A2
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019
What do you think of the federal government shutdown?
”Oh, my good-
ness, can I say polite
words? I think it’s
sad that we live in
a country where the
whims of the few over-
ride the needs of the many.”
Carol Folk, Astoria
THE DAILY ASTORIAN // QUESTION OF THE WEEK
”I think it’s horrible.
For one thing, national
parks are closed.”
Terry Leong,
Astoria
”It sucks. It’s terri-
bly selfi sh of one man
to put that many peo-
ple under the knife, so
to speak.”
James Brownlow,
Astoria
Health experts expect measles outbreak to hit Oregon
By KRISTIAN FODEN-
VENCIL and CRYSTAL
LIGORI
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The third day of a measles rash on a baby boy back in 1963.
The count of confi rmed
measles cases in s outhwest
Washington rose to 23 Tues-
day, and Oregon offi cials
say they expect the health
crisis to cross the state line
soon.
“We wouldn’t be a bit
surprised to see people with
measles in Oregon,” said
Dr. Richard Leman, a pub-
lic health physician with
the Oregon Health Author-
ity. “Getting vaccinated is
perhaps the very best way
to protect yourself against
this.”
Authorities know some-
one with measles attended
the Jan. 11 Portland Trail
Blazers game at the Moda
Center, and they are tracking
other potential exposures.
Clark County, Washing-
ton, has already declared a
public health emergency. Dr.
Alan Melnick, the county
public health director, said
the strain on resources may
lead to a statewide decla-
ration as well. That would
allow Washington to request
federal help.
If untreated, measles can
cause pneumonia and swell-
ing in the brain that can lead
to deafness. Immunizations
are highly effective against
the disease, but in Clark
County, 22 percent of stu-
dents are not vaccinated for
it, Melnick said.
The number of unvacci-
nated children is even lower
in some schools.
“This is completely pre-
ventable if we had better
immunization rates,” Mel-
nick said. “But we’re going
to continue to have prob-
lems like this if the immuni-
zation rates are too low.”
Catherine Kroll, the
director of infection pre-
vention at the PeaceHealth
System, said the hospital
had three families come in
with the disease — before
authorities recognized the
outbreak.
She said providers take
measles patients to a spe-
cial room with negative air
pressure.
“So it’s not pushing mea-
sles virus out, because mea-
sles virus is airborne,” she
said. “After they leave, the
room sits for two hours.
That allows for the virus to
settle out of their air. Once
the virus has settled out of
the air, you’re able to clean
it off of surfaces and kill it
with standard disinfection
methods.”
PeaceHealth is asking
anyone who thinks they may
have measles to call their
health care provider before
turning up at a hospital or
clinic. That limits possible
exposure for other people.
“We are on high vig-
ilance,” Kroll said. “As
soon as people come in to
seek services, we’re doing
a quick evaluation to assess
them for measles. And any-
body who has the potential
of measles, we actually go
back outside the facility with
them, place a mask on them
and bring them in through an
alternative entrance to min-
imize the exposure to other
patients.”
PeaceHealth has set up
its own i ncident c ommand
s tructure to deal with the
outbreak and is sharing best
practices with other health
care providers.
Kroll said they are also
notifying people who were
in a clinic or hospital with
measles patients about the
possibility of being exposed.
But she’s not aware of any-
one who has been exposed
that way.
While hospitals and clin-
ics are designed to deal with
illness, schools in the area
are doing what they can.
Gail Spolar, the director of
communications at Ever-
green Public Schools, said
they’ve had cases at four of
their 37 schools.
Students who are not
immunized cannot return
to school until they are. At
two Evergreen elementary
schools, about 10 percent of
students are being kept out.
Public health offi cials fear
the emergency could last at
least several more weeks.
“When you’ve been
exposed to measles, if
you’re susceptible, the
symptoms will begin some-
where between seven and
21 days after you’ve been
exposed,” Melnick said. “So
we’re looking at cases that
could develop up until early
February.”
Eugene, Lane County plan
Millions could be drinking
would bring homeless off streets water high in nitrates
Associated Press
EUGENE — Elected
leaders for Eugene and
Lane County are support-
ing an ambitious, expen-
sive push aimed at lower-
ing to zero the number of
homeless people camping
along local streets and in
parks.
