2A — THE OBSERVER
TuESday, auguST 11, 2020
Daily State’s emergency orders to extend into fall
Planner Brown says office
TODAY
Today is Tuesday, Aug. 11,
the 224th day of 2020. There
are 142 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On August 11, 1997,
President Bill Clinton made
the first use of the historic
line-item veto, rejecting
three items in spending and
tax bills. (However, the U.S.
Supreme Court later struck
down the veto as unconsti-
tutional.)
ON THIS DATE
In 1934, the first federal
prisoners arrived at Alcatraz
Island (a former military
prison) in San Francisco Bay.
In 1949, President Harry S.
Truman nominated General
Omar N. Bradley to become
the first chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In 1952, Hussein bin Talal
was proclaimed King of
Jordan, beginning a reign
lasting nearly 47 years.
In 1960, the African
country of Chad became
independent of France.
In 1964, the Beatles movie
“A Hard Day’s Night” had its
U.S. premiere in New York.
In 1965, rioting and
looting that claimed 34 lives
broke out in the predomi-
nantly Black Watts section of
Los Angeles.
In 1991, Shiite Muslim
kidnappers in Lebanon re-
leased two Western captives:
Edward Tracy, an American
held nearly five years, and
Jerome Leyraud, a French-
man who’d been abducted
by a rival group three days
earlier.
In 1992, the Mall of
America, the nation’s largest
shopping-entertainment
center, opened in Blooming-
ton, Minnesota.
In 1993, President Bill Clin-
ton named Army Gen. John
Shalikashvili to be the new
chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, succeeding the retir-
ing Gen. Colin Powell.
In 2012, Republican
presidential contender Mitt
Romney announced his
choice of Rep. Paul Ryan of
Wisconsin to be his running
mate. Usain Bolt capped his
perfect London Olympics by
leading Jamaica to victory
in a world-record 36.84 sec-
onds in the 4x100 meters.
In 2017, a federal judge
ordered Charlottesville,
Virginia, to allow a weekend
rally of white nationalists
and other extremists to
take place at its originally
planned location downtown.
(Violence erupted at the ral-
ly, and a woman was killed
when a man plowed his car
into a group of counterpro-
testers.)
LOTTERY
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Mega Millions: $22 million
4-44-53-64-70—3 x2
Powerball: $158 million
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Win for Life: Aug. 8
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• 1 p.m.: 5-4-3-4; • 4 p.m.: 8-1-2-9
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Pick 4: Aug. 7
• 1 p.m.: 3-7-4-9; • 4 p.m.: 7-6-0-6
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DELIVERY ISSUES?
If you have any problems
receiving your Observer, call
the office at 541-963-3161.
workers will have
to wear masks
indoors
By Gary A. Warner
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — Office
workers will be required
to wear masks indoors to
help keep Oregon on track
to suppress the growth
of COVID-19, Gov. Kate
Brown said Friday, Aug. 7.
“It’s a small act that can
make a big difference,”
Brown said.
The rules for face cov-
erings in the workplace are
being finalized and could be
announced as early as this
week.
Brown made the com-
ments during an Oregon
Health Authority media
briefing on the pandemic’s
impact on Oregon.
Official state statistics
show 21,488 cases and 357
deaths from the virus as of
Monday afternoon.
On Friday, the state
reported 423 new cases and
nine deaths. The fatalities
were in Deschutes, Uma-
tilla, Jefferson, Marion,
Malheur, Clackamas,
Jackson, Malheur and
Yamhill counties. Eight
of the dead were over 75
years old. The youngest
was a 64-year-old man in
Klamath County.
Despite the daily num-
bers, state officials said
overall trends show the
rate of growth of new
COVID-19 cases has
improved.
Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the
state’s top infectious dis-
ease expert, said after
more than two months
of increases, the rate of
COVID-19 infection state-
wide was leveling off. Cur-
rently, each case leads to
one additional case, a rate
that would keep infections
at or near current levels.
Maintaining the flat rate
is the key to keep Oregon
moving toward allowing
some in-class instruction at
K-12 schools and colleges,
the state officials said. Hos-
pitals will have enough
hospital beds and venti-
lators to take care of the
state’s COVID-19 cases.
“Rather than just a pla-
teau we would like to see
our curve and cases drop
off,” Sidelinger said.
Until a vaccine is cre-
ated and widely distrib-
uted, health officials
can only try to suppress
growth in cases, while
medical researchers find
ways to decrease severe
cases with a mix of medi-
cines and treatment.
