The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current, March 28, 2020, Image 2

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The daily Astorian., March 28, 2020, Page 2, Image 2

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Newspaper Page TextA2 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2020 Seaside restricts access to beach IN BRIEF Astoria extends parks, pool closures Astoria is extending the closure of the Astoria Library, Astoria Aquatic Center and other parks facilities indeﬁ - nitely amid efforts to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The closures also include the Astoria Recreation Center, Lil’ Sprouts, Port of Play, playgrounds and sport courts. They were expected to end Wednesday, along with Gov. Kate Brown’s initial public school closures, which have since been extended through late April. City Hall will also extend its restriction of walk-in access, with admittance by appointment only. The city prefers business be conducted over the phone or through email as much as possible. County establishes coronavirus hotline Clatsop County has a COVID-19 informational phone line to answer questions about the virus. Personnel will be available from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The number is 503-325-8500. County staff cannot answer medical questions. Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria also has a hotline at 503-338-4699 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. County collecting donations of medical supplies Clatsop County Emergency Management is accept- ing donations of personal protective equipment, includ- ing masks, gowns, gloves and face shields. The county is collecting donations and will distribute them to local medical personnel and emergency responders. Donations can be dropped off every weekday between 10 a.m. and noon at the Clatsop County Emer- gency Management Ofﬁ ce at Camp Rilea in Warrenton. For more information, email donate@clatsopeoc.com or call 503-325-8645. County appoints new counsel County commissioners appointed a new county coun- sel on Wednesday. Joanna Lyons-Antley will start on April 1. She replaces Heather Reynolds, who served as Clatsop County counsel for 25 years. Lyons-Antley will serve as an in-house counsel instead of a contract attorney. Lyons-Antley was formerly a contract attorney for Beery, Elsner & Hammond LLP. She also served about eight years as the city attorney for Klamath Falls and about six years as the assistant Coos County counsel. — The Astorian DEATHS March 27, 2020 In POTTER, Brief Mary Gail, 59, of Astoria, died in Asto- ria. Caldwell’s Luce-Lay- Deaths ton Mortuary of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. March 26, 2020 BROWN, Dennis Leroy, 80, of Gearhart, died in Seaside. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. March 25, 2020 SHOOP, Kenneth War- ren, 78, of Hammond, died in Warrenton. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. BIRTHS March 12, 2020 FRANCIS, Krysta, and CLARK, Tim, of Chinook, Washington, a girl, Madison Layne Clark, born at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria. Grandparents are Tracy and Don Hoffman, of Port Angeles, Wash- ington, and Teresa and Tim Clark, of Astoria. CORRECTION Employee count — EO Media Group on Wednes- day announced the layoff of 47 of the company’s 261 employees in Oregon and Washington state over coro- navirus-related losses. An In Brief item on A2 on Thurs- day incorrectly said the company had 181 employees. Correction Follows closure of state parks By R.J. MARX The Astorian SEASIDE — With Gov. Kate Brown’s order “Stay Home, Save Lives” limiting access to many businesses and recreational areas, resi- dents are wondering “What about the beach?” “We’re working with the city of Seaside to close their upland accesses to the beach,” said Chris Havel of the Oregon Parks and Rec- reation Department. “We have the power to close the beach itself, but we haven’t exercised it. We will revisit that decision if people don’t maintain social distance.” The governor’s order came after some Oregonians failed to adhere to social dis- tancing guidelines, result- ing in crowds on the Oregon Coast and state parks around the state. “I ﬁ nd that imme- diate implementation of additional measures is nec- essary,” Brown said in the declaration. While the order doesn’t currently extend to the ocean shore, according to Ore- gon Parks and Recreation Department Director Lisa R.J. Marx/The Astorian The beach in Seaside on Monday. Sumption, it does close all state park-managed parking lots and beach access . “Closed is closed,” Sump- tion said in her message. “We lock restrooms, stop trash service, and it’s not safe for you or us to go into a closed park. If