Garden Plots
High School Swim Season
Page A4
Page A8
$1.50
Wednesday, November 16, 2022
thechronicleonline.com
Serving Columbia County since 1881
Public urged to take precautions against flu, RSV virus has caused pediatric hospitalizations to more than triple between Oct. 29 and Nov. 5. The Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems President and CEO Becky Hultberg said Oregon is seeing an increase in respiratory illnesses among children. “These increases come at a time when the number of available hospital beds remains limited,” she said. Hultberg said meeting the needs of all patients is the number one priority of Oregon’s community hospitals and clinics despite the current and anticipated spike in hospitalizations. “Our hospitals stand ready to care for everyone in need, and we plan for an increase in respiratory illness each year as we approach the fall and winter seasons,” she said. “While there is no vaccine for RSV, we recommend that parents ensure that children are current on recommended vaccines.”
JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media, inc.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has issued an executive order in response to a surge of pediatric cases and hospitalizations of respiratory viruses, including Respiratory Syncytial Virus — commonly known as RSV — across Oregon. The executive order will give hospitals additional flexibility to staff beds for children, allow them to draw on a pool of medical volunteer nurses and doctors, and take other steps to provide care to pediatric patients. The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is urging Oregonians to take precautions against influenza and RSV. Respiratory viruses are expected to circulate this season at higher levels than Oregon has experienced over the last two years as people gather indoors for the holidays, OHA Deputy Health Officer and Deputy Epidemiologist Tom Jeanne said. But it’s unknown whether two of those viruses – RSV and influenza – will be more severe than pre-pandemic seasons. “Nationally, we are seeing some alarming trends of early – and, in some cases, very high – circulation of both viruses,” Jeanne said. “Given this concerning picture, we need to work together to protect hospital capacity so that all of us have access to critical care when we need it.” Jeanne explained that the COVID-19 pandemic has “placed incredible strain” on our health care system, with RSV further straining systems. Influenza will only add to this burden.
RSV Metro Creative Connection
Oregon health officials caution that Influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases are expected at higher levels this season.
COVID-19 update COVID-19 transmission is expected to increase as people gather indoors and immunity from vaccination and previous infections wanes. The seven-day moving average of new confirmed and presumptive cases has hovered between 350 and 400 cases, according to Jeanne. The Oregon Health & Science University forecast predicts that COVID-19 hospitalizations – now at 229 as of
Wednesday, Nov. 9 – will increase slightly and peak at about 280 by early December. Oregon also is seeing slow increases in the proportion of new Omicron subvariants with mutations of concerns, such as BQ.1 and BQ.1.1. These new subvariants account for less than 10% of variants circulating in Oregon; BA.5 still accounts for about 80%. “We don’t expect that this winter’s COVID-19 wave will be as severe as last year’s Omicron
wave,” Jeanne said. “We anticipate far fewer peak hospitalizations than we saw during the Omicron and Delta surges, thanks to high levels of population immunity. But there are other respiratory viruses we’re concerned about.” One of them, RSV – the most common cause of severe lower respiratory infection among infants and young children – will see increasing activity over the coming weeks, as has been the case in other parts of the country. The
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of severe lower respiratory infection among infants and young children, according to the OHA. • Symptoms of illness include fever, runny nose, cough and wheezing. When children are first infected with RSV, 25-40% of them will have symptoms of bronchiolitis or pneumonia and up to 2% of children will require hospitalization. • In addition to infants who
See HEALTH Page A2
Scholl, Pixley, Kotek look to future following election JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media, inc.
“I am humbled by the turnout, and I want to thank the citizens of St. Helens for voting me into another term,” St. Helens Mayor Rick Scholl told The Chronicle following the Tuesday, Nov. 8 General Election. “I’d like to attribute the win to the collaborative effort with the entire city council in moving the city forward.” Priorities
Mayor Rick Scholl has won his re-election bid.
Courtesy photo
Scholl said the city’s top priority is finding a new finance director. The effort follows the separation from city service of former finance director Matt Brown. “Finances are our key and the framework of our city budget,” Scholl said. Scholl’s second top priority is to continue the city’s waterfront development. The project will
redesign other streets and intersections, extend Cowlitz and South 1st Streets onto the Riverfront property, create a plaza for pedestrians and vendors above Columbia View Park, add a trail on the west side of the Riverfront property, and extend underground utilities. It is expected to take two years to complete. “The biggest hurdle of that redevelopment,” Scholl said, “is going to be the traffic. That is the number one thing with every person working in administration and even the city councilors, is that we want to be the least disruptive as we can do the businesses downtown.” A blessing Scholl said he believes the redevelopment is “a blessing” because it will clear away aging infrastructure in the whole downtown area. “We are blessed to be able to it all in one shot,” he said. Scholl said a third priority is to
work with neighboring cities and the Port of Columbia County to start advertising the city’s industrial property. “That property could be marketed quite a bit better,” he said. “The Port is actually the leader when it comes down to industrial property in the county, but we have to have a buy in from all the cities, including Scappoose, Rainier and Clatskanie.” Scholl said the city already has a plan developed that breaks the existing land into two-to-five-acre parcels that could include 10,000 square-foot buildings and adequate parking for light industry businesses, such as machine manufacturing and high-tech companies. “Those type of companies are fairly solid, and they have they niche and if they are out-growing their current location, those are ide-
See ELECTION Page A7
Indoor skatepark could open in spring HERB SWETT Country Media, inc.
The Playground Indoor Skatepark is expected to open in St.
Opinion ..................... A4 Poll ............................ A4 Community Calendar A4
Obituaries ................. A5 Classified Ads ......... A6 Crossword ............... A6 Legals ....................... A7 Sports ..................... A8
Vol. 140, No. 46
Helens in spring break of 2023, according to the grandmother of a boy, now 10, who saw a need for a local place to skate. The boy, Andre Arreola, is a fifth-grader at Sauvie Island School. His grandmother, Marie Baldridge, heads a group that is preparing to buy the vacant building on Columbia Boulevard and South 13th Street. The indoor skatepark will be built inside the former Accumulation Resale building, next to the Columbia River Fire & Rescue station on Columbia Boulevard in St. Helens. Baldridge said the plan is to remove the walls of the structure and combine it with the building behind it. She said the building is undergoing a seismic assessment. “The goal is to build a safe, family-friendly space for the community,” Baldridge said In a published interview with The Chronicle last March. Andre’s indoor skateboarding
See SKATEPARK Page A8
Andre Arreola is working to open an indoor skate park in St. Helens.
Chronicle photo