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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 2021)
BIDEN SWORN IN AS NATION’S 46TH PRESIDENT » PAGE A6 INSIDE» THURSDAY JAN. 21 2021 FOCUSED O N FISHING LOCAL AUTHOR RECALLS LIFE ON THE WATER IN POETRY BOOK GEARHART PHOTOGRA SHARES HIS PHER TIPS PAGE 2 148TH YEAR, NO. 88 DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021 REGIONAL ARTIST DELV INTO INTR ES PROJECTS ICATE $1.50 PAGE 4 A RECIPE FOR ALL EATERS PAGE 6 PAGE 8 222041-1; 01.21 Front Cove or; 4 x 1.5; XPos r- ; SHOALWATER BAY CASIN : 0 YPos: 0, Widt h: 756 x 108 O; Col- CORONAVIRUS SIGN OF CHANGE Gearhart police scale back on crisis response Reaction to a death in Texas ject running around the Gro- cery Outlet parking lot with a machete, or is he sitting GEARHART — Draw- there talking to himself?” he ing a line between law asked. Bowman issued the enforcement and crisis response, Police Chief Jeff directive in response to a Bowman announced that January incident in Killeen, his offi cers will no longer Texas, when a police offi cer, be the fi rst responders to dispatched to a family home during a mental mental health calls health crisis, ended unless there is an up fatally shooting imminent threat of a man in his front physical harm to yard . The family others. has complained that In a letter to the offi cer was not Mayor Paulina equipped to handle Cockrum and the City Council on Jeff Bowman the situation and has called for the offi cer Monday , the police chief said the social services to be fi red and arrested. “Why was this offi cer community should step up and take an active role dispatched at all, and why when people report a mental did the command staff allow health crisis or reach out to a this offi cer to respond?” Bowman asked. suicide hotline. Bowman emailed the “The fi rst call should be to social services, not the directive “as a head’s up police,” Bowman said in an why we may or may not respond” to Seaside police interview. Bowman said only and Clatsop Behavioral when a subject in a men- Healthcare, Clatsop Coun- tal health crisis is immi- ty’s mental health contractor. nently in harm’s way will See Gearhart, Page A3 police respond. “Is the sub- By R.J. MARX The Astorian Kevin Riddle fi nishes his 31-day countdown to the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at his Astoria home on Wednesday morning. Photos by Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian Life Flight Network Life Flight Network is stationing a new Bell 429 helicopter at the Astoria Regional Airport in Warrenton. Life Flight upgrades helicopter at airport By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian Life Flight Network will station a new heli- copter at the Astoria Regional Airport as part of a regional upgrade in speed and medical capabilities. The new Bell 429 helicopter, among four the nonprofi t medevac service bought for $34 million, is expected to arrive in spring. Ben Clayton, the chief oper- ating offi cer for Life Flight, said they provide better patient access and ability to navigate using fl ight instruments when visibility is low. Life Flight’s heli- copters are equipped to operate like mobile intensive care units with a nurse, a paramedic, ventilators, laryngo- scopes and the ability to transfuse red blood cells. The new upgrades include the ability to do onboard plasma transfu- sions to help slow and replace blood loss in trauma patients. See Helicopter, Page A3 Task force in position for vaccine rollout New panel led by hospital director MORE INSIDE County reports new virus cases • A3 By NICOLE BALES The Astorian The slow rollout of coronavi- rus vaccines has left health care leaders in the uncomfortable posi- tion of telling people at risk from the virus they will have to wait. Chris Laman, the director of pharmacy and cancer center ser- vices at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria, who is lead- ing Clatsop County’s vaccine task force, said the most com- mon questions come from seniors with underlying health conditions who want to know if they can get vaccinated. “Unfortunately, the answer is just ‘no,’” he said. “As vaccines become more available, we’ll be able to move down the list and get to you. “It’s not the task force’s job to identify who the next group is,” he said. “We’re going to use the (Oregon Health Authority) guide- lines to guide how those deci- sions are made. It’s not the task force arbitrarily making decisions about who the next person is to get the shot.” Nearly all of the vaccines in the c ounty have been adminis- tered — 1,847 as of Friday — and the county Public Health Depart- ment, hospitals and other organi- zations charged with distribution are anxiously waiting for more doses. See Vaccines, Page A3 Edward Stratton/The Astorian Chris Laman, the director of pharmacy and cancer center services at Columbia Memorial Hospital, is leading a county vaccine task force during the coronavirus pandemic.
