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THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 2022
IN BRIEF
Seaside delays homeless ordinance
SEASIDE — The City Council wants more infor-
mation before adopting a new camping ordinance
designed to address homelessness.
The ordinance, presented at a December meet-
ing and modeled on a similar regulation in Coos Bay,
would help the city respond to federal court rulings
and a state law that limit restrictions on public camp-
ing unless there are adequate shelter beds.
The City Council voted Monday to schedule a work-
shop on the topic prior to the next council meeting.
County residents invited
to participate in survey
Clatsop County residents are invited to take a sur-
vey to rate the county’s livability, economy, public ser-
vices and other measures of overall health.
Participants will be asked about topics like health
care and housing, jobs and traffi c, whether the county
is worth visiting and what it is like to raise a family
here.
The survey is meant to inform the county Board of
Commissioners and county staff as they craft policy
and determine budget priorities in the service of long-
term goals.
The survey began in the fall with 3,200 house-
holds receiving mailed survey forms or postcards that
directed them to online links, the county said. Those
households, which represent a random sample of the
community, can still complete the survey if they hav-
en’t already.
Visit the county’s website to participate. The dead-
line is Jan. 26.
County seeks applicants for 4-H council
The 4-H & Extension Service Advisory Council is
seeking to fi ll open positions.
The council, which meets quarterly, works with
the Oregon State University Extension Service and
Clatsop County’s extension staff to ensure exten-
sion programs are addressing local needs, the county
said.
Applications are available via the county’s website.
— The Astorian
Pacifi c County facing
‘worst point’ of pandemic
LONG BEACH, Wash. — The worst wave of the
coronavirus pandemic to date has arrived in full force
in Pacifi c County.
According to the county health department, 189
new cases of COVID-19 were reported locally over
the past week, even as a lack of widespread testing
remains an issue after a company that provides virus
testing had to postpone the beginning of its testing
operations in the county last week due to a staffi ng
issue.
“We’re offi cially at the worst point in the entire pan-
demic,” Katie Lindstrom, the county’s health director,
said.
— Chinook Observer
DEATHS
Jan. 9, 2022
In BEUGLI,
Brief
David Scott, 81, of Astoria, died in Asto-
ria. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of Astoria is in
charge of the arrangements.
Death
MEMORIAL
Saturday, Jan. 15
Memorial
NIELSEN, Kaare M. — Memorial at 11 a.m., Fin-
ley-Sunset Hills Mortuary, 6801 S.W. Sunset Highway
in Portland.
ON THE RECORD
Burglary
the infl uence of intoxi-
On
the
Record
• Andrew
James
Ben- cants, unlawful posses-
son Oyler, 25, a transient
linked to Seaside and
Astoria, was indicted last
week for burglary in the
second degree, theft in the
second degree and crimi-
nal mischief in the second
degree. The crimes are
alleged to have occurred
in July 2020.
DUII
Russell Stewart Mason,
59, of Portland, was
arraigned in December on
charges of driving under
sion of methamphetamine,
driving while suspended
or revoked and failing to
drive within a lane. The
crimes are alleged to have
occurred in August.
• Jody Ann Wick-
ett, 52, of Hammond,
was arrested on Satur-
day at the Mini Mart on
E. Harbor Drive in War-
renton for DUII, refus-
ing to take a Breathalyzer
test and improper lighting
equipment.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
THURSDAY
Seaside Civic and Convention Center Commission,
5 p.m., 415 First Ave.
Gearhart Planning Commission, 6 p.m., (electronic
meeting).
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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Parts of state Highway 202 were fl ooded during stormy weather last week.
State works to repair culvert
and reopen Highway 202
Highway closed
outside Olney
after heavy rains
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
State Highway 202 is
expected to reopen soon once
a metal culvert that collapsed
southeast of Olney last week
during heavy rains gets
replaced, the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation said.
The culvert failed beneath
the road near milepost 10.5
on Jan. 6 due to the recent
wet and stormy weather, the
department said. The road
has been impassible and
fl aggers have been blocking
travel. “It’s unsafe to cross,”
Angela Beers-Seydel, a pub-
lic information offi cer with
the department, said.
“It looks like you could
drive over it,” she said,
“but it wasn’t designed to
be a bridge, and right now,
with nothing supporting
it, that’s basically how it’s
functioning.”
ODOT has hired a con-
tractor to do repairs and
hopes to have the road open
this weekend.
