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
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
Rogue Valley Weather
Today– Areas of fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 64. Calm wind.
Wednesday– Areas of fog before 11am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 71. Light and variable wind becoming east southeast 9 to 14 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph.
Thursday– Showers, mainly before 11am. High near 59. South wind 8 to 15 mph becoming west southwest in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Friday– A 40 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 57.
Saturday– A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 56.
Phoenix Residential Community Destroyed in Almeda Fire Set To Reopen on Monday
It’s been more than a year since the Almeda Fire ravaged the cities of Phoenix and Talent, leaving destruction in its wake. Since then, the community has been showing signs of life and slowly rebuilding.
Shelly Rodgers is the property manager for the newly rebuilt residential 8-plex located at 206 and 208 Cheryl Lane. This will be the first of several buildings being built to replace those lost during the Almeda Fire. The building is one of four buildings in the Cheryl Lane Townhomes development that was completely destroyed by the fire.
“Considering the lack of material that’s been out there, for this builder just to get this going as quickly as possible and certificate of occupancies this week has been amazing and super excited to fill this up,” Rodgers said.
On Monday, November 8, residents will move into the townhomes.
Olson is president of Olaf & Company, the company building the new residential homes. “It’s been an ordeal working with the owners, working with the insurance companies and the municipalities to get our permits in place and then dealing with a different supplier and dealing with different supply chain issues and labor issues — overall it’s been a pretty good process,” Shaun Olson said.
Olaf and Company has been around since 2014. Olson said he and his company have other properties in the works in Talent and Phoenix.
In all, Phoenix lost seven multi-family buildings — containing 149 units — in the Almeda Fire. Four of those developments are under construction to bring back 84 units, and two other developments have applied for building permits, which would add 54 more units.
Death Investigation in Josephine County After Body of Fugitive Suspect Found in River
On Sunday, October 10th at approximately 7:15 PM, The Grants Pass Police Department responded to the 100 Block of Gold River Lane for a report of a suspicious male trespassing on private property.
Upon arrival, a male subject was contacted and he provided a false name. During this contact, the subject fled from officers on foot and into the Rogue River. The subject was subsequently identified as 61-year-old Ricky Allen McCord. McCord had an active felony warrant for his arrest. After an extensive search of the area, officers were unable to locate McCord.
On Friday, October 29th, 2021 at approximately 11:15 AM, Deputies from the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office, personnel from Rural Metro Fire Department and American Medical Response were dispatched to a report of a deceased male floating in the Rogue River near the 5200 Block of Leonard Road.
Upon arrival, emergency personnel located the deceased subject, removed him from the water and positively identified him as Ricky Allen McCord. This case has been referred to the Oregon State Medical Examiners Office. Josephine Co. Sheriff’s Office
Oregon reports 2,569 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 5 new deaths
There are five new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 4,377 Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reported 2,569 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 bringing the state total to 367,610.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (8), Benton (48), Clackamas (235), Clatsop (8), Columbia (29), Coos (33), Crook (25), Curry (1), Deschutes (262), Douglas (68), Grant (6), Harney (2), Hood River (12), Jackson (146), Jefferson (36), Josephine (74), Klamath (51), Lake (2), Lane (195), Lincoln (23), Linn (151), Malheur (8), Marion (290), Morrow (9), Multnomah (420), Polk (40), Sherman (1), Tillamook (10), Umatilla (23), Union (22), Wallowa (4), Wasco (10), Washington (270) and Yamhill (47).
The Federal Register will publish within days the Labor Department’s rule requiring private businesses with 100 or more employees to vaccinate them or test them weekly. The Office of Management and Budget completed its required review of the emergency rule on Monday.
According to the report, covered employers must develop, implement, and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, unless they adopt a policy requiring employees to choose either to get vaccinated or to undergo regular COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering at work. The ETS also requires employers to provide paid time to workers to get vaccinated and paid sick leave to recover from any side effects.
The new requirements could apply to as many as 100 million Americans, which is close to two-thirds of the American workforce. The new emergency temporary standard will require large employers to give their workers paid time off to get vaccinated. If businesses don’t comply, the government will “take enforcement actions,” which could include “substantial fines” of up to nearly $14,000 per violation.
