Shot in the Arm

Episode Highlights: 

Vaccines are just one of the Shots in the Arm on this week’s show. We first talk with one of the founders of a local non-profit that provides a one-time shot in the financial arm to uplift and support community members when needed. We of course are talking real shots in the arm with vaccine clinics you will want to know about, and don’t miss as we hear from an expert in what is often the best medicine - a well needed vacation — maybe to Antarctica — summer is coming to the land of ice. 

• Roger Sprague, Angels Anonymous
• Peter Hayes, Holland America Lines
• Joe Wade, Lincoln County Public Health

Transcript

Jana 0:06

Welcome to the Double R Show, the podcast that features everything about North Lincoln County. The Double R Show directed and produced by Paul Robertson and hosted by the voice of Lincoln City, Roger Robertson.

RR 0:34

And uh we're gonna go back to the senior fair. Okay, let's get back there. We're gonna go back up to the senior fair. We'll have an opportunity to talk to Roger Sprague about uh Angels Anonymous. Uh we've got a gentleman that is in gonna talk about Holland America and a cruise to Alaska, maybe. Okay. Or the like. And uh then shots. Important. Yeah, vaccination, right? Vaccinations. Critically important. We'll talk more about that. That's coming up right after this. If you're looking for great early garden fresh produce, it's Kenny's IGA in the Bay Area of Lincoln City. Four generations of Morgans caring for your every grocery need. All of your favorite beverages are full deli, meat produce, and of course, groceries.

Zellers 2:18

Homestyle cooking in a hometown atmosphere. Hi, I'm Adina from Zellers Restaurant and Rose Lodge in Lincoln City. Join us daily for good fun and great food. You can even kick up your heels at Zellers.

RR 2:31

Opportunity to talk with Roger Sprague, one of the founders of Angels Anonymous up here at Senior Fair. And Roger, Angels has been going on for a long time. You've been there since the beginning.

Roger Sprague 2:41

I have 25 years. Why? Why 25?

RR 2:47

That seems would be exactly right. Why why stay with an organization like that for that many years?

Roger Sprague 2:53

There were seven of us that were for together at some function, I don't remember what it was, but anyway, you got in talking about the number of people that we knew that were falling through the cracks, couldn't get help in from any uh organization, any government organization, and they they were just ending up homeless or whatever. And we thought, well, maybe what can we do about that? So the seven of us uh spent another a couple of time, a couple of meetings, discussing the possibility of uh putting to starting an organization that could raise money and help people, and that's that's how it started.

RR 3:38

We're up here at Senior Fair, and uh uh much to my surprise, a lady uh put in a dropped in a check for $500 to Angels and another $500 to backpack uh food program. That's the kind of support we we have in this community for this organization.

Roger Sprague 3:56

This is a very, very giving community, supporting community. It's uh like none I've ever seen.

RR 4:03

Well, Gate, let's go back again talking about angels, and we know that you raise a lot of money, but how's it given out?

Roger Sprague 4:11

Well, we have some guidelines that we follow very strictly. I don't want to give you the dollars amounts, but uh we will help people once so we're not looking for the uh people that are coming down Highway 101 and going from town to town and and uh live living on traveling. Uh we're looking for the people who uh have been residents here for at least a year and a half, and uh as I say, we help them once. Uh on rare occasions uh we go back about five years. If it's been uh more than five years since we've helped somebody and they would like to be uh helped again for something, and we we check it out to make sure whether they they're really uh not pulling our leg, but uh they they're indeed in need.

RR 5:10

And in follow-up on that, not pulling my leg, uh you get burned.

Roger Sprague 5:15

We have been burnt, I think, twice in the 25 years that we've been doing that. I was treasure for 25 years and wrote all the checks, but uh resigned from that with uh other responsibilities as well.

RR 5:34

But anyway, but but it's one of those type of things, Roger, in in my mind, anyway, that if I was so scared that I was gonna get burned and not do anything, there would be no reason to be.

Roger Sprague 5:48

Well, yes, that's true. We are we're very careful, and the way we operate is that we have agencies around the town, uh, churches, uh, schools, uh sometimes uh a uh somebody from the police department will know somebody and direct them to fill out an application that they can get from those agencies. And then uh we have a board of 17 members, and each one of those members takes the phone uh once a year for a month, and as somebody uh applies for something, that person who has the phone then emails out the information about the request to each of our of our members, and we vote on whether to cut to pay for that one or not, and then after we have those, uh the the okay uh we we write the checks, the treasurer writes the checks, and uh I help the treasurer deliver the checks. The checks always go to what the where the bill is from. If it's uh rent, we pay it to the landlord. If it's phone, we pay it to the phone company, and so on. And that way the money never reaches the hands of the people we're helping, and they oftentimes don't know who we are most of the time.