we see you in a park, we’ll ask you to leave. If you refuse, we can issue you a citation.” For now, Seaside is lim- iting public access to the beach, Public Works Director Dale McDowell said at Mon- day’s City Council meeting. His department put signs up at beach entrances from the estuary to the Cove, he said, telling residents that the beaches are closed because of the state resolution. Four restroom facili- ties remain open, at Seltzer Park, the Prom, the Seaside Civic and Convention Cen- ter parking lot and the Sea- side Chamber of Commerce. While the Prom is open to walking, jogging or bik- ing, walking to the beach is prohibited, McDowell said, even if a person is alone or social distancing. City Manager Jon Rahl said the beach closure is intended to send a message to visitors. “We feel by closing the parks, the beaches, the streams, we can say, ‘Look, we don’t have room or access for visitors at this point in time out of respect for the rest of our citizens so we can maintain our own health.’” Rahl said. “For now, it gives the police the authority to drive the beach and say: ‘You can’t be here.’ We didn’t have the authority. Now we have that.” Rahl said Seaside has had discussions with Ore- gon State Parks ranger Justin Parker. “My understanding is that whatever we choose to do, they will support. I believe we have the support from Oregon State Parks.” “We and the city will do everything we can to make it clear,” Havel said. “The beach may not be closed, but that could change if peo- ple don’t start listening to the message — stay home, save lives.” Seaside, ﬁ re chief address mask shortage By R.J. MARX The Astorian SEASIDE — The sup- ply of N95 masks for ﬁ re- ﬁ ghters is critically low, Sea- side Fire Chief Joey Daniels said at Monday’s City Coun- cil meeting: “We have nil to none.” Dust masks are OK for responders as a protective measure, he said, but don’t form a protective seal like N95 masks, which are ﬁ t- tested and offer a tight seal. While Clatsop County has a “very small supply” of per- sonal protective equipment, as the number of COVID-19 cases increases, “this supply will go fast.” City Manager Mark Win- stanley addressed the con- cerns of local responders. “As we go through this process, the unfortunate chal- lenge is that we will have ﬁ re- men ultimately exposed to the virus,” Winstanley said. “These are things we have to work our way through along with the general public.” In addition to paid staff and volunteers, two Seaside Public Works employees have been assigned to the ﬁ re department, along with two hires from the police depart- ment with ﬁ re experience. While the city supports local hospitals, doctors, pub- lic health ofﬁ cials on the front lines, this is not an area that the city normally oper- ates in, Winstanley said. “It’s a challenge for us and all of our community.” Fire departments through- out the state are seeking sup- plies in any way they can. “We’re out shopping these things on the internet trying to ﬁ nd them,” Win- stanley said. All county ﬁ re depart- ments are actively engaged with vendors asking the state for more equipment, Dan- iels said. “As equipment has been available we have all been getting limited sup- plies and we are helping one another out.” Depending on the call, ﬁ reﬁ ghters assess how they should suit up. Daniels, who also serves as ﬁ re defense chief for the county, a rotating position every three years among the chiefs in the county, said departments are limiting access of personnel that need to be with the patient. “If we are dispatched to someone that has any of the signs of COVID-19 we are putting a Tyvek suit on, gog- gles and an N95,” Daniels said. “We have always worn N95s and safety glasses on any patient that has signs of the ﬂ u, so this is just us adapting to COVID-19.” Dispatchers screen ﬁ re calls by asking if the patient has COVID-19-related symptoms like fever, cough or difﬁ culty breathing, he said. If the risk is clear, two ﬁ reﬁ ghters don a Tyvek suit, rubber gloves and goggles before entering. If risk is uncertain, one ﬁ reﬁ ghter will enter with an N95, goggles and gloves to get information before mak- ing a decision on what oth- ers wear. These procedures are in place for all ﬁ re calls, includ- ing ﬁ res, accidents or other emergencies. Daniels listed the coun- ty’s main needs as more N95 masks, gowns, surgi- cal masks, hand sanitizer and wipes. “This is all equipment we would share with all of our public safety part- ners throughout the county,” he said. “We all work well together and help one another out. This is no different.” Daniels said departments are “searching every day,” to bolster supply. “We have every agency in the county looking and helping one another out if they ﬁ nd a