‘Metrics’ will guide back-to-school decisions BY CLAUDIA ELLIOTT Pilot Editor
Metrics is a word you’ll hear a lot as officials make decisions about back-to-school in the coming weeks. Metrics are just that — the data used to measure and evaluate the spread of COVID-19 through our communities. In a July 29 letter to Brookings-Harbor School District families, Superintendent of Schools David Marshall reported on the latest guidance received from the State of Oregon this week. “Yesterday, Oregon Governor Kate Brown announced a new set of metrics that will determine when schools can safely reopen their buildings to return to in-person learning. The key met-
rics are based on both state-level infection and positive test rates of Coronavirus/“COVID-19” as well as local county-level infection and positive test rates,” Marshall said. In a five-page press release Tuesday (online at http://tiny. cc/jenlsz), Oregon provided guidance for school districts throughout the state. Like Brookings-Harbor and other Curry County districts, many have indicated a desire to get students back into in-person on-campus learning environments. Various scenarios have been discussed including half-day and alternating day schedules. Marshall shared his thoughts with parents after reviewing the guidance and the state and Curry County data.
School Superintendent David Marshall “If Oregon’s numbers improve and stabilize, and Curry County stays at or below current levels, there is a chance that we
may be able to safely open with in-person instruction as planned with half the students attending a morning session and the other half in an afternoon session,” he said. “However, it is likely that we may have to open school with distance learning and online learning only.” The state document notes that any in-person activity, such as re-opening salons, in-person dining and large gatherings, all risk spreading COVID-19. “Modeling shows that closing schools could prevent 2-4% of deaths from COVID-19, less than other social distancing measures,” the state said. The state cited studies, including one published July 13 by the Institute for Disease Modeling in Bellevue, Washington. That
study “demonstrated that, unless community spread is reduced, reopening schools to in-person instruction, even with protective measures like physical distancing and face coverings, will cause significant growth of the epidemic,” the state said. A June 2020 study3 by REL Mid-Atlantic noted that opening schools to in-person instruction, “…is likely to result in increased infection among children, teachers and support staff, although several of the mitigation strategies can substantially reduce the number of infections.” The study also noted that certain critical factors must be included in the decision to return to in-person instruction, including, “…the rate More School on Page A6
Archie McVay: ‘Coastie’ with a vision COVID-19 THE PILOT
A special section in this week’s edition salutes the U.S. Coast Guard, which is celebrating an important milestone — 230 years on Aug. 4. The section includes an article about the Station Chetco River in the Port of Brookings Harbor. What many may not know is that much credit for development of the port and Coast Guard station goes to a local native and former “Coastie,” Archie McVay. McVay died April 23, 2016, at the age of 95. An article in the Curry Coastal Pilot by former reporter Jane Stebbins chronicled his life and many contributions to the community. The McVay family traveled by wagon from Missouri to Smith River in 1856, the migrated north to Harbor. By the time Archie was born in 1921, the family lived on a hillside overlooking what’s now the port with a view from where the current bridge over the Chetco to Benham Point. He married Doris Drajke in 1946, and with their seven children operated a dairy on the “flats” that now make up the bulk of what is known as the Port of Brookings Harbor. But before he married and became a dairyman, Archie had been to sea. He graduated from high school in 1939 and enlisted with the Coast Guard during World War II in 1942. He was first stationed on a small patrol boat at Cascade Locks on the Columbia River at the other end of the state. Then he was transferred to LST 762 — which he termed “Large Slow Target” — as a cook and 20-millimeter gunner. His family still has a wooden footlocker emblazoned with the names of his ports of call: Honoluluu, Pearl Harbor, Guam, Saipan, Iwo Jima, Kobe and Eniewetok, among them. He spent four years in the Coast Guard, but his training served him — and his community — for a lifetime. Stebbins recounted one of Archie’s feats in her 2016 article: “McVay kept a skiff at the mouth of the Chetco in case a fisherman fell in distress, as often occurred in the tumultuous
“Coastie” Archie McVay, whose vision resulted in development in the Port of Brookings Harbor.
