The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current, April 25, 2020, Image 2

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The daily Astorian., April 25, 2020, Page 2, Image 2

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Newspaper Page TextA2 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2020 Sunset rec proposes $3M budget amid virus IN BRIEF Laid off 50 employees Authorities investigate man’s death after arrest By R.J. MARX The Astorian Authorities are investigating the death of a Warren- ton man at the Clatsop County Jail. Alexander Jimenez, 34, was arrested on April 17 by Warrenton police for disorderly conduct and resist- ing arrest. He was reportedly out of control and police used a stun gun to gain control and make the arrest, District Attorney Ron Brown said. Following the arrest, ofﬁ cers took Jimenez to Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria for medical clearance before taking him to jail. After Jimenez arrived at the jail, ofﬁ cials said he experienced a medical emergency in the sally port and medical staff and deputies tried to save him. He was taken to Columbia Memorial, where he later died. An autopsy ruled out homicide as the cause of death. The man had underlying health problems and methamphetamine in his system, which may have con- tributed to his death, Brown said. — The Astorian Fourth virus case tied to Paciﬁ c County LONG BEACH, Wash. — A fourth person with ties to Paciﬁ c County was diagnosed with COVID-19 and was being treated and isolated in an out-of-area med- ical facility. A contact tracing investigation began after the county was notiﬁ ed about the new case and health ofﬁ cials do not believe the person was out in the pub- lic while contagious. Close contacts of the person are being found, notiﬁ ed and told to quarantine. Anyone with symptoms will be able to get tested for the virus. If the case investigation reveals exposure to the general public, that information will be released, said Katie Lindstrom, director of the Paciﬁ c County Department of Health and Human Services. The medical staff involved in transferring the patient out of the area used personal protective equip- ment. They are being treated as potentially exposed and are being quarantined and offered testing. The ﬁ rst coronavirus case attributed to Paciﬁ c County was reported on April 10, though the person involved was not living in the county when diagnosed. Notiﬁ cation about a second case was announced on April 18 and a third on April 19. Both those patients are isolating at home in the county. After conduct- ing contact tracing investigations, the county does not believe the public was exposed to the virus prior to the two people isolating. — Chinook Observer Steadfast returns home after counternarcotic patrol The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Stead- fast returned to Astoria after a 65-day counternarcotic patrol of international waters off the coasts of Mexico and Central America. While patrolling, the crew apprehended three sus- pected smugglers and seized 1,252 pounds of pure cocaine worth about $21.5 million. The Steadfast crew also participated in the Colum- bia River Maritime Museum’s Miniboat Program, which connects students from local Oregon elemen- tary schools with students in Japan. The program is designed to teach students about the signiﬁ cance of ocean currents and weather, while building miniature boats to send across the ocean. During this patrol, the Steadfast crew launched two boats, Boat-A-Lahti and Philbert, about 200 miles off the southern tip of Baja, Mexico. — The Astorian DEATHS April 20, 2020 In SMITH, Brief Joyce, 92, of Astoria, died in Longview, Washington. Hughes-Ran- Deaths som Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements. April 17, 2020 JIMENEZ, Alexander, 34, of Warrenton, died in Astoria. Hughes-Ransom Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements. April 16, 2020 HUGHES, Arthur, 70, of Seaside, died in Wheeler. Hughes-Ran- som Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements. ON THE RECORD Theft On the Record • Marilyn L. Mobley, 54, of Ocean Park, Washing- ton, was arrested Wednesday at Fred Meyer in Warren- ton for theft in the second degree and criminal trespass in the ﬁ rst degree. PUBLIC MEETINGS MONDAY Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., (electronic meeting). TUESDAY Clatsop Diking Improvement Co. No. 7, 10:30 a.m., annu- al meeting, Brownsmead Grange, 42880 Fish Lane, Astoria. Warrenton City Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave. 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 SEASIDE — The Sun- set Empire Park and Recre- ation District’s proposed $3 million budget for the next ﬁ scal year comes with many caveats. Be prepared for every scenario, Skyler Archibald, the district’s executive director, told board mem- bers during a Tuesday bud- get session. With a likely decrease in revenue because of closed services due to the corona- virus, the district will freeze employee wages and there will be less expenses for administration, the pool, recreation and the commu- nity and youth centers. The spending plan is slightly lower than this ﬁ scal year, which ends in June. The district laid off 50 of 57 employees in March because of coronavirus. The district lost between $100,000 to $120,000 in rev- enue since the facilities were closed in March because of Gov. Kate Brown’s execu- tive order and could continue to bleed $100,000 monthly during the shutdown. All part-time program and maintenance staff with the exception of the meal site coordinator have been laid off , he said. That includes lifeguards, youth recreation leaders, patron relation spe- cialists, special event leaders and others. Three of those laid off in March have been rehired, he said . “We are predicting a decrease in our ability to generate revenue, particu- larly for the ﬁ rst and sec- ond quarters of the ﬁ s- cal year,” Archibald said. “There’s a lot of concern. We don’t have any revenue coming in. The majority of our operations are funded by the residents of the dis- trict through their taxes. That’s pretty stable for this ﬁ scal year and moving for- ward for the short term, but after that period, and given our inability to generate rev- enue, we’re taking a really cautious approach.” More than 50% of reve- nue comes from taxpayers, amounting to around $1.7 million. Additional revenue comes from program fees, timber taxes, donations and special events. The pandemic comes at a period when the district had the “most well-funded bud- get to date,” Archibald said, as property values contin- ued to grow within district boundaries. “The district is in good shape,” Archibald said. “We’re still able to invest in infrastructure and capital expenses.” “Essentially we had the budget down about the mid- dle of February, to have it be able to