A6
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021
County reports 21 new virus cases
The Astorian
Clatsop County has reported 21
new coronavirus cases over the past
few days.
On Wednesday, the county
reported four cases.
The cases include a man in his
40s living in the northern part of the
county. The others live in the south-
ern part of the county and involve a
woman in her 20s and a man and a
woman in their 50s.
All four were recovering at home.
On Tuesday, the county reported
fi ve cases.
The cases include a man in his
20s and a woman in her 30s living in
the northern part of the county. The
others live in the southern part of the
county and involve a woman in her
40s and a man and a woman in their
60s.
All fi ve were recovering at home.
On Monday, the county reported
12 cases.
The cases include a female
between 10 and 19, a woman in her
20s, a man in his 30s, a woman in her
40s and a man in his 50s living in the
northern part of the county.
The others live in the southern
part of the county and involve a man
and a woman in their 20s, a man and
a woman in their 30s, a man in his
50s and two women in their 60s.
All 12 were recovering at home.
A woman in her 60s living in the
northern part of the county whose
case was reported on April 14 was
hospitalized.
The county has recorded 902
cases since the start of the pandemic.
According to the county, 22 were
hospitalized and eight have died.
Photos by Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Band director Cory Pederson teaches a cohort of students in the gym at Jewell School.
Band: ‘We don’t get the same experience’
Continued from Page A1
Stands out
Jewell School District
stands out among other
districts this school year.
Because of its small size and
remote location, it was able
to reopen to students across
grade levels in September
in ways many others could
not. Still, it has been a far
from normal year for Jewell
students.
For band students, the
performance in the gym felt
almost like regular, pre-pan-
demic high school life.
“It was like a moment of
relief and normalcy,” Shaw
said, adding, “We fi nally
got to have a bit of a normal
high school year back just by
being able to play with each
other.”
This is the fi rst time Jew-
ell has had an ensemble com-
pete and qualify for state.
Normally, the school
would try to send a full
band, but those competi-
tions were canceled because
of the pandemic. The only
state competition happen-
ing was a solo and ensem-
ble championship. Entries
for large ensembles capped
at 16 students — the exact
number Pederson had in his
band class after some seniors
graduated early.
Working through musical
arrangements in cohorts was
diffi cult for the students and
for Pederson.
“You can’t work with
blend and balance so you
do your best with what you
already know,” he said.
Rehearsing was more
individual. Younger stu-
dents didn’t have the ben-
efi t of working alongside
older, more experienced stu-
dents who could convey the
unspoken side of what it
means to participate in the
band.
“It was actually really
diffi cult,” said Justin Wam-
mack, a sophomore who
plays percussion. “As an
ensemble, in order to grow
and maintain good quality
and good sound, you have
to be together and constantly
listening to everyone.”
The necessity of continu-
ing to practice primarily in
cohorts means, despite the
rare group rehearsal, it is still
Kiera Butori plays her oboe.
diffi cult today, he said.
Short, infrequent group
rehearsals can only do so
much to smooth things out
musically, but it’s more than
some students ever expected.
“When I heard we were
going to have band, I was
really wondering how it was
going to work with all the
regulations and guidelines,”
said Olivia Swearingen, a
junior who plays the fl ute. “I
was a little skeptical.”
But when she got into the
classroom, she felt safe. And
she believes there may be
some advantages to practic-
ing in the small groups.
“We were able to work
on more individual parts
and master those and we
wouldn’t have been able to
do that with the whole band
there,” Swearingen said.
“We learned we all have
to have confi dence and we
can’t hide behind anyone.”
Not quite the same
This year, there is not
quite the same excitement
about going to state, students
say. Wammack remembers
how, in years past, the school
bus would explode in a riot of
celebration when Pederson
would announce that they’d
qualifi ed. With the pan-
demic, there is no travel and
the performances are hap-
pening in front of a camera
in a gym that has been famil-
iar to most of the students
since preschool: “We don’t
get the same experience,”
Wammack said. “We’re in
the same spot we’ve always
been.”