Salute to the U.S. Coast Guard Coast Guard Day is celebrated Aug. 4 in honor of the day in 1790 (230 years ago this coming Tuesday) that George Washington signed the Tariff Act that authorized the construction of ten vessels to enforce federal tariff and trade laws and to prevent smuggling. The Coast Guard is important to those who live along the coast, and our ten Country Media coastal newspapers — including the Curry Coastal Pilot and Del Norte Triplicate — collaborated to create the 40-page special section included with this week’s edition.
water where river meets ocean. “A memorable rescue was that of a duo whose fishing boat overturned; McVay and another man leaped into the skiff and rowed as hard as possible toward the men in the water. “One perished, but the other was rescue, cold but alive, near the Winchuck River. The men rowed all the way back to the Chetco River, by dead reckoning and memory, and as they got closer the light of fires on the beach. They arrived back at 11 p.m. Those guiding lights culminated in the creation of the U.S. Coast Guard Station many years later.” Perhaps his time at sea helped McVay develop a view toward that future possibilities of the place where the Chetco River meets the sea. Returned home after the war, by 1954 he and a group of others came up with a plan to create a protective channel for salmon. It was the first comprehensive draft for the Port of Brookings Harbor. Soon thereafter the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee approved $225,000 for the improvements, and the U.S. House of Representatives announced the award of the same amount to build rock jetties on the north and south banks, McVay owned 82 acres of river frontage and donated the easements to make the south jetty, a spoils area and the roadway, all of which were completed in 1957. He then formed Sporthaven, Inc., with an eye toward developing the harbor and port into a world-class port. The post-war years were busy in Brookings and soon there was more demand for port moorage, necessitating the creation of a larger basin on 15.5 acres McVay donated for the cause. A 120-foot dock for the Sause Bros. to use to barge lumber was added in the late 1950s. With further investments and lots of hard work over the years, the port continued to develop. As shipping increased, so did the concern for safety and there was considerable local demand for a Coast Guard station. Finally, in 1961, Station Chetco River was established. (You can read more about the station in the special supplement included with this week’s edition).
Understanding elk hoof disease Biologists look to hunters, public for help discovering elk hoof disease BY DAVID HAYES The Pilot
Wildlife biologists are hoping hunters and the general public
will help them identify potential cases of crippling hoof disease in Roosevelt elk to allow further study. Although not yet found in Curry County, the disease is spreading in other parts of Oregon and has been identified in nearby Del Norte County, California. Treponeme-associated hoof disease (TAHD) — commonly referred to as “elk hoof disease” — can cause deformed, over-
grown and otherwise damaged hooves. The lesions and resulting deformities are painful and lead to limping, lameness and even death as observed in other states. When the disease is severe, elk may become too weak to graze, fight off other infections or escape predators. In a recent presentation to the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors, California Department of Fish and Wildlife veterinarian
Emma Lantz said the disease was discovered in April in two Roosevelt elk from a resident herd in Del Norte County. She explained that scientists received increased reports of lameness in elk starting in the 1990s, but the disease was first described in Washington in 2007 and 2009. It has since spread to elk in Oregon, Idaho and California.
reports slowing,
inmate results pending THE PILOT Impacts of the pandemic — and related government mandates — continued to impact the communities of Curry and Del Norte counties this past week, as staff testing at Pelican Bay revealed 39 new confirmed cases since testing began in mid-July (two staff cases were reported in May). Inmate testing was completed earlier this week, but results were not available as of the Thursday morning deadline for this edition. When they become available, they will be reported to Del Norte County Public Health and included in that county’s statistics. As of data available late Wednesday afternoon, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reported no inmate cases; of 26 total staff who tested positive, 15 were reported to have returned to work; others were reported to be self-quarantining at home. A little more than a quarter of PBSP employees live in Curry County, but the exact number of positive cases among prison staff living in Curry had not been made public by Wednesday. Pelican Bay testing of employees who live in Del Norte County is included in that county’s data. Del Norte has excluded PBSP staff who live outside the county from its reporting (and referred that information to the employees’ home counties). It is not clear from Curry County’s data if PBSP staff testing and results is included at this time. Both Curry and Del Norte counties reported no new cases Wednesday. The latest data before the deadline for this edition showed: Curry: 5 active cases, 9 recovered cases, 987 completed tests, 958 negative cases and zero deaths. “Positivity rate” of 1.4%. From this data, the total confirmed positives for Curry and Del Norte counties is 102, with all but five recovered. Del Norte: 0 active cases, 88 recovered cases, 4,014 completed tests, 3,378 negative cases and zero deaths. “Positivity rate” of 2.19%. Wednesday data showed a 5.1% positivity rate in Oregon, down from 6.6% last week, and a 7.4% positivity rate in California. Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. an online report with the latest available information about COVID-19 is published on currypilot.com and triplicate.com.