resource.” Daniels said he wanted to set the public at ease if ﬁ re- ﬁ ghters enter a scene fully covered in protective gear. “We’re dressed up because you may not know you have something,” he said. “We want to make sure we don’t get anything. If I were to lose ﬁ ve or six guys to quarantine, it would be devastating.” Distillers: Sanitizer helps support community need Continued from Page A1 ON THE RECORD Disorderly conduct DUII On the Danca, Record • Matthew 40, • Lotus Clark, 20, of was arrested Thursday in Seaside for disorderly con- duct in the second degree. • Rocky Guerrero, 48, of Seaside, was arrested Thursday on Oceanway Street in Seaside for dis- orderly conduct in the second degree. Gearhart, was arrested Thursday on N. Roosevelt Drive in Seaside for driv- ing under the inﬂ uence of intoxicants, reckless driv- ing, minor in possession of alcohol and failure to perform the duties of a driver. PUBLIC MEETINGS TUESDAY Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, work session on coronavirus, 12 p.m. (virtual meeting). PUBLIC MEETINGS Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503-325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103-0210 DailyAstorian.com Circulation phone number: 503-325-3211 Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR ADVERTISING OWNERSHIP All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by The Astorian become the property of The Astorian and may not be reproduced for any use without explicit prior approval. COPYRIGHT © Entire contents © Copyright, 2020 by The Astorian. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. Printed on recycled paper Subscription rates Eﬀ ective May 1, 2019 MAIL (IN COUNTY) EZpay (per month) ...............................................................................................................$11.25 13 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$37.00 26 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$71.00 52 weeks in advance ........................................................................................................ $135.00 Out of County Rates available at 800-781-3214 DIGITAL EZpay (per month) .................................................................................................................$8.00 Brown reached out to local hospitals, emergency responders, city govern- ments and care centers to see what they needed. Friday’s shipment is supplying local care centers, the county and several city governments. “We’re just now starting to monitor the burn rate of things,” Brown said. “And that’s a separate, broader issue — not just hand sani- tizer. In order to get the fed- eral supplies delivered to the state or to the local govern- ment, we need to start pro- viding them with better pro- jections about how much we think we’re going to need.” The hand sanitizer is not yet available for sale to the public. Pilot House wanted to make sure emergency Gallon bottles are ﬁ lled with Pilot House Distilling hand sanitizer. Photos by Hailey Hoﬀ man/The Astorian Justin Cross ﬁ lls gallon jugs with hand sanitizer. Pilot House Distilling in Astoria began producing sanitizer to support community need. responders and other critical services were supplied, Kro- ening said. Government restrictions on bars and restaurants have Please ADOPT A PET! MELODY 6yr old female tuxedo Make home sweet home even sweeter with a Melody in your heart. See more on Petfinder.com CLATSOP COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER • 861-PETS 1315 SE 19th St. • Warrenton | Tues-Sat 12-4pm www.dogsncats.org THIS SPACE SPONSORED BY CLATSOP ANIMAL ASSISTANCE hurt demand for craft liquor and beer and have led many distilleries toward mak- ing hand sanitizer. Federal and state authorities have made it easier to make the switch. The $2 trillion stim- ulus bill passed by Congress exempted distilleries from paying excise taxes for pro- ducing hand sanitizer with denatured alcohol. T he Oregon Distillers G uild is trying to help coor- dinate getting resources to the right place amid an over- taxed supply chain with everyone searching for the same ingredients. Etha- nol has been the most chal- lenging to source, Cary said, leaving Pilot House with the difﬁ cult decision of whether to redistill its processed spir- its for the sanitizer. “At this point, if it becomes such a necessity, we’ll just use the spirits,” he said, adding a bit of humor. “Sanitize it from the out- side. If not, you can drink the booze and sanitize from the inside.” Fre e Est Fast ima tes Call me ti Any Jeff Hale Painting • • • • Residential Commercial Cedar Roof Treatments Exterior Repaint Specialist Over 25 years local experience 503-440-2169 Jeff Hale, Contractor LICENSED BONDED INSURED CCB#179131