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, June 13, 2022
Willamette Valley Weather
Eugene Police Department Cautioning Drivers Of Heavy Traffic Congestion Today For UO Graduation
The Eugene Police Department is cautioning drivers that there will be heavy traffic congestion Monday, especially during the morning commute time and on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Coburg Road between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and campus. Eugene Police Traffic Safety Unit and other EPD personnel will manage traffic flow similar to what is done for a home football game.
30,000 people are expected to be in the Autzen Stadium area for commencement events as graduates from the 2020, 2021 and 2022 classes are invited to participate in Monday’s in-person University of Oregon graduation,
Police recommend that anyone not traveling to the graduation events use alternate routes to the Ferry Street/Coburg Road area, such as the Washington/Jefferson Street Bridge, Delta Highway, Cal Young Road, Harlow Road, Goodpasture Island Road, and Green Acres/Crescent Avenue.
Other transportation options include walking and biking to Autzen Stadium along the numerous pedestrian paths and bike lanes throughout Eugene, or taking the bus.
If you are going to commencement events, Eugene Police offer the following tips:
- Have a Plan – Those coming to the events should pre-plan their travel routes and where they will park once they arrive. Normal traffic patterns around Autzen Stadium are dramatically changed when there are events and will limit your ability to drive freely through the area.
- Obey the Law – It’s vital that everyone observes basic traffic laws when commuting to and from the game. The traffic cone patterns around the area of Autzen Stadium on event days are considered traffic control devices and cannot be arbitrarily disregarded. Failure to obey these cones patterns or the officers who are directing traffic, may lead to a $300 citation.
- Be Patient – With approximately 30,000 people coming to the area near Autzen Stadium there will be congestion. Trying to get that many people into and out of the area is a huge undertaking and takes time. By allowing plenty of travel time and expecting some delays you will improve your overall experience.
Lane County Sheriff’s Office Seeking The Public’s Help In Identifying The Human Remains Found Near Lowell
The Lane County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in identifying the human remains located recently near W. Boundary Rd. in Lowell. The victim has been identified as an adult female likely between 30 and 50 years of age.
She is believed to have had dark hair and to stand between 5’00” and 5’08” in height. Located with her was a white ‘Huf’ shirt with green stripes (sleeves had been removed) and a light colored shirt with an elephant print on it.
Anyone with information regarding the identity of the involved is asked to contact the Lane County Sheriff’s Office at 541-682-4150 opt. 1.The remains were located on 05/26/22 – The condition of the remains indicate that the victim had likely been deceased for several weeks prior to the discovery of the remains.
Investigators are working with the Oregon State Police Crime Lab to determine the identity of the victim and cause of death. An identity of the deceased has not yet been established. The death is being investigated as suspicious. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Lane County Sheriff’s Office at 541-682-4150 opt. 1.
Multi-Vehicle Crash Near Lane Community College
Pleasant Hill Goshen personnel were on scene with law enforcement of a 3 vehicle crash on E. 30th Ave in front of LCC. 5 people have been transported to area hospitals with varying injuries. There were delays on 30th Ave while the roads are cleared from the wreckage. LCSO is investigating the crash. No further info at this time.
Deputies Report One Dead In Eugene Gun Range Shooting Was A Suicide
Deputies report that a person took their own life at a gun range just south of Eugene Friday morning.
At about 11 a.m. Friday police responded to a reported gunshot wound at Northwest Arsenal, a gun range near Interstate 5 south of Eugene. Police and medical personnel responded to the scene, but the victim was reported as deceased a few minutes later.
Police said that they believe the gunshot wound was intentionally self-inflicted. Police said that the subject was not from the Eugene area.
“Ready for Fire in 2022” Online Forum June 13th
Representative Pam Marsh will be hosting an online forum with various state fire agencies to help people plan and prepare to protect themselves and their property on Monday, June 13th. Both Spanish and ASL interpretations will be available.
The “Ready for Fire in 2022” will begin at 6 PM, Monday, June 13th.
Panelists will discuss emergency notifications, evacuation preparations, firefighting personnel and equipment, and
coordination among fire departments, municipalities, and agencies that are working to reduce risk.
Fire management leaders presenting include:
Holly Powers, Jackson County Emergency Manager
Chief Mariana Ruiz-Temple, Oregon State Fire Marshal
Chief Mike Shaw, ODF Fire Protection; Tyler McCarty, ODF
Southwest Oregon District Forester
Chief Bob Horton, Jackson County Fire Defense District
and
Merv George, Forest Supervisor, Rogue River-Siskiyou National
Forest
The virtual discussion will be held on Monday, June 13 at 6:00 p.m. The link to attend online is bit.ly/3ag1Bjd. The meeting link may also be accessed at https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/marsh.
