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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2020)
A2 THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020 IN BRIEF County to distribute masks on Thursday Clatsop County will distribute free KN95 masks Thursday at multiple locations around the county to help against the coronavirus. The drive-thru events will take place between 4 and 6 p.m. at the Elsie-Vinemaple Fire Station, Seaside Fire Station, Astoria Aquatic Center, Cannon Beach City Hall, Knappa Fire Station, Warrenton Fire Station and Gearhart Fire Station. When drivers reach the front of the line they are asked to stay in their car, hold up fingers to show the number of masks needed and then roll down the window to receive the bag of masks. Fire season comes to an end The Oregon Department of Forestry announced that the countywide bum ban officially ended at noon on Monday. With the end of fire season, logging operations are no longer subject to fire protection laws. Recreationists no longer are required to carry a shovel and fire extinguisher or 1 gallon of water. Burning of logging slash still requires a burning per mit, but not bum barrels or open burning. Great ShakeOut planned for Thursday The Great ShakeOut, a reminder to prepare for a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake and tsunami, is planned for Thursday. People are encouraged to hold drills and plot out evac uation routes. “Being self-sufficient for two weeks after a natural disaster, as well as knowledge about what to do when disasters occur, is vital,” a proclamation adopted by the Seaside City Council states. — TheAstorian States will work together to save salmon and steelhead Four states that share the Columbia River Basin have agreed to work together to rebuild the river’s salmon and steelhead stocks. Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana announced Friday they have committed to a unified public process to find solutions to key issues for recovering the imperiled fish. The process will include federal agencies, stakeholders and the region’s tribes — including recognition of their treaty and cultural rights and their co-management of nat ural resources. Governors from each state received letters from regional stakeholders urging them to “identify the actions and investments needed to recover harvestable salmon and steelhead populations, conserve other fish and wild life, honor and protect tribal needs and way of life, and strengthen the electricity and agricultural services that communities rely on.” In a letter announcing the joint partnership, the four governors said they will work together and commit to “achieve the partnership’s abundance goals to uphold treaty rights, support state fishery and fishery-related objectives and river-dependent economies.” The states have already participated in the first phase of the Columbia Basin Partnership Task Force — that was established by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2017, to set goals for two dozen stocks of salmon and steelhead. Oregon Public Broadcasting — DEATH Oct. 4, 2020 SCHOCK, Donald D., 80, of Astoria and Yuma, Arizona, died in Yuma. Yuma Mortuary and Crema tory in Yuma is in charge of the arrangements. ON THE RECORD • Garrick Cranston, 33, of Ocean Park, Wash ington, was arrested Fri day at Walmart in War renton for theft in the second degree. Theft • Michelle Bald win, 55, of Warrenton, was arrested Sunday at Walmart in Warrenton for theft in the second degree. PUBLIC MEETINGS TUESDAY Clatsop County Planning Commission, 10 a.m., (elec tronic meeting). Warrenton City Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave. Lewis & Clark Fire Department Board, 6 p.m., main fire station, 34571 U.S. Highway 101 Business. WEDNESDAY Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, 6 p.m., (elec tronic meeting). Wickiup Water District Board, 6:30 p.m., 92648 Svensen Market Road, Svensen. Astoria School District Board, 7 p.m., (electronic meet ing). THURSDAY Seaside Transportation Advisory Committee, 6 p.m., 989 Broadway. the Astorian Established July 1,1873 I Circulation phone number: (USPS 035-000) . 503-325-3211 Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR ADVERT,S.NG OWNERSHIP 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR A " advertising copy and lustrations 97103 Telephone 503-325-3211, prepared by The Astorian become the 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. property of The Astorian and may not POSTMASTER: Send address changes to be reproduced for any use without The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR explicit prior approval. COPYRIGHT© 97103-0210 Ent ¡re contents © Copyright, DailyAstorian.com 2020 by The Astorian. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. I Printed on recycled paper 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 Out of County Rates available at 800-781 -3214 DIGITAL EZpay (per month)........................................................................................................$8.00 Luke Whittaker/Chinook Observer An unexpectedly strong coho salmon return has Washington state fishery managers and biologists reassessing run size and potentially considering more commercial and recreational fishing opportunities. Seaside child care options stretched thin By KATHERINE LACAZE established rapidly when the school district announced its decision to start instruc tion remotely for at least the first six weeks of the school year. Even then, Owen was drafting plans for numerous different scenarios. “Two weeks before it started, I said, ‘Look, I just need to plan that this is going to go through the end of the year possibly, and I need to move forward with that in mind and how we’re going to make that work,”’ she said. That sort of flexible, multifaceted scenario-plan ning continues to define her approach as she looks ahead not only through the end of 2020, but the end of the school year. There is no telling when stu dents will resume in-person education. Even when they can reconvene on campus, the school district’s proposed hybrid model for elemen tary aged students suggests classes would have stag gered schedules, meaning the child care needs of fam ilies would likely evolve but hardly dissipate. “I’ve got to consider all the different scenarios,” Owen said. She praised her staff for their dedication and will ingness to take on new tasks to support families. As she pointed out, they are not educators but “they’re going above and beyond anything they’ve ever done before.” “I’ve been so impressed with them,” she added. Additionally, since March, the park district has only experienced one virus case, which led to youth summer programs