Finding Closure in Death Vaccinations Going Down
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A1 Wildfire Preparedness ................PAGE 2 Tigers Battle Clatskanie .............PAGE 10 May 4, 2021 Serving Lincoln City Since 1927 $1.50 Cases up, Finding Closure In Death vaccinations going down CHERI BRUBAKER Guest Contributor Public Information Officer Susan Trachsel of the Lincoln County Public Health Department provided a compre- hensive COVID update to the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners at its regular meeting on April 26. While there was a small decrease in the number of cases of COVID for the two-week period ending April 24, the overall number of cases increased in April, though Lincoln County remained in the High Risk category, even as many MAX KIRKENDALL City this past week. The art installa- Oregon counties moved to Extreme Risk. [email protected] tions are located at Josephine Young “Our positive rate is 5.5%, Up past last Memorial Park, Siletz Bay Park and fall’s levels, but not quite at the rate of the Has someone you love died? Nesika Park in Lincoln City and surge in December and January,” Trachsel What were your last words together? are meant to be interactive art that said, noting that Oregon cases, hospital- Do you wish you would have said comes to life through communicat- izations and deaths are trending upward. something different, said more, or ing with the dead. Akins detailed Trachsel called the commissioners’ said less? the ways you can interact with this attention to Governor. Kate Brown’s state- These are some of the ques- altars. ment April 23. “Right now, in the race be- tions Activate Arts hopes to bring “You can write a letter of Last COURTESY PHOTOS tween vaccines and variants, the variants closure to with its latest project: Words to a person you love that has are gaining ground and have the upper The Last Words Mailbox Alters can be found around Last Words. died, you can leave an offering like hand. Today’s cases topped 100, with Lincoln City at Josephine Young Memorial Park, Siletz Crystal Akins, Activate Arts a flower, a picture, a feather, sage, Oregon now rating 2nd in the nation for Bay Park and Nesika Park. The mailboxes will remain Founder and Executive Director, sweetgrass, a rock, or even write helped place the Last Words having the most rapid growth of infection in town from May until the end of June. Mailbox Alters around Lincoln See LAST WORDS, Page 8 See COVID-19, Page 3 City tasked with filling vacant councilor seat MAX KIRKENDALL wrote to the community. to step up to serve your city. live. I will miss the council here. newsguardeditor@countryme- “City council, staff, “As a small city, we are members greatly as we all “We can’t quite say dia.net friends, neighbors and fortunate to have excellent are devoted to good debate, goodbye… It’s been won- good citizens of Lincoln staff who do their best to camaraderie, good humor derful working with you,” As the City of Lincoln City,” Hinton began. “To- serve every day. We have and good governance. I Casper said. City prepares to fill the po- night is my last city council a fabulous library, terrific ask that as council makes Since the resignation, sition of mayor during the meeting as my husband Joe trails and recreation facili- future decisions to, please- council has not yet publicly May Special Election, next and I have decided to move ties, excellent IT experts, oh-please, consider livabil- discussed how they plan to month the City Council will out of the area. This deci- strong financial stability ity as you deliberate. fill the vacant seat. Dur- also be tasked with filling sion has been hard to make. (even now), public works “So after almost a de- ing the April 26 meeting, the vacant seat in Ward After a year of COVID, that works, visioning for cade of living here, another mayoral candidate Susan 1, left recently by Diana which was followed quickly the future, visitor welcome couple of years of own- Wahlke submitted a public Hinton. by the Echo Mountain fire, mat, a new police building; ing a second home and comment to the council Hinton was re-elected the importance of proxim- all because of our dedi- before that over 30 years of urging them to postpone to the city council position ity to our family became Diana Hinton cated employees who work visiting, it is time to leave. the decision until after the during the November 2020 even more evident. Our with city council to make I have received so many May election. election. The term lasts sons and their families have together after the wildfire good decisions. heartfelt good wishes. “That decision should from Jan. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, encouraged us to move event to share what you “Serving Lincoln City Thank you for those and not be made without a city 2024. closer to them so we can had with those who lost so and my community has thank you for having me. mayor,” Wahlke said. “As a Hinton made the spend more time together. much. been a great pleasure and Goodbye.” resident of Ward 1, I thank emotional resignation “To our citizens: in these “Consider, if you are honor. I will miss all that it After her letter, council you for your consideration announcement at the end uneasy times it can be easy able to and haven’t yet, to entails. I will greatly miss members fought back tears of my request.” of the regularly scheduled to slip into unkind words join others on the city’s our friends, city staff and and Council President Judy The next city council April 12 city council meet- and posts. It is so important committees. There is always volunteers, community Casper read a poem she meeting is scheduled for ing. At the meeting, Hinton to care for each other with a welcome mat out for you members and the beautiful had wrote for Hinton. That May 10 at 6 p.m. read aloud a letter she had kindness. I saw you come environment in which we poem is available to view INDEX WEATHER thenewsguard.com Classifieds ................ 4–6 Police Blotter ................8 TUE. WED. THU. FRI. SAT. SUN. MON. Opinion....................6 & 9 Sports ...........................10 Obituaries .....................8 VOL. 94 NO. 18 58º/44º 64º/47º 55º/44º 52º/46º 55º/41º 56º/39º 57º/39º Lincoln City’s largest and most trusted news source. A2 2 TheNewsGuard.com May 4, 2021 ‘I chose to save lives’: Brown defends lockdown ZACK DEMARS Those funds will be passed to multiple different sources,” said Country Media the 15 counties in the extreme-risk Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the state category for distribution to busi- epidemiologist. “We’re also seeing Oregon Gov. Kate Brown nesses, the governor said. an increase in hospitalizations defended her decision to impose “Economic relief is some- like we saw in the fall: A curve that more COVID-19 restrictions on thing I can do as your governor became very steep and pushed us some parts of the state the same to help Oregonians impacted by close to not having the specialized day 15 Oregon counties were this fourth surge. What I can’t do care in intensive care units that ev- forced to close indoor dining and is bring back someone’s life lost ery Oregonian deserves, whether recreation. to this virus,” Brown said. “That’s they have COVID, or a heart attack “Cases are widespread, driven why, as hard as this is, we must act or motor vehicle crash.” by new, more contagious variants. immediately.” Graven said that last point, the Oregon leads the nation for our State health officials also increase in hospitalizations, is the rate of increase in cases over the placed a timeline on the closures, state’s main concern, since hospi- last two weeks,” Brown said Friday. saying Friday the counties in the tal capacity is limited. “I was presented with data show- extreme-risk category will stay He said his mathematical ing two paths Oregon could take.” there for a maximum of three models show the state could have Brown explained last week’s FILE PHOTO weeks if case rates follow predict- lost 178 additional lives by the decision to cancel a warning Gov. Kate Brown responded to several Oregon county officials who ed trends. end of summer without the added period and force the counties into Those trends are the basis of restrictions, with most coming in the extreme-risk category of virus were unhappy with the upcoming lockdowns. the extreme-risk closure policy, the next several weeks. restrictions as the choice between said Peter Graven, the Oregon The governor is still optimistic those two paths: One path without Lodging Association, calling on together” and asking for greater Health & Science University data about lifting restrictions, saying restrictions and with additional the governor to pull back on her local control over pandemic re- scientist who helps the state pre- the economy could see a reopen- virus deaths, and another path plan. strictions. dict how the virus will spread. ing to pre-pandemic life by the with more restrictions and fewer “The variants are indeed trou- In response, Brown pointed to “The good news is, when we end of June. deaths. blesome, and we share your con- the state of the virus. pair these data together, it shows But that’ll only happen if vac- “As your governor, I chose to cern for their spread. But shutting “What I would respond to us that we have just three to four cination rates finally outpace virus save lives,” Brown said.