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
Monday, March 7, 2022
Willamette Valley Weather
Today– Areas of dense fog before 10am. Areas of freezing fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 59. Light and variable wind.
Tuesday– Rain likely, mainly after 4pm. Patchy fog before 10am. Snow level 2500 feet rising to 3500 feet in the afternoon. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 51. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Wednesday– A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly before 10am. Snow level 2000 feet lowering to 1500 feet. Partly sunny, with a high near 49. Calm wind becoming north 5 to 7 mph in the morning.
Thursday– Sunny, with a high near 51.
Friday– Patchy frost before 7am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 58.
Corvallis Pilot Dies in Plane Crash
Corvallis pilot Marianne Fox died after an airplane crash in St. Augustine, Florida Wednesday night.
According to the International Aerobatic Club, Fox was making a short, non-aerobatic cross country flight.
St. Johns County Fire Rescue said the crash happened just after 5 p.m. Wednesday night at the Northeast Regional Airport in St. Augustine, Florida. They said the plane had crashed into a marsh.
IAC said Fox began flying to aerobatic competition at her home airport in Corvallis in 2020.
In a statement, they said in part: “Throwing herself wholeheartedly into the world of aerobatics, Marianne served as the contest director of the 2021 Corvallis Corkscrew. She also volunteered in various positions at every contest she attended. When not acting as the friendly registrar greeting the competitors, she could frequently be found on the judge’s line recording or acting as assistant judge.
IAC said Fox began flying to aerobatic competition at her home airport in Corvallis in 2020. In a statement, they said in part: “Throwing herself wholeheartedly into the world of aerobatics, Marianne served as the contest director of the 2021 Corvallis Corkscrew. She also volunteered in various positions at every contest she attended. When not acting as the friendly registrar greeting the competitors, she could frequently be found on the judge’s line recording or acting as assistant judge.
The FAA and the NTSB are investigating.
City of Eugene Opens Affordable Housing Incentive Program
The City of Eugene opens an incentive program for more new affordable housing and accessory dwelling units.
The City will waive Systems Development Charges for selected new lower-income rentals or homes. SDC’s pay for infrastructure like roads and sewers. Laura Hammond with the City of Eugene said over $370,000 is set aside.
In past years she says: ”We’ve seen everything from homes for Habitat for Humanity to larger projects like the recent Iris Place that opened out on River Road.” She added, “This year we’re focusing on housing that’s really going to help some of the folks experiencing our lowest incomes and also hopefully increase the number of accessible units for people experiencing disabilities.”
Hammond said the exemption saves $8,000 or $10,000 for ADU’s and can save hundreds of thousands for multi-unit projects. Proposals are accepted until April 15th. Because they’re re-aligning the process, there will be another window in the summer for fiscal year 2023.
The SDC exemption request for proposal page is on the City’s website, here. — Hammond said applications for Accessory Dwelling Units have gone up since 2018, when the city code was amended. Pre-approved ADU designs are on their website, here.
Eugene Police Respond To Assaults Downtown
Eugene Police officers responded to two assaults downtown early Sunday morning. Officers said they were called to 60 block of West Broadway just after 2 a.m.
Police said a woman got into a fight with a bouncer at the Cowfish Dance Club, but when officers arrived to the scene, they saw two women actively fighting.
An officer said one woman lifted the other up, and threw her to the ground, splitting her head open. She was taken to the hospital. Police said her aggressor was booked in the Lane County Jail.
The woman involved in the fight with the bouncer was also taken to the hospital. Officers said despite this being a somewhat normal weekend in the downtown area for them, fights have been getting a lot worse over the past few weeks.
Oregon reports 741 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 23 new deaths
PORTLAND, Ore. — There are 23 new COVID-19-related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 6,709, Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reported Friday afternoon.
OHA reported 741 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 696,717.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Benton (25), Clackamas (36), Clatsop (1), Columbia (8), Coos (12), Crook (8), Curry (5), Deschutes (48), Douglas (21), Grant (3), Harney (3), Hood River (4), Jackson (67), Jefferson (5), Josephine (12), Klamath (19), Lake (1), Lane (77), Lincoln (8), Linn (42), Malheur (2), Marion (41), Multnomah (169), Polk (13), Sherman (2), Tillamook (2), Umatilla (14), Union (3), Wasco (4), Washington (75) and Yamhill (11).
High-volume vaccine, testing sites continue
CDC data shows that during the emergence of the Omicron variant in December 2021, adults who were unvaccinated had more than 41 times the risk of COVID-19-associated death, compared with adults who were fully vaccinated and had received a booster.
The data are clear: get vaccinated, and get boosted when eligible. To everyone who has gotten vaccinated, thank you. Because so many people in Oregon have done their part, Oregon has high rates of immunity to severe illness.
