The latest news stories of interest in the Rogue Valley and around the state of Oregon from the digital home of Southern Oregon, Wynne Broadcasting’s RogueValleyMagazine.com.
Thursday, October 14, 2021
Rogue Valley Weather
Today– Patchy fog between 8am and 11am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 65. Light and variable wind.
Friday– Sunny, with a high near 74. Light and variable wind.
Saturday– Sunny, with a high near 78. Light and variable wind.
Sunday– Rain likely, mainly after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 60. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Monday– Partly sunny, with a high near 60.
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland Visits Jackson County Today to Highlight Wildland Fire Response
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland will be in Oregon this week to highlight investments the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal (BID) would make to tackle the climate crisis and strengthen resilience, including funding for wildland fire preparedness and response.
The trip will also provide valuable opportunities for the Secretary to meet with Tribal leaders, local and elected officials, and federal firefighting personnel while visiting public lands managed by the Department.
On Thursday, Secretary Haaland and Senator Jeff Merkley will travel to Jackson County, Ore., to visit the site of the 2020 South Obenchain fire and highlight the Administration’s efforts to help better prepare communities and ecosystems against the threat of wildland fire.
On Friday, Secretary Haaland and Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley will travel to Warm Springs, Ore., to discuss how investments from the BID would help improve water infrastructure for local communities.
About the U.S. Department of the Interior –
The Department of the Interior (DOI) conserves and manages the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage for the benefit and enjoyment of the American people, provides scientific and other information about natural resources and natural hazards to address societal challenges and create opportunities for the American people, and honors the Nation’s trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated island communities to help them prosper. Bureau of Land Management Ore. & Wash.
Jackson County Declares Emergency Over Illegal Marijuana
A county in southern Oregon says it is so overwhelmed by an increase in the number and size of illegal marijuana farms that it declared a state of emergency Wednesday, appealing to the governor and the Legislature’s leaders for help.
The Jackson County Board of Commissioners said law enforcement officers and county and state regulators and code enforcers are overwhelmed and warned of an “imminent threat to the public health and safety of our citizens from the illegal production of cannabis in our county.”
Illegal marijuana grows have been a persistent problem throughout the West, even in states like California that have legalized pot. A megadrought across the West has created urgency, though, as illegal growers steal water, depriving legal users including farmers and homeowners of the increasingly precious resource.
“Jackson County strongly requests your assistance to address this emergency,” the commissioners said in a letter to Gov. Kate Brown, Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek.
Only four Oregon Water Resources Department full-time employees handle complaints and perform all of their other duties in Jackson County and neighboring Josephine County, the commissioners said.
Josephine County has also been hurt by illegal grows that have drained creeks and siphoned off groundwater. Josephine County Sheriff Dave Daniel believes there are hundreds of illegal operations in his county alone. One with 72,000 marijuana plants that was drawing water from the Illinois River was raided after a dying person who worked there was dropped off in a nearby village.
Oregon voters made producing, processing, selling and using recreational marijuana legal in a ballot measure in 2014. Pot businesses must be registered by the state, which enforces compliance with rules. But some growers and processers remain outside the law, joined by a recent influx of outsiders in Jackson and Josephine counties who seek large profits by selling on the black market outside of Oregon while avoiding state taxes and regulations.
The illegal marijuana farms are often posing as legal hemp farms, the commissioners noted. The Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission recently reported that nearly 50% of registered hemp farms inspected in the state are illegally growing marijuana, with a THC content — the compound that gives cannabis its high — greater than legal limits.
About 25% of registered hemp farms refused entry to inspectors, the state agencies said. In busts of illegal marijuana grows, sheriff’s deputies have often seized firearms.
By September of this year, the Jackson County Code Enforcement Division initiated almost 700 cases of code violations related to marijuana production or processing, more than double the number in all of 2016, the commissioners said in their emergency declaration.
Reacting to the commissioner’s letter, Brown’s spokesman, Charles Boyle, said the governor takes these concerns very seriously.
He noted that after the Legislature passed a bill this year that shifted how the state regulates the hemp industry and was aimed at curbing illegal production of cannabis, Brown created a multi-agency team to implement the legislation.
