DailyAstorian.com // TuEsdAY, JulY 20, 2021
149TH YEAR, NO. 9
$1.50
Most new county
virus cases involve
the unvaccinated
Public health
director calls it a
‘slow, uphill climb’
By GRIFFIN REILLY
The Astorian
Most new coronavirus
cases in Clatsop County
involve people who are
unvaccinated
against
COVID-19, a pattern found
across Oregon and the
United States.
Of the last 11 reported
virus cases in the county as
of Friday, nine were unvac-
cinated, according to the
Public Health Department.
The pattern is playing
out on the North Coast as
most government restric-
tions to contain the virus
have been lifted and locals
and visitors are engaged in
summer activities.
Mass vaccination events
in the county have ended
and the pace of vaccina-
tions has slowed over the
past several weeks.
“It’s going to be a very
slow, uphill climb for our
county,” said Margo Lalich,
the county’s interim public
health director. “And I don’t
know if we’ll get there.”
Clatsop County set a
goal of having 70% of the
population — 27,533 peo-
ple — vaccinated to try
to achieve herd immunity
against the virus. As of
Friday, 55.2% — 21,772
people — had been fully
vaccinated.
The county announced
that Friday’s weekly update
from the vaccine task force
would be the last. Instead,
the county said it would
share vaccine updates and
related information on the
county’s website and on
social media.
The Oregon Health
Authority, which tracks
county vaccination rates
among people 18 and
over, lists Clatsop County
as having 65.5% with at
least one dose of vaccine
and 60.8% as fully vacci-
nated. The rates place Clat-
sop County in the top third
of Oregon counties for
vaccinations.
See Cases, Page A6
Photos by Griffin Reilly/The Astorian
The Flavel House Garden Society hopes to revitalize the gardens at the Flavel House Museum.
‘It would belong
to our community’
Master gardener leads drive to restore Flavel House gardens
By GRIFFIN REILLY
The Astorian
W
Jeff TerHar
The Broadway Field scoreboard on Saturday was set to
the final score of Seaside’s state football championship in
1994. The team was coached by Stubby Lyons.
hile out with her dog, “Persi,” Pam Holen
decided to stroll through the grounds of the
Flavel House Museum. The master gar-
dener, restless from months of cabin fever during the
coronavirus pandemic, became overwhelmed with a
vision for polishing one of the jewels of Astoria.
Holen’s newly formed Flavel House Garden
Society will begin a revitalization project this week
to bring the gardens back to their former beauty
during the Victorian era. She hopes the project can
attract a sustainable team dedicated to seeing out
what could be a grueling endeavor.
“There’s a lot of balls in the air when you do a
project like this,” Holen said. “This is not going to be
the perfect Victorian garden next summer. It’s going
to take time, that’s why we need sustainability.”
The garden society operates under the wing of
the Clatsop County Historical Society, the nonrofit
dedicated to preserving the region’s history.
With gardens that existed since the 1880s, exten-
sive research is necessary to identify what types of
plants may flourish year-round and bloom at differ-
ent times so the grounds can attract seasonal visitors.
See Gardens, Page A6
Seaside football coach
honored at memorial
of teaching and commu-
nity service, and especially
supporting and caring for
the children and youth of
By R.J. MARX
our community.”
The Astorian
Barber was among the
many speakers to
SEASIDE
—
recall the career of
It was appropriate
a man who made a
that the crowd for
difference to thou-
sands of Seaside
Raphael “Stubby”
High School stu-
Lyons’
memo-
dents. Lyons died
rial assembled at
on Dec. 25 at 86.
Broadway Field,
Former coach
the playing fields Stubby Lyons
Jim Auld called
the late coach
the day a celebration. “Just
helped to create.
“He had a key role a reminder, the sorrow and
in the renovation of this sadness and the mourn-
field,” Mayor Jay Barber ing, that was six and seven
said on Saturday morn- months ago,” he said.
ing. “Stubby and his wife, “This is a celebration.”
Sharee, have impacted so
See Stubby, Page A6
many lives over their years
Lyons’ motto
was ‘Fire up!’
The gardens at the Flavel House date back to the 1880s.
Retiring doctor will miss people the most
Sabahi spent 25 years
at Columbia Memorial
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
D
sarah Bello
Dr. Hugh Sabahi retired as a radiologist at
Columbia Memorial Hospital in June.
r. Hugh Sabahi knows
exactly what he will miss
the most.
“The people,” he said.
Sabahi crossed paths with
many people during his 25 years
as a radiologist at Columbia
Memorial Hospital. He said he
is grateful for the diligent tech-
nologists he worked alongside,
as well as the front desk and
secretarial staff, whom he con-
siders integral to the team.
But it was the interactions
with patients and the thank-you
cards that often kept him going
during 60 to 80-hour work
weeks.
“It’s that appreciation that
makes you feel good,” said
Sabahi, who retired in June.
Before he arrived in Asto-
ria in 1996, Sabahi spent eight
years in the Midwest while pay-
ing off medical school debts.
But he soon realized the dry,
farm-filled landscape wasn’t
suitable enough to fulfill his
passion for mountain biking and
exploring the outdoors.
When he saw an opening at
Columbia Memorial, it was an
easy decision.
“That’s perfect,” he recalled.
“No traffic. Get to live on the
coast. It really was a no-brainer.”
Sabahi took on numerous
roles at the hospital, includ-
ing the professional staff pres-
ident on the Board of Trustees,
the radiation safety officer, the
imaging department’s medical
director and a position on the
tumor board.
He said he took on the respon-
sibilities “to be more active in
playing a role in the direction
that the hospital takes. Being
more involved in the hospital —
not just politics — but helping
shape the future of the hospital.”
Sabahi is credited for
helping to bring technol-
ogy that advanced Columbia
Memorial’s imaging depart-
ment. In particular, he was an
advocate for getting 3D mam-
mography machines and offer-
ing low-dose CT lung cancer
screening.
“I wanted to stay up to date,”
he said. “Medicine changes rap-
idly, and technology changes
rapidly. That’s actually one of
the things that attracted me to
radiology.”
See Sabahi, Page A6