Stephanie Pietras-Bailey-Boushay House

Stephanie Pietras has worked in healthcare with a specialty in HIV/Aids for 28 years. She is currently director of volunteer services for Bailey Boushay House, which is affiliated with Virginia Mason. Stephanie earned a B.S. from Marymount and an M.S from Loyola, and has lived in Seattle since 2007. Stephanie gave a well-constructed presentation on the history of Bailey-Boushay House and the developments in treating HIV/Aids.

The following is a synopsis of the development of the HIV/Aids disease and treatment since the beginning in 1981.

1981 The New York Times reports on a mysterious illness.
1982 The illness was given the name acquired immune deficiency syndrome, AIDS.
1984 A test for screening blood donations was developed and implemented in 1985, Rock Hudson died of Aids, R.I.P. Chimpanzees were used to develop the test. Poor Chimps…
1987 The drug called AZT which was developed in mice was approved for treating AIDS. Poor mice…
1988 The Surgeon General of the United States sent every household a letter detailing the known causes and precautions for Aids. 1990 It was estimated that 8 million people had AIDS.
1990 Condoms became the preferred method of protection from AIDS. Buy stock in condom companies.
1995 There was an increase in the disease in the women//children population, but infant infections started to fall due to AZT treatment.
1996 Combination treatment of antiretroviral were developed, also known as the “cocktail”.
1997 Aids related deaths in developing countries begin to drop, however 22 million people still have HIV.
2007 33 million people have HIV.
2010 Macaques and mice are once again used in testing for the drug called Truvada, which reveals positive results. Poor mice and Macaques.
2011 Antiretroviral are shown to reduce the risk of transmission of HIV by 96%.
2012 Most people worldwide eligible for antiretroviral are now receiving them.

Bailey-Boushay House continues to provide inpatient and outpatient hospice services for men living with HIV/AIDS. They have 172 volunteers working 13 hour shifts, and this is their 25th year in operation.

Yeah!

Brett Halverstott: Randell Mills and the Search for Hydrino Energy

Are we on the threshold of an affordable energy source that spares the environment, that has applications wherever energy is needed, and that is fueled by water? Brett Halverstott, our speaker, thinks so.

Brett in his book, Randell Mills and the Search for Hydrino Energy, closely follows the researches of Randall Mills. After 25 years of experimentation Mills has devised a compact, non-nuclear reactor, which generates Hydrino energy. The principle underlying the process makes use of the fact that the closer a hydrogen electron gets to the nuclear proton, the hydrogen atom shrinks. This in turn generates the release of energy. This is known as the hydrino atom, which behaves differently than a standard H atom.

The laboratory outside of Princeton, has attracted many scientists and investors. By 2013, explosive reactions began to be generated. This has been modified to produce continuous, sustained, controlled explosive reactions. Within the structure occurs the generation of heat, a mini-sun, surrounded by solar panels. A 250-kilowatt generator is the result. This can replace an electric grid. The long-term cost diminishes, in that the H is obtained from water. No carbon reaches the atmosphere. Excess H is diffused into space.

It could be the answer to climate change. Not a few have bet on it.

Floating Bridge Brewing

Floating Bridge Brewing will be at Debuts and Discoveries 2017 on March 18th. Floating Bridge Brewing is located in the University District. This family owned, family run artisan brewery was just opened in July 2016. Come check out their brews and support Teen Feed!

Check out their website here: http://www.floatingbridgebrewing.com
Learn more about ways to get involved with Teen Feed here:www.TeenFeed.org
Buy tickets for Debuts & Discoveries here: https://usrotary.org/debuts-and-discoveries/

Stephen E Murphy, “On The Edge: An Odyssey”

An interesting lesson in self-publishing was given by the well-traveled Stephen Murphy, author of “On The Edge: An Odyssey”. His odyssey through the process, the expenses, the legwork, the rejections, and the cost of mistakes, establishes him as one who can persist through a daunting climate. From the time of his inspiration to set down his memoirs of his travels to his current book signings, he learned:

If you do not have a prominent name, publishers are loath to accept,
Amazon is the place for publisher-rejected authors
Unanticipated expenses arise from Amazon, a book coach, and changes of font (plus a few others).
It is easy to be too wordy; paring down is no easy task.

