Clallam: Newly expanded health board dives into issues

PORT ANGELES — An expanded Clallam County Board of Health — now seven strong — wasted no time during a historic first meeting, its four new members diving into a plethora of county public health issues.

The new board, with the Clallam County commissioners still at the elected helm, addressed matters ranging from Xylitol gum to fight tooth decay to increasing county fees to help keep the county’s septic systems from polluting waterways and shellfish beds.

County Commissioners Steve Tharinger, Mike Chapman and Mike Doherty last week added John Beitzel, Jim Leskinovitch, Camille Scott and Jeanette K. Stehr-Green to the board, which had been comprised only of the three elected county commissioners.

The commissioners rolled out the welcome mat on Tuesday, followed by a pile of introductory documents, policies and agenda paperwork that Tharinger joked made Clallam “a timber county.”