Pacific City
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OPRD begins improvement projects at Bob Straub State Park..............................5 Vehicular beach access discussion continues......................................6
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Bridge over Clear Creek opens up fish habitat
Vol. 14, No. 358 • December 18, 2020 • FREE!
Tillamook Co. moved to ‘Extreme Risk’ category in COVID-19 framework
A Shrine for Art Cloverdale’s new Shrine Gallery features the unique wood sculpture of Jay Ylvisaker
Outdoor recreation and COVID risk map now available The Office of Outdoor Recreation is promoting the use of Parkpulse.io as a web tool for the public to plan outdoor recreation opportunities during the pandemic. Parkpulse.io is an online mapping tool that provides information about most of Oregon’s publicly accessible recreation areas including city, county, state, and federal lands. It displays nearby recreation opportunities based on a user’s location and shows detailed information for each site, such as: available amenities, the potential for encountering crowds and an estimate of site specific COVID-19 prevalence. The tool was designed and produced earlier this spring at no public expense by Knot, a landscape architecture and experiential graphic design firm in Portland. OREC
facilitates public-private partnerships and looks for ways to increase accessibility to the outdoors for all Oregonians. “We were fortunate to have Knot donate their time and expertise toward creating a tool that would benefit all Oregonians throughout this pandemic,” said Cailin O’Brien-Feeney, director of the Office of Outdoor Recreation. “Oregon is fortunate to have many public lands and there was an obvious need for a map that showed different recreation areas and their COVID-19 risks, no matter who the land manager was – local, state or federal.” Because individual park, trail or campground statuses can change quickly, the map encourages the users to visit the given links to get the most up-to-date access informa-
New director to take the helm at Tillamook County Libraries.......................10
tion. With the implementation of Governor Kate Brown’s Oregon Risk and Protection Framework that went into effect Dec. 3, the tool will also display park specific COVID-19 risk levels based on county health data. “We hope this tool will be a community asset that will help individuals assess risk and make smart decisions for accessing nature during the global pandemic,” said Michael Yun, principal and director of Anti-Disciplinary Design, Knot. “Beyond the pandemic, we hope this tool will help individuals find underutilized gems in our outdoor recreation infrastructure and encourage them to access nature in a more sustainable, more local and less impactful way.” For more information, visit parkpulse.io.
Governor Kate Brown, on Dec. 15, announced 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. Effective Dec. 18 through Dec. 31, there are 29 counties in the Extreme Risk level — including Tillamook. All other counties along the Oregon Coast have been elevated to the Extreme Risk category. Guidance at this level includes: • Indoor and outdoor social and at-home gatherings limited to 6 people (with a recommended limit of two households); • For eating and drinking establishments, 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. Of the remaining counties, one is at Moderate Risk, and six counties are at Lower Risk. Speaking on the “extreme risk” designation at their Dec. 16 meeting, Tillamook County commissioners urged caution. “Tillamook County jumped right over the high risk and went to the extreme risk, which is a devastating thing to our restaurants, our bars and many of our local businesses,” said Commissioner Bill Baertlein. “The sad part of this is that high risk ends at 59 cases (for a two-week period). Tillamook County had 60 cases. Just one less case, folks, and we would not have gone into extreme risk and our restaurants and bars would still be open. “We just need to step back and say what can we do to keep this virus down below 60 every two weeks. If we can do that we can open things back up again.” “In less than four weeks we have gone from the lowest risk level now to the highest risk level,” added Commissioner David Yamamoto. “That is an indication of what’s happening, but it’s not just happening in Tillamook County. It’s happening across Oregon and across this United States. We have to take this very seriously. We need to understand that the business community is already going to be greatly affected by this move. Restaruants and bars will no longer be able to serve in their facilties. They’ve already had a very difficult nine months. I’m surprised many of them are still open, and this could be a death knell for them. We need to get off of this extreme risk level. We need to move down at least one if not two notches.” “We continue to see community spread across Oregon to the point that the majority of the state needs to continue with strict health and safety measures,” said Governor Brown. “Until we reduce the spread and have high participation in vaccination, all Oregonians need to follow the guidelines in place in their counties. I am also asking Oregonians 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’re sick.” 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 take effect Jan. 1. Updates to Warning Week data and county risk levels will be posted to coronavirus.oregon.gov.
we are open! CURBSIDE PICKUP AND TAKEOUT
AT PACIFIC CITY, TILLAMOOK AND CANNON BEACH
Pelican Brewing Company is open for Curbside Pickup and Takeout at all three of our locations – Pacific City, Cannon Beach, and Tillamook. Let our Pacific City location do the cooking this holiday season with our Christmas specials that are sure to bring lots of cheer and joy to your family. Check us out at PelicanBrewing.com to stay up to date on all our current offerings. Cheers Fanatics!