RR 7:30

That is the way we want to be.

Roger Sprague 7:31

That's the way we that's why our name is Angels Anonymous, that's right.

RR 7:36

Angels Anonymous give credit where credit is due to the naming of Angels Anonymous. Uh the Bakhs, uh, Ed and Nancy Bakham and Ed recently passed. Uh give credit to them for coming up with the original uh run of Angels Anonymous. Interesting sounds up here at Senior Fair. If we if we're picking up some background noise, that that's why. But uh this is a a good venue for us as well.

Roger Sprague 8:10

Oh, yes. Uh we have a booth here, and uh we're we're not looking to sell anything, we just want people to know we're here.

RR 8:19

But the single biggest fundraising event for Angels is coming up in December.

Roger Sprague 8:25

In December, that's the Festival of Trees and the Angels Bowl.

RR 8:29

And we don't want anybody to miss out on that.

Roger Sprague 8:32

No, the tickets are going to be uh available online here very shortly, and they also at the uh uh chamber of commerce.

RR 8:40

Yep, you can go up to the chamber of commerce office and buy them now, uh, be it at a table, be it uh a pair of tickets or whatever it would happen to be. Be at the angel ball this year and support us, help us help others.

Roger Sprague 8:54

That's what it's all about. And the festival of trees is is a wonderful event. It gives people an opportunity to uh buy their uh their Christmas tree instead of uh having to direct it them uh or decorate it themselves. It's already decorated, it's delivered to them and set up for them.

RR 9:16

Original board member Angels Dynamis, uh Lincoln City or North Lincoln County, Roger Sprague. Uh we'll take a break and we'll be back with more from the senior fair right after this.

Zantello 9:28

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Jana 9:43

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RR 9:46

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Jana 10:01

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RR 10:09

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La Roca 10:13

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Peter Hayes 10:40

Thank you very much for the opportunity, Roger.

RR 10:42

Holland America is uh really into this market, this age group, this demographic, right?

Peter Hayes 10:48

That's correct. Yeah, you're absolutely right. This age demographic is our our main customer base. I would say our average age is you know 65, 55 to 75, I would say, in that 20-year range. So this uh senior fair crowd here is right up our alley.

RR 11:03

Peter Hayes' favorite cruise with Holland America is what?

Peter Hayes 11:08

Oh, I would have to say seven days Alaska round trip out of Seattle. Okay. Uh it's very approachable. You know, it's here in the northwest in our backyard. You don't have to worry about a long-distance expensive international flight. You can get to a really remarkable part of the world right here in the back in our backyard in the northwest.

RR 11:25

Now you've got a number of ships that Holland uh puts in the waters in Alaska, right?

Peter Hayes 11:30

Correct. In Alaska, we have six ships. Uh I think our sister princess, they have seven or eight, so we don't have we don't have the most ships in Alaska. However, we have been doing Alaska cruises longer than any other cruise line since 1947, which was before Alaska was a state. Holland America is about to celebrate our 80th anniversary of doing tourism in Alaska in 2027.

RR 11:54

You really own the market.

Peter Hayes 11:55

We are the best, we're the brand that's best known for Alaska, yes. We've been doing it the longest. We have more permits for Glacier Bay National Park than any other cruise line.

RR 12:05

And I I think a lot of people don't realize that you have to apply for a permit to sail into those waters, right?

Peter Hayes 12:12

You need a commercial use permit with the national park system. That's right. It's not open to anybody. You need a special charter, special permit, and Holland America has more of those permits to cruise into Glacier Bay National Park than any other cruise line.

RR 12:25

I think probably my favorite going to Alaska is uh going to Denali, then on to Fairbanks, Dawson, Whitehorse, and the like.

Peter Hayes 12:34

I'm so glad you brought that up. That's probably my favorite aspect of our tours up there as well, is what we call cruise tours. So they're in addition to the scenic ocean cruising. But because Holland America, we own the hotels in Denali and Fairbanks, and Whitehorse and Dawson City and the Yukon. We own the motor coaches and the trains. We can connect all the dots seamlessly in conjunction with an ocean going cruise, either before the cruise or after.

RR 13:06

Now it is fly from one location to another. Oh, correct.

