Pacific City
SUN
Ritual 97135 offers organic items to help you pamper yourself............................2
Local volunteers sought for Beach Ambassadors program
Beach parking restrictions enacted by State Parks Commission....................... 4
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Vol. 15, No. 367 • April 23, 2021 • FREE!
Educational Adventures
Neskowin Valley School is offering a series of sessions — around a variety of themes — as part of its Summer Day Camp OHA seeks input on which beaches to include in monitoring program Oregon Health Authority’s Beach Monitoring Program is inviting public comment on a list of beaches it is proposing to monitor this summer. The proposed list includes one beach in South Tillamook County — Neskowin State Park Beach, as well as two on the north end of the county — Rockaway Beach and Twin Rocks Beach. The OHA Oregon Beach Monitoring Program (OBMP) works with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to pick beaches that need monitoring based on established criteria — criteria that includes pollution hazards present; previous beach monitoring data that identify water quality concerns; type and amount of beach use; and public input. As part of a flexible sampling plan,
beaches and sampling locations are routinely re-evaluated to ensure available resources best protect public health. Based on OBMP’s evaluation criteria, the list of proposed beaches for 2021 monitoring season, in addition to those in Tillamook County are: Seaside Beach, Cannon Beach, Tolovana State Park Beach (Cannon Beach), Short Sand State Park Beach (Arch Cape), D River State Park Beach (Lincoln City), Beverly Beach (Newport), Agate State Park Beach (Newport), Nye Beach (Newport), Seal Rock State Park Beach, Heceta Beach (Florence), Bastendorff Beach (Coos Bay), Sunset Bay State Park Beach (Coos Bay), Hubbard Creek Beach (Port Orford), Harris Beach State Park (Brookings), and Mill Beach (Brookings). A copy of DEQ’s beach evaluation
we are open!
Pacific City-Nestucca Valley Chamber to host candidate forum.............................10
is available upon request.The proposed list includes some of the most frequently visited beaches in Oregon, beaches where the program has found bacteria present, or beaches for which local partners and the public have requested monitoring due to potential pollution concerns. OHA and DEQ use available resources to monitor as many beaches as possible. However, with more than 360 miles of coastline, more than 90 beaches and just one full-time sampling technician, not all beaches can be monitored. OBMP will accept public comments and suggestions on the proposed 2021 beaches through April 26. To submit input, the public is asked to contact OBMP via email at Beach.Health@state.or.us or by calling 971-673-0400.
Tillamook County remains in COVID-19 high risk category With 49 cases in the April 4-17 timeframe, Tillamook County will remain in the “High Risk” category from April 23-May 6 in the state’s public health framework to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Governor Kate Brown had announced, on April 20, updates to county risk levels under the state’s 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. Effective April 23 through May 6, there will be 23 counties in the High Risk level — including Tillamook County, three at Moderate Risk, and 10 at Lower Risk. As case counts and hospitalizations increase and counties qualify for higher risk levels, increased safety measures for businesses and activities will resume. According to Tillamook County Director of Health and Human Services Director Marlene Putnam, as of April 23, Tillamook County had cumulative totals of 595 positive cases, 25 hospitalizations and three deaths. “Let’s again use those precautions and try to encourage people to receive the vaccine if they want it — and continue to look out for the health and safety of others by limiting the amount of people in your groups that you’re with and maintaining social distancing, washing your hands frequently and continuing to wear a mask,” she told Tillamook County Commissioners on April 21. “As we face more contagious variants and increased spread of COVID-19 in our communities, the best way to protect yourself and others is to get vaccinated,” said Governor Brown. “Until you, your family, your friends, and your neighbors are fully vaccinated, it’s also critical that we all continue to wear masks, maintain physical distance, and stay home when sick.” Though Tillamook County remains in the “High Risk” Category, its numbers are actually down. In the prior two-week period, when they had 66 cases, they would have qualified for the “Extreme Risk” category were it not for a new statewide hospitalization metric that requires COVID-19 positive patients occupying 300 hospital beds or more, and a 15 percent increase in the seven-day hospitalization average over the past week for counties to be put in the Extreme Risk category. This week there are 11 counties that qualify for Extreme Risk based on their county metrics, but are assigned High Risk because the statewide hospitalization triggers have not been met: Baker, Clackamas, Columbia, Crook, Deschutes, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Linn, Marion, and Polk. Three counties are entering into a two-week caution period. The two-week caution period applies to counties facing backward movement. Counties that reduced their COVID-19 spread enough to move down in risk level in the previous two-week period, but see their numbers go back up in the next two-week period, are given a twoweek caution period to re-focus efforts to drive back down creeping case numbers and give local businesses additional certainty on their plans for operating. This week, the caution period applies to three counties — Grant, Malheur and Umatilla Counties. The Oregon Health Authority 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 May 4 and take effect May 7. Updates to Warning Week data and county risk levels will be posted to coronavirus.oregon.gov.
ALL THREE COASTAL BREWPUBS ARE OPEN FOR SEATED DINING
Join us for lunch or dinner at one of our three coastal brewpubs - Pacific City, Tillamook, or Cannon Beach. All three locations are open with Seated Indoor Dining and Patio Seating, plus our popular Curbside and Takeout options. Fly over and enjoy all three location’s patios, ideal for warmer coastal days and for catching a spectacular Oregon Coast sunset. Visit PelicanBrewing.com to stay up to date on all our current offerings, hours, and dining options. Cheers!