She also authorized doubling the size of cannabis law enforcement grants in the region and directed the Oregon State Police to dedicate additional resources.
“The message is clear — Oregon is not open for business to illegal cannabis grows,” Boyle said. “These are criminal enterprises that deplete water resources while our state is in drought, hold their workforce in inhumane conditions and severely harm our legal cannabis marketplace.”
For her part, Kotek’s spokesman Danny Moran said her office is reviewing the issues raised by Jackson County Commission Chair Rick Dyer and Commissioners Dave Dotterrer and Colleen Roberts and “looks forward to further conversations about the best path forward.”
The commissioners said their code enforcement staff needs to triple to nine officers; more officers are needed to adjudicate the volume of citations; the sheriff’s office needs 34 more staffers, including 18 detectives; and the state Water Resources Department needs three more full-time staff dedicated solely to investigating water-related complaints.
To reach those levels, the commissioners asked for additional state employees, state funding for the county to hire employees and contractors and for a repeal of a prohibition on local taxes on registered, legal marijuana businesses.
Task Force Raids Illegal Marijuana Grow And Processing Center Near Medford
Jackson County officials were declaring a local state of emergency on Wednesday morning, precipitated by the proliferation of unlicensed marijuana grows in southern Oregon. At the same time, investigators from Jackson County’s marijuana task force were in the process of raiding a facility west of Medford.
Jackson County’s Illegal Marijuana Enforcement Team (IMET) served a search warrant on a suspected illegal marijuana grow and processing site along South Stage Road, southwest of Medford after a month-long investigation.
“So the illegal marijuana problem in Jackson County is rather large,” said Aaron Lewis, public information officer for the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. “We have an area that is very conducive to growing outdoor marijuana. So it’s been very difficult to stay on top of some of the scope of some of the operations here in the Valley. There’s a lot of investigative work to identify major players in the game, and from there take down these processing facilities and get some of the illegal marijuana off of the street.”
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the facility raided on Wednesday had applied for permits to legally grow marijuana, but it never obtained them. Regardless, cannabis plants were everywhere in evidence planted in rows outside on the property, hanging from netting to dry inside large warehouses, and stacked within columns of identical storage containers.
There were about 35 workers detained inside once investigators had accounted for everyone. Some of the “larger players” were immediately taken into custody, while other workers were detained on-site. The hope, Lewis explained, is that some of the workers will be willing to talk to investigators and give them intel about other grow operations in the area.
After detaining the workers, officers and detectives from other agencies were called in to process the site. Investigators sifted through the marijuana in various stages of processing, tested samples, then destroyed it.
All told, JCSO said that they found and destroyed 17,522 plants and about 3,900 pounds of processed marijuana.
The IMET taskforce consists of elements from the Sheriff’s Office, Medford Police, and the District Attorney’s office. Lewis said that they recently received additional funding for nine new members of the team, but the grows are now emerging so rapidly that Lewis does not think the additional staffing will allow them to keep pace.
As a result, Lewis said that IMET prioritizes processing facilities near schools, or operations that pose a potential fire danger, to ensure the safety of people who live in the area. Lewis said that the operations bring other concerns as well.
“Just the illegal aspect of this brings in other crime, you know …. personal property crime, as well as other drugs are brought in,” Lewis said. “This is a trafficking problem, so as illegal marijuana leaves the same traffickers are bringing other drugs — you know methamphetamines, heroin, fentanyl, we’ve had a large problem with fentanyl coming in. So basically they identify these large criminal organizations and just try to process them one at a time here.”
Medford Names New Police Chief
The City of Medford has revealed who will be the next person to lead the city’s police department when Chief Scott Clauson retires. City manager Brian Sjothun named Justin Ivens, one of the Medford Police Department’s deputy chiefs and a 26-year member of the agency.
“I am confident that Chief Ivens is the right leader for Medford,” said Sjothun. “Ivens has developed lasting relationships in our community and holds vast institutional knowledge of the department which will be valuable for its continued success.”
Current MPD Chief Scott Clauson revealed in mid-September that he would be retiring at the end of 2021. Clauson replaced now-Mayor Randy Sparacino as police chief in 2019.