Lewis & Clark Tim-
berlands has given resi-
dents who live off High-
way 202 access to a logging
road during daylight hours
to avoid the blockage. It can
also be used for emergency
services access.
“We accept a lot of liabil-
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where or get temporary liv-
ing quarters elsewhere.
Beers-Seydel said it will
take a bit of work to get
the culvert replaced and
that department personnel
“appreciate people under-
standing that our goal is to
keep everyone safe.”
“This time of year, espe-
cially with the weather we’ve
been having, people just need
to be extra cautious, because
roads are open, but travel
isn’t normal,” she said. “We
still are seeing a lot of debris
on the road, high-water areas
and other issues.
“And so we appreciate
just people being careful out
there, driving with caution,
and when they do see some-
thing, let us know.”
Liberty Theatre sees virus-related cancellations
By ABBEY McDONALD
The Astorian
The Liberty Theatre is
playing its event sched-
ule by ear for the next few
months as coronavirus cases
are expected to increase
statewide.
The Astoria theater has
had 15 cancellations of
shows and private events
this month, but remains
open.
The Liberty still plans
on a screening of the fi lm
“What Happened, Miss Sim-
one?” on Sunday and a per-
formance by the band Five
Letter Word hosted at Fort
George Brewery on Jan. 20 .
“At this moment, every-
thing that’s on the website is
moving forward,” said Jen-
nifer Crockett, the theater’s
executive director.
To determine cancel-
lations, she said that they
have been consulting with
performers and patrons
about their comfort level in
advance.
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
A recent surge in coronavirus cases has taken a toll at the
Liberty Theatre.
“ It’s a big collaboration.
We try not to make deci-
sions on our own,” Crock-
ett said.
The theater also sends an
online survey to its mailing
list of around 7,000 patrons.
Sometimes, the results say
the majority aren’t comfort-
able returning to the theater.
If a show is canceled or
postponed, the theater con-
tacts ticket holders to off er
them a choice between a
refund or credit toward a
future show.
“So far, the events that
are coming up, we have 640
seats and ticket sales are
still down. I think a large
portion of our audience
is not ready to come back
yet,” Crockett said. “And
so there’s plenty of room to
spread out.”
She said the upcoming
shows have around two-
thirds vacancy. The theater
has stopped selling conces-
sions, likely until mid-Feb-
ruary, to encourage attend-
ees to keep their masks on.
The theater will continue
to evaluate its schedule two
weeks at a time, considering
county virus case numbers.
Coast Guard cutter Steadfast postpones patrol after virus cases
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
The Steadfast, a U.S.
Coast Guard cutter that
homeports in Astoria, has
postponed a scheduled
patrol due to a coronavirus
outbreak among the crew.
The Coast Guard did not
say how many crew mem-
bers contracted the virus
but said the infected indi-
viduals are isolating to con-
tain the spread and minimize
transmission.
“The protection of our
workforce and those we
serve remains our highest
priority,” Lt. Cmdr. Scott
Carr, a public aff airs offi cer,
said in an email.
“Coast Guard cutter
Steadfast’s crew closely fol-
lowed the unit’s pandemic
Coast Guard
The Steadfast has postponed a patrol over coronavirus cases.
plan and multiple steps are
being taken to ensure oper-
ational readiness is main-
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ity when we open our prop-
erty for any kind of motor
vehicle access, but in an
emergency, we viewed it as
more important to serve our
community than to have lia-
bility be the driving factor
there,” Chad Washington, the
stewardship and community
engagement coordinator at
Lewis & Clark Timberlands,
said.
The closure has also inter-
rupted mail service.
“It’s
inconveniencing
about 40 families,” David
Enslow, who lives in the
area, said.
Enslow said his neigh-
bors, not knowing how long
the road would be disabled,
wondered if they would need
to put up a campsite some-
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tained,” Carr wrote.
T he Steadfast, a 210-
foot Reliance-class cutter
under the command of the
Coast Guard Pacifi c Area,
typically patrols the west-
ern waters off North and
Central America. The crew
focuses on homeland secu-
rity, search-and-rescue oper-
ations, enforcing laws, pro-
tecting marine sanctuaries
and other missions.
“The science will deter-
mine when they’re able to
safely depart,” Carr said in
an interview.
Seventy-six people are
normally assigned to the
cutter, but the Steadfast is
operating with additional
personnel.