One Pilot Rock family is doing just that.
Mike and Danielle Baleztena are thankful to have their family together for the holidays after Mike was diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer during the summer.
âI am totally blessed and thankful,â said Mike, who had surgery in August and is doing well in a clinical trial. âI thank God every day for giving me another day. You donât take anything seriously anymore â except for football.â
As Pilot Rockâs football coach, Mikeâs biggest concern before his diagnosis was trying to figure out how to replace all-state running back Tyasin Burns.
Top 10 stories of 2020: Pandemic, shootings, wildfires hit Clark County by The Columbian
The SARS-COV-2 virus is incredibly small, but the reverberations of its impact on humanity dominated the events of 2020 and will linger for years.
There was never any question that the novel coronavirus pandemic is The Columbian’s and the world’s top story of 2020.
Clark County’s first case of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, was reported on March 7. Since then, it has sickened more than 12,000 people and taken the lives of more than 135 people.
It has shuttered businesses, reinvented learning and upended nearly every aspect of Clark County life.
PILOT ROCK — The holiday season is a time to connect with family and friends, and count one’s blessings. Should there be a Christmas miracle tucked into the mix, embrace
Portraits of 20 Oregonians who died in the 2020 coronavirus pandemic
Updated on Dec 28, 2020;
Published on Dec 24, 2020
Samantha Hickey and her husband, Robb, with their daughter, 5, Blakelee, and son, 7, Reed.
By staff and wire reports
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Kim Forn Luey was born in Guangyang Village, Toisan, Guangdong, China. The family immigrated to Portland in 1947, where Kim graduated from Franklin High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Oregon in 1963, married her husband Jimmie in 1964 and raised four boys. She worked nine years as a tour guide at Alpenrose Dairy starting in 1977 and then was a substitute teacher for the Beaverton school district for 19 years. Kim spent 4,300+ hours volunteering at the Lan Su Chinese Garden starting in 2000. She died of COVID-19 related complications.
First COVID-19 vaccinations begin in Oregon
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Of The Associated Press
PORTLAND Oregon hospitals administered the first coronavirus vaccines in the state Wednesday to nurses, respiratory therapists, housekeeping workers and other health care employees in high-risk jobs, marking the beginning of a broad vaccination campaign in a state that s seen more than 1,200 COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began.
Those vaccinated during the coordinated event streamed live over the internet were from Legacy Health System and Oregon Health & Science University in Portland and Saint Alphonsus Medical Center on the Oregon-Idaho border. Vaccine shipments to other hospitals, including Salem Hospital, will continue to arrive this week.