CHEERS to our own Dennis Aprill, who has been writing his column and assorted related material for our Outdoors Page every Sunday since 1992. In case you weren't counting, two weeks ago he completed his 1,000th page — a significant milestone by any standards. That's 1,000 straight, uninterrupted. He has never missed a week, even when he was off chasing bears halibut in Alaska. (Most people, when chasing bears in Alaska would want to keep their mind on the terrain and forget about writing, but Dennis has always taken his work here seriously.) Much decorated for his extraordinary work for the P-R, he recently found out he's been cited again by the New York State Outdoor Writers Association, winning second place in the Newspaper Column category and second in Newspaper Features. On behalf of his faithful readers, of whom there are many, we wish him another 1,000 and many more citations.
JEERS to the 88 vehicle owners who suffered the inconvenience and expense of having their cars towed in the city during last week's snowstorm. Going back to the Clyde Rabideau administration in the 1990s, lights have been strategically placed around the city warning drivers to get cars off the streets because a storm was either expected or in progress and the plows needed to get to the curbs. Warnings also typically appear on the Press-Republican's Web site and on the radio. It's hard to imagine what else the city can do. Besides, even if you didn't know the city had a parking ban, wouldn't 5 inches of snow provoke you to inquire whether it was all right to park on the street? Wouldn't you expect plows would be coming around? This is an annual problem. Usually, after the first snow, people catch on. Certainly, they do after the first tow.
CHEERS to Adirondack Medical Center for taking steps earlier this year to reduce patient falls in the hospital. The hospital appointed a committee, chaired by Patti McGrath, to look into what could be done to help patients avoid falling. Patients are evaluated for fall risk upon entering and re-evaluated every 12 hours. If a patient is identified as being at high risk, a laminated cutout of an autumn leaf is placed on the entrance to the room and above the headboard so staff knows to be especially careful and watchful. Those patients would be given a room close to the nurses' station. Pressure-sensitive alarms are put into the bed to alert staff if the patient tries to rise, and hip protectors are installed. The result is that patient falls at the center have been reduced to half the national average. Efforts such as this betoken a hospital keenly aware of the security and comfort of its patients.
