WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2021 | SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Contact tracers try to reach everyone infected
Oregon has hundreds of health workers on the job
Claire Withycombe
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
As Oregonians continue to get infected with CO-
VID-19, counties have ramped up the number of people
dedicated to investigating outbreaks of the disease.
Prior to the pandemic, local counties typically had
small teams who tracked outbreaks of diseases such
as measles, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted in-
fections.
But nearly one year since Oregon officials confirmed
the state’s first case of COVID-19, there are now hun-
dreds of Oregon workers whose job it is to try to reach
every person who tested positive for COVID-19.
Some county workers also are still trying to reach
close contacts of people who test positive, although
the state’s health agency has recommended that
counties forgo doing that if there is a significant surge
in cases and they have to prioritize duties.
These workers have an intimate look at the extent of
the pandemic. They know firsthand that patients
range in age from babies to nonagenarians. In catalog-
ing symptoms, they are familiar with the potential se-
verity of the disease.
Jovanna Sardineta Cotero, a bilingual case investi-
gator in Washington County, says she interviewed a
woman positive for coronavirus while she was in labor.
“When I asked, ‘Are you pregnant?’ She said, ‘Well,
right now, I’m in labor.’”
“I was like, what? And you’re doing this interview
with me?” said Sardineta Cotero. “...I don’t know how
she was managing it.”
Generally speaking, case investigators interview
See TRACING, Page 2A
Brown commits to
keeping equity at
core of recovery
Connor Radnovich
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Chris Gilliand, Silver Falls State Park ranger supervisor, analyzes a charred log just west of the park burned
when the Beachie Creek Fire advanced on Silver Falls. KYLE MARTZ / SPECIAL TO THE STATESMAN JOURNAL
Inside the fight to save
Silver Falls from wildfire
Kyle Martz and Zach Urness
Statesman Journal
Chris Gilliand wasn’t sure what to expect when his
phone rang at 5:15 a.m. on Sept. 8.
Gilliand, supervisor of park rangers at Silver Falls
State Park, knew that wildfires had been reported in
the mountains around Detroit Lake the night before,
but that was at least 20 to 30 miles away, he figured.
“You need to evacuate the park,” said a voice from
Oregon State Police dispatch.
“Now?” Gilliand responded.
“Yes, right now,” said the voice.
Overnight, a firestorm born near Opal Creek and the
Santiam Canyon had raced west on hurricane-force
winds and was burning toward Oregon’s largest state
park.
“We might lose Silver Falls,” thought Chris Havel,
longtime spokesman and associate director of the Ore-
gon Parks and Recreation Department. “That’s the
feeling. You look out the window and you say: ‘How is it
going to stop?’
“Silver Falls is one of our oldest, most valued, most
visited parks. What if it’s gone tomorrow?”
In the coming days, it would be up to a crew of local
firefighters to not only stop the fire from burning into
Silver Falls, but to protect the nearby community of
Drakes Crossing.
‘You need to leave immediately’
The evacuation of Silver Falls on a holiday weekend
wasn’t going to be easy. All 105 campsites were booked.
Gilliand was the only overnight ranger on staff that
morning. Wasting little time, he woke his wife and had
her evacuate. Then he began driving campsite to
campsite, telling each person to get out.
“The task at hand was just saving lives,” Gilliand
said. “You narrowly focus on what has to get done, and
it makes your decision-making black and white.”
As smoke and ash blocked the morning sun, police
sirens blared and state police arrived to help the evacu-
ation. Gilliand and another ranger, Jason Wagoner,
evacuated more than 400 campers — children, grand-
parents and even 10 horses.
“How long do we have?” asked multiple campers.
“You need to leave immediately,” Wagoner told
them. “Get in your vehicles, get the most important
things, and be on your way.”
As the park emptied, access roads became clogged
with campers and horse trailers. But after two hours,
all of the campers were out — and not a moment too
soon. A fire that had already wrought historic destruc-
tion in the Santiam Canyon was just a few miles from
Silver Falls.
"That fire was moving so fast I don't think anyone
knew exactly where it was or when it might arrive," Ha-
vel said. "All we could see was smoke and darkness.
But we knew it was very close."
‘We are not going to lose any of the park’
The threat that morning was the Beachie Creek Fire,
which blew up Labor Day night as historic east winds
reached speeds of 75 mph.
