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THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, ApRIl 21, 2020
Shipwright: Recent shipyard closures have left few options
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investing in the company,
adding employees and buy-
ing equipment.
“This year, I feel like
they just saw that we’ve
been investing in our own
company,” she said. “And
this year, we kind of dove
deeper into the environmen-
tal aspect.”
WCT
requested
a
200-foot-long, 60-foot-wide
tent where employees can
work on tugs, barges and
commercial fishing boats
out of the wind and rain,
speeding up the turnaround
on projects. Under the tent
will be a filtered drainage to
catch byproducts from weld-
ing, painting and other vessel
work.
Cook said the self-con-
tained nature of the work
station creates broad appeal
among environmental and
other agencies, while help-
ing the company turn around
boats that much faster.
“Generally, there are five
or six projects going on at
one time. Others are outside,”
he said. “This allows us to
turn around projects quicker,
not having to deal with out-
side elements.”
Several years ago, the Port
of Astoria relinquished a lease
at North Tongue Point early,
having lost significant sums
trying to reinvigorate the
former U.S. Navy seaplane
base. Ending the lease early
allowed Hyak Maritime,
a regional tug- and barge-
builder, to buy the property
from Montana-based Wash-
ington Development Co.
and begin its redevelopment
into a shipwright hub, led by
WCT.
The company received
support for the shipyard grant
from local, state and federal
politicians, along with state
officials. During a recent
Astoria City Council meet-
ing, Mayor Bruce Jones said
he’s written letters of sup-
port the last few years for
WCT’s application. U.S.
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici was
among several in Oregon’s
The Astorian
Local shipwright WCT Marine & Construction received a federal grant to build more outdoor covered workspace at North Tongue Point.
‘THE MARITIME ECONOMy IS
ESSENTIAl TO RuRAl COASTAl
COMMuNITIES ACROSS
NORTHWEST OREGON ANd
THE pACIFIC NORTHWEST.’
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici
congressional delegation who
supported the application.
“The maritime economy
is essential to rural coastal
communities across North-
west Oregon and the Pacific
Northwest,” the Oregon
Democrat wrote in a letter
of support. “Without a well-
equipped shipyard, no ves-
sel is safe on the ocean or the
Columbia River — a major
shipping route.”
Bonamici pointed out
recent shipyard closures that
have left fewer options for
repairs and fabrication. Asto-
ria Marine Construction Co.,
a specialist in wooden boats,
was felled by pollution from
contracts to build mine-
sweepers for the Navy during
World War II and the Korean
War. Owner Tim Fastabend
The Astorian
WCT Marine & Construction employee Jeremy Milligan cut the
outer skin of a ship in 2016 to remove an engine. A federal
grant the company secured will help build more covered
workspace outside a former seaplane hangar.
is unsure of how and whether
his company will go on in
some reduced form after a
multimillion-dollar cleanup
on the Lewis and Clark River
is removed.
The Port once planned a
large boatyard on Pier 3 sur-
rounded by marine-related
businesses. But boat work
took a back seat to the more
lucrative income of Asian
log exports, which have col-
lapsed during a trade war
with China. The Port’s boat-
yard is also limited by the
88-ton mobile boat lift it uses
on Pier 3 to hoist vessels onto
land.
The Port of Toledo, sev-
eral miles up the Yaquina
River from Newport, has
invested around $10 million
buying and fixing up a former
private boatyard, much of it
paid for by state and federal
grants. The port has installed
a 300-ton travel lift to hoist
boats, along with several cov-
ered work stations.
SPOTLIGHT ON HEALTH Sponsored by Columbia Memorial Hospital
COVID-Positive or Negative, the Advice is Isolate
L
iving during a pandemic is different in so many ways
from living during ordinary times. On the news and on
social media, we see terrifying images of people dying. We
hear about hospitals and hospital workers stretched to their
limits, and beyond, as they struggle to keep up with the
disease without becoming sick themselves.
