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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (March 13, 2020)
March 13, 2020 T he C olumbia P ress 5 Program a boost for healthy babies City’s new fire rules to cover burn barrels, debris piles Families in Clatsop County and seven other areas of the state will be among the first given an option of receiving nurse home visits after the birth of a child. The new statewide initia- tive, called Family Connects, is the result of Senate Bill 526, which was passed by the state legislature last year. The eight “early-adopt- er communities” are part of the Oregon Health Authori- ty’s debut of a program that eventually will become na- tionwide. Family Connects is a voluntary, evidence-based model that supports children and families at a critical time: a child’s birth, program lead- ers say. Family Connects Oregon identifies what families want from local resources, and then provides an individu- alized path into an array of community services. The sys- tem includes referrals to oth- er, more established home visiting programs that are eligibility-based rather than universally offered to all, as the comprehensive Family Connects program will be. Services are intended to Local officers graduate from police academy Two of Warrenton Police Department’s newest recruits graduate today from the ba- sic police academy in Salem. The 16-week academy in- cludes survival skills, firearms, emergency vehicle operations, ethics, cultural diversity, com- munity policing, elder abuse, and drug recognition. Officers Madyson Hanna and Dylan McCoy were hired late last year to replace of- ficers who have retired or moved from the area. Cannon Beach Officer Jen- ny Thompson-Kiefer also graduates today. make improvements in child health, child development, school readiness, family eco- nomic self-sufficiency, ma- ternal health, positive par- enting, and the reduction of juvenile delinquency, family violence, and crime. Oregon Health Authority was tasked with overseeing the program of providing nurse home visits to all fam- ilies with newborns living in the state. The eight agencies first to begin the program are Clat- sop County Department of Public Health, Eastern Oregon Early Learning Hub, Early Learn- ing Hub of Central Oregon, Four Rivers Early Learning Hub, Lane County Health and Human Services, Early Learning Hub of Linn, Ben- ton & Lincoln Counties, Mar- ion & Polk Early Learning Hub, and Washington Coun- ty Public Health. “We want Oregon to be the best place in the country to have and raise a child,” said Cate Wilcox, manager of the Maternal and Child Health Section at the OHA Public Health Division. For more information, visit healthoregon.org/homevisit- ing. B y C indy y ingst The Columbia Press Before striking that match, make sure you’re not doing something illegal. Warrenton is poised to adopt new rules regarding outdoor burning. While barbecues and small recreational fires in backyard fire pits would be allowed without a permit, all other forms of burning within city limits would be regulated. “Most of our complaints that come are from people clearing their lots … to pre- pare it for building,” Fire Chief Brian Alsbury said. The new rules, which re- quire a public hearing before adoption, would require res- idents to obtain permits for use of a burn barrel or small debris pile and include a city safety inspection. City commissioners were concerned about placing too many regulations on respon- sible residents. “There have been burn bar- rels in the city my entire life,” Commissioner Mark Baldwin said. “The ones who do this every year and we’ve nev- er had a complaint against, we’re penalizing them be- cause of the jackwagons on and $50 for larger the other end doing piles up to 10-feet in whatever they want.” circumference. No He was opposed to slash burning would the fire chief’s propos- be allowed. al to charge up to $75 “We’re just trying to a year, which would eliminate people from cover an initial safe- taking down trees and ty inspection, printed burning the whole material on fire safety Alsbury thing or bringing and rules and a year’s waste from several ar- worth of allowed eas and doing it all in burning. one location,” Alsbury Mayor Henry Balen- said. sifer wanted to ensure The burning of in- people could burn dustrial, construction, branches and other demolition and home yard debris that falls waste would not be al- during winter storms. Baldwin lowed under the new “It makes no sense to rules. create a rule that’s un- A review of the city’s rules enforceable,” he said. In the end, commissioners arose last year after a devel- agreed to keep the cost of oper sent smoke through the permits low -- $25 for burn city one weekend by burning barrels and small debris piles felled trees in large slash piles. Take the headache out of health care with CMH Medical Group & Urgent Care–Seaside. Conveniently located on U.S. Highway 101 in the Seaside Outlet Mall, CMH-Seaside is open seven days a week, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. URGENT care Specialty care labs & x-rays CMH-Seaside columbiamemorial .org At the Seaside Outlet Mall 1111 N. Roosevelt Drive #210 Seaside, OR Tel: (503) 738-3002