He promises that each chapter is a turning point. While the opus is autobiographical, it is inspirational. It appears that the reader can expect to be introduced to many places and people. Those who shall have read it may wish to confirm these observations.

On The Edge: An Odyssey is available from Amazon

March 18th, Meet Figurehead Brewing Company

Come support Teen Feed and check out Seattle’s newest breweries, cideries, wineries and distilleries!

Figurehead Brewing Company is located in Seattle and was just founded in 2016. They pride themselves on providing honest, simple, straightforward, quality beer.

Learn more about their beer here:https://www.figureheadbrewingcompany.com
Learn about ways to get involved with Teen Feed: www.TeenFeed.org
Buy your tickets for Debuts and Discoveries 2017: http://usrotary.org/debuts-and-discoveries/

Food Drive for UNIVERSITY DISTRICT FOOD BANK: March 4th

University Sunrise Rotary helps support various local charities; one of those programs is the University District Food Bank. Currently our focus is on donations for the “Packs for Kids” program.

The importance of proper nutrition for a growing child is well documented. Hungry kids have decreased attention spans, increased behavioral problems, and more school absences due to sickness. Simply put, hungry kids can’t learn as well, and when they fall behind academically as young children, it is very hard to ever catch-up. Free meals in school certainly help, but they are not enough. After all, school is only Monday through Friday.

Through collaboration with eight local Seattle public schools, University District Food Bank provides meals and snacks to children who are at risk of going hungry on the weekend when free or reduced school meals are unavailable. These packs of food contain items that are age-appropriate, nutritious, simple to prepare, and easy to take home in a school bag.

Saturday, March 4th, 2017 we are hosting a food drive to support “Pack for Kids” at the Metropolitan Market, 2320 42nd Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116. Join us on March 4th and donate.

Here is a list of needed items:

Nut-free granola bars
Cereal bars
Fruit cups
Applesauce
Pop-top soup
Single-serve tuna packets
Easy mac
Trail mix packets
Oatmeal packets
Jif to-go

Emphasizing single serve options for this is important.

And to complement the specific Packs for Kids items you could offer a family focused list of items too if you want to provide more options for shoppers:

Cereal
Peanut butter and jelly
Pasta and sauce
Soups (veggie and meat options, protein rich)
Canned fruit
Graham crackers
Healthier crackers
Kid toiletries (shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toothbrush)

See you March 4^th!
Metropolitan Market
2320 42nd Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116

University of Washington “Tent City”

In the February 16th production, University of Washington “Tent City”, the cast was comprised of Toni Sarge, thesis student; Ted Hunter, pro bono lawyer; and dedicated volunteers Jason Tavares, Scott Morrow, and Courtney O’Toole.

As homeless shelters go, this one complies with laws, screens its residents, embraces cleanliness, and disallows drunkenness and drug activity. Hospitality is extended to visitors, from whom contributions of food and clothing are welcomed. TC is one of a network of 11 similar self-help locations. These are necessary establishments, lest people lack the basics of life.

Only 2500 shelter beds exist. Efforts are made to keep couples together. The number of affordable family housing units remains limited. People come and go. For extreme weather, warm shelters are available. TCs are self-managed, with officers elected, an executive committee is in force. A security test must be passed for entry. There is a strict code of conduct. Two security people are present around the clock.
There is a large community tent for socialization, as well as a kitchen. Weekly camp meetings are held. Bus tickets are provided for those who must get to jobs. In addition, the UW provides monthly dental care. A foot clinic, acupuncture, and alternate medicine options are available. Nursing care is also provided.

