News and Weather update from around the Rogue Valley and the state of Oregon from RogueValleyMagazine.com.
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Rogue Valley Weather
Tonight Rain likely, mainly between 10pm and 4am. Snow level 2600 feet. Low of 34 tonight. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Sunday A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly before 10am. Snow level 4600 feet. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 51.
Monday A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 52.
Tuesday Partly sunny, with a high near 52.
ODOT reminds you to be prepared for winter driving all weekend.
Snow plows are out on various highways and roads to keep drivers safe on the mountain passes. ODOT reminds you to slow down and get to your destination safely. A spokesperson from ODOT says several plows are working together to clear roads. Some have de-icers and salt and others with blades to move the snow. The trucks are usually going only 25-35 mph and when empty, their refilling of supplies takes more than twenty minutes. ODOT is working to keep highways and I-5 freeway open all weekend.
Pacific Power is working to restore electrical service to outages to some in Medford, Ashland, Grants Pass and Shady Cove. Also in Northern California, approximately 8,000 customers in Del Norte County, California. At peak more than 15,000 Pacific Power customers were without service as of Tuesday afternoon due to the powerful Pacific storm resulting in high winds at the coast and heavy snow in the mountains.
“We expect outages to continue to occur through tonight and into the morning based on the current weather forecast,” said David Lucas, vice president of operations. “We are assessing damage as it is reported and are evaluating how best to deploy crews and equipment, realizing that the storm is ongoing and the full scope of the damage is unknown. We appreciate the patience we have already seen from customers, even during this holiday period, who understand that our crews are facing some very challenging weather obstacles as they work to repair the damage.” The hardest hit area so far is Del Norte County with outages also occurring in Coos County, Josephine County, Jackson County and Siskiyou County.
As the storm and restoration continue, Pacific Power asks that residents concentrate on their own safety and comfort.
- Stay away from any downed power lines. Even if the lines are not sparking, they could be energized and extremely dangerous. Call 911 immediately and then call us toll free at 1-877-508-5088 to report. Keep everyone, including pets, out of the area.
- Never use kerosene or propane heaters inside without proper ventilation. They create dangerous fumes. Also, don’t use charcoal in your house or garage. If you use a fireplace or wood stove to keep warm, pay careful attention to fire hazards.
- Stay warm by wearing multiple layers of clothing. Add a hat and blanket for extra comfort. Put blankets or towels around windows and doors to help keep the heat in.
- Protect your pipes during freezing weather by wrapping them with insulation. Also, leave faucets dripping so water won’t freeze and crack the pipes.
- As much as possible, don’t open refrigerators and freezers -they will keep food and perishables inside cold for some time when kept closed.
- Check on your neighbors, especially those who may need special assistance. Check with others who have electricity, to see if you can visit.
- If you use a portable electric generator, please do so with caution. Remember to follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Generators should be outside or in a well ventilated unoccupied space. Never plug your generator into an outlet and don’t connect a generator directly to your home’s main fuse box or circuit panel. This can create a dangerous back feed hazard for line crews.
Pacific Power is in discussions with local emergency officials and the Red Cross to set up warming shelters where needed. We will post that information when it becomes final.
Customers can also track outages of any size online. Updates will be made as new information becomes available or at least hourly at pacificpower.net/outage.
Illegal hunters Charged
Earlier this week, Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Troopers in the Roseburg Office received information regarding illegal hunting in the Drew area off Tiller Trail Highway.
The investigation revealed Paul Morford, 47, from Coos Bay, Alvis Neal JR, 49, from Roseburg, Alvis Neal SR, 72, from Coos Bay and Kenneth Brown, 23, from Coos bay were hunting in the Dixion Unit. Their bow deer tags were valid in the Evans Creek unit just south of the Dixon unit. One buck was shot on November 23, 2019 after dark with a .22 caliber magnum rifle while it was being spotlighted. Another 3-point deer was shot by bow in the Dixon Unit about 3 days prior. The 3-point buck had already been transported to Coos Bay.
As a result of the investigation, two compound bows, a .22 caliber magnum rifle, a spotlight and a buck deer were seized. The second buck deer was seized by the Coos Bay Office of the Oregon State Police. Winston Police Department also assisted in the investigation. The following people were issued citations and released.
