Friday, January 24, 2020 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A5
Keeping the beach clean is a year-round job
aquarium is now able to collect
and recycle cigarette butts.
Treasure the Beach is on the
fi rst Saturday of every month from
9 a.m. to 1 a.m. Volunteers are set
up on the Prom in front of the Sea-
shore Inn to hand out beach clean-
ing supplies. To register for Trea-
sure the Beach visit oregonsolve.
org or simply show up in the
morning on the day of the cleanup.
If you are not able to make it to
one of the organized beach clean-
ups but still want to clean the
beach, visit the Seaside Aquarium
Gift Shop during regular business
hours and they will supply you
with bags and gloves.
SEASIDE
AQUARIUM
TIFFANY
BOOTHE
T
reasure the Beach was
founded by Gini Dideum
and the Beach Drive Buc-
caneers. With a shared dream of a
clean beach, this group of amaz-
ing people started a monthly beach
cleanup in Seaside.
In 2004 a partnership was
founded between the Beach Drive
Buccaneers, the city of Seaside,
and Oregon SOLVE. While the
Beach Drive Buccaneers would
hand out the tools necessary for
beach cleanups, the city would
dispose of all the trash collected
by the volunteers, and Oregon
SOLVE would take care of pro-
moting the cleanup.
Every year thousands of pounds
of trash enters the marine environ-
ment causing signifi cant damage
to our marine community. Most of
the trash are plastics, which never
completely decompose, instead
they break down into microplastics
and enter the food chain. As major
advocates for the marine environ-
ment and its inhabitants, the Sea-
side Aquarium was excited when
asked to take over Treasure the
Beach in January 2019.
Throughout the year Treasure
the Beach had a total of 450 volun-
teer participants. These incredible
volunteers collectively removed
over 1,865 pounds of trash. Vol-
unteers fi lled their bags with small
pieces of plastic, netting, bottles,
cans, and glass. When items such
as wooden pallets, old campfi re
stoves or larger sections of net-
ting were too big to fi t into their
bags, volunteers would notify the
aquarium and the aquarium would
retrieve the larger items. People
from all over the state participated
in these monthly cleanups.
The National Guard from Port-
land spent a cold morning comb-
ing the beach for trash. The
Frequently Asked Questions
Tiff any Boothe/Seaside Aquarium
Seaside’s Tsunami Skippers are among the groups to donate their time and eff orts to keeping Seaside’s beaches
clean.
Tiff any Boothe/Seaside Aquarium
Members of the Portland National Guard participate in a September SOLV beach cleanup.
Jeppson family booked their fam-
ily reunion in Seaside and all 75
of them hit the beach armed with
bags and gloves to remove as
much man-made debris as pos-
sible. Local college students,
girl scout troops, and businesses
also participated over the last 12
months.
As we look forward to the 2020
season the aquarium plans to make
Treasure the Beach more environ-
mentally friendly. Buckets will
be available for those who would
rather not use plastic bags and the
Q: Do I need to sign up ahead
of time?
A. No, you can just show up in
the morning and sign in.
Q: Can I bring my kids, friends
or a group?
Yes! Groups of 50 or more, let
us know by registering at solveo-
regon.org. Kids of all ages are wel-
come, but we ask that anyone 12
and under be accompanied by an
adult or guardian.
Q: Do I need to bring anything?
We provide bags, gloves, and
hand sanitizer. During the summer
it is recommended that you wear a
hat or sunblock to avoid burning.
Q: Do I have to stay the entire
four hours?
No. You can help for any length
of time. You can pack up and leave
whenever you wish, just place
your bag by any of the garbage
cans along the Prom when you’re
done.
Q: Do you ever cancel or
reschedule a beach cleanup due to
weather?
Yes. We look at the weather
forecast and try to determine as
soon as possible if we need to can-
cel a cleanup due to weather or
high surf. If you are registered
through SOLVE an email will be
sent to inform you of the cancella-
tion. You can also check the Sea-
side Aquarium’s Facebook page
for up to date information.
For diabetes, oral health is important Adam Miller performs railroad
GUEST COLUMN
PATTI ATKINS
Columbia Pacifi c CCO
I
f you have diabetes,
keeping blood sugar in a
normal range is import-
ant for overall health. High
blood sugar levels over
time can lead to damage
of the eyes, kidneys and
circulation.
That’s why it’s so import-
ant to have regular vis-
its with your doctor — and
your dentist.
Oral health screenings
There is a direct link
between oral health — spe-
cifi cally, periodontal disease
— and diabetes.
Periodontal diseases are
infections of the structures
around the teeth, including
gums, ligament and bone.
“Infl ammation is the link
between the physical health
of a patient with diabetes
and their oral health condi-
tion,” says Alexa Jett, den-
tal hygienist and CareOre-
gon oral health integration
manager. “When there are
increased bacteria in the
mouth and the gum tissue
becomes infl amed, it causes
American Diabetes Association
If you have diabetes, keeping blood sugar in a normal range
is important for overall health. High blood sugar levels over
time can lead to damage of the eyes, kidneys and circulation.
a chain reaction throughout
the body.”
The effects of this infl am-
mation can contribute to car-
diovascular disease, rheuma-
toid arthritis, obesity, cancer,
osteoporosis, respiratory dis-
ease and diabetes mellitus.
