, ,

Clark County Public Health Clarifies CDC COVID-19 Provisional Death Data

Clark County Public Health issued a statement today regarding last week’s Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) provisional death data update. Here is their statement:

We’re seeing a lot of misunderstanding around new data from the CDC, and we need to set the record straight. Provisional death data updated by the CDC last week shows that for 6 percent of COVID-19 deaths, COVID-19 was the only cause mentioned. The remaining 94 percent of deaths were among people with other underlying conditions.

This does not mean that only 6 percent of deaths are due to COVID-19. It means that for the other 94 percent, there were underlying conditions that likely made their COVID-19 illness worse and made them more at risk for serious illness and death.

There are different types of cause of death: immediate, underlying and contributing. For COVID-19, a common example might be an immediate cause of death of acute respiratory distress syndrome (which is what actually killed them), and an underlying cause of death would be COVID-19 or pneumonia from COVID-19 (which are the triggering factors that lead them to get the thing that actually killed them), and then contributing factors could be asthma, COPD, or diabetes (something that may have made their illness worse than it would have been).

As an underlying cause of death, COVID-19 is the thing that triggered the cascade of events that eventually leads to death. For example, older adults are more likely to have more contributing factors, but if they don’t get COVID-19, then they don’t start this cascade of events that lead to death.

None of this is new information. We’ve known that individuals with certain underlying conditions are at greater risk for severe illness and death. You can learn more about conditions that increase the risk of severe illness on the CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html

COVID-19
www.artfuljuxtaposition.com

Clark County COVID-19 Update

Monday COVID-19 update: Since the last update on Friday morning, another 76 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and two people have died – a man in his 60s (unknown whether he had underlying health conditions) and a man in his 70s with underlying health conditions.

Over the weekend, Clark County had an average of about 25 new cases per day (Fri-Sun). To date, 2,610 Clark County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 and 51 people have died.

Nineteen COVID-19 patients are hospitalized and five persons under investigation (PUIs) for COVID-19 are hospitalized.

/0 Comments/by
, ,

Patriot Prayer Supporter Who Attended Camas Rally Killed Saturday in Portland

PORTLAND, OR — Aaron “Jay” Danielson, aka Jay Bishop, a Patriot Prayer supporter, was fatally shot Saturday night in Portland following a pro-Trump caravan.

Bishop attended Friday’s dueling Camas pro-police and #BLM rallies and was seen riding around and talking with supporters and protestors on both sides.

Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson, a controversial local public figure, who arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting, issued the following statement today:

“1st- We love Jay and he had such a huge heart.  God bless him and the life he lived. 

“2nd-I am going to wait to make any public statements until after the family can.

“3rd- If you planned on going to the boat cruise, please go!  I know that Jay would love to look down from heaven and see tons of American flags on the Columbia river today.  I will not be attending but I hope all of you enjoy yourselves out there.  Fly them high for Jay.

“God Bless all of you.”

Matt Robins, a protest medic near the shooting scene, said he heard two pops.

Prayer
Patriot Prayer supporter, Aaron “Jay” Danielson aka Joey Bishop.

“We thought someone had lit fireworks off or something, and when we looked, we saw a guy run for like two seconds and then plop on the ground,” Robins said.

Robbins said he and his partner help treat people injured at protests.

“There’s a guy standing over top of him saying this is my friend, help him please,” Robbins said.

Robbins said once Portland police arrived he and his partner were told to leave.

“We were forcibly pushed down,” Robbins said. “My partner, a field medic, tried to get her gear, because like I said, they rushed us so fast that some of our gear had fallen down.”

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said the shooting is under investigation, however, and a 48-year-old man who was accused of carrying a loaded gun at an earlier Portland protest is under investigation in the fatal shooting of Bishop.

Michael Forest Reinoehl refers to himself as an anti-fascist and has posted videos and photos of demonstrations he attended since late June, accompanied by the hashtags #blacklivesmatter, #anewnation and #breonnataylor.

Prayer
Video capture of alleged suspect, in black hat.

/1 Comment/by
, ,

Camas Rally For The Blue Supporters Square Off With Black Lives Matter

More than 300 Camas Rally For The Blue supporters, and approximately 150 Black Lives Matters (BLM) squared off Friday night mostly at 3rd Avenue and Dallas Street to express their beliefs.

