A2
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2022
MARCHING FOR CHOICE
IN BRIEF
Vehicle of former Cornelius mayor
found with human remains inside
The vehicle of a Cornelius man with ties to Asto-
ria who disappeared a year ago was found submerged
in the Willamette River in the Newberg area on Friday
with human remains inside.
Ralph Brown, 77, was last seen on May 16, 2021.
His 2014 blue Nissan Sentra had come to rest 40 feet
underwater near a boat ramp, according to the Wash-
ington County Sheriﬀ ’s Oﬃ ce.
The Astoria Police Department assisted in the orig-
inal search for Brown. The circumstances of his death
are still under investigation, the sheriﬀ ’s oﬃ ce said in
a release.
Brown was mayor of Cornelius about 40 years ago.
— The Astorian
LUBA again sends Port Westward
expansion back to Columbia County
The state Land Use Board of Appeals has for a
third time remanded a decision by Columbia County
to rezone 837 acres of agricultural land for industrial
development at Port Westward.
In its ruling in May, LUBA sided with environmen-
tal and land use organizations that the county did not
adequately demonstrate how proposed industrial uses
may be compatible with surrounding property, includ-
ing farms.
The land, purchased by the Port of Columbia County
in 2010, is adjacent to the Port Westward Industrial
Park along the Columbia River near Clatskanie.
Port oﬃ cials have long sought to rezone the 837
acres to expand Port Westward and attract more indus-
trial tenants. Opponents, however, worry the site will
become a hub for fuel development, threatening the
area’s air and water quality.
— Capital Press
MEMORIALS
Nicole Bales/The Astorian
Saturday, May 21
Memorials
HUNT, Randall W.
“Randy” (aka “Bert”) —
Celebration of life from 1
to 4 p.m., Wickiup Senior
Citizen Center, 92650
Svensen Market Road.
IVANOFF,
Blaine
Dean — Celebration of
life from 1 to 4 p.m.,
Holiday Inn Express &
Suites Astoria, 204 W.
Marine Drive.
JOHNSON, Weston
(Tony) MacLeod II —
Service at 1 p.m., St.
Catherine of Alexan-
dria Episcopal Church,
36335 Highway 101 N.
in Nehalem.
Sunday, May 22
MARSHALL, Mike
— Celebration of life at
2 p.m., Bob Chisholm
Community Center, 1225
Avenue A in Seaside.
Menacing
41, of
On
the
Record
• Imelda
Cantu-Brad-
indicted
Astoria, was
on Friday for
ﬁ rst-degree aggravated
theft, identity theft and
16 counts of ﬁ rst-degree
forgery. The crimes are
alleged to have occurred
between
July
and
October.
Theft
• Trisha Dawn Cowles,
41, of Bend, was arrested
on Saturday at Walmart
in Warrenton for ﬁ rst-de-
gree theft and ﬁ rst-degree
criminal trespass.
DUII
• Bryce Westly Hall,
26, of Astoria, was
arrested on May 10 at
Fifth Street and Marine
Drive in Astoria for driv-
ing under the inﬂ uence of
intoxicants.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY
Port of Astoria Commission, 4 p.m., 10 Pier 1, Suite 209.
Seaside School District Board, 6 p.m., 2600 Spruce Drive,
Suite 200, Secondary School Library.
Shoreline Sanitary District Board, 7 p.m., Hertig Station,
33496 W. Lake Road in Warrenton.
WEDNESDAY
Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, 10 a.m., work
session, (electronic meeting).
Seaside Tourism Advisory Committee, 3 p.m., City Hall,
989 Broadway.
Seaside Tree Board, 4 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway.
Knappa School District Board, 6:30 p.m., Knappa High
School Library, 41535 Old U.S. Highway 30.
THURSDAY
Seaside Transportation Advisory Committee, 6 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
FRIDAY
Astoria City Council, 9 a.m., work session, City Hall, 1095
Duane St.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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DailyAstorian.com
State issues new health
advisory for schools on virus
By ELIZABETH
MILLER
Oregon Public
Broadcasting
ON THE RECORD
shaw, 51, of Astoria, was
arrested on Wednesday at
the intersection of Coni-
fer Lane and Lewis and
Clark Road for menacing
and unlawful possession
of a weapon — a knife —
with intent to use.
Criminal mischief
• Michael Wade Ham-
mond, 34, of Astoria, was
arrested on Wednesday
for second-degree crimi-
nal mischief for breaking
a window at an apartment
complex on W. Marine
Drive, and for aggravated
harassment for allegedly
spitting in an oﬃ cer’s
face.
Aggravated theft
• Sarah Leigh Eaton,
People marched in downtown Astoria on Saturday afternoon in support of abortion rights. Hundreds of marches took place
across the United States as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to issue a new abortion ruling.
Circulation phone number:
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COVID-19 cases are ris-
ing in Oregon and state edu-
cation oﬃ cials are hoping
to keep cases from disrupt-
ing school operations with a
new health advisory shared
Friday.
“When school commu-
nities have illness rates that
result in high numbers of
staﬀ and student absences,
they should lean into the
protection oﬀ ered by lay-
ered mitigation safety pro-
tocols,” said Colt Gill, the
director of the state Depart-
ment of Education.
School districts and
schools should recom-
mend face coverings before
shifting to remote school
in response to increasing
COVID cases, the state said.
The statewide announce-
ment comes as Multnomah
County p ublic h ealth oﬃ -
cials urged residents to
wear masks indoors until
cases and hospitalizations
fall again.
