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
Friday, July 19, 2024
Willamette Valley Weather
Linn County Sheriff Michelle Duncan is informing the public about the Pyramid Fire burning east of Sweet Home. The fire started today at 3 acres and has grown to 60 acres. A LEVEL 3: GO NOW! Evacuation Alert is being issued for a large area of the Sweet Home Ranger District. This evacuation is being coordinated with the United States Forest Service.
This LEVEL 3: GO NOW! Evacuation Alert means that all roads, hiking trails, campgrounds, lakes, and recreational areas within the evacuation boundary are closed. The public should not enter the LEVEL 3 Evacuation Area. Emergency crews and response vehicles will be heavily present, and public traffic can hinder their efforts to fight the fire.
Sheriff Duncan wants everyone to know that the large evacuation area is necessary to give wildfire response teams enough space to safely travel and fight the fire. The fire itself is much smaller than the evacuation area. No residential structures are in jeopardy of the fire. This LEVEL 3: GO NOW! Evacuation Alert is primarily impacting forest and recreation areas.
Please refer to the Linn County Fire Map https://tinyurl.com/LinnCoFireMap for full details of the issued evacuation area (which will appear in red).To protect Linn County citizens, and all those who recreate in our beautiful county, we strongly urge you to check the following links and sites before heading out.
Linn County Sheriff’s Office Fire Evacuation & Status Live Updates https://www.linnsheriff.org/wildfire_live_updates/ Linn County Sheriff’s Office Wildfire Preparedness & Resources https://www.linnsheriff.org/wildfire-recovery/
Linn County Wildfire Map https://tinyurl.com/LinnCoFireMap
State of Oregon Fires and Hotspots Dashboard https://experience.arcgis.com/…/6329d5e4e13748b9b9f7f3…/
U.S. Forest Service – Willamette National Forest https://www.facebook.com/willamettenfhttps://www.fs.usda.gov/main/willamette/
Oregon Wildfire Response & Recovery https://wildfire.oregon.gov
Oregon Air Quality and Smoke Information Maphttps://www.oregonsmoke.org
Multiple vegetation fires are burning across the Willamette National Forest following more than 200 down strikes Tuesday night in Lane County and more than 1,000 lightning strikes across Oregon.
Fire staff are making good progress spotting and staffing fires as they stand up across the landscape. The Interagency response includes multiple resources and partners, such as Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), Forest Service (FS), and National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) among others.
The High Prairie Fire in the Middle Fork Ranger District near Oakridge/Westfir is about 10 acres with a Level 1 evacuation from Lane County Sheriff’s Office. Resources responding to all Middle Fork vegetation fires include two Type 2 interagency crews, 6 engines, 1 tender, and professional fellers, jumpers, and rappelers.
Firefighters continue work to suppress the Blue 190 Fire, now named the Ore Fire, north of Hwy 126 and Blue River Reservoir. The fire is about 200-250 acres. Resources working the fire include 5 crews, 4 engines, 2 dozers, 2 feller-bunchers, 2 helicopters, and 2 water tenders. A resource order was submitted for additional crews, aviation assets, engines and equipment.
Interagency fire staff are responding to additional fires on the landscape, including 8 vegetation fires in the Middle Fork Ranger District, 7 vegetation fires in the McKenzie River Ranger District, and 2 vegetation fires in the Santiam River Zone. We continue to work closely with our partners to monitor conditions in case of emerging incidents.
Information will be available online at www.LaneCountyOR.gov and Linn County Emergency Information Systems – Linn County Sheriff’s Office (linnsheriff.org). Please continue to monitor trusted sources of information, make sure you’re familiar with the evacuation levels (www.LaneCountyOR.gov/evacuation), and be ready in case you need to take protective action.
Ore Fire (Blue 190) National Forest Development Road 502, Blue River
An emergency closure order for the Ore Fire, which was reported on the afternoon of July 16th. The closure order, which is for public and firefighter safety, is in effect through Nov. 15, 2024, unless rescinded or modified sooner. The Ore Fire, located north of Highway 126 and Blue River Reservoir, is approximately 250 acres in size. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
CLOSED Campgrounds∎ Mona Campground and Lookout Campground ∎ Saddle Dam Boat Launch CLOSED Trails∎ Buck Mountain Trail #3304∎ Tidbits South and West Trail #3328∎ Gold Hill Trail #3370 CLOSED Trailheads∎ Goldhill Trailhead∎ Tidbits Trailhead 
Read full closure: https://www.fs.usda.gov/…/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1193868.pdf Visit our website to see all closure orders: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/willamette/alerts-notices/…
Link to update: https://www.facebook.com/willamettenf/posts/793758372940777
https://app.watchduty.org/#/i/26237
Fire Off High Prairie Road, Oakridge/Westfir
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝗮𝗸𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝟮 (𝗕𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝘁) 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
East of High Prairie Road milepost 5.5, including Dead Mountain, Mountain View, Huckleberry and High Prairie Loop.