A combination of wildfire from the Opal Creek Wil-
derness and new fires sparked in the Santiam Canyon
raced west in what ultimately became a 193,282-acre
blaze — one of the largest in Oregon’s history.
After running down the Santiam Canyon to Lyons-
See FIGHT, Page 3A
Racial equity and inclusion will be at the core of
Oregon's recovery from the crises of 2020 and the
foundation of the state's political work for the next
two years, Gov. Kate Brown declared during her State
of the State address.
“The first step to creating opportunity is recogniz-
ing that racism is endemic to our systems, impacting
every part of our culture and our economy," Brown
said. "I’m committed to ensuring that the world we
build as we emerge from this last year is a more equi-
table one.”
Brown identified a handful of specific areas for
work, including: ensuring every school in the state
has internet access; instituting same-day voter reg-
istration; expanding health care access; mitigating
wildfire danger; and making the criminal justice sys-
tem more equitable.
She also acknowledged that it will take more than
one budget cycle to reimagine these systems.
“Oregon is evolving out of necessity and out of
hope. Our policies and practices are changing as we
do more listening to those who’ve been most
harmed," she said.
Hearing from community members
In a first for Oregon, Brown's State of the State ad-
dress was prerecorded and released on YouTube and
the Oregon Legislative Information System due to
the coronavirus transmission risk inherent with
large indoor gathering.
It included interviews with Oregonians directly
impacted by the pandemic and wildfires, and calls for
racial justice.
Her interviews were with: Dr. Antwon Chavis, a
pediatrician with OHSU Doernbecher Children’s
Hospital; Upper McKenzie Fire Chief Christiana
Rainbow Plews; Reyna Lopez, executive director of
PCUN, Oregon's farmworker union; and Paul Solo-
mon, executive director of Sponsors, Inc., a Eugene-
based organization that assists individuals after they
are released from incarceration.
They spoke about the challenges they faced in
2020 and the hopes they have for improving the state
this year.
Chavis said that children and parents had difficult
conversations last year about issues like race and
politics, sparked by the widespread unrest. In his role
as a pediatrician, he has tried to give parents the ver-
nacular to discuss these issues with their kids.
He has also seen the impact the lack of in-person
education is having on families. It's clear, Chavis
said, that comprehensive distance learning is not
working for many families in the state, and not just
from a learning perspective.
"School is more than just education," he said.
Many support services are provided to kids
through schools, and kids also socialize and exercise
at school. He believes students need to be back in the
classroom as soon as possible.
Wildfire mitigation, other plans
Plans filed for first Chick-fil-A in the area
Emily Teel
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Ever since it was confirmed that In-N-Out Burger
was heading for Keizer Station, Statesman Journal
readers have clamored in comment sections for their
own cult-favorite fried chicken spot.
Now, as first reported by the Keizertimes, it looks
as though they'll get their Chick-fil-A.
In a virtual Jan. 13 meeting of the Keizer Planning
Commission, Interim Community Development Di-
rector Shane Witham shared that the Georgia-based
fast food restaurant franchise has filed an application
for an Area D master plan amendment.
Public comment is currently being accepted on the
proposal, and then the Keizer City Council will discuss
it on Feb. 1.
"We've been talking about, expecting that some
restaurant would come in," Witham said, "and they
are the applicant and they are moving forward with an
amendment to Area D."
Area D is a nearly 16-acre property in the Chemewa
Station development directly across from Keizer Sta-
tion. The triangular parcel is framed by Chemawa
Road to the north, Interstate 5 to the east, the Portland
and Western Railroad to the west, and the Salem
Parkway to the south.
The project is owned jointly by The Confederated
Tribes of the Grand Ronde and The Confederated
News updates: h Breaking news h Get updates from
the Silverton area
Photos: h Photo galleries
See ADDRESS, Page 3A
See CHICK-FIL-A, Page 2A
Vol. 140, No. 6
Online at SilvertonAppeal.com
Much of what Brown touched on Thursday was in-
cluded in her recommended budget, released in De-
cember.
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Gov. Kate Brown’s State of the State address plays
on a display in the media control room at the
Oregon State Capitol. Brown’s address was
prerecorded and released on YouTube and the
Oregon Legislative Information System.
BRIAN HAYES/STATESMAN JOURNAL