The latest news stories and stories of interest in Eugene-Springfield area and around the state of Oregon from the online digital home of the valley, WillametteValleyMagazine.com.
Thursday, November 5, 2020
Willamette Valley Weather
Today A 50% chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 60. West southwest wind 3 to 6 mph. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Friday Rain likely, mainly before 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 52. North wind 8 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Saturday A 30% chance of showers after 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 48. Overnight, rain with the snow level 3400 feet lowering to 2800 feet after midnight . Mostly cloudy, with a low around 34.
Sunday Mostly sunny, with a high near 46.
Monday A slight chance of rain. Snow level 800 feet rising to 2100 feet in the afternoon. Partly sunny, with a high near 46.
TODAY’s HEADLINES
This week’s total is 12. COVID-19 has claimed four more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 705.
Oregon Health Authority reported 597 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of yesterday, bringing the state total to 47,049.
After 70 new cases announced on Tuesday, Lane County Health officials say yesterday another 24 cases have been added.
Yesterday’s new cases are in the following counties: Baker (7), Benton (2), Clackamas (54), Clatsop (4), Columbia (5), Coos (2), Crook (9), Deschutes (17), Douglas (12), Grant (2), Harney (1), Hood River (2), Jackson (52), Jefferson (5), Josephine (1), Klamath (3), Lake (1), Lane (24), Linn (11), Malheur (11), Marion (83), Morrow (2), Multnomah (172), Polk (13), Tillamook (2), Umatilla (23), Union (3), Wallowa (3), Wasco (1), Washington (57), and Yamhill (13).
This is the second consecutive week that daily case counts set a record high for the pandemic. As COVID-19 cases continue to surge, OHA reminds people to:
- Wear a face covering.
- Keep physically distant.
- Maintain good hand hygiene.
A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene on Monday is demanding the U.S. Forest Service turn over documents related to the start of what would become the Beachie Creek Fire, which burned 193,000 thousand acres and destroyed small communities this summer.
In the lawsuit, Linn County alleges the Forest Service failed to hand over documents as required by law that could reveal details about how a small fire grew out of control.
According to the lawsuit, the Forest Service tried to extinguish a small fire that started on their land near the Opal Creek Wilderness on August 16, at times using a Chinook helicopter to suppress the flames, but “inexplicably scaled back it’s efforts on August 21, leaving the fire to burn.”
By Sept. 6, the fire had grown to 500 acres. The following day, a historic wind event caused the fire to balloon in size.
“The unique wind event on September 7th created an extreme environment in which the fire was able to accelerate. The winds were 50-75 miles per hour, and the fire growth rate was about 2.77 acres per second in areas of the Beachie Creek fire. This allowed the fire to reach over 130,000 acres in one night,” the Forest Service later said.
In a Freedom of Information Act request filed in late September, the county requested 20 sets of documents from the Forest Service ranging from plans for prescribed burns, firefighting activity, and communications between the Forest Service and private contractors assigned to the fire.
The Forest Service acknowledged the request, but said the request was “not perfected” and the agency would reach out later for clarification. Linn County claims the Forest Service never got back to them, neither providing documents nor an explanation for not fulfilling the request.
In the lawsuit, the county is asking the for the Forest Service to “immediately and fully process Linn County’s request and disclose all non-exempt documents.”
Following Tuesday’s election in Oregon, three of the 4 partisan state offices elected by statewide votes remain in the hands of women after the results of the November election – and all 4 seats are again held by Democrats.
Secretary of State Ellen Rosenblum and Treasurer Tobias Read, both Democrats, both won-re-election on Tuesday. State Sen. Shemia Fagan, also a Democrat, won election to the open seat as secretary of state over another state senator, Republican Kim Thatcher.
Fagan and Read also make up two-thirds of the state Land Board, along with Democratic Gov. Kate Brown, who is in her second term. If you include the nonpartisan Labor Commissioner position held by Val Hoyle, then 4 of the 5 state offices decided by statewide votes are held by women. Hoyle is also a Democrat.
Oregon limits governors to two consecutive terms in office. Former Gov. John Kitzhaber ran for and won third and fourth terms after taking 8 years off during Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s administration, only to resign early in his fourth term in 2015.
Brown, as the then-secretary of state, became governor through succession. She has since won election to the balance of Kitzhaber’s term and her own full 4-year term. Brown appointed Jeanne Atkin to serve as secretary of state until the next election in 2016. Atkins vowed not to run for the office in 2016.
The Oregon Ducks football team are preparing for Saturday’s game against Stanford.
Coming off a 12-2 season and a Rose Bowl win last year, the Pac-12 Champions are looking forward to a competitive, albeit shortened season.
The Ducks have been practicing under different protocols and have had to alter many things throughout their preseason.
