Dental Care for Students in Bellingham Schools

Last month marked the beginning of Interfaith Community Health Center’s Mobile Van Program being implemented into elementary and middle schools in the Bellingham School District.

The Mobile Van Program gives dental care to schools, Head Start programs, and daycare centers throughout Whatcom County. Kulshan Middle School and Carl Cozier Elementary are two of the 19 schools in Bellingham that will be receiving dental care through the program.

According to J.Marie Riche, the interim communications director for the Bellingham School District, Interfaith has had the mobile program for a while, but this is the first year that the school district and Interfaith has a formalized partnership. “The partnership is a beautiful opportunity to help students in need. It ties in well with equity which is part of the Bellingham Promise, our strategic plan,” she said.

Through the Mobile Van Program, students can receive exams, cleaning, flossing, fluoride treatments, and oral hygiene instruction.

“We’re very, very excited about working with Interfaith,” said Barbara Cummins, the school nurse for Kulshan Middle School. “If students have pain or decay in their mouths, they aren’t available for learning. Sometimes kids don’t talk to their parents about mouth pain because they don’t want to go to the dentist and that could end up causing fatigue and affecting general health,” she said. The dental program provides a way to screen students for any dental problems, as long as they have parental permission, according to Cummins.

Interfaith schedules appointments with schools, and sends out the van with mobile dental equipment on the scheduled day for each school. According to Interfaith’s Mobile Care Coordinator Meagan Swanlund, Kulshan Middle School is scheduled to have the van come out on Dec. 10 and Carl Cozier Elementary on May 6, 2014.

The school sends home information to families, who then fill out paperwork regarding insurance information and sign a permission slip if they would like their child to receive dental care, Riche said.

A dentist, two hygienists, and two assistants set up the mobile equipment in an available room, and students are able to go get exams. “One thing I like is that they bring kids in in pairs or triplets which really helps them be more confident and brave when they are with friends,” Riche said.

If a student needs additional care, a note is sent home to the student’s family, and Interfaith follows up with a call to set up an appointment, said Riche.

According to Riche, Interfaith will bill insurance companies if families have insurance. Services are provided on a sliding fee scale for families without insurance. Interfaith does their part in being a non-profit to cover the families without insurance, Riche said. “They are able to help families regardless of their ability to pay. There are kids everyday who need dental care and some are distracted in school because of it,” she said.

The mobile program will visit each school once this year, and there are plans to expand the partnership next year to include sealants in the exams and twice a year visits, according to Riche.

Shelly Donahue, the school nurse for Carl Cozier Elementary, explained that both self-care and professional care are necessary in order to maintain good oral health. However, some families do not have the resources to start and continue routine dental care, Donahue said.

According to Donahue, cavities are the most common disease in childhood. “By having a service come to the schools we can help these families by providing checkups. Early routine checkups help prevent cavities and tooth decay, which can lead to pain, infection, loss of teeth, and for young children it affects their ability to learn to speak clearly,” she said.

The Mobile Van Program brings dental care to the students, which helps families that do not have the resources to get to a dentist themselves. In addition, dentists that come to the students are able to give the children tips and suggestions to improve and maintain good oral health. After an exam, Interfaith provides each student with a dental kit, which includes a toothbrush and floss to take home, said Riche.

“They are also able to identify any issues that may need follow up, speech issues, craniofacial problems, infections and then make recommendations for ongoing care,” Donahue said.

The Mobile Van Program started in 1996, but started ramping up in 2000, said Swanlund. The program originally started in Head Start programs and daycare centers, according to Swanlund. “If we can’t get kids into the dentist, we can at least bring dental exams to them,” she said.

Interfaith also provides emergency dental services for people of all ages, and has adult specialty programs, as well as dental care during pregnancy, according to Interfaith’s patient guide.

Bellingham Hatchery Continues Production

Although there were reductions in state funding for the Bellingham Hatchery in Whatcom Falls Park, local funding has helped keep the hatchery producing a consistent number of fish in recent years, according to Kevin Clark, who has been managing the hatchery since 2005.

            The Bellingham Hatchery has seen an increase in local funding in wake of budget reductions for state funded facilities, according to Clark.

            “Citizens are getting together to supplement the state funds, because there is still a large fishing community that wants to see us stick around,” said Clark.

            According to Clark, the Wildcat Steelhead Club and the Northwest Washington Steelheaders Club are examples of clubs in the area that contribute to the local funding.

            Don Collen, president of the Wildcat Steelhead Club says they donate about $10,000 to $15,000 a year to various hatcheries that promote conservation, Bellingham Hatchery being one of them. “Any of the money that comes out of our funds has to go to game and fish conservation,” he said.

            Clubs like the Wildcat Steelhead Club understand the importance of what the hatchery does. “If we don’t have hatcheries, we won’t have fish. Eventually all the fishing would go downhill,” said Collen.

