A6
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020
County revised reporting
timeline for election results
County clerk cites
virus as reason
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Clatsop County typically
releases most results on elec-
tion night. But the county
clerk revised the reporting
timeline for the May elec-
tion, citing the coronavirus
pandemic as the reason.
The county released
results shortly after 8 p.m.
on Tuesday based on ballots
accepted through 2 p.m.
The next batch of results
— ballots accepted from
2 p.m. through 8 p.m. on
Tuesday — were released
Wednesday afternoon. The
remainder — challenged
ballots and ballots dropped
off in other counties — will
be released later in the week.
County
Clerk
Tra-
cie Krevanko said she was
using only county staff to
open ballots instead of the
usual practice of bring-
ing in volunteers. She said
many of the volunteers are
elderly, so she did not want
to place them at risk during
the pandemic.
“We are not staying and
working late because of the
COVID-19,” Krevanko said
Tuesday. “We have opted to
process as much as we can
today and then continue the
process again tomorrow
morning.”
Andy Davis, the chair-
man of the Clatsop County
Democratic Central Com-
mittee, was understanding
of the decision.
“While we all want to
know the results immedi-
ately, the safety of the poll
workers is paramount,” he
said. “So it makes com-
plete sense that the county
would be cautious in their
approach here and tak-
ing account of the health of
those volunteers.”
In an email, Bob Short-
man, the chairman of the
Clatsop County Republican
Central Committee, thanked
county staff. “We wish to
thank the (staff) for their
hard work, although the sus-
pense is great we all wish
(an) accurate count in the
election,” he said .
“Good luck to all those
who stepped up to run to
make a difference. Even los-
ers are winners for having
the courage and dedication.
We thank them all.”
Wage: Councilors agreed child care should be priority
Continued from Page A1
“We’re in the middle of
the greatest economic cri-
sis possibly since the Great
Depression, and the last thing
we need the state to do is to
mandate that our local busi-
nesses and local government
have to increase wages across
the board in a time of declin-
ing revenues,” Jones said.
City Councilor Tom
Brownson concurred with
Jones, calling on Astoria
to bring the issue up with
the League of Oregon Cit-
ies . The city can’t absorb
increased labor costs by rais-
ing prices like private busi-
nesses, he said.
“I hope that we can help
the state go there, and I think
that other cities would jump
right in on this as well,” said
Brownson, who represents
Astoria on the League of
Oregon Cities .
Schools and cities have
been partnering to offer free
emergency child care for
essential workers during the
pandemic. But as those ser-
vices end in mid-June, the
city will need to ramp up its
child care offerings through
the ‘Lil Sprouts Academy,
City Manager Brett Estes
said. While child care used
to roughly break even, Estes
said, it faces the same chal-
lenges as the aquatic center
with increasing labor costs.
Councilors agreed that
child care should be the
city’s fi rst priority. But they
also wanted to see limited
reopening of the aquatic cen-
ter, the only one in the region
aside from the Sunset Pool in
Seaside.
The
state
recently
approved Clatsop County
to begin the fi rst phase of
reopening parts of the econ-
omy from virus restrictions.
Aquatic centers would not
reopen until a third phase,
and even then at limited
capacity.
The operation of the
aquatic center, like many
other public indoor pools
across the country, is not
designed to be profi table.
About half of the operat-
ing costs are subsidized
by money transfers from
the general fund and lodg-
ing taxes, which have plum-
meted while hotels are closed
to prevent the spread of the
virus. The rest comes from
user fees, which have dis-
appeared amid the outbreak
and will likely be limited
when the pool reopens with
reduced operating hours and
capacity.
The city has furloughed
more than 80 part-time
employees, mostly in the
parks department. Part-time
labor costs at the pool alone
are more than $300,000, said
Jonah Dart-McLean, the
interim parks director. The
city will have to better under-
stand the impact of lodg-
ing tax losses on cash fl ow
before deciding when and to
what degree it can reopen the
pool, Estes said.
City Councilor Jessamyn
West waxed hopeful that
some support will come from
the federal government in a
fi fth coronavirus relief bill
after most of the previous
municipal relief went to cit-
ies of more than 500,000.
The U.S. House recently
passed the $3 trillion Health
and Economic Recovery
Grants: Would be
available in July
Continued from Page A1
“The other piece is that
almost a third of business
owners in Clatsop County
are sole proprietors and
women-owned businesses,
and those are other groups
that have been signifi -
cantly impacted by the
restrictions and closures
related to this pandemic.”
The grants would
become available in July
and help an estimated 60
to 100 businesses and
employees remain sol-
vent through the pan-
demic, fi lling cash fl ow
gaps as they scale down,
reduce expenses and try
to survive. The city, hav-
ing received previous
block grants and met their
administrative
require-
ments, would administer
the program for the entire
county.
