THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2007
NEWS 5A
FLOOD
Associated Press
People are taken to higher ground in northern Ohio. The governor of Ohio declared a state of emergency after rains flooded many homes in the state.
Heavy rains roll through northern Ohio
BY JOHN SEEWER ASSOCIATED PRESS
FINDLAY, Ohio - The governor declared a state of emergency Wednesday as rescuers in boats and canoes tried to reach dozens of people trapped in flooded homes in northern Ohio,the latest state swamped by heavy rain across the Upper Midwest and Plains.
Aerial views showed miles of fields and roads under water. The state's worst flooding in nearly 100 years closed streets and schools and forced at least 500 people to evacuate.
With only a few rescue boats available, neighbors in the northwest Ohio town of Findlay set out in their own kayaks and canoes in waist-deep streets to ferry others to safety.
The Blanchard River was close to 7 feet above flood stage at Findlay on Wednesday morning, the highest since a 1913 flood, and it was likely to rise another half-foot or more, the National Weather Service said.
In Bucyrus,Ohio. 40 miles to the southeast, nearly 9 inches of rain had fallen since Monday and at least 200 people were still out of their homes, the Crawford County Department of Emergency Management said.
"Reality is starting to set in about just how much damage there is in some of the flooded areas," said Tim Flock, director of the agency.
Officials were nervously watching bands of rain passing just south of the area, he said. "It's still raining on us, but it's not hateful — it's just sprinkling," he said.
Gov. Ted Strickland declared states of emergency in nine counties in northwest and north-central Ohio, including Crawford County and Findlay's Hancock County.
The death toll from two storm systems — one that has spanned the Upper Midwest and another from remnants of Tropical Storm Erin in Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri
— reached 22 on Tuesday when searchers found the body of a man tangled in a tree near Lewiston, Minn.
Flooding also continued in northern Iowa as thunderstorms dumped more heavy rain across the already water-logged region Wednesday. Three subdivisions along the Des Moines River near Fort Dodge were evacuated, and crews were scrambling to reinforce a levee, officials said.
SEX
Study shows elderly still have plenty of fun in the bedroom
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY MARILYNN MARCHIONE
That may be too much information for some folks.
An unprecedented study of sex and senior citizens finds that many older people are surprisingly frisky — willing to do, and talk about, intimate acts that would make their grandchildren blush.
And the drop-off has a lot to do with health or lack of a partner, especially for women, the survey found.
But it comes from the most comprehensive sex survey ever done among 57- to 85-year-olds in the United States. Sex and interest in it do fall off when people are in their 70s, but more than a quarter of those up to age 85 reported having sex in the previous year.
The federally funded study, done by respected scientists and published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, overturns some stereotypical notions that physical pleasure is just a young person's game.
"Most people assume that people stop doing it after some vague age," said sex researcher Edward Laumann of the University of Chicago.
However, more than half of those aged 57 to 75 said they gave or received oral sex, as did about a third of 75- to 85-year-olds.
"Bravo that the New England Journal of Medicine is publishing something like that. It's about time," said Ruth Westheimer, better known as sexpert Dr. Ruth, who has long counseled seniors on sex.
The survey involved two-hour face-to-face interviews with 3,005 men and women around the country. Researchers also took blood, saliva and other samples that will tell about hormone levels, sex-related infections and other health issues in future reports. They even tested how well seniors could see, taste, hear and smell — things that affect being able to have and enjoy sex.
Some results:
—Sex with a partner in the previous year was reported by 73 percent of people ages 57 to 64; 53 percent of those ages 64 to 75, and 26 percent of people 75 to 85. Of those who were active, most said they did it two to three times a month or more.
—Women at all ages were less likely to be sexually active than men.
But they also lacked partners; far more were widowed.
People whose health was excellent or very good were nearly twice as likely to be sexually active as those in poor or fair health.
—Only 22 percent of women and 38 percent of men had discussed sex with a doctor since age 50.
improve sex.
The survey had a remarkable 75 percent response rate. Only 2 percent to 7 percent did not answer questions about sexual activities or problems, although a higher percentage declined to reveal how often they masturbate.
—Half of people having sex reported at least one related problem. Most common in men was erection trouble (37 percent); in women, low desire (43 percent), vaginal dryness (39 percent) and inability to have an orgasm (34 percent).
Sex is an important indicator of health, said Georgeanne Patmios of the National Institute on Aging, the study's main funder.
Sexual problems can be a warning sign of diabetes, infections, cancer or other health woes. Untreated sex issues can lead to depression and social withdrawal, and people may even stop needed medications
—One out of seven men used Viagra or other substances to
because of sexual side effects, the researchers wrote.
"Most people assume that people stop doing it after some vague age."
EDWARD LAUMANN Sex Researcher, University of Chicago
Some of them did a landmarkstudy of sexual habits in younger people a decade ago, but little is known
"This subject has been taboo for so long that many older people haven't even talked to their spouses about their sexual problems, let alone a physician," said Dr. Stacy Tesser Lindau, a University of Chicago gynecologist.
about X-rated behaviors beyond Generation X.
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