Level 2 means: You must prepare to leave at a moment’s notice, and this may be the only notice that you receive. Public safety personnel cannot guarantee they will be able to notify you if conditions rapidly deteriorate. Continue to closely monitor your phone, local media and www.LaneCountyOR.gov/HighPrairieFire for information. Lane County Animal Services will be opening a large animal and livestock shelter tomorrow, July 18. It will not be located at Lane Events Center. More information will be provided to people in the Level 2 evacuation area tomorrow. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝟭 (𝗕𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆) 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
High Prairie area east of North Fork Road and north of Westfir-Oakridge Road to milepost 5.5 on High Prairie Road Level 1 means you should be aware of the danger that exists in your area, monitor local media outlets and telephone devices to receive further information. This is the time for preparation and precautionary movement of persons with special needs, mobile property, pets and livestock. An evacuation map is available at www.LaneCountyOR.gov/HighPrairieFire Residents are encouraged to sign up for emergency alerts at www.LaneAlerts.org
Residents are encouraged to sign up for emergency alerts at www.LaneAlerts.org. — More information is available at www.LaneCountyOR.gov/HighPrairieFire.
There is an active fire visible on camera here: https://alertoregon.live/cam-console/11119. Agencies are aware of the incident, which is one of many new starts due to lightning activity.
**𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲: 𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲**
A large animal and livestock evacuation shelter has been established for residents in the Level 2 (Be Set) evacuation area. If you are in this area, you can bring your large animals to the arena at Howard Buford Recreation Area, located at 34901 Frank Parrish Road, Eugene. Upon entering the park, turn left and follow the paved road past the trailhead until you reach the arena.
Please call 541-285-8227 before arriving to inform us of the type and number of animals you are bringing. This will help our staff and volunteers prepare for your arrival. If you need assistance evacuating your animals or require support to shelter them in place, please contact Lane County Animal Services at 541-285-8227.For more information, visit our High Prairie Fire information page at www.LaneCountyOR.gov/HighPrairieFire
Level 2 BE SET Evacuation Notice Issued Due to Boulder Flat Fire
TOKETEE, Ore. – A Level 2 BE SET evacuation notice has been issued for all homes in the Slide Creek area downstream to the Soda Springs area. This in inclusive of all addresses between these two points.
A Level 2 – BE SET EVACUATION NOTICE means YOU MUST PREPARE TO LEAVE AT A MOMENTS NOTICE. This level indicates there is significant danger to your area, and you should either voluntarily relocate to a shelter or with family/friends outside of the affected area, or if choosing to remain, to be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice. You MAY have time to gather necessary items, but doing so is at your own risk. THIS MAY BE THE ONLY NOTICE YOU RECEIVE. Emergency services cannot guarantee that they will be able to notify you if conditions rapidly deteriorate.
The implementation of this Level 2 BE SET notice is a result of the Boulder Flat Fire burning on the Umpqua National Forest near the Soda Springs/Pine Bench area.
An interactive evacuation map can be found at https://www.dcso.com/evacuations.
Lane County Sheriff’s Office Still Seeking Suspect in Homicide
In June, a deceased female was located in the Cottage Grove area who appeared to be the victim of homicide. Lane County Sheriff’s detectives identified the victim as a missing person, Rozaleena Faith Rasmussen, 29, from Cottage Grove.
Detectives identified the suspect as Anthony Wesley Tyrrell, 31, of Cottage Grove. A nationwide warrant has been issued for his arrest. Tyrrell is described as a white male adult with brown hair, brown eyes, weighing approximately 165 pounds and standing approximately 5’9” tall. He was last seen with his head shaved and wearing a white shirt, black trench coat, black pants, and black boots.
Tyrrell is considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call 911 and avoid approaching or contacting him.
Firefighters Contain Fire at West Eugene Encampment
Eugene Springfield Fire responded to a homeless camp fire in West Eugene Thursday afternoon.
Fire crews were notified of a dark smoke column, possible brush fire near 15 Walis St at 1:50 PM on July 18th. Arriving firefighters found an encampment that was burning next to the railroad tracks and extending to nearby brush. Firefighters quickly contained the fire and no injuries were reported.
