Rogue Valley News update, from RogueValleyMagazine.com
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2019
Rogue Valley Weather
Today
Sunny, with a high near 83.
Thursday
Sunny, with a high near 83.
Friday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 72.
Saturday
A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 63.
Today’s Headlines
Medford Police pursued a woman driving erractically on a high speed chase yesterday after receiving a call about a woman found by a passerby on Arlington Drive.
Police arrived on the scene and the woman in the car took off at a high rate of speed. Police say they spotted the vehicle near South Medford High School where they say she was driving recklessly.
Police say the suspect was eluding officers on the west side of Medford for several minutes, before abandoning her vehicle at Main Street near Quince Street.
Police say they “quickly found her hiding in a backyard actively trying to inject drugs.”
According to Medford Police, Klarissa Hahn had outstanding warrants for her arrest, and was lodged on a total of 13 charges. Police say the vehicle she was driving turned out to be stolen. No one was injured during the incident.
In two years Medford will have a new Asante outpatient cancer center. It’s a 64 million dollar health care project for the area.
Every year 2,000 people are diagnosed with cancer in Jackson and Josephine County. Asante is building a new cancer center to help threat them.
Those cancer patients have lists of appointments to go to and treatments to get done. Asante says right now its cancer patients have to go to several places to get all the treatment they need. “They really have to go through a maze of different buildings, and different programs. We offer a lot of the great services that people expect, but going to one stop shopping will be a big advantage for people.” said Scott Kelly. He is the CEO and President of Asante.
From lab tests and radiation to chemo. Kelly says this center makes it much easier for patients. “They will be able to stay right here in Southern Oregon and that’s really important with something like cancer that effects the entire family.” said Kelly.
The new center will be off of East Barnett Road and right down the street from the Asante campus. “We’ve heard from the community for a long time that it would be really nice if we had a regional cancer center.” said Kelly.
Asante says that the number of people diagnosed with cancer will increase by 20 percent over the next 10 years. Kelly says having a new center will allow more opportunities for patients to see their doctor and that’s important when it comes to someone you love with cancer. “We all know someone who has been effected by cancer one way or another.” said Kelly.
The Jackson County Sherrif’s Department is Hiring.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office serves the 6th most populated county in the state, spanning over 2,800 square miles in Southern Oregon. We serve extremely rural areas, and more densely populated locations such as eleven incorporated cities.
We have opportunities in Corrections, Patrol, Detectives, S.W.A.T., Search and Rescue, K-9, Records, Civil, School Safety, and Leadership. We also collaborate with our partner agencies to provide Medical Examiner services , and within the Drug and Gang Task Force. If you are seeking a multifaceted career and want to work with dedicated professionals, join our team at JCSO.
To apply for these positions, go to Jackson County Jobs.
All angling in the Illinois River between Eight Dollar Bridge/Green Bridge and Pomeroy Dam is closed October 1 through November 30 to address public concern over illegal snagging of wild fall Chinook salmon.
Chinook reach the Illinois Valley in October and November when the river is often at low flow, making these fish visible and susceptible to illegal snagging. River flow has been tracking much lower than normal in late summer and early fall since 2015. ODFW anticipates this closure to become a permanent rule change for 2021. Input will be taken at a public meeting next year to discuss proposed angling regulations. The meeting will be announced at a later date.
Oregon has the nation’s 4th-best road infrastructure, according to QuoteWizard’s latest report.
They analyzed Federal Highway Administration data and ranked states based on percentage of poor condition roads, annual cost per motorist from roads in need of repair and percentage of structurally deficient bridges. Associated with the ranking factors is the percentage of state highway spending on road repairs. They found that 7% of Oregon’s roads are in poor condition, the 5th-lowest rate in the nation.
It cost $268 per driver in Oregon due to poor roads, the 2nd-least amount per capita.5.44% of the bridges in Oregon are structurally deficient, the 12th-lowest percentage.25% of the allocated highway budget is spent on road repairs. All this results in the 4th best road infrastructure in the nation.
Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley has joined Senator Mitt Romney to introduce the Ending New Nicotine Dependencies Act, bipartisan legislation that would regulate e-cigarette standards and protect public health by prohibiting non-tobacco flavors and ensuring that electronic nicotine delivery systems are tamper-proof.
Additionally, the Act would require Health and Human Services to conduct a robust public awareness campaign to educate the public about the dangers of vaping, which would be funded by applying the existing tobacco excise tax to e-cigarettes.
U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Greg Walden are pressing the Forest Service to explain why it has failed to award any ”call when needed” contracts to providers of wildfire-fighting large air tankers.
The Oregon lawmakers noted in a letter to Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen that the “call when needed” solicitation was originally issued in July 2018 and closed several months ago in April 2019.They also noted that failure to award the contracts hurts the Forest Service’s firefighting work both because it lacks access to several next-generation large air tankers, and because several next-generation tankers are available at lower rates than current aircraft in use that could save taxpayer money.
Salem, OR – Rebecca Jones Gaston will serve as the new director of the Child Welfare program, the Oregon Department of Human Services announced today.
Jones Gaston is executive director of the Social Services Administration at the Maryland Department of Human Services. In her current role, Jones Gaston oversees programs that ensure children and vulnerable adults are protected from abuse and neglect through 24 offices. Jones Gaston will join Oregon’s Department of Human Services Nov. 4.
“Rebecca has extensive experience in child welfare systems across the country and, as part of that work, she has encountered many of the same challenges we face in Oregon,” said Fariborz Pakseresht, DHS Director. “I am so pleased she is coming on board, and I am confident she is the right person to continue to transform our Child Welfare system into one focused on prevention, safety and improving outcomes for children and families.”
Jones Gaston has worked in the field of human services and child welfare for more than 22 years as a social worker, advocate, therapist, consultant, and administrator. She previously was a director with Casey Family Programs, providing technical assistance to child welfare agencies throughout the United States. From 2003 to 2007, she served as the National Campaign Director for AdoptUsKids, a major campaign aimed at increasing the numbers of foster and adoptive families developed in collaboration with the National Ad Council and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Children’s Bureau.
It is National Preparedness Month and the Oregon Military Department is supporting a 2-Weeks Ready campaign, launched by the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, to encourage individuals to have safety items, food, water and other day-to-day needs for at least two weeks in the aftermath of an emergency or disaster such as a Cascadia earthquake and tsunami.
This is especially important for guard members, first responders and their families who will come to the aid of Oregonians affected by whatever disaster occurs, whether it’s a power outage, wildfire, flood or earthquake.
“As all guardsmen know, one of the most important things we do is play the home game. That means we are available for response when the Governor calls,” said Lt. Col. Martin Balakas, the Joint Director of Domestic Support for the Oregon National Guard. “Post disaster it’s important that we as guardsmen are ‘2-Weeks ready’ and make sure our families are prepared so that when something happens we can become responders instead of victims.”
Balakas said with every Soldier or Airman ready to respond, the chances of the Oregon National Guard being able to come to the aid of those in need increases significantly.
“By modeling preparedness we can inspire others in our community as well,” he added.
The Oregon National Guard has committed to continue to provide outreach and training for Oregon National Guard members and their families so Soldiers and Airmen in Oregon are ready when they are called upon.