People in Oregon can continue to receive a free COVID-19 vaccine or boosters at provider sites statewide. Check for updates for all OHA-run high-volume sites on the Oregon Vaccine News website before your visit.
Some sites have recently ended or will be ending service. Hours of operations and days of service continue to be updated as well. Other nearby vaccination providers can be found by using the Get Vaccinated Oregon locator map.
Entire News Staff at Klamath Falls Newspaper Walk Out
The entire news staff of the Herald and News, a newspaper in Klamath Falls walked out and left their jobs last week.
The paper’s editor, Tim Trainor, and three reporters all resigned this week. One of the reporters said that once Trainor announced his departure, the others knew it was time for them to go as well: “Tim resigned first and then the rest of us were just sort of like, that’s kind of it for us,” he said. “I don’t want it to seem like it was like a loyalty thing — that we left because he left — but we just knew that it would just get worse after he left.”
Reportedly there has been longtime issues over reporter pay and workload with the paper’s corporate owners, Adams Publishing Group, which came to a head in the past year.
Two positions with the Herald and News were partially funded through Report for America, a nonprofit that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities.
Journalists at large and small outlets across the country say they struggle to be able to afford to live in the areas they cover. A job posting for a general assignment reporter at the Herald and News listed the starting wage at $14 an hour, just above minimum wage.
After Jefferson Public Radio reported on the newspaper losing its staff, the wage offer increased to $16 an hour to start. The starting salary for the editor, who is in charge of the entire news department, is $45,000 a year, according to its job posting. No journalist goes into the job for the money, but trying to pay rapidly-increasing rent, student loans, child care and other necessities in a job where the hours are long and often fluid, many are finding it difficult to justify.
According to a report from the University of North Carolina, the United States has lost almost 1,800 papers since 2004, including more than 60 dailies and 1,700 weeklies. The vast majority cover small communities and rural areas. According to the report, almost 200 counties in the U.S. don’t have a newspaper, and 1,449 counties have only one, usually weekly paper. The residents of news deserts are generally poorer, older and less educated.
Losing local journalists means that a community loses the people willing to sit in meetings, read hundreds of pages of documents, spend hours doing research and ask questions of elected leaders and people in positions of power on behalf of people in the community who are affected by decisions made by those leaders.
Research shows that losing local journalism ends up costing communities money. According to Bloomberg CityLab, cities that lost newspapers and local journalists saw a rise in government spending and higher long-term borrowing costs. It also creates a situation ripe for government abuse, misinformation and extremism, according to the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life, as people start getting their news from social media only.
Quick Look at Bills That Passed or Failed as Legislative Session Ends
A quick look at items that Oregon lawmakers acted on during their 32-day session that closed Friday, March 4:
Bills that Passed:
• Worker payments: People who claimed the state’s earned-income tax credit on their 2020 returns — or amend their returns by April 15 — will be eligible for a one-time payment of $600 from federal funds of $147 million. The Department of Revenue will start the first payments to an eventual total of 245,000 households by early summer. (House Bill 4179)
• Traffic stops: Police will be barred from stopping drivers for primary violations of five vehicle equipment defects as of Jan. 1, 2023: Single broken headlight, tail light or brake light; tail light emitting a color other than red; lighting of registration plates. Police can issue tickets for these violations if there is a separate traffic violation or other offense. (Senate Bill 1510)
• Farmworker overtime: The exemption in state law will be phased out in five years — the new maximums are 55 hours in 2023 and 2024, 48 hours in 2025 and 2026, and 40 hours starting in 2027 — and time-and-a-half rates will apply. Washington state started overtime on Jan. 1; California started overtime in 2019 for larger operations, and Jan. 1 for farms with 25 or fewer workers. A tax credit, subtracted directly from taxes owed, is available. (HB 4002)
• School replacement: $120 million is set aside for the relocation of Harriet Tubman Middle School as part of the widening of Interstate 5 in Portland. Vehicle pollution affects the site in North Portland. (HB 5202, budget bill)
• Elliott State Forest: The 91,000-acre tract on the south coast will be converted to a research forest overseen by Oregon State University under legislation that severs its link to timber production for the Common School Fund. (SB 1546)
• Election workers: County election workers may have their home addresses shielded from disclosure under legislation intended to deter harassment. (HB 4144)
Bills that Failed:
• Self-serve gasoline: HB 4151, which would have allow motorists to pump their own fuels as an option to full service by attendants, died after a Feb. 8 public hearing by the Joint Committee on Transportation. The bill died in the budget panel. Oregon and New Jersey still do not allow full self-service, though under a law that took effect in 2018, it is allowed in counties with less than 40,000 people. Oregon’s ban goes back to 1951.
