Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
MINUTES <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH <br />August 26, 2004 <br />Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 3 August 26, 2004 <br /> <br />Several news articles and letters to the editor this past spring detailed social events held by <br />teens that involved alcohol use that were turned in to law enforcement. Law enforcement <br />acknowledged that they broke up the party but made no arrests or follow-up to parents. One <br />parent has organized a small community group out of concern for this community wide attitude <br />of tolerance for these behaviors and is seeking to begin community wide discussions of this <br />problem. <br /> <br />The 2003 Community Assessment identified drug and alcohol use among teens as a concern <br />and was selected as a top issue to be addressed by community members. A useful place to <br />begin addressing this concern is to raise awareness among all community members and engage <br />in a discussion of community standards for these activities. Healthy Carolinians of Orange <br />County is also considering endorsing this effort. Sending a letter of support from the Board of <br />Health will lend credibility to this effort and may encourage community members to participate <br />in this forum. <br /> <br />Sharon Van Horn felt this was long overdue and board members unanimously agreed to have <br />the Board send a letter of endorsement to Ms. Pratt-Wilson for community forums to discuss <br />drug and alcohol use prevention among teens. <br /> <br />C. No Fault Well Repair Fund Issues <br /> <br />The No Fault Well Repair Fund (NFWRF) is in its third year of application and there is an issue of <br />note that staff requested the Board to consider. Overall, the NFWRF administration has worked <br />smoothly and with little controversy with those in the affected radius of the quarry. <br /> <br />The issue deals with water quality problems that are not a primary result of groundwater <br />degradation, but rather, they are a secondary effect accrued after the water comes from the <br />aquifer. Specifically, copper levels are elevated above recommended standards in two wells in <br />the community because of the naturally occurring low pH of the groundwater. Once the water <br />is extracted from the ground, it leaches copper from the plumbing system as it moves from the <br />pipe. Therefore, there is not, in staff’s opinion, a failure of the well per se, but there are <br />problems with the water for the residents. The problem can be remedied with a treatment <br />system but since the problem is not a failure of the well itself, it is unclear to staff whether the <br />problem should be remedied with NFWRF monies or left to the individual to fix. <br /> <br />This issue was reviewed by the Animal Control/Environmental Health Committee at their last <br />meeting and recommended that NFWRF monies not be used because the high copper content <br />was not due to well failure. <br /> <br />Motion to accept the ACEH Committee recommendation not to use NFWRF monies to remedy this <br />problem was made by Tim Carey, seconded by Kate Wilder, and carried without dissent. <br /> <br />D. Information Only on Research Proposal Participation: <br />• A Randomized Controlled Trial of Acupuncture for Labor Induction (UNC-CH OB/GYN)