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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 16, 2020)
A2 THEASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 2020 IN BRIEF Two people injured in crash on Astoria Bridge Authorities are investigating a crash on the Astoria Bridge on Friday that left two people injured. Police say a driver was traveling southbound when the passenger reached from the back seat and grabbed the steering wheel, causing the driver to lose control. The driver swerved up onto the bridge railing and slid along the rail and curb before rolling multiple times, coming to rest on the passenger side. The driver and the passenger were taken to Colum bia Memorial Hospital in Astoria. Boil water notice lifted near county fairgrounds People who live near the Clatsop County Fair grounds were advised to boil water after a mainline water break on Friday night. An announcement from Astoria said people in Wil low Dale, River Point and Cavalier Court were with out water on Saturday. “During a main break where water pressure is lost, it is possible for contaminates and bacteria to enter into the water system,” Eric Bufkin, the city’s water quality supervisor, said in a statement. “While the danger to public health is low, we are taking all nec essary precautions to ensure the safety and health of the public. “The city asks that customers in the referenced areas boil all water before using until further notice.” The city advised people not to consume tap water that has not been disinfected or raw food rinsed with tap water that has not been disinfected. The boil water notice was rescinded on Monday. — 3VAR TU tC The Astorian B»? DEATHS June 12,2020 FERGUSON, Ricky Joe Savage, 46, of Seaside, died in Seaside. Caldwell’s Funeral & Cremation Arrange- ment Center of Seaside is in charge of the arrangements. ON THE RECORD Menacing • Rickey Dewitt Cock- rall, 64, of Aloha, was arrested Friday on U.S. Highway 30 for menacing and felon in possession of a firearm. Theft • Jacob Kitzman, 28, was arrested Friday at Rite Aid in Warrenton for theft in the third degree and criminal trespass in the first degree. • Patricia Bernal, 26, of Scappoose, was arrested Friday at Walmart in War renton for theft in the sec ond degree and crimi nal mischief in the third degree. Eluding • Ryan Wallace Kelly, 34, of Astoria, was arrested Friday on Lyngs- tad Heights Lane in Asto ria for theft of services, driving while suspended and eluding a police offi cer. Kelly led police on a low speed pursuit that began at the Astoria Col umn and ended at his home in Astoria. • 1)111 Kenneth Allen Medjo, 50, of Ham mond, was arrested Sun day on Fourth Street and Marine Drive in Astoria for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and driv ing under the influence of intoxicants. • Edwin Francis Thatcher, 63, of Asto ria, was arrested Satur day on Commercial Street in Astoria for DUII, reck less driving, driving while suspended and was cited for driving uninsured and failure to install an inter lock device. • James Robert Moon, 23, of Seaside, was arrested Saturday on U.S. Highway 101 and Gear hart Lane for DUII and reckless driving. • Cesar Ramirez Peon, 18, of Seaside, was arrested Saturday at the Warrenton Post Office for minor in possession of alcohol, DUII and hit and run. • Ian Arthur Sym- monds, 41, of Astoria, was arrested Friday on Fort Clatsop Road and U.S. Highway 101 for DUII. PUBLIC MEETINGS TUESDAY Union Health District of Clatsop County, 8 a.m., Provi dence Seaside Hospital, Education Room A. Port of Astoria Commission, 4 p.m., workshop, (electronic meeting). Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District Board of Directors, 5:15 p.m., (electronic meeting). Astoria Historic Landmarks Commission, 5:15 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. Seaside School District Board of Directors, 6 p.m., 1801 S. Franklin, Seaside. Shoreline Sanitary District Board, 7 p.m., Gearhart Her- tig Station, 33496 West Lake Lane, Warrenton. WEDNESDAY Seaside Tourism Advisory Committee, 3 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. THURSDAY Seaside Transportation Advisory Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. the Astorian I Circulation phone number: Established July 1,1873 . 503-325-3211 Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR (USPS 035-000) ADVERTISING OWNERSHIP 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, 97103Telephone503-325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Astoria, OR A " advertising copy and lustrations prepared byThe Astorian becomethe property of The Astorian and may not be reproduced for any use without The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR explicit prior approval. COPYRIGHT© Mrecontents © Copyright, 2020 byThe Astorian. 97103-0210 DailyAstorian.com MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. I Printed on rec y cled P a P er Subscription rates Effective 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 wit* Photos by Hailey Hoffman/The Astorian CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Marco Davis, as Daylight Cums, waves as the Pride parade progressed down Commercial Street on Sunday. Tessa Scheller drives down Duane Street in her decorated van. Due to coronavirus restrictions, the Lower Columbia Q Center decided to alter the annual celebration to promote social distancing by switching from a walking parade to a car parade. State scrambles after food processor outbreaks By JAMIE GOLDBERG The Oregonian Coronavirus outbreaks at food processors and agri cultural sites have infected more than 600 workers and close contacts in Oregon and southwest Washington since mid-April, with recent out breaks at companies in Van couver, Washington, and Newport infecting well over 100 people apiece. Such mass workplace outbreaks have contributed to a recent spike in Ore gon’s COVID-19 cases. And that rise in infections was among several markers that prompted Gov. Kate Brown to pause the state’s reopen ing plans last week, threat ening the pace of Oregon’s economic recovery from the pandemic. State health authorities didn’t issue a “playbook” on how to respond to out breaks at