Linn County Fair – July 18-20, 2024
Music… Food… and a whole lotta fun!
HALF PRICE ADMISSION TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW AT YOUR LOCAL COASTAL FARM STORE IN CORVALLIS AND ALBANY.
SAVE $5 GET THEM WHILE THEY LAST…
MORE INFO: https://www.linncountyfair.com/
Applications are being sought until August 14 for this year’s mural project
with four artists selected who will be paid $1,500 each.
The selected artists will paint their murals on September 19 and 20 at four storm drains in the Thurston area of east Springfield.
“When It Hits The Fan”: A New Podcast by Lane County Emergency Management
Lane County Emergency Management is excited to announce the launch of a new podcast, “When It Hits The Fan,” now available on all major podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
“When It Hits The Fan” is designed to equip listeners with essential knowledge and resources to be prepared and stay safe during a disaster. Whether you’re new to emergency preparedness or a seasoned prepper, the podcast offers can help you face the future with confidence.
“Our goal with ‘When It Hits The Fan’ is to reach community members in a format that’s accessible and engaging,” said Lane County Emergency Manager Tiffany Brown. “We want to provide digestible and actionable information that people can easily incorporate into their daily lives to ensure they are prepared for any emergency. We hope to foster a culture of preparedness and resilience within our community.”
Episodes are share monthly and, so far, include:
- “Welcome! And, what the heck is emergency management?” – An introduction to the world of emergency management.
- “What do you mean we should be two-weeks ready?!” – Practical tips for ensuring your household is prepared for emergencies.
Listen at www.LaneCountyOR.gov/fan.
About Lane County Emergency Management – Lane County Emergency Management is committed to preparing the community for emergencies and disasters through education, planning, and response coordination.
If you are taking a young child to a big event, local Fairs, Six Flags, theme park, Fenway Park or any other busy location … Write your phone number on their wrist and cover it with liquid band aid in case you get separated. Also, take a photo of them using your cell phone the morning of the event so you have their clothing, hair style and up to date photo. Just in case they get lost. Stay safe this summer! #BePrepared#TipofTheDay
Fires Around the State
Large Fires per INCIWEB
Type | State | Incident Size | UpdatedSort ascending | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falls Fire – ORMAF | Wildfire | Oregon | 114236 Acres | 10 minutes 27 seconds ago |
| Durkee Fire – ORVAD | Wildfire | Oregon | 2699 Acres | 11 minutes 8 seconds ago |
| Cow Valley Fire – ORVAD | Wildfire | Oregon | 133408 Acres | 17 minutes 7 seconds ago |
| Lone Rock Fire – ORPRD | Wildfire | Oregon | 83922 Acres | 37 minutes 4 seconds ago |
| Larch Creek Fire – OR95S | Wildfire | Oregon | 18286 Acres | 2 hours 16 minutes ago |
| Battle Mountain Complex – OR97S | Wildfire | Oregon | 1786 Acres | 11 hours 35 minutes ago |
| Salt Creek – OR710S | Wildfire | Oregon | 4102 Acres | 1 day 23 hours ago |
Please Help Prevent Wildfires!
The Forest Service says since June, hundreds of wildfires in Oregon and Washington were caused by people, Though most of the time crews were “largely successful” in putting them out, officials are urging the public to help reduce the amount of preventable fires firefighters have to deal with.
The U.S. Forest Service says a surge of human-caused wildfires is stretching resources thin as extreme heat, dry conditions and lightning in the forecast increases the chances of wildfires.
In these dry conditions, a single spark can cause a lot of damage. Learn how you can prevent wildfires by visiting the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s wildfire prevention page.
Draft wildfire hazard maps posted for public comment – Oregon Dept. of Forestry
SALEM, Ore. — Draft versions of the statewide wildfire hazard and wildland-urban interface maps are available to the public for review and comment starting today on Oregon State University’s Wildfire Risk Explorer website.
The wildfire hazard map’s purposes are to:
- Educate Oregon residents and property owners about the level of hazard where they live.
- Assist in prioritizing fire adaptation and mitigation resources for the most vulnerable locations.
- Identify where defensible space standards and home hardening codes will apply.
A series of open houses about the state’s new community wildfire risk reduction programs were held from June 3 to July 1 throughout Oregon. It was an opportunity to learn about wildfire hazard assessments, new defensible space and home hardening programs and standards, insurance concerns, and statewide wildfire policy.
“Defensible space around your home and property is just one of the ways Oregonians can be better prepared for wildfire,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said. “No matter where you live, the simple actions you take to limit where an ember can land and catch fire can make all the difference, saving your home and protecting your community.”
