More than 10% of U.S. teenagers who said they practise abstinence tested positive for sexually transmitted disease in a recent study.
The study, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, calls for more widespread STD testing for American teenagers — even when they say they don't need it.
Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, researchers looked at about 14,000 teens between Grades 7 and 12 who agreed to provide a urine sample to be tested for gonorrhea, chlamydia and trichomoniasis.
Of those, just over 11,000 said they'd had sexual intercourse with at least one partner in the previous year, while the remaining 3,000 said they'd been abstinent in that time.
The results came back with 964 participants testing positive for STDs — the vast majority of whom admitted to being sexually active.
But 118 participants — more than 10% — tested positive despite claiming they were abstinent. What's more, 60 of those reported they'd never had sexual intercourse in their life.
“The value of young adults' self-report to the prediction of a positive test result was only modest,” said the report's authors, noting that doctors should regularly screen teenagers' urine for STDs, no matter what they say about their sexual activity.
Usually, family doctors only begin screening for STDs when a patient says they are sexually active.
The authors acknowledged the study's shortcomings. They said enough time passed between the survey and the urine tests that some teens could have contracted STDs more than a year before getting tested. As well, urine tests can occasionally produce false positives.
Also, the definition of sex in the study is limited to heterosexual vaginal intercourse, which is the cause of most, but not all, instances of the three STDs included in the study.
Up to the minute news and information for London Ontario Canada and surrounding regions.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Oshweken man faces attempted murder charges.
WOODSTOCK - An Ohsweken man has been charged with attempted murder after he allegedly tried to run over a police officer with a stolen vehicle during a high-speed chase through Woodstock Tuesday.
De Gae Hodo Owen Hill, 27, is charged with attempting to murder OPP Const.
Jeff Gracey by using a motor vehicle. He is also charged with two counts of dangerous operation of a vehicle, failing to stop for police, attempt theft of a vehicle, theft and fraud.
Alicia Barbara Martin, 26, also faces charges in connection with the pursuit that started on Highway 403 and ended on Dufferin Street in Woodstock.
The couple is jointly charged with possession of a stolen pickup truck over $5,000, theft over $5,000.
Martin also faces a charge of breach of probation charge.
Hill and Martin made a brief appearance today in court and are being held for a bail hearing. Martin is scheduled to appear in court Friday and Hill returns by video March 4.
OPP and Woodstock police set up at various locations throughout the city in an attempt to stop the stolen vehicle.
About a dozen officers were involved in the pursuit that lasted for more than an hour.
Once in the city, the suspect managed to evade police long enough to steal a second vehicle - an unoccupied GMC Yukon on Jubilee Place, police said.
An OPP officer stopped traffic at Oxford Road 4 and Dundas Street to lay down a spike belt as the suspect vehicle approached.
Police said the driver continued to flee police after almost striking the officer at the intersection.
De Gae Hodo Owen Hill, 27, is charged with attempting to murder OPP Const.
Jeff Gracey by using a motor vehicle. He is also charged with two counts of dangerous operation of a vehicle, failing to stop for police, attempt theft of a vehicle, theft and fraud.
Alicia Barbara Martin, 26, also faces charges in connection with the pursuit that started on Highway 403 and ended on Dufferin Street in Woodstock.
The couple is jointly charged with possession of a stolen pickup truck over $5,000, theft over $5,000.
Martin also faces a charge of breach of probation charge.
Hill and Martin made a brief appearance today in court and are being held for a bail hearing. Martin is scheduled to appear in court Friday and Hill returns by video March 4.
OPP and Woodstock police set up at various locations throughout the city in an attempt to stop the stolen vehicle.
About a dozen officers were involved in the pursuit that lasted for more than an hour.
Once in the city, the suspect managed to evade police long enough to steal a second vehicle - an unoccupied GMC Yukon on Jubilee Place, police said.
An OPP officer stopped traffic at Oxford Road 4 and Dundas Street to lay down a spike belt as the suspect vehicle approached.
Police said the driver continued to flee police after almost striking the officer at the intersection.