Employment Department and WorkSource Oregon Participate in Pilot Program to Spur Higher Wage Jobs
The Oregon Employment Department and Work Source Oregon are excited to participate in a pilot program to increase opportunities for people to learn skills needed for higher-paying jobs. Oregon is one of five states participating in this pilot, which launches today, Nov. 1, 2021.
The “Grow with Google” program helps ensure that the opportunities created by technology are available to everyone. The goal is to help people get the right skills for the jobs they want so they may advance their careers. The training is designed for individuals with no relevant experience looking to enter the technology field.
This program is open to employed and unemployed Oregon residents. To participate, individuals need to complete an iMatchSkills® profile and visit their local WorkSource center (in person or virtually) to access the scholarships available for training. The training is self-paced and can take three to six months to complete.
“All industries need workers with these four information technology certifications. Any of these certificates could help people obtain an in-demand career and connect them with top employers currently hiring, starting at an average of $63,600 annual salary for entry-level roles across certificate fields.” said Adalberto Rubio, a business analyst in Workforce Operations.
“We are excited to join Arizona, Connecticut, Nevada, and Washington in this unique partnership.” Oregon Employment Department
Employment Department and WorkSource Oregon Launch 541VETS Digital Resource
The Oregon Employment Department and WorkSource Oregon are proud to unveil the 541VETS, a digital library offering training and employment resources for Veterans, their Spouses, and other Covered Persons.
The library will include short videos, podcasts, and other digital resources in order to provide Veterans with the maximum level of employment and training support.
Named for the 541 area code, 541VETS is resource for Veterans throughout Oregon, especially those in rural Oregon where some services are not as readily available. 541VETS focuses on improving equal access to high quality, supportive employment resources, regardless of physical location.
Everyone using 541VETS has the opportunity to select the best resources for them. Then, for even more individualized assistance, they can contact their local WorkSource center and ask to speak with a Veterans representative.
“The launch of 541VETS comes after over a year of dedication from our Veterans services staff, who worked tirelessly to supply workforce resources safely to Veterans during the pandemic. It was this need that sparked the idea to create this digital resource for those who may have barriers to physically visiting a WorkSource center, even in non-pandemic times,” said Jim Munger, the Jobs for Veterans’ State Grant (JVSG) Program Coordinator. “The beauty of this resource is that, though it’s targeted toward Veterans and other Covered Persons, civilians can also find value and help within it.
The goals of 541VETS are to expand customer engagement, especially with those eligible for Disabled Veterans Outreach Program (DVOP) services, and to improve efficiency in follow-up meetings with Veteran customers working on their individual development plans.
“Veterans are an invaluable source of skill and talent in our statewide workforce,” said Jim Pfarrer, director of Workforce Operations. “We are excited to be able to offer this new resource to Oregon Veterans and Covered Persons, and expand our services beyond the physical WorkSource centers.” Oregon Employment Department
Fatal Crash on Highway 6 near Tillamook turns into Criminal Investigation
Oregon State Police is reporting that: On Sunday, October 31, 2021 at approximately 4:16 AM, OSP Troopers responded to the report of a two-vehicle head-on collision which occurred on Highway 6 near milepost 8.
Preliminary investigation revealed a silver 2018 Ford F150 pickup, operated by Bradley Burton Harris (29) of Tillamook, was westbound when, for an unknown reason, the vehicle crossed over into the eastbound lane and struck an oncoming Mazda MZ3.The black Mazda was operated by Humberto Maciel (47) of Tillamook.
Both vehicles sustained heavy damage and came to an uncontrolled rest blocking the entire highway. Maciel was sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased. His passenger, Breanna Maciel (19) was transported to Legacy Emmanuel Hospital by Life Flight helicopter with life threatening injuries.
Bradley Harris fled the scene immediately after the crash but was located by police near the crash scene approximately four hours later. Harris was transported initially to Tillamook Regional Medical Center for injuries then later transferred to Legacy Emmanuel hospital as a trauma patient.
Bradley Burton Harris is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation.
Highway 6 was closed for 6 hours.
OSP was assisted by: Tillamook Police Department, Tillamook County Sheriff’s Department Tillamook Fire and Rescue and ODOT
Five Fatal Crashes Over the Weekend in Oregon
A deadly weekend on Oregon roads as at least five fatal crashes between Saturday and Sunday took the lives of six people and injured several others.