“Home hardening standards are extremely important because they help reduce the risk of ignition to the most vulnerable parts of a home by the embers of a wildfire,” said Andrew Stolfi, director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services. “Once the map is finalized, we will then initiate rulemaking to adopt the home hardening standards, which will be followed by a six-month phase-in period for education and outreach. Importantly, the standards will not apply retroactively. They will be required only in new construction, major additions, and such things as replacing a roof or siding if the home is in both a high wildfire hazard zone and the wildland-urban interface.”
Representatives from OSU, ODF, Oregon State Fire Marshal, Department of Consumer and Business Services Building Codes Division and Division of Financial Regulation, and the Wildfire Programs Advisory Council addressed hours of questions at the events and engaged with over 500 community members.
“The level of engagement at these community meetings was impressive. I attended them all and hundreds of Oregonians had their questions addressed about community wildfire risk reduction programs and how the map supports protecting Oregon’s communities at highest hazard of experiencing wildfire,” said Dave Hunnicutt, Chair of the Wildfire Programs Advisory Council.
At those meetings, early maps depicting wildfire hazard were available, but property tax lot level maps were not yet available. However, draft maps are now ready for Oregonians to see the hazard designation of their specific address, and whether they’re in the wildland-urban interface.
“The maps are still drafts,” said Andy McEvoy, wildfire research scientist at Oregon State University. “The maps won’t become final until we receive input from counties on potential local anomalies, administrative rules are adopted by the Board of Forestry, and we evaluate input from the public.”
The draft maps reflect revisions from the last two years based on input received in 2022 from county governments and the public. Updates include:
- Adjustments for hay and pasturelands.
- Adjustments for northwest Oregon forest fuels.
- Changes based on draft rules to include irrigation of agricultural crops as a mitigating factor in wildfire hazard assessments. Final maps will reflect rules as adopted by the Board of Forestry.
“Work on the wildfire hazard map hasn’t ceased over the last two years,” said Kyle Williams, Deputy Director of Fire Operations at ODF. “ODF and our partners at OSU have worked diligently to evaluate and address concerns about the accuracy of the map. These drafts are still based on the core principles of wildfire science but have been pored through to address expressed concerns. With one more round of public input, we will be well situated to finalize a hazard map that will contribute to advancing wildfire protection in Oregon as the Legislature intended.”
Comments can be sent to dmap@odf.oregon.gov“>hazardmap@odf.oregon.gov. Find more information on ODF’s wildfire hazard web page.
30,000 Children In Low-Income Oregon Families Missing Out On Extra Food Benefits
Thousands of low-income Oregon families are leaving food money on the table this summer. The Department of Human Services said Monday that families with 320,000 children have received extra food assistance for the summer but families with another 30,000 children who qualify need to apply.
The Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer Program for Children, or Summer EBT, pays a one-time payment of $120 per child to help low-income families cover food costs over the three-month summer period when children are not in school and don’t have access to those free meals. The payment adds to other assistance, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP. The summer program totals about $35 million in aid a year and is funded entirely by the federal government.
A pilot run of the program in Oregon showed it reduced child hunger by one-third, said Iván Hernández, a spokesman for the Oregon Food Bank.Apply for benefits
Families can apply online in English and Spanish.
For other languages, use the paper application.
Call 833-673-7328 to find out if your child qualifies or for more information.
Allow up to 30 days for applications to be processed.
Families can also obtain other free food this summer by texting “FOOD” or “COMIDA” to 304-304, visit summerfoodoregon.org or go to food resources.
“Part of why this is so effective is because it provides households with extra funds to purchase foods of their choice from retailers like grocery stores or farmers’ markets, which means kids won’t have to travel to summer meal sites that might not meet their dietary needs/preferences or be culturally appropriate,” Hernández said.
This spring, the Oregon Food Bank estimated that one in five children in the state face hunger, but Feeding America says it’s one in six.
In January, Oregon officials applied for the program, and this spring the Legislature agreed to the federal requirement to pay for half of the administrative costs, about $13 million over two years.
Families who are already on SNAP, the Oregon Health Plan or Medicaid, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, TANF, have received automatic $120 payments earlier this month. But these other children qualify as well:
- Children in foster care.
- Children who attend a school in the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program and:
- Have a monthly income of $3,152 for a family of two, $3,981 for a family of three, $4,810 for a family of four or $5,640 for a family of five.
- Are enrolled in migrant programs.
- Are homeless.
- Attend Head Start.
- Participate in food distribution programs on Native American reservations.