The usual performance
jitters are also missing, and
with them a particularly use-
ful tool that can spur the
musicians to go “beyond
what we feel and what we
think we can’t do and prove
we can make an impact with
our music,” Shaw said.
Still, said Yvonne Chro-
nister, a sophomore who
plays trombone, they are an
ensemble. They have made it
work. It’s not as complete as
it used to be; it’s certainly not
as convenient.
But, she said, “I feel like
we’ve grown a lot as band,
as an ensemble. I think it
shows through the pandemic.
We’ve still gotten a place in
state and we’re doing what
other schools kind of aren’t.”
To Pederson and his
students, state competi-
tions aren’t about winning
— although it’s nice. They
are about showcasing their
skills, pushing themselves
and being proud of what they
achieve.
Pederson made the deci-
sion to push for a state com-
petition for several reasons.
Championships have always
functioned as a sort of carrot:
Students would work hard
all year, but then they’d get
to show off their skills on a
large stage.
This year, it is still a car-
rot. But, even more, Peder-
son said, “I want people to
see something amazing is
going on in this little, what-
ever size room we have in
Jewell.”
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Continued from Page A1
Clatsop County is one
of 23 counties that will be
at high risk through May
6. Three counties will be
at moderate risk and 10
will be at lower risk.
Counties with a popula-
tion of 30,000 or more are
evaluated for risk based
on virus cases per 100,000
over two weeks and the
test positivity rate for the
same period.
Counties at high risk
have a case rate between
100 and 200 per 100,000
people, and may have a
test positivity between 8%
and 10%.
As of Saturday, Clatsop
County had 125 cases per
100,000 over a two-week
period. Test positivity was
5.4%.
Restaurants and bars
can continue indoor din-
ing at 25% of capacity —
or up to 50 people — with
an 11 p.m. closing time.
Up to 75 people can dine
outdoors, with a limit of
six people per table from
two households.
Gyms, indoor pools,
museums, theaters and
other entertainment ven-
ues can operate at 25% of
capacity, or up to 50 peo-
ple, whichever is smaller.
Grocery stores, phar-
macies, retail shops and
shopping malls can oper-
ate at 50% of capacity.
Churches can operate
at 25% of capacity or 150
people indoors, whichever
is smaller, and 200 people
outdoors.
Indoor social gather-
ings must be limited to six
people from two house-
holds in counties at high
risk. Outdoor gatherings
can have eight people.
Businesses
should
urge employees to work
remotely if able.
Visits are allowed at
long-term care facilities.
The
county
has
recorded 902 cases since
the start of the pandemic.
According to the county,
22 were hospitalized and
eight have died.
Margo Lalich, the
county’s public health
director, said the county
is seeing household out-
breaks, as well as spo-
radic and workplace-re-
lated cases.
“While it’s concerning,
as we open up, as tour-
ism increases ... we’re
going to see more cases,”
Lalich told county com-
missioners during a work
session on Tuesday. “And
also, beginning to look
at COVID-19 as some-
thing that while it’s a pan-
demic, it’s also endemic,
meaning it’s within the
community. It’s not going
away, just like the fl u
comes and goes, as well
as other seasonal illnesses.
So our response to it will
be as such because we’ve
built the infrastructure to
respond.”
All Oregonians 16 and
older became eligible for
vaccination against the
virus on Monday.
Since the county only
has the Moderna vaccine,
which is not yet permitted
for people under 18, only
people 18 and older are
able to get the vaccine in
Clatsop County.
Lalich said that after
discussion with the state,
the county expects to
receive some Pfi zer doses
for 16- and 17 year-olds
by early May.
As of Friday, 23,267
vaccine doses were admin-
istered in the county, and
8,420 people were fully
vaccinated. The county’s
goal to reach herd immu-
nity against the virus
is vaccinating 27,533
people.
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