4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL April 20, 2016
O PINION
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Build it for kids
As a father of one child who complet-
ed Harrison Elementary and one child
who still attends, I am impressed every
day with the quality of the teaching that
goes on there.
As the co-president of Harrison’s par-
ent club working with other parents to
raise funds to ensure music, art, PE and
assemblies, I am amazed and bewildered
at the continual cuts to school budgets
that make providing a good education a
challenge, repairs diffi cult and improve-
ments an almost impossibility.
As a member of the design committee,
I have spoken at length with the archi-
tect who wrote the report on rehabbing
Harrison instead of rebuilding. I keep
getting stuck with the question: Even if
it could be done cheaper and we could
comply with all modern codes, where
are we going to teach the children while
this goes on? What are they going to
breathe? How much would this disrupt
their education?
As chairman of the Cottage Grove
planning commission, I am continually
reminded how little fl at terrain and how
few larges parcels we have for develop-
ment in Cottage Grove and am thankful
for the luck or foresight that currently
allows us the option to build a new
school at the Taylor avenue property.
As Chairman of the Build it for Kids
PAC, I have been gratifi ed at the over-
whelming support we hear from our
community for this bond to build a new
elementary school and improve facilities
and security throughout the District and
improve the pool that serves so many of
our residents.
As a citizen, I hope you will join with
me and vote yes to Build it for Kids!
Darby Valley
Cottage Grove
Build vs. remodel:
School board made the
right choice
Thank you for your article examining
the difference between building a new
elementary school versus remodeling
the existing Harrison Elementary. It’s
prudent that we consider this choice
before making the signifi cant invest-
ment to build a new school. That said,
it’s clear that the school board made
the right choice in deciding that a new
school is the best, most cost-effective
option.
If we remodel Harrison, the result-
ing school will certainly be much bet-
ter than it is currently, but a remodeled
school can’t possibly compare with a
newly built school in many ways.
A newly built school would have large
classroom size, which teachers consider
to be particularly important, whereas
a remodeled Harrison would still have
relatively small classrooms.
A new school would have lots of
natural light, excellent ventilation, and
would be very energy effi cient, whereas
a remodeled Harrison would still have
outdated heating and cooling systems
and be considerably less energy effi -
cient.
A new school would incorporate
fl exible design to allow it to adapt to
changes in education over time, includ-
ing grade-level learning communities to
allow collaboration among classrooms.
A remodeled school would likely not.
A new school built on the site of the
old high school would have excellent
parking and would be designed to ac-
commodate the traffi c safely and con-
veniently. A remodeled school would
sit on a site that is far too small for the
school population, would have less than
ideal parking, and would have a drop-off
and pick-up situation that is not nearly
as safe or as convenient as it could be.
A remodeled Harrison school doesn’t
save us that much money over building
a new school, and yet it has signifi cant
drawbacks. It’s simply not cost effec-
tive. Let’s spend the small amount extra
over remodeling to create a fi rst-class
school for the future.
Christina Shew
Cottage Grove
Eyesore
Cottage Grove has an eyesore as you
come into town on the south end on the
left side and right side of Highway 99.
There are blackberry thickets on the
left side, a falling-down house, piles of
brush, and the one place burnt down.
The owner would like this cleaned up,
but it falls on deaf ears with the city
and county. This kind of thing hurts
business. The right side is falling-down
trees stumps, brush and all.
One more thing is that the roads are
so bad. This kind of the thing is bad
for your cars and trucks — damage is a
problem. I had some damage to my rigs
as well.
Cottage Grove should get a big award
for the worst landscape from many di-
rections, and as I stated, on the street:
All America City Worst Chuck Hole
Streets. The City and County tell you
there’s no money — Boy that’s a good
one.
I voted for ages for a tax for the
streets, then another one and one more.
I was born here 59 years ago, but just
because I live out of the city limits, I
can’t vote on city issues.
Mike Ritter
Cottage Grove
No-cost preventive screenings
save money, lives
F
or years, we’ve been hear-
ing from organizations like the
American Cancer Society, American
Heart Association, and the American
Diabetes Association, among others,
about the importance of preventive
health screenings and early detection
of potentially life threatening diseases.
Catching health problems early saves
money, and, more importantly, it saves
lives. While many insured Americans
take advantage of these screenings,
many others do not, often due to real
or perceived cost.
It wasn’t until the implementation of
the Affordable Care Act in 2013 that
preventive health screenings, ranging
from colorectal and breast cancer to
cholesterol and blood pressure testing,
became available at no cost to the vast
majority of Americans.
Despite this, many Americans con-
tinue to underuse them. Only three in
fi ve Oregonians are currently getting
screened for colorectal cancer — the
second leading cause of cancer deaths
in Oregon, according to the American
Cancer Society. Together with provid-
ers and other health care organizations
nationwide, the American Cancer So-
ciety has set a goal to increase this rate
to 80 percent by 2018.
Still, many Oregonians aren’t get-
ting screened for colorectal cancer and
other preventable diseases because
they don’t believe they are at risk,
don’t understand what testing options
are available to them or don’t think
they can afford it.
Regular screenings for colorec-
tal cancer, breast cancer and cervical
cancer, among others, are important
because they are the most powerful
weapon we have in fi ghting prevent-
able diseases. Even simple biometric
screenings that measure body mass
index, cholesterol and blood pressure
levels, and other vital signs can provide
valuable baseline information and es-
tablish risk levels for certain diseases.
