Superintendent departing Page A10
Beekeepers prepare for season Page A10
The Chief
FRIDAY, MAY 1, 2020
$1
VOL. 128, NO. 51
Serving the Lower Columbia Region since 1891
Oregon’s reopening will be ‘New Normal’ CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net
Oregonians will be living with a “new normal” once the state reopens, according to Jennifer Purcell, North Coast Regional Solutions Coordinator. While business owners are eager to reopen, it needs to be done taking public health needs into account, Purcell told the Columbia County Board of Commissioners during an electronic meeting Wednesday, April 29. Purcell described the new normal as “living with the virus,” which means that while coronavirus will not be completely eradicated, different measures must be taken to reduce its impact. Natural tension “There’s this natural tension between the public health needs and the needs of our economy, the process of opening our economy is really through the lens of a public health framework,” Purcell said. “We’ve all heard Dr. Fauci (a lead member of President Trump’s Coronavirus Task Force) talk about the fact that we don’t make the timeline, the virus makes the timeline, and you’ll see that sentiment throughout.” The goal so far has been to “flatten the curve,” but the new goal as Oregon reopens will be to keep the curve flat, Purcell said. This means minimizing any resurgences of COVID-19 as much as possible. Gov. Kate Brown’s Reopening Oregon plan will be based on the reopening America guidelines released by President Trump a few weeks ago, Purcell said. The framework is built around three main items: Gating criteria, Core State Preparedness and phased reopening. According to Purcell, “gating criteria” is described as meeting specific targets: declining numbers of people showing symptoms, declining numbers of cases, and keeping an eye on hospital capacity. “Core state preparedness” is described as testing and contact tracing, meaning to keep track of cases as they arise and people who may have been in contact with cases. These are done at the state level to gauge the state’s ability to open. Once those steps are accomplished, phased reopening begins, which means to move slowly to reopen the state. The state is ready to reopen once there has been a 14-day period of a downward trajectory of flu-like and COVID symptoms, as well as a downward trajectory in the number of positive cases, Purcell said. “And what’s being evaluated right now is what those metrics might look like,” she said. For example, Purcell noted if a community had few or no positive cases, the metrics are still being worked out as to what would be considered successful. Amping up testing What will be needed to accomplish these goals, Purcell said, is to amp up testing ability for both symptomatic and asymptomatic cases, as well has have some sort of surveillance screening available. “Our testing capacity at a state-
Viewpoints...........A4 Poll........................A4 Letters..................A5 Market Place........A6 Public Notices......A6 Obituaries............A7 Clatskanie Grows A8
wide level is not sufficient,” Purcell said. “And our testing capacity in our communities and regions is not sufficient.” Purcell listed a new screening site in Hillsboro, and that the governor’s office is getting more information about the availability of testing on a daily basis. Once the gating criteria and core preparedness have been met, that is when the state will move into phase one of reopening. Phase one will include guidelines for both individuals and employers broadly, Purcell said.