Drug raid nets guns ammo
a case police call “alarming,” a handgun, ammunition and five bullet-proof vests were seized in a drug raid on a London home.
Members of the guns and drugs section searched a Windermere Rd. home and seized drugs and drug paraphernalia. And when they searched a Hummer SUV they found more drugs. Two London men were arrested and charged.
“It’s alarming,” said Const. Dennis Rivest. “It’s significant any time we get a handgun off the streets, but especially so when you consider the number of rounds (74) they had and the fact they had five bullet-proof vests. ”
A Taurus semi-automatic .40-calibre handgun, the ammunition and vests were seized last Saturday evening, along with a small quantity of marijuana, cocaine, 92 Ocycocet pills, two scales, cellphones and $1,550 in cash.
Members of the guns and drugs section searched a Windermere Rd. home and seized drugs and drug paraphernalia. And when they searched a Hummer SUV they found more drugs. Two London men were arrested and charged.
“It’s alarming,” said Const. Dennis Rivest. “It’s significant any time we get a handgun off the streets, but especially so when you consider the number of rounds (74) they had and the fact they had five bullet-proof vests. ”
A Taurus semi-automatic .40-calibre handgun, the ammunition and vests were seized last Saturday evening, along with a small quantity of marijuana, cocaine, 92 Ocycocet pills, two scales, cellphones and $1,550 in cash.
No trial for male nurse in Ottawa suicide.
OTTAWA — The former male nurse from Minnesota charged with persuading a Carleton University student to kill herself has opted to let a judge decide his fate without a trial.
William Melchert-Dinkel's trial was expected to begin in April. Instead, on Tuesday he agreed to let Judge Thomas Neuville deliver a verdict within the next 10 days.
Melchert-Dinkel, 48, is charged with encouraging the suicide of Nadia Kajouji, 18, who killed herself by jumping into the freezing Rideau River in March 2008.
He's also charged in connection with the death of Mark Drybrough, 32, who hanged himself in Coventry, England, three years earlier.
Police say Melchert-Dinkel used aliases and posed as a female nurse, but investigators managed to trace the e-mails to his Faribault, Minn., home.
Police say Melchert-Dinkel participated in online chats with at least 15 people about suicide and what certain deaths would feel like, and entered into fake suicide pacts with about 10 people — five of whom he believed killed themselves.
He could face 30 years in prison if found guilty.
William Melchert-Dinkel's trial was expected to begin in April. Instead, on Tuesday he agreed to let Judge Thomas Neuville deliver a verdict within the next 10 days.
Melchert-Dinkel, 48, is charged with encouraging the suicide of Nadia Kajouji, 18, who killed herself by jumping into the freezing Rideau River in March 2008.
He's also charged in connection with the death of Mark Drybrough, 32, who hanged himself in Coventry, England, three years earlier.
Police say Melchert-Dinkel used aliases and posed as a female nurse, but investigators managed to trace the e-mails to his Faribault, Minn., home.
Police say Melchert-Dinkel participated in online chats with at least 15 people about suicide and what certain deaths would feel like, and entered into fake suicide pacts with about 10 people — five of whom he believed killed themselves.
He could face 30 years in prison if found guilty.
Public give insight on Downtown
When Ted Zurbrigg was a young boy, his mother would send him to downtown London to catch a show with his brother.
More than 50 years later, Zubrigg avoids Dundas and Richmond streets, sticking to King Street and others to avoid the iconic intersection.
“It’s disheartening to me what happened to this city . . . I’ve traveled enough to know there are places in the world where it’s really fun to be in the downtown, and I’m glad London is trying to bring that here,” Zubrigg said Tuesday night at a public input session into the downtown master plan.
“There are a lot of people with a passion for our city and London has a lot of creative people and creative ideas, it’s just a slow evolution.”
More than 100 people showed up to the public workshops, held by the city at Museum London, the third in a series of input sessions for Londoners about the core.
Tuesday night’s event focused on “big ideas” — ways to transform downtown with a comprehensive vision that would change it from a sometimes scary, dirty and maligned area of the city into a bustling pedestrian center.