Preventive screenings are also key
to keeping America’s rising health
care costs under control. It costs the
consumer nothing to take advantage
of federally approved health screen-
ings, and treating the early stages of a
disease can be far less expensive than
treating it in its advanced stages.
Secondly, preventive screenings lead
to early detection, which helps identify
diseases when they are most treatable.
In short, a preventive screening can
save your life.
Adults with certain risk factors may
be eligible for other screenings, such as
lung cancer and osteoporosis. Follow-
ing is a small sampling of the preven-
tive health services available to insured
Americans at no charge:
Blood pressure screening
Colorectal cancer screening
Depression screening
Type 2 diabetes screening
Obesity screening and counseling
Breast cancer screening
Cervical cancer screen
Osteoporosis screening
Tobacco use screening
By utilizing no-cost preventive
screenings, it’s easier than ever for Or-
egonians to take stock of their health.
And if you’re unsure about your ben-
efi ts, contact your health insurance
provider for a clear picture of the tests
and screenings for which you qualify.
It could be a life-changing call.
Justin Montoya, MD, is Medical
Director for Commercial Programs
at Pacifi cSource Health Plans.
Telomeres are central to the aging process
BY JOEL FUHRMAN, MD
For the Sentinel
T
elomeres are the caps of
DNA at the ends of our
chromosomes that protect our
genetic
material
and make
it possible
for our cells
to divide.
Telomeres
are where
the DNA
replication machinery attaches
during the cell division process,
so that the entire DNA strand
can be copied. Each time the
cell divides, the telomeres get
shorter. For the next cell division
to happen, there must be enough
room left on the telomere for
the replication enzymes. If the
telomere becomes too short, the
DNA can’t be copied properly,
and the cell cannot divide. To
prevent excessive shortening,
the enzyme telomerase rebuilds
telomeres. Telomere length and
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telomerase activity are factors
associated with aging, not only
within individual cells, but of
organisms as a whole. As sci-
entists continue to examine the
complex role of telomeres in
the aging process and the role
they play in our health, we have
come to understand that shorter
telomere length is associated
with biological aging and life-
style-related diseases such as
heart disease, diabetes, osteopo-
rosis and cancer, and premature
death.
The good news is that telo-
mere length, although infl u-
enced by genetics, can also be
affected by environmental fac-
tors, including diet and lifestyle
choices. A superior diet and a
healthy lifestyle are associated
with greater telomere length.
Conversely, since oxidative
stress and chronic infl ammation
are linked to telomere shorten-
ing, studies have reported fac-
tors that promote infl ammation
and oxidative stress may also
accelerate telomere erosion,
namely a high body mass index,
obesity, a sedentary lifestyle,
smoking, chronic stress and a
low socioeconomic status.
What does this mean for you
and me? It means that the posi-
tive choices we make when it
comes to what we eat or how
much we exercise—among other
lifestyle factors—can maintain
our telomeres, one of the many
mechanisms by which healthy
behaviors promote longevity.
Higher levels of vegetable and
fruit consumption, fi ber intake,
vitamin and mineral adequacy,
and exercise are the factors as-
sociated with longer telomeres
and/or greater telomerase en-
zyme activity.
When the telomeres get too
short, the cell can no longer di-
vide, becoming what scientists
call senescent. Senescent cells
are still alive, but not able to
carry out normal cellular pro-
cesses, and as more cells in a
tissue become senescent, it im-
pairs the tissue’s ability to repair
damage. Plus, senescent cells
secrete factors that negatively
affect the function of neighbor-
ing cells, including promoting
the development of cancer.
Telomere length and telom-
erase enzyme activity can be
measured in human white blood
cells. A shorter length or lower
telomerase activity has been as-
sociated with not only the short-
ening of the human lifespan,
but also a number of chronic,
preventable diseases, including
hypertension,
cardiovascular
disease, insulin resistance, type
2 diabetes, depression, osteopo-
rosis and obesity.
In a study assessing the rela-
tionship of food groups to telo-
mere length, vegetables were
found to have the most sig-
nifi cant association to greater
telomere length. In particular,
peppers, carrots, spinach, to-
matoes and root vegetables had
the highest correlation. Further
analysis showed specifi c mi-
cronutrients from whole plant
foods were associated with telo-
mere length. Also, in a study
involving an elderly population,
vegetable and fruit consumption
were both signifi cantly associat-
ed with longer length telomeres.
Another study in women found
dietary fi ber consumption to
be associated with longer telo-
meres, further supporting the
idea that whole plant foods can
improve telomere length.
In addition to a healthful diet,
supplementing with a carefully
designed multivitamin can help
to optimize the body’s supply of
micronutrients, which may ben-
efi t telomere length by temper-
ing oxidative stress and chronic
infl ammation.
A comprehensive lifestyle
change study assessed the im-
pact on telomeres and found
improvements in diet, exercise,
stress management and social
support signifi cantly increased
telomere length by approxi-
mately 10 percent. Notably, the
more individuals changed their
behaviors, the more dramatic
their improvements became.
The aging process is com-
plex, and much has yet to be
determined, but these fi ndings
indicate that lifestyle factors
can infl uence telomere length
and cellular aging. A high-nutri-
ent diet and a healthy lifestyle
supports healthy aging and may
even help decelerate the aging
process.
Dr. Fuhrman is a #1 New
York Times best-selling author
and a board certifi ed family
physician specializing in life-
style and nutritional medicine.
Visit his informative website at
DrFuhrman.com. Submit your
questions and comments about
this column directly to news-
questions@drfuhrman.com.
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