Peter Hayes 13:10

You can't yes, we have we actually have a new cruise tour starting next year, which starts in Fairbanks, Alaska. An included flight over to Dawson City in the Yukon for a few days. We do an included Gold Rush sightseeing tour there, fly back to Fairbanks, and then take a motor coach down to Denali National Park for a few nights, then train down to Anchorage, and you get on the boat uh in Anchorage.

RR 13:32

People that have not done that train are really in for something special.

Peter Hayes 13:37

The McKinley Explorer is phenomenal. It's unique to Holland America. We own the train, it's only for Holland America guests, it's not open to the public. And it's a double-decker train. The top level has a curved glass panoramic view windows, so you get an absolutely breathtaking view from every seat on that upper deck. The lower deck is a dining car offering breakfast and lunch service. The train itself is it's a long ride to connect Anchorage to Denali. The train only goes about 35 miles an hour. Right. But you have a tour guide on board doing scenic narration and telling stories, cracking jokes, and yeah, and you get breakfast and lunch on the way as well. It's a very entertaining uh way to start or end your cruise tour.

RR 14:17

Now, obviously we we've been talking about Alaska, but you also do the rest of the world. I just got off a Hall in America cruise, had the opportunity to go to Norway, Iceland, Scotland. Uh marvelous cruise.

Peter Hayes 14:30

Well, Alaska is probably the region that we're the best known for, but we do go to all seven continents, including Antarctica as well. And yeah, since we are a European country, you know, originally founded in Rotterdam and the Netherlands, we have a very strong connection to our European heritage and uh British Isles, fjords of Norway, uh even in the Baltic region, you know, Sweden and Estonia, Latvia, we even go that far east. Uh Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific, uh you name it, Holland America ships will be there.

RR 15:00

What type of documentation does somebody need now to sail with Holland America to England, for instance?

Peter Hayes 15:07

Well, in this in this day and age, post-COVID, uh, we do not require COVID vaccination proof anymore. Uh really the only documentation we require is uh current passport uh recommended to be valid at a minimum of six months after your cruise is over. You know, in case anything were to happen at the end of your cruise, you you need a valid passport. And also visa requirements. Those are unique to each country. Every country around the world has different visa requirements. Some countries like like UK or France or Spain do not require a visa for US citizens. Well, places like Cambodia or Thailand or Vietnam, they might. So uh be sure to check with your travel advisor about what countries may require a visa.

RR 15:49

Put it together. Uh Holland America is best known for being a retired community cruise.

Peter Hayes 15:58

I think that's been our reputation historically, I think so. But uh today, Holland America demographic spans a wide, uh a wide array of ranges. Uh we do have our main core demographic between 55 and 75, I would say. We do get older than that, and we do get younger than that. It's very common to see families on board, a big family reunion with you know, grandparents and mom and dad and little kids.

RR 16:24

Bender than that.

Peter Hayes 16:26

Yeah, you'll see I see it all the time. Every every Holland America cruise I've been on, I've seen a big family and they all wear wearing matching t-shirts, you know, celebrating somebody's birthday or some some big family event. We don't have any roller coasters or water slides or any of those trappings of our competition of the bigger cruise ships. Our ships average around 2,000 passengers. We have some that are a little bit bigger and some are a little bit smaller, but 2,000 is is our average size. Compared to some of our other, you know, competition, there are four or five, four or five or more thousand people. Staggering. I mean, the new uh there's a new one that just hit the water, 7,500 passengers.

RR 17:04

I mean larger than the population of Lincoln City where we're the town my wife grew up in did not have 7,000 people in it.

Peter Hayes 17:10

So this is like a city on the water, truly. But our our ships, you know, they are refreshingly free of lines, of crowds. You're not gonna be waiting in line for the bathroom or for the dining room or for the elevator. Uh like I said, there's none of that roller coasters, water slides, rock climbing wall, none of the video arcades, nothing, uh, nothing like that. It's a very nice, easy, relaxing, slow-paced experience on board.

RR 17:35

Peter Hayes with Holland America, we'll take a break. And more from Senior Fair 2025 after this.

Bobs Beach Books 17:42

You'll find a book for every occasion at Bob's Beach Books. Something to read as you relax by an open fire? We have it. Studying a particular topic, we have that too. Traveling to a far-off land, discover it first by reading. Bob's Beach Books in the Ocean Lake area of Lincoln City. Come discover.

Lehto 17:58

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RR 18:14

With us now is Joe Wade, and Joe is with the Lincoln County Health Department, if you will. But you have a special title.