Department of Human Services officials are sending letters to families that qualify by the end of this month. Officials are adding the payments to SNAP cards or, for others, mailing debit cards with the money on them to families.
Officials do not ask for a child’s or family’s immigration status on the application or to determine eligibility, and enrollment in the program also does not affect a child’s immigration status, DHS said, nor does the so-called public charge rule apply. The rule can be used to deny visas or legal residency to families that lack economic resources.
Families can check to see whether they received the benefits by checking their EBT card. The deadline to apply is Sept. 2. (SOURCE)
After 30 years, one of Oregon DOC’s Most Wanted Fugitives has been arrested in the state of Georgia
An Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) adult in custody who fled from a work crew in 1994 is back in custody. Steven Craig Johnson fled from a work crew at the Mill Creek Correctional Facility (MCCF) in Salem on November 29, 1994.
Johnson was arrested in Macon, Georgia by the U.S. Marshals Service, Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force (USMS SERFTF) on July 16, 2024. He was booked into the Bibb County Jail and is awaiting extradition back to Oregon.
According to the USMS Steven Craig Johnson aka “William Cox,” 70, was taken into custody by the USMS SERFTF on July 16, 2024, at approximately 2:00 p.m. at an apartment complex located at 2087 Vineville Ave. in Macon. Johnson had been a resident there and living under the alias of William Cox since 2011. Johnson was wanted on an Oregon arrest warrant for escape. A copy of the USMS press release is attached. A copy of the DOC wanted poster is also attached.
MCCF was a minimum-security prison located five miles southeast of Salem on 2,089 acres. The facility was unfenced and housed approximately 290 adults in custody who were within four years of release. MCCF opened in 1929 as the Farm Annex of the Oregon State Penitentiary. The prison closed June 30, 2021, by order of Governor Kate Brown.
DOC is responsible for the care and custody of approximately 12,000 individuals who are incarcerated in 12 institutions across the state.
Oregon’s measles outbreak, biggest in five years, expands to six people
Five of the patients are children and no one in the Marion County outbreak is vaccinated.
After only one measles case in Oregon last year, it now has six and could very well have more in the next few weeks.
The outbreak comes amid others also involving a preventable disease – pertussis or whooping cough – which has infected more than 350 people in just over a dozen counties this year.
The measles outbreak – the biggest in Oregon since 2019 – is centered in Marion County and emerged in mid-June, when the Oregon Health Authority announced that an unvaccinated adult and child in the same household became sick. They live in Clackamas County, but Oregon Health Authority officials said they were infected in Marion County.
County officials announced a separate case involving an unvaccinated child at the same time.
Within the past week, Marion County health officials said three more unvaccinated children have been infected. Melissa Gable, a county spokeswoman, said the cases involve children in separate households between the ages of 4 to 14 years old.
“Our communicable disease team is actively investigating all cases but currently there are no known connections between them,” Gable said.
That means others could be infected or that more cases could emerge, state officials said.
“I think we expect we will see more measles cases due to the infectiousness of the disease but we certainly hope we don’t,” said Jonathan Modie, a spokesman for the Oregon Health Authority.
The whooping cough outbreaks might not be over, either, health officials said. Modie said there have been 12 outbreaks in Lane, Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, Deschutes, Jefferson, Josephine, Marion, Linn, Columbia, Hood River, Benton and Yamhill counties in descending order based on the number of cases, with more than 130 in Lane County.
Both diseases spread through the air when an infected individual coughs or sneezes, with measles particles able to stay airborne for two hours, making it especially infectious. It can cause a fever, cough, runny nose or red eyes and is usually associated with a rash that starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body. It also can cause more severe symptoms, including ear infections, pneumonia, and, in rare instances, swelling of the brain.
Whooping cough spreads much the same way and is also associated with a cough, often violent and associated with a “whooping sound,” that can last for weeks or months. Other symptoms include sneezing, a running nose, fever and watery eyes.
People are contagious with whooping cough when they have cold-like symptoms and can remain so up to three weeks after they start coughing.
Patients with measles are contagious for four days before a rash appears and up to four days afterward.
Both diseases are preventable with vaccines. For whooping cough, doctors recommend five doses of the DTaP, or diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, for children and one for preteens. Full vaccination is about 85% effective in preventing disease while the measles vaccine is even more effective – 97%. Officials recommend two doses of the measles, mumps, rubella or MMR vaccine, first between when children are 12 to 15 months old and the second starting at 4 years though 6. People are considered immune to measles if they were born before 1957 before the widespread use of the vaccine, have been vaccinated or have been infected.