The
Register-Guard
reported that the series of
10 recommendations by
Technical Assistance Col-
laborative, a Boston-based
consultant, includes con-
struction of a 75-bed
low-barrier homeless shel-
ter and hundreds of addi-
tional units of supportive
housing.
It also calls for the
expansion or improve-
ment of existing programs
spread across numerous
public agencies and non-
profi t providers to bet-
ter help homeless people
secure housing and keep
them in it.
The Eugene City Coun-
cil voted Tuesday to have
City Manager Jon Ruiz
work with Lane County
Administrator
Steve
Mokrohisky to develop a
plan by May 1 to imple-
ment the consultant’s
recommendations.
The plan would require
a large infusion of public
money, likely running into
the tens of millions of dol-
lars, that elected leaders
would have to identify to
pay for both construction
and annual operating costs.
By COURTNEY FLATT
Northwest Public
Broadcasting
FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
TONIGHT
THURSDAY
Intervals of clouds and
sunshine
Intervals of clouds and
sunshine
ALMANAC
Partly sunny
New
First
Feb 4
Salem
40/54
Newport
41/52
Coos Bay
43/56
Full
Feb 12
Feb 19
Assault
• At 2:51 a.m. today , Taylor Falconer, 25, of Astoria, was arrested in the 1400 block of
Commercial Street on one count of assault in the fourth degree. Falconer allegedly clawed
the victim’s face during a domestic dispute. The victim was also arrested on a warrant out
of Multnomah County.
Baker
30/44
Ontario
28/46
Bend
28/48
Burns
24/42
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Klamath Falls
27/46
Lakeview
25/41
Ashland
37/54
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019
REGIONAL CITIES
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
TOMORROW'S TIDES
Astoria / Port Docks
Time
9:45 a.m.
10:12 p.m.
Low
1.9 ft.
-0.5 ft.
City
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Eugene
Ilwaco
Klamath Falls
Medford
Newberg
Newport
North Bend
Hi
42
50
52
55
52
46
51
54
52
55
Today
Lo
30
28
44
38
43
27
37
39
41
42
W
r
c
r
r
r
pc
c
r
r
r
Hi
44
48
58
52
50
46
55
52
52
56
Thu.
Lo
25
28
42
36
41
21
30
37
39
39
W
pc
s
s
pc
pc
s
s
pc
pc
s
City
Olympia
Pendleton
Portland
Roseburg
Salem
Seaside
Spokane
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Yakima
Hi
53
51
55
51
56
52
38
54
53
52
Today
Lo
40
37
41
41
40
41
25
39
41
29
W
r
sh
r
r
r
r
sh
r
r
pc
Hi
51
47
53
52
54
51
36
52
51
47
Thu.
Lo
37
34
38
37
36
40
30
36
36
29
W
c
c
pc
pc
pc
pc
c
pc
pc
c
TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER
NATIONAL CITIES
Hi
62
43
34
41
20
43
54
21
84
46
27
57
69
48
79
56
66
42
46
45
31
34
60
52
48
John Day
35/46
ON THE RECORD
La Grande
34/44
Roseburg
41/52
Brookings
44/59
UNDER THE SKY
Today
Lo
40
42
12
21
12
25
31
6
68
21
20
41
48
26
73
25
36
41
27
43
19
28
48
44
46
Prineville
29/50
Lebanon
39/52
Medford
37/55
Tonight's Sky: The Double Clusters of Perseus is
high above the western horizon after sunset.
High
9.1 ft.
9.4 ft.
Pendleton
37/47
The Dalles
38/53
Portland
41/53
Eugene
38/52
Sunset tonight ........................... 5:07 p.m.
Sunrise Thursday ........................ 7:47 a.m.
Moonrise today .......................... 8:39 p.m.
Moonset today ............................ 9:40 a.m.
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Denver
Des Moines
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Honolulu
Indianapolis
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Memphis
Miami
Nashville
New Orleans
New York
Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington, DC
Sunshine and patchy
clouds
Tillamook
39/52
SUN AND MOON
Time
3:55 a.m.
3:31 p.m.
