Randolph County Board discusses Ebola

<span>CHESTER -- According to Randolph County Health Department Administrator Thomas Smith, Ebola could become "The new West Nile virus."</span>

<span>"I know the regional hospitals are involved with preparing for Ebola," Thomas said at Friday's meeting of the Randolph County Board of Commissioners. "It's a when, rather than an if, and it will be the new West Nile virus."</span>

<span>The West Nile virus is a mosquito-transmitted illness that can cause life-threatening illness in some people, including inflammation of the brain.</span>

<span>According to the Mayo Clinic, most people infected with West Nile don't show any symptoms, but severe signs and symptoms - such as a severe headache, fever, disorientation or sudden weakness - require immediate attention.</span>

<span>Ebola is transmitted through contact with blood or bodily fluids from infected humans or animals. No specific treatment is available for the disease, which is spreading like wildfire in West Africa with the number of cases doubling every three weeks.</span>

<span>Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that without immediate and bold action, Ebola could become "a global calamity on the scale of HIV."</span>

<span>"We have to keep adapting to new diseases that are coming to the forefront," Smith said.</span>

<span>Randolph County Sheriff Mike Hoelscher said during the meeting that recent hazardous materials and bloodborne training time has been taken up by training for Ebola.</span>

<span>"Every year, we have to be trained on bloodborne pathogens and (hazardous materials)," he said. "It doesn't surprise me that we'll have to be prepared a little bit more."</span>

<span>In other action, the county board issued a proclamation declaring October to be "Domestic Violence Awareness Month."</span>

<span>"Domestic violence is a vicious cycle that disrupts homes, destroys relationships and harms thousands each year," the proclamation said. "Physical and emotional violence, threats of violence, abuse and neglect all have devastating and long-lasting impact on the victims and their children."</span>

<span>Karen Schaller, prevention educator at the Violence Prevention Center of Southwestern Illinois, was in attendance at the meeting to accept the proclamation.</span>

<span>The Violence Prevention Center contact numbers are 826-5959 (Randolph County), 939-8114 (Monroe County) and 235-0892 (St. Clair County).</span>

<span>General assistance claims for the period were $2,993.94.</span>

Board Appointments:

<span>The Randolph County Board of Commissioners appointed Cathy Norton to the Kaskaskia Water District, filling the remainder of the term of Donald Etling, which expires April 30, 2015. Etling died in a tractor accident on May 5.</span>

<span>Keni Farris was also appointed to the Randolph County Tourism Committee on a three-year term that expires October 1, 2017.</span>

Care Center:

<span>Randolph County Care Center Medical Director Ken Slavens told the board he has received a quote from insurance provider CCMSI for cyber protection. The amount was $2,043 per year.</span>

<span>CCMSI is the insurance provider for the courthouse.</span>

<span>"All it takes is one person's ID to be stolen and there would be big problems," Slavens said.</span>

<span>Slavens also reported the Care Center has 59 residents.</span>

Treasurer's Report:

<span>Randolph County Treasurer Doyle "Zig" Jones said he has been researching a service, GovTechServices, that would allow county residents to be able to pay their property taxes online using electronic debit.</span>

<span>"This is a good program for the residents of Randolph County," Jones said. "It's a much better deal for the taxpayers."</span>

<span>Jones said the service could also be used to deposit funds into an escrow account, which would then automatically pay the property taxes when they come due via one-time payments.</span>

<span>"Those who don't have a mortgage can avail themselves of that service," Jones said.</span>

<span>The commissioners discussed the matter and voted to put approval of the service on the agenda of the board's next meeting, which is Oct. 24.</span>

Public Comment:

<span>Hoelscher said the Illinois State Police will be assisting his office with the integration of electronic fingerprinting.</span>

<span>Randolph County has the second-highest manual fingerprinting in the state, according to Hoelscher, and ISP is looking to offer the technology for the next three months.</span>

<span>"We're kinda behind the times on that," he said.</span>