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THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2022
IN BRIEF
State reports 50 new virus
cases for county
The Oregon Health Authority reported 50 new
coronavirus cases for Clatsop County on Friday.
Since the pandemic began, the county had reported
3,989 virus cases and 37 deaths as of Friday.
— The Astorian
Oregon hospitals near breaking
point during COVID surge
Health offi cials say Oregon hospitals are near their
COVID-19 breaking point as the state is expected to
reach peak hospitalizations in coming weeks.
Fueled by the highly contagious omicron vari-
ant, hospitalizations could soon surpass the pandemic
high, offi cials said Friday.
“(The pandemic) is not behind us yet,” said Dr. Dean
Sidelinger, state health offi cer and epidemiologist.
— Associated Press
Oregon wine leads US in growing
direct-to-consumer sales
PORTLAND — Bolstered by high demand and
rising prices, Oregon’s wine industry led the U.S. in
accelerating its rate of growth for direct-to-consumer
sales in 2021, according to an analysis of shipment
data from more than 1,300 wineries nationwide.
The annual report, issued by Sovos ShipCompli-
ant and Wines Vines Analytics, shows Oregon winer-
ies shipped 560,702 cases of wine valued at $285.5
million.
That represents an increase of 12.9% in volume
and 18.7% in sales value over 2020, outperforming all
other wine regions across the country.
Pinot noir dominated the share of Oregon direct-
to-consumer sales, accounting for more than half of
the state’s wine shipments and two-thirds of the total
sales value.
— Capital Press
DEATHS
Jan. 30, 2022
GROTHE, Alvin J., 96, of Astoria, died in Astoria.
Ocean View Funeral & Cremation Service of Astoria is
in charge of the arrangements.
In Brief
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MEMORIALS
Wednesday, Feb. 2
GRABER, Billie —
Graveside service at
10 a.m. at Willamette
National Cemetery, 1800
S.E. Mount Scott Blvd.
in Portland. Graber, 76,
of Seaside, died Sunday,
Jan. 16, 2022, in Seaside.
Memorials
A celebration of life will
be held July 9 for friends
and family in Seaside.
Saturday, Feb. 5
HAUKE,
Michael
Holden — Graveside
service at 11 a.m., Ocean
View Cemetery, 575 S.W
18th St. in Warrenton.
ON THE RECORD
Strangulation
ing under the infl uence of
On
• Andy the
Bierlee Record
Loke, intoxicants, reckless driv-
47, of Seaside was indicted
last week for strangulation,
assault in the fourth degree
constituting domestic vio-
lence and attempted assault
in the fourth degree consti-
tuting domestic violence.
The crimes are alleged to
have occurred in January.
Weapons charges
• Ricky Lee Guz-
man, 60, of Madras,
was arraigned last week
on charges of fl eeing
or attempting to elude
a police offi cer, driv-
ing, two counts of unlaw-
ful possession of a fi rearm
and two counts of carry-
ing a concealed weapon.
The crimes are alleged to
have occurred in Clatsop
County in September.
Theft
• Michael John Lyly,
36, of Hillsboro, was
arraigned last week on
charges of theft in the
second degree. The
crime was alleged to
have occurred in Clatsop
County in July.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY
Seaside Community Center Commission, 10 a.m., Bob
Chisholm Community Center, 1225 Avenue A.
Port of Astoria Commission, 4 p.m., (electronic meeting).
Clatsop Care Health District Board, 5 p.m., (electronic
meeting).
Astoria Library Board, 5:30 p.m., Flag Room, 450 10th St.
(and via Zoom).
Clatsop County Fair Board, 5:30 p.m., 92937 Walluski Loop,
Astoria.
Cannon Beach City Council, 6 p.m., (electronic meeting).
Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broad-
way.
WEDNESDAY
Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, 10 a.m., work
session, (electronic meeting).
Gearhart City Council, 7 p.m., (electronic meeting).
THURSDAY
Astoria Design Review Commission, 5:30 p.m., City Hall,
1095 Duane St.
Seaside Parks Advisory Committee, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
REFLECTION
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
People, refl ected in a puddle, walk back to their cars after sunset at Fort Stevens State Park.
Chamber recognizes business
and community leaders
Annual event
celebrates the best
of local outreach
By ABBEY McDONALD
The Astorian
On Saturday night, busi-
ness leaders fl ocked to the
Clatsop County Fairgrounds,
some opting for waist-length
crab bibs over semi formal
attire.
The 149th a nnual m eet-
ing and b anquet for the Asto-
ria-Warrenton Area Cham-
ber of Commerce recognized
the community service work
of businesses and individuals
this past year.
David Reid, the cham-
ber’s executive director,
wearing a royal-blue rail-
road conductors’ uniform to
follow the event’s theme of
“back on track,” said he was
excited to be back in person
after holding the event virtu-
ally last year because of the
coronavirus pandemic.
