Oregon Beach News, Friday 2/10 – Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for New Clatsop County Jail Today at 1 pm, Columbia Memorial Hospital Plans Major Expansion

The latest news stories across the state of Oregon from the digital home of the Oregon coastal cities, OregonBeachMagazine.com

Friday, February 10, 2023

Oregon Beach Weather

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for New Clatsop County Jail Today

The Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office invites the community to celebrate the completion of the new Clatsop County Jail. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Friday, February 10th, 2023, at 1 pm to commemorate the completion of the facility.

The new jail project began after voters approved a $20 million-dollar jail bond in 2018. DLR Group provided architectural and engineering services while Emerick Construction Co. served as the general contractor. Cornerstone Management Group represented the County during the process.

The new Clatsop County Jail is located at 1250 SE 19th St., Warrenton Oregon, directly across from the Clatsop County Animal Shelter.

Columbia Memorial Hospital Plans Major Expansion

The Columbia Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees announced the hospital’s plans for a major expansion and renovation.

The new facility will be a center for health and wellness, while also providing a resilient structure that can serve as a safe harbor for the community in case of a natural disaster like an earthquake or tsunami.

“Our current facility is over 45 years old and has served us well,” says Erik Thorsen, CEO “However, in the last decade, CMH and OHSU have launched many new service lines, and we have simply run out of space to grow. This expansion of the CMH campus will allow us to broaden the scope of our services and ensure state-of-the-art care throughout the organization. The new facility will be designed in a manner consistent with our Planetree philosophy of person-centered care and will include new equipment, diagnostic services and specialties often found only in larger institutions.”

CMH engaged ZGF Architects to design the new facility, and Skanska USA will be the general contractor. Over the past 18 months, the project team completed significant due diligence and planning. The schematic design phase recently concluded and involved caregivers and leaders from across the hospital determining where services should be located, how much space was needed, and how to best serve patients’ and departments’ needs.

The planned design includes total new construction of approximately 180,000 square feet, including a critically needed expansion of the CMH Emergency Department. Other expanded areas include operating rooms, larger patient rooms, lab draw, radiology services, a new chapel and dining facilities.

CMH will share more specific details on the project with the community as the plans are developed.

“Patient and community input is very important to us,” Thorsen adds. “We will work closely with our Patient Family Advisory Council on the detail design elements, and we plan to hold several community open houses over the course of the project.”

“This expansion project is one of the final parts of the Board’s long-term strategic plan that began in 2010 and has included the partnership with OHSU, the acquisition of John Warren Field, and the opening of the CMH-OHSU Knight Cancer Collaborative,” says Dr. Robert Holland, president of the Board. “This new, modern hospital facility will continue to allow our community to seek the best care locally for generations to come.”

Funding for the project will come from four primary sources: new debt, cash reserves, philanthropy and grants.

The expansion will be built on the current hospital campus off Exchange Street in Astoria, with phased construction to allow a continuation of services. The anticipated groundbreaking is Fall 2024. https://www.columbiamemorial.org/news/releases/columbia-memorial-hospital-plans-major-expansion/

Seaside Annual Tourism Grant Program Open for Proposals

Applications for the 2023-24 Tourism Grant Program, for up to $25,000 in grant funding, are being accepted by the Seaside Visitors Bureau and Tourism Advisory Committee. The deadline to apply is May 5th.

The funds will be granted for events or projects that take place from July 1 through Dec. 31 that further develop Seaside’s tourism economy and encourage year-round visitation. Information and Grant Guidelines: https://www.seasideor.com/Tourism-Grant-Program/

The Oregon Supreme Court refused to overturn a lower court ruling blocking voter-approved gun measure 114 from taking effect

In a ruling Thursday, the high court concluded it would be inappropriate to get involved while the matter is still being addressed in a trial court, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. The measure remains blocked pending a hearing on its constitutionality.

Voters in November narrowly approved the measure, which requires a permit to buy a gun and a background check to be completed before a gun can be sold or transferred. It also restricts the sale, manufacture and use of magazines holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

There have been legal challenges in federal and state courts.

Four federal cases have been consolidated. The judge in that matter has ruled that the law could take effect while she hears further arguments but allowed the state to postpone implementing the permit requirement until the systems needed to administer it are in place. Additional testimony is expected later this month.

The case before the state Supreme Court arose from litigation in Harney County. Because the lawsuit challenged the measure under the Oregon Constitution, it held precedence in the state, legal experts have said.

In December, Circuit Court Judge Robert Raschio temporarily blocked the measure from taking effect. The Oregon Department of Justice asked the state Supreme Court to overturn that order, but the justices declined to consider the appeal. Raschio later extended his order.

The state Supreme Court said its decision Thursday does not preclude a future challenge.

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said her office intends to “continue to defend the law zealously in the Harney County court. My office takes the position the law passed by Oregonians last November is totally proper and legal under the U.S. and Oregon constitutions.”

ODOT Will Close More Than 25,000 Crosswalks Across The State To Make Them Safer

The state of Oregon says they will close more than 25,000 crosswalks over the next year to make them safe for all users. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) says it looked at crosswalks statewide and found a number of them do not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Reasons include: Crosswalks ending at or in close proximity to a driveway, a median island or landscaping in the crosswalk path, or traffic signals that do not have pedestrian signals and push buttons.

Over the next year, ODOT will be repairing these issues. It’ll be installing “crosswalk closed” signs at affected intersections, guiding people to an alternate, nearby, open crosswalk. Those closures should only last a day or two until the work can be completed.

