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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2022)
A2 THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022 IN BRIEF State reports new virus cases for county LANDSCAPE The sunset and stormy conditions color the landscape orange on the Long Beach Peninsula. Lydia Ely/The Astorian The Oregon Health Authority reported eight new coronavirus cases for Clatsop County over the week- end and fi ve new cases on Friday. Since the pandemic began, the county had recorded 4,515 virus cases as of Monday. — The Astorian Permits required to drive along waterfall corridor of Columbia River Highway this spring Starting this spring, drivers on the Historic Colum- bia River Highway will need to purchase a permit to access the scenic route commonly known as the “waterfall corridor.” The road allows access to many popular tourist spots, like Multnomah Falls, in the Columbia River Gorge. Oregon Department of Transportation offi cials say the new permitting system is to address heavy traffi c. — Oregon Public Broadcasting DEATH Feb. 26, 2022 In BALLA, Brief: March R. Elaine (Brownson) 1, (Firebaugh) (Doane), 92, of Astoria, died in Astoria. Hughes-Ran- som Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements. 2022 MEMORIALS Saturday, March 5 Memorials HUNT, Bonnie Jean Dotson — Funeral Mass 11 a.m. at St. Mary, Death Star of the Sea Catholic Church, 1465 Grand Ave. in Astoria. Inter ment will follow at Ocean View Cemetery, 575 S.W. 18th St. in Warrenton. WHITE, Ronald “Ron” Sr. — Viewing starts at 10 a.m., funeral Mass from 11 a.m. to noon, Holy Trinity Cath- olic Church, 13715 S.W. Walker Road in Beaverton. ON THE RECORD Assault for fi rst-degree crimi- On the Record • Melissa Gayle nal mischief and reckless Longo, 32, of Puyallup, Washington, was indicted on Friday for third-degree assault, two counts of fail- ing to perform the duties of a driver to seriously injured persons, reckless driving and two counts of recklessly endanger- ing another person. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in December. Failing to perform the duties of a driver • Adam David Ehrlich, 33, of Puyallup, Washing- ton, was indicted on Fri- day for two counts of fail- ing to perform the duties of a driver to seriously injured persons and two counts of hindering pros- ecution. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in December. Burglary • Matthew Scot Mer- ritt, 37, of Astoria, was indicted on Friday for fi rst-degree burglary, fi rst-degree theft and contempt of court. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in December. Criminal mischief • Paul Lee Roe- buck, 49, of Astoria, was indicted on Friday burning. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in November. Theft • Brett Win Framp- ton, 29, of Seaside, was arrested on Sunday at Walmart in Warrenton for fi rst-degree theft and on a felony warrant. Disorderly conduct • Christopher Allen Ritter, 43, of Astoria, was arrested on Satur- day on W. Marine Drive in Astoria for second-de- gree disorderly conduct and harassment. Ritter was allegedly involved in a bar fi ght. DUII • Ronald Wayne Cothren, 47, of Cath- lamet, Washington, was arrested on Sunday at W. Marine Drive and Port- way Street in Astoria for driving under the infl u- ence of intoxicants and reckless driving. • Trevor William DeMander, 18, of Asto- ria, was arrested on Sat- urday at Astoria High School for DUII. He was allegedly involved in a two-vehicle accident at the high school. PUBLIC MEETINGS TUESDAY PUBLIC MEETINGS Seaside Community Center Commission, 10 a.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center, 1225 Avenue A. Clatsop County Fair Board, 5:30 p.m., 92937 Walluski Loop. Cannon Beach City Council, 6 p.m., (electronic meeting). Jewell School District Board, 6 p.m., executive session, Jewell School Library, 83874 Oregon Highway 103. Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. WEDNESDAY Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, 10 a.m., work session, (electronic meeting). Gearhart City Council, 6 p.m., special meeting, (electronic meeting). Cannon Beach City Council, Design Review Board and Planning Commission, 6 p.m., joint work session, (elec- tronic meeting). Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503-325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103-0210 DailyAstorian.com Circulation phone number: 800-781-3214 Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR ADVERTISING OWNERSHIP All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by The Astorian become the property of The Astorian and may not be reproduced for any use without explicit prior approval. COPYRIGHT © Entire contents © Copyright, 2022 by The Astorian. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. Printed on recycled paper Oregon aims to lift indoor mask mandate next week Joint decision with California and Washington state By GARY WARNER Oregon Capital Bureau Oregon will drop its indoor mask mandate against COVID-19 more than a week earlier than planned . Gov. Kate Brown said Monday morning that Ore- gon, California and Wash- ington state would lift their mandates simultaneously at 11:59 p.m. March 11. The new date includes ending mask mandates in schools. The order will aff ect over 51.2 million people from the Mexican border to the Cana- dian border, about 15% of the national population. The move comes on the two-year anniversary of the fi rst case of COVID-19 reported in Oregon . Working with California and Wash- ington state was crucial to having a unifi ed timeline for the change in mask policy, Brown said. “As has been made clear time and again over the last two years, COVID-19 does not stop at state borders or county lines,” the gover- nor said in a statement. “On the West Coast, our com- munities and economies are linked. Together, as we con- tinue to recover from the omicron surge, we will build resiliency and prepare for the next variant and the next pandemic.” The move by the three states comes after the federal Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian Oregon will lift an indoor mask mandate next week. Centers for Disease Con- trol and Prevention late last week called for new guide- lines to determine risk that would allow for the loosen- ing of restrictions for 70% of the country’s population where coronavirus is posing a low or medium threat to hospitals. However, the map released by the CDC showed much of eastern, central and southwestern Oregon remained in the 30% of pop- ulation areas that remain at high risk. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee issued sim- ilar statements Monday morning with the same date and time for dropping indoor mask mandates. The new date is the sec- ond time in two weeks that health offi cials have moved up the date for lifting mask mandates. Brown had originally said that the mask mandate would end by March 31, about when Oregon Health & Sci- Major renovation starts soon at Oregon Trail Interpretive Center By JAYSON JACOBY Baker City Herald BAKER CITY — The biggest project at the Ore- gon Trail Interpretive Cen- ter near Baker City since it opened almost 30 years ago will begin Wednesday . The $6.5 million make- over is designed to turn the center, which has attracted almost 2.4 million visitors, from an energy hog to a building with a more modest appetite for electricity. Achieving that will entail much more than cosmetic work. The Bureau of Land Man- agement, the federal agency that operates the c enter on Flagstaff Hill about 5 miles east of Baker City, has hired Hess Contracting of Preston, Idaho, to replace most items attached to its frame. That includes installing new cement board siding, insulation, roofi ng, windows and doors. The contractor will also replace the heating and cool- ing system for the all-electric building. The i nterpretive c enter has been closed since November 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. W ork started in October to remove exhibits and other items in prepara- tion for the project. The cen- ter will remain closed during the remodeling. The work is slated to be fi nished in the spring of 2023, but the c enter will stay closed for several more months while exhibits and fi xtures are reinstalled. That’s a shorter dura- tion than the Bureau of Land Subscription rates Eff ective January 12, 2021 MAIL EZpay (per month) ...............................................................................................................$10.75 13 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$37.00 26 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$71.00 52 weeks in advance ........................................................................................................ $135.00 DIGITAL EZpay (per month) .................................................................................................................$8.25 ence University projected the state would drop below 400 daily patients hospital- ized with COVID-19. The decline in omi- cron-related severe cases accelerated and the date was moved last week to March 19. But on Thursday, OHSU issued a forecast showing Oregon would dip below the 400-mark by March 12. The Oregon Health Authority said the lifting of the mask mandate did not include changes to federal and state rules on masks in health care settings, airline fl ights, public transit and other specialized places . Brown’s statement on Monday did not change her plan to lift the state of emer- gency on C OVID-19 ear- lier than April 1, the date she announced last week. The emergency rules gave Brown wide powers to set public policy during the cri- sis, including the closing and reopening of in-person class- room instruction, business hours, mask usage and limits on event sizes. The three West Coast states have sought to coordi- nate on COVID-19 response throughout the pandemic, though they have gone their own way at times, such as the vaccine priority list in early 2021. Brown said the gover- nors believed the mask man- date change was best done at the same time for the stretch from the Mexican border to the Canadian border. “Our communities and economies are linked,” Brown said. Brown underlined that the move did not mean the pandemic was burning out or nearly over. “As we learn to live with this virus, we must remain vigilant to protect each other and prevent disruption to our schools, businesses and communities – with a focus on protecting our most vul- nerable and the people and communities that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, ” she said. Oregon offi cials say they are confi dent that the move will not replicate the prema- ture lifting of safeguards last summer that came almost simultaneously with the arrival of the virulent delta variant . Critics said at that time that lifting restrictions statewide did not take into eff ect the wide diff erences in vaccination rates and prior COVID-19 exposure. The Oregon Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Baker City Herald The Oregon Trail Interpretive Center has had more than 2 million visitors since it opened in 1992. Management originally expected, said Larisa Bogar- dus, the public aff airs offi cer for the bureau’s Vale District. Initially, the bureau expected the remodeling would take more than two years. The impetus for the proj- ect was a nationwide survey comparing the energy effi - ciency of Bureau of Land Management buildings . That survey, which included an inspection of the i nterpretive c enter in May 2018, earned the c en- ter the “dubious distinction” of being the bureau’s least effi cient building, Bogardus said. The c enter had a monthly power bill averaging about $10,000. The remodel is estimated to reduce the c enter’s energy use by 73%, according to the bureau . “We want to be good stewards of our natural resources,” said Wayne Mon- ger, the bureau’s Vale Dis- trict manager . “This design utilizes high thermal insula- tion value materials and high effi ciency heating and cool- ing technology to counter summer and winter energy demands of the site.” Approximately 16% of the project is funded through the Great American Out- doors Act, which allocates up to $1.9 billion annually for maintenance and improve- ments to critical facilities and infrastructure in national parks, forests, wildlife ref- uges, recreation areas and Tribal schools.
