Free Class On Hepatitis C

McHenry County Department of Health (MCDH) is offering a free class for residents to learn more about Hepatitis C on Monday, April 9 from 6pm-7pm in its Crystal Lake office, 100 N Virginia Street (intersection of Route 14 and Woodstock Street).  Reservations can be made to Melissa at 815-334-4500.  Topics will include how Hepatitis C affects your liver and overall health, current treatment options and associated side effects, talking to your doctor about treatment, how to stay healthier and ways to avoid giving Hepatitis C to others.    

Hepatitis C is a contagious liver disease that is spread through contact with the blood of an infected person.  Risk factors include:

• Receiving blood from a donor who later tested positive for Hepatitis C
• Sharing needles, syringes to inject drugs
• Receiving a blood transfusion or solid organ transplant before July,1992
• A recipient of clotting factor(s) made before 1987
• Having ever been on long-term kidney dialysis
• Receiving body piercings or tattoos with non-sterile instruments
• Needle stick injuries in healthcare settings

 Hepatitis C is one of the most frequently reported diseases to MCDH’s Communicable Disease Program, with 72 cases reported in 2011, a decrease from the 110 cases reported in 2007.  In many cases, there are no symptoms of the disease until liver problems develop.  Many people are unaware they have the disease until donating blood or having a specific blood test for Hepatitis C. 

"Blunder Games"

An interesting letter to the State-Journal Register, Springfield regarding Video Gambling:

“Contained within the 2011 publication “Wagering in Illinois,” produced by the commission on Government and Forecasting and Accountability, is a statement that could have a profound effect regarding the rollout of the Video Gaming Act.

“In the report’s preface it states, “Since video gaming was legalized in Illinois, a number of local governments have voted to ban video gaming in their areas. In addition, the city of Chicago, due to a pre-existing law, must ‘opt-in’ in order to offer video gaming, which they have yet to do.”

“This is significant because nowhere in the Video Gaming Act did it pre-empt home rule authority. Because of that fact, Chicago as a home rule municipality properly concluded it needn’t formerly “opt out” of video gaming as its local ordinances already ban it. More significant is that Chicago is not alone in that there are more than 200 other Illinois towns with home rule status, many which also ban video gaming in some fashion through local ordinance.\

“ Repeated attempts to find someone of authority in Illinois government to acknowledge this issue leads me to suspect the failure to pre-empt home rule may have been an oversight in their rush to pass the bill. For this reason, perhaps we should coin the video gaming rollout “The Blunder Games”!

 — Mark Evenson, Palatine”

Words of Wisdom

"Men of energy of character must have enemies; because there are two sides to every question, and taking one with decision, and acting on it with effect, those who take the other will of course be hostile in proportion as they feel that effect."

--Thomas Jefferson, letter to John Adams, 1817

MCC Forensics Spring Showcase

The McHenry County College Forensics program will present a Spring Forensics Showcase at 2:30 p.m. on April 4 and 5 and 7:30 p.m. on April 2, 4 and 5 in the Black Box Theatre, Room D167 at the college.

The program is 75 minutes and will include multiple performances of literature and impromptu speaking.

The showcases are open to the public. Admission is $5 per person, which will help fund the team’s national competition in April in Schaumburg.

For more information about the MCC Forensics program, contact Bonnie Gabel at (815) 455-8684 or email her at bgabel@mchenry.edu.

Government At Work

MONDAY, APRIL 2—

8:15 a.m. – McHenry County Board Law and Justice Committee—‘

Meeting in the County Board Conference Room, County Administration Building, 667 Ware Road, Woodstock.

A resolution is being presented authorizing the purchase of seven police pursuit Dodge Charger vehicles for the County Sheriff’s Department. The vehicles are being purchased off the State bid contract at a cost of $22,185 per vehicle for a total of $155,295.

Each vehicle will be outfitted with police lights, docking stations, video cameras and stripping at $3,700 each for a total added cost of $25,900.

Another matter on the agenda for committee action is a resolution authorizing the reclassification of a correctional officer position to a sergeant of technology in the Sheriff’s Department.

The Emergency Management Staffing is also to be considered as well as appointments to the McHenry Township Fire Protection District, Fox River Grove Fire Protection District and Crystal Lake Fire Protection District.

7:00 p.m.—Crystal Lake Ad Hoc Clean Air Counts Advisory Committee—

Meeting in the Crystal Lake City County Chambers Conference Room, 100 W. Woodstock Street, Crystal Lake.

Plans are to be considered for a 2012 Bike with Your Neighbor Event.

Other topics for consideration include Bike Plan/Comprehensive Bike Map, CUB Energy Saver Program, a No-Idling Program as well as a Community Clean –Up Day.

"Women, War and Peace, I Came To Testify" Showing At MCC

SPAN, Student Peace Action Network at McHenry County College, presents a showing of the PBS special, Women, War and Peace; I Came to Testify, on Wednesday April 11, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Employee Dining Room at MCC, 8900 Northwest Highway, Crystal Lake.

The second in the PBS series, I Came to Testify is the moving story of 16 women who stepped forward to take the witness stand in an international court of law that resulted in a triumphant verdict leading to new international laws about sexual violence in war.

On the same date, in the evening is SPAN's Take Back The Night March. Please help spread the word and support this event.

A Sign Of Modern Day Living And Working

"Employers Requesting Facebook Access May Face Federal Consequences

By: Peter N. Hall

Greenberg Traurig, LLP

"Add the United States Senate to the growing list of legislative bodies considering new laws that would ban employers from requiring job applicants to turn over their Facebook usernames and passwords as part of the background investigation process.

"As the number of stories of applicants rejected or employees being “Facebook-fired” have grown, savvy social media users have adapted by increasing their privacy settings to the point where approximately 3 out of 4 Facebook pages hide information from public view.

"Deprived of the treasure trove of information contained on a job applicant’s Facebook page, some employers have started asking for access to job applicants’ social networking accounts as part of the interview process. The requests have taken a number of forms, from requiring disclosure of passwords, to “friending” HR or the hiring manager, to requiring a live log-in during the interview.

"While privacy advocates have analogized such requests to requiring employees to turn over their house keys, this overlooks the fact that passwords can be changed, or managers “de-friended” after the interview. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that some privacy issues are implicated by employers who search social media accounts that are not otherwise publicly available.

"Even without the proposed federal legislation expressly banning this kind of pre-hire screening, adopting such a hiring policy is risky. The federal Stored Communications Act prohibits the access of electronic communications — which would include Facebook postings — without the user’s authorization.

"That authorization must be freely given and not coerced. At least one case, Pietrylo v. Hillstone Restaurant Group, has ruled that a management request for login information and passwords to otherwise private employee social media accounts can be coercive and violative of the Stored Communications Act.

"In addition, there are risks to learning information about a candidate the hiring manager may later prefer not to have known (such as age, race, disability, religion, or genetic information).

"We will be closely watching Congress and state legislatures as they work on legislation addressing these issues.

©2012 Greenberg Traurig, LLP. All rights reserved"