So far, there have been more than 50 cases of the whooping cough reported in South Dakota as of Oct. 3. However, neighboring states have experienced outbreaks far worse than South Dakota has seen.

So far this year there have been more than 4,000 cases of the cough in Minnesota and Iowa has seen around 1,000 cases. As of late August there were about 120 confirmed cases in Nebraska.

“Based on these numbers, we know we’re seeing a lot of the disease across the region,” said Colleen Winter, director of Health and Medical Services for the South Dakota Department of Health (DOH). “There are a variety of reasons we’ve seen an outbreak. There is more awareness and better testing, more circulation of the disease and some people are building up an immunity to the vaccine.”

The whooping cough vaccine, which is recommended for children, is said to be about 90 percent effective for those that get all the required doses. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is working to discover why the protection seems to decline over time.

“We want to make sure that people get the full course of the vaccine to make sure they are adequately protected,” Winter said. “We want to protect our most vulnerable population, which are babies and infants.”

Winter added that people who are most exposed to the unimmunized population should also be vaccinated. The schedule for children to get vaccinated is recommended at 2 months old, 4 months, 6 months, 15-18 months, then again at 4-6 years old with a booster at 11 or 12.

The DOH provides both the vaccine and the booster free of charge

“The vaccination is the best protection against the cough,” she said. “However, if you get sick, make sure to cover your cough or stay home from work or school.”

Symptoms of the whooping cough include cold-like symptoms at first, but after a week or two they become more severe, including vomiting, fatigue and uncontrollable coughing. When infants are infected with the cough, it can lead to pneumonia, children becoming slow to stop breathing and even death.

Jan Johnson, who works with infection control at Avera Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton, said she recommends that adults get the whooping cough booster.

“We have not seen many hospitalizations here because of the whooping cough,” she said. “We also have not seen very many cases through our emergency department or the pediatric department here.”

Winter recommends that if you or your child exhibits any symptoms of the cough to call your healthcare provider.

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The forum was aimed at cancer issues and helped raise money for the All Women Count program, which helps women in South Dakota cover the cost of breast and cervical cancer screenings. Women who meet the age (30-64) and income guidelines (200 percent federal poverty guidelines) are eligible under the All Women Count program.

Since the program started screenings in 1997, it has paid for more than 80,000 Pap tests, clinical breast exams and mammograms and diagnosing more than 200 women with breast cancer and 27 with cervical cancer.

This year the featured speakers were Amy Miner, a YHS teacher and breast cancer survivor and Dr. Jill Sternquist, who works at Yankton Medical Clinic as an OBGYN.

“Many of you in the room today have been my go-to girls for things,” Miner said. “I just passed my eight-year mark of breast cancer survivorship, which is pretty   exciting.”

Miner, who now works as a teacher at Yankton High School (YHS) was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. She was teaching at YHS around that time, but was set to move to Hawaii for a teaching fellowship.

“During the course of some last-minute exams before I moved to Hawaii, this anomaly came up,” she said.

She added that when people go through challenges like breast cancer or another disease or hardship, things seem to become so sudden, overwhelming and may seem insurmountable at times.

Miner said once she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she made the process proceed as quickly as possible. She was diagnosed in September 2004, then had an ultrasound performed in Hawaii on Sept. 13 and she was home in Yankton a few days later. She had her mastectomy performed Sept. 27.

“After that, I really just sat around and ate a lot,” she said, laughing.

Miner returned to her classes in Hawaii by the middle of October.

“It was an adventure, to say the least,” she said. “I always had someone there for me right from the beginning of the process.”

She said that her diagnosis with breast cancer changed her life in many ways.

“Whatever the challenges are that you might be facing, they allow you to look at life through a different lens,” Miner said. “Instead of thinking about decisions I would make in terms of life or death, I began to think of things based on life and life. It really taught me to keep all things in perspective.”

Before Miner took the stage, Sternquist offered the audience facts and tips about cancer, risk factors and how women can protect themselves against various forms of cancer.

“Screenings really help to find the disease before symptoms arise,” she said. “It’s important to keep going for regular follow ups.”

She added that 1 in 3 women will be diagnosed with some sort of cancer in their lifetime and 1 in 5 women will die from that cancer.

Dr. Mary Milroy, who served as the emcee for the event and is also on the committee that plans the forum, talked about how important events like this are for the community.

“One of the nice things about the forum is that it helps raise awareness about cancer,” she said. “It’s about pulling together and being aware about the types of cancers out there.”