The BLM rally started off at Camas Public Library at 4 pm and within about 20 minutes the group migrated to the ARCO station where they stayed for the duration — until just past 10 pm. The pro-police rally was scheduled as a stand-alone event, but Tuesday night local students organized a counter BLM protest.

The Camas Rally For The Blue began a little before 5 pm at two locations — between Camas Safeway and Dairy Queen — but eventually migrated to occupy three of the four corners at 3rd and Dallas.

”We just want to stand up and say Black Lives Matter,” said Cindy Graham, a Camas resident who rallied with the BLM team. “Middle class white people care about black lives and I don’t want to say anything negative about the police because I know a lot of Camas cops are good friends of mine and they are great guys. But that doesn’t negate the fact that we need to stand up and do something to help African Americans. In my opinion the BLM movement doesn’t stand for socialism like some of these people are saying, it just stands for black people have been oppressed and we often don’t understand how oppressed they are so we need to make more of an effort. All lives matter, but black lives matter needs to be said when this is happening in our country.”

She said this is a vote for Black Lives Matter.

“We need more white middle class people to stop screaming at their televisions and get out here and stand peacefully on the corner and say that,” Graham added. “Actually all classes of white people need to do this.”

The interview was interrupted by a BLM supporter in blue hair who told this reporter to “get out of my face.”

Blue
BLM supporters at ARCO station.

”I just wanted a rally to support our police,” said Blue Rally organizer, Helen Sudbeck. “It’s a fabulous town and we have a great police department. They need to know how much we care about them and appreciate them. It’s been a rough couple months for police across the country and I think there are a lot of people in Camas who really care about our police. That’s it. We are just here to support the police. I realize there’s a counter demonstration and that’s fine. It’s a group of kids and that’s their First Amendment right, and that’s fine. They chose to have the rally at the exact same location, and that is their right, as well.”

Was it a bad idea to have this Blue rally today given the historic anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream Speech”?

“I just picked a Friday night after work hours to show the police we care. I didn’t have any grand plan. We know police morale is low these days. Most cops are good people who have families,” she said. “We know reforms need to take place, and I encourage people to learn more about Project 21.”

It was a lively night, tensions were high, and it wasn’t entirely peaceful.

Blue Rally supporters filled trucks and cars chanting “Blue Lives Matter” while circling city streets for hours. BLM supporters chanted “All cops are bastards,” “I see racists,” and “Black Lives Matter.”

Blue
Police supporters.

Here are some of the things this reporter witnessed:

  • One man was carrying an assault rifle, which was intimidating to many. Police stayed close to him throughout the evening.
  • One Blue Rally supporter went over to speak with BLM supporters to simply express admiration they were being vocal in their beliefs. He knew the teens there and while addressing them, a professional BLM organizer got in his face with a camera demanding he wear a face mask. Another BLM supporter challenged him, as well. The video will be posted on Saturday.
  • A Trump supporter threw coffee at an elderly lady while driving by. It stained her jeans.
  • Joey Gibson, of Patriot Prayer, had a very nice conversation with a BLM supporter about religion and removing hate from our lives. There was a lot of good dialogue between the two individuals. But, his presence also intimidated protestors.
  • Several BLM supporters didn’t want this reporter to conduct interviews and chanted “racist” to my face multiple times.
  • Police broke up a couple altercations before they escalated.
  • Confederate flags were brought in, which disturbed a lot of people.
  • Some of the BLM teens felt intimidated by Blue Rally supporters.
  • Camas Police asked everyone to break up the events shortly after 9 pm. The Blue Rally crowd quickly dispersed, while the BLM group lingered past 10 pm with about 30 people.

The evening ended with a very positive conversation between a BLM/Joe Biden supporter, who is a teacher in the Evergreen School District, and a Blue Rally/Donald Trump supporter, who had a 7-minute conversation about how to make things better. They found common ground. Initially, both sides agreed to be recorded, but after it ended, the teacher withdrew her permission for us to post it.

“I just want our cops to know we do appreciate them, but we also need to help our black people right now,” she said. “They need a voice to know that we don’t want them to be oppressed.”

The Trump supporter agreed, and then the night ended.

