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.
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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.