GINA MYSLIWIEC, MD MS
Medical Director, CMH Emergency
Asst. Professor of Medicine, OHSU
Vice Chair, OHSU Dept. of Emergency
Medicine
Working as a healthcare provider these days is also differ-
ent—and not just because a disease has reached pandemic
proportions. It is because the disease we are facing is new.
New diseases must be studied for some time before
effective treatments can be found. It also takes time, not only
to develop vaccines against the new disease, but even just to
develop tests that can reliably identify the disease.
How reliable are the tests?
Some medical tests are very reliable because scientists have
had years to refine and improve them. For example, the influ-
enza test we use at Columbia Memorial Hospital (CMH) has
a sensitivity of about 97-percent for Influenza A and 100-per-
cent for Influenza B.
However, the tests that have been used to look for the
novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 are only about 70-
to 80-percent sensitive. That means that for every 100 people
who are infected, only about 70 to 80 of the tests will come
back positive. So, even if you were tested and your test came
back negative, COVID-19 could still be the cause of your
symptoms.
Is the coronavirus here?
The pandemic has felt different here than in other places,
in part because we don’t have as many sick and dying people
here. We’ve been protected by our distance from bigger cities,
our physical distancing from each other, and the quick action
of our state and local legislators to close places where people
tend to congregate. Our community has been relatively lucky.
This does not mean that the novel coronavirus isn’t circu-
lating in our area. As of April 13, there were six positive test
results in Clatsop County and one in Pacific County. One
reason there haven’t been more is that there are only a limited
number of tests available.
Tests and other medical supplies are being sent to where
they are most needed. The cities that have been hit the
hardest are running low on testing kits, important protective
equipment, hospital rooms, and even ventilators. Hospitals
in those areas will receive more of the available resources than
CMH and Clatsop County.
Fortunately, this has not affected the quality of medical
care given at CMH. Everyone who needs medical evaluation
and treatment still receives it. We have been preparing our-
selves every day to care for sick people using the equipment
we have.
Why isn’t everyone being tested?
Because there are not enough tests to diagnose every per-
son who may be infected with the novel coronavirus, CMH
has developed criteria to determine who should be tested.
This is based on CDC guidelines and follows the recommen-
dations of the Oregon Health Authority and Clatsop County
Public Health.
The most important reason for testing is to track the
movement of COVID-19. Because the current test is not
very reliable, the test result does not change the fact you
should follow the advice provided by the CDC.
Anyone who has been seen at CMH for concern-
ing symptoms has been told to act as though they have
COVID-19, regardless of testing. The treatment is the same
for people with positive and negative test results. People who
are well enough to take care of themselves at home receive
the same advice for CDC-recommended supportive care.
How do I take care of myself and my family?
Regardless of test results, continued physical distancing is
important. To protect yourself and others:
1. Cover your coughs and sneezes.
2. Wash your hands before you touch any surface—includ-
ing your face. And then wash your hands again after the
touch.
3. Keep a distance of at least six feet between you and
others.
4. Get exercise every day and practice good hydration and
nutrition.
5. Stay up-to-date by checking the CDC website.
Information about COVID-19 changes almost every day,
but is available to everyone on cdc.gov. You can read about
symptoms, how to prevent transmission of disease, how to
treat your symptoms or care for a family member, how to
disinfect your home, how long you should stay in quaran-
tine, how long before you should go back to work, and many
other topics.
The CDC provides the most reliable information and
advice, but if their website doesn’t answer your questions you
can call the CMH COVID-19 hotline at 503-338-4699. The
hotline is staffed by CMH nurses weekdays 9 a.m.-5 p.m.,
and supported by providers and pharmacists.
Remember, there will be people who are infected by the
novel coronavirus but who do not meet the hospital’s thresh-
old for testing or have a negative test result. These people
may unknowingly pass the novel coronavirus to others. For
this reason, continued physical distancing is so important.
Even when better tests become available, we should still do
all we can to prevent a resurgence that might hit Clatsop
County harder than it has been hit so far.