Uncertain Future
Guidelines Guidelines might include steps like instructing everyone to maintain good hygiene, like hand washing and to stay home if they are sick. They might also include increased use of face coverings and physical distancing requirements for employers and increased sanitation of surfaces. Employers will also need to have a plan in place for monitoring their work force for indicative symptoms and contact tracing policies, Purcell said. Some locations would remain closed in phase one, like schools and organized youth activities, with the exception of re-opening childcare with strict guidelines around sanitation protocols and PPE, Purcell said. “After we presumably enter phase one and make it through phase one for a 14 day period, if we are able to demonstrate that we continue to meet the gating criteria, then we would move into phase two and subsequent phases of reopening,” Purcell said. “These are much less fleshed out right now.” Purcell said the governor’s office imagines the next phases would be to increase gathering sizes and to incrementally roll back restrictions. Commissioners’ questions Columbia County Commissioner Henry Heimuller asked Purcell about the Columbia County Fair & Rodeo specifically. “Our county fair starts in June,” he said. “Have there been any discussion in the conversations with the governor’s office about county fairs specifically?” Purcell said she has been asked that question a lot. “We don’t want to run too fast and we don’t want to make promises we can’t keep,” Purcell said. “As we discussed in the very beginning, the virus is really what drives the timeline. So it’s really hard to say. We have to see a declining number of cases before we can even move into phase one.” Columbia County Commissioner Margaret Magruder asked Purcell if contact tracing is a function that could be done at the state level rather than at the county level. “The county [would have to] find housing and office space for contact tracers,” Magruder said. Purcell said the governor’s office is still waiting for additional information about the specifics of what would be required for contact tracing. “The state does have a strike team capacity,” Purcell said. “So if there was a resurgence of cases in Columbia County for instance, or a cluster of cases, they do have capacity to come in and support the county’s work.” Columbia County COVID-19 During the Wednesday county commissioners meeting Public Health Administrator Michael Paul gave an update concerning COVID-19 in the county. Paul reported the latest figures, saying there are three million cases in the world, with at least 200,000 deaths worldwide. The Oregon
See REOPENING Page A10
Chief photo
This is one of the popular rides that attracts visitors to the annual Columbia County Fair.
County Fair decision pending CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net
The Columbia County Fair & Rodeo will be celebrating a 105year tradition this summer. The event brings in thousands of people per day to the festivities in Columbia County. It has been a family tradition for many over the years, with children involved in 4-H events, mothers and grandmothers making and displaying jams and pies, and husbands and children enjoying games, carnival rides and a variety of displays.
But now, according to Columbia County Fair Board President Ingrid Chamberlain, a decision by the fair board about whether or not the Columbia County Fair & Rodeo will be held this July is pending due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re brainstorming what we can do,” Chamberlain said. “The process has lots of moving parts and pieces.” The fair is still scheduled for July 15-19, and each year, offers numerous carnival rides, games and food booths, a rodeo, livestock showing and live entertainers. So far, the fair board has had to
cancel all of the fair’s scheduled live entertainment, Chamberlain said. “We lost so much money in other areas during our shutdown, so we’re going to be doing something different there,” Chamberlain said. The fair is able to generate revenue from renting out the fairgrounds, in particular the pavilion to different groups. When Gov. Brown issued the Stay at Home order in March, Columbia
See FAIR Page A7
Dragons, tacos and firefighters JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
Two Columbia County fire districts are offering bedtime story video reading presentations to area children and their families. Columbia River Fire & Rescue spokesperson Jennifer Motherway said the effort is designed in part to ease the COVID-19 pandemic isolation and social distancing facing local children. Motherway adds insight about the project in the following conversation. The Chief: What is the bedtime reading project all about, why did CRFR launch this project and when? Jennifer Motherway: CRFR and Scappoose Fire are doing this project. A local teacher had asked if I would be willing to do a story for her class early on when the Stay Home Save Lives order was established, so I asked our crews if they would be willing and thought it would be fun to create multiple story time options that we would try to release every week to every other week. So far, we have two from each district and we plan to do a few more in the coming weeks. When
Photo / Courtesy of Columbia River Fire & Rescue
Columbia River Fire & Rescue firefighter Robert Conrath reads Dragons Love Tacos during one of the video bedtime story presentations.
we aren’t on calls within the community, we do our best to engage and offer anything extra. Generally, we offer station tours and participate in public education events. Since we cannot do those right now what better than to showcase extras on social media. The Chief: Who reads the books and how are the stories selected? Motherway: So far, Patrick Kish and Robert Conrath from
CRFR and Keith Mathews and Ken Chaffeur from Scappoose Fire have read books. I brought a stack from my home for them to select from, but Robert specifically requested Dragons Love Tacos as it’s his children’s favorite. The Chief: Give us a range of the stories that have been read.
See READING Page A8