»INSIDE
THURSDAY
JUNE 9
2022
CASTLES
IN THE
SAND
CAN NON BEAC
GATH ERING
RETURNS
ASTORIA
ART WALK
PAGE 4
BLACK
INTERPRETING
ORY
COASTAL HIST
H
PAGE 10
ERS
COA STAL FARM
MARKETS OPEN
PAGE 18
PAGE 8
WEST INC; Col-
er; COLLECTORS x 108
756
Front Page Bann
301051-1; CW x 1.5; XPos: 0 YPos: 0, Width:
or; 4
149TH YEAR, NO. 147
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2022
$1.50
Survey shows
mixed feelings
about tourism
Traffi c is among
the concerns
By SUZANNE ROIG
The Bulletin
Oregon’s natural beauty
is the No.1 draw for visi-
tors, but breweries, restau-
rants and shopping rank
second, according to a sur-
vey by the Oregon Values
and Beliefs Center.
But with that attrac-
tion comes angst from res-
idents who feel tourism
makes biking, hiking, fi sh-
ing and camping more dif-
fi cult to enjoy, according to
the May 6 to May 12 sur-
vey of 1,674 residents 18
and older.
“More people are mov-
ing here, and there are
already too many peo-
ple,” said Daniel Olson, a
Deschutes County resident.
TIRED,
WORRIED,
FRUSTRATED
“Ultimately, it increases
traffi c and drives up costs,
especially housing.”
Olson’s comments mir-
ror the survey, where 61%
of the respondents believe
that tourism causes traffi c
in their community.
But two-thirds of those
surveyed believed that
tourism brings benefi ts,
particularly economic ones,
which is the same as when
surveyed in 2021, accord-
ing to the center.
“This is a most import-
ant industry in our area, but
(we) can be overrun with
tourists at times, making
it diffi cult to move around
the area and conduct nec-
essary business, especially
for people my age,” Bob
Finch, a Deschutes County
man, wrote in the open-
ended questions. “We love
See Tourism, Page A6
County residents share views on pandemic
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
Mary Altaff er/AP Photo
More than 75% of
the respondents to
a county survey said
the pandemic had a
negative eff ect on their
mental health.
‘WE HAVEN’T
HAD TIME
TO FULLY
PROCESS
THE IMPACT
OF THE
PANDEMIC
ON OUR LIVES
BECAUSE
WE’VE
BEEN IN A
STATUS OF
UNCERTAINTY,
AND WE’VE
BEEN
COPING.’
Margo Lalich |
the county’s interim
public health director
H
ow do Clatsop County residents feel about the
coronavirus pandemic ? Tired. ■ That was the
most common answer given by participants in an
anonymous c ounty Public Health Department survey. Of 421
people who answered the question, 182 — 43% — felt that way. ■
The second-most common feeling, shared by 38% of respondents,
was worry and concern. Frustration came in third at 30%.
The survey results arrived as
virus cases in the c ounty began to
spike after steadily climbing since
mid-April. Dozens of new virus
cases have appeared over the last
week, according to the county .
The health department decided
to conduct a survey gauging pub-
lic attitudes toward the virus, and
the response to it, when the county’s
booster rate failed to track with the
county’s vaccination rate, which at
more than 74% is among the high-
est in Oregon.
Margo Lalich, the county’s
interim public health director, said
the survey results confi rm this trend.
The survey, which opened in
April and ended May 30, was not
designed to be scientifi c . The results
are also skewed by self-selection
bias: The people most likely to par-
ticipate are also more likely to be
engaged in the issues and have
strong feelings about them that
may not refl ect those of the larger
community.
But the survey results did have
information the P ublic H ealth
D epartment can use, Lalich said.
One thing the department
learned: While respondents over-
whelmingly said they had enough
information on vaccines, the county
may need to do a better job of pro-
viding info on how to get treatment
for COVID-19.
A question asked respondents
about the impact of the pandemic on
their lives.
More than 75% said the pan-
demic had a negative eff ect on their
mental health, and just over 51%
said it was bad for their physical
health. Thirty-four percent said the
pandemic hurt their fi nancial situ-
ation, and almost 38% said it had
a negative eff ect on their family
relationships. About two-thirds of
respondents said the pandemic had
no eff ect on their employment.
“We haven’t had time to fully
process the impact of the pandemic
on our lives because we’ve been in
a status of uncertainty, and we’ve
been coping,” Lalich said.
See Covid survey, Page A6
Gregory Bull/AP Photo
The rapid growth of electric scooter rentals caught many
cities by surprise.
Cannon Beach
to ban electric
scooter rentals
Latest city to embrace restrictions
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
CANNON BEACH —
In an attempt to get ahead
of electric scooter rental
companies, the City Coun-
cil agreed Tuesday night to
pursue an ordinance pro-
hibiting scooters on city
streets.
The City Council is
expected to review an ordi-
nance in early July. Peo-
ple would still be allowed
to ride personal motorized
vehicles.
Some city leaders and
residents raised concerns
about the possibility of elec-
tric scooter rentals while
drafting the city’s transpor-
tation system plan. Proj-
ect leaders recommended
the City Council consider a
prohibition, noting that the
city is limited in preventing
companies from coming.
See Scooters, Page A6
State screens newborns for rare disease
A local family helped
lead the campaign
By ABBEY McDONALD
The Astorian
Following several years of
advocacy work, new parents will
have answers to the questions
Trudy and Djordje Citovic did not
know to ask.
Starting at age 2 , their daugh-
ter, Alina, began showing signs
of issues completing some move-
ments, like running or jumping on
two feet at once. As fi rst-time par-
ents, her mom said they struggled
to determine the severity of the
issue.
At 5 , Alina was diagnosed with
a milder form of spinal muscu-
lar atrophy, a genetic neurological
disease that weakens muscles and
progresses over time. It impacts 1
in 10,000 infants and is the leading
genetic cause of infant death.
In June , the Oregon Health
Authority started screening new-
borns for the disease, a precaution
that can catch the problem early
and prevent major progression.
The Citovic’s were among a
group of families who helped
to make it happen, which Trudy
Citovic said feels surreal.
“I am so thrilled for babies,” she
said. “Actually, a friend of mine
had a baby over the weekend and
that means that his samples are
in there getting screened for spi-
nal muscular atrophy; and I hope
it comes back negative, but the fact
that it’s getting tested is huge.”
Forty-fi ve other states screen
for spinal muscular atrophy at
birth, according to the advocacy
group Cure SMA.
Citovic said that working
through the legislative process
was eye-opening. Though the bill
the group introduced didn’t make
it through the committee, she said
she worked with former state Sen.
Betsy Johnson to get funding allo-
cated to the Oregon Health Author-
ity for it.
“I got a petition with hundreds
of signatures on it sent to the L eg-
islature. None of that made a dif-
ference,” Citovic said. “In the end
it was Betsy Johnson saying, ‘I’m
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
See Disease, Page A6
Alina Citovic takes Evrysdi to treat spinal muscular atrophy.