be presented with small adjustments as we saw ﬁ t,” Archibald said. “Then in the middle of March, life changed and things got a lot different, we essentially scrapped that budget and presented the budget here today.” Personnel expenses stand at $1.8 million in the g eneral f und, which includes money for administrative, aquatic, the youth and community centers, recreation and spe- cial events funding. The Sunset Pool, which operates at a cost of just over $1 million, is the district’s most expensive facility. “We’re taking a cautious approach but a hopeful one,” Ronald Bline, the budget committee chairman, said. “But as things come back in this town, as we build slowly, this pool is going to be an important compo- nent as long as people are assured that it’s going to be a safe experience, it’s going to be an important contri- bution to us feeling about everything.” Employees will not receive cost-of-living increases in addition to fro- zen wages. Travel and train- ing will also be curtailed or prohibited, Archibald said. “We try to be prepared for every scenario. U nfortu- nately, we have to present a budget. If we have to adjust as we go on, we’ll adjust, we’ll do a supplemental budget, we’ll look at other things to make sure we’re accounting for other things are happening,” Archibald said. Legislators table $50M hospital relief plan Lawmakers want it to include forgivable loans or grants By DICK HUGHES Oregon Capital Bureau Oregon legislators balked Thursday at loaning $50 mil- lion in federal money to rural hospitals reeling from the coronavirus pandemic. Members of the Legisla- tive Emergency Board tabled the proposal so it could be reworked to include for- givable loans or straight- out grants. Several legisla- tors said hospitals would be unable to take out loans, even at zero percent interest for the ﬁ rst year as Gov. Kate Brown has proposed, and the allow- able uses were too restrictive. “This was federal money given to us to pass on to our rural hospitals. Why are we making it a loan program as the state?” asked state Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena. “It’s wrong. It’s morally incorrect in my opinion. This money should be grants from the beginning. In that way, we could actually help our rural hospitals.” Thirty-three rural hospi- tals would be eligible. But Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scap- poose, said the plan envi- sioned by Brown’s staff was the equivalent of throw- ing only a 6-foot rope to someone drowning 10 feet offshore. “We would look so incredibly foolish if we allowed hospitals to go broke on our watch during a global pandemic,” Johnson said. “But there is all kind of stuff wrong with what the gover- nor’s folks have written.” House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, noted that some hospitals are get- ting federal assistance, with Congress approving addi- tional funding this week. “I think we want to be cau- tious about how we don’t just unilaterally say everybody needs, frankly free money,” she said, “because there are a lot of businesses and a lot of places around the state that need that money, too.” After a recess, Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, called for tabling the proposal, saying Brown’s Tech Sgt. Aaron Perkins/Oregon National Guard Federal money designated for rural hospitals could have helped areas like Seaside and Astoria. ‘WE WOULD LOOK SO INCREDIBLY FOOLISH IF WE ALLOWED HOSPITALS TO GO BROKE ON OUR WATCH DURING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC. BUT THERE IS ALL KIND OF STUFF WRONG WITH WHAT THE GOVERNOR’S FOLKS HAVE WRITTEN.’ Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose staff agreed with that move. No date was set for when the board would take up the issue again. The board did approve coronavirus-related fund- ing for rent assistance, small businesses, domestic vio- lence resources, COVID-19 testing for workers in long- term care facilities and aid to jobless workers, such as undocumented immigrants, who are ineligible for unem- ployment insurance. Many of the details have yet to be worked out. Leg- islative Fiscal Ofﬁ cer Ken Rocco told the board , which for the ﬁ rst time was meeting by video conference, that it remained unclear how much federal aid Oregon was get- ting and what restrictions accompanied the money. Hospital ofﬁ cials from across the state had told leg- islators earlier in the week that hospitals cumulatively were losing $13 million a day due to the costs of COVID- 19 equipment, a state ban on nonurgent surgeries, fewer people receiving care in emergency rooms and other factors. More than 30,000 Oregon workers in the health care and social assistance ﬁ elds have applied for unem- ployment since March 15. Oregon Health & Science University announced Thurs- day that it was substantially reducing salaries and making other cutbacks to deal with a projected revenue loss during the next 28 months of $1 bil- lion to $1.4 billion. “It is not just the rural hospitals that are struggling,” Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hay- ward, D-Beaverton, who is a physician at OHSU, told her colleagues on the board . “Every single health system in the state is struggling as a result of this.” Brown announced Thurs- day that as of May 1, she was lifting the ban on elective medical and dental proce- dures. Steiner Hayward said that would help, but hospi- WANTED Please ADOPT A PET! TUCKER Almost three year old Husky/Pit Terrier Blend Meet the perfect play date: both smart & silly & quick to snuggle. 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 tals would take time to ramp up and have lost signiﬁ cant income in the meantime. The board approved the 11 items on its agenda, all on a bipartisan basis and most of them unanimously. Much of the discussion cen- tered on ﬁ scal accountability for how relief money is spent and ensuring that rural areas beneﬁ t. Legislators approved a new program under which businesses employing 25 or fewer workers could be eli- gible for state grants or loans if they have not received fed- eral aid. Rep. David Gomberg, D-Otis, said he had been concerned that coronavi- rus assistance had not been going to the smallest of small businesses, which are the economic backbone of his district. “People are hurting every- where,” he said. “Accord- ing to the state economist, they’re hurting particularly hard in my part of Oregon.” The state will contract with community develop- ment ﬁ nancial institutions to run the program, but Gomberg noted those institu- tions primarily are along the Interstate 5 corridor. “I worry that it’s not going to support everyone equally,” he said, “that perhaps we’re focused on helping the most people rather than people who are hurt the most.” The Oregon Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. 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