Ivens started with the Medford Police Department in 1995 as a community service officer. He rose through the ranks to patrol officer, then major crimes detective. The City said that he was instrumental in helping to form the Oregon Homicide Investigators Association (OHIA).
After working for 14 years as a detective, Ivens was promoted to sergeant, then lieutenant, and most recently to deputy chief. The City said that Ivens has played an “active role” in training and mentoring future leaders within the Medford Police Department.
Two internal candidates were interviewed by the city department directors, the city manager, and the two deputy city managers.
“I am honored to have been chosen as the next Chief of Police for the Medford Police Department,” Ivens said. “I am committed to working collaboratively with the City’s management team, fellow members of MPD, and the entire Medford community to build upon established successes and identify innovative strategies to strengthen the department and our officers.”
Ivens will be sworn in as police chief at the December 2 meeting of the Medford City Council.
Oregon reports 1,278 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 33 new deaths
There are 33 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 4,117. The Oregon Health Authority reported 1,278 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 346,480.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (7), Benton (25), Clackamas (106), Clatsop (3), Columbia (8), Coos (27), Crook (31), Curry (6), Deschutes (105), Douglas (50), Harney (5), Hood River (9), Jackson (66), Jefferson (20), Josephine (19), Klamath (33), Lake (8), Lane (130), Lincoln (20), Linn (73), Malheur (30), Marion (139), Morrow (3), Multnomah (113), Polk (30), Tillamook (3), Umatilla (58), Union (9), Wallowa (4), Wasco (15), Washington (101) and Yamhill (22).
COVID-19 weekly cases and hospitalizations decline, deaths rise
The Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 Weekly Report, released today, shows decreases in daily cases and hospitalizations and an increase in deaths.
OHA reported 9,022 new cases of COVID-19 during the week of Monday, Oct. 4 through Sunday, Oct. 10. That represents an 13% decrease from the previous week and the sixth consecutive week of declining case counts.
The incidence of reported COVID-19 was higher in Oregon counties with population vaccination rates less than 50%.
There were 416 new COVID-19 hospitalizations, down from 462 last week, which marks a 10% reduction and the fifth consecutive week of declines.
There were 179 reported COVID-19 related deaths, up from 114 reported the previous week. This was the highest weekly death toll since the week of Jan. 11–17.
There were 141,863 tests for COVID-19 for the week of Oct. 3 through Oct. 9. The percentage of positive tests was 8.1%, down from 8.8% the previous week.
Today’s COVID-19 Weekly Outbreak Report shows 148 active COVID-19 outbreaks in senior living communities and congregate living settings, with three or more confirmed cases and one or more COVID-19 related deaths.
The Conquer Covid in Klamath Campaign Announces its Winner for Week 7
Marco Morelos of Klamath Falls won a $1,000 gift certificate for new tires, a $500 stereo upgrade and $500 in gasoline. Marco was selected in a random drawing of all Klamath County residents that have entered at conquercovidinklamath.com
Each week the prize changes and this week it is a $2,500 Outdoor Gift Certificate. The drawing for this weeks prize will take place on Monday morning.
Other Weekly winners to date include: Elizabeth Gaxiola of Bonanza who won a Big Screen TV, Home Theater System and Pizza gift certificates -Gillian Bradford of Klamath Falls who won $6,000 in groceries from Grocery Outlet -Nolan Napier of Chiloquin who won a top of the line Traeger Grill and 12 bags of premium pellets -Patricia Merrill of Klamath Falls won $4,800 in gasoline for her vehicle -Terri Torres of Klamath Falls won $5,000 worth of furniture for her home.
There is a different prize each week along with the Grand Prize, which is the winners choice of a new Dodge RAM pickup or a new Dodge Durango SUV. There are numerous runner up prizes as well. To enter Klamath County residents can go to conquercovidinklamath.com — There is nothing to buy and no charge whatsoever to enter. The site also lists all prizes, rules and vaccination sites.
Oregon Employment Department – Helping Oregonians Get Back to Work
WorkSource Oregon centers offer a variety of services to help Oregonians get back to work. The centers refer people to jobs, connect job seekers to resources that reduce barriers to returning to work, help people explore career options and training opportunities, assist with iMatchSkills® and work search requirements, and more.