Sidelinger noted that
Oregon was holding at a
high rate of infection and
that even a 10% increase
in cases would lead to an
exponential rise in hospi-
talization that could swamp
PMG Photo/Jaime Valdez
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown wears a mask in May. Below, a colorful array of masks made
by Union County residents. Face coverings are now required in indoor public spaces in
Oregon, an order that might be extended to office workers.
Shown are the ZIP codes in Oregon
with the most COVID-19 cases, per 10,000
residents. Data, which is from the Oregon
Health Authority, is as of Aug. 2.
ZIP code
City
Cases
per 10,000
97838
Hermiston
469.1
97818
Boardman
466.5
97761
Warm Springs 464.0
97882
Umatilla
376.3
97875
Stanfield
356.3
97365
Newport
287.6
97914
Ontario
256.7
97844
Irrigon
231.2
97026
Gervais
214.9
97913
Nyssa
204.5
97850
La Grande
198.8
97071
Woodburn
190.3
Contributed photo by Patti Anderson
the state
“Keep your social circle very
health care
system and
tight. Keep your bubble small
quickly drive
deaths up.
consistent.”
Prog-
ress has not
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown
been uni-
form. Infec-
Baker, Hood River, Jef-
ferson, Malheur, Marion,
tions have been spiking
Morrow, Multnomah,
in Morrow and Umatilla
Umatilla, and Wasco.
counties, where restric-
tions on businesses and
Brown said COVID-19
public gatherings have
would continue to chal-
lenge the state and she
been rolled back under a
expected to renew the state
directive from Brown.
of emergency she declared
Umatilla County was
March 8 when the current
moved from Phase 2 to
order expires Sept. 4.
baseline, which includes
Health officials have
the “stay-at-home” order
in place prior to the phased said the largest driver
of new infections was
reopening of counties in
informal get-togethers that
May. Morrow County
extended beyond imme-
moved from Phase 2 to
diate family.
Phase 1 after volunteering
“Keep your social circle
to institute local voluntary
very tight,” Brown said.
controls.
“Keep your bubble small
The latest list of ZIP
and consistent.”
codes with the highest
While state health and
rates of infection were
worker safety officials
topped by Hermiston
have inspected thousands
in Umatilla County and
of businesses for compli-
Boardman in Morrow
ance, the state will count
County. Warm Springs,
on residents’ common
in Jefferson County, was
sense to follow the rule of
third and has seen its rate
no more than 10 people at
of infection continue to
private gatherings.
rise. The majority of ZIP
“I’m not going to be the
codes with the highest
party police and knocking
rates of infection are in
on people’s doors,” Brown
Eastern Oregon.
The state has nine coun- said.
ties on its watchlist of
Future plans to curb
places where the infec-
COVID-19 include pos-
sible travel restrictions.
tion rates are worrisome:
Delmer Hanson returning
as Island City’s mayor
By Dick Mason
The Observer
ISLAND CITY — A
familiar face is now leading
the city of Island City, one
who will need no time to
get acquainted with city
hall.
Delmer
Hanson, who
served as
Island City’s
mayor from
January 2015
to January
Delmer
2019, is back
Hanson
at its helm.
Hanson has been appointed
mayor by Island City’s city
council. He is succeeding
Robb Rea, who was mayor
for about 19 months before
stepping down July 31
because he is moving to
Parma, Idaho, to take a new
job.
Hanson will complete
the final five months of
Rea’s two-year term. He
will do so at the request of
the city council.
“I’m honored (the mem-
bers of the city council)
Staff photo by Dick Mason
An upgrade to Island City’s water system was among the
projects headed by former mayor Delmer Hanson. Han-
son, who was mayor from 2015-2019, is stepping in to fill
the final five months of Robb Rea’s two-year term after
Rea took a new job in Parma, Idaho.
considered me,” said
Hanson, who served as a
member of Island City’s city
council for about 10 years
before being elected mayor.
Hanson did not run for
re-election as mayor in
2018 because of a medical
issue. The position he has
now is up for election in
November, and he has no
plans to run.
“I’ve had a taste of
retirement and I like it,”
said Hanson, who worked
for Union Pacific Railroad.
Brown first
floated the
idea last
and
month, but
has said since
that the target
was unnec-
essary lei-
sure travel and
that any restrictions had
to be worked out with
neighboring states and
not impact commercial
or business travel. Any
restrictions would be done
in concert with neigh-
boring states that adopt the
same policies. No action is
imminent, Brown said.
Despite pressure from
medical and education
groups, Brown said she
was not inclined to change
rules that allow bars to stay
open. Critics have said that
bar patrons have difficulty
maintaining social dis-
tancing and that strangers
interact, making virus
tracing more difficult.
