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THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JULY 20, 2021
Cases: Virus cases are expected to rise as more things return to normal
Continued from Page A1
T he county has reported
1,103 virus cases, 25 hos-
pitalizations and 10 deaths
since the pandemic began.
Despite a surge of virus
cases in late June, which
prompted the state to put the
county under caution, and
about 40 new virus cases
over the past three weeks,
the urgency to take precau-
tions has appeared to wane
since the state lifted restric-
tions at the end of June.
T he c ounty has transi-
tioned to a more targeted
approach to close in on the
vaccination goal. N ew out-
reach will identify smaller
communities across the
county that may be experi-
encing accessibility barri-
ers, Lalich said.
“These events are open to
the community, but we are
also meeting people where
they live in case there could
potentially be transportation
barriers or with individual
work schedule,” she said.
Lalich said her team has
observed that many people
were reluctant to get vacci-
nated because they wanted
to see how others would
respond to a vaccine. Oth-
ers changed their view after
someone in their personal
circle tested positive for the
virus .
She hopes people recog-
nize that many of the health
precautions the county has
asked people to take are
not necessarily unique to
COVID-19.
“I just want to reiterate
that many of the things we
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
More than 55% of Clatsop County residents have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
have in place for COVID are
things we have had in place
for years during fl u sea-
son,” Lalich said. “You stay
home if you’re sick, proper
hand-washing, don’t go to
work if you’re sick. That is
not new information, it’s just
that people are paying more
attention because we have
a novel virus circulating in
our community and around
the globe.”
The
Public
Health
Department expects virus
cases to rise as more things
return to normal. Offi cials
believe the risk of expo-
sure from new cases is as
good a reason as any to get
vaccinated.
“Even though Oregon has
opened up, many restrictions
are still in place,” Lalich
said. “Being vaccinated, we
know, can prevent infection
most of the time. If someone
does get infected, the risk
of illness or hospitalization
goes down when someone is
fully vaccinated.”
Gardens: Revitalization will start with weed removal Sabahi:
Doesn’t
plan on
leaving
Continued from Page A1
M any of the trees planted in
the garden’s early days have
grown signifi cantly, Holen
said, which means diff er-
ent levels of sunlight present
challenges for what can and
cannot be planted.
For these reasons, Holen
describes it as an educational
project. In addition to visitors
learning about the history of
the Flavels, the famous mar-
itime family, they could also
learn about biodiversity and
the kinds of gardens typical
of the Victorian era.
McAndrew Burns, the
executive director of the his-
torical society, estimates the
improvement could help the
Flavel House draw as many
as 75,000 visitors a year,
almost double what they typ-
ically see .
Before the vision can
be fully realized , however,
the g arden s ociety needs
as many hands on deck as
possible.
“Stage one is getting peo-
ple to show interest, get-
ting them out here and just
cleaning out the weeds,”
Holen said. “Once you get
the weeds out and get some
mulching down and then you
can stand back and think,
‘N ow what do we need to
do?’”
The revitalization will
begin with weed removal
and mulching before the
winter. Work will take place
from 5 to 7 p.m. on Mon-
day evenings , and then from
10 a.m. to noon on Wednes-
day mornings. P lacement of
Continued from Page A1
Griffi n Reilly/The Astorian
The revitalization project at the Flavel House begins this week.
WANT TO HELP?
The revitalization will begin with weed removal and mulch-
ing before the winter. Work will take place from 5 to 7 p.m.
on Monday evenings , and then from 10 a.m. to noon on
Wednesday mornings. P lacement of new plants and com-
posting could happen by next spring .
new plants and composting
could happen by next spring .
“We’re really thankful
for anyone coming or hav-
ing the interest. W e’re not
looking for a lifetime com-
mitment,” Burns said. “But
if you’ve got a couple hours
and you want to come pull
weeds and lay some mulch,
we’ll have some snacks and
refreshments.”
Restoring the Flavel
House g ardens c ould provide
Astorians with more than
just increased tourism and a
taste of horticultural educa-
tion, organizers say. It c ould
give people a deeper sense of
pride after a diffi cult period .
“It wouldn’t belong to
you. I t wouldn’t belong to
me. I t would belong to our
community,” Holen said.
The success of past proj-
ects to rejuvenate the Fla-
vel House , such as a cleanup
that took place ahead of
the museum’s inclusion in
a recent horror fi lm, gives
Burns hope for the gardens.
“People take a lot of pride
in it,” he said . “Whenever it
needs a little help, like paint-
ing or now, with the grounds,
I think the community comes
together and realizes it’s one
of the most important parts
of what people in Astoria
see.”
Looking back, he said
he has no regrets. H e is
glad he now has time to
enjoy his many hobbies,
most notably entomol-
ogy, astronomy, videog-
raphy and photography.
