DailyAstorian.com // Tuesday, december 15, 2020
148TH year, NO. 72
$1.50
CORONAVIRUS
Vaccine
for virus
rolls out
First local batch
likely next week
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Photos by Hailey Hoffman/The astorian
Amyleigh Sutton prepares a loaf of sourdough bread in her home kitchen in Hammond. At the start of the coronavirus pandemic,
Sutton and her partner, Tom Elston, closed the Side Road Cafe in Warrenton and officially shut down the business in August.
As restaurants struggle,
industry calls for virus relief
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
A
myleigh Sutton had only been open for
nine months when she and her partner, Tom
Elston, closed the Side Road Cafe in War-
renton in mid-March because of the coronavirus
pandemic.
“We honestly thought that we would be closed
for like a month, maybe two,” Sutton said. “We
had three kids at home distance learning, so we
had to navigate all of this, and then we saw the
writing on the wall.”
By August, Sutton and Elston had called it
quits, joining a growing number of restaurateurs
going out of business or dormant while the dining
industry pleads with Congress for more support.
The National Restaurant Association estimates
that more than 110,000 eateries have closed this
See Restaurants, Page A6
The first batch of a coronavirus vac-
cine is expected to arrive in Clatsop
County next week.
Oregon has received shipments of the
Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which was
approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration. Another vaccine made
by Moderna Inc. is expected to be given
approval and distributed next week.
Oregon is slated to receive 35,100
doses this week.
“Today, I can tell you that help
is here,” Gov. Kate Brown said in a
statement.
The Oregon Health Authority has
developed a plan for a phased distribu-
tion of the vaccines, giving first prior-
ity to those most at risk for the virus —
front-line health care
workers and residents
and staff at long-term
MORE
care facilities.
INSIDE
The initial ship-
county
ments will go directly
reports 10
to hospitals, for health
new virus
care personnel, and to
cases • a3
large pharmacies for
distribution to long-
term care facilities.
Columbia Memo-
rial Hospital expects to receive 300
doses of the Moderna vaccine by Christ-
mas. The Astoria hospital will adminis-
ter the first shipment of vaccines to some
health care staff, including those with
the highest risk of exposure to the virus.
The hospital plans to reserve a portion
for local emergency medical respond-
ers. A spokesman for Providence Sea-
side Hospital said the hospital does not
yet have specifics on when it will receive
vaccines.
Another 300 doses are expected to be
distributed to Columbia Memorial later
to complete the required two-dose vac-
cination protocol.
As supplies increase, other essential
workers and people at higher risk for the
virus, including people 65 or older, will
be prioritized before vaccines become
more widely available.
Street 14 Cafe has closed its doors and is unsure if or when it will reopen.
See Vaccine, Page A6
A guardian of good taste
Lehn boosts community,
zaps rudeness online
By PATRICK WEBB
For The Astorian
L
ONG BEACH, Wash. — Frank Lehn had
a goal.
“I wanted to be in a Facebook group that
wasn’t full of spam and political bickering,”
he said.
He met that goal by taking charge as the
administrator for the Long Beach Peninsula
Friends of Facebook webpage.
It is dedicated to the history of storms and
shipwrecks,
weather
and traffic alerts, as well
as recommendations for
services. Readers are
locals, folks who grew
up on the Long Beach
Peninsula and moved away, plus those who
own second homes and visit periodically.
The webpage’s success is in its tone — all
positive — because Lehn keeps it that way.
There is no politics and no arguing. It is a
small-town example of what is possible on
social media at a time when Big Tech is under
global scrutiny for failing to police danger-
ous misinformation about politics and public
health.
Hailey Hoffman/The astorian
Locals deliver stuffed toys to the state Department of Human Services’ Child Welfare office
for foster families via Jeff Daly’s Joy Train on Monday morning. The effort was led by Robyn
Koustik, community director at the Astoria Armory, who would usually distribute toys
during a holiday skate night at the armory.
Frank Lehn, of Long Beach, spends hours at his
computer screen as volunteer administrator
for the Long Beach Peninsula Friends of
Facebook page. He is the gatekeeper of
good taste, approving all posts and keeping
everything positive.
“I belong to quite a lot of Facebook
groups. There’s a big problem with people
being rude,” he said. “The anonymity of being
online brings out the worst in each other. But
I make it clear that you need to be nice to peo-
ple. People appreciate that.”
See Lehn, Page A6
Local groups organize toy drive
Foster families to
receive donations
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
Local groups have orga-
nized a stuffed toy drive for
foster children in a year that is
proving difficult for all types
of families.
Usually,
the
Astoria
Armory distributes Dollar
Store toys during the holiday
season at a skate night.
“This year I just wanted to
make sure we gave each kid
something they can snuggle
with,” said Robyn Koustik,
See Toy drive, Page A3
TOY DRIVE
donations can
be dropped off
at erickson Floral
co., 1295 com-
mercial st., and
Gimre’s shoes,
239 14th st.