Blue
Black Lives Matter Supporter



/16 Comments/by
, ,

Clark Regional Emergency Ops Center Issues Latest COVID-19 Update

Vancouver, WA — The Clark Regional Emergency Operations Center (CREOC) issued their latest COVID-19 update. Here’s the report by the numbers, as of August 24, 2020:

Clark County

  • Number of Positive Tests: 2,435 (cumulative since March 2020)
  • Current COVID-19 Cases Hospitalized: 17
  • Number of Deaths: 47
  • Rate of new cases per 100,000 population: 74.7 (goal is to get to a rate of 25 new cases per 100,000).
  • COVID-19 persons under investigation (PUI) hospitalized: 11
  • Percent licensed hospital beds occupied: 67.5%
  • Percent licensed hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients and PUIs: 4.5%

Washington State

  • Number of Positive Tests: 71,012 (cumulative since March 2020)
  • Number of Hospitalized: 6,530 (cumulative since March 2020)
  • Number of Deaths: 1,863
Learning
www.arktana.com

Individual and Business Assistance Information

A team of state agencies hosts a monthly ​webinar series​ with experts who discuss information specific to Washington small businesses. A panel of state and federal partners respond to live Q&A regarding unemployment insurance, returning employees to the workplace, small business relief funding, workplace safety measures, and other topics important to employers. The next webinar will be held on September 9 at 1:30 p.m. There is also a Spanish-language webinar​ on August 27 at 4 pm. Click here to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/small-business-requirements-and-resources-sbrr-covid-19-impact-webinar-tickets-105298340170?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch%5C

Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) are available to help rural areas struggling with the costs of the pandemic. Washington State Department of Commerce is now accepting applications from CDBG non-entitlement (rural) city and county governments for the first round of these CDBG-Coronavirus (CDBG-CV1) funds. Visit Commerce’s ​CDBG-CV website​ for details on eligible activities and how to apply. Applications are due by September 3, 2020. Here’s the link: https://www.commerce.wa.gov/serving-communities/community-development-block-grants/cares-act-community-development-block-grant/

The Washington ​State Department of Commerce is distributing approximately $100 million​ in state Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding through its existing network of homeless services grantees and organizations serving homeless youth to operate a new rent assistance program launched Aug. 1. The program will focus on preventing evictions by paying up to three months of past due, current and future rent to landlords for eligible participants. Here’s the link to the site: https://www.commerce.wa.gov/news-releases/community-grants/100-million-rental-assistance-headed-to-washington-communities/

/0 Comments/by
, ,

Jamie’s Dahlias U-Cut in Washougal Offers Premium Flowers

Several miles into the scenic Washougal River Road drive you come to Hughes Road, make a left turn, and discover the stunning Jamie’s Dahlias gardens tucked away along rolling hills and rich evergreen trees. With its neatly planted rows, this nearly acre-sized flower farm provides a needed respite from a world beleaguered with a pandemic and the continued stress that ensues.

It’s the new, local destination to cut your favorite dahlia flowers and fill your home or office with brilliant colors.

Jamie Smith, the garden’s namesake, and Fort Vancouver High School health teacher, is there to greet you while her two young sons plow the earth with toy John Deere tractors and her husband, Kerry, tends to the grounds. 

This is the first year, even the first month of operation for this young farm, the successor to Bob and Linda’s dahlia farm that closed recently. 

“We officially opened August 1,” said Jamie. “It’s technically a U-cut business. People come and cut the flowers they want. We spend a lot of time in the seedling garden where we create new varieties. We have 220 named varieties to choose from here.”

Jamie and Kerry have spent months, even years planning for this project, learning and experiencing everything the world of dahlias brings. Jamie explains the tuber is what gives you the same dahlia each year, but if you take the flower and mix tiny sprouts from the various seed heads of the dahlia flower, you can get some great varieties. 

She said a tuber looks like a potato and it will grow. 

“They will grow all these new plants below, and you sit there with a pair of scissors and then separate them, then store them over the winter,” Jamie said. “I store them in vermiculite, which is a thick powder, and keeps the moisture away from the dahlia.”

A lot of the dahlia tubers are from other dahlia farms in the area, which have been delicately maintained through the winter months. 

“The Portland Dahlia Society has given me a lot of tips when it comes to dahlia dividing and storage,” said Jamie. “Some people dip their dahlias in sulfur or cinnamon. Others store them in wood chips or Saran Wrap. This is my first year growing them, and we put them in the ground in the Spring. The original one that’s planted is thrown away, but the tuber below under ground can yield up to 10 plants. We sell individual tubers, as well.” 