food processing sites until early June, more than three months after Ore gon detected its first corona virus cases. They didn’t send operational guidance to all employers until the begin ning of June, either. Even now, worker advo cates say they doubt the state’s rules are stringent enough to prompt food pro cessors to take more aggres sive measures to protect their employees and halt work place outbreaks. “I don’t believe enough is being done to protect these workers and it’s not just a local problem, it’s a national problem,” said Michael Beranbaum, secretary-trea- surer of the Teamsters Local Union No. 670, which rep resents employees at two Oregon food processors that experienced outbreaks. Pacific Seafood shut down operations at its five Newport locations on June 7 after 124 coronavirus cases were linked to its shrimp pro cessing facility. That num ber has since risen to 132. It’s Oregon’s second-largest workplace outbreak, trailing only the big outbreak at the Oregon State Penitentiary, and threatens to create a pub lic health and economic cri sis in the small coastal town. Fourteen of 24 active workplace outbreaks in Ore gon are at agricultural or food processing facilities, according to data released by the state this past week. It has been evident from the beginning of the pan demic that the food process ing industry is especially vulnerable to coronavirus outbreaks among workers. The work is typically done indoors, often in close quar ters, in cool conditions that favor the virus. “These workers are work ing close together, often on a processing line and often these shifts are long, 10 to 12 hours,” said Dede Mont gomery, a certified industrial hygienist who works with Oregon Health & Science University’s Oregon Insti tute of Occupational Health Sciences. “You don’t have a lot of spaces that aren’t being utilized during that time. While we do have rules on the books about the physical distancing, it’s very difficult to do that when you have to completely change up your operation.” certainly higher, given the large number of cases in Ore gon alone. Initially, Oregon health officials had a policy of keeping workplace out breaks secret. They reversed that practice at the end of May, under media pressure, following a second large out break at Townsend Farms in Fairview that produced a big spike in Multnomah Coun ty’s daily count of corona virus infections. The disclo sures have revealed growing outbreaks at certain food pro cessors, including Bob’s Red Mill in Milwaukie, where confirmed cases jumped to 40. Oregon officials say they have reacted to the state’s recent spate of outbreaks by developing a response plan, providing employers with a toolkit of best safety prac tices and putting a greater emphasis on inspecting and enforcing regulations at these facilities. EVEN NOW, WORKER ADVOCATES SAY THEY DOUBT THE STATE'S RULES ARE STRINGENT ENOUGH TO PROMPT FOOD PROCESSORS TO TAKE MORE AGGRESSIVE MEASURES TO PROTECT THEIR EMPLOYEES AND HALT WORKPLACE OUTBREAKS. Additionally, the indus try’s low-wage workers — many of them immigrants and migrants — may not have the clout to demand better working conditions. Reporting the outbreaks The meatpacking industry in other states experienced a succession of large outbreaks early in the pandemic. And this past week, the watch dog Environmental Work ing Group found that almost 1,200 food processing work ers outside the meatpacking industry have been infected nationally since the middle of March. The true number is almost WANTED Out of County Rates available at 800-781 -3214 Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber DIGITAL EZpay (per month)........................................................................................................$8.00 Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 The Oregon Department of Agriculture, the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Oregon Health Author ity finalized a playbook on June 3 that lays out guide lines for how the agencies will respond when one or more positive coronavirus cases are reported at a food processing facility. The agencies developed the playbook in conjunction with a six-page toolkit for employers that offers guid- ance on developing safety measures and creating con tingency plans in the case of an outbreak. “This is just a way of making sure everyone reads the same text and under stands exactly what needs to be done,” said Emilio DeBess, an epidemiologist at the Oregon Health Author ity. “But we have been work ing with some of these facil ities for a while, which is how the playbook actually came about, through learn ing from these facilities what needed to be done and how to minimize the likelihood of infection.” While the state has been engaging with food proces sors since March and the Oregon Health Authority has listed general guidance for agricultural employers on its website since May 1, Lauren Henderson, assistant director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, said the toolkit wasn’t finalized and sent to employers until June 5. “The toolkit and the play book by themselves are not going to ensure that we don’t have any more positive cases and that’s because COVID is a hard thing,” Hender son said. “What it does do is it provides resources for the employers to be proac tive and to look at their facil ities and how they operate. ... If there is an outbreak, it ensures that there is a state and local response to that and that the facilities get the resources they need sooner rather than later.” Nikki Fisher, a spokes woman for the governor’s office, said the state has also been working with employ ers whose workplaces are more prone to COVID-19 outbreaks to significantly expand testing. The state helped Townsend Farms test 350 seasonal workers shortly after they arrived in late May. Fifty-six of the work ers tested positive, marking the third-largest active work place outbreak in the state. “Some portion of the recent growth in cases counts is due to increased testing,” Fisher said. c^ e fieffé 'Vs • Residential • Commercial • Cedar Roof Treatments Exterior Repaint Specialist Over 25 years local experience 503 - 440-2169 Jeff Hale, Contractor