“We’re looking for those trans formative notions that tell us what we want downtown to be, how we will get there and how we’ll know that we got there,” said Gregg Barrett, London’s manager of city planning and research.
Previous public meetings had narrowed down about 300 problem areas for downtown to 15 major issues. Tuesday’s discussion focused on narrowing down the 15 even further and choosing priorities.
The main 15 areas included things like making Dundas Street and the Forks of the Thames more active, redistributing social service offices from Dundas and Richmond streets, establishing a City of London downtown parking authority and dealing with negative public perceptions of safety downtown.
People like Sandra Murillo came to give their input armed with a vision of what downtown London could be.
“When you think of downtown areas around the world, there is always a meeting space for all kinds of activities, something that connects people,” said Murillo, an internationally trained architect who currently works in landscape architecture.
“I’m really committed to this.”
Others, like University of Western Ontario student Chandra Dougall, said she sees a lot of opportunities for city..
“One of the biggest opportunities they’re missing out on is the students,” she said of downtown.
“Many have never gone past Richmond.”
The city’s urban designer, Sean Galloway, showed a number of 3D mock-ups of what areas around Museum London, the John Labatt Centre and the Forks could look like if some changes were made, including making the Kensington Bridge pedestrian-only and creating more shared public space.
Meanwhile, Zubrigg is hopeful that the downtown he knew in his youth can be revived.
“It’s doable. It’s happening,” he said.
“City planners will take the big ideas developed Tuesday night and draft a downtown master plan by April. After that, public input sessions begin on the draft plan and carry into June.
More than 50 years later, Zubrigg avoids Dundas and Richmond streets, sticking to King Street and others to avoid the iconic intersection.
“It’s disheartening to me what happened to this city . . . I’ve traveled enough to know there are places in the world where it’s really fun to be in the downtown, and I’m glad London is trying to bring that here,” Zubrigg said Tuesday night at a public input session into the downtown master plan.
“There are a lot of people with a passion for our city and London has a lot of creative people and creative ideas, it’s just a slow evolution.”
More than 100 people showed up to the public workshops, held by the city at Museum London, the third in a series of input sessions for Londoners about the core.
Tuesday night’s event focused on “big ideas” — ways to transform downtown with a comprehensive vision that would change it from a sometimes scary, dirty and maligned area of the city into a bustling pedestrian center.
“We’re looking for those trans formative notions that tell us what we want downtown to be, how we will get there and how we’ll know that we got there,” said Gregg Barrett, London’s manager of city planning and research.
Previous public meetings had narrowed down about 300 problem areas for downtown to 15 major issues. Tuesday’s discussion focused on narrowing down the 15 even further and choosing priorities.
The main 15 areas included things like making Dundas Street and the Forks of the Thames more active, redistributing social service offices from Dundas and Richmond streets, establishing a City of London downtown parking authority and dealing with negative public perceptions of safety downtown.
People like Sandra Murillo came to give their input armed with a vision of what downtown London could be.
“When you think of downtown areas around the world, there is always a meeting space for all kinds of activities, something that connects people,” said Murillo, an internationally trained architect who currently works in landscape architecture.
“I’m really committed to this.”
Others, like University of Western Ontario student Chandra Dougall, said she sees a lot of opportunities for city..
“One of the biggest opportunities they’re missing out on is the students,” she said of downtown.
“Many have never gone past Richmond.”
The city’s urban designer, Sean Galloway, showed a number of 3D mock-ups of what areas around Museum London, the John Labatt Centre and the Forks could look like if some changes were made, including making the Kensington Bridge pedestrian-only and creating more shared public space.
Meanwhile, Zubrigg is hopeful that the downtown he knew in his youth can be revived.
“It’s doable. It’s happening,” he said.
“City planners will take the big ideas developed Tuesday night and draft a downtown master plan by April. After that, public input sessions begin on the draft plan and carry into June.
Fontana set on Wage Freeze
Mayor Joe Fontana is shifting gears as he speeds along what he calls "the path to zero" -- the 2011 property tax freeze he'd promised Londoners.