She said such events help cancer patients and survivors through the emotional trials of dealing with cancer. She added that the event is powerful and important for the healing process.

“The event shows survivors and people diagnosed with breast cancer that they have support from the community,” Milroy said. “We’re also raising funds for a great cause.”

Last year the forum raised about $1,500 and organizers are hoping that number is even higher this year.

Organizers also sell raffle tickets which provide a large amount of the donation money.

“This event is really about a community coming together to make a difference,” Milroy added. “People are coming together to raise awareness and show the importance of the issue. The forum provides tremendous support and helps women with breast cancer see that they are not alone.”

Cancer numbers are statistics and numbers but those statistics are people.”

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One of the big reasons why Yankton High School (YHS) officials do not bring up the topic much in its classes is because health classes were cut out of the budget several years ago.

“We don’t do anything specific at YHS regarding the teaching of breast cancer in and by itself,” said YHS principal Wayne Kindle. “Breast cancer awareness and education has been a national focus for a number of years and high school students are very aware of this health concern.”

YHS students and faculty members still participate in fundraisers to help raise money and awareness about the disease.

“Over the past several years, we have done a number of fundraisers at high school for breast cancer awareness, prevention and education,” Kindle said. “We have also provided some families resources raised by our staff and student body.”

At the YHS home volleyball match on Oct. 16, there will be another example of how students and faculty come together to raise awareness and funds to fight the disease. The YHS volleyball team will participate in a ‘Dig Pink’ night. The match will begin with the freshmen and junior varsity matchups against Sioux Falls Roosevelt at 4:45 p.m., with varsity set for 7 p.m. at YHS.

“Every year for about the last four years, the high school volleyball team has held a ‘Dig Pink’ night,” said Amy Long, YHS freshman volleyball coach. “In volleyball there is a statistic called a ‘dig’; hence the ‘Dig Pink’ night name. We use the fundraiser as a way to promote breast cancer prevention.”

Long said that in previous years, speakers have come in to talk with members of the team about breast cancer awareness and prevention.

“The main focus of the night is raising funds for breast cancer,” she said. “In years past, we’ve donated to Susan G. Komen South Dakota affiliates, with about $1,000 a year donated. Girls on the team have also received pledges for a donation of a certain amount of money per statistic recorded.”

This year and last, however, the team has held a bake sale to raise money for breast cancer.

This year the fundraiser takes on a special new meaning.

All of the proceeds the team raises on Oct. 16 will be donated to the teachers at YHS that are currently battling breast cancer. The donations will be used to help the teachers’ medical costs and transportation to and from treatment.

“It’s a way to get girls in high school aware of breast cancer and help out others,” Long said.

Long said that one of the most emotional parts of the Dig Pink fundraisers has been when girls know family members or friends that have had breast cancer and share their stories with each other.

“It’s all a matter of awareness,” she said. “We show these girls that we can all do something to help others.”

This year’s event may be even more emotional because many of the girls on the team have either had these teachers in the past, or know them because they teach at YHS.

“We can show our support for the teachers by raising money,” Long said. “The girls will be wearing their pink uniforms, which were donated to us several years ago.”

She added that the girls get excited for the event and show a lot of enthusiasm for it each year.

“It’s important that we show them that every little bit helps,” Long said. “The event shows people they care and are working to help current and former teachers battling breast cancer.”

Players and coaches are asking people attending the game to wear pink, donate baked goods to the bake sale (items can be dropped off outside the YHS gym starting at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday) and buy something from the sale.

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The state has already confirmed four cases of influenza as of Oct. 9, all of which were in children. Kids account for a significant number of flu cases and hospitalizations each year, and also help spread the flu in communities.

The state is providing free flu vaccines for all children from six months old through 18 years old.

Flu vaccines are recommended for everyone, though some groups are at more risk than others including young children, pregnant women, people over 50 years old and those with chronic medical conditions.

“The Department of Health (DOH) recommends annual flu vaccination for everyone over the age of six months,” said Barb Buhler, public information office for the DOH.

Symptoms of the flu include a sudden onset of illness, chills, headache, stuffy or runny nose, the feeling of fatigue or weakness, a cough (which may initially be dry, but become a painful, hacking cough), fever, sore throat, muscle or body aches, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and exhaustion and lack of an appetite for food or desire to drink fluids.

“Influenza cases have already been confirmed in South Dakota this season, so we know the virus is circulating,” Buhler said. “We encourage people to protect themselves and get vaccinated.”