Dahlias
www.artfuljuxtaposition.com

When do you start planting? 

“In March you wake them up and put them in a greenhouse,” Jamie said. “We got the back half planted in April. Maintenance includes lots and lots of weeding. If you use the regular garden hoe you can damage the roots and the plants. We have to weed daily.”

Why a dahlia farm?

“Six years ago I went on my first date with Kerry and we stopped at Linda’s dahlias and he gave me this huge massive bouquet,” she said. “That farm is three miles down the road. I didn’t know much about dahlias until then, but was impressed by the bouquet. It became our thing to walk the dahlia fields and explore. We have seven acres here, and we think we have about one acre of dahlias.” 

Jamie and Kerry planted 2,800 dahlias in the ground, and 2,600 plants came up. The planting lasted four straight days from sunrise to sunset because it’s best to plant them all at the same time.

Getting to the gardens is just a 16-minute drive from Camas, and it makes for a nice, local escape into another beautiful location.

Jamie’s Dahlias is open daily 9 am-6 pm at 704 Hughes Rd. Washougal, WA 98671. You can also find them on Facebook (Jamie’s Dahlias) and Instagram (@Jamiesdahlias)

Dahlias
A look at some of the gardens.
Dahlias
From the Tomo variety.
/0 Comments/by
, ,

Local Teens Organize Online Learning Resource to Help Fellow Students

To address student learning gaps happening during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to sharpen minds during summer vacation, several local teens have created a non-profit learning and tutoring organization called Youth Hand in Hand, which offers free online classes and tutorials on a wide range of topics.

The organization, which is comprised of talented student teachers, hosts weekly 40-minute ZOOM class sessions, teaching topics that include Coding (Scratch and Python), SAT tutoring, Chemistry, Biology, Math, National History Day, Creative Writing and Cartooning.

“A lot of these classes are things we are passionate about,” said Ares Zhang, a Camas High School senior, and one of the group’s student teachers. “We know a lot of people who have missed out on opportunities over the summer. This all started out as friends trying to help each other, but it’s turned into something bigger. There’s no cost! All of it’s free. All you have to do is sign up.”

As a non-profit, Youth Hand in Hand is able to procure funding to purchase full ZOOM subscriptions for all teachers, and they are accepting old routers to help students to have better WiFi access.

“Technically, we started in April during the pandemic, and my sister wanted to learn scratch coding, and several neighbors were interested,” said Spencer Chang, a junior at Mountain View High School, and the organization’s founder. “I asked if anyone would also want to do it, and other four kids helped us.”

After initial setup, Youth Hand in Hand now has 18 student teachers and offers 15 classes. Most classes have two teachers and typically 15 kids are in each session. 

Learning
www.arktana.com

“Last month, we had 250 people sign up,” said Chang. “It’s a month-to-month program. Most classes are 4 weeks long. We provide resources to help kids get through online learning.”

Zhang said they are adapting the curriculum to help kids through the school season, and they will shift toward tutoring.

“We can help them learn concepts since they’re not in regular school,” said Chang. “Our goal for September is to expand curriculum and get ZOOM subscriptions for all our teachers. All teachers are teens. The youngest one will be a freshman this year. We are mostly juniors and seniors.” 

Youth Hand in Hand plans to do face-to-face classes and tutoring sessions when life returns to pre-pandemic normal.

“It’s mostly so people can keep on learning throughout the pandemic,” said Chang. “Some people don’t learn as well online, and we’re hoping we can make an impact, to provide people opportunities to learn.”

To learn more about the program, visit https://sites.google.com/view/youthhandinhand/home?authuser=0 or email the team at [email protected]

“We just channeled our passion into this,” said Zhang. “This is great way to make an impact in our community.”

/0 Comments/by
,

Greater St. Helens League Moves All Season 1 Sports to Modified Season 3

Rory Oster, Camas High School Athletic Director, issued this statement today regarding sports programs:

On Wednesday, August 12, 2020 the athletic directors of the Greater St. Helens 4A/3A League voted to move all high school athletic programs offered during season one to season three of the modified WIAA calendar. While league officials strongly believe in the growth that interscholastic education based athletics provides and want to return student-athletes to the field as soon as possible, we also believe this decision is best for the health and safety of the student athletes, coaches and communities which is always the top priority. 