“It goes both ways,” says
Sherry Edwards, DDS, Care-
Oregon dental director. “The
infection in the mouth can
cause a spike in blood sugar
so that you won’t have a
healthy blood sugar test. And
if your blood sugar is high,
as it is with diabetes that
can make your gum disease
worse.”
In her practice as a den-
tal hygienist, Alexa could be
alerted that a patient might
have uncontrolled diabe-
tes by the condition of their
gums.
If you have periodon-
tal disease, certain types of
dental cleanings — which
depend on the diagnosis —
may actually improve your
blood sugar control. They
could mean a 0.4 percent
reduction in A1C, the blood
test that provides informa-
tion about average levels of
blood glucose—sugar—over
the prior three months. Since
“normal” is below 5.7, a 0.4
reduction can be signifi cant.
Coupled with medication,
weight loss and improve-
ments in exercise and diet,
dental cleaning can really
help reach the goal of con-
trolling diabetes.
That’s why the Coor-
dinated Care Organiza-
tions that oversee the Ore-
gon Health Plan (Medicaid)
are making an extra effort
to raise awareness of the
importance of oral health
among members and physi-
cal health care providers.
CareOregon Dental’s
team is reaching out to pri-
mary care providers to share
this knowledge.
“We are promoting den-
tal health, and explaining it
is part of the package that
should be presented for dia-
betes care,” Alexa says. “In
this case, it is not dental
care, it is diabetes care.
“Establish a relation-
ship with a dentist, have the
annual exam, and develop an
oral health treatment plan.”
The Oregon Health Plan
covers comprehensive oral
health care, including exams
and cleanings, in addition
to fi llings and other repair
work.
HAPPENINGS IN BRIEF
Tillamook Head Gathering
Seaside Elks deliver ‘Most benefi ts high school arts
The Sixth Annual Tillamook Head
Valuable Student’ awards Gathering
for the benefi t of the arts at
Kara Spell
Emma Meyer
Emma Brown
Kara Spell, Emma Meyer and Emma
Brown were each awarded scholarships
by the Seaside Elks Lodge. These three
are seniors at Seaside High School.
Spell will receive $1,000 from the
Seaside Elks Lodge when she enters col-
lege. She also won the Oregon State Elks
Association, Northwest District, com-
petition and will receive $1,800 from
OSEA. She will attend the OSEA awards
banquet at the Salem Elks Lodge, on
Feb. 15, to receive further scholarships.
Meyer and Brown will each receive
$500 scholarships. Elks’ Exalted Ruler,
Jim Fettig, said that these “Most Valu-
able Student” awards are given for supe-
Seaside High School will be held Sunday,
Jan. 26, at the Seaside Convention Center.
Doors open at 4:30 p.m. for brows-
ing the silent auction and the program
begins at 5.
Advance tickets available for $10 at
Seaside Coffee House, Beach Books,
Cannon Beach Book Company and
the high school business offi ce. Tickets
available at the door for $15.
Learn the art of drawing
birds at Seaside Library
“Mini Bird Drawing Class,” with local
artist and illustrator, Dorota Haber-Le-
high, takes place on Saturday, Feb. 1, at
1 p.m. and is sponsored by the Friends of
the Seaside Library. Signup is required at
the circulation desk or by phone. All lev-
els of artistic ability are welcome.
The Seaside Public Library is
located at 1131 Broadway. For more
information call 503-738-6742 or visit
www.seasidelibrary.org.
Seaside Signal
Folksinger,
story-
teller, and autoharp virtu-
oso Adam Miller presents
a free sing-along con-
cert of Folksongs of the
Great American Railroad
at 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan.
30, at the Seaside Public
Library, 1131 Broadway.
This program commem-
orates the sesquicentennial
of the opening of the fi rst
American transcontinental
railroad. For more infor-
mation call 503-738-6742;
or visit Folksinging.org.
Cheryl T. Dimont
DINING
on the
NORTH COAST
Great Restaurants in:
GEARHART • SEASIDE
CANNON BEACH
WANT TO KNOW WHERE THE LOCALS GO?
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
• Junior Menu
RESTAURANT & LOUNGE
• Lighter appetite menu
E
RIL Y’
S
rior scholastic achievement, as well as
outstanding qualifi cations of citizen-
ship and leadership, using judging crite-
ria from the Elks National Foundation.
songs at Seaside Library
BEST
BREAKFAST
IN TOWN!
Fish ‘n Chips • Burgers • Seafood & Steak
Friday & Saturday - Prime Rib
Lounge Open Daily 9-Midnight
All Oregon Lottery products available
1104 S Holladay • 503-738-9701 • Open Daily at 8am
Encore offers tuition-free
ballet and tap dance classes
Encore Dance Studio and Encore Per-
forming Arts Foundation offer tuition-free
community ballet and tap classes to stu-
dents of all experience levels.
Tuition-free classes are open to ages
13 through adult. Tap class is 6:45-7:30
ballet is 7:45-8:45 p.m. There is also
a $10 registration fee and participants
need to sign an activity waiver.
Session dates are Thursdays through
Feb. 27, 7:45-8:45 p.m., at the Encore
Dance Studio Warrenton location.
Call Sarah Silver
503.325.3211
ext 1222
YOUR RESTAURANT
AD HERE.
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