A4 • Friday, September 2, 2022 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
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In-person learning, but COVID precautions remain
SEEN FROM SEASIDE
R.J. MARX
T
he Oregon Health Authority and
Centers for Disease Control con-
tinue to monitor individual counties
on their community levels, Seaside School
District Superintendent Susan Penrod said
at the district’s August board meeting.
Clatsop County is at a low level, she said,
enabling a continuity of in-person learning
in the Seaside School District.
“This year we will remain mask
optional and mask friendly,” she said.
During the two-week period from Aug.
7 to Aug. 20, test positivity was 10.9%,
down from 13% in the previous two-week
period, the health authority reported.
To date, Oregon has seen more than
870,000 cases and 35,000 hospitalizations,
the Oregon Health Authority reported
on Aug. 24. The state has had more than
8,300 deaths. Of reported cases from Aug.
10 to 24, 1,191 cases, or 10%, were chil-
dren 17 years or younger.
“As school begins and fall weather
means people are spending more time
indoors, individuals are encouraged to get
up to date with their COVID-19 vaccine
to protect themselves and loved ones,”
the health authority said in their biweekly
report.
At Seaside schools, masks will be on
hand, as well as hand sanitizer. COVID
tests are available upon request.
The district is following similar proto-
cols and procedures from last year, Pen-
rod said.
Frequently touched surfaces and shared
objects like toys, games and art supplies
will be cleaned daily and during any major
transitions, Penrod said. Ventilation sys-
tems will be checked and maintained
monthly by maintenance staff . Air purifi ers
will be provided to all staff with students
in classrooms.
Isolation policy is consistent with how
it was in the spring, she said. “If some-
body tests positive they are still required
to be isolated for fi ve days or longer if
their symptoms have not reduced.”
Masks are recommended for fi ve days
when students or staff return, though not
required.
Students and staff testing positive for
COVID after an exposure, having symp-
toms or contacts must isolate for fi ve days
or longer. Unvaccinated students or staff
no longer need a period of quarantine if
they test negative or do not show symp-
toms, Penrod said.
The district received close to 2,000
take-home COVID tests in the spring,
she said. “We continue to be in that home
COVID testing program and I’m sure
we’ll get more tests.”
If 30% of students in school are absent,
or 10 people absent at the same time, or
20% of the students in a single classroom,
the Clatsop County Public Health Depart-
ment must be notifi ed to determine next
steps. “That does not mean our local health
authority will necessarily ask us to go back
to virtual learning but we are required to
get their thoughts on that,” Penrod said.
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention this week recommended the
Novavax COVID-19 vaccine for children
ages 12 to 17. The vaccine is available
now for this age group in Oregon, accord-
ing to the state health authority.
Clatsop County superintendents, direc-
tors of special services and district health
Specialists attend bimonthly meetings with
the health department and representatives
from the Oregon Authority, Penrod said.
Regional superintendents from the
Northwest Regional Education Service
District, which includes Clatsop, Colum-
bia, Washington and Tillamook counties,
meet monthly to discuss this and other
issues in Hillsboro, she said. Superinten-
dents across the state meet monthly as
well.
Seaside High School and Middle
School Principal Jeff Roberts said he sees
it as a return to “business as usual.”
“There’s a sense of returning to nor-
malcy,” he said. “It’s so awesome.”
Oregon Health Authority
Cases in Oregon counties, Aug. 7-Aug. 20.
Oregon Health Authority
Severity and rates of COVID-19 by age.
R.J. Marx
Western entrance to the Seaside High School and Middle School.
Oregon Health Authority
Percentage of COVID-19 cases hospitalized by age group.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Shocked
I was shocked while stopping by the
Seaside Civic and Convention Center on
Aug. 23 that the Oregon Association of
Water Utilities was raffl ing off a rifl e as a
prize drawing.
I saw teenagers entering the area check-
ing out the gun. And here we are having
shootings everywhere, every day. Why
can’t these people do the right thing?
Alice Lane
Seaside
Vote for Laity in
House District 32
It will soon be November and time to
elect our State Representative for House
District 32. I ask that you vote for Logan
Laity, a small business owner from
Tillamook.