DMV in Dire Need to Fill Job Openings in Your Area
The DMV has been experiencing the same shortage of applicants for job openings as other employers statewide and nationwide and is looking for applicants looking for a good and rewarding job.
“The people working at your local DMV live in your community – and could use your help.”
Apply for a job at ODOT today at www.odotjobs.com – select “Department of Transportation” under the Company menu.
The CDC‘s COVID-19 Community Levels tool, updated every week, uses multiple factors to rate the level of COVID-19 spread in your county and can help you make decisions about how to approach activities such as grocery shopping, masking, travel and more.Three Oregon counties are at “high” community level, as of June 9.To learn more how to use regional CDC and OHA data to help make decisions about masking and taking other precautions, visit http://ow.ly/2Nsk50JvbQz.
One Community Health (OCH), with locations in The Dalles and Hood River, is now participating in the federal COVID-19 Test to Treat (T2T) program.At this time, the two OCH sites are open only to current OCH patients and individuals from underserved communities. In the coming months, OCH plans to expand its T2T access to the entire Columbia Gorge community.The OCH sites are located in:◌ The Dalles – 1040 Webber Street◌ Hood River – 849 Pacific AvenueOregon now has 13 T2T sites. Appointments are required.To find an Oregon T2T site: http://ow.ly/iWk350JvfkzFor more information about COVID-19 treatments: http://ow.ly/o2qj50Jvfok
Oregon’s Drought Improves Slightly As Rain Continues
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, between May 31 and June 7, the area over central Oregon listed with the worst level of drought, shrunk in half. That’s thanks to all the new rainfall.
On Friday alone, almost an inch and a half of water came down over PDX.
“It doesn’t mean that the drought is over – or is improving much,” said Larry O’Neill, Oregon state climatologist. “But it does mean that it is currently not as bad as maybe it was last year.”
In 2021, 100% of Oregon was under some level of drought and Portland just recorded the driest April on record. While we’re in better shape right now, the benefits won’t last long.
“The little bit of rain that we did receive will evaporate and things will dry out,” O’Neill said. “And it will happen quick. By the time we get into July, we will probably be talking a little bit more about how dry things are getting, unfortunately.”
However, this extra burst of late-spring rain could possibly save us from re-living last year’s heat dome.
“The soils and the trees and everything will have a lot of moisture in it,” O’Neill said. “So, the evaporation for it, as we get into early summer will help moderate temperatures a little bit.”
For now, we’ll continue to settle into La Nina’s cooler effects before the seasons change, and according to the state climatologist, we might not wait long.
“Storm track will shift, and it will just abruptly end up in summer,” O’Neill said. “Our seasonal predictions suggest that we will have above-normal temperatures, so when summer does come – it will be like a switch, I think. We aren’t going to ease into it. I think that by the 4th of July especially.”
Across the Northwest and northern Intermountain West, unsettled weather will persist as excessive runoff and occasionally heavy rainfall may result in flooding. MORE INFO: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?OR
Another Woman Murdered in Coos Bay
A makeshift memorial is growing Sunday for 34-year-old Amber Townsend of Coos Bay.
Townsend was murdered Saturday morning while walking along Cape Arago Highway towards Charleston, authorities said. Coos County District Attorney Paul Frasier said Townsend was shot multiple times.
There are no suspects or persons of interest at this time.
Authorities are looking for anyone with footage or information. They are especially interested in those who were driving along Cape Arago Highway between the Sunset Market and the American market between 8:15 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. Saturday.
Those with information can call the Coos County Sheriff’s Office at (541) 396-7800.
Morrow County Declares Emergency Over Water Contamination
Officials in Oregon’s Morrow County along the Columbia River have declared a local state of emergency after private well testing showed high levels of nitrate contamination.
Oregon Public Broadcasting reports during a Thursday special meeting, Morrow County commissioners voted 3-0 in favor of the measure, which will allow the county to take immediate action to protect drinking water.
The county is distributing bottled water and will set up water distribution trailers in the small city of Boardman.
Earlier this year, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality fined the Port of Morrow $1.3 million for overapplying tons of nitrogen-rich wastewater onto agricultural fields.
The Port says it’s looking at pollution reduction measures.
Oregon Coast Fishing Industry Supporters Expected To Turn Out In Force Wednesday In Newport For Wind Farm Hearing
Federal energy representatives will be ready for the meeting Wednesday in Newport intended to gather public comments about plans to build towering wind-energy farms off the Oregon coast.
The four-hour meeting will begin at 8 a.m. at the Best Western Agate Beach hotel in Newport. It is sponsored by the Midwater Trawlers Cooperative and the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which is spearheading the wind-farm leasing process.