COVID-19
Commu-
nity Levels, a federal Cen-
‘WHEN SCHOOL COMMUNITIES
HAVE ILLNESS RATES THAT
RESULT IN HIGH NUMBERS OF
STAFF AND STUDENT ABSENCES,
THEY SHOULD LEAN INTO THE
PROTECTION OFFERED BY
LAYERED MITIGATION SAFETY
PROTOCOLS.’
Colt Gill | director of the state Department of Education
ters for Disease Control
and Prevention data point
based on COVID-19 hospi-
talization data, are listed as
“medium” in six counties:
Multnomah, Washington,
Clackamas, Columbia, Ben-
ton and Deschutes.
All other Oregon coun-
ties have “low” COVID-19
community levels.
According to health
authority data, pediatric
COVID-19 cases have been
increasing since the middle
of March, similar to cases
statewide. Hospitalizations
remain low but are on the
rise. Health oﬃ cials have
called it “a mild virus” in
most cases.
The advisory also rec-
ommends that schools mon-
itor for high absentee rates
and notify their local public
health authority if absences
reach a certain level, or if
they see an “ unusual spread
of disease.”
The Department of Edu-
cation said school lead-
ers should tell their county
health oﬃ cials if absences
exceed certain bench-
marks, such as if absences
reach 30% or more, with
at least 10 students or staﬀ
absent at the school level,
and if classroom absences
reach 20% or more, with at
least three students or staﬀ
absent.
“Some public health rec-
ommendations may include
universal use of face cov-
erings while an outbreak
is active, utilizing the
enhanced testing program
within cohorts, or other
infection prevention and
control measures,” accord-
ing to the advisory.
The advisory adds that
families and residents
should keep children expe-
riencing COVID-like symp-
toms home from school and
get them tested for the virus.
The school health advi-
sory is in eﬀ ect until Aug. 31
unless otherwise updated.
COVID-19′s impact on
schools next school year is
unknown, but the Depart-
ment of Education has
asked school districts to
prepare for the possibility of
a fourth school year aﬀ ected
by the pandemic.
School districts are
required to submit COVID-
19 management plans for
the next school year no later
than Aug. 26. Those plans
should outline how districts
will respond to virus out-
breaks in schools.
Bird ﬂ u strikes more ﬂ ocks in Washington state
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
Bird ﬂ u was conﬁ rmed in
two backyard ﬂ ocks in Pierce
County in w estern Washing-
ton state, the third and fourth
non commercial ﬂ ocks hit by
the virus in the state in the
past week, the Department of
Agriculture said Wednesday.
Highly pathogenic avian
inﬂ uenza was conﬁ rmed
in the ﬂ ocks Tuesday. Tur-
keys, chickens, peacocks
and waterfowl were infected.
One ﬂ ock had 60 birds, while
the other had 40, according
to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture .
The birds that didn’t die
of bird ﬂ u will be euthanized,
the state agriculture depart-
ment said.
Flock owners called the
state agriculture depart-
ment’s hotline to report an
unusual number of sudden
deaths. The department had
previously reporting ﬁ nding
bird ﬂ u in non commercial
ﬂ ocks in Paciﬁ c and Spokane
counties.
‘AVIAN INFLUENZA IS HERE.
WHETHER IT HAS BEEN
CONFIRMED IN YOUR COUNTY
YET OR NOT, YOU SHOULD BE
TAKING STEPS TO PROTECT
YOUR BIRDS AND PREVENT THE
SPREAD OF THIS VIRUS WHICH
COULD WIPE OUT YOUR FLOCK.’
Amber Itle | Washington state veterinarian
Washington wildlife oﬃ -
cials have also conﬁ rmed the
virus in a bald eagle at Loon
Lake in Stevens County and
a Canada goose in What-
com County. Eight other sus-
pected cases of avian inﬂ u-
enza in wild birds are being
investigated.
“With so many suspicious
cases in wild birds pending
investigation, I can’t empha-
size enough how import-
ant it is to avoid exposing
your ﬂ ock to wild waterfowl
and shorebirds,” Washington
State Veterinarian Amber Itle
said in a statement.
Unusual deaths or ill-
ness among domestic birds
should be reported to the
state’s a vian h ealth p rogram
at 1-800-606-3056.
The department announced
the state’s ﬁ rst case of bird ﬂ u
in early May . Since then, the
department has received nearly
two dozen calls on its hotline.
Several other suspected cases
are being investigated .
Wild birds infect domestic
birds. Both wild and domes-
tic waterfowl can be infected
and not show signs of the dis-
ease. Itle advised ﬂ ock own-
ers to prevent their birds from
coming into contact with wild
birds.
“Avian inﬂ uenza is here,”
Itle said. “Whether it has been
conﬁ rmed in your county yet
or not, you should be taking
steps to protect your birds
and prevent the spread of this
virus which could wipe out
your ﬂ ock.”
Highly pathogenic avian
inﬂ uenza has been found in
34 states, according to the
USDA. Washington and Ore-
gon are the most recent states.
The virus has killed 37.55
million domestic birds at 176
commercial farms and 120
backyard ﬂ ocks. One back-
yard ﬂ ock was hit with the
virus in Linn County . Bird ﬂ u
has been found in six back-
yard ﬂ ocks in Idaho.
No commercial farms
have been hit in the three
states.
A bird ﬂ u outbreak in the
U.S. in 2015 killed 50 million
birds.