Last week’s Hiring Heroes for Healthcare statewide virtual job fair was a success, with more than 50 employers and 300 job seekers attending.
Here are just a few highlights of upcoming WorkSource Oregon events:
- WorkSource Oregon – Newport is hosting a job fair 1:30 -3:30 p.m., Wed., Oct. 20.
- Drive-thru job fair hiring events are scheduled Oct. 20-21 for job seekers in Clatskanie, Rainier and Vernonia.
- Walk’n’Talk in Hillsboro is focusing on manufacturing careers on Oct. 20 and Oct. 27 at the Hillsboro Brookwood Library.
- WorkSource Oregon is partnering with LinkedIn to host a profile workshop to help job seekers boost their online presence. From 9 – 10 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 21, LinkedIn expert Cecily Hastings will give job seekers tips and tricks to optimize their profile so employers come to them. Nearly 90% of recruiters use LinkedIn, and job seekers are hired two times faster on their site.
Economic Update
Last Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that U.S. employers added 194,000 jobs to nonfarm payrolls in September. That would have been a typical number of jobs to add in a month prior to the pandemic. However, that 194,000 was a slowdown from the 366,000 jobs U.S. employers added in August, and significantly lower than the nearly 1.1 million jobs added in July. Employers still have five million fewer jobs than before the pandemic recession.
Leisure and hospitality – which includes jobs at hotels, restaurants, bars, and entertainment places – added the most jobs (74,000) in September. Public K-12 schools and universities fell 161,000 jobs short of their typical hiring as they struggled to find enough workers as the school year started. Health care lost 18,000 jobs in September.
There are three broad parts of the health care sector. They include ambulatory health care services (such as doctor’s and health practitioners’ offices); hospitals; and nursing and residential care facilities. Nationwide, ambulatory health care services has recovered 99.7% (all but 4,700) of the jobs lost in the spring of 2020. At the same time, hospitals are still down 93,000 jobs compared to February 2020, having only regained 28% of jobs lost in the recession. Nursing and residential care facilities have generally continued to lose jobs since the pandemic began. The industry has 426,000 fewer jobs than it did before the recession.
Oregon has seen some similar trends in the health care sector. As of August, ambulatory care jobs had increased by 3,100 during the past year. Meanwhile, hospitals saw small gains (300 jobs) during the past year, and employment at nursing and residential care facilities dropped by 1,300 jobs.
While the pace of job growth has slowed in the U.S., the number of job openings remains near record highs. There were 10.4 million unfilled jobs nationwide at the end of August. The number of people who quit their jobs hit a new record high at 4.3 million, or almost 3% of the workforce. At hotels, bars, restaurants, and entertainment places, almost 7% of the workforce quit in August.
The Employment Department will release information about Oregon’s unemployment rate and jobs numbers for September next Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 10 a.m. Next week, we also expect to have our quarterly job vacancy release, with new information about job openings in Oregon from July to September.
Listening Sessions on Temporary Availability Rule
The first Listening Session to receive feedback on changes to the “available to work” requirements for people claiming unemployment insurance (UI) benefits is 2:30 – 4 p.m. this Thursday, Oct. 14. The department has scheduled six listening sessions for businesses, workers, community organizations, and others to give feedback on the new temporary rule before any permanent changes are made. All listening session dates and times are posted on the unemployment.oregon.gov webinar page. Visit our online Temporary Eligibility Rule FAQs for more information.
Last week’s statistics
- Last week, we paid about $28 million in benefits to 30,000 Oregonians.
- $11 billion in benefits have been paid to more than 620,000 people from March 15, 2020 – October 9, 2021.
- From Monday, Oct. 4 – Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, the Employment Department answered nearly 93% of calls in 15 minutes or less, meeting its July 1 goal. Of these, 74.9% were answered in under five minutes.
- Nearly 97% of Contact Us inquiries were resolved in seven days or less.