Astoria is also applying
on behalf of the county for
a $50,000 block grant to
buy protective equipment
for emergency respond-
ers, and to help cover the
cost of testing for low-in-
come residents. City Man-
ager Brett Estes said the
supplies would be distrib-
uted to the county when
emergency responders and
other essential services
reach out with a need.
The City Council on
Monday also voted to give
event organizers who had
to cancel because of coro-
navirus restrictions until
the end of the year to use
their remaining cultural
grants from the city to
reschedule events.
The events would need
to be geared toward tour-
ists and would likely hap-
pen in the fall, with the
state banning large gath-
erings through September.
The City Council had pre-
viously voted to forgive
the grant amounts used by
events that had to cancel,
allowing them to roll over
the unused funds to next
year.
Consult a
PROFESSIONAL
is a good way to
Q: What
organize my favorites?
(Edge browser)
Katie Frankowicz/The Astorian
LEO FINZI
Part-time labor at the Astoria Aquatic Center costs the city more than $300,000 and would
increase by more than $60,000 under a minimum wage increase in July.
Omnibus Emergency Solu-
tions Act, which would
include more support for
state and local governments.
But the bill faces stiff oppo-
sition in the Republican-con-
trolled Senate.
“I think that’s something
that we’re all hoping for, is
that direct relief at the fed-
eral level, so we don’t have
to hopefully have conver-
sations about not increasing
minimum wage,” West said.
“I know for myself, I’m hop-
ing to see that relief come
from up above, and not down
below, so to speak.”
Go to your desired web site. Click the 3 dots at the
top right of your screen.
Fast,
Friendly &
Affordable!
We’re here
to help.
Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat/Sun CLOSED
77 11th Street, Suite H
Astoria, OR • 503-325-2300
The Astorian wants to hear from you.
the “Edge” browser (tap Windows Key
A: Start
on keyboard and type Edge)
AstoriasBest.com
Tell us your COVID stories
At the top of your screen, you’ll see a long
rectangle, with “http.... etc.) That is called the
“address bar.”
Click (and hold down the left mouse button) just
to the left of that address (the cursor will show
a grey rectangle) Move the pointer down about
a ¼ inch, and you will see a “+” appear. Now let
go. You will have added the website to your
“Favorites” bar.
should I use
Q: What
to clean my baby’s
teeth?
A:
JEFFREY M. LEINASSAR
DMD, FAGD
L E I NA S S A R
DENTAL EXCELLENCE
503/325-0310
1414 MARINE DRIVE,
ASTORIA
www.smileastoria.com
Remember baby’s teeth are
not only important but part
of their health and development.
Cleaning baby’s teeth can be
done by gauze, a finger swipe, or
a small brush. Make it quick and
fun!! Remember that a night-time
bottle with milk has lactose (milk
sugar) and juice has fructose or
sucrose (sugar) and if it sits on
teeth day after day problems are
going to develop. Baby teeth are
small with thin enamel so they
are important to keep clean.
Q: What is
video/teletherapy?
is providing therapy
A: Teletherapy
through a live video connection,
The Astorian is partnering with the Astoria
Public Library to publish weekly audio stories
of how residents in Clatsop County are
experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Share your story with us. Here’s how:
1. Call 503-325-5590
2. Tell us your first and last name, age, area of
residence, profession and the best way to reach you
3. Then tell us your story in 1-2 minutes on the recording
Rory
Gerard-Govea
LPC,LMHC,CADC Therapist
North Coast
Counseling
818 Commercial St., Ste. 303
Astoria, OR • (503)515-2545
northcoastcounseling@outlook.com
The Astorian and Astoria Library may follow up with some
voicemails for news stories and extended interviews.
IS it safe? YES. It meets all state,
federal and professional guidelines for
secure communication and is HIPPA
compliant.
Will my insurance cover it? YES, in most
cases.
way to get results
from my limited
advertising dollar?
Lisa
Cadonau
Advertising Representative
503-325-3211
www.dailyastorian.com
949 Exchange St., Astoria, OR
Questions? E-mail Jonathan Williams
at jwilliams@dailyastorian.com
IS it effective? YES. Research shows it as
effective as face-to-face therapy.
Q: What is the best
Your story will be included in a weekly audio digest published on
The Astorian’s website. The Astoria library will preserve the audio
file in a local history archive accessible to library users.
We want to hear from everyone — essential workers in health care,
food service, financial, cleaning, logging, fishing and construction,
to business owners, care-center residents, educators, graduating
high school and college seniors and those sheltering at home —
on how you are experiencing the pandemic.
over the internet. You receive the same
treatment as in person, it’s just done on
your streaming device! It is like Skype,
FaceTime or Video Calling.
A: The combination of a
print and online audience is
recession proof. We have an
excellent print and online
special for this time of year.
Give your sales representative
a call today to hear more
about it!