Joe Wade 18:22

That's right. Yes, it's uh Communicable Disease and Vaccine Services Coordinator. That's a mouthful. It sure is. Your job is to do what, Joe? Well, I plan and organize and execute vaccine clinics around the county. So we I get a hold of community partners all around. You know, these are long-term care facilities, these are community centers, these are community partners. I mean, anybody will have us almost really. And we go out and we do clinics.

RR 18:54

So right now you're doing one here at Senior Fair. What do you have upcoming other than Senior Fair?

Joe Wade 19:02

Oh, that's a good question. Yeah, we have I don't have a list of them in front of me, but we have coming up, we have, we're going to Yahat's Commons. Okay. Uh we have two scheduled later this month, or at the end of October and in early November. We are going to uh Lincoln City Community Center later this month and early in November. We are doing a couple with uh some cultural partners with La Guadalapana in in conjunction with uh Arco Iris. Of course, anybody who wants they can check our website.

RR 19:35

Which immunizations are you doing specifically?

Joe Wade 19:38

We're offering flu.

RR 19:41

Flu jobs.

Joe Wade 19:41

High dose flu, regular dose flu, depending on your age. And uh we have flu for for anybody. If you have insurance, uh we'll build insurance if you don't. We have flu for you too. How about COVID? Uh are we still doing that? Public health isn't offering, we we don't have COVID this year, but very much are promoting COVID. I mean the vaccine. Yes. I recommend that everybody reach out to pharmacies or their doctors, primary care providers.

RR 20:09

Now, do I need to get the flu shot? I don't need a doctor's prescription to do that, do I?

Joe Wade 20:15

For a flu shot, no. And you don't need one for the COVID vaccine either, although there might be some confusion because there was a moment when you did. Ah. Yeah, because there was just So they that changed recently? Yeah. Yeah, there's just some conflicting messaging coming from the Health and Human Services or CDC down, you know. Sure. And they've gotten that sorted out, and so the pharmacies were waiting for some guidance to come before they could uh do anything. And so they're they're like in a holding pattern, they're like, well, we won't do anything without a prescription, and that's been sorted out. They had a meeting, came to a decision. Now you they will do it. They you can go to a pharmacy.

RR 20:58

Obviously, in your position, you're going to encourage people to get immunizations, correct? Correct. Does that just flu and COVID, or are we talking about measles, mumps, and and all these other children type vaccinations?

Joe Wade 21:13

We're following all ACIP guidelines. Okay. What does that mean? Well, that's oh, you're putting me on the spot here. I don't have the acronym in front of me. It's a it's a panel of experts that get together and make decisions about vaccine and policies and recommendations every year. And they get together and they make recommendations about all vaccines. Even those that have been given for years and years. Oh, absolutely, yeah. Oh, I see. Yeah. And like they make it, the CDC usually you know the follow suit, and then and we've always kind of followed what OH then OHA and we and we follow suit, right? And so that's what we what we do. We we recommend that everybody gets vaccinated, you know. There's a lot of data, good data out there that supports that they're effective and safe.

RR 22:03

Right. I I would have to concur with that. Now, right now I I keep looking over, thinking I need to go over and get my flu shot, but I'm tired. Is there a time where I shouldn't? Uh, because I'm exhausted. We've been waiting all day for you to come over there and get it. No, but but he should you be in uh special health or or what to get these vaccines.

Joe Wade 22:32

Well, anytime anybody asks me any questions like that, I say refer to your the nurse or your doctor. Very good. Yeah, I I can't answer medical questions.

RR 22:41

Uh that that makes perfect sense. And again, you are gonna be all over the county, uh, various locations around the county, so people can go to your website, yes, get you to send us the information as well, and we'll make certain it stays on a podcast.

Joe Wade 22:58

Yes, absolutely. We'll we'll get it to you.

RR 23:00

I love it. And again, Joe Wade, yes, you said that you grew up in a radio station.

Joe Wade 23:06

I I spent some time as a child, yes. At KNPT. At KNPT, Kite FM, yeah. Yep, years ago. Run in the halls, yep. See the red light, have to be real quiet, or or uh get a finger wagon. Get a finger. Been there, done that. Yeah, yeah. I've been on a few live remotes, you know.

RR 23:26

As as my kids grew up in radio as well. Thank you much. We'll be back in just a moment.

LCCC 23:34

Woven Legacies is a special sale of killings, rugs, bags, shoes, jewelry, and home decor made by artesians in Turkey. The sale of these items at the Lincoln City Cultural Center will support the center and also the ongoing care of Julie Reynolds of Otraman. All treasures of Woven Legacies were imported by Julie and her late husband, Senator Otraman. Review the entire display today at the Lincoln City Cultural Center and own a treasure destined to become a family heirloom.