With widespread vaccine campaigns, the World Health Organization declared the disease eradicated in the U.S. in 2000. But it has reemerged, with people bringing the disease in from abroad and an increasing number of parents not getting their kids vaccinated.
Oregon has required children entering kindergarten since 1998 to have two doses of the measles-containing vaccine, though parents can opt-out by obtaining a medical or nonmedical exemption. Measles vaccination is also required for children attending child care facilities and for students in post-secondary colleges or universities.
There are currently measles outbreaks in 24 states, including Oregon, in the West, Midwest, East Coast and South, with nearly 170 people infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (SOURCE)
Oregon’s Unemployment Situation Sees Little Change
A release from the Oregon Employment Department said the rate has been in a tight range between 4.0 percent and 4.2 percent since October of 2023. Oregon’s unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in June and 4.2 percent in May.
In June, Oregon’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment rose by 600 jobs, following a gain of 4,000 jobs in May. State Employment Economist Gail Krumenauer said June’s gains were largest in three sectors. Krumenauer said they increased by 1,200 jobs in health care and social assistance, 800 in financial activities and 700 in leisure and hospitality. Declines in were largest in professional and business services and manufacturing which shed 1,800 and 600 jobs respectively.
OED said health care and social assistance continued its rapid expansion. During the two-and-half year period between January of 2022 through June of 2024, it added 34,000 jobs or 12.8 percent. Employment gains in social assistance have accelerated in recent months. The industry added 8,800 jobs or 12.2 percent during the past 12 months. Meanwhile, the three health care component industries each added more than 2,000 jobs since June 2023: Nursing and residential care facilities added 2,700 jobs or 5.1 percent, ambulatory health care services gained 2,700 jobs and hospitals added 2,200 jobs or 3.7 percent.
Krumenauer said despite gains in health care and a few other industries recently, the list of declining industries is growing. Six major industries cut a substantial number of jobs in the past 12 months. Three of the major industries each declined by about 3,600 jobs since June 2023: Retail trade lost 3,600 jobs or 1.7 percent, professional and business services shed 3,600 jobs or 1.3 percent and manufacturing lost 3,500 jobs or 2.8 percent. Krumenauer said the other major industries cutting at least 700 jobs in that time were construction which lost 2,700 jobs or 2.3 percent, transportation, warehousing and utilities which shed 1,100 jobs or 1.4 percent and information which lost 700 jobs or 1.9 percent.
The U.S. unemployment rate in June was 4.1 percent, which changed little from May.
Governor Kotek proposes changes to Oregon school funding and half billion dollar boost in next budget
The proposal aims to narrow district funding gaps caused by rising costs and an end of extra federal funding in September
With Oregon’s public schools staring down a fiscal cliff this school year as the historic federal investment from the last few years expires, Gov. Tina Kotek is proposing changes.
She’d like to help schools keep up with rising costs in the years ahead by updating the way schools are funded. She estimates that those changes would bring a $515 million boost to the State School Fund during the 2025-27 school years.
The state’s 197 school districts have spent nearly all of their portions of the $1.6 billion in federal COVID relief money awarded to the state since 2020. The money expires in September and with it, some of the services, programs and staff that it has paid for.
“Across the country, school districts are facing budget shortages caused by the expiration of federal pandemic relief dollars, declining enrollment, increasing costs due to inflation and many other factors,” Kotek said in a news release Wednesday announcing the changes.
They come amid growing calls for funding help from districts. After teachers in the state’s largest district, Portland Public Schools, went on strike for more than a month last fall – in part because of low pay and poor working conditions – Kotek vowed she would review school funding and compensation issues in Oregon.
Leaders in other big districts also issued warnings about their dire budget predicaments following the strike, and in May, several superintendents released a video calling school funding in the state a “crisis” as they explained their decisions to cut hundreds of jobs to keep schools solvent.
They implored the Legislature to increase education spending.
“This is a terrible and devastating, heartbreaking moment for us,” Salem-Keizer Public Schools’ Superintendent Andrea Castañeda said in the video, “and it is not one we’re using to levy blame. It’s one that we’re using to ask for help.”
Officials from various education groups in Oregon expressed relief and gratitude over Kotek’s announcement.
Morgan Allen, deputy executive director of the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators, said it was “hugely positive.” Emielle Nischik, interim executive director of the Oregon School Boards Association, called it a good start.
“The essential work we do for students has to be tied to adequate and reliable funding,” Nischik said in an email. “This doesn’t fix our funding challenge, but it will facilitate a more honest State School Fund debate in the Legislature.”
