Pacific City
SUN
Nestucca High School improvements include new gym, better security............6 Virtual hearing for future of vehicular beach access set for Jan. 28.......................9
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Marking the way
Vol. 15, No. 360 • January 15, 2021 • FREE!
Tillamook County remains in ‘extreme’ COVID risk level
Masters of the Meals
Nestucca’s Food Service Program lauded for its efforts during the pandemic State Parks reservations booking window changes to 6 months Oregon Parks and Recreation Department began accepting new reservations from one day to six months out on Jan. 14. OPRD says the change is the latest step in managing future reservations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Early last summer, the reservation booking window temporarily changed from one day to two weeks, then to 30 days, while OPRD slowly re-opened camping after a two-month closure. In normal times, the reservation window is one day to nine months. “A shorter reservation window helps us deal with the uncertainty posed by state management of the COVID-19 emergency, and the financial hit of changing, canceling and refunding reservations,” said Lisa Sumption, director of OPRD.
State parks are funded by revenue from park visitors, a small share of the Oregon Lottery, and a portion of state recreational vehicle registrations. “Although revenue stopped during the two-month closure and continues to be less than what we’ve earned in past years, we’ve adjusted our operations and now are comfortable extending the reservation booking window,” she said. “All of us extend a heartfelt thank you to our visitors as we continue to evaluate our operations to better serve campers and day-use visitors as we head into the spring and summer.” In addition to the reservation booking window change, all new campsite, yurt and cabin openings will become available at 6
we are open!
Pacific City Dorymen’s Association rises to the challenge....................................11
a.m. each day rather than midnight. This minor change is being made to improve customer service. “No more staying up to midnight to make an online reservation,” Sumption said. “If you try to reserve a site beyond the 30day window at midnight Jan. 14, you will see the sites marked with an ‘X’ for unavailable. All available sites will be marked with an ‘A’ at 6 a.m., Jan. 14, and each day going forward. More changes to the reservation window are possible as the year goes on. Oregon State Parks reservations are accepted online, and by phone at 800-4525687, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday (closed holidays).
Governor Kate Brown announced, on Jan. 12, updates to county risk levels under the state’s new public health framework to reduce transmission and protect Oregonians from COVID-19. The framework uses four different risk levels for counties based on COVID-19 spread—Extreme Risk, High Risk, Moderate Risk, and Lower Risk—and assigns health and safety measures for each level. For the period from Jan. 15-28, Tillamook County will remain in the the Extreme Risk level, one of 26 counties in this most restrictive category. According to the Oregon Health Authority, as of Jan. 14, Tillamook County had 357 COVID-19 cases and two deaths. Since Jan. 1, the county, which has a populaiton of 26,497, has had a rate that equates to 1,347.3 cases per 100,000 citizens. Guidance at the extrene level includes: Indoor and outdoor social and at-homegatherings limited to 6 people (with a recommended limit of two households); Indoor dining is prohibited and outdoor dining limited to 50 people with no more than six people per table with no more than two households present; Use of indoor recreation and fitness establishments as well as indoor entertainment venues is prohibited; For Shopping malls (indoor and outdoor), capacity is limited to 50% and curbside pick-up is encouraged; For Faith Institutions, Funeral Homes, Mortuaries, and Cemeteries, indoor capacity is limited to 25% of maximum occupancy or 100, whichever is smaller; For outdoor recreation and fitness establishments, as well as for outdoor entertainment, there is a limit of 50 people. “With four counties moving back to Extreme Risk, this week we are reminded that health and safety measures continue to be of utmost importance, even when we slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Governor Brown. “I want to remind all Oregonians to continue to do their part by abiding by the health and safety guidelines in place. Until vaccines are widely available with high participation rates, the surest way to open our communities is to continue practicing the measures we know are effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19 — wear your mask, keep physical distance from others, avoid gatherings, wash your hands often, and stay home when you are sick.” OHA will examine and publish county data weekly. County risk levels will be reassigned every two weeks. The first week’s data will provide a “warning week” to prepare counties for potential risk level changes. The next assignment of risk levels will be announced Jan. 26 and take effect Jan. 29. Updates to Warning Week data and county risk levels will be posted to coronavirus.oregon.gov. VACCINATION EFFORTS On Jan. 13, the Health Authority reported that 16,355 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry. Of this total, 10,172 vaccine doses were administered on Jan. 13 and 6,183 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry on Jan. 13. Based on updated totals, the Oregon Health Authority announced that vaccination sites across the state met Gov. Kate Brown’s goal of ensuring 12,000 vaccinations a day at the end of last week. Vaccine providers in Oregon administered 12,039 total doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines on Jan. 8, 2021. The Governor required the benchmark to be met by the end of the two-week period that began Jan. 4. “While we hit the Governor’s goal of hitting 12,000 vaccines administered in a day last week, we want to sustain and expand our daily totals,” said OHA Director Patrick Allen. “The state can’t achieve our goal to deliver vaccinations quickly, efficiently and equitably, all on our own. I’m grateful for the hard work that staff in hospitals, local health clinics and other sites have put into ramping up vaccinations for Oregonians. Vaccines are the safest and most effective way we can end this pandemic.” Oregon, as of Jan. 13, has now administered a cumulative total of 146,137 first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccines. All vaccinations were administered by Oregon hospitals, long-term care facilities, emergency medical service (EMS) agencies, urgent care facilities and Local Public Health Authorities (LPHAs). A total of 321,425 doses of vaccine have been delvered to sites across Oregon.
CURBSIDE, TAKEOUT, AND LIMITED PATIO SEATING AT PACIFIC CITY, TILLAMOOK, AND CANNON BEACH
Pelican Brewing Company is open for Curbside Pickup, Takeout, and Limited Weather Dependent Patio Dining at all three of our locations – Pacific City, Tillamook, and Cannon Beach. Fly over and dine as you watch the sunset from our oceanfront patio or breathe in the fresh coastal air with a classic burger and award-winning beer in hand. Check out PelicanBrewing.com to stay up to date on all our current offerings.