HEALTH Report

Respectfully submitted by John Gunther

Health …safety… What’s the first thing that crosses your mind? For some it might be a loved one lost in a farming accident, for others it might be losing an arm, their eyesight, or their health. Almost everyone can think of a time they came close to an accident that endangered their health. The sobering and sickening thing is that in most cases these accidents could have been avoided, had the proper safety precautions been taken.

Because of the importance of this topic our club decided to put aside a day to talk about it. (That’s using your head! : )

We invited several speakers to talk on different subjects concerning health and/or safety. The topics included – Health Concerns and Safety when working with Power Tools, by Mr. Joe Gnizak; Dealing with Dangerous Dogs, by Ariel Gunther; Barn Safety, by Mrs. Julie Havener, and – Dealing with Your Animal’s Parasite Load, by M. arion Gunther.

In portraying these topics, our mission was to educate our audience. To quote Herb Schisselman, in his address to the Canal Pollution Committee, " The very core of promoting a safer and healthier world is education. Once we have succeeded in convincing people of the dangers of unsafe behavior, all they will need to avoid danger is mere common sense!"

Our first speaker, Mr. Gnizak, gave us some very informative instruction on the use of protective clothing when working with power tools. He showed protective equipment such as push sticks, which are used to push wood through a table saw, so that you don’t have to risk your fingers. Mr. Gnizak also listed some statistics on how many people lose their fingers using table saws, but I chose not to record them. As Mark Twain, (of whom I am a great admirer), said, "There are three kinds of lies, a lie, a dang lie, and statistics."

Ariel Gunther followed with some information she had gotten from interviewing the county Dog Warden. She instructed us not to trust any dog, and told us how to handle a dangerous situation involving a dog, reading from

A pamphlet titled, "Don’t worry, they won’t bite". She also admonished us to make sure to be responsible dog owners. A licensed dog is a happy dog!

Mrs. Havener, our next speaker, gave an eye opening tour of our barn. As she toured the barn, outlining safe practices and storage methods, she pointed out an open grain container and discussed the hazard of animals that could get into it. She also noticed dangerous things lying around, such as a hoe that hadn’t been put away, that somebody could have gotten killed on. It was sobering to see the many dangerous things in our own barn that I would never have noticed had Mrs. Havener not pointed them out.

And for our Grand Finale….

(A moment before she is announced, the honorable M. Arion Gunther sits in an easy chair…. There is a happy smile on her pleasant, insignificant face, and this presumably means that she is thinking of her animals…. She is too busy over nothing to be always thinking of them, but on the other hand, she almost never thinks of anything else. Probably M. Arion’s greatest moment is when she goes to bed at night and dreams she is a cat, for we must all wish to be that which is our ideal. She is dressed in excellent taste, with just a little bit more, showing she is not without a sense of humor…

M .arion talked about how to take fecal samples and look at them under the microscope to determine what kind of parasites an animal has. While many people walk with their heads down looking for treasures in their path, Marion walks around looking for animal pellets… she cares about her animals, and wants to make sure to treat them effectively. Marion's talk really brought it home to me that we need to be looking out for the health of our animals as well as ourselves. Animals should at the very least have the right to live in a safe and healthy environment.

There may have been several other speakers, but as I fell asleep at this point, I chose not to record them.

Overall I think we accomplished our goals and this experience helped us all to understand how important it is, (even without quoting statistics), to exercise these measures of safety. This should not be the end of our fight for Health and Safety... We need to press on, and educate ourselves more, so we can make the world a better, safer, healthier place for future generations!

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this report, are not necessarily those of the Amazing Graze 4-H club, but only the humble opinions of this self-proclaimed safety expert. Any resemblance to the truth could be purely imaginary.
P.S.- if you have any health or safety related questions, you can reach me by email...  Mr.knowItAll@lambzOwn.com , or talk to your 4-h club safety officers...they will be glad to assist you. :-)