RR 24:04

A couple of items up coming in in and around the Lincoln City community that we want to draw your attention to. Lincoln City Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet is going to be on November the 13th, 6-8, at the Lincoln City Cultural Center. This is your opportunity to nominate your favorite business. Uh nominations are open for New Business of the Year, Business of the Year, Excellence in Customer Service, Beautification Award, and a Community Impact Award. So uh write a letter, a note, take it up to the Chamber of Commerce office, and uh lay some good thoughts on uh our business community.

Son Paul 24:43

Yeah, absolutely.

RR 24:44

Also, you you like to dance.

Son Paul 24:47

Everybody likes to dance. If you don't like to dance, you're no friend of mine.

RR 24:50

Safety dance. Dancing with the coastal stars returns to Newport on November 1st. Uh, this is a beloved benefit performance supports housing and child care services for families in need. After a six-year hiatus, the uh Lincoln County most celebrated fundraiser is back. Dancing with the Coastal Stars. Sounds like a lot of fun. And uh, for more information about that and other activities upcoming, get a hold of the Newport Performing Uh Arts Center down in Newport. Also, uh the Cultural Center invites you to uh stop in and see the Wolven Legacy display. This is just really a marvelous display of artwork from Turkey in particular.

Son Paul 25:34

Yeah, mostly Turkey, I think, but also other parts of the Middle East there. And uh all the proceeds are split between the Lincoln City Cultural Center and uh Julie Otraman, uh, the care for her. Uh all the materials came out of the uh kelp bed, uh which of course was hers and uh Sennares.

RR 25:51

Wonderful uh gift to the community and uh uh thank you back to uh Julie. Uh let's see what else we got uh upcoming. I'd like to draw your attention at the Lincoln City Caregivers Support Group. Uh presents the Alzheimer's Association activity. This is the first and third Thursdays of each month, 10 to 11:30 at the Lincoln City Cultural Center. And you've had a busy week again with the young people of uh the area.

Son Paul 26:22

Yeah, lots of kids out there, Secret Life of Sam, and uh doing some educational work with them, field trips and the like. So that's been pretty good. Uh it's something that we do in the fall uh with the Cascade Head Bias for Collaborative. And then, of course, in spring we've been doing uh this couple other groups, first and second graders and fifth and sixth graders. So really creating a pretty, you know, good little niche of uh field trips and and the like for our young youth.

RR 26:45

And how many students do you have involved in that?

Son Paul 26:47

Well, it's about twenty-five a day. And uh, you know, I think we've got eleven of them planned this the fall, so you know, a couple two hundred and fifty-seven, I think, was the number that we we were shooting for. Goodness gracious, that's a lot of young people. That's a lot of fall.

RR 27:00

Yeah. And these people just absorb and soak in that that information.

Son Paul 27:04

Well, yeah, I mean, you know, the young mind is a sponge, right? Absolutely. Just an optimal time to get them out in the field and uh enjoying nature and uh learning about uh, in this case, uh salmon.

RR 27:17

And they probably may take some of that knowledge home to mom and dad. Yeah, well, absolutely, yeah. Veterans uh free homemade soup and sandwich luncheon, uh, sponsored by the Ocean Like, or not the Ocean Like Elks Lodge. That's a throwback to years ago. Uh sponsored by the uh Elks Lodge 1886. Now look at it up next to uh Biomart. And this happens twice a month, the second and fourth Wednesdays, noon until uh two. Anything else, your side of the table? We are clear from here. And again, uh uh congratulations to Phyllis Thompson.

Son Paul 27:51

Oh, yeah, yeah, well of the drawing, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, Phyllis won the drawing for uh $100 worth of gift certificates, uh, some from Kenny's IGA, Zellers Bar and Grill, LaRocca, and Bob's Beach Books.

RR 28:03

And we want to thank our sponsors for sponsoring us, making it possible for us to continue to do a double R show. That will do to the dudens on the Double R show. Please remember to like, subscribe, share so you, your family, and friends around the world and across the street can join us on the Double R Show. For Paul or Jenna, I'm Double R. Have a happy day.

Jana 28:26

You've been listening to the Double R Show. Join Roger and Paul Robertson as they explore everything about North Lincoln County. The Double R Show produced by Always Productions and hosted by Roger Robertson. Have a story, email contact at alwaysproductions.com or call four five eight two zero one three zero three nine. For the Double R Show, I'm Janet Ron.