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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 2020)
The Columbia Press October 30, 2020 County voter turnout high Voter turnout is ahead of expectations, Clatsop Coun- ty Clerk Tracie Krevanko said. More than 51.39 percent of voters had cast ballot for a total of 15,500 ballots countywide. “That puts us a full week ahead of the last election,” Krevanko told county com- missioners at their meeting Wednesday evening. “Drop sites … are working great. Everything is going real- ly smoothly. I’m just glad people are being active this time.” County elections staff were expected to begin opening ballots on Thursday and scanning them on Friday. To learn whether your ballot has been received, go online to oregonvotes.gov/ myvote. Local man arrested in Portland riot An Astoria man has been charged with civil disorder during protests in Portland. Ty John Fox, 23, was charged by the U.S. Attor- ney’s Office last week in a one-count indictment. Fox was part of a group protesting near the Portland Police Bureau’s East Precinct building on Sept. 6, accord- ing to court records. He was seen on video with other protesters who had formed a line in the street across from Portland offi- cers and Oregon State Police troopers. Fox can be seen, while walking behind the line of protesters, turning toward the camera, using a torch lighter to ignite a large cylin- drical firework, and throwing the device over the protesters toward the officers, U.S. At- torney Billy J. Williams wrote in a press release. Moments later, an explosion and flash occurred near the officers. Fox was arrested later that night and made his initial ap- pearance in federal court Oct. 23 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Youlee Yim You. He was arraigned, pleaded not guilty, and ordered released pending a two-day jury trial scheduled to begin on Dec. 29. The case will be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Company fined for DEQ violations Trails End Recovery in Warrenton was one of 35 companies and municipali- ties statewide fined for vari- ous environmental violations in the past two months. The company was fined $89,820 for stormwater vio- lations, according to a press release from the Department of Environmental Quality. Organizations or individu- als must pay the fines or file an appeal within 20 days of receiving notice of the pen- alty. They may be able to offset a portion of a penalty by funding a supplemental environmental project that improves Oregon’s environ- ment. Penalties may also include orders requiring specific tasks to prevent ongoing vio- lations or additional environ- mental harm. Fines ranged from $350 to $308,656. Trails End, owned by Dean Larson Inc., has an 8.5-acre wood processing, recycling and excavating company near the airport. It was estab- lished in 2001 as a state-cer- tified materials recovery and recycling facility. 3 Coronavirus cases grow locally, statewide The Columbia Press Clatsop County Public Health officials reported 14 new cases of coronavirus in the past seven days ending Wednesday. One case involved a girl age 9 or younger. Three were in their 70s, two were in their 60s, two were in their 50s, two were in their 40s, three were in their 30s, and one was in her 20s. All but three lived in north Clatsop County. As of Wednesday, the coun- ty had recorded 250 cases of COVID-19 since the pandem- ic began. Of those, 234 had recovered. None has been hospitalized and the county has recorded no deaths. Statewide Statewide, there had been 43,228 cases as of Wednes- day with 671 deaths. Oregon Health Authority released its weekly report on Wednesday, which showed a 14 percent increase in cases from the previous week and a record high for the pan- demic. The number of newly test- ed Oregonians rose to 31,448 during the week and the per- centage of positive tests held steady at 6.5 percent. Statewide, 143 people were hospitalized for coronavirus during the week. People ages 20 to 49 ac- counted for the largest per- centage of infection at 56 per- cent, despite accounting for 39 percent of the total pop- ulation. Those younger than 30 accounted for 37 percent of the cases. People older than 80 ac- counted for 51 percent of COVID-related deaths. When deaths of people age 70 and older are added, they make up 75 percent of virus-related deaths in the state. Wastewater monitoring The state has begun releas- ing data on its wastewater monitoring project. The data show where the virus is detected in small- to medium-sized communities around the state, including Astoria. There are 29 communities participating. A map shows whether COVID-19 is “detected” or “not detected” in a commu- nity. If the map shows “not de- tected” for a community, it doesn’t mean that the com- munity is free of COVID-19, the state warns. Instead, it means that the virus may still be present in the area but be- low detection levels. Unfortunately, monitors were able to detect the virus in Astoria’s wastewater. The monitoring serves as an “early warning” system to tell us if the disease is spreading silently in communities, OHA said. OHA launched the project in the early fall with funding from the CDC. To find the map, go to the Oregon Health Authority’s website and find the link for Oregon’s SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater Monitoring. Long-term care Licensed nursing, assisted living and residential care fa- cilities that qualify can begin allowing limited indoor vis- itation for residents starting Nov. 2. Residents may have up to two visitors at a time in an approved area. To qualify, a facility must: Have no suspected or cur- rent COVID-19 cases, follow visitation requirements, and be in a community with a low or medium rate of virus expo- sure. City of Warrenton Committee Vacancies The City of Warrenton seeks people interested in apply- ing for vacancies on the City’s various committees. We have vacancies on the following boards: • • • • • • • Warrenton Budget Committee - 2 positions (3 year term) Warrenton Planning Commission - 2 positions (4 year term) Warrenton Community Center Board - 4 positions (4 year term) Warrenton Parks Advisory Board - 2 positions (3 year term) Warrenton Parks Advisory Board - 1 vacancy (1 year term) Warrenton Community Library Board - 4 positions (4 year term) Warrenton Urban Renewal Advisory Committee - 3 positions (2 year term) Applications are due by Nov. 30, 2020. This is an excellent opportunity to participate in the im- portant decisions affecting your community. For more information and appointment qualifications go to the City’s website at www.ci.warrenton.or.us, (click on the “Community” tab at top of the page and then “Citi- zen Involvement” from the drop-down menu). If you need additional information, please contact Dawne Shaw, City Recorder at 503- 861-0823 or via email at - cityrecorder@ ci.warrenton.or.us.