OHA Reports Increase in COVID Cases But Not As Bad As Forecasted

Oregon health officials reported increasing coronavirus case numbers for the third week straight Wednesday, though the seven-day daily average and COVID-positive hospitalizations remain well below recent peaks.

Local forecasters have downgraded past predictions of a wave of cases tied to the XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant and as of Jan. 20, anticipated hospitalizations will fall in the weeks ahead.

The state less than a month ago pointed to an Oregon Health & Science University prediction that COVID-positive patients would occupy 367 hospital beds by Feb. 4. The true number of hospitalizations that day was the lowest it has been since May 2021, at 203 occupied beds.

Hospitalizations have climbed since then to 226 occupied beds as of Wednesday. The percent of tests that came back positive was slightly higher this week than the prior week, and wastewater monitoring showed a sustained increase of viral concentrations in late January and early February at testing sites in Siletz, Albany and Bend, while Portland-area sites showed no change in concentrations.

While the XBB.1.5 subvariant has spread rapidly in the Northeast, it has not yet made as much of an impact in the Pacific Northwest, with federal officials currently estimating the subvariant accounts for about 30% of COVID-19 cases in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska. For more information, including COVID-19 data by county, visit http://ow.ly/merk50MOPne

Oregon Dept. of Forestry gives $4.4 million in grants to boost capacity at Oregon tree nurseries

SALEM, Ore. – Ten tree nurseries across the state are receiving over $4.4 million this year to help them increase their ability to produce badly needed seedlings. The seedlings are needed to help reforest millions of acres deforested in recent years by wildfire, disease and pests. 

The money was given to ODF after passage by the Oregon Legislature in 2021 of House Bill 5006. The bill was a response to the devastating 2020 wildfires which burned a million acres of forest. In the wake of those fires, there were many barriers to reforesting, including shortages of money, labor, and for some smaller landowners appropriate tree seedlings. 

ODF Small Forestland Owner Assistance Unit Manager Nate Agalzoff said, “These grants are helping nurseries make strategic investments to increase their ability to grow more seedlings, which will enable them to better support reforestation needs in the future.”

Nurseries are using the funds to invest in everything from adding irrigation to building new greenhouses and seedbed space as well as storage facilities for storing seedling trees. Funds can also go toward:

• equipment
• the cost of collecting or purchasing tree seeds,
• buying land on which to expand nursery facilities.

“These grants are increasing overall capacity across the state for whenever seedling demand rises,” said ODF Reforestation Program Project Coordinator Astrea Strawn. “In the case of nurseries in Union and Hood River counties, the grants also ensure there will be capacity to provide geographically appropriate seedlings for those areas.”

Strawn said funds must be spent before the end of this summer. 

“This makes us optimistic that landowners, especially smaller ones, will have better access to seedlings. When they do, they can promptly reforest after future tree losses to keep Oregon’s working forests working for Oregonians,” she said.

“The funding will allow Lava Nursery, Inc. to increase seedling production for the small woodland owners, helping them to meet their reforestation needs after forest fires and/or harvest operations,” said Lava’s Assistant Nursery Manager Jeff Snyder. “These funds will also allow for additional freezer storage capability for long-term storage of seedlings to ensure the best quality seedlings are available at the time of planting.”

To qualify for a grant, a nursery had to have experience growing high-quality commercial conifer trees for reforestation in Oregon, including Douglas-fir, grand fir, noble fir, western redcedar, ponderosa pine and others.

“The awards were targeted to nurseries which showed interest in helping with future reforestation needs, whether from wildfires or climate change losses,” said Strawn.

Nurseries which received funds include:

• Brooks Tree Farm – Salem in Marion County $540,000
• Drakes Crossing Nursery – Silverton in Marion County $540,000
• PRT Growing Services – Cottage Grove and Hubbard $540,000
• Trillium Gardens – Eugene in Lane County $531,000
• Weyerhaeuser – Aurora and Turner in the Willamette Valley $500,000
• Champoeg Nursery – Aurora in Marion County $458,000
• Lava Nursery, Inc. – Parkdale in Hood County $458,000
• Scholls Valley Native Nursery – Forest Grove in Washington County $367,000
• The Plantworks, LLC – Cove in Union County $276,000
• Kintigh Nursery – Springfield in Lane County $238,000

Oregon Lawmakers Are Considering A Bill To Give Grants To Organizations Trying To Expand And Preserve Local News. 

Supporters of a legislative proposal told the Oregon House Rules Committee that local news is critical for democracy and needs state support to continue. This comes as newspapers across the state close down and jobs in the industry shrink.

House Bill 2605 would pay for a resource center to give emergency grants and other support to local journalists and newsrooms and create a workgroup that would produce a report by November 2024 about the state of the journalism industry in Oregon and recommendations for potential policy changes or funding.

Separately, lawmakers heard about a proposal to allow legal notices to be published in newspaper e-editions. State law requires that government and legal notices, such as foreclosures, estate claims and city council or school board agendas, be published in local newspapers. That public notice law is a key source of revenue for many community  newspapers.

83-year-old Clarence Edward Pitts walked away from his home in Bandon on Tuesday, January 31 at around 1:00 p.m. Pitts is described as:

• 6′ 00″
• 150 lbs
• Gray hair
• Brown eyes
• Last seen wearing an orange beanie, plaid jacket, tan pants and white shoes
• May have a walking cane
• Has dementia and PTSD

Pitts may be in a vehicle that was also found to be missing from the home:

• 1999 Toyota Van
• White
• Oregon license plate: WYN 788

If you see Clarence or have any information pertaining to where he may be, please call the Coos County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center at 541-396-2106 or the Bandon Police Department at 541-347-3189.