In brief

Mumps cases spur reminder

An outbreak of mumps in the Midwest is prompting North Idaho officials to urge parents to ensure that their elementary- and college-age children have received two doses of the mumps-containing vaccine, MMR.

More than 1,800 people in eight states have contracted mumps during an outbreak that began in Iowa, according to a release from Tom Shanahan, spokesman for the state Department of Health and Welfare.

Three suspected cases and one actual case of mumps have been reported in Idaho, but the confirmed case does not appear related to the Midwest outbreak, he said.

Nevertheless, health officials are urging vaccine updates to prevent infection. Mumps usually is a mild disease, but severe complications can occur. The MMR vaccine – measles, mumps, rubella – is 90 percent effective in protecting against mumps if the person receives two doses. With one dose, protection drops to about 80 percent, health officials said.

The first dose of MMR is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months, with another dose given between ages 4 and 6. In recent years, some college-age students have been required to provide proof of a second vaccination.

For more information about mumps in Idaho, contact the state Immunization Program at (208) 334-5931.

– JoNel Aleccia

Coeur d’Alene

Parade withers for lack of sponsor

The Fred Murphy Days Parade is no more.

For the second year, nobody has stepped up to sponsor the annual parade honoring Coeur d’Alene’s colorful tugboat captain. For years, parade regulars marched down Sherman Avenue every Memorial Day weekend in the traditional kickoff to the tourist season.

Terry Cooper, of the Coeur d’Alene Downtown Association, said his group and the Coeur d’Alene Area Chamber of Commerce have no plans to revive the event.

Deputy City Clerk Kathy Lewis said nobody has pulled a parade permit and she hasn’t heard anyone express interest.

Originally known as the Lake City Days parade, the event was renamed in Murphy’s honor in 1988.

Stephen Gregory, a founder of the nonprofit Coeur d’Alene Festivals Committee, served as parade director for at least the past decade. When his wife, Wyn, died in 2004, Stephen and his daughter Carol relocated to Arizona.

That’s when the event ended.

Murphy died in 1986, when his snowmobile crashed through ice on Lake Coeur d’Alene’s Casco Bay.

– Erica Curless