We have a long list of serious prob-
lems to solve, but two of the most import-
ant to me are the protection reproductive
freedoms and the climate crisis. Democrat
Logan Laity is on the right side of both of
these issues.
Reproductive freedom is on every sin-
gle ballot this fall. Republicans have abol-
ished fi fty years of settled law to rob
women of their freedom to make their
own personal reproductive choices, chang-
ing overnight what was a human right into
a felony. The Republican’s extreme forced
birther movement is out of line with the
wishes of the majority in our state and our
nation. Given the chance, Republicans
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
Kari Borgen
R.J. Marx
will do the same in Oregon. Only Demo-
crats will protect a woman’s right to make
her own private reproductive choices. The
government should not be taking over our
personal health decisions.
Global heating is upon us, and we must
continue to act. Republicans in Oregon
and around the nation have been climate
deniers and obstructors, doing the bid-
ding of the fossil fuel industry to impede
action. Only Democrats have been con-
sistently working to address this existen-
tial threat.
If you care about having a representa-
tive who understands the danger of the cli-
mate crisis and will protect the freedom
of women to make their own personal
reproductive decisions, vote for Democrat
Logan Laity for House District 32.
Eric Halperin
Gearhart
Thank you to Seaside
We wanted to say thank you to the city
of Seaside for the hospitality over Hood
to Coast weekend. From all the businesses
to a really sweet gentleman who bought
our whole van Dutch Bros. as we left Sun-
day, we appreciate the opportunity to have
done the race over the past 11 years and to
fi nish in a town we love to support.
We hope that all the participants of
HTC/PTC take the time to say both thank
you in person and fi nancially for letting us
take over the town for the weekend.
Libby Mongue-Wymore
Vancouver, Washington
CIRCULATION
MANAGER
Samantha
Stinnett
ADVERTISING
SALES MANAGER
Sarah Silver-
Tecza
PRODUCTION
MANAGER
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
John D. Bruijn
Skyler Archibald
Joshua Heineman
Katherine Lacaze
CONTRIBUTING
PHOTOGRAPHER
Jeff TerHar
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Vote for Laity
TUESDAY, SEPT. 6
Midterm elections are quickly approaching,
and virtually every major issue on the minds of
Americans is “on the ballot,” and not just at the
national level. Education, health care, safety,
and the economy are my biggest concerns for
this election.
That is why I am voting for Logan Laity
for House District 32. His track record of sup-
porting healthcare and education legislation
impresses me. Laity lobbied the Oregon leg-
islature to protect the Oregon Health Plan, to
help low-income Oregonians access needed
health care. As a healthcare provider I’m look-
ing for a leader who will work hard to protect
and improve access to healthcare for families
in our community.
My wife and I are raising two small chil-
dren, and we depend on our local schools to
provide a safe, quality education. Laity worked
to support the Student Success Act, which will
reinvest in early learning and K-12.
Many American families struggle to make
ends meet, including mine. We depend on our
leaders to work hard to boost our local econo-
mies. I support Laity because, as a member of
the Tillamook Urban Renewal Agency Board
of Directors, and a small business owner, he
supports economic development projects to
improve the lives of his neighbors. We need
this kind of change that favors the middle class
and that doesn’t further damage the environ-
ment that our children will inherit.
For these reasons, I am supporting Logan
Laity for House District 32, and ask that you
do the same.
Marc Gendelman
Astoria
Seaside Community Center Commission,
10 a.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center,
1225 Avenue A.
Seaside Library Board, 4:30 p.m., 1131
Broadway.
Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., 989
Broadway.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 7
Seaside Improvement Commission,
6 p.m., 989 Broadway.
Gearhart City Council, 7 p.m., www.cityof-
gearhart.com.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 8
Seaside Convention Center Commission,
5 p.m., 415 First Ave., Seaside.
MONDAY, SEPT. 12
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., 989 Broad-
way.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 15
Transportation Advisory Commission,
6 p.m., 989 Broadway.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 20
Community Emergency Response Team,
5 p.m., 989 Broadway.
Seaside Planning Commission, work
session, 6 p.m., 989 Broadway.
Seaside School District, 6 p.m. 2600
Spruce Drive.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 21
Tourism Advisory Committee, 3 p.m., 989
Broadway.
Seaside Tree Board, 4 p.m., 989 Broadway.
Seaside Signal
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