As a result of reduced state general funds, the hatchery relies on the local funding and the state’s wildlife fund. People who purchase fishing licenses are putting money into the wildlife fund, which becomes part of the state funding for facilities like the Bellingham Hatchery, according to Clark.

The Bellingham Hatchery raises rainbow trout to supplement recreational purposes.

Currently, there are around 50,000 small trout in the ponds at the Bellingham Hatchery that are growing to size. This number is consistent with numbers from the past few years, according to Clark. The amount of fish being raised at the hatchery is about 60 percent of what the hatchery produced before reductions in state funding.

            The Bellingham Hatchery is a satellite facility of the Whatcom Creek Hatchery in Maritime Heritage Park in Bellingham, Wash. Clark manages it in partnership with Earl Steele, the Fisheries Technology Instructor at Bellingham Technical College.

            The hatchery receives the trout as eyed eggs in boxes in December. The eggs are then incubated until they hatch. The recently hatched fish are kept in a fish trough, and are then transferred to the round ponds to grow to size. The trout are released about a year and a half after the hatchery receives the eggs, Clark said.

            According to Clark, the hatchery is responsible for providing rainbow trout for about 16 lakes in Skagit County and Whatcom Island area. The designated lakes are big enough to sustain hatchery fish, and already contain primarily rainbow trout.

The hatchery is operated by the Fisheries and Aquaculture program at the Bellingham Technical College, according to Steele. “Everything is done by students. It’s hands on training,” he said.

Regarding the future of the hatchery, Clark said, “I see it changing. I’d say it’s good, but different. We may be changing how we go about things. The days of just stocking tons of fish are over because of negative effects on native fish.” Clark explains that the hatchery will aim to limit negative effects on native fish by supplementing recreational fishing responsibly.

“It is important that we preserve native species. The hatchery fish are genetically similar, and behaviorally different from native fish,” Clark said.

Clark said that it is difficult to make progress with conservation when the people in government positions are thinking short-term goals, because they want to get things done while they are in office. “Protecting and conserving native species takes a long time,” he said.

With the help of local funding, the Bellingham Hatchery can continue to raise and release trout, and work towards more responsible releases. “As the environment gets worse, the more people will need artificial fish,” said Clark.

Whatcom Falls Neighborhood Association Meeting

The Whatcom Falls NeighborhoodAssociation (WFNA) is scheduled to have a meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013.  The meeting will take place in the Moles Funeral Home meeting room from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

            The meeting will be completely devoted to a presentation by the City of Bellingham Public Works Department on the plans for water meter installation in the Whatcom Falls Neighborhood.

            Every address in the neighborhood received a notice by mail, informing them of the topic of the meeting. “Hopefully it will be well attended,” said Richard Sawyer, an alternate representative of the Mayor’s Neighborhood Association Commission for Whatcom Falls Neighborhood.

            The Public Works Department will be talking about how water meters will start to be installed in Whatcom Falls Neighborhood at the end of this year, and continue into 2014. This means that starting in January 2015, residents will no longer have a flat rate payment for their water bills. Instead, they will be paying for the amount of water they use.

            The WFNA meetings are on the second Tuesday of every month, and are open to the public. They alternate between general meetings and board meetings. There are no membership dues. 

Whatcom Creek Tested For Gas

The pumps that have been filtering Whatcom Creek for the past 14 years are currently off in order to test for any remnants of the 1999 pipeline rupture, which caused gasoline to enter Whatcom Creek.

On Oct. 16, 2013 pumps that had been extracting water from the creek and treating water were shutdown, allowing crews to monitor groundwater to see if any residual gas can be detected, according to the Department of Ecology Site Manager for the project, Eugene Freeman.

“Groundwater samples are collected from ten groundwater monitoring wells between the rupture location and the creek. Samples are also collected at seep locations near the creek,” Freeman said. Seeps are locations near the stream where groundwater flows out, she explained. Water samples are sent to a state certified laboratory for testing water quality.

If the samples show petroleum concentrations above safe drinking water levels, the pump system can be turned back on. “Further investigation of where gasoline contamination is located and additional cleanup options will be evaluated,” Freeman said, explaining the next step if the pumps need to be turned back on.

Since the gasoline concentration has been below the regulatory limits that are considered safe for drinking water for the last five years, the current plan is to leave the pump system in place, but turned off, for two years, according to Freeman. During this time, groundwater will be monitored and sampled. After the two years, if the groundwater has remained clean, Freeman said the pump system could likely be removed.

On June 10, 1999 an Olympic Pipe Line Co.’s 16-inch interstate fuel pipeline adjacent to the City of Bellingham Water Treatment Plant ruptured. Approximately 237,000 gallons of gasoline were released, said Freeman. Gasoline flowed into Hannah Creek, and then into Whatcom Creek, later catching fire. As a result, two 10-year-old boys and one 18-year-old man died, and portions of the gasoline became trapped in the soil, bedrock, and stream sediments, according to Freeman.

The fire damaged about 1.5 miles along Hannah and Whatcom creeks, which affected wildlife, trees, and habitats, according to a news release by the State of Washington Department of Ecology.

