In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak at Flagstone Senior Living, one of the lessons North Central Public Health District Director Dr. Mimi McDonell is taking from it is the need for support for staff members at care facilities where outbreaks occur.  In response to a question from Wasco County Commission Chair Scott Hege about whether support from the state has been sufficient, McDonell said the state needs teams of health care workers who can come in and provide both administrative and care support.  She says it would be expensive, but worth it.  McDonell thinks it is not reasonable to expect long-term care facilities to do all of that on their own.

Klickitat County remains in a waiting game, looking for a sign from state officials about whether they can move from Phase 2 to Phase 3 of reopening.  Commissioner David Sauter says they are receiving some new guidance from the Governor’s office and are still reviewing it, but it seems to indicate that they are not going to consider counties moving between phases but could modify conditions to allow additional activities.  Sauter says County officials are getting questions from citizens about when county governmental offices will get back to normal operation.

Travelers on both directions of Washington Highway 14 near Carson next week should expect single lane closures next week.  On Monday and Tuesday…travelers on both directions of Highway 14 near the intersection with Wind River Road will alternate intermittently through a single lane with flaggers daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday and continuing through Friday at 5 p.m. traffic will be single lane around-the-clock for paving work.  Travelers should use caution and reduce speeds through the work zone, and expect delays of up to 20 minutes.

The Oregon Department of Forestry’s Central Oregon District is reminding people fire season remains in effect across private ownership they protect, as well as state and municipal lands.  Cooler recent temperatures may give a false sense that fire danger is no longer present.  However, vegetation conditions are well above average across the District, and in many places are near where they were in August.  That assessment is based on the ability of fuels to burn, fuel moisture content, the heat potential of the fire front, and the rate of spread.  Open burning without a permit is prohibited on ODF protected lands as part of the Fire Season Declaration.  Additional county or local fire department restrictions may also be in effect.  The ODF says upcoming rain in the forecast will not eliminate the risk associated with debris burning with the current fuel conditions and wind associated with the storm may increase the risk of fire escaping.  Regulated-Use Closure restrictions are in place to reduce human caused fires on the landscape, prohibiting campfires and warming fires, including charcoal fires.  Current restrictions can be found at www.ODFcentraloregon.com.

A Bend man died in a single vehicle accident late Wednesday afternoon on Highway 97 in southern Wasco County.  The Oregon State Police says a preliminary investigation revealed a pick-up driven by 61-year-old Jeffery Murphy of Bend was northbound on Highway 97 near milepost 59 outside of Shaniko when it went off the road and rolled down a steep embankment.  Murphy sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased.  The accident occurred at about 5:43 p.m.  The OSP was assisted by South Wasco County Fire, Juniper Flat Fire and Rescue, and the Oregon Department of Transportation.

North Central Public Health District Health Officer Dr. Mimi McDonell told Wasco County Commissioners Wednesday morning that there have been 11 deaths in the last two weeks as the result of the COVID-19 outbreak at Flagstone Senior Living.  There have been 50 cases involving patients, staff, and close contacts since September 5 linked to Flagstone, and two hospitalization.  Nearly all the cases were in the memory support wing, and McDonell says that brought a number of response challenges, including difficulty in following protective guidelines and communicating symptoms.  McDonell said most of the remaining patients in that wing have been transferred to different facilities that have dedicated memory support or COVID-positive patients, and two more residents are about to be transferred.  Once that occurs the memory support unit will be closed for a deep cleaning.  Weekly testing of residents and staff to continue until there are two weeks of all negative tests.  She noted that there were delays in receiving results of the initial tests done on Flagstone staff and residents due to a closure of the Oregon State Public Health Laboratory due to wildfire smoke.

Wasco County Commissioners decided to leave the record open for the next two weeks to allow for more testimony on changes to wildlife habitat, forest lands, and recreation portions of the county’s comprehensive land use plan following an over two-hour public hearing session on Wednesday.   It’s the final stage of the Wasco 2040 periodic review of the comprehensive plan.  But it brought objections from a number of County residents, including concerns about what some considered “overreaching” by the state in regard to wildlife habitat regulations, impacts on property owners ability to use their land, and tax implications.  Commissioner Scott Hege said he wanted to insure all testimony is received, so he decided to wait to allow written testimony for the next two weeks before conducting any deliberations.   The County Commission will address the subject again on October 21 at 10 a.m.

The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area announced plans to conduct prescribed burning at a number of central Gorge locations this fall, starting Wednesday.  Jeff King of Klickitat County Emergency Management says burns were planned to start in the Courtney Road are and head towards the Major Creek area east of Bingen, continuing through Friday.  Burns are also planned this fall in the Tracy Hill area.  The burns reduce excess fuel from building up and minimizes the potential for large scare wildfires while improving the health and resiliency of ecosystems.  Those with asthma can request to be on an advance call list to be notified of burn plans by contacting the National Scenic Area office at 541-308-1700.  Smoke may be visible from Highway 14 and Interstate 84 at times during the burns.

The Hood River County School District says it is investigating allegations an employee used their social media account to threaten harm towards individuals attending a Black Lives Matter rally last weekend in Parkdale.  In a statement, Hood River County School District superintendent Rich Polkinghorn said district staff members are expected to treat fellow employees, students, and the public with respect while on- and off-duty and when using social media in order prevent substantial disruption to the school.  Polkinghorn said the district wants to assure its staff, students, and community that it is aware of the allegations and have initiated an investigation.  In the statement, the district said it takes all threats of harm seriously, refers them to law enforcement as necessary, and thoroughly investigates each allegation.  It also says the district “condemns racism, racial violence, white supremacy, hate speech, and bigotry in all forms inside and outside of its schools.”  

An infectious disease modelor from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center said during Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s press conference on Tuesday that increases in mask use show substantial decreases in COVID-19 virus transmission.  Dr. Joshua Schiffler says masks aren’t perfect, but data does show in places where mask use is increase, the virus reproductive rate drops.  He adds that just because you get the virus even if you wear a face covering, it doesn’t mean the mask doesn’t work, noting it’s possible an illness could have been worse without wearing a mask, and if part of a super spreader event it could have been worse if some people were not wearing a mask.  Schiffler also added there is no evidence masks are harmful in any way.