52
37
W
r
c
sn
pc
sn
r
s
pc
sh
r
pc
s
s
r
pc
r
r
c
s
r
c
c
s
r
r
Hi
47
56
22
29
16
30
59
24
84
30
24
62
74
48
78
43
54
54
43
56
30
37
62
51
56
Thu.
Lo
30
29
-6
21
-10
13
29
14
66
4
2
39
51
19
57
14
38
28
20
31
5
28
48
42
30
U.S. Environmental Protec-
tion Agency.
Researchers in this study
did not look at private
wells, rather they surveyed
water sources that served at
least 25 people.
The study found drink-
ing water across the U.S.
had elevated nitrates for
different reasons, from
agriculture to fertilizers to
sewage treatment plants.
In earlier research based
in Cape Cod, Massachu-
setts, Schaider found water
with elevated levels of
nitrates often had elevated
levels of other contami-
nants, like pharmaceuticals
or other chemicals found in
consumer products . Simi-
lar studies could be done in
more agricultural areas.
“Nitrate pollution might
be a good indicator of
impaired water quality in
general,” Schaider said.
Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs.
ASTORIA
40/51
Precipitation
Tuesday ............................................ 0.92"
Month to date ................................... 4.74"
Normal month to date ....................... 7.52"
Year to date ...................................... 4.74"
Normal year to date .......................... 7.52"
Jan 27
SUNDAY
53
38
REGIONAL WEATHER
Astoria through Tuesday.
Temperatures
High/low ....................................... 53°/41°
Normal high/low ........................... 50°/38°
Record high ............................ 62° in 1981
Record low ............................. 16° in 1943
Last
SATURDAY
52
37
40
Partly cloudy
FRIDAY
51
37
More
people
than
expected are drinking water
that could be harmful to
their health. That’s accord-
ing to a new study that
looked at a water contam-
inate that’s been an issue
in one of the Northwest’s
most productive farming
regions.
The study, published in
the journal Environmen-
tal Health, found more than
5.6 million Americans may
be drinking water that’s
contaminated with nitrates.
The study found Latino res-
idents are disproportion-
ately drinking water that’s
often more contaminated
than other areas.
At high levels, nitrates
can be harmful to infants,
causing what’s known as
“blue baby syndrome.”
Lower exposure levels to
nitrates can contribute to
other health problems, like
birth defects and some can-
cers, said Laurel Schaider,
the study’s lead author and
an environmental chemist
at Silent Spring Institute.
That’s why researchers
decided to look at nearly
40,000 community water
systems across the country.
“I think that merits fur-
ther investigation into
whether the drinking water
standard is adequately pro-
tecting everyone,” Schaider
said.
Nitrates in drinking
water has long been an issue
for Washington’s Lower
Yakima Valley, where pri-
vate wells have sometimes
shown high levels of con-
tamination. Some 25,000
people use private wells to
get water, according to the
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
pc
r
c
sf
c
c
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
s
s
t
pc
s
r
pc
r
c
c
s
c
r
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy,
sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries,
sn-snow, i-ice.
WEDNESDAY
Clatsop County Board of
Commissioners, 6 p.m., Judge
Guy Boyington Building, 857
Commercial St., Astoria.
Warrenton-Hammond
School Board, 6 p.m., special
session, Warrenton High
School library, 1700 S. Main
Ave.
THURSDAY
Sunset Empire Transporta-
tion District Board, 9 a.m.,
Astoria Transit Center, 900
Marine Drive.
Columbia River Estuary
Study Taskforce, 12 p.m., 818
Commercial St., Suite 203.
Cannon Beach Planning
Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall,
163 E. Gower St.
Tuesday’s Lucky Lines: 1-6-
11-13-20-21-25-30
Estimated jackpot: $25,000
Tuesday’s Mega Millions:
4-15-37-59-64, Mega Ball: 16
Estimated jackpot: $96 million
WASHINGTON
Tuesday’s Daily Game: 8-6-9
Tuesday’s Keno: 05-11-14-15-
17-18-26-29-31-39-41-43-44-50-
56-58-62-68-69-72
Tuesday’s Match 4: 02-10-13-14
LOTTERIES
OREGON
Tuesday’s Pick 4:
1 p.m.: 7-4-7-8
4 p.m.: 8-5-9-8
7 p.m.: 5-0-1-3
10 p.m.: 7-3-5-6
Subscription rates
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