We the People Rally
Tillamook County Wellness
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Online this week
Headlight Herald
TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021
TILLAMOOK, OREGON • WWW.TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM
VOL. 133, NO. 23 • $1.50
Vaccines continue, drawing for lottery approaches June 28 T
Hilary Dorsey Staff Writer
illamook County remains in Lower Risk, effective Friday, June 4, to Thursday, June 10, Tillamook County Health Department revealed Tuesday, June 1. The county had 10 new confirmed positive and presumptive cases from Sunday, May 16, through Saturday, May 29. Administrator Marlene Putman relayed during a community update June 1, one new recent death in the
county, which brings the county to a total of four deaths. The individual was a 77-year-old man who tested positive April 24 and died April 28 at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. “He did have underlying conditions,” Putman said. “COVID-19 was identified as contributing to his death.” Adventist Health Tillamook President Eric Swanson reported 249 hospitalizations of COVID-19 across Oregon, as of June 1. There
were also 784 available ventilators in the state. The health department’s emergency preparedness coordinator, Ed Colson, mentioned the “Take Your Shot, Oregon” campaign Gov. Kate Brown announced May 21, encouraging Oregonians 12 years and older to get vaccinated for the chance to win money. Ages 12 to 17 have a chance to win one of five $100,000 Oregon College Savings Plan scholarships. There will also be one $1 million winner statewide and one
$10,000 winner from each county in the state. “All Oregonians who have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine by the date of June 27 are going to be entered to win,” Colson said. The drawing will take place June 28 and names will be announced the following week. As of Wednesday, June 2, 62.1 percent of the county population have received at least one dose of the vaccine with a 65 percent goal
Pomp and Circumstance
to stay in Lower Risk. The state is at 65.8 percent vaccinated with a 70 percent goal in order for most restrictions to be lifted. For the month of June, vaccines will be available at Tillamook County Community Health Centers, Colson said. Call 503-842-3914 to schedule. You can also talk with your health care provider to schedule a vaccine. Send comments to: headlightreporter@countrymedia.net
Oregon Senate Approves Juneteenth as Official State Holiday L
Tillamook High School seniors celebrated during commencement ceremonies for the class of 2021 leading up to graduation. This year was much like last year’s ceremony, in that students were paraded around town to lined streets of people who showed their support. After the parade, seniors were taken to the Fairgrounds for an outdoor graduation ceremony. Catch more photos, features and the annual keepsake edition with grad photos of all three Tillamook County schools in next week’s Headlight Herald. Photos by Hilary Dorsey.
Governor outlines plans to reopen Oregon O
Jeremy C. Ruark Country Media
regon could be fully reopened in two weeks if the state can maintain its current COVID-19 vaccination rate. That’s the assessment from Oregon Gov. Kate Brown who outlined the state’s plans to reopen during a Friday morning news briefing. As of June 1, 66.2% of Oregonians 18 years old and older have been vaccinated. Brown earlier had set a 70% vaccination goal statewide to be met by the end of June. “Thanks to all of you we are getting close to fully reopening our economy and moving out of this chapter of the pandemic. We just need 127,000 Oregonians to take your shot for us to reopen in the next two weeks,” Brown said. Brown said the vaccinations have led to a sharp decline in COVID-19
case counts and hospitalizations. Reopening outline In Brown’s outline of fully reopening Oregon, she said there would be no more capacity limits for businesses. Masks would largely no longer be required by the state with the exception of places that the federal government has outlined that are still necessary, such as airports, public transit and health care settings, and no more requirements for physical distancing. “By in large we will be able to return to the activities and traditions we have missed for more than a year, (such as) 4th of July barbecues, eating popcorn in movie theaters, or getting a beer after work at the local brewery with your friends. Restaurants and bars will be able to have a full house,” Brown said. The governor also said she expected that K-12 schools will return to full time in-person instruction in the fall and that child care settings will be able to meet the needs of Oregon’s families. “Because children are not yet eligible for vaccinations, there may be some health and safety measures that need to stay in place for those types of educational settings,”
Brown said. “But again, Oregon’s primary school instruction will be in the classroom five days a week this fall.” State focus shifting Brown said the state is now shifting its focus on emergency response to pandemic recovery to move forward with the support of health care providers, and public health with the resources to manage outbreaks locally. “I want to be very clear,” Brown said. “We are able to reopen because of the advocacy of the vaccine. For those of you who are vaccinated you have helped us reach this point and you are protected from this virus.” Oregon Health Authority Director Pat Allen said Oregonians who have been vaccinated can now move forward. “The data clearly shows if you are fully vaccinated you can put the pandemic behind you and you’ll have peace of mind if you are exposed to someone who has COVID, you won’t have to be quarantined,”
he said. While Allen said he believes that the state can make the June 30 target date of 70% vaccination, but it is going to take a lot of hard work to get there, “There are really two pandemics, not one,” he said. “One is dying out among people who are vaccinated, the other is one that still raging among those who are not vaccinated.”
Staff
ast week, the Oregon Senate passed House Bill 2168, a bill to make Juneteenth an official state holiday every June 19 beginning in 2022. This holiday will serve to honor the freedom of enslaved people in the United States, acknowledge Oregon’s racist roots and celebrate the contributions of Black Americans in the face of inequity and systemic oppression. “The Emancipation Proclamation news arrived in waves to the enslaved Black women and men of my family,” said Senator Lew Frederick (D-N/NE Portland) who carried House Bill 2168. “Family stories say, ‘joy was the first emotion, and next skepticism’.” “However, hope stood at the center of a possible future for my family and so many families,” added Senator Frederick. “That hope continues to this day. So does the skepticism. The two can dance together, and in that dance, we can progress, and we can amplify hope.” On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas and issued General Order Number 3, which required the immediate freedom of more than 250,000 enslaved African Americans in Texas. Union troops marched throughout Galveston to spread the word that all slaves were free. Juneteenth is also known as Emancipation Day, Jubilee Day and Freedom Day. In Oregon, the Peoples family are well known for their efforts to ensure Juneteenth is observed. “Miss Clara Peoples is foundational to Oregon, her family is the reason we have unofficially observed this holiday and the Peoples have remained central in framing the expectation of a more equitable tomorrow,” said Senator Frederick. “Juneteenth is not the date all slaves were freed. Juneteenth is not the date that Black Americans, or Black Oregonians, were guaranteed comfort, relief or safety,” said Senator Frederick. “Also, Juneteenth was a step forward and a marker of hope, one we must continue to build upon. This official holiday will recognize that the people of Oregon, despite our past, can take the veil of ignorance away, and each year choose to have hope – on Juneteenth and every day thereafter.” “With House Bill 2168, we can learn from another time. We can change the future now, in real time. We can work towards equality – even without a declaration or official holiday. We must. Celebrating Juneteenth will help each of us remember all that we can and must do to ensure a more just future,” concluded Senator Frederick. House Bill 2168 passed the Oregon Senate unanimously, it now goes to the House or Representatives for concurrence.