Years of underfunding
During the long legislative session in 2023, lawmakers passed a $10.2 billion school funding package, the largest public K-12 education budget ever allocated in Oregon. Of that, more than $8.8 billion went to the State School Fund, which pays for the bulk of district budgets.
But school leaders afterwards said that was still not enough following years of underfunding and rising costs due to inflation. Legislators have historically not fully allocated to schools the amount recommended by the state’s Education Quality Commission, which is tasked with ensuring Oregon operates “a system of highly-effective schools” and presents a proposed budget to the governor and the Legislature every two-years.
Oregon school funding has further been stymied by two voter-approved ballot measures passed in the 1990s that have capped the state’s ability to tax property to fund schools. School funding from property taxes dropped by two-thirds in the following years, with the Legislature drawing a greater share of funding from the state’s general fund, which is needed for myriad services in the state.
Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, chair of the Senate Education Committee and the Statewide Educator Salary Task Force formed by the Legislature in 2023, said improvements to the State School Fund are desperately needed. But he said he’s concerned about where the additional money will come from with no new tax increases or revenue streams proposed alongside them.
“It’s an open question as to what else in the budget might have to be cut in order to bring in this extra half a billion dollars,” he said. “Personally, I worry that it could come from higher education, which is already very much underfunded.”
Proposed changes
The first change Kotek proposes to the State School Fund is to give schools 49% of their allocated budget in the first year of the two-year budget cycle, and then the remaining 51% in the second year, rather than splitting them evenly each year. She said this would help boost funding in subsequent two-year budgets since they are based on the amount allocated for the second year of the previous education budget. This would also help schools cover expenses that might be higher by the second year of a two-year budget. This change would give districts at least $217 million more in their 2025-27 budgets, Kotek’s advisers estimate.
The second proposed change would involve data the state uses to project future compensation. By narrowing the data the state uses for its projections – using the last 10 years of salary data instead of 20 – about $500 million would be added to the money available to schools to hire teachers and classified and administrative staff in the 2025-27 budget.
Lastly, Kotek proposes that the Legislature incorporate annual changes in local property tax revenues. Historically, the Legislature has only taken into account revenue from the first year of a biennial budget when considering what to allocate in the next budget. This limits the state’s ability to send schools more money if property tax revenues rise during a year that’s not counted.
By accounting for local revenue changes every year, state officials could bring in an additional $55 million to the State School Fund for the 2025-27 school year, Kotek’s office estimated.
“The governor said she was committed to this, and she is showing that she is,” Dembrow said of the latest changes. “Looking at how this gets funded in her budget, which will come out in December, will be really interesting to see, because obviously that’s where the proof in the pudding will be.” (SOURCE)
Coast, Columbia River at risk of flooding from climate change, sea level rise, scientists find
In Oregon, up to 142 critical infrastructure sites could be impacted along the coast by the end of the century, mostly in the state’s northwest corner
Hospitals, schools and other critical infrastructure and services along the Oregon Coast and in parts of the Columbia River Gorge are at risk of repeat flooding if nothing is done to rapidly curb greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change, scientists find.
An analysis of flood risks around the U.S. under various climate change scenarios was published June 25 by the Massachusetts-based Union of Concerned Scientists, a national nonprofit that includes about 250 scientists, analysts and policy experts. The researchers looked at the possibility that essential facilities – including medical facilities, government buildings, fire stations and public housing – would be flooded at least twice a year.
In Oregon alone, up to 142 critical infrastructure sites could be impacted along the coast by the end of the century, primarily in the state’s northwest corner. More than 130,000 people live in the three counties – Clatsop, Coos and Tillamook – that would be most impacted, the analysis said.
The scientists analyzed the flood risk of critical coastal infrastructure through the end of the century under three scenarios. The first considered a lowering of greenhouse gas emissions, creating relatively low sea level rise by 2100 of about 1.6 feet. The second scenario projected a medium sea level rise to 3.2 feet by the end of the century. The third – a worse-case scenario – envisioned a rise in greenhouse gas emissions during the second half of the century causing a 6.5 foot increase in sea levels by 2100.
Across the U.S., more than 15,000 critical infrastructure sites could be impacted if sea levels rise more than 6 feet by 2100, the study said. The researchers found that twice as many critical infrastructure sites were in areas with predominantly Black, Hispanic or Latino and Native American populations.
In Warrenton, a key wastewater treatment plant could face flooding once every two weeks by 2100 in the low sea level rise scenario. The Knappa Fire District Station in Astoria and the Cannon Beach Post Office on North Hemlock Street could be flooded as often as every two weeks in the highest risk scenario. The same would apply to two apartment buildings offering affordable housing in Seaside.