Updated modified schedules for all sports within the league will be released during the early winter months of 2020 on the league website.

Here is the modified calendar:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRBAgnCcbDMb6B4eo9iwow1JXZ3iKJ1gngUi3JajLfBJH-Lc1TYE23tJWsGwZhe1Xbjr06lrQjSpNr6/pubhtml?gid=258814753&single=true&urp=gmail_link

Athletic Eligibility

Oster also answered frequently asked questions about athletic eligibility. He said the folllwing:

Camas High School has been receiving questions in regards to transferring schools and how that affects athletic eligibility moving forward as a Papermaker. Here are some insights to those questions based on the current WIAA handbook. Please remember that all transfer eligibility rules are for varsity competition only. All registered Camas High School, Hayes Freedom High School and Discovery High School students are eligible to participate at the non-varsity level of the programs offered. 

18.11.2 The following students who are attending a member school shall be deemed to meet the residence rule requirement and transferring student rule requirements: A. A student whose transfer is based on a bona fide change of residence to a new school (district) due to an actual physical relocation of and with the entire family unit to a different residence and preceded by termination of all occupancy of their previous residence.

FAQ: Can our daughter begin school in Arizona since they are allowing students to attend regular class, but transfer back to Camas High School once they return students to the classroom and be eligible for athletics?

Answer: As long as the entire family unit (everybody that currently lives in current home) moves to Arizona to attend school, and then has the entire family unit move back to Camas is eligible for varsity competition. Please note that entire family unit must move, one parent cannot stay at the house in Camas while another is with the child in Arizona.

Sports
www.artfuljuxtaposition.com

FAQ: Can our son enroll in a local private school this fall that is offering in person learning and return to Camas School District once they return to in person learning and be eligible?

Answer-As the WIAA handbook currently reads, the answer is no. They made the move for academic purposes and in that choice forfeited varsity eligibility for one calendar year upon the return to CSD.

18.13.3 There can be no evidence that either the student transferred for the purpose of participating in interscholastic athletics or transferred as a result of having been recruited for the purpose of participating in interscholastic athletics.

FAQ: Can my son who is a senior transfer to play football this fall in South Dakota and return to Camas High School in January to participate in football in the spring?

Answer-Any student who is deemed to transfer strictly for athletic purposes are ineligible to compete at the varsity level for one calendar year.

A student-athlete may always apply for a waiver/hardship exception when they are deemed ineligible. Those cases are heard by a local committee and decided upon at that time. They fall under the rule listed below:

18.13.0 RESIDENCE RULE WAIVER – Transferring students, unless eligible via 18.10.0 through 18.11.0, shall be deemed to have transferred at will and must apply to the WIAA District Eligibility Committee for a waiver of the Residence Rule. Such an application shall be processed under the appeal provisions contained in Article 19 of this Handbook. The procedure for evaluating a transferring student’s application will be as follows: 18.13.1 The student must meet all other eligibility requirements of Article 18 of this Handbook. 18.13.2 The student must establish a hardship as defined under the provisions of Article 19.1.0 and as determined by the District Eligibility Committee. 18.13.3 There can be no evidence that either the student transferred for the purpose of participating in interscholastic athletics or transferred as a result of having been recruited for the purpose of participating in interscholastic athletics. 18.13.4 In addition to the above requirements, the District Eligibility Chairperson shall, as an added condition of eligibility, require that a transferring student submit a WIAA Previous School Statement. A copy of the signed form must be retained on file in the school office for the duration of the student’s attendance at that school. 

/0 Comments/by
, ,

COVID-19: Latest State Situation Report Shows Slowing of New Cases

Clark County Public Health reported Tuesday that another 11 people have tested positive for COVID-19. To date, 2,121 Clark County residents have tested positive. The Health Department says the current incidence of new COVID-19 cases in Clark County is 88 cases per 100,000 residents over 14 days. The target rate is less than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents.

Currently, 12 COVID-19 patients and 13 persons under investigation (awaiting test results) for COVID-19 are hospitalized.

The agency also said today “our efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 by wearing face coverings and maintaining physical distancing appear to be working!”

Data in the latest statewide situation report shows the growth of new cases in the state is likely slowing. And the data in this new report “points to vigilant masking and physical distancing as the reason for the slowed statewide transmission, rather than changes to people’s mobility.”

