Mooks Ready for League play Page 9
Headlight Herald
TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2022
TILLAMOOK, OREGON • WWW.TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM
VOL. 134, NO. 3 • $1.50
Oregon Coast Children’s Theatre & Center for the Arts partners with Fairview Grange for building renovations A
Chelsea Yarnell Guest Contributor
n art center. A community center. A cultural center. These are just some of the goals behind the renovations underway at the Fairview Grange of Tillamook building on Third Street. “Granges historically have been about agriculture and community,” Fairview Grange Master Eric Sappington said. “They were about farmers getting together and sharing with the community.” The Fairview Grange is the oldest Grange in Tillamook County, and was founded in 1895, with 43 charter members. It was the 273rd Grange to be organized in the country. The Grange Hall was built in 1916, at a cost of $2,000, and was then considered the finest Grange Hall in the state. One hundred grange members attended its dedication. Built before the invention of microphones, amps and speakers, the Grange Hall was engineered to be acoustically dynamic, allowing speeches and musical presentations to project without a sound system. The Grange Hall has been extensively used for dances, concerts, weddings, markets, and other public gatherings. However, over the years, the building itself became in need of extensive repair. “The State of Oregon owns the Grange Hall,” Sappington said. “It was going to get demolished eight years ago until 10 strong members stepped up to save it.” Since then, renovations have been underway to make the building safe and usable for the public. The over 100-year-old building received coats of new paint and repairs to doors, windows, and the front area of the
building over the summer and fall. Other repairs will continue through the winter and into spring of 2022. Tillamook Rotary Club made a commitment to donate a new wheelchair ramp for the building. Most recently, The Oregon Coast Children’s Theatre & Center for the Arts has been working with the Fairview Grange to renovate the building and outfit a space for their administrative offices. “We actually started [as an organization] 32 years ago this year in Tillamook County,” The Oregon Coast Children’s Theatre & Center for the Arts founder, artistic director, and CEO Lawrence Adrian said. “We’ve moved around a bit, but we have continued doing work in both
Tillamook and Lincoln County.” Oregon Coast Children’s Theatre & Center for the Arts focuses on education in both theatre and fine arts. “We build and fund public works of art,” Adrian said. “Most schools in Tillamook County have a mural that was done by us.” As a part of their partnership and renovations to the Fairview Grange, Oregon Coast Children’s Theatre & Center for the Arts Foundation and supporters commissioned Sappington to design and oversee the installation of a mural on the side of the building. “The mural focuses on the farms, the children, the music, and the community,” Sappington said. “We wanted to keep it simple and
Two cases of omicron detected in county, case investigation limited T
Hilary Dorsey Staff Writer
illamook County Health Department reports 53 COVID-19 cases for the weekend case count, from Jan. 7-9, and 129 cases for the 7-day case count, from Jan. 2-8. The 14-day case count was 220 from Dec. 26 through Jan. 8. “Forty-two are confirmed not vaccinated, one did not have a vaccine record and nine fully vaccinated,” Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Ed Colson reported during a community update Tuesday, Jan. 11. Colson said the county has four confirmed outbreaks, 12 pending investigation, for a total of 16 under monitoring. Oregon Health Authority reported a workplace outbreak as of Jan. 12 at Tillamook County Creamery Association with 13 cases. Tillamook County has 54 COVID-related deaths, as of Jan. 12. Forty-three of those individuals were unvaccinated, one had no vaccine record and 10 were fully vaccinated. Two cases of the omicron variant have been detected in Tillamook County. Tillamook County Health Department had requested variant sequencing by the state lab for samples collected on Dec. 26, 2021.
Due to the limited capacity of the state lab, not all positive COVID-19 tests may be sequenced and returns of results may be delayed, such as in the case of these two cases. “Tillamook County is experiencing an increase in COVID-19 cases with positive COVID-19 cases increasing from 91 in the previous 7-day case count to 129 in this current 7-day case count,” Colson said. “The surge is likely due to recent holiday gatherings and arrival of the highly contagious omicron variant.” As we enter the surge in cases, public health guidelines have changed to support public health staff. Local public health staff will only be able to contact a limited number of positive COVID-19 cases to perform case investigation. “With more COVID-19 cases than staff can manage, it is important that the community take action to keep themselves and others safe as a positive test or exposure,” Colson said. “Public health staff is committed to making the education for cases and contacts available.” If you have any questions, call the public health staff at 503-842-3940. COVID-19 testing remains available at the health center’s acute care clinic from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday
represent our community. The silhouettes can be anybody…everyone can gravitate towards one or two of those things. I wanted it to be something people could see and relate to.” Several student artists, staff and volunteers helped complete the 40’ and 15’ mural including: students Simone Ferguson and Abigail Gingerich, along with Reo Russell who worked as Sappington’s assistant. The mural, “Gathering at the Grange,” was completed September 2021. “The neighborhood has been really excited about it because they say it really brightens their day,” Sappington said. The mural is just the first stage of restoration the Oregon Coast Chil-
n See COVID, Page A3
The Fairview Grange is located at 5520 East 3rd St., Tillamook.
Rachel Armitage appointed to Oregon Senate
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through Friday. Appointments are required. Call 503-842-3900 to schedule. Adventist Health Tillamook and Rinehart Clinic also have testing available. “We’re looking for options to help provide the community with selftests and home tests,” Colson said. “We hope to have more information soon.” The health department’s vaccine clinic is at the Tillamook County
dren’s Theatre & Center for the Arts hopes to help the Grange with. “The facility has been left vacant for a while. We’re just trying to get the Grange to a point where it can be used for public programs by next summer,” Adrian said. “Our eventual goal is to use the Grange auditorium to do live theatre performances.” Be on the lookout for upcoming programs over spring break and summer for students interested in the areas of fine and theatre arts. For more information about Oregon Coast Children’s Theatre & Center for the Arts visit oregoncoastchildrenstheatre.com.
ast week the County Commissions of Clatsop, Columbia, Multnomah, Tillamook, Washington and Yamhill voted to appoint Rachel Armitage as the new Senator from District 16. Senator-designate Rachel Armitage will begin her service as state senator upon taking the oath of office. “I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to represent the people of Senate District 16 and to the county commissioners for casting their votes in my favor,” said Senator-designate Rachel Armitage. “I look forward to bringing my perspective as a rural Oregonian to Salem. Our communities deserve action on the everyday issues that affect our way of life, such as access to rewarding jobs and stable,
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affordable housing.” Senator-designate Rachel Armitage lives in Warren, Oregon with her husband and stepdaughter. She served as a Legislative Assistant during the 2016 and 2017 Legislative Sessions, focusing on education and foster youth issues. She plans to bring her perspective from her past legislative work to the Oregon Senate, advocating for better economic opportunities for Oregon’s working families. As the appointee from Senate District 16, Senator-designate Armitage will serve on the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on General Government. “We are tremendously excited to welcome Senator-designate Rachel Armitage as the newest member of the Oregon Senate Democrats,” said Senate Majority Leader Rob Wagner (D-Lake Oswego). “Given her professional experience in the Legislature, she will bring an effective skillset to her role in the Senate as we continue to help guide Oregon through the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic. We are all very fortunate for her decision to serve with us and I look forward to working with her during the upcoming Legislative Session.”
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