The latest news stories and stories of interest in the Willamette Valley from the digital home of Southern Oregon, from Wynne Broadcasting’s WillametteValleyMagazine.com
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Willamette Valley Weather
Today– Rain. Snow level 1800 feet rising to 2800 feet. High near 45. South wind 9 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Thursday– Showers likely, mainly before 7am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 47. South southwest wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday– A 10 percent chance of rain after 4pm. Snow level 2800 feet. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 47. Light southeast wind.
Saturday– Rain. High near 50. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Sunday– Rain likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 45.
State Police Seeking Public Assistance In The Killing Of A Bald Eagle Near Junction City
OSP Fish & Wildlife Troopers from the Springfield Area Command are seeking the public’s assistance in the identification of a person(s) who are responsible for killing a Bald Eagle in the Junction City area. On November 30, 2021, a citizen reported finding a dead Bald Eagle in the Cox Butte area west of Junction City, Oregon.
Bald Eagles and other raptors are protected in Oregon. They commonly inhabit the Willamette Valley and are an important part of the wildlife ecosystem. It is illegal to harass, injure or kill a Bald Eagle. The penalties for killing an eagle can be a maximum fine of $6250.00 and a sentence of up to a year in jail. Additionally, upon conviction, the court can order the person who illegally kills a Bald Eagle to pay an additional $5000.00 in damages.
OSP is asking anyone with information related to this investigation to contact the Oregon State Police through the OSP TIP Hotline: 1-800-452-7888 or OSP (677) or TIP E-Mail: TIP@state.or.us. Please reference Case #SP21335107.
Report Wildlife and Habitat Law Violators
The Oregon Hunters Association TIP reward offers preference points or cash rewards for information leading to an arrest or issuance of a citation for the unlawful take/possession or waste of Bighorn Sheep, Rocky Mountain Goat, Moose, Elk, Deer, Antelope, Bear, Cougar, Wolf, Upland Birds, Waterfowl, Furbearers, Game Fish and Shellfish. Cash rewards can also be awarded for turning in people who destroy habitat, illegally obtain licenses/tags, and for the unlawful lending/borrowing of big game tags.
Missing Douglas County Woman Found Deceased
A woman who has been missing for over two weeks was found dead in rural Douglas County.
Investigators said 77-year-old Bonnie Jo Short drove away from her Myrtle Creek home at about 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 27. After that, she did not contact anyone and her cell phone appeared to be turned off.
On the night of Monday, December 13, a person searching for loose cattle stumbled upon Short’s unoccupied vehicle off an old logging road near South Umpqua Road.
The next day, search and rescue crews scoured the area. Just after noon Tuesday, Short was found dead about 320 yards from her vehicle.
According to the Myrtle Creek Police Department, there were no signs of anything suspicious and foul play was not involved.
No further information about the case was released.
Anyone with information about Bonnie’s whereabouts is asked to call the Myrtle Creek Police Department at 541-440-4471.
Oregon reports 883 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 49 new deaths
PORTLAND, Ore. — There are 49 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 5,469, Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reported at 12:01 a.m. today.
OHA reported 883 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 402,436.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (4), Benton (11), Clackamas (64), Clatsop (7), Columbia (8), Coos (46), Crook (17), Curry (5), Deschutes (46), Douglas (39), Harney (2), Hood River (4), Jackson (57), Jefferson (2), Josephine (16), Klamath (18), Lane (54), Lincoln (5), Linn (50), Malheur (4), Marion (102), Morrow (1), Multnomah (85), Polk (33), Tillamook (13), Umatilla (22), Union (28), Wallowa (1), Wasco (8), Washington (83), Wheeler (8) and Yamhill (40).
Police Trying to Find Another Missing Woman in Josephine County
The Grants Pass Police Department said 39-year-old Rachael Behnke was last seen dropping her child off at a Grants Pass school on Friday, December 10. She was reported missing on Monday.
According to investigators, Behnke left her cellphone at home and her current whereabouts are unknown.
Behnke was last seen driving a white 2016 Ford Explorer with Oregon plate 684 MTH.
Last known location was at North Middle/Highland Schools area. Please check security cameras and Ring door bells.
Anyone with information regarding Behnke’s whereabouts is asked to call Grants Pass police at 541-450-6260.
Oregon Adds 10,000 Jobs in November
Nonfarm payroll employment in Oregon rose by 10,000 in November, following a revised gain of 6,400 jobs in October. In November, gains were largest in leisure and hospitality (+4,100 jobs), construction (+1,800), professional and business services (+1,600), and retail trade (+1,100). These gains were partially offset by a loss of 1,100 jobs in health care and social assistance.
Several industries added enough jobs to reach all-time highs. Construction employed 113,800 in November, which was 500 jobs above its prior record reached in February 2020 during the peak of Oregon’s prior economic expansion. Similarly, wholesale trade, which added 400 jobs in November, reached 77,400, enough to boost it to a record high for the first time since February 2020. Professional and business services rose to 257,500 jobs in November, which was 100 jobs above its pre-COVID record.