• Non-unanimous juries: SB 1511, which would have set up a legal process for criminal defendants who were convicted by less-than-unanimous juries, died in the budget panel after it cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a Louisiana case in 2020 that such verdicts were unconstitutional; Oregon was the only state doing so. The court left it to states to decide whether its ruling applies retroactively.
• Hospital workers: HB 4142, which would have classified assaults on hospital workers as felonies instead of misdemeanors, died in the Senate after it passed the House on March 1. Senate President Peter Courtney had not assigned it to a committee, and ruled out of order a motion by Republicans on the final day to bring it to a vote of the full Senate. Republicans failed in an attempt to override Courtney’s decision.
Gasoline Prices Hit Record Highs
Gasoline prices hit record highs in Oregon and California on Saturday, according to AAA. Nationally, rising gasoline prices are also approaching record levels as Russia’s war in Ukraine and growing support for U.S. sanctions on Russian energy exports put upward pressures on prices.
The statewide average price for gas in Oregon is now $4.38 per gallon, according to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report. That is higher than the previous record of $4.30 per gallon in 2008. U.S. gas prices also hit an average price of $4 per gallon on Saturday, March 5, according to GasBuddy.com.
It is the first time U.S. prices at the pump have hit $4 per gallon since 2008. That was in the early stages of the Great Recession and financial and real estate downturn. Nationally, prices are nearing an all-time record high of $4.10 per gallon, according to GasBuddy. That was also set in Russia’s war in Ukraine has increased crude oil and gas prices for U.S. consumers and businesses. Crude oil closed at $118 per barrel Friday — up more than 81% from a year ago.
Police Ask for Public’s Help in Search For Victim’s Roommate In Albany Homicide
A 42-year-old woman, the roommate of a 75-year-old man whose death was ruled a homicide, is wanted for questioning in the case, Albany police officials said.
Elvin “Al” Pierce was found dead by officers around 9:10 p.m. Friday after a 911 caller reported a man was unconscious and not breathing. Investigators at that time said the circumstances surrounding his death were suspicious.
APD said Pierce’s roommate, 42-year-old Elizabeth Nicole Tyler Jimenez, wasn’t there at the home when officers found Pierce dead and they don’t know where she is. Authorities did not specifically state whether Jimenez is a suspect or if there are any charges against her.
Pierce’s car, a tan 2004 Buick Park Avenue with Oregon license plate 081FAX, is also missing.
Jimenez, who investigators believe is currently without a job, is described as often visiting local soup kitchens. She also has skills as a masseuse and a seamstress, officials said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact APD at 541-917-7680 or APD Lt. Buck Pearce at 541-917-3209.
JCSO received a call Thursday regarding a vehicle that had been left in the parking lot north of the Gold Hill Sports Park, according to a JCSO press release. Upon arrival, deputies discovered that the vehicle was rented by Walzer. JCSO Search and Rescue responded and completed a search of this area along the Rogue River. Neither Walzer nor any additional clues were located.
This is a busy recreational area which leads authorities to believe Walzer was most likely seen or contacted by someone.
“Walzer was in a silver Nissan pickup truck and most likely had a full-size camera,” the press release reads. “Investigation indicates Walzer may have left his vehicle over a week ago on Friday February 18.”
Walzer is 6’2” 220 lbs with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen waring a blueish-gray button up shirt and blue jeans.
If you have any information or have seen Walzer, please contact Sgt. Shawn Richards at 541-774-6800.
Klamath County Sheriff’s Office Asks for Public’s Help in Search For Trucker Suspect
The first real clue to come in on all the missing person cases in the area. Help Klamath Falls Oregon Sheriff Office ID this trucker. He was the last to see this woman alive and could be the key to not only solving this woman’s disappearance but a number of the hundred other women missing in PNW. IF you have any information, please call (541) 883-5130
A 17-year-old was reported missing in Salem and detectives say the teen might be the victim of an online catfishing scheme.
Ezra Mayhugh, 17, was last seen on October 15, 2021 after being dropped off in downtown Salem by a friend, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said. He was reported as a runaway the following day when he did not return home.
Investigators say he might be in Washington or California. They hope to reunite Ezra safely with family members.
He’s described as about 5-foot 11-inches tall, weighing 130 pounds, with blonde hair and brown eyes.
If you have had contact with Mayhugh since October 15 or have other helpful information on his whereabouts, the sheriff’s office asks you to contact Detective M.J. Sphoon at 503-588-6808 or to submit a tip by texting TIPMCSO and your tip to 847411.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Have-You-Seen-Me-Southern-Oregons-Missing-People-161249961222839/posts/