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a match of
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se
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The Astorian
Nikki Davidson/
149TH YEAR, NO. 38
WEEKEND EDITION // SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2021
$1.50
VACCINE MANDATE
Fire chiefs
worry about
staff exodus
Several local
departments
could face losses
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
Fire chiefs in Clatsop
County expect to see a sig-
nifi cant decline in personnel
due to the state’s coronavi-
rus vaccine mandate, a situ-
ation that could leave parts
of the county underserved
by emergency responders.
At a recent meeting of
the county’s Fire Defense
Board, local chiefs and
department leaders gave
estimates of the staff -
ing losses that may occur
after Gov. Kate Brown’s
Oct. 18 deadline for health
care workers, teachers and
other school staff to get
vaccinated.
Sheriff Matt Phillips
attended the meeting and
relayed the numbers in a
report to the county Board
of Commissioners. “It
appears that on Oct. 19,
some areas of our county
will not have a fi re response
MORE INSIDE
Transit district postpones
decision on vaccine
mandate • A8
to medical emergencies,
crashes, industrial acci-
dents, etc.,” the sheriff told
commissioners in an email.
Warrenton Mayor Henry
Balensifer has asked Brown
for an exemption to the vac-
cine mandate for volunteer
fi refi ghters. The mayor and
others are particularly con-
cerned about losing fi re-
fi ghters who are trained to
provide emergency medical
service.
‘Just incredible’
Some fi re departments,
such as Seaside , indi-
cated they may not lose
staff over the vaccine man-
date , according to Phillips’
report. Others, like depart-
ments in Knappa and West-
port, may lose a small num-
ber but won’t experience
operational changes.
See Mandate, Page A8
State discloses virus
cases at local schools
Over a dozen
cases since
classes resumed
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
The Oregon Health
Authority has reported
more than a dozen new
coronavirus cases across
schools in Clatsop County
as classes resumed for the
new school year .
The weekly outbreak
report showed four of the
14 cases were from the
Astoria S chool D istrict.
Three of the cases were
students — two from
Lewis and Clark Elemen-
tary School and one from
Astor Elementary. The
fourth case was a staff
member at Astoria Middle
School.
The school district
released a dashboard
documenting the num-
ber of students and staff
from each school that
had to isolate or quaran-
tine because of the virus.
T he district has recorded
12 virus cases among stu-
dents and staff since Sept.
10, and six new cases
since the h ealth a uthor-
ity’s report, which was
updated through Sun-
day and released on
Wednesday.
Astoria
Superinten-
dent Craig Hoppes said
he was encouraged by the
eff ort students and staff
are making to follow pro-
tocols meant to deter the
spread of the virus.
“You would like to
keep it so you have (no
virus cases), but we are
doing the best we can and
checking for symptoms,”
he said . “So far … we
aren’t seeing any spread
once we were able to put
our health and safety pro-
tocols in place. I t doesn’t
mean it won’t happen, but
we are doing a great job.
Doc Shaw and Samantha Childress drove over 2,000 miles to Indianapolis for spinal surgery for their infant
son, Kashton.
Family follows doctor across the
country for infant son’s surgery
Seaside couple’s son
has spinal condition
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
S
EASIDE — Doc Shaw
and his wife drove over
2,000 miles in a small RV
from Seaside to Indianapolis
with their infant son.
Their destination? Peyton
Manning Children’s Hospital.
Their son, Kashton, under-
went surgery Thursday for a
neurologic condition called teth-
ered spinal cord, in which the
spinal cord is unable to move
within the spinal column. The
couple decided to travel across
the country after the doctor they
were seeing in Portland moved
to a hospital in Indianapolis.
“It’s been devastating for
us,” Shaw said. “We’re just try-
ing to keep him alive.”
Kashton was born in May
after an intense and terrifying
delivery, according to his mom,
Samantha Childress.
“After we spent time bond-
ing, the nurses did their exam,”
she said. “Doc and I noticed
them spending a little extra
attention to an area on his lower
back- upper butt crack.”
A few days later, their pedia-
trician explained he had a sacral
Samantha Childress and Doc Shaw’s son, Kashton.
dimple. W hile many are noth-
ing to worry about, Kashton’s
was not only deep but had some
other markers warranting more
attention.
“She told us she wanted to
be ‘overly cautious’ and get
an ultrasound to make sure we
were in the clear,” Childress
said.
Worst day
Then came the couple’s
worst day.
“I noticed Kashton acting
strangely, lethargic in a way, and
then (he) projectile vomited,”
Childress said. “A little time
passed when I noticed the quiet-
ness. None of his normal grunty
breathing. None of his random
startled twitching. I unwrapped
him to fi nd him pale, limp and
unresponsive.
“I screamed for Doc, had
someone call 911, and worked
endlessly to bring him back.
Thanks to Doc’s quick reaction,
we arrived at the local hospital
four minutes before the ambu-
lance even got to the shop and
by some miracle Kashton started
breathing as soon as we arrived.”
Kashton was transferred
from Providence Seaside Hos-
pital to Providence St. Vincent’s
in Portland, where he was moni-
tored and some tests were done.
They were told by hospital
staff that what happened to their
son was unexplainable and he
was fi ne, Childress said.
See Infant, Page A8
‘I DIDN’T EXPECT ANYBODY WOULD EVEN COME TO OUR
SIDE, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU. THE COMMUNITY HAS REALLY
BEEN STEPPING UP. IT’S TAKEN ME TO MY KNEES MORE THAN
ONCE ON THIS TRIP HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE JUST REACHED
OUT. I JUST HAVE TO SAY ‘THANKS.’ IT’S BEEN AMAZING.’
Doc Shaw
See Schools, Page A8
Timber fi rm enters conservation deal with land trust
Greater preservation
for Clatsop Ridge
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
A new agreement between Clat-
sop County’s largest landowner and the
Columbia Land Trust will conserve a
productive acreage between Astoria and
Seaside for forestry work and ensure
access for local tribes.
Under the conservation easement,
GreenWood Resources — a timber
investment company that manages lands
previously owned by Weyerhaeuser and
other timber companies — will continue
to own the more than 2,500 acres of for-
estland off U.S. Highway 101 and har-
vest trees .
But the agreement will prevent future
fragmentation of the land, no matter
who owns the property, said Dan Roix,
the conservation director with Columbia
Land Trust.
A conservation easement that con-
tinues to allow logging may not be
an approach people typically associ-
ate with land trusts and conservation ,
Roix acknowledged. But he believes
the easement will aid other, more famil-
iar conservation goals, as well as pre-
serve a traditional economical use in
local forests.
The easement requires increased tree
buff ers along streams where fi sh are
present and establishes a 50-year min-
imum stand rotation, giving trees a lon-
ger time to grow on the land.
For local tribes, the easement ensures
access to an area where their ancestors
gathered food and materials, and the
right to do larger-scale collecting and
harvesting activities not permitted on
other land GreenWood owns.
Clatsop Ridge
The property, referred to as Clat-
sop Ridge, already sees a high amount
of recreational use. Located across
U.S. Highway 101 from Camp Rilea,
its borders touch Lewis and Clark
National Historical Park to the north
and Cullaby Lake County Park to the
southwest.
Under the easement, the property
must remain open to the public and
hunting for deer and elk will be allowed.
Native families in the Clatsop-Nehalem
Confederated Tribes have considered
the area part of their traditional fi shing
grounds.
See Ridge, Page A8