The event had a lower
capacity of 130 people,
spaced out among a greater
number of tables.
All went quiet for the
main event, which were
awards for outstanding com-
munity service.
First up was the Board
President’s Award, selected
by 2021 president Lois Per-
due, and awarded to Bridge-
water Bistro for their help
with the Great Columbia
Crossing and communication
throughout the pandemic.
Next was the Ambassa-
dor’s Choice Award, which
went to Hampton Lumber
for its infrastructure proj-
ects, forest management and
employment in the area.
Lindsay Davis, Hamp-
ton’s outreach specialist and
stewardship coordinator, said
the award was a surprise and
an honor.
“We are so grateful to
have had such an impact on
the community, because it’s
had such an impact on us,”
she said.
The Richard Ford Distin-
guished Service Award went
to Brenda and Norm Hox-
sey, of Spruce Up Warren-
ton, which cleaned up over
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Printed on
recycled paper
Chamber award winners pose for a group photo. From left, Chris Laman, Lindsay Davis, Kevin
Leahy, Janet Bowler, Judi Lampi, Norm Hoxsey and Brenda Hoxsey.
70 properties last year. The
pair also worked to revital-
ize downtown Warrenton
and clean up local trails and
parks.
“While Spruce Up War-
renton is full of active per-
sons, many deserving credit,
these two were directly
responsible for the formation
and continual expansion of
work by Spruce Up Warren-
ton and the outsized impact
of their work over the past
few years makes them the
obvious choice for this most
prestigious of awards,” War-
renton Mayor Henry Balen-
sifer said .
Astoria Mayor Bruce
Jones presented the fi rst of
two George Awards for com-
munity service, selected
by both the c ity and the
c hamber.
Judi Lampi and Janet
Bowler received an award
for their near six-year eff ort
to build the Astoria Nordic
Heritage Park. They received
a standing ovation, and
even with the assistance
the city was willing to pro-
vide on rent, was just too
much for a new nonprofi t to
expect to overcome in the
near term,” Citovic said in
a text message. “And this
was confi rmed by our con-
tacts in the philanthropy
world, especially given that
there is not a family income
or need-based element for
admissions.”
Citovic said the nonprofi t
estimates the child care pro-
gram would need an addi-
tional $300,000 to $400,000
per year.
She said while the group
is stepping back for now,
“we are waiting in the wings
to help in any way we can
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Bowler called it a “shocking
surprise.”
“We’re proud to be a part
of our community,” said
Lampi, who added that their
work would not have been
possible without the 866 peo-
ple who donated over $1.5
million toward the project.
Former s tate Sen. Betsy
Johnson, who is making an
independent bid for gov-
ernor, presented the fi nal
George Award to someone
she said she consulted with
repeatedly in her work, and
that she considers a personal
friend.
Kevin Leahy, the d irector
of the Small Business Devel-
opment Center and Clat-
sop Economic Development
Resources, had a bounce in
his step as he approached
the stage to another standing
ovation.
“Growing up in this com-
munity, and looking at the
names of who have won
before, it’s just an honor,”
said Leahy, who called his
work in community develop-
ment his dream job.
He said the award was
especially meaningful to him
coming from Johnson, and in
front of a room full of friends
and colleagues.
The fi nal award of the
night, the Applause Award,
went to Chris Laman, the
d irector of p harmacy and c an-
cer c enter services at Colum-
bia Memorial Hospital.
“His organizational skills,
his knowledge of com-
plex medical challenges, his
calm leadership, and just his
unfl appable charm turned lit-
tle old Clatsop County’s vac-
cine rollout into a model for
our entire state,” Johnson
said .
Afterward, Laman praised
the work of over 300 volun-
teers that put the c ounty in
the upper rungs of state vac-
cination rates.
“Without the whole com-
munity coming together, we
wouldn’t have been able to
do what w e did, ” he said.
Nonprofi t: Center relies on lower-paid, part-time labor
Continued from Page A1
Established July 1, 1873
Photos by Abbey McDonald/The Astorian
Kevin Leahy was recognized with the George Award for his work in the community.
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as the future of Sprouts
becomes clearer.”
Jonah
Dart-McLean,
Astoria’s parks director,
said the city plans to discuss
how to move forward with
the City Council during
a work session later this
month.
“(We) just need to get
more discussion with coun-
cil on where their priori-
ties are and how we can
best off er the existing ser-
vices we have in place with
the resources we have,” he
said.
The day care, run by
the Astoria Parks and Rec-
reation Department at the
Astoria Recreation Center,
has become increasingly
taxing on department staff .
The center relies heav-
ily on lower-paid, part-time
labor, which has been espe-
cially challenging to hire
and retain during the coro-
navirus pandemic.
After opening nearly
a decade ago because of
the need for child care in
the community, the day
care still serves as a vital
resource in the county.
Child care options on the
North Coast remain scarce,
and the center is one of the
few of its size that provides
care for infants.