS Lyme disease is a disease transmitted by the bite of an infected western black-legged tick that has been found in all but two counties of California;
WHEREAS Mendocino County is a highly endemic area where an average of 12 percent of the poppy-seed-sized nymphal ticks are infected with the Lyme disease bacteria;
WHEREAS these ticks are carried by mice, rabbits, squirrels, deer, birds and other forms of wildlife and domestic animals into the backyards and homes of the citizens of Fort Bragg, as well at outlying fields and forests where they work and recreate;
WHEREAS traditional methods of removing embedded ticks by burning, twisting, suffocating, or mutilating are dangerous and can increase the risk of acquiring the infection; and additionally that ticks are so small and hard to detect that most people who get Lyme disease do not recall being bitten and most do not develop the characteristic rash;
WHEREAS 79% of the residents of a rural community near Fort Bragg have evidence of having been bitten by ticks, over one third were diagnosed with definite or probable Lyme disease, and the number of reported cases in the state has tripled in the last six months;
WHEREAS Lyme disease affects the brain, heart, joints, and other body organs and mimics many other diseases. Patients are often misdiagnosed with more familiar conditions including depression, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, or psychiatric illness and two Mendocino County residents died from complications of Lyme disease in the past year;
WHEREAS, the California Lyme Disease Association receives many calls from the citizens of Fort Bragg describing their debilitation with Lyme disease and their difficulties in obtaining diagnosis and treatment locally. Many area residents travel long distances to see specialists. Some are unable to work and have no health insurance;
WHEREAS it is in May that a new generation of nymphal ticks emerges. Thus it is fitting that May be declared Lyme Disease Awareness Month;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, _______, Mayor, on behalf of my fellow Council members of the City of Fort Bragg, proclaim May, 2006,
LYME DISEASE AWARENESS MONTH IN FORT BRAGG
in order to encourage the citizens of Fort Bragg to seek accurate information about
* effective ways to protect themselves from ticks;
* appropriate treatment, including prophylactic treatment for tick bites and long-term treatment for chronic cases; and * which tests to order to support the diagnosis of this serious and debilitating disease.
-------------------- Phyllis Mervine LymeDisease.org Posts: 1808 | From Ukiah, California, USA | Registered: Aug 2001
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Unfortunately, not all states are as accomodating as California.
NCLDF (North Carolina Lyme Disease Foundation) tried to get a similar resolution passed. Could not get it approved as Lyme Disease Awareness Month, but think it was approved as Tick Awareness Month.
Lyme Disease is "very rare" in NC in case you didn't know!
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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