Dentist to offer cash for candy

Scott Swanson

So your kid(s) brought home 10 pounds of candy from Halloween.

What now? Do you let them eat it all?

Sweet Home dentist Dr. Ivan Wothuis is offering an alternative. He’s offering to shell out $1 cash a pound for up to 5 pounds per person of unopened Halloween candy – plus a kid’s tooth brush to each participating youngster – from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 3, at Wolthuis Family Dentistry, 1524 Long St.

The candy will be sent to Operation Gratitude, a Van Nuys, Calif.-based organization that creates individual holiday packages for U.S. troops overseas.

Wothuis’ Dental Assistant Lisa Lemmer said that staff members got the idea after hearing about other dentists who have started similar programs. She said the Halloween Candy Buy-Back Event will include other attractions as well as money for candy.

“We’ll have a table set up where kids can write letters and draw pictures for troops,” she said. “Also, we’re going to have a drawing in which participants can enter to win an Ipod Shuffle.”

According to Wolthuis, global sugar consumption among children is increasing at a rate of about 2 percent annually and currently sits at 50 million tons a year, leading to cavities, hyperactivity and weight gain.

“It’s something fun,” Wolthuis said of the buy-back. “This is right up our alley. We want the kids to enjoy Halloween, but don’t prolong it. This is a fun way for us to participate in the community and have fun after Halloween.”

Lemmer said people who want to participate in Operation Gratitude can also donate items for goodie bags, such as toothbrushes and other toiletries, which will be sent along with the candy.

She said troops won’t just eat the candy.

“What a lot of the troops is give it to the kids they see,” she said. “It’s good for the troops. It’s good for the kids here.”

For more information, call (541) 367-2931, e-mail [email protected] or visit http://www.opgratitude.com.

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