A couple of additional key points about tonite's story... first, bird flu has always been an issue for poultry growers (they call themselves growers, not farmers). What's important is the strain of bird flu you're talking about. The asian strain is problematic for birds because it is very contagious, etc. It's problematic for people because of the possibility it could mutate into something that spreads easily between people. Right now, people can get it but they have to be very, very close to birds and it's unlikely that would be a problem in our American culture.

Second, it really is okay to eat chicken if bird flu arrived. The odds of an infected bird reaching our table are very slim AND if you cook the chicken properly to 165 degrees then it would kill any virus anyway. Yet another good reason to dust off that meat thermometer.

And finally, a side-note about what happens when asian bird flu strikes an area abroad. An OSU extention poutlry expert says poultry consumption drops in the area in some cases by 30%, 40%, or even 50%. Big American producers can't export as much chicken so they keep it here domestically and dump it into the market at low prices (once their huge storage freezers are at capacity). That impacts Oregon growers because it lowers prices for everyone.

If asian bird flu hit Oregon.. would you stop eating chicken?

Email me and let me know: sstricklen@kgw.com

On the Phenergan story a gentlemen who emails me from time to time writes: "Hey, Vistarol (for me) is a better choice... Whenever I'm in the hospital (which as of late I have not) as a patient, I always ask for Visterol because nothing beats it for beating nausea after surgery.

Just one dudes (who's had 15 brain ops, 2 eye ops, appendectomy, 4 otho ops), opinion.