Paul Morford – 47 – Coos Bay – Hunting / Take Buck Deer Closed Area x2, Hunting Prohibited Method, Hunting Prohibited Hours; Alvis Neal Jr – 49 – Roseburg – Hunting Buck Deer Closed Area, Aiding in a Game Violation; Alvis Neal Sr. – 72 – Coos Bay – Aiding in a Game Violation x2; Kenneth Brown – 23 – Coos Bay – Aiding in a Game Violation x2
As a part of ongoing efforts to improve pedestrian safety in the City of Medford, the Medford Police Department has conducted a 4 hour pedestrian safety enforcement operation that focused on motorists who failed to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians.
Pedestrian safety is a key issue in our community, and the Medford Police Department is committed to upholding pedestrian safety laws to protect our citizens.
Most recently, on Saturday, November 23rd, 2019, a pedestrian enforcement and education program was conducted in the City of Medford at the intersection of Poplar Dr. and Progress Rd., which specifically focused on drivers and pedestrians who were violating right-of-way laws. As a result of this program, 26 citations were issued. These citations included 8 citations for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. Other violations included unauthorized cell phone use, failing to use a seat belt, driving uninsured and driving without a license. Numerous citizens were warned and educated without being issued a citation.
The Medford Police Department strongly encourages members of the community to follow basic safety practices:
- Drivers should be on the lookout for and stop for pedestrians.
- Drivers should stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk and stay stopped until the pedestrian is two traffic lanes away or has reached the sidewalk.
- Pedestrians should use the crosswalk when crossing the street and obey pedestrian signals.
- Pedestrians should look both ways for traffic before crossing and ensure cars are yielding before crossing. Remember that having the right-of-way does not prevent you from being seriously injured by a driver who is not paying attention. Traffic safety is everyone’s personal responsibility.
The Medford Police Department is committed to doing our part to keep the community safe. We urge every member of the community to help by keeping themselves safe and following basic rules of the road.
For further information, please contact Sergeant Geoff Kirkpatrick with the Medford Police Department, Community Engagement Division at 541-774-2226.
ACCESS’ Food for Hope grocery bag drive, now in its 36th year, is the largest annual community food and fund drive helping to fight hunger in Jackson County. The goal for this food and fund drive is to collect 10,000 pounds of food and $30,000 to help support ACCESS’ Nutrition Programs.
“Many of the people we serve depend on emergency and supplemental food boxes
just to get by each month. The Food for Hope food and fund drive helps ACCESS
stock up on food for our community through the holidays as well as restock the
shelves for January,” says ACCESS Executive Officer Pamela Norr. Rosebud Media
will distribute grocery bags through their newspapers (Mail Tribune, Daily
Tidings and Savor) on Wednesday, December 4th.
The bags can be filled with non-perishable food items and dropped off at ACCESS, any Jackson County Fire Station, Umpqua Bank, the Mail Tribune or visit ACCESS’ website at http://www.accesshelps.org/foodforhope for one of the church locations accepting grocery bags. Filled grocery bags should be dropped off by December 31st. For those who do not receive a bag in one of those three papers, but who want to donate nonperishable food, any grocery bag or box can be used.
“ACCESS distributes 80,000 pounds of food each week to our 24 pantries, partner agencies and mobile food pantry throughout Jackson County. Last year, ACCESS distributed almost five million pounds of food and helped more than 31,000 people in need of food,” says ACCESS Nutrition Director Rachael Ward.
Every dollar donated provides four meals to those struggling with hunger. Tax deductible monetary donations can be made online at www.accesshelps.org or mailed to ACCESS, PO Box 4666, Medford, Or. 97501. The Food for Hope food and fund drive is sponsored by Sherm’s Thunderbird, Food 4 Less and Rosebud Media. For more information, email lsanchez@accesshelps.org
Pump prices are within a few cents of last year’s prices and are continuing to edge lower in about half of all states, including Oregon. For the week, the national average ticks down a penny to $2.59 a gallon. The Oregon average drops a nickel to $3.21. This is the second week in a row that Oregon has the third-largest weekly decline in the nation. Oregon also has the second-largest monthly decline in the nation with a drop of 14 cents.