Fontana, who's also city council's budget chief, says he's now recommending putting all the new cash generated through tax-base growth, about $6.3 million, toward freezing taxes as council heads into Wednesday's crucial operating budget talks.
"We can get to zero . . . the road to zero is there," he said Tuesday.
But this is a stark change from earlier in the budget season, when Fontana said he opposed putting all the so-called assessment growth cash toward a tax freeze.
At first, staff recommended putting about one-third of that money against taxes. The rest was to go to cut debt and fund services.
That recommendation was adjusted Jan. 6, with more money from the assessment- growth pot going to freezing taxes.
Now, Fontana says he'll recommend to council that all the $6.3 million in assessment- growth cash go to freezing taxes -- suggesting his tax-freeze promise couldn't otherwise happen without service cuts.
Council heads into Wednesday's deliberations needing to find $2.8 million in savings to deliver a tax freeze.
The mayor acknowledged that if the assessment growth cash isn't put toward the tax freeze, one can only be achieved by cutting services -- which he vowed on last fall's campaign trail not to do.
"There's about $2.8 million from a possible cut list . . . that council (would have) to make a decision on certain things that it can cut to get to (zero).
"You can take $2.8 million (from) the cut list, and it has some very serious -- not serious, it has some minor service cuts -- or you can essentially take the assessment growth (money) and apply it."
Fontana's recommendation would leave council only $500,000 in cuts from a 2011 property tax freeze, he said.
When budget season opened, city brass tabled a proposed budget that would have hiked property taxes by 2.7%. Getting that to zero required finding $12.7 million in cuts.
The mayor lauded city managers for finding savings within city hall that largely got council to this point.
London's outside boards and commissions -- such as the police and London Transit -- found savings totalling $1.1 million, which Fontana said must improve in 2012.
Fontana campaigned last year on a key vow to freeze property taxes for four years, which resonated with tax-fatigued voters and propelled him to victory.
He also promised to freeze water and sewer charges for 2011 only, which has already been accomplished.
Final approval of London's 2011 budget is slated for Feb. 28.
Fontana, who's also city council's budget chief, says he's now recommending putting all the new cash generated through tax-base growth, about $6.3 million, toward freezing taxes as council heads into Wednesday's crucial operating budget talks.
"We can get to zero . . . the road to zero is there," he said Tuesday.
But this is a stark change from earlier in the budget season, when Fontana said he opposed putting all the so-called assessment growth cash toward a tax freeze.
At first, staff recommended putting about one-third of that money against taxes. The rest was to go to cut debt and fund services.
That recommendation was adjusted Jan. 6, with more money from the assessment- growth pot going to freezing taxes.
Now, Fontana says he'll recommend to council that all the $6.3 million in assessment- growth cash go to freezing taxes -- suggesting his tax-freeze promise couldn't otherwise happen without service cuts.
Council heads into Wednesday's deliberations needing to find $2.8 million in savings to deliver a tax freeze.
The mayor acknowledged that if the assessment growth cash isn't put toward the tax freeze, one can only be achieved by cutting services -- which he vowed on last fall's campaign trail not to do.
"There's about $2.8 million from a possible cut list . . . that council (would have) to make a decision on certain things that it can cut to get to (zero).
"You can take $2.8 million (from) the cut list, and it has some very serious -- not serious, it has some minor service cuts -- or you can essentially take the assessment growth (money) and apply it."
Fontana's recommendation would leave council only $500,000 in cuts from a 2011 property tax freeze, he said.
When budget season opened, city brass tabled a proposed budget that would have hiked property taxes by 2.7%. Getting that to zero required finding $12.7 million in cuts.
The mayor lauded city managers for finding savings within city hall that largely got council to this point.
London's outside boards and commissions -- such as the police and London Transit -- found savings totalling $1.1 million, which Fontana said must improve in 2012.
Fontana campaigned last year on a key vow to freeze property taxes for four years, which resonated with tax-fatigued voters and propelled him to victory.
He also promised to freeze water and sewer charges for 2011 only, which has already been accomplished.
Final approval of London's 2011 budget is slated for Feb. 28.
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