SUPPLIES TIGHT
FOR OREGON
XMAS TREES
TIMBERS
EARN MLS
CUP TRIP
SPORTS/1B
NORTHWEST/2A
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2018
143rd Year, No. 32
One dollar
WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Your Weekend
•
•
•
Holiday bazaars
throughout the region
Festival of Trees,
Hermiston
Handbell concert,
Pendleton
For times and places
see Coming Events, 6A
Weekend Weather
Fri
Sat
Sun
48/33
42/32
40/26
HERMISTON
Commercial,
residential
insurance
premiums
likely to fall
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Commercial and residen-
tial insurance premiums will
likely go down in the Herm-
iston and Stanfield area after
Umatilla County Fire Dis-
trict’s Insurance Services
Office rating improved.
Both cities, as well as
most of the rural area UCFD
covers, have been upgraded
to a class three. Previously,
Hermiston was a class four
and Stanfield was a class
five.
The ISO gives fire dis-
tricts ratings on a scale of 1
to 10 based on factors, such
as a fire district’s response
times, station proximity,
equipment quality, train-
ing hours, water infrastruc-
ture and dispatch call-han-
dling times. Dick Ferranti of
Ferranti Graybeal Insurance
Agency in Hermiston said
the lower the number, the
less risky insurance compa-
nies consider an area.
“A lower number indi-
cates a quicker response,
better equipment, better
vehicles, etc. so that if we do
have a fire they can put it out
more quickly,” he said.
He said the ISO class is
one of several things insur-
ance companies look at
See PREMIUMS/8A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Dentist Graham McEntire, left, and dental assistant Shalena Gandy work on prepping patient Evelyn Arbogast to
receive a crown on one of her teeth on Wednesday in Pendleton.
Teeth and gums affect
overall health
“The mouth is like a
freeway system to the
rest of your body” —
Dr. Teri Barichello
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonians
n a time of chia seeds, fast-
ing, interval training and low-
carb diets, consider the lowly
toothbrush.
Want to stay healthy? Take
care of your mouth.
Mounting evidence suggests
the path to good health starts
with good dental hygiene. More
sink time may lead to a healthier
heart and lower risk of diabetes,
high blood pressure, liver dis-
ease, dementia and respiratory
infections.
A study released this year
found a link between teeth-brush-
ing habits and risk of cardiovas-
cular disease.
“The mouth is like a freeway
system to the rest of your body,”
said Dr. Teri Barichello, vice
president and chief dental officer
at ODS Companies.
The onramp to the freeway?
Bleeding gums. Bleeding gums
are a symptom of oral disease
that signals danger and offers an
opening for bacteria to escape to
the rest of the body. Once in the
bloodstream, it reacts with blood
vessels to form arterial plaque.
“Bleeding gums are not OK.
I
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Dentist Graham McEntire, upper right, and assistant Shale-
na Gandy work on patient Evelyn Arbogast in Pendleton on
Wednesday. Recent studies have shown there are links be-
tween good oral hygiene and overall health.
Blood in your spit is an indi-
cation of inflammation,” Bar-
ichello said. “The CDC (Centers
for Disease Control) estimates
that 50 percent of adult Amer-
icans are walking around with
gum disease and most don’t
know it. It’s a silent disease.”
Dr. Jim Rickards, senior med-
ical director at Moda Health,
said the connection between
dental problems and the body’s
overall health is becoming more
apparent with each new study.
“Teeth and gums have tremen-
dous impact on overall health,”
Rickards said. “The mouth is
really the entryway to the body.
Having those routine screenings
is incredibly important.”
With the understanding that
oral health affects disease in the
rest of the body, insurance com-
panies are starting to offer health
management programs focused
on dental hygiene. Rickards said
women in Moda’s maternity pro-
gram, for example, work with a
health coach and undergo dental
screening.
An increasing number of stud-
ies are showing links between
heart health and dental health.
“Renowned cardiovascular
physicians are saying we can’t
manage for all the risks with-
out involving dental,” Barichello
said.
Uncontrolled diabetics are
more likely to develop gum dis-
See TEETH/8A
Test your knowledge
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
Staff photo by Jayati Ramakrishnan
Students from Stanfield Secondary School discuss a question at
Thursday’s Knowledge Bowl competition in Hermiston.
Winning the Knowledge Bowl
takes several of the seven cardinal
virtues — patience, diligence, even
humility — but knowing what the
whole group of them are called was
worth a point all by itself.
One of the questions in the final
round asked students: Since the early
days of the Christian church, the
seven deadly sins have been balanced
by the seven cardinal what?
The battle of wits at Hermiston
High School put students from local
high schools through four rounds
of questioning, on subjects from
pre-calculus and chemistry to reli-
gion and world history
A final round ended with a team
from Echo on top, followed by two
Hermiston teams.
Several local schools host compe-
titions throughout the year. This year,
teams from Echo, Hermiston, Stan-
field and Umatilla competed, along
with a team from Connell, Wash-
ington, about 30 miles north of the
Tri-Cities.
The Hermiston club is run by HHS
counselor Maggie Hughes-Boyd, and
See TEST/8A