M ost of all, he is eager to
add to his already exten-
sive list of travels, which
includes the remote
parts of the Amazon and
Mount Kilimanjaro.
But as for where home
lies, he doesn’t plan on
leaving Astoria anytime
soon.
Sabahi recalled a time
during a visit to Hon-
ningsvåg, the north-
ernmost tip in Norway,
when he said he came to
a realization.
“I was just walking
the streets and I thought,
‘My God, this reminds
me of Astoria,’” he said.
“The hills, the houses,
the trees and even the
water … I’ve come all
this way to see a town
that is very remote which
reminds me of Astoria.
“It made me feel good.
I feel like I’m vacation-
ing when I’m here at
home.”
Stubby: ‘He was a strong advocate for civility and decorum’
Continued from Page A1
Lyons’ family moved
to the Pacifi c Northwest in
1942, when Stubby was 7.
As a 20-year-old Marine,
Lyons spent 14 months in
Korea as a military offi cer in
the demilitarized zone.
His teaching and coach-
ing career began at 35, fi rst
in Nevada, then Washington
state.
Arriving in Seaside in
1980, he served as assistant
for Auld before taking the
football head coach role.
In 1994, the Gulls won
their second championship,
defeating Brookings-Harbor
High 27-14 in Eugene — a
score posted on the Broad-
way Field scoreboard for the
memorial on Saturday .
“Now we all have memo-
ries of coach Lyons, for that is
his gift to us,” said Casey Jack-
son, who was a running back
with the Gulls’ 1994 team.
“Coach Lyons now lives
within each and every one of
us,” Jackson said. “He lives
in our hearts and in our souls.
So I encourage you all to
keep his spirit alive by reliv-
ing those memories and shar-
ing them to others.”
Lyons’ words provided
inspiration to his athletes.
“If I ever felt defeated and
wanted to quit, he simply just
said, ‘T ape an aspirin to it,’”
Jackson said. “Those locker
room speeches taught me to
never give up. I learned how
to be somebody and get fi red
up. In 1994, we were the
champions from the c oast —
let us never forget who loves
R.J. Marx/The Astorian
Scenes from Stubby Lyons’ life were on display at the memorial.
you most. I love you, c oach.
Rest in peace.”
Former Gulls’ football
star Kyle Camberg said he
did not come to the memo-
rial because of Lyons’ wins
and losses. “I’m here because
of how much he cared about
all of us,” he said. “He really
had a special gift for getting
kids to turn out and feel like
they’re a part of something
bigger than themselves and
that they had a family.”
If you could play a lit-
tle bit, he certainly recruited
you, Camberg said. “And if
you didn’t have a single sol-
itary athletic bone in your
body, he found a spot for
you doing something else. It
didn’t matter if you were the
star, or somebody that didn’t
get in the game or the man-
ager, you were part of the
family,” he said. “And that’s
a huge thing: really being
part of the family.”
Along with coaching,
Lyons taught “everything” at
Seaside High School, Cam-
berg said, English, U.S. his-
tory, personal fi nance, a law
class .
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Connie Benson, a law-
yer, said Lyons taught her
“fi rst-ever law course. ”
“And he taught that class
with as much passion as he
brought to the football fi eld,”
she said. “And he helped
me to see that the law was
exciting and fun.”
Benson, whose passion
was dance, said not only ath-
letes found motivation from
Lyons.
“Coach worked to remind
them that they had gifts, and
were truly wonderful, even
if they weren’t making the
game-winning touchdown,”
she said. “Where he found
the time, I have no idea. But
it’s a driving force that I will
carry with me for the rest of
my life.”
Lyons retired from teach-
ing in 1999 and entered a
period of community service
and civic involvement.
A lifetime member of the
Marine Corps League, Elks,
American Legion and Veter-
ans of Foreign Wars , he won
election to the City Council
in 2000.
“He was a strong advocate
for civility and decorum,”
Barber said. “He served as
council president for several
of his 14 years on the coun-
cil. And he, by the way, was
recognized for his leader-
ship not just here in Seaside
but statewide by the League
of Oregon Cities. In 2003, he
was presented their educa-
tion and community service
award during their annual
meeting — a really high rec-
ognition of his service. He
was a prime mover in many
areas of improvement in the
city.”
After the remembrances ,
the hundreds of family mem-
bers, former students and
visitors heard t aps played by
Dain Cowan.
“This is certainly a case of
the world being a lesser place
without you in it,” Lance
Lyons, Stubby’s son, said
in his remarks. “But today
we fi nally get to hopefully
take a small step forward in
that and honoring you and
your amazing life as you so
well deserve. Today, you
come back home, to Broad-
way Field, a place where
it all began, a place where
your legacy started. This
place right here was your
sanctuary.”
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