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
Tuesday, June 14, 2022
Willamette Valley Weather
Former Lane County Sheriff Tom Turner Memorial Service – Today 1:00pm
The memorial service for Florence Police Chief and Former Lane County Sheriff, Tom Turner, will be today 6/14 at First Baptist Church in Eugene at 1:00pm.
With his service to the Eugene Police Department, Florence Police Department, and Lane County Sheriff’s Office, Tom served the citizens of Lane County as a public safety officer for over 40 years.
Tom’s family has asked that in lieu of sending flowers, those wishing to donate consider offering contributions to local charity. Non-profit organizations that meant a lot to Tom include: Siuslaw Outreach Services, The Jazz Station, and National Night Out | City of Florence Oregon.
Tomorrow’s service will include various police honors and will be open to the public dependent upon available seating. Lane Co. Sheriff’s Office
Fatal Motor Vehicle Crash – Albany Police Case # 22-3621
On Monday, June 13, 2022, at 1231 hours, Albany Police and Albany Fire Department Personnel responded to a motor vehicle crash occurring at SW Pacific Boulevard and Ellingson Road. A witness reporting the accident told Albany Police there were possible injuries, and one person was still in a vehicle.
There were only two people involved in the crash. The drivers were identified as 20-year-old Garret Roger Skelton of Dexter, Oregon, and 72-year-old Peggy Marie Redinger of Tangent. Redinger was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Skelton was operating a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup and was traveling north on Pacific Boulevard (Hwy 99) and struck the driver’s side of Redinger’s vehicle, who was operating a 1992 Dodge Dakota pickup traveling west on Ellingson Road, at the intersection with Pacific Boulevard (Hwy 99).
All but one south bound lane of Pacific Boulevard was closed for 2 hours while the Multi Agency Investigation Team (MAIT) investigated the crash. Currently, drugs and alcohol do not appear to be a factor and the cause of the crash is still under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the Albany Police Department, 541-917-7680. Albany Police
Oregon Country Fair Getting Ready to Return!
After a two year hiatus, the Oregon Country Fair returns in less than a month. Three days of live entertainment kicks off July 8th with a variety of musicians, vaudevillians, circus acts, spoken word and other acts on 18 stages.
Advance tickets for the Oregon Country Fair are $40 for Friday and Saturday and $35 for Sunday. All admission tickets are sold through TicketsWest online; no admission tickets are sold at the fair site. Children under 12 get in free with a ticketed adult.
For a full list of performers and more info, visit the Oregon Country Fair website: https://www.oregoncountryfair.org/
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.
We want to keep you informed about COVID-19 in Oregon. Data are provisional and change frequently. This report covers the three-day period from June 10 to June 12, 2022. Visit our dashboard, linked below, and hover over the new cases graph to view new presumptive and confirmed case numbers reported to OHA by date.For more information, including COVID-19 data by county, visit our dashboard: http://ow.ly/HrHv50JwBl6
Oregon Is First State To Ban Synthetic Cannabis
Oregon will soon become the first-ever state to ban synthetic weed sales, which includes products containing lab-grown cannabinoids like delta-8.
- Starting on July 1, Oregon will ban the sale of synthetic cannabinoids or cannabis compounds like CBN.
- It’s the first US state to ban lab-grown weed, but many are already federally illegal.
- Oregon officials said the lack of regulation over synthetic weed influenced their decision.
Starting on July 1, weed shoppers won’t find certain weed gummies and other products at their go-to stores, even if they’re THC-free. That’s because Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission officials say they’re concerned about the unregulated nature of these products, many of which exist in a federal legal loophole .
“We have testing for pesticides. We have testing for residual solvents from the extraction process. We don’t have any testing for any of the whole universe of chemical reagents that you could use to synthetically turn one cannabinoid into something else, or for any of the byproducts of that reaction,” Steven Crowley, the hemp and processing compliance specialist with the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC), told The Oregonian.
The federal government has banned or temporarily banned certain synthetic cannabinoids like K2 or “spice,” but there are hundreds that remain unregulated at the state level.
Scientists are lab-engineering naturally-occurring cannabinoids – All cannabinoids, the chemical compounds in weed, start as CBG (short for cannabigerol), or the “mother” cannabinoid , as researchers often call it.
When exposed to environmental factors like light or heat, CBG reacts and turns into other cannabinoids, like THC, CBD, THCV, and CBN. THC, the cannabinoid best known for getting a person “high,” but isn’t legal everywhere, is also the most commonly occurring one in the cannabis plant.
Hundreds of these cannabinoids exist but are often found in small quantities in nature. Now, scientists are engineering them to create greater potency in labs .
According to Crowley, the influx of lab-made cannabinoids is related to a surplus of CBD.
“And so, the people who had CBD on hand were looking for other ways that they could market it. People started working on different products that they could convert the CBD into. This is where you get the delta-8 THC products,” Crowley said.
If synthetic weed sellers want to keep their products on store shelves in Oregon, they’ll have to apply to the FDA’s regulation process . Wyld, which sells gummies with synthetic CBN, filed a petition to stop the ban.
By July 2023, approved synthetic weed products will only be sold at OLCC-sanctioned stores, according to the ban.
Oregon State Workers Receive Raise Early
State workers in Oregon will start receiving their 3.1% cost-of-living raises four months early and the state will pay 5% hiring and promotion bonuses, under agreements authorized by Gov. Brown this week.
Under contracts negotiated by the governor last year, state workers were set to receive a 3.1% cost-of-living raise on Dec. 1 but they will now be paid the higher rates starting Aug. 1, under amendments the Brown administration signed this week. Stateworkers also receive separate annual raises known as “step increases,” unless they have reached the top of their pay ranges.
Liz Merah, a spokesperson for the governor, said Brown agreed to the early raises in recognition of that inflation is causing steep price increases for workers and to address difficulties the some state agencies have faced filling vacant jobs. Merah said that some state agencies “have faced vacancy rates upwards of 20% as hiring has been constrained across all sectors.”
Inflation has eaten into workers’ wage gains, although it varies by industry and some workers have still come out ahead so far including the education and healthcare sector.
Oregon Author Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murdering Her Husband
The self-published romance novelist who was found guilty of shooting and killing her husband at the Oregon Culinary Institute back in 2018 has been sentenced to life in prison for his murder.
In late May, Nancy Crampton-Brophy – who once wrote an essay titled “How to Murder Your Husband” – was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of her husband, Dan Brophy.
Dan Brophy was found dead inside the Oregon Culinary Institute on June 2, 2018. He was a chef and teacher at the institute. The jury spent two days deliberating following a nearly six-week trial.
Klamath County Shooting Death
The Klamath County Sheriff’s office continues the investigation into the shooting death of a Bonanza man over the weekend. At approximately 8:45AM on Sunday m Klamath County Sheriff’s Office deputies along with personnel from Klamath County Fire District 5 and Bonanza Ambulance Service, were dispatched to the 5900 block of Flamingo Dr in the Bly Mountain area east of Bonanza, on a report from an individual that he’d shot someone in
self-defense.
Fire personnel were first to reach the scene and began life-saving efforts on 34 year old Kyle Alan Majestic Sr., of the Bly Mountain area who succumbed to his injuries. Deputies questioned the responsible individual, who alleged that Majestic came at him swinging a dangerous weapon. The investigation is in the early stages and anyone with any information they feel can help with the case is urged to contact the Klamath County Sheriff’s office.
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