Cleanup from the accident included drilling 115 groundwater monitoring wells, creating a trench between the release site and creek to capture gasoline in the groundwater, installing a pump-and-treat system, and injecting solution to help get rid of the remaining gasoline, said Freeman. Cleanup and restoration of the site also involved excavating 7,200 cubic yards of soil contaminated with gasoline, and installing an aeration and soil vapor extraction system, according to Freeman.

Olympic Pipe Line paid for the environmental work, which also included planting more than 36,000 trees, and purchasing and additional 13.5 acres of land for Whatcom Falls Park.

The largest civil penalties ever imposed by the state of Washington were $5 million to Shell and $2.5 million to Olympic Pipe Line, as stated by the Department of Ecology.

As a result of the accident, improvements were made to pipeline safety which include: the establishment of the Citizens Committee on Pipeline Safety (CCOPS) which meets to discuss pipeline safety issues, development of pipeline maps, updating state planning rules for pipeline operations to be more strict, performing drills for spills in order to improve plans, and deployment of oil spill response equipment caches in certain locations, according to the Department of Ecology.

The Department of Ecology says further improvements can be made, which include: awareness and enforcement of the “Call Before You Dig” law, reexamining accuracy of pipeline locations, keeping an eye on and inspecting pipeline integrity, and checking up on operations to make sure they meet standards.

Effects of Galbraith Mountain

Galbraith Mountain, located just south of Bellingham, is popular among hikers and bikers, but only has one northern entrance point, lacks enough space for parking, and can be a source of disturbances for nearby residents.

            Although it is not in the Bellingham city limits, Galbraith Mountain attracts many Bellingham outdoor enthusiasts – mostly bikers – with its large network of trails. Access to Galbraith from the northern entrance is limited; Birch Street leads to a small parking lot that quickly fills up, especially on days with good weather according to biker Patrik Zuest.

            “Galbraith is pretty easy to access,” said Zuest, “Once you find a parking spot. Even today, when it isn’t such a great day, the parking lot is full.”

            According to the Whatcom Falls Neighborhood Plan, developed by the neighborhood association, residents would like to see more parking designated for Galbraith in order to reduce the amount of on-street parking and congestion on the nearby streets.

            The parking issue is still unresolved. “An idea is to place more signage in to direct bikers to park at Whatcom Falls Park,” said Moshe Quinn, city planner and resident of Whatcom Falls Neighborhood. The Whatcom Falls Park parking lot is about a mile from the Galbraith parking lot.

The neighborhood plan includes this idea as well, suggesting that signs should be installed at both the trailhead and park to direct bikers to use the parking lots.

            Barry Landu, an avid biker at Galbraith thought that this solution would be fine for bikers, but would add a considerable amount of extra walking for hikers. “We really shouldn’t park on the street. The streets are meant for residents and their guests, so I already do park at Whatcom Falls if [the Galbraith] lot is full,” he said.

            Bellingham's Greenway Coordinator Tim Wahl made the point that putting a sign at the Galbraith parking lot will still bring people up along Birch Street, not knowing that the lot is full. “Do small parking lots attract even more vehicles?” he asked, wondering if the signs would continue to bring just as many cars up the street. Wahl thinks placing a sign at the entrance to Birch Street may be more effective.

            The City of Bellingham’s Strategic Plan for Land Acquisition states that $1 million has been allocated for obtaining “forested open space and trail site” that will connect Galbraith and Whatcom Falls Park in multiple spots. The intent is to allow access from Lakeway Drive, Yew Street and Whatcom Falls Park to Galbraith. With more than one access point, traffic could decrease on Birch Street.

            At the northern entrance to Galbraith Mountain, a sign is posted that reads, “Please respect adjacent property.”

            Although Zuest has never personally experienced a complaint, he said, “People try and behave, but it wouldn’t surprise me if on a summer day, bikers get rowdy.”

            Quinn, who lives on Birch Falls Drive, said there is a lot of bike traffic, but he knew Galbraith was near his house when he moved in. He doesn’t have many complaints about the bikers except that a lot of them bring along their unleashed dogs. Some of them run through his yard and upset his dog. Quinn continued on to say, “If you are moving up here, you should do your research and know that Galbraith is here. There will be a lot of bikers.”

            When asked if Galbraith affected the value of property nearby, Kirk Ghio, a Muljat Realtor, replied, “It's been a selling point. Most of the homeowners there are attracted to the trails, so it has helped maintain value.”

            Galbraith is a special place to those who appreciate hiking or biking, according to Landu. “It’s a really unique set of trails. We are lucky to have this right here in Bellingham,” he said.

Originally owned by the Trillium Corporation, Galbraith Mountain is now owned by Polygon Financial Partners as of April 1, 2010. It is 3,125 acres, 1,400 of which are in the Lake Whatcom Watershed. The area includes a trail system created and maintained by the Whatcom Independent Mountain Pedalers.