Health officials said
many people go to bars with
small groups of friends,
whom they can identify if
there is an infected person
in the group.
Brown noted she had
ordered bars to close ear-
lier — 10 p.m. — and limit
customers to no more than
100. Inspectors from the
Oregon Liquor Control
Commission were actively
inspecting for compliance.
Though Labor Day is
less than a month away,
Brown and state officials
said that several policies
were still under review.
Both the University of
Oregon and Oregon State
University (including
OSU-Cascades) last made
a major statement about
their fall plans in May,
when the virus seemed
to have been slowed. The
universities said they
would bring students
back to campuses, but
use a “hybrid” approach
combining in-classroom
instruction and online
teaching.
There has been no final
decision whether campuses
will open and how much of
a hybrid mix will include
students in campus class-
rooms. In May, a deadline
of Aug. 26 was set for a
final decision.
The Oregon Legisla-
ture meets in special ses-
sion on Monday, Aug. 10,
to decide how to fill a pro-
jected $1.2 billion state
budget deficit due to lost
tax revenues and increased
health and unemploy-
ment costs during the
COVID-19 crisis.
The Oregon Health
Authority briefing Friday
came amid mixed news
about the pandemic.
The Johns Hopkins
Coronavirus Resource
Center said that as of
Friday afternoon, there
were now just over 4.9 mil-
lion reported cases in the
United States, with 160,737
deaths. Worldwide, the
center said, 19.2 million
cases of COVID-19 had
been reported, with 716,735
deaths.
A New York Times
analysis of state health
department reports indi-
cated that just nine states
are showing an increase in
infection rate.
Of states neighboring
Oregon, California, Nevada
and Washington were
showing a drop in the rate of
new cases, though all were
coming off recent steep
rises. Idaho, which had also
spiked in cases, was listed
as holding steady.
A new federal report
said 1.2 million Americans
filed for unemployment last
week. It’s the 20th week
in a row that new claims
have topped the million
mark, but it was the lowest
number since March.
President Donald
Trump signed an executive
order requiring the federal
government to buy per-
sonal protective equipment
and other key public health
supplies from companies
that made the supplies in
the United States. Trump
said the move would spur
domestic production. The
lack of American sites
making the equipment at
the beginning of the coro-
navirus crisis meant there
were few U.S. sources to
ramp up production.
Oregon Charter Academy — online
school has promising enrollment
By Dick Mason
The Observer
Oregon Charter
Academy, an accredited
public online school, is
on pace to again break its
enrollment record.
The free online school,
which was known as
Oregon Connections
Academy until earlier this
year, currently has 4,300
students signed up for the
2020-21 school year.
A year ago at this
time, it had 3,700 stu-
dents enrolled, and the
academy finished the
school year with 4,600
students, including about
150 in Eastern Oregon.
The total of 4,600 was the
highest total in its his-
tory, according to Allison
Galvin, Oregon Charter
Academy’s executive
director.
Galvin said that Oregon
Charter Academy tradi-
tionally picks up students
throughout the school
year and she expects this
to happen again in 2020-
21. She noted that interest
in online learning is
increasing because of the
COVID-19 pandemic and
the changes it has forced
upon brick-and-mortar
education.
“We have quite a few
students in the pipeline,”
Galvin said.
Because of the antici-
pated growth, the online
school will be adding
teachers in 2020-21.
“We want to main-
tain our same student-to-
teacher ratios, so that we
can continue providing the
same level of face-to-face
instruction,” Galvin said.
Oregon Charter
Academy, as a public
school, must conform to
directives issued by the
Oregon Department of
Education and Gov. Kate
Brown. Because it is an
online school, the only
change the academy has
had to make since the
pandemic started is that
it no longer conducts field
trips.
In order to conform to
social distancing restric-
tions, Oregon Charter
Academy educators will
again be conducting vir-
tual excursions with their
students. Sites they will be
visiting include the Smith-
sonian museums in Wash-
ington, D.C., and NASA
centers.
Oregon Charter
Academy has made a
number of upgrades over
the summer including
a switch to the Canvas
Learning Management
Program.
“It is more dynamic,”
Galvin said.
She said the platform
and its mobile apps make
it easy for students to have
one-on-one interactions
with their teachers.
A county-by-county
breakdown of Oregon
Charter Academy’s enroll-
ment is not yet avail-
able, but Galvin said that
in 2019-20 the school’s
enrollment was evenly dis-
tributed across the state
on a per capita basis. The
150 Eastern Oregon stu-
dents it had last year were
from at least nine counties,
including Union, Wallowa
and Baker counties.