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Citizen September 24, 2020
$1.50 Volume 26, No. 18
Tillamook County at 44 positive COVID-19 cases Hilary Dorsey
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Staff Writer
he Tillamook County Board of Commissioners held their weekly community update meeting Friday, Sept. 18, through teleconference and discussed COVID-19 updates, resources for depression and anxiety, and the aftermath of local fires. “Our PPE supply is good,” Adventist Health Tillamook President Eric Swanson said.
Tillamook County Community Health Centers Administrator Marlene Putman said if you are feeling anxiety or depression, connect with resources. You can reach out to your behavioral health or primary care provider at the health center or connect with the Tillamook Family Counseling Center. The county is at 50 total cases with three new positive cases as of Sept. 14; six presumptive, and 44 positive, Putman said. Age ranges for
the three new cases are 50-59, 60-69 and 70-79. There are six active cases and 44 closed cases. The health center reports that two people are currently hospitalized out of the county with COVID-19 related illness this week. There have been zero COVID-19 related deaths in the county and 2,847 negative tests. Tillamook Family Counseling Center Executive Director Frank Hanna-Williams said if you have concerns about
anxiety and depression, please reach out. You can reach the counseling center at 503-8428201 or 1-800-962-2851. Hanna-Williams said they were able to provide support to some Lincoln County residents when they evacuated to Tillamook County. Gordon McCraw, incident command and emergency management, said as of Thursday, Sept. 17, the Oregon Department of Forestry called the Pike Road Fire 301 acres and 100 percent
Let’s play pickleball
contained. This was one of the biggest fires the county has seen and no homes were lost, McCraw added. He said it was an honor to lead the incident command team. The community also stepped up in countless ways. A shelter was open at the Tillamook County Fairgrounds and most of the individuals sheltered there were from Otis. Oregon Rep. David Gomberg said the fires at the north edge of Lincoln County
were close to Tillamook County. There are still large areas on the northern edge of Lincoln County that are closed. “The pictures are just heart wrenching,” Gomberg said of the fires that took place throughout Oregon. “There are entire communities that have just been reduced to ash and twisted metal.” Send comments to: headlightreporter@countrymedia. net
Creamery, Visit Tillamook Coast team up for grant funding W
A grant of $73,800 along with a Friends of NCRD donation of $1,400 and funds from NCRD and the Nehalem Bay Pickleball Club, pickleball can be played on new courts. Courtesy photos.
New pickleball courts now in play in Nehalem I
t all started in July, 2017, when members of the Nehalem Bay Pickleball club came in to talk about the possibility of building pickleball courts. Pickleball is considered to be the fastest growing sport in the country, and the representatives explained that there is only one older court in the area. Often there is a lengthy wait for a court because of the number of people wanting to play. It took time, but eventually a plan was developed for NCRD to apply for a grant from Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD). The club’s role was to assist by raising over $10,000 in donations and securing numerous letters of support from the community, necessary components in a successful grant application. The OPRD grant was submitted in the spring of 2019 and was awarded last September in the amount of $73,800.
The Friends of NCRD also donated $1,400 to the project, with the balance funded by NCRD. There was still of lot of work to do. Construction plans had to be completed, and Brittell Architecture (with Jim Fanjoy in Nehalem) was hired to design the courts. First, we had to have the NCRD property on 7th street surveyed. Then we had a geotechnical survey completed because of the low elevation of the land. Eventually it was determined that construction of the courts was feasible. The project was advertised locally and state-wide. The low bidder was Bob McEwan Construction in Gearhart. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on May 29th, with many community members in attendance, and excavation started the following Monday. Several more phases of construction continued through the summer and work
was completed on Sept. 4. A grand opening ceremony was held Sept. 11, featuring sparkling wine, champagne, and pickles with cheese balls. About 50 people attended, including many members of the Nehalem Bay Pickleball Club. In attendance were Michael McEwan from McEwan Construction, Scott Havens from Pacific Ace LL, NCRD Board Chair Jack Bloom, Nehalem Bay Pickleball President Gordon Louie, past President David Gostnell, and Friends of NCRD President Constance Shimek. The courts are open for use by the general public at no charge. The courts may be reserved for specific times for a small fee. NCRD appreciates the support from the Nehalem Bay Pickleball Club, the Friends of NCRD, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, and the City of Nehalem for making this project a reality.