According to the Center for Disease Control, influenza cases in South Dakota have been sporadic, which is similar to cases in other neighboring states including Minnesota and Iowa. There has been no reported activity of influenza in Nebraska or North Dakota thus far.

The Yankton School District (YSD) is offering a free seasonal flu clinic for all of its students. Parents do not need to be present during the flu shot clinic, but do need to fill out and sign a consent form for the shot.

The clinic will take place at Beadle School Oct. 24, Lincoln School Oct. 30, Stewart School Oct. 24 and Webster School Oct. 23. Yankton Middle School will have the flu shots offered the morning of Oct. 23. Yankton High School will offer its students a free flu shot during the morning of Oct. 31.

The Center also hosted a flu shot clinic this past week.

“We had 35 individuals who received the flu vaccination, which was administered by registered nurse Mary Pesek from the Avera Occupational Medicine Department,” said Christy Hauer, executive director of The Center. “Mary said she is advising everyone to get their flu shots. We are grateful to Avera for sending us a nurse to conduct our annual flu clinic, which is a great service to the community.”

Veterans can get free flu shots at the Sioux Falls VA medical center on Oct. 15 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Oct. 22 also from 7-4 and Oct. 31 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Flu shots will also be given at the Wagner VA Clinic Oct. 19 and Oct. 26 from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Many other businesses and organizations in Yankton are also offering flu shots for the public including Rogers Pharmacy, Hy-Vee, Walgreens, Avera Hospital and the Yankton Medical Clinic, among others.

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Tiffany Kashas, who was hired as the counselor by Lewis and Clark Behavioral Health Service (LCBHS), came to Yankton from the University of South Dakota (USD) where she had served as coordinator of prevention services and a staff counselor for about four years.

Her job at USD focused on prevention-related activities, along with doing some chemical dependency assessments.

Officials at YSD hope Kashas will help curb drug and alcohol use in the school district which increased substantially last year.

“Kashas has been available from day one of school as a resource person for our students and parents,” said Yankton High School (YHS) principal Dr. Wayne Kindle. “I know our students and parents appreciate having a valuable resource like her at our school. She is available for us to use at any time if the need arises.”

Some components of the new drug and alcohol prevention program at YSD includes designing alcohol, drug and tobacco curriculum aimed at helping students resist pressures to use substances and correcting perceptions about them; a parent program that includes parental education and informational meetings; individual and group counseling; and school-wide activities and promotional materials to increase the perception of the harm of substance abuse.

Officials chose the program after finding out how much success it had in the Sioux Falls school district.

“Some of the goals of the program are to build a rapport with students, staff, parents and the community,” Kashas said. “We also hope to increase awareness about drugs and alcohol and how they affect us as humans.”

She added that students appear to be responding well to the prevention education series curriculum through great discussions and the learning they have done.

Funding for the counselor came from the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Block Grant, which runs year to year. However, officials are optimistic that the funding will be available for years to come.

“The counselor has been working at YHS and YMS with the current drug and alcohol policies in place at the schools,” said Dr. Tom Stanage, CEO of Lewis and Clark Behavioral Health. “This has been a very positive process for Lewis and Clark and YSD. We need to see more of these kinds of things in the community.”

Already this school year, there has been six drug and alcohol incidents at YHS, after 12 all of last year.

“We continue to be concerned when we even have one incident at school. Our goal is to eliminate any incidents at school and to also guide our students in making better choices outside of school,” Kindle said. “However, we can’t do this alone. We need the help of our community and parents. We all need to work together like we have in obtaining the counselor.”

There are many long-term goals of the program that officials hope to fulfill in the future.

Those goals include delaying adolescent’s initial use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs; decreasing their use of those substances; increasing students’ perception of their harm; changing adolescents’ norms and expectations about substance use; building and enhancing social and resistance skills; and changing community norms and values regarding substance abuse.

“We hope to accomplish the goals we have through our curriculum, school-wide activities, individual meetings, phone calls and emails to students and parents,” Kashas said. “We will also be working with a team of key stakeholders within the community. As a team of key stakeholders, we have already built many partnerships to build a tight safety net to provide resources and support to students.”

She added that programs like this can help foster awareness, education and opportunities for discussion around unpopular topics of alcohol and drugs for students and parents.

“My hope is that people will consider thinking about their options, respond rather than react, before making a decision — whatever that decision might be,” she said.

Kindle said that one of the biggest impacts he has seen the program have is the positive reaction that students, parents and community members have shown to the district for recognizing the problem.