Equal Opportunity program — auxiliary aids and services available upon request to individuals with disabilities. Contact: 971-673-6400. For people who are deaf or hard of hearing, call 711 Telecommunications Relay Services. Oregon Employment Department
Oregon Vocational Rehabilitation receives $18.2 million federal grant to help students with disabilities advance their careers
- Oregon Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) is awarded $18.2 million for a new project called Inclusive Career Advancement Program, or ICAP
- The program will serve 500 people with disabilities, with intentional outreach being made to marginalized communities
- Oregon’s 17 community colleges as well as workforce development partners across the state will participate
The Oregon Department of Human Services’ Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) is one of eight programs across the nation that has been awarded the Disability Innovation Fund (DIF) Program grant. VR received $18.2 million to plan, develop and implement the Inclusive Career Advancement Program (ICAP) project.
“Thank you to our federal partners for seeing the potential in the ICAP project to increase access to career advancement for people with disabilities,” says Keith Ozols, VR Director. “We are excited to work with partners across the workforce development system to achieve equal economic opportunity for all.”
ICAP will leverage Oregon’s current statewide network of career pathway services to advance educational and economic equity for people with disabilities, with intentional outreach and inclusion of marginalized communities. ICAP will braid the supports and services of VR, Self-Sufficiency Programs, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act workforce partners, and Oregon Commission for the Blind (OCB) with the three interrelated and foundational initiatives of Oregon’s 17 community colleges. These three initiatives are:
- Career Pathways
- SNAP Training and Employment Program
- Pathways to Opportunities
As a leader in these initiatives, Portland Community College (PCC) will serve as the intermediary between core partners and community colleges.
This new project will serve 500 people with disabilities to help them get support and services needed to reach their career goals, advance in their career and ultimately reach their career potential. The project will be student-centered, evidence-based and reflect the latest research on workforce development. With equity at the forefront, VR will focus on doing intentional outreach to those who identify as Black, Indigenous or People of Color with disabilities about ICAP.
Cornell University will evaluate the project’s implementation and performance to determine efficacy of ICAP practices and strategies. These findings will be shared nationally to expand access and opportunities for people with disabilities to enter and be supported in their career goals.
About Oregon Vocational Rehabilitation
Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) is a program within the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) that assists Oregonians with disabilities to achieve, maintain and advance in employment and independence. VR uses a client centered approach to provide counseling, guidance, training, transitional services, job coaching and other individualized services to assist students, employers and all Oregonians with disabilities. Visit the ODHS VR website to learn more. — Oregon Department of Human Services
Oregon Democrats In Congress Want Answers From Gov. Brown On Treatment Of National Guard
Oregon’s Democrats in Congress want answers from the governor about the alleged mistreatment of Oregon National Guard troops deployed to assist with the state’s COVID response.
In a letter to Gov. Brown and Major General Michael E. Stencel, the lawmakers “called attention to reports they’ve received from ORNG members regarding mismanagement, lack of organization, delay of benefits and pay, and failure to pay ORNG members what they are owed. These reports indicate a potentially disturbing pattern of mistreatment during this recent ORNG deployment.”
The letter was sent by senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Reps. Peter DeFazio, Earl Blumenauer, Kurt Schrader and Suzanne Bonamici – all Democrats.
“ORNG Members are fellow Oregonians who give their time and sacrifice to serve our communities in times of need. Many ORNG Members have full-time jobs, families, and other responsibilities that they willingly pause in order to serve their fellow Oregonians,” the lawmakers wrote.
The lawmakers have “requested a detailed response from the state on how it will address the issues and called on leaders to immediately rectify the reported accounts.”
OSU Researcher Arrested – Suspected Of Sex Crimes in Virginia
An Oregon State University faculty researcher has been arrested on suspicion of sex crimes allegedly committed in Virginia.
Brett Tyler, 66, was booked into Benton County Jail on Thursday, Oct. 7, and he is reportedly a fugitive from the state of Virginia, according to court paperwork. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and Tyler allegedly fled from justice in Virginia before being found in Benton County.
Tyler is the director of the Center for Quantitative Life Sciences at OSU. He has worked at the university since January 2012.
OSU spokesman Steve Clark said Tyler resigned Tuesday as director of Center for Quantitative Life Sciences. Tyler also resigned from the university effective Nov. 30. He will be working remotely until that date.