Rockaway Beach Lions help SOLVE beach cleanup Hilary Dorsey
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Staff Writer
he Rockaway Beach Lions Club hosted a beach cleanup Saturday, Sept. 19. The event was part of SOLVE Oregon’s annual Beach & Riverside Cleanup and the International Coastal Cleanup, a worldwide effort to keep our beaches healthy. Organizer Mark Fiebig said the cleanup had 30 volunteers
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on the beach: seven youth and 23 adults. Thirteen volunteers had originally signed up online on SOLVE’s website. “Typically we would have 70-90 people,” Fiebig said. An estimated 400 pounds of trash were collected, Fiebig added. This is about half of what is usually collected during cleanups. At this cleanup, people found cigarette butts, plastic bottles and dog poop bags. “Most interesting was a Neah-Kah-Nie High School freshman who found an injured Cooper’s hawk,” Fiebig said. “She called wildlife rescue and stayed with it until rescuers showed up.” Hauling, disposal and recycling services were donated by R Sanitary and Tillamook County. The Lions Club provided snacks, refreshments
and free hot dogs as a thank you to the volunteers. SOLVE’s 37th annual Beach & Riverside Cleanup will continue with events until Oct. 4 with volunteer litter cleanups and restoration efforts both along the coast and inland. An increase in reports of coastal litter throughout the
summer, including take out food containers and personal protective equipment, has fueled volunteer efforts to care for Oregon beaches. There are a total of 45 project locations throughout Oregon, including 11 beach cleanups that took place on Sept. 19.
hen locals need help, organizations throughout Tillamook County step up. It happens after natural disasters, accidents, business setbacks and now the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the Tillamook County Creamery Association’s Hometown Resilience Fund, plus a portion of the lodging tax managed by Tillamook Coast Visitors Association (Visit Tillamook Coast), assistance is on the way for tourism businesses hit hard by closures, furloughs, and vastly reduced revenues. The Marketing Renewal Grant will help local businesses with promotions in 2021 as they recover from the impacts of COVID-19. Applicants can apply for up to $20,000 and must submit a marketing work plan as part of the application process. Collaboration with other tourism businesses and individuals is highly recommended, and support by the tourism organization will be available throughout the year. “We’re taking a different approach with this grant, one that I’ve seen be very helpful – the cohort model,” said Nan Devlin, executive director of Tillamook Coast Visitors Association. “I’ve taken part in cohorts with Travel Oregon and Business Oregon, and we used it during the planning of the North Coast Food Trail in 2017. It’s a way to share ideas and conduct business together, all while the grantees implement their market outreach.” Devlin said if COVID-19 continues to be a public safety issue in 2021, or the state mandates continued closures that impact the ability to fully conduct tourism-related business, Tillamook Coast Visitors Association would revise the marketing project schedule if needed. The grant application opens Sept. 1; submission deadline is Nov. 1. Download the information packet and application at www.tillamookcoast.com/grants. For questions about the grant, contact Amy Blackburn, grants administrator, at amy@tillamookcoast.com “When our communities are strong, so are we, and we want to support the people and place that have supported us for decades,” said Paul Snyder, executive vice president of Stewardship at the Tillamook County Creamery Association. “We are hopeful that these funds will bring a little relief to the important businesses that make up the fabric of our community.”
Meditation series offered at Hoffman Center in October A
six-week meditation series offered by the Art of Aging/Art of Dying will begin on Sunday, Oct. 4, at 9 a.m. The series is open to experienced meditators as well as beginners. The group will explore several different types of meditation practices, including guided meditations, mantras and breath focus. There also will be discussion of ways meditation helps bodies and minds. Multiple studies have shown that by reducing stress, meditation can help with age-related issues such as poor sleep, anxiety, memory loss and high blood pressure. Chairs will be provided, but attendees can bring yoga mats or meditation cushions if they prefer. If you have physical constraints, you can meditate in the sessions sitting, lying down or standing, whatever is most comfortable. Due to social distancing requirements for indoor events, class size will be limited to 10 people. Pre-registration at https://hoffmanarts.org/events/meditation_ series/ is required, because of the restricted class size. The cost for the series is $25. The class will have multiple instructors, each with experience teaching different meditation styles. For further information, contact dcipolla3@gmail.com.