“Equally important for me is that we have not buried our head in the sand or tried to pretend we don’t have problem when we do,” he added. “Above all other things, we are doing something to help our students and parents.”

“This whole process has been nothing but positive,” Kashas added. “Positive responses from parents, students and staff as well as positive partnerships within the community.”

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However, for one Yankton native, graduating college meant a time for her to serve with the Peace Corps.

Laura Johnson graduated from Yankton High School in 2008 and attended the University of Oregon, where she majored in journalism with a minor in art. She graduated this past June.

Now she is set to begin a two-year volunteer service in Lesotho, a tiny nation located in southern Africa.

“I really thought that this would be the next thing in my life that would help shape me as a person and add to my bag of experiences,” Johnson said. “I had thought about doing this for a long time. I started going to recruitment events on campus and talked to volunteers who had done it in the past.”

She added that almost everyone she talked to said there will be days that she will hate her decision, but after her time in Lesotho is over, she would not regret the experience.

Johnson started applying for the Peace Corps in June 2011, when she filled out the initial application online.

After she turned in the initial application, she was contacted for an interview. During the interview, she was presented with several hypothetical scenarios on things that could happen while she’s serving.

Even though applicants are allowed to put a location preference on their application, Johnson did not do so.

“I have a background in Spanish language, so if they wanted to send me to a Spanish country, they’ll see that I have that skill,” she said. “I was willing to take the challenge and knowing that it would be a surprise no matter what, even if I did put a preference on geographic region.”

She finally found out that she had been accepted into the program in the winter.

However, the nomination said she would be teaching in Northern Africa or in the Middle East. Without hesitation, she accepted.

Months later she found out she would be actually serving in Lesotho, which is in southern Africa.

Lesotho is a country that is landlocked by South Africa and is very mountainous. The country has a population of about 2 million, and is roughly the size of the state of Maryland

Mary Milroy, Johnson’s mother, said she was concerned for her safety when she heard of the initial location.

“My heart about sank when I heard where she would be initially,” she said. “I was a bit fearful for her safety. I told her if she ever feels unsafe to not hesitate to come home immediately.”

Johnson said she has been focusing on packing over the last few weeks, and is calm about her trip.

“We are allowed to bring 100 pounds of luggage, and they gave us a packing list and had feedback from volunteers in the country on what to bring,” she said. “They suggested a good set of knives because the quality of knives in Lesotho isn’t very good. They also said to bring recipes from home but you might have to substitute some local ingredients.”

When she arrives in Lesotho, she will be staying with a host family doing training until December. At that point, she will be inducted as a volunteer through December 2014.

“Right now we don’t really have the details on where in the country I’ll be staying for the two years,” she said. “I won’t even know too much about the conditions of the country until I get there. I’ll find out everything when I get there.”

During training, volunteers go through rigorous language instruction along with safety training and integration into the community.

“They want you to have a support network and develop friends and connections within the community, which is a great way to be safe,” Johnson said.

She departed from Omaha Tuesday, and will meet the rest of the volunteers going to Lesotho today (Wednesday) in Philadelphia for a two day orientation.

Lesotho has a high demand for English teachers.

“English teachers are in very high demand there because a lot of young men go to work in South Africa to send money back to their families,” Johnson said. “It helps a lot in South Africa if you have a background in English.”

She said that although she might get homesick, she is not planning on visiting her family in Yankton during her two years of service. Instead, with the two days a month of vacation time volunteers accrue, she plans on traveling around Africa. However, her family is planning a visit to Lesotho late next year to visit her.

“I’m really excited to be somewhere completely different and new,” Johnson said. “They told us that most volunteers there have either electricity or running water. However, a few have both and a few have neither. I think I would rather have running water if I had to choose.”

Despite being fairly calm for her trip, there are still things that make her  nervous.

“I’m really nervous because the country is so isolated,” she said. “There would never be a time in my life where communication has been so inhibited. Also, the language barrier will be tough to begin with.”

The official languages of Lesotho are Sesotho and English. However, many of the rural communities do not have a strong English background.

Johnson said the Peace Corps sent volunteers a phrase book with some pronunciations in it. However, she thinks being in the country will help break down the language barrier.

“What seems like a simple phrase will end up being like 30 syllables,” she said. “I’m going to sink or swim with the language, but hopefully I’ll catch on quickly.”

Despite not knowing a lot about the conditions she will face, Johnson has learned a little bit about the country by talking to volunteers that served there and doing research.