In short, not all homeless individuals are alike; a variety of factors has brought them to the shelters. The chief single factor that has made TCs necessary is the shortage of affordable housing. Until supply can meet demand, people must be sustained in this way, and by the selflessness of those who shepherd them

Relay for Life 2017

Relay for Life

This is an opportunity to gather with people in the community in order to raise funds and awareness. Globally, it is the largest fundraising event. It is a way of celebrating the survivors and to remember those lost. It will take place at Cal Anderson Park on Saturday, 8/12, from 10AM to 6PM. The various competitions and awards have been described. Entertainment and speakers are scheduled. Last year, there were 21 teams, 119 participants, and $34,657.63 raised. This year there will be a Bark-for-Life event, honoring the canine caregivers. Survivors will receive a shirt and a medal.

American Cancer Society

On February 9^th. David Leon of the American Cancer Society and Kara Fortney, Senior Manager of Relay for Life held the floor.

As to the disease, statistics show that it cannot be ignored. It was cited that one in three females and one in two males will face it in some form in their lifetimes. The ACS, in its mission to lead the fight for a world without cancer, espouses these principles:

To increase colorectal cancer screening rates to 80% by 2018.
To reduce lung cancer age-adjusted mortality by 50% in a decade.
Ensure that nobody dies due to non-access to care.
Eliminating HPV-related cancers
Equalizing outcomes for all facing breast cancer.
Ensure that all cancer survivors can access care.
Enable communities to fight cancer by addressing the true determinant of health.

They averred that the above, plus the cost of research, is expensive. Donations are vital in this work. The dollars are put to work in Washington via.

Care and empathy, to wit, information lines, rides to and from treatment, navigation of patients through the healthcare system, management of treatment side effects, free or reduced cost lodging.
Courage, to wit, funding to reduce the unequal burden of cancer, visits to cancer.org, grants to help low-income patients to receive screening.
Determination, to wit, rallying communities and creating partnerships to help save lives.
Innovation, to wit finding cancer’s causes and cures.

Relay for Life

This is an opportunity to gather with people in the community in order to raise funds and awareness. Globally, it is the largest fundraising event. It is a way of celebrating the survivors and to remember those lost. It will take place at Cal Anderson Park on Saturday, 8/12, from 10AM to 6PM. The various competitions and awards have been described. Entertainment and speakers are scheduled. Last year, there were 21 teams, 119 participants, and $34,657.63 raised. This year there will be a Bark-for-Life event, honoring the canine caregivers. Survivors will receive a shirt and a medal.

David Williams, “Too High and Too Steep”

Last week, David Williams, author of “Too High and Too Steep”, discoursed on Seattle’s topography. It boggled the mind overall, how, in the early 1900s and even farther back, did they accomplish what they did? There were no bulldozers, graders, hydrologists, nor cranes. And yet they juggled with water levels, obliterated high mounds, and leveled the landscape. All of this molded the city to the extent that business and residency were enabled. At the start (1854) it was decided someday to utilize smallish Lake Union to connect the salt water of Puget Sound to the fresh water of Lake Washington. Fast forward 69 years, when a ship canal was envisioned. Lake Washington was 29′ above sea level, Lake Union 20′. Salmon Bay was a tidal salt water inlet. A feat of engineering for that time took place. It involved coffer dams, gates, pumping, blasting, and at times redoing. Ultimately, boats could go from the salt water of Puget Sound, through locks, into Lake Washington. In the process, the waters of Portage Bay flowed into the Montlake Cut. The landscape underwent change with the filling in of the tidal flats, creating 24 acres of new land between Beacon Hill and West Seattle.
A series of mounds, Denny Regrade being the most iconic. had to be obliterated. The soft earth was removed in huge volumes with the use of water cannons and dynamite. In the process, houses had to be relocated. Elevated on pallets, they were brought down by a technique of “stairstepping.”

The author gives praise to pioneers from the east who did all that was necessary to create the city they wanted, from such a challenging landscape.