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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (July 8, 2022)
The Columbia Press July 8, 2022 3 Agencies work to solve child care shortage Clatsop County’s two pri- ing workforce and communi- mary care hospitals have ty. CMH will continue to be engaged and involved joined forces to allevi- in finding a resolution ate the region’s child to this issue.” care shortage. The county has ex- Columbia Memori- perienced a loss of al Hospital in Asto- over 1,000 child care ria and Providence slots in the last sev- Seaside Hospital eral years. During the serve approximate- COVID-19 pandemic, ly 60,000 patients Williams the issue escalated and have a combined when several pro- workforce of more viders closed their than 1,000 employ- doors. In 2021, the ees. county established Without support the Clatsop Childcare for working parents, Advisory Group, with some families have representatives from been forced to choose CMH and Providence between working or Coplin Seaside on the com- caring for their chil- mittee. dren full time, hospi- “Having access to afford- tal officials said. Child care is essential to maintaining a able child care is essential for our caregivers,” said Rebec- strong workforce. “The closures of child care ca Coplin, chief executive at centers in our community Providence. “We have heard have caused great concern for from our caregivers and the CMH and for our caregivers,” community how the lack of said Nicole Williams, chief child care critically affects operations officer for CMH. their daily lives. We are com- “Having access to child care is mitted to working with this necessary to support a grow- group of partners to do all we Liberty Theatre wins grant Liberty Theatre in Asto- ria will receive a grant for $146,000 to hire marketing staff to support performing arts on the Oregon Coast. The grant was announced last week by the M.J. Charita- ble Trust as part of its spring 2022 grants report. The report details 76 grants valued at $32.5 million to nonprofit groups in the Pa- cific Northwest. The theater grant is the only one to be distributed in Clatsop Coun- ty. can to continue to find solu- tions.” The group decided a pro- gram should be established to provide stable support for current providers and incen- tives for new providers. It proposed the Retention & Expansion Child Care Grant program, which was ap- proved at the June 22 com- mittee meeting. The program will begin with $500,000 in federal funding provided by Clatsop County through its COVID relief entitlement. The hospitals, along with the county and the Columbia Pacific Economic Develop- ment District, are working together to find grants that can be awarded and moni- tored. Licensed child care provid- ers in the county can apply for grants, and the Clatsop Small Business Development Center will provide business and eco- nomic support to them. Providence Seaside recent- ly pledged $100,000 toward the program through its Community Health Division and CMH committed more than $50,000 to help support Astoria’s Lil’ Sprouts and the new Bumble Art Studio day care. The U.S. Coast Guard in As- toria also plans to open a sep- arate child development cen- ter for its members, which also could provide slots for children in the community. Public safety calls Continued from Page 2 2, 32400 block Turlay Lane. • Medical response, 4:41 p.m. July 2, 200 block Southwest Alder Avenue. • Medical response, 12:50 a.m. July 3, 1300 block Northwest Warrenton Drive. • Medical response, 6:03 p.m. July 3, 600 block Fifth Avenue. • Medical response, 7:18 a.m. July 4, 92200 block Whiskey Road. • Medical response, 10:36 a.m. July 4, 33200 block Sunset Beach Lane. • Medical response, 1:50 p.m. July 4, CMH clinic. • Medical response, 7:05 p.m. July 4, Walmart. • Injury from fireworks, 11:07 p.m. July 4, Sunset Beach Ap- proach. • Medical response, 1:25 a.m. July 5, 0-100 block Northwest 17th Place. • Medical response, 2:10 a.m. July 5, 1600 block Honeysuckle Loop. • Medical response, 2:54 a.m. July 5, 33200 block Sunset Beach Lane. Courtesy Warrenton Police Department A fallen tree closes northbound lanes of Highway 101. Driver injured in Highway 101 crash A man was hospitalized early Tuesday after he suf- fered a medical condition and veered off the highway, striking a tree. The man, whose name wasn’t released, was headed north on Highway 101 near Ocean Crest Motors about 7:45 a.m. when he struck the tree, which fell across the northbound lane, Police Chief Matt Workman said. “Luckily, other motorists were able to avoid the tree and no other crashes oc- curred,” Workman said. Some people stopped to as- sist and help open the road to traffic, but others drove past in an unsafe manner. The scene was complex, Workman said, but the com- bined effort of Warrenton Police Department, Warren- ton Fire Department, Medix Ambulance, Oregon Depart- ment of Transportation, and Classic Towing helped extri- cate the driver, get him to the hospital, clear the tree and remove the vehicle.