The work of the center, described on its website as “the generation and applications of big data in all areas of life sciences research,” will continue after Tyler is gone, Clark said.
According to court documents, Tyler is charged in Virginia with two counts of forcible sodomy, two counts of taking indecent liberties with children and one count of aggravated sexual battery.
Benton County Circuit Court Judge Matthew Donohue set Tyler’s bail at $200,000. Tyler was released on bail on Monday, Oct. 11. He was ordered not to have any contact with the victim or her family.
His next court appearance in the matter is set for Nov. 4 at 10:30 a.m., according to Oregon’s online court database.
“We’re aware of this arrest and we will cooperate fully with investigations into this matter,” Clark said. “As a policy and as a practice, OSU takes seriously all reported matters of misconduct involving our faculty, staff and students.
“The 20-Dollar Art Show” Comes to the High Desert Museum
BEND, OR — In the fall of 2013, Bright Place Gallery in Bend debuted The 20-Dollar Art Show as a vehicle for artists to share their art with the public in a low-pressure setting where they could build confidence selling art. The Gallery did not take a commission. The artist kept 100 percent of sales and the art show was a success for all.
Fast-forward to 2019. The annual show displayed more than 2,100 pieces of art from 120 local and regional artists, amateur and professional. On opening night, 900 pieces sold in three hours for $20 each. Like many beloved events, the COVID-19 pandemic put the brakes on the thriving local art show. Now, The 20-Dollar Art Show is returning and moving to the spacious gallery walls of the High Desert Museum.
“We are thrilled to move this event to the Museum,” said Bright Place Gallery owner Stuart Breidenstein. “The 20-Dollar Art Show had grown beyond the walls of the Bright Place Gallery, and the Museum allows us the opportunity to make it bigger and better.”
At this year’s opening event on Saturday, October 30 beginning at 5:00 pm, participants will enter the High Desert Museum through the large meadow. The snaking line will allow for physical distancing, and face coverings will be required both inside and outside of the Museum. A limited number of participants will be allowed inside the Museum at a time to provide for adequate spacing indoors.
Participants will be required to show upon arrival proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours and a photo ID. Those under 12 years of age are welcome without a vaccination card or negative test.
Art lovers may begin lining up at the Museum’s meadow entrance at 4:00 pm. While guests wait, local poet and artist MOsley WOtta will MC the event, with special guest Killy Holiday. The event takes place the day before Halloween and participants are encouraged to wear costumes. Participants should come prepared for the elements, rain or shine.
Local artist Monica Helms has shown her colorful, impressionistic work since the show’s inception. She witnessed the show go from a handful of artists and patrons to hundreds of fellow art lovers and buyers waiting in long lines for their chance to view and purchase artwork.
“The 20-Dollar Art Show is pure inspiration and joy, the perfect catalyst for creativity and growth,” said Helms. “I’m so excited that the show is going to be at the High Desert Museum this year. It’s a perfect venue for an incredible community-inclusive art event. I couldn’t think of a more perfect combo.”
Other popular local artists creating work for The 20-Dollar Art Show include Abby Dubief, Amanda Toms, Evan Namkung and more than 100 other local and regional artists.
Art will become available to take home starting Monday, November 1. Buyers may pick up their purchases during Museum hours, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm daily, through the show’s closing on Wednesday, November 10. Artwork is for sale throughout the duration of the show and each $20 piece directly supports the artist.
Tickets for The 20-Dollar Art Show Opening Night Party are available for $5 from the High Desert Museum at highdesertmuseum.org/20-art-show-opening-night-party. The 20-Dollar Art Show (highdesertmuseum.org/20-dollar-art-show) closes Wednesday, November 10.
ABOUT THE MUSEUM:
THE HIGH DESERT MUSEUM opened in Bend, Oregon in 1982. It brings together wildlife, cultures, art, history and the natural world to convey the wonder of North America’s High Desert. The Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, is a Smithsonian Affiliate, was the 2019 recipient of the Western Museums Association’s Charles Redd Award for Exhibition Excellence and is a 2021 recipient of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. To learn more, visit highdesertmuseum.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. — High Desert Museum
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