Salem-News.com - News with Video Page 196

WHO Calls Breastfeeding Best Answer for Newborns in Haiti

Risks of miscarriages and other complications are serious.

(PORT-AU-PRINCE/SALEM) - The United Nations reports that about 7,000 women are due to give birth this month in Haiti, as medical teams continue to work around the clock in birthing tents to deliver newborns.

According to UNICEF, there are currently 120,000 pregnant women in Haiti, more than half are in earthquake-affected areas.

Veterans Demand End of `Don`t Ask Don`t Tell` Policy for Gays

"Right now we need every man on deck, we can't be picking and choosing unless we're going to bring the draft back" -Mario Benfield, American Legion Post 448

(SAN FRANCISCO) - Mario Benfield is the past commander of the only American Legion post whose membership is predominantly gay and lesbian.

Benfield and other vets are sick of Pres. Clinton's 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' policy banning gays from military service if they are honest about their lives.

Schools in Haiti Still Under Plenty of Rubble

Many survivors still harbor fears of ever being in a classroom again.

(PORT-AU-PRINCE/SALEM) - As schools in other provinces in Haiti reopened today, students of Port-au- Prince’s Daniel Fignolé high school, one of 8,000 schools damaged by the earthquake, still grieved their deceased classmates and teachers as well as struggled with the traumatic memories of being in a classroom again.

Louis Montespoir is the Director of the Daniel Fignole School. "We don't have any teachers that died in the building - but some died elsewhere. But we have 700 students who died."

A Mad World...Fairview Training Center Up in Flames

The historic building's demise brings to light the evolution and consequences of aged mental health misnomers.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Fairview, the State Institution for the Feeble-Minded, was established by the Oregon Legislative Assembly in 1907. It opened just outside Salem one year later with 39 residents that were transferred from the Oregon State Hospital.

Built on a 670 acre plot, Fairview was specifically charged with "the care and training of such feeble-minded, idiotic, epileptic, and defective persons as have been or may hereafter be committed to its custody."

Escaped Prison Population Poses Threat in Haiti

Officials plan to build areas to house the recaptured inmates, most likely outside the capital, but so far they have only recaptured 36 of some 5,100 missing prisoners.

(PORT-AU-PRINCE/SALEM) - Thousands of inmates fled Haiti’s main prison after buildings collapsed during the earthquake on 13 January, and they have posed a threat to security in this battered island nation.

Officials say Prison Civile de Port-au-Prince had been burned down by the prisoners after the earthquake in an attempt to destroy prison records. With the capital in such a vulnerable state, there was some concern that escapees may return to areas like Cite Soleil and try and form gangs.

Sgt Dyer, Oathkeepers, Tea Party & Patriot Militia Spokesman, Jailed for Child Rape

Flamboyant right wing supporter of Beck and Limbaugh charged for having sex with 7-year old.

(CINCINNATI) - Former Marine Sgt. Charles Alan Dyer, continually featured on patriotic videos supporting the Teabagger and Oathkeepers movements is currently jailed for sodomy with a 7-year old.

Dyer also faces federal charges for possession of a 40mm grenade launcher.

Haiti Amputees Struggle Amidst Destruction

There is also an increasing need for rehabilitation services.

(PORT-AU-PRINCE/SALEM) - Medical facilities in Haiti continued to see thousands of cases of infections and crush injuries leading to an increasing number of amputees in dire need of crutches and prostheses.

World Food Program Faces Logistical Challenges in Haiti

This week, three WFP-contracted helicopters will be operational in Haiti and nearly 75 trucks were also due to arrive.

(PORT-AU-PRINCE/SALEM) - Despite massive logistical challenges since the earthquake struck, the WFP has delivered more than 3.6 million rations so far. The overall security situation is generally calm, but incidents throughout the city have hampered distributions in the past few days.

All cargo transport took place in convoys with appropriate security, and security was also required at distribution sites. WFP worked closely with MINUSTAH and the US military to ramp up security and minimize disruption to food distributions.

Fire Rages at Old Fairview Training Center in Salem

This fire will destroy one of the facility's expansive multi level wooden buildings that have sat essentially abandoned but guarded over the last several years.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Firefighters are on the scene of a major 3-alarm commercial fire in a Salem commercial building on Strong Road. The fire at the Fairview Training Center has consumed a multi level wood building that was built in the early 1900's.

The fire's plume of dark smoke was visible miles from the location in South Salem. The Fairview Training Center was built just after the turn of the century and has been closed in recent decades since federal funding for mental health programs went away.

2009 Highway Deaths Hit Record 60-year Low

This preliminary rate is the lowest rate in Oregon motor vehicle history.

(SALEM, Ore.) - For 2009, preliminary numbers show that 381 people lost their lives on Oregon roads. That’s a 9 percent decline from 2008 and the lowest number of fatalities since the late 1940s.

Officials noted that one death is too many, but it is still heartening news for people whose job it is to reduce and prevent vehicle-related injuries and fatalities.