With the loss of star quarterback Justin Herbert to the NFL’s L A Chargers, graduated seniors, and four players opting out to prepare for the NFL draft, the Ducks need new faces to step up and fill vacant positions.
Around the state of Oregon
Oregon election officials are reporting record-breaking voter turnout for Tuesday’s election. The Oregon Secretary of State’s Office says two-point-15-million Oregonians cast their votes this election cycle. That breaks the previous record of two-point-05-million votes set during the 2016 presidential election.
Finally it was declared a riot in downtown Portland and the National Guard was activated Wednesday evening in response to protest violence.
Eleven protesters were arrested as multiple businesses were vandalized overnight. Among those arrested was a man accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at officers. He was wearing a tactical vest and had a loaded rifle with additional magazines, an improved explosive device, a knife and cans of spray paint
Law enforcement authorities said they had also seized additional weapons, commercial-grade fireworks and hammers throughout the night.
The Portland Business Alliance denounced the damage to the small busnesses downtown.
“I find it beyond comprehension that anyone would continue to think that the destruction of our small businesses in downtown Portland is somehow acceptable or represents the exercise of free speech. These destructive acts of political violence, must stop now,” said PBA President President & CEO Andrew Hoan. “I hope every elected official will react and denounce this reprehensible behavior, just as vehemently as when our beloved Oregon Historical Society was attacked.”
Governor Kate Brown says that she will extend the joint law enforcement command intended to keep the peace in Portland this week and beyond, hoping to maintain the needed stepped-up presence in the city from Oregon State Police and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.
Brown’s peacekeeping plan has the Oregon National Guard helping during the nonstop nightly protests which are making her look weaker and weaker. Brown’s office said that the joint incident command structure has been extended until Friday evening unless rescinded or lengthened.
A measure intended to hike taxes on tobacco products and put taxes in place on vaping products has passed.
Measure 108 increase taxes on tobacco products and “inhalant delivery systems,” namely e-cigarettes, and puts the money toward health programs under the Oregon Health Authority umbrella. Cigarette tax at 16.65 cents per cigarette, which is an increase from $1.33 to $3.33 per 20-pack of cigarettes; E-cigarettes and other nicotine inhalants at a rate of 65% of the wholesale sales price; and Cigar tax cap of 65% of the wholesale sales price, not to exceed $1.00 per cigar, an increase from $0.50.
Voters in Union and Jefferson counties say they want their slice of Oregon to become part of Idaho. To be more precise, a majority of residents who cast ballots in those rural counties decided to require that their county commissioners hold meetings about relocating the border. In Jefferson County, 5,655 residents — 51.02% — voted for the measure. In Union, 7,401 — 52.42% — supported it. The measure also was on the ballot in Wallowa County but fell just short, with 2,429 (49.53%) voting yes and 2,475 (50.47%) voting no.
The weak mayor of Portland, Ted Wheeler, declared victory Wednesday after a bruising campaign that sandwiched him between a tough challenger to his political left and anger from moderate voters and business owners frustrated with five months of near-nightly protests that made the city a frequent lightning rod for President Donald Trump.
Wheeler said he had a clear mandate with more than 90% of the vote counted and was energized by his win. If his lead holds, Wheeler would become the first mayor to win a second term in the notoriously hard-to-govern city in 20 years.
On Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at approximately 10:10 A.M., Oregon State Police Troopers and emergency personnel responded to a multiple vehicle crash on Hwy 101 near milepost 9.
Preliminary investigation revealed a Lincoln Navigator, operated by Rachael Forrest (26) of Seaside,was northbound when it crossed into the southbound lane and struck a Toyota Rav4 operated by Randall Shine (63) of Ilwaco, WA. The impact spun the Rav4 into the northbound lane where it was struck by Chevrolet pickup (ODOT) operated by Richard Kearns (67) of Ocean Park, WA.
Kearns and his passenger Virginia Williams (59) of Warrenton (both ODOT employees) were transported to the hospital.
Shine and his passenger Patricia Shine (71) of Ilwaco, WA. both sustained fatal injuries and were pronounced deceased.
Forrest was not injured. Alcohol is being investigated as a possible factor.
On Monday, November 2, 2020 at approximately 9:45 A.M., Oregon State Police Troopers and emergency personnel responded to a crash on Hwy 395E near milepost 148.
Preliminary investigation revealed a Ford F350 truck and flatbed trailer, operated by Daniel Decker (22) of Lakeview, was northbound when it failed to negotiate a corner, overcorrected, and rolled.
The passenger, Clarea Lasley (37) of Lakeview, sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased.
Decker was transported by ground ambulance to the hospital and later flown to St. Charles Medical Center.
Decker will be referred to the Lake County District Attorney’s Office for charges of Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and Manslaughter.
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