“In truth, our collective willingness to stop polluting now will determine the scale of the problem late this century,” the scientists wrote.
The EN-ROADS simulator developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology also shows flooding from rising sea levels and climate change moving deeper into the Columbia River Gorge by 2100 if climate change continues to worsen and oceans rise. According to the simulator, the single most effective policy decision to slow climate change would be to tax carbon dioxide emissions by the ton and charge heavily polluting industries, such as those in the oil and gas sector, forcing them to decarbonize.
In the report, the Union of Concerned Scientists recommended that policymakers, planners and technical experts collaborate and invest to safeguard critical infrastructure in high-risk areas and to start working now on moving people and services as needed to areas with more protection. More broadly, they called for a rapid phasing out of fossil fuels, holding heavy greenhouse gas emitters accountable for their pollution and costs and ramping up clean energy investments. (SOURCE)
Bags of rice recalled in seven US states as they may contain ‘rodent parts’
Wehah Farms has issued a recall of 4,600 cases of its Lundberg Family Farms Sustainable Wild Blend Gourmet Rice in seven states . This is due to the potential presence of a “foreign object that appears to be of rodent origin.”
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified this as a Class II risk recall, indicating that the product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences.
The affected products are sold in 1lb bags with the lot code 231004 and a best-before date of October 4, 2024. The recall affects products sold in Arizona, California , Florida , Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Wisconsin, according to Newsweek.
It remains unclear how the product became contaminated with rodent parts. FDA recalls are classified into three levels, with Class II being the second most serious type.
The FDA sets limits on the amount of “extraneous materials” that can be present in food, stating: “maximum levels for these defects in foods produced under current good manufacturing practice and uses these levels in deciding whether to recommend regulatory action.”
According to the FDA: “Extraneous materials include any foreign matter in a product associated with objectionable conditions or practices in production, storage, or distribution.”
They provide examples such as “Examples of filth may include any objectionable matter contributed by animal contamination such as rodent, insect, or bird matter; or any other objectionable matter contributed by unsanitary conditions.”
The FDA stated: “Some foods, even if they are produced in acceptable conditions, may contain natural or unavoidable defects that at low levels are not hazardous to health.”
One of Oregon’s most adorably iconic seabirds is coming to the front and back of a car near you. The Oregon Coast Aquarium has opened voucher sales for its new tufted puffin license plates.
The design, featuring a tufted puffin floating in the ocean and gazing down at some fish below, was created by the
aquarium’s graphic design and marketing coordinator, Cam Mullins.
Starring a tufted puffin—one of Oregon’s iconic seabirds–funds from the new license plate will benefit both the Aquarium’s animals and their wild counterparts. You can purchase a voucher now and exchange it at the DMV once the physical plates are available. We need to sell 3,000 vouchers to reach the production stage—meaning the sooner 3,000 vouchers are sold, the sooner production begins, and the sooner you’ll have your puffin plates in-hand. Read the full story at aquarium.org/puffin-plate-debut
: photo by OCAq’s Jeremy Burke
Tufted puffins are native to Oregon and nest on the rocky coast. The aquarium has a Seabird Aviary that sustains a flock of these sea birds and the profits from the license plates will go to benefit these puffins and their wild counterparts.
The voucher is available for purchase on the aquarium’s website. The cost covers the $40 surcharge fee and the money left over after the deduction of the DMV’s fees will go to support the Oregon Coast Aquarium’s
rehabilitation and conservation efforts. The aquarium is building a new marine wildlife rehabilitation center with
hopes of doubling the number of animal patients it can offer care to. FOLLOW on FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/OregonCoastAquarium
Oregon’s Missing Persons
Many times you’ll see postings without case numbers or police contact. There is rarely a nefarious reason why (the nefarious ones are pretty obvious). Usually the loved one tried to call to report their missing person and they are either refused or told to wait a day or two by people who are unaware of SB 351 and the laws that they are bound to when answering the phone. Many people don’t bother calling LE if their loved one is homeless or in transition because they believe LE won’t care. The biggest myth is the 24 hour rule.
In Oregon we don’t have those rules and an officer or person answering the phone is not allowed to decide. The law decides. We have Senate Bill 351 and it states that the police CANNOT refuse a request for any reason and they must begin working on it within 12 hours. The person making the report does not have to be related to missing person either.
Here is SB 351 written by families of the missing here in Oregon in conjunction with Oregon law enforcement officers. This should be common knowledge, please make it this way. https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/…/SB351/Introduced