While case numbers are flat or decreasing statewide among people younger than 40, they are increasing among those 40 and older.

COVID-19
www.champpizza.com

Report Highlights

  • While growth in new cases may be slowing overall, aggregated data masks diverging trends in older and younger populations. In both eastern and western WA, cases are flat or decreasing in the 0 to 39-year age group while increasing in the 40-69 and 70+ age groups.
  • Suggests that any flattening of new cases is due to non-mobility-related changes in behavior like vigilant masking and physical distancing when out.
  • The slight deceleration in the growth of new cases is an improvement over the rate of increase noted in their last few reports. However, it is too early to know with certainty whether this represents a real turnaround. Further, the observation at the state level that cases continue to increase in the older age groups and particularly in those 70 and older is concerning. State health experts expect that if the increase in cases in these older age groups continues unabated this will result in an increase in hospitalization and deaths.
  • The report says “We cannot definitively attribute this trend to the mask mandates because mask wearing is generally accompanied by heightened awareness and physical distancing, but a ​preponderance of evidence indicates that widespread use of masks significantly reduces transmission​.”
  • Strict adherence to masking and physical distancing policies and limits on social contacts remain necessary to further suppress COVID-19 transmission in Washington state and protect groups at higher risk for severe disease.

/0 Comments/by
, ,

Q & A: Superintendent Snell Discusses Camas School Reopening Plans

Camas Superintendent, Dr, Jeff Snell provides to frequently asked questions regarding school reopening for the 2020-21 school season. He said this week there will be an opportunity to engage in a question and answer session about Camas Connect Academy, the Camas School District (CSD) full online option.  CSD recommends the Camas Connect Academy only for families that do not have a desire to return to on-campus learning at any point during the school year.  For all others, CSD recommends starting the school year remotely and then transitioning towards more on-campus learning during the year.

So how do we start school? 
During remote learning, we will keep the same school hours.  This provides a consistent structure for students and families and defines the workday for staff.  Schools will be providing orientations to help staff and families partner together in support of students. 

Does full remote learning mean my student will be on Zoom for more than six hours per day?
No, the State Board of Education has provided some flexibility in how we meet our yearly instructional hour requirements, and sitting in front of a screen all day long is not a best practice for students.

We designed our scheduling framework to have a combination of synchronous (live) and asynchronous (recorded) learning with brain/movement breaks for students. Our remote learning schedule is aligned to our full hybrid schedule to help transition to more on-campus time when community health indicators improve. In our full, hybrid learning delivery model, students will receive at least two days of on-campus, live instruction. We’ve included a similar expectation in our remote learning schedule. The equivalent of at least 2 days of “live”, synchronous instruction will be distributed across the week. Other learning time will be asynchronous instruction from our teachers with specific learning tasks for students to complete with support. This allows for some flexibility for students and families when they access this instruction. Each school will develop a schedule that supports students and helps families at home. Prior to each week, teachers will post the week-ahead schedule that includes opportunities for student support and communication with families.

Will daily student attendance be taken?
Yes, attendance will be taken for both synchronous and asynchronous learning sessions. 

Acorn
www.clarkcountyrelocations.com

Will this look different than it did in the spring?
Yes, our staff are committed to our students and have been planning based on the experiences from the spring.  Staff training this summer includes social and emotional learning/wellness, design for remote learning, learning management and communication tools, video creation, synchronous interaction, and priority learning standards. As you know, we have an amazing staff who were put into a very challenging situation last spring.  They want to create an engaging learning experience for your student this fall!

What if I need emergency childcare as we transition back to on-campus learning? 
We recognize that each family is in a unique situation and may need support.  We are trying to develop options for families in these situations.  Please contact us using this LINK. 

What if my family relies on school breakfast and/or lunch services?
We will develop a similar process to how we provided these meals in the spring during remote learning.  

When will we start phasing into on-campus instruction?
Decision Tree K12 Schools provides a framework that puts regions into COVID-19 activity levels using several indicators. One of those indicators is the rate of cases per 100,000 people. The rate divides COVID-19 activity into three levels: HIGH >75, MODERATE between 25-75, and LOW <25.  The most recent rate of cases per 100,000 in Clark County was 74.3.  Even though we are on the upper limit of MODERATE we are trending in a better direction considering our previous two rates were 99.7 and 96.4 (The Columbian, 8/5/2020, Clark County at ‘moderate risk’ for school reopenings).  Your effort and the efforts of our community of following the Safe Start Washington guidelines are starting to pay off so thank you!  Please help keep lowering the rate by socially distancing, wearing your mask, and washing your hands.  

As our rate per 100,000 lowers, we will bring students on campus in small groups starting with our youngest students and those with specific support needs.  We will then add more small groups of students easing our way towards a full hybrid model of at least two days of on-campus learning for each student.

I have greatly appreciated your feedback and patience during this journey to our first day of school.  

Jeff Snell, Superintendent

/2 Comments/by
, ,

COVID-19: Inslee Issues Guidance for Long-Term Care Facilities, Fitness Businesses

This week, Gov. Inslee and state health officials announced updated COVID-19 guidance for long-term care facilities and fitness businesses.

Beginning Aug. 12, long-term care facilities will be able to resume in-person visits, with restrictions. The state has established a phased approach with criteria for long-term care facilities to safely allow visitors, provide trips for residents outside the facility and group activities, among other things.

  • Facilities in Phase 1:
    • Indoor visits are limited to compassionate care situations. Compassionate care situations include end-of-life circumstances and for psycho-social needs. Any such visit must follow strict safety protocol.
    • Outdoor visits are allowed and limited to two visitors per resident per visit. These visits must include masking, social distancing, and appropriate hygiene.
    • Facilities may invite “window visits” at their discretion with safety protocol in place.
    • Remote visitation must be facilitated in all Phases.
  • Facilities in Phase 2:
    • Indoor visits are limited to compassionate care situations. Compassionate care situations include end-of-life circumstances and for psycho-social needs. Any such visit must follow strict safety protocol.
    • Outdoor visits are allowed. These visits must include masking, social distancing, and appropriate hygiene.
    • Facilities may invite “window visits” at their discretion with safety protocol in place.
    • Remote visitation must be facilitated in all Phases.
    • A designated “essential support person” may visit a resident once per day if the resident is unable to participate in outdoor visits and if remote visitation technology is unavailable.
  • Facilities in Phase 3:
    • Indoor visits are generally permitted, with limitations. Facilities will establish protocol for visitor hours, visitor limits, and safety precautions. Preference should be given to outdoor visits.
    • Outdoor visits are allowed and are subject to facility safety protocol.
    • Remote visitation must be facilitated in all Phases.
  • Facilities in Phase 4:
    • Regular visitation resumes.

Fitness Guidelines

Fitness guidelines were also updated this week, allowing fitness and sports training other than group fitness classes

Changes in August 3 update:

  • Removing the restriction on independent fitness training by allowing fitness and sports training other than group fitness classes.
  • Increasing the distancing requirement while exercising indoors from six feet to 300 square feet per person, except while practicing certain team sports. For large facilities, occupancy is limited to 25 percent of the facility’s occupancy limit, as determined by the fire code. Occupancy and distancing requirements should be determined and posted for every room in the facility.
  • Requiring all patrons to wear face coverings when inside indoor fitness facilities, except while engaged in strenuous exercise. Patrons who remove their cloth facial coverings to exercise must wear them at all other times, including immediately before and immediately after exercise.
  • Clarifying the use of indoor team sports facilities for practice and limited competition with no spectators.
  • Harmonizing Phase 2 and 3 guidance to allow some limited indoor fitness and training activities in all areas of the state.
  • Clarifying that outdoors locations for fitness training and team sports are preferred to indoors locations and should be utilized to the greatest extent possible. Outdoor temporary structures may be used. Outdoor temporary structures should have no more than two walls to provide appropriate ventilation.
Inslee
www.champpizza.com

Clark County COVID-19 Update

Clark County Public Health issued a new update today:

Another 13 people have tested positive for COVID-19. However, during routine quality control checks of our data, we removed 12 cases from our total due to duplications and cases being transferred to other counties (the county of residence).

With those changes, the total number of Clark County residents who have tested positive to date is 1992.

Another Clark County resident has died – a man in his 80s with undetermined underlying conditions. To date, 41 Clark County residents have died.

Currently, 13 COVID-19 patients and four persons under investigation (awaiting test results) for COVID-19 are hospitalized.

COVID-19
Long-Term Care Facilities Visitation.
/0 Comments/by