“The country looks really beautiful,” she said. “They have a lot of youth that are shepherds that look over herds.”

She said that there is a big tourism industry in Lesotho that features a lot of backpacking and outdoors activities. Lesotho even has one of the only ski resorts in Africa.

“I’ve heard that the native people are very friendly,” Johnson added. “The government has had a very positive relationship with Americans and with Peace Corps members.”

She praised the mentors she has had throughout her education, including teachers from YSD.

“The mentors I’ve had are a big reason why I did so much volunteering in college,” she said. “I think this will be a very formative and eye-opening  experience.”

Johnson is really hoping the experience will be one that challenges her.

“When you do new things that aren’t easy at first, you have a lot of room for growth,” she said. “I’m looking forward to seeing a way of life that most people around the world live like, that is so different than the way we live here.”

Johnson plans on keeping a blog of her experiences during her years of service in Africa to let her friends, family and members of the community what she is up to.

“I think this experience will help shape the kind of direction I want to take in the future,” she said. “It will undoubtedly change the way I look at things.”

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

Each freshman was given a picture frame with a note inside that displayed their graduation date in 2016. Students and teachers signed each other’s notes and placed them in the frames as a reminder to keep your eyes on the prize and graduate from high school and achieve future dreams.

“One of the most important moments in the life of a parent is to see their son or daughter graduate high school with their diploma,” said Dr. Wayne Kindle, principal at YHS. “This is a goal and an expectation we share here at Yankton High School.”

The note from Dr. Kindle reads:

“Please accept this gift as a small token of my appreciation for your attending Yankton High School. More importantly, I hope this picture frame will serve as a reminder about the importance of graduation. Your high school years will go by very quickly and graduation Sunday will be here soon.

“Graduation from Yankton High School is an expectation and is something your family has looked forward to since you entered Kindergarten. We share your goal of graduating with your class. Enjoy the next four years at YHS. Mark your calendar!”

It also lists the graduation date of May 22, 2016.

Amy Miner, one of the freshman homeroom teachers, said she thinks the note is a great idea.

“The picture frames should really help students encourage them for what they want,” she said. “It will help them accomplish their goals in high school and in the future.”

She added that the frames should help students focus, especially with their first grading term just about a week away.

“This is a really wonderful focusing tool,” Miner added. “The theory is that they’ll place them somewhere and periodically look at them for encouragement and to see the encouraging notes peers wrote for them. If they manage to get the frames home and safe, they will serve as a wonderful inspiration.”

Tanner Dykstra, a freshman at YHS, said he is excited about the picture frames.

“It makes me really excited to graduate,” he said. “It will keep motivating me throughout high school.”

He added that he will place the frame in his bedroom.

Heather Olson, another freshman homeroom teacher, said the frames should have a positive impact on students.

“Some students still can’t believe that graduation is coming up in a few years,” she said. “The students will write their goals on the frame and then look at them every so often. It helps when they can visually see a graduation date.”

Freshman Skylar Elle said he thinks the frame will really help him throughout high school.

“It’s a really good idea and will be a good motivation for students,” he said. “It should help kids in school and will encourage me to keep getting good grades.”

Kindle said he hopes the frames help students to keep their goals in mind and keep them on track to graduate in 2016.

“We know the four-year journey in high school begins in the student’s ninth grade year,” he said. “When I became principal here six years ago, we had a high number of freshman students failing more than one class and becoming in jeopardy of not graduating with their class in four years. Since that time, we have put our arms around this issue through our Freshman Focus program.”

The goal of the program is to help students stay on track to graduate.

“Along with other components, including the improvement of attendance, homework completion, student responsibility and keeping the goal of graduation as a focus, we have made great progress,” Kindle added. “We also credit our wonderful teachers for the great things they do for our students at YHS.”

He noted that the graduation rate has risen to 96 percent this past year, while the state average is at 81.5 percent.

“I wanted something to remind our students of their graduation goal,” Kindle said. “I thought a photo frame would serve as an ongoing reminder of this.”

Kindle thanked the Yankton Morning Optimist Club and the Yankton Wal-Mart for their contributions to assist in funding the picture frame project.

“Students can use their personal comments or goals as a time capsule of sorts, which they can look at when they get to their senior year and place their senior photo in the frame,” Kindle said.

Cody Dejong said the picture frames will help him over the next several years.

“The frame is going to help to accomplish bigger, better things in high school,” he said. “It will really help me a lot to get better grades.”

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal