By Stephen Floyd The City of Mount Angel is finalizing plans to chlorinate its municipal water supply as a preventative against unhealthy microbes, with public meetings on the matter set for April. In a timeline published on the city’s website, officials said chlorination is scheduled to begin May 15 to comply with an Oregon Health Authority (OHA) mandate from 2023. […]
By Stephen Floyd The City of Mount Angel plans to chlorinate its water supply after being directed by the Oregon Health Authority to reduce the presence of potentially harmful microbes. On Oct. 17, OHA sent a letter to the city after tests revealed a high number of coliforms, which are bacteria commonly found in human and animal intestines. Because the […]
Seasonal caseloads of flu and respiratory viruses coupled with the continuing presence of COVID-19 have led a group of Portland-area physicians and state officials to urge a return to indoor mask use. Masks and the prevalence of seasonal illnesses on hospitalization rates were discussed at the Oregon Health Authority’s monthly media briefing on Dec. 8, although no state order on […]
By Melissa Wagoner Tyler Radniecki knows first-hand that there is a lot to be learned from studying the wastewater of cities. An Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering at Oregon State University, he has spent years cataloging the microbes and pathogens found in sewer systems to, amongst other things, determine the spread of diseases in a community. Which is why, when […]
By Stephen Floyd The Silver Falls School District has chosen to become mask-optional after statewide mask mandates are lifted March 31. The district board voted six-to-one Feb. 14 to direct Superintendent Scott Drue to draft policies transitioning away from mask mandates that have been in place since 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Opposing the decision was Board Member […]
By Stephen Floyd The Mt. Angel School District is taking a more cautious approach than its neighbors ahead of the March 31 deadline to lift indoor mask mandates in Oregon schools. While the Silver Falls and North Santiam school districts voted to go mask-optional by March 31 and joined the call for an acceleration of the deadline, MASD Superintendent Rachel […]
By Brenna Wiegand Like health systems across the country, Legacy Health, which includes Silverton Legacy Medical Center, is seeing a significant increase in visits and hospitalizations due to the COVID-19 Omicron variant. As of Jan. 24, Legacy Health was caring for three times as many COVID-19 positive patients than just a month before. “The recent wave of COVID-19 cases and […]
By Jo Garcia-Cobb Getting everyone home safely has been Victor Hoffer’s passion and a life work that earned him this year’s Meritorious Service Award from the State of Oregon Emergency Medical Services & Trauma Systems Division of the Oregon Health Authority. Presented Oct. 5 in Bend, the award recognized Hoffer, a Mount Angel lawyer, paramedic, and fire volunteer, for his […]
