Tillamook local crowned Oregon Dairy Princess Ambassador Page A3
Tillamook Bay Trails Coalition takes collaborative approach to recreation infrastructure Page A2
Headlight Herald
Tuesday, June 25, 2024 | Vol. 136, Issue 26
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TBCC breaks ground on healthcare education building
FILE PHOTO
A clammer in the mudflats of Netarts Bay.
‘Unprecedented’ paralytic shellfish poisoning outbreak closes shellfish harvests on coast WILL CHAPPELL Headlight Editor
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or nearly a month, the harvesting of shellfish on the Oregon coast has slowed to a crawl as mussels, clams and oysters have been inundated with toxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning in humans. The outbreak occurred exceptionally quickly, striking at least 31 people ill, including several who were admitted to the hospital, and at least one who was put on a ventilator. Matthew Hunter, shellfish program leader at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), said that the outbreak had occurred at a pace and on a scale that had never been recorded in Oregon before. Paralytic shellfish poisoning is caused by saxitoxins or domoic acid produced in algal blooms by phytoplankton, with a genus known as alexandrium responsible for the most recent outbreak. Those phytoplankton produce saxitoxin and are always present in algal blooms, but Hunter said that shifting wind, solar and nutritional conditions cause overstimulation and increased activity, leading to spikes in their prevalence. In turn, the phytoplankton are ingested by filter feeders such as mussels, clams and oysters, which are not impacted by the toxin but accumulate it in their flesh. Then, when a human consumes the impacted shellfish, they are unable to process the toxin and become ill. Hunter said that symptoms start within an hour of ingesting affected seafood and can start with tingling in extremities, stomach cramps, vomiting or diarrhea and extend to stroke-like symptoms or inability to breathe, depending on the volume of toxin ingested. There is no treatment for the condition, but those who are affected should go to a hospital for monitoring. The current outbreak at the Oregon coast began in late May, with the first warning coming when six people fell sick shortly after consuming shellfish on the Sunday before Memorial Day. Officials from ODFW conduct regular testing of mussels and razor clams on the coast for both saxitoxin and domoic acid, but Hunter said that the speed at which levels increased outpaced the testing. Samples are colleted every ten days when tides are low and transported to a lab in Wilsonville, where it takes about five days tor results to become available. However, in the current outbreak, Hunter said that levels of saxitoxin detected in mussels at Cape Meares were 75 times higher in mussels given to the department by one of the people who fell ill than in those gathered five days before by department staff from the same rock. Hunter said that this meant the bloom had occurred so quickly and with such intensity that the increase in saxitoxin on each day would have been sufficient to cause sickness. After receiving word of the outbreak, department staff sprang into action, dispersing across the coast to gather samples from various species of shellfish. This temporarily led to the closure of harvesting for mussels, bay and razor clams, and oysters on the entire See ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ , Page A9
Members of the Tillamook Bay Community College Board, State Senator Suzanne Weber (far left) and Adventist Health Tillamook President Eric Swanson (far right) break ground on the new healthcare education building at the college. WILL CHAPPELL Headlight Editor
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illamook Bay Community College members gathered at the school’s 3rd Street campus on the afternoon of June 21, for a groundbreaking ceremony for the college’s new $23.8 million healthcare education building. The new building, scheduled for completion by the end of September 2025, will house the college’s new nursing program and provide additional space for healthcare occupation training programs.
Funding for the project is coming from two primary sources, the first a $14.4 million bond approved by Tillamook County voters in November 2022 and the second an $8 million award from the Oregon Legislature. The balance of the funding is coming courtesy of a $1.4 million bond premium. The new building will be situated to the south of the college’s main building and consist of 28,000 square feet spread across two floors. The first floor will house a nursing skills lab, EMT classroom and large meeting room that will be available for com-
munity events, while the second floor will host more classrooms and a new administrative suite for the college. Tillamook Bay Community College (TBCC) began its nursing program at the beginning of this year with 18 students and is designed to be completed in 18 months. Opsis Architecture designed the building with feedback from faculty, staff, students and community members, and Wenaha Group will be managing the project. At the groundbreaking, TBCC President Paul Jarrell welcomed attendees and thanked community
members who had helped to consummate the project, including past President Ross Tomlin, the college’s board of directors, TBCC Foundation Chair Michael Weissenfluh, Dean of Nursing Tiffany Slover, members of the Yes for TBCC political action committee and all the college’s employees. Tomlin then took over the microphone and told the crowd about the project’s history, which dates to 2018 when the college’s staff met at the Tillamook Creamery for a brainstorming See TBCC, Page A2
Dairy Parade and Rodeo kick off summer STAFF REPORT Country Media, Inc.
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he annual June Dairy Parade and Tillamook County Rodeo returned this past weekend, marking the start of family-friendly summer activities across the county. Festivities got underway on Friday night, when the Tillamook County Rodeo took over the Tillamook County Fairground. Friday night was kids’ night and in addition to free admission, the youngsters got the chance to compete in a stick horse race during the rodeo’s halftime. On Saturday morning, events began early with the Milk Run at the Tillamook County YMCA, where competitors ran or walked, two miles, or five or ten kilometers. After the Milk Run wrapped up, See PARADE, Page A9
COURTESY PHOTO
A member of the Tillamook Swiss Society taking part in the parade with a dairy cow.
Joint Transportation Committee road tour stops in Tillamook WILL CHAPPELL Headlight Editor
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embers of the Oregon State Legislature’s Joint Transportation Committee spent the day in Tillamook on June 18, as part of a series of tours around the state to gather community feedback on Oregonians’ transportation needs. The Oregon Department of Transportation is hosting the tours, with the Tillamook visit marking the second stop with ten more scheduled before the end of September. During the day, committee members took a bus tour of various project sites around the central part of the county that demonstrated transportation infrastructure challenges on the north coast. They then participated in a roundtable discussion with local leaders before hosting a public meeting in the evening to gather citizen input. The committee’s tour began at the red barn at the Tillamook Creamery and Oregon Department of Transpor-
IN THIS ISSUE
Members of the joint transportation committee were joined by local elected officials and ODOT staffers for a tour of area transportation infrastructure, including a stop in Garibaldi.
tation (ODOT) Director Kris Strickler welcomed committee members and local leaders as the bus departed. Strickler said that the purpose of the tours was to give ODOT officials
and the committee members the opportunity to hear about the local needs across the state. While there would be some variation in the needs expressed in different areas, Strickler
said that he expected a consistent theme across the state would be negative impacts caused by resource See COMMITTEE, Page A8
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