• DNR Deer Reduction Hunts Scheduled
• Veterans Day Stats
• 2014 Women Count in Indiana Data Book
• Epilepsy Awareness Month

DNR Deer Reduction Hunts Scheduled

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources announced in a Nov. 3 press release that select Indiana state parks will close temporarily to allow for controlled deer reductions in the coming weeks.  The dates for the temporary closings are Nov. 17 & 18 and Dec. 1 & 2. The State Parks included are: Brown County, Chain O’Lakes, Charlestown, Clifty Falls, Harmonie, Lincoln, McCormick’s Creek, Ouabache, Pokagon, Potato Creek, Prophetstown, Shakamak, Summit Lake, Tippecanoe River, and Whitewater Memorial State Parks. These will close to the general public the evening before each of the two efforts and reopen the morning after each two-day reduction. Only individual hunters drawn last September and those hunters they listed on their applications may participate. At three additional parks, Fort Harrison (an archery hunt), and Indiana Dunes & Spring Mill (both firearms hunts), a public standby drawing to fill spots left vacant will take place on property each morning of the reduction. Questions about participating in the standby drawings should be directed to the property of interest.

DNR biologists evaluate which parks require a reduction each year based on habitat recovery and previous harvest rates at each park. The state parks are home to more than 32 state-endangered plants and numerous significant natural communities. The reductions help control browsing by deer to a level that helps maintain habitat throughout the state parks for all plants and animals.
A report on the 2013 reductions is now available at: http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/files/sp-DeerRMRR.pdf

Friday Facts Editorial Team:

Katharine Springer
State Data Center Coordinator

Kim Brown-Harden
Federal Documents Coordinator

Andrea Glenn
State Documents  Coordinator

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Veterans Day Stats

Tuesday, November 11 is Veterans Day, known in 1919 as “Armistice Day,” marking the first anniversary of the end of World War I. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation in 1954 to change the name to Veterans Day as a way to honor those who served in all American wars.

Here are some fast facts for the day:

• As of 2013, there were 19.6 million military veterans in the United States.
• 9.3 million of these veterans were 65 years and older in 2013. That’s 47%.
• 3.6 million, or 18%, of these veterans had a service-connected disability in 2013, a result of a disease or injury incurred or aggravated during active military service.
• 7.0 million (35%) of these veterans served in the Vietnam Era. 5.2 million (26%) served during the Gulf War Era (August 1990 to present). 1.3 million (6%) served in World War II. 2.1 million (10%) served in the Korean War. 4.7 million (23%) served in peacetime only.
• Three states had 1 million or more veterans living there in 2013. These states were California (1.7 million), Texas (1.5 million), and Florida (1.5 million).
  

Source: 2013 American Community Survey

2014 Women Count in Indiana Data Book

This year, the Indiana Department of Health has issued a Women Count in Indiana Data Book, a publication more than ten years in the making. Kathryn M. Jones, the Director of Indiana’s Office of Women’s Health, states in the booklet’s introduction that “the goal of the Office of Women’s Health that this data will be used to set priorities for women’s health issues, in order to allow resources to be used most effectively to improve the health of all women throughout Indiana. In addition, the Office of Women’s Health and other agencies focusing on women’s health issues in Indiana will use this data to clarify gaps in current kinds and levels of service and to identify future needs.” The publication contains chapters on reproductive health, mortality, violence against women, and health care usage, among others.

For comparison information, see the 2001 Women Count in Indiana Data Book, which provides county-level data.

Epilepsy Awareness Month

November is national Epilepsy Awareness Month. People with this disorder experience repeated brain seizures over time. Epileptic episodes can take many forms and can affect attention and behavior. About 2 million people in the United States have the illness. The type of epilepsy often portrayed in the media is the type that causes physical convulsions. This is only one type. To help diagnose epilepsy, doctors use an EEG (electroencephalogram) to check the electrical activity in the brain. Head CT or MRI scans are often done to find the cause and location of the problem in the brain. Thankfully, seizures can be controlled with modern medicine and surgery. The National Institute of Health’s Neurological Disorders and Stroke Institute provides a complete Epilepsy Information Page which directs users to information and publications about the condition along with several organizations involved in treatment and research. Medline Plus features an online Seizures and Epilepsy tutorial and an Epilepsy page with basic and detailed information, genetic study results, articles, and brochures.