State-issued 2-week freeze now in effect MONIQUE MERRILL chronicle2@countrymedia.net
In response to rising COVID-19 cases statewide, Gov. Kate Brown has issued a two-week freeze across Oregon. Starting today, Nov. 18, the state will enter a two-week freeze on social gatherings and certain business operations to curb the spread of the disease, Brown announced in a press conference Friday. Certain counties, like Multnomah, will be frozen longer. In Multnomah’s case it will be frozen for at least four weeks, and Brown said the freeze may be extended for other areas as well. The freeze comes one week after Brown announced a two-week pause on social activities in counties with high rates of cases. “Unfortunately, since then we’ve
seen an alarming spike in both cases and COVID-19 hospitalizations,” Brown said. “Today we top over 1,000 cases again.” On Thursday, Nov. 12, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reported the highest one-day case count since the pandemic began, at 1,122 cases. On Friday the OHA announced 1,071 new cases. The high-count trend continued through the weekend, with daily numbers hovering around 1,000. Columbia County reported its highest number of new daily cases on Saturday, at 11. The previous record was eight. “The dreaded winter surge is here,” Brown said. The freeze is intended to reduce transmission of the virus and prevent more people from needing hospital services, which are at or nearing capacity in metropolitan areas, she said.
and medical spas) will remain open under strict guidelines and schools that continue to meet the metrics required to open will be allowed to stay open. Business:
gatherings) • Faith-based organizations are limited to 25 people indoors or 50 people outdoors • No indoor visitation in longterm care facilities
“This isn’t just about COVID-19 patients,” Brown said. “The next time you need urgent care, the last thing you want to hear is the ambulance has nowhere to go.” What it means The key differences between this freeze and the stay-at-home order issued in March are that parks and playgrounds will remain open, personal services (like physical therapy
Must close:
• Work-from-home to the greatest extent possible • Restaurants and bars are delivery and take-out only • Grocery stores and pharmacies are limited to 75% capacity and should encourage curbside pick up • Retail stores and malls (both indoor and outdoor) are limited to 75% capacity and should encourage curbside pick up Social gatherings:
• Gyms and fitness centers • Indoor recreation facilities, museums, indoor and outdoor entertainment activities • Sports courts, indoor and outdoor pools, gardens • Aquariums, zoos, venues that host or facilitate indoor or outdoor events The two-week period includes Thanksgiving, and people are asked to modify their Thanksgiving plans to follow the new restrictions,
• Limited to no more than six people total, from no more than two households (indoor and outdoor
See COVID-19 Page A4
City reviews size, cost of new public safety facility public safety facility, but that the needs assessment will help determine the size of the building. “From the size of the building, as of right now, we can only use construction estimates based on square footage,” Brown said. “Those estimates can range widely because of the type of structure and purpose of the building. So we are not ready to put a price on the building at this time. The next step is for Mackenzie to use their engineering team to put an engineering estimate on the building and that is the number the City will use to move forward with funding strategies.” The city also established a 21-member ad hoc committee which began meeting in October
JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
New details are emerging concerning the City of St. Helens’ effort to build a public safety facility that would include the city’s police department, municipal court, city council chambers, a community room and a backup emergency operations center. In February, following a review of land for the project, the St. Helens City Council selected property at the intersection at Kaster Road and Old Portland Road for the site of the new facility. St. Helens Assistant City Administrator Matt Brown said the city has conducted a needs assessment to design a facility that will serve the long terms needs of the growing community.
Drawing courtesy of the City of St. Helens
This is a conceptual drawing of what the new St. Helens Public Safety Facility could look like. It would contain the city’s pubic safety departments, including the police department, municipal court and city council chambers.
“Based on this assessment, the facility will require a 21,000 square foot single-story building,” Brown said.
The City of St. Helens contracted with Mackenzie Architecture, a Portland-based engineering, design and planning
company, to conduct the needs assessment. Brown said the city has not yet determined the cost of the new
Small tornado hits St. Helens
See FACILITY Page A8
ing across the earth,” Macke said. While there have been no reports of injury, the tornado did cause damage to local homes in the path of the weather event. Two trees fell on Laurie and Gary Hallaian’s property off of Pittsburgh Road. One fell in the front, and the other toward the back side of the house. Both narrowly missed the house itself, but one destroyed part of the back deck. “Both windows are plastered in debris,” Laurie Hallaian said. A patch of fence dividing the Hallaians’ property with their neighbors was blown down as well, marking the storm’s trail. Neighbors in the area said they heard debris hitting their homes and saw a flurry of leaves swirling down, through the neighborhood. It’s thought the storm blew in from down toward McBride Elementary School where another tree was knocked over. NWS meteorologist David
JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
MONIQUE MERRILL chronicle2@countrymedia.net
A small tornado damaged nearby homes as it touched down in northwest St. Helens Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 10, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Shortly after the weather event, NWS Meteorologist Rebecca Muessle told The Chronicle that her agency had received video from a citizen that shows the tornado touching down and flying debris in the area. “Based on that video and reports from first responders on the scene, it appears that it has the characteristics that are looked for in a tornado,” she said. “We ask that if you see these rotating clouds, especially if they start to head to the ground, that you head indoors due to the possible danger.” Columbia River Fire & Rescue and the Columbia County Sher-
Monique Merrill / The Chronicle
The tornado sent trees down narrowly missing the home of Laurie and Gary Hallaian but damaging their deck off of Pittsburgh Road in St. Helens. See more photos and video at thechronicleonline.com.
iff’s Office also received reports of the tornado and respond to the scene. The NWS conducted a storm survey of the tornado following
the event and rated it as an EF-0, with a path length of 1.7 miles. NWS meteorology technician Gerald Macke said the tornado had wind speeds of 60 to 65 miles
per hour in the funnel cloud. “It was on the ground for an estimated six minutes and we are estimating 15 to 20 miles an hour is how fast the tornado was mov-
See TORNADO Page A8