being shut down for two weeks. However, there was no report of related cases among the children, their families or other staff members. “That’s telling — we’re doing something right,” Owen said. Encore Dance Studio has also expanded its program options to serve and support families through the public health situation. In addi tion to its typical weekly dance and tumbling classes and full-day performing arts preschool and kinder garten for 3- to 6-year- olds, Encore is also provid ing a full-day program for first- through-12th-graders. According to owner Denele Sweet, the lat ter includes academic sup port to help students with distance learning, mixed with dance and tumbling instruction. “Our academy is basi cally like my very own ‘Fame’ school,” she said. “Kids get homework and performing arts with our all-in-one magical program. It’s been wonderful.” Regatta: Virus, trade war hurt dockside revenue County reports four new virus cases For The Astorian SEASIDE — Adequate child care has long been an issue in Clatsop County, but the coronavirus pandemic and temporary closure of schools to in-person classes has put additional strain on the area’s limited options. In the Seaside area, a few organizations are striv ing to fill the gap. “We’re in it for the long haul,” said Shelly Owen, youth program manager at Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District, which has been operat ing emergency child care for students in kindergar- ten-through-fifth grade since the start of the school year. “We’ll be doing this until things change.” The park district is pro viding full, five-day-per- week care for nine kin- dergartners, 10 first- and second graders, and 10 third-through-fifth graders — along with their usual Learning Ladder preschool program. The kindergart- ners meet at the park dis trict’s youth center, while the two classes of older ele mentary students take place at the former Broadway Middle School. The park district isn’t simply offering child care services but also provid ing support for the Seaside Continued from PageAl Crew members on the Regatta will be able to disem bark, but under rules estab lished by the CDC. Among the standards are that the ship must have no confirmed cases of coronavirus or related ill nesses in the last 28 days. Crew members coming from land would have to quar antine for two weeks, Isom said, meaning there won’t be a lot of crew members com ing and going from the ship. The ship is also sharing its CDC-approved response plans with local authorities and informing them of when crew disembark. “This decision to accom modate the vessel was not taken lightly,” the Port said in a statement Friday. “Pub lic safety is our top priority. The Port has received con firmation from the cruise line that no suspected or con firmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported on board the vessel.” The Port has seen almost all dockside revenue dry up as log exports fell to a trade war between the U.S. and China and the cruise ship sea son was canceled because of the virus. As of Friday, the Regatta was docked in Ensenada, Mexico, used as a required international stopover for ships stopping at multiple U.S. ports. Canada closed ports to cruise ship traffic through October, largely end School District’s Compre hensive Distance Learning program. “It’s a whole new ball- game,” Owen said, adding it was “a big step” for the park district. “When you are supporting a totally new style of learning for chil dren, and you’re learning it yourself, it makes it really challenging.” According to Owen, there is enough demand for child care from local fam ilies to open a third class room, and the district has the space because of their access to the middle school building. However, the staff of 14 — including Owen, who travels among the class rooms to oversee opera tions and fill in gaps as needed — is stretched thin. This is a reversal from past years, she added, when she had plenty of staff but lim ited space. Owen’s goal from the start was to have two adults per each classroom of 10 to answer questions, help with technology and get the kids logged into synchronous online meetings with their teachers at the right time. “We haven’t been able to reach that goal, but I’m hopeful we’ll get there,” she said. “It’s challeng ing right now. Once we get more staff, it will go a lot smoother.” The whole program was /V The Astorian T_ The Astorian The cruise ship Regatta will dock at the Port of Astoria with 93 crew members beginning Thursday. ing the cruise season along the West Coast to Alaska. Five cruise line executives recently met with Vice Pres ident Mike Pence to discuss safely restarting cruises. The Port had previously tried to lay up mostly empty Norwegian ships and their crews during the spring. But a coronavirus outbreak at Bomstein Seafoods made local officials uncomfortable with the optics of large cruise ships in town, and the ships were diverted. Isom recently reported to the Port Commission how impressed he was with the enhanced safety mea sures being taken by Bom stein Seafoods, including tak ing the temperature of every person before they enter the plant. Clatsop County recently experienced a virus outbreak among 95 workers at Pacific Seafood in Warrenton, the largest during the pandemic. The workplace outbreak, along with a surge of new virus cases after the Labor Day holiday, landed the county on Gov. Kate Brown’s coronavirus watch list. “Although Clatsop County has already been impacted by a growing num ber of COVID-19 cases, the Port understands that com munity members remain con cerned about the transmission of the disease,” the Port said. “Therefore, we will continue to work jointly with the city, county, (U.S. Coast Guard) and Norwegian Cruise Line to take the necessary mea sures to keep our community safe.” The Port is posting a ques- tion-and-answer page at por- tofastoria.com to address safety measures and other protocols. Clatsop County reported Monday that four people living in the northern part of the county have tested posi tive for the coronavirus. A man and woman in their 30s, a man in his 40s and a man in his 50s were reportedly recovering at home. The county has recorded 231 cases since March. Two hundred and twenty-one have recov ered, according to the county, while the oth ers were convalescing at home. The county said the new case count is lower than previously reported because some recent cases were counted more than once and others live outside of the county. The Oregon Health Authority reported 37,467 cases and 599 deaths from the virus statewide as of Monday morning. The health author ity tracked 6,431 test results in Clatsop County, including 230 of the posi tive cases.
