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Headlight Herald
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2021
TILLAMOOK, OREGON • WWW.TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM
VOL. 133, NO. 36 • $1.50
Power line down, small fire after helicopter crash near South Fork Road T
illamook County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) responded with other emergency responders to a report of a helicopter crash at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 8, in a remote location near the area of South Fork Road and Simmons Ridge Road. “Only the pilot was on board the helicopter when it crashed,” said TCSO Sheriff Joshua Brown, who responded to the site. “The pilot survived the crash and appeared to be uninjured. He refused medical attention on scene.” According to the sheriff’s office, early indications are that the helicopter struck a power line. The owner of the helicopter is unknown at this time. “There is a power line down and a small fire burning at the crash site,” said Brown. “Bonneville Power is responding and they have advised responders to stay away until they arrive because the high voltage line is extremely dangerous.” It is unknown at this time if any parts of Tillamook County will lose power as a result of the downed line, the sheriff’s office said. Fire crews from Stimson Lumber, Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), and Tillamook Fire District (TFD) are in the area awaiting Bonneville Power Administration’s response. Tillamook Ambulance, Garibaldi Fire and Oregon State Police also responded. According to TCSO deputies who left the area of the helicopter crash around 5:45 p.m., the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) was on site and initiating repairs to the power line. “When we left, the Oregon
COVID-19 update
Cases, outbreaks, vaccine information T
Crash site photo courtesy of TCSO Deputy Berger. Department of Forestry (ODF) and Stimson fire crews were putting water on the fire,” said TCSO Deputy Ben Berger. “BPA also had just grounded the lines, but we don’t
know what the repair plans are.” Initial information is that the helicopter was spraying vegetation along the route of the power lines and towers when the tail rotor may
have clipped a line. In addition to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is also inquiring about the crash.
New report details medical debt in Oregon O
Hilary Dorsey Staff Writer
SPIRG released a report Thursday, Sept. 9, detailing medical debt in Oregon and how it can lead Oregonians to bankruptcy. The report, “Unhealthy Debt: Medical costs and bankruptcies in Oregon,” states at least 60 percent of Oregon’s consumer bankruptcies included medical debt in 2019. In a press conference Sept. 9, health care advocates discussed the medical debt situation and offered ways to address the problem. Maribeth Guarino, health care advocate with OSPIRG, said the nonprofit advocacy group looked at 8,000 bankruptcy filings in 2019. The report gives insight into the burden of medical debt. “This report shows that high health care costs are not a problem limited to a single geographic area or economic demographic,” Guarino said. “It’s everywhere and we have to do something about it.” The report examined nearly $30 million in medical debt, Guarino added.
“Our report shows that the average medical debt was $2,362,” Guarino said. “Over 600 people had $10,000 or more in medical debt.” Medical costs are increasing. In a poll released last May by OSPIRG, 30 percent of Oregon voters reported seeing an increase in their medical costs in the last 12 months. “We desperately need to enact policies to address healthcare skyrocketing costs,” Guarino said. “For example, we could provide a public health insurance option that provides consumers a low cost health insurance choice. We can also lower prescription drug costs so that care or treatment is not cost-prohibitive.” Caitlin Costello, a student at Portland State University, got health insurance seven years ago and broke her elbow shortly after. “I had gone without insurance for almost eight years,” Costello said of growing up. “It really formed the way my family worked for a long time. We avoided anything that increased risk for medical bills.” While in college, Costello could not afford insurance at first. She was able to get insurance seven years ago before her injury.
“I was still in the same mentality as before,” Costello said. “I refused an ambulance, I waited almost three hours for family to come get me.” Costello said she knew it would be worse to pay for ‘extras’ or ‘luxuries.’ She refused pain medication upon arrival. During the entire process, she asked about cost and whether it was covered by insurance. Costello said her medical bills accumulated to $20,000 with $4,000 she had to pay out of pocket. “At the time, I was living paycheck to paycheck and desperately trying to get out of my situation,” Costello said. Costello is in school full time now and has health insurance. She said she appreciates the school has options but even those are not readily available. Guarino said the next step for OSPIRG is sharing the report with every lawmaker they can. View the report at https://bit.ly/3C3UfaO Send comments to: headlightreporter@countrymedia.net
Oregon traffic crashes, fatalities increasing Jeremy C. Ruark jruark@countrymedia.net
The number of fatal and serious injury traffic crashes are rising across Oregon. Two people died in a multiple vehicle crash that shut down all lanes of busy Oregon Coast Highway 101 just south of Lincoln City for several hours Friday, Aug. 13. That deadly incident follows a series of traffic crashes along Highway 6 just a few weeks ago near Tillamook that left three people dead and sent several others to area hospitals. This summer, law enforce-
ment, fire districts and emergency medical crews have also responded to traffic crashes along Highway 30 through Columbia County.