Leisure and hospitality added 4,100 jobs in November, following a gain of 3,600 in October. Despite these gains, leisure and hospitality still accounts for a large share of Oregon’s jobs not recovered since early 2020, with 25,400 jobs left to recover to reach the prior peak month of February 2020. The industry has regained 77% of jobs lost early in the pandemic.
Education and health services was 16,000 jobs — or 5% — below its pre-recession peak. Within this broad industry, nursing and residential care facilities was 6,900 jobs below its pre-recession peak, and private educational services was down 3,900. Employment in hospitals was down 2,700 jobs, and ambulatory health care services was down 1,200.
Oregon’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% in November, down from 4.4% in October. The U.S. unemployment rate was also 4.2% in November. Oregon’s unemployment rate has declined rapidly over the past six months; it was close to 6% throughout the first half of the year. Oregon’s unemployment rate is now close to the state’s historically low unemployment rates which averaged 3.9% during 2017 through 2019, the three calendar years at the end of the prior economic expansion.
The Oregon Employment Department plans to release the November county and metropolitan area unemployment rates on Tuesday, Dec. 21, and the next statewide unemployment rate and employment survey data for December on Wednesday, Jan. 19.
Notes: All numbers in the above narrative are seasonally adjusted except for the components of health care.
The Oregon Employment Department and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) work cooperatively to develop and publish monthly Oregon payroll employment and labor force data. The estimates of monthly job gains and losses are based on a survey of businesses. The estimates of unemployment are based on a survey of households and other sources.
The Oregon Employment Department publishes payroll employment estimates that are revised quarterly by using employment counts from employer unemployment insurance tax records. All department publications use this Official Oregon Series data unless noted otherwise. This month’s release incorporates the April, May, and June 2021 tax records data. The department continues to make the original nonfarm payroll employment series available; these data are produced by the BLS.
The PDF version of the news release can be found at QualityInfo.org/press-release. To obtain the data in other formats such as in Excel, visit QualityInfo.org, then within the top banner, select Economic Data, then choose LAUS or CES. To request the press release as a Word document, contact the person shown at the top of this press release.
To file a claim for unemployment benefits or get more information about unemployment programs, visit unemployment.oregon.gov.
Equal Opportunity program — auxiliary aids and services available upon request to individuals with disabilities. Contact: (503) 947-1794. For people who are deaf or hard of hearing, call 711 Telecommunications Relay Services.
Weekend Storms Helped Oregon Snowpack Considerably
On December 6th Oregon’s statewide snowpack average was roughly 13%. But after the stormy weekend, the region saw that figure has jumped up to 73%.
Scott Oviatt with NRCS Oregon said much of that fell in the Cascades, but he noted some of the snow made it over the mountains to central and eastern Oregon. He added when looking at the entire state, the northern portion of the state enjoyed a great weekend.
“If we drew a line essentially from Eugene to Ontario, those areas received the brunt of the storm impacts. Southeastern Oregon, the Klamath Basin eastward, not so much. Just due to the nature of the storm.”
When it comes to snow basins across Oregon:
- Rogue-Umpqua 131% of average
- Willamette 107% of average
- Hood-Sandy-Lower Deschutes 92% of average
- Upper Deschutes-Crooked 78% of average
- Klamath 62% of average
- Lake Conty-Goose Lake 64% of average
- Harney 55% of average
- John Day 75% of average
- Umatilla-Walla Walla-Willow 93% of average
- Grand Ronde-Burnt-Powder-Imnaha 87% of average
- Malheur 76% of average
- Owyhee 26% of average
While the numbers have improved considerably, Oviatt called it a step in the right direction.
“In order for this trend to continue, obviously we need cooler temperatures. As you recall in October, November and into early December, we were above normal temperature wise. So, what precipitation we were receiving came in the form of rain, so we saw very little snow accumulation, if any. So, we did have this cooler system, the hope would be that would continue as we move through January, February and into early March.”
Oviatt added part of the hope is for a cool spring so whatever snowpack the state gets will slowly melt off, meaning more water during the heat of the summer irrigation season.
Star Stolen From Top Of Oakland Oregon’s 20-Foot Christmas Tree
Someone climbed the 20-foot community Christmas tree in this Douglas County town and stole the star from the top just after midnight December 9, 2021.
“The large lighted star was stolen from the top of the tree,” said the Sutherlin Police Department, which also serves the City of Oakland. “The tree, the lighting and the decorations were damaged as a result of the incident.”
According to police:
The City of Oakland and numerous volunteers work very hard every year to erect their community Christmas Tree in the downtown area for everyone to enjoy.
The tree is always neatly decorated with ornaments and lights.
The community Christmas Tree and their tree lighting ceremony has been a tradition for at least 50 years, and possibly longer than people know.
Police shared video of the suspects and their car, which police say appears to be a 1990s Honda Civic hatchback.
“There is a reward for information leading to the identities and the ultimate prosecution of the persons involved,” police said. “If you have information, you can call the Sutherlin Police Department at (541) 440-4471. You can also contact us by e-mail at policerecords@ci.sutherlin.or.us.”
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