A growing number of cities, ports, tribes and other interests have already passed resolutions asking that the Biden Administration’s fast-tracked process be slowed to provide more time to study the proposal’s economic and environmental impacts.
Those resolutions came in response to the announcement in March that BOEM has identified three areas in waters off the southern Oregon coast where the first leases are expected to be approved.
and fishermen have worked out protocols for fishing near the company’s five turbines.
Those so-called “call” areas total nearly 2,200 square miles of ocean from Coos Bay south to Brookings and represent the spots where analyses show some of the steadiest and strongest winds on the planet.
The Biden administration is hoping to create 30 gigawatts of electricity-generating capacity through offshore wind by 2030. It’s already approved large projects off the coasts of Massachusetts and New York.
And while the first leases to private power developers could be auctioned off as early as next year those involved in the process caution that years of site assessments and surveys, along with technical assessments and permitting, mean the first turbines – which are likely to be situated at least 20 miles from land – won’t start turning for about a decade or so.
But with a federal process in place that could auction off the first leases as early as next year, groups up and down the coast are asking for additional time to consider total potential impacts of the plan.
“After the announcement of the current proposed call areas, we immediately began hearing from constituents within our coastal legislative districts with concerns,” seven Oregon legislators whose districts span the coast wrote in a recent letter to BOEM.
The legislative Coastal Caucus added in its letter, “While wind energy fits in the state’s goal of moving toward a more renewable future for Oregon, steps must be taken to ensure that existing ocean users and our coastal communities are prioritized.”
The Port of Toledo and the Newport City Council recently passed similar resolutions addressing the project’s speedy timeframe. The Port of Toledo and the Toledo City Council are expected to follow suit soon.
“We are not saying no to wind forever,” said Heather Mann, executive director of the Newport-based Midwater Trawlers Cooperative. “But we are saying that this isn’t the way to move forward.”
All comments made at Wednesday’s meeting will be transcribed and included in the federal register’s official record. The meeting comes less than two weeks before the June 28 deadline to weigh in on Oregon’s proposed call areas.
After fits and starts over the last 10 years, offshore wind farm development has moved into high gear along the East Coast. The first commercial scale project near Block Island in Rhode Island waters has been operational since 2016 with five turbines. Projects nearing the construction phase offshore of Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York are poised to put 15 to 30 turbines each in waters around 20 miles offshore.
In October, the Biden administration announced plans to develop large-scale wind farms along nearly the entire coastline of the United States, the first long-term strategy from the government to produce electricity from offshore turbines.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said the agency will begin to identify, demarcate and hope to eventually lease federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of Maine and off the coasts of the Mid-Atlantic States, North Carolina and South Carolina, California and Oregon, to wind power developers by 2025.
The announcement came months after the federal government approved the nation’s first major commercial offshore wind farm off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts and began reviewing a dozen other potential offshore wind projects along the East Coast. On the West Coast, the administration has approved opening up two areas off the shores of central and northern California for commercial wind power development.
ODFW To Conduct Elk Habitat Enhancement This Summer in Elkhorn Wildlife Area
ODFW will begin forest management activities on the North Powder tract of Elkhorn Wildlife Area this summer to enhance habitat for elk, deer, and other wildlife species.
Public access to all portions of the wildlife area will remain open during the project, including the Anthony Creek campground. Operations will occur Monday through Friday and continue throughout the field season. Completion is expected by Dec. 31, 2022.
Visitors should be aware of increased vehicle activity, tree falling and log truck traffic and are advised to use extra caution when recreating around active project units.
Work being done at Elkhorn is part of the East Face Project, a joint collaborative with the U.S. Forest Service, Natural Resource Conservation Service and Oregon Department of Forestry. The project was identified as an opportunity to address forest health, protect state, private and federal forest lands from potential catastrophic fire while enhancing habitat for elk and other wildlife.
Located about 9 miles west of North Powder, project work is focused within the Rogers Creek watershed and north of the wildlife area headquarters. As part of the project, ODFW will treat approximately 414 acres of ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forest habitat through mechanical thinning, fuels reduction and selective tree harvest.
Operations will provide increased forage production for deer and elk, create snags and cavity habitat while also protecting Oregon Conservation Strategy habitats such as aspen woodlands and ponderosa pine forest.
ODFW’s wildlife area staff are responsible for the management, operation, and maintenance of the property. Elkhorn Wildlife Area is part of a working landscape where livestock grazing and timber harvest assist with habitat management goals. Questions about the project can be directed to the wildlife area manager as listed above.
For more information about the Elkhorn Wildlife Area, visit:
https://myodfw.com/elkhorn-wildlife-area-visitors-guide
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Have-You-Seen-Me-Southern-Oregons-Missing-People-161249961222839/posts/