Increase alarming Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Public Information Representative Lou Torres said the state agency is increasingly concerned about the traffic crashes and deaths. “We are alarmed about the overall increase in severe crashes statewide,” Torres said. “Even with fewer people driving in 2020, we saw a significant increase in severe and fatal crashes and that trend has continued in 2021. As of July 28, Oregon traffic deaths were 22% higher than in 2020.” Oregon State Police report that the investigators preliminary findings show that in the Aug. 13 Highway 101 crash a Dodge Durango,was northbound when it crossed into the southbound lane
and collided with a Chevrolet Silverado. OSP said both drivers sustained fatal injuries and were pronounced deceased. Highway 101 was closed for approximately four hours. Torres said the cause of that double fatal crash was similar to the three recent fatal crashes on Highway 6. “We do know that in each one was the result of a vehicle crossing over into the other lane of traffic and colliding with an oncoming vehicle,” Torres said. “These lane departure type crashes are becoming more common and can be caused by a variety of reasons including speeding, distracted and inattentive driving, impairment and fatigue.” According to Torres, in the fatal crash areas of Highway 6, drivers encounter challenging conditions. Highway 6, the Wilson River Highway, is a road that follows the Wilson River in a canyon where the hillsides are steep on one side and a river running on the other side.
“It is a narrow canyon in places and has a lot of curves,” Torres said. “It is the kind of road that requires the full attention of the motorist.” Safety options Torres added that ODOT has been trying to find ways to increase safety and reduce the number of lane departure crashes along Highway 6. In 2016, ODOT installed updated and enhanced curve warning signs along the entire Highway 6 corridor. “A significant number of these signs were added to help get motorists attention and keep them focused on staying in their lane,” he said ODOT is taking other steps over the next few years, including installation of rumble strips to further prevent lane departure crashes. The strips are grooves in the pavement that make a rumbling sound and cause physical vibration that im-
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See CRASHES, Page 3
Hilary Dorsey Staff Writer
illamook County Health Department relayed during a Tillamook County Board of Commissioners meeting Wednesday, Sept. 8, 52 positive COVID-19 cases for the weekend case count from Sept. 3-5. During the seven-day case count, there were 154 cases from Aug. 29 through Sept. 4. Over the two-week period, there were 359 COVID-19 cases from Aug. 22 through Sept. 4. “In the six days from Sept. 1 through Sept. 5, there were 112 cases,” Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Ed Colson said. Colson said there have been 18 confirmed deaths, with 15 unvaccinated, two unconfirmed and one fully vaccinated individual. The health department reports nine confirmed outbreaks. Oregon Health Authority confirmed workplace outbreaks, as of Sept. 9, at Fred Meyer with 30 COVID-19 cases, Tillamook Youth Correctional Facility with 30 cases, Stimson Lumber with 20 cases, Tillamook County Creamery Association with 13 cases, Tillamook Country Smoker with 11 cases, Hampton Lumber Company with six cases, Tillamook County Transportation District with five cases, and Adventist Health with five cases. “Our public health team continues to perform case investigations and interviewing in determining linkage amongst cases,” Colson said. “Due to influx of cases, our public health team is behind on case investigation but is working hard to get caught up and will continue to update and monitor for outbreaks.” Masks are required in all indoor public spaces and outdoors when social distancing is not possible. The health department urges all individuals to follow all mask guidance. “Tillamook County Public Health recommends you take the following precautions to reduce the spread of COVID-19: wearing a mask properly over your mouth and nose, keeping 6 feet of distance away from those not in your immediate household, and wash your hands frequently, and if you have the ability to do so, get the COVID-19 vaccine,” Colson said. The health center launched driveup testing last week at the Tillamook County Fairgrounds. Testing is available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. “Because of the high demand of testing, it is prioritized for those with symptoms and are close contacts,” Colson said of the testing. “It is not available for testing to pass for surgery, travel, or school sports testing or other purposes like that.” The health center’s acute care clinic is open Tuesdays and Thursdays by appointment only. Call 503-842-3900 to schedule an appointment. Adventist Health and Rinehart Clinic also offer COVID-19 testing. As of Sept. 8, a total of 16,213 individuals have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and a total of 14,596 are considered fully vaccinated. “We have seen an increase in vaccine request,” Colson said. “Pfizer is fully authorized for those 16 years of age and older and marketed under the name Comirnaty.” All three COVID-19 vaccines are available for drop-ins at the fairgrounds from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Send comments to: headlightreporter@countrymedia.net