A man crashed his motorcycle into a car in Woodburn while speeding away from police on Highway 214 near Laurel Avenue just after 2:00am on Saturday. The person inside the vehicle was taken to the hospital. Witnesses say 39-year-old Oscar Martinez of Woodburn was revving the engine and riding in circles outside the End Zone Bar and Grill after reportedly damaging his ex-girlfriend’s car.
A man and woman on a motorcycle were hit by two cars on Highway 219 near Champoeg Road NE in Marion County around 4:40pm on Saturday. 78 year-old H. Steven Sorensen and Joanne De May, 77, both from Salem, collided with the first vehicle, knocking the bike out of control where it was hit by another vehicle. Three people in the second vehicle were treated at the hospital.
A pedestrian was hit by a car at Southeast 29th and Powell in Portland just before 10:00pm on Saturday. The man died at the hospital. He has not yet been identified.
Curtis Smith, 30, of Monmouth, died after flipping his car on Highway 51 in Polk County around 2:15am on Sunday. Authorities say he was speeding. Witnesses reported his erratic driving prior to the wreck.
A crash on Highway 6 in Tillamook County around 4:15am on Sunday took the life of 47-year-old Humberto Maciel of Tillamook. A 19-year-old passenger was flown by helicopter to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Investigators say Bradley Harris, 29 of Tillamook, crossed the dividing line, hitting the victim’s vehicle head-on. Harris took off, but was caught near the scene. He was hospitalized as a trauma patient and is the subject of a criminal investigation.
Dayton Famous Winery Tasting Room Fire
The tasting room at the famous Oregon winery owned by film director Francis Ford Coppola was damaged in a fire Sunday night.
No one was inside at the time, and no one was hurt. The cause of the fire is under investigation. The late-night fire swept through Domaine de Broglie’s tasting room destroying much of the building.
“It was actually called in by a passerby and we really don’t know anything about how the fire started,” said general manager and winemaker Dave Petterson. Petterson came to the winery Monday morning to see the damage. “It’s a huge loss for all, when any of us have a setback,” he said. “It’s very disappointing.”
No vines were damaged in the fire. The Dayton Fire Department said the fire was confined to the building.
Wine is not produced or stored at the building so production won’t be impacted. But most everything else inside the tasting room, including some of Coppola’s movie memorabilia, was damaged or destroyed.
“There was some cool stuff here, some cool collectibles, some memorabilia, some photographs, things like that from Francis’ career, and from some of his films, and some special things that are real sad to be gone,” Petterson said.
The fire started around 10 p.m. Sunday night after all the winery employees had gone home. Dayton fire said it did not appear suspicious. Petterson said they will wait for answers and, in the meantime, count their blessings.
“Most importantly, no one was hurt, the vineyard not damaged,” Petterson said. “Buildings can be replaced, things can be replaced, so that’s by far the most important thing.”
New Oregon Bill Limiting Release of Mugshots Goes Into Effect This Week
The new bill prohibits the release of mugshots except in specific circumstances, such as to other law enforcement agencies and to the public in the case of an emergency. Booking photos are no longer being released to the public in an effort to protect the privacy and safety of people who have not been convicted of a crime.
Proponents of the bill say that releasing mugshots before a conviction can have serious safety issues. After the 2020 protests in Portland, many people who were arrested were doxxed and harassed when their photos were released, according to state Representative Janelle Bynum (D-Happy Valley).
Bynum sponsored the new bill. She says that after working on a bill about doxxing, she realized how dangerous the release of booking photos could be to people’s safety.
“When law enforcement agencies were releasing booking photos, people were also suffering harm from that,” says Bynum. “They were getting threats at their jobs, they were trapped inside of their homes because people were intimidating them.”
Bynum says that the release of mugshots was also disproportionately affecting people with mental health challenges.
“One police chief said, it’s often the worst day of a person’s life. And we agreed as a group that those people were somebody’s somebody and we could do better as a community”
Tom Bivins, a professor at the University of Oregon, says that this new law helps to protect people’s privacy.
“It used to be you’re innocent until you’re proven guilty,” says Bivins. “I was reading an article from, I want to say, The Atlantic the other day. That basically said in today’s environment, in the social media environment, you’re no longer innocent until proven guilty, you’re guilty until you can prove you’re innocent.”
Law enforcement groups helped craft the bill and it passed with bipartisan support.
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