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, February 17, 2022
Rogue Valley Weather
Today– Patchy fog before 11am. Areas of freezing fog before 11am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 58. Calm wind.
Friday– Patchy fog before 11am. Areas of freezing fog before 11am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 63. Calm wind.
Saturday– Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 60. Calm wind becoming northwest around 6 mph in the afternoon.
Sunday-A 30 percent chance of showers. Snow level 2900 feet. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 48.
Monday: Washington’s Birthday– A chance of rain and snow showers before 2pm, then a chance of rain showers. Snow level 1400 feet rising to 2200 feet in the afternoon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46.
Busy Week for Local Child Exploitation Task Force
JCSO Cases 21-3115, 22-0849 — The Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team (SOCET) joint inter-agency task force has been busy this week throughout the Rogue Valley. Monday, SOCET went to several addresses throughout Medford to follow-up on tips that child porn was uploaded from the locations.
Tuesday morning, SOCET investigators along with Oregon State Police (OSP) detectives made an arrest after an eight-month long investigation into child exploitation imagery uploaded at a residence in Grants Pass. Wednesday morning, SOCET investigators along with Eagle Point Police Department (EPPD) patrol officers served a federal search warrant in Eagle Point.
Each case started after SOCET received tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that numerous images of child exploitation were uploaded from the residences.
Yesterday’s arrest stemmed from a NCMEC tip SOCET investigators received in the summer of 2021 that child exploitation images were uploaded at a residence on the 2300 block of Azalea Drive in Grants Pass. During the investigation a digital device was seized.
While forensically examining the device, Southern Oregon High Tech Crimes Task Force detectives discovered more images of child exploitation, leading to additional charges. The suspect, Timothy Allen Beck, 25, of Grants Pass, was taken into custody and has been charged with five counts of encouraging child sexual abuse in the second degree. He was lodged in the Josephine County Jail on $100,000 bail.
Wednesday morning, SOCET investigators along with EPPD patrol officers served a federal search warrant at a residence on the 600 block of Teakwood Drive in Eagle Point. During today’s search warrant, digital devices were seized, and will be forensically examined by High Tech Crimes for further evidence of child exploitation. NCMEC tips started the investigation, which led to subpoenas, followed by the search warrant at the residence. Investigators are interviewing possible witnesses and involved parties, and investigations are ongoing.
SOCET is a joint inter-agency task force that started in June of 2020 to combat child exploitation and human trafficking. The task force consists of investigators from Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, OSP, Medford Police Department, Grants Pass Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations; as well as prosecutors from our local, state and federal law enforcement partners in Jackson and Josephine County. Jackson Co. Sheriff’s Office
ODOT Concludes Almeda Fire Clean Up
It’s been 18 months since the widespread destruction of the Almeda Fire in Ashland, Talent, Phoenix and Medford and ODOT clean-up efforts have finally concluded. Oregon Department of Transportation’s Jerry Marmon confirmed that clean-up efforts from the Almeda Fire have been completed.
“It’s just great to see these local communities heal,” said Marmon.
Coming into Wednesday, the Oregon Office of Emergency Management reported that more than 3,000 home sites (99.9%) had been cleared across the state from the 2020 September wildfires.
Throughout the day Wednesday, crews hydro-mulched, the final step in clean-up process, roughly 40 properties across the valley.
Although crews were able to finish their efforts in the Almeda Fire burn scar area, the final properties impacted by the South Obenchain Fire will have to be completed on Thursday.
“It is a tremendous feeling of accomplishment,” said Marmon. “But more in a sense of gratefulness that our work is translating into people rebuilding their homes.”
Oregon reports 1,728 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 23 new deaths
PORTLAND, Ore. — There are 23 new COVID-19-related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 6,416, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reported at 12:01 a.m. today.
OHA reported 1,728 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 682,566.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (10), Benton (60), Clackamas (132), Clatsop (14), Columbia (18), Coos (24), Crook (12), Curry (12), Deschutes (71), Douglas (50), Grant (3), Harney (5), Hood River (5), Jackson (145), Jefferson (11), Josephine (48), Klamath (23), Lake (5), Lane (213), Lincoln (28), Linn (105), Malheur (14), Marion (187), Morrow (2), Multnomah (208), Polk (42), Sherman (1), Tillamook (9), Umatilla (24), Union (4), Wasco (24), Washington (191) and Yamhill (28)
The number of new known COVID-19 cases in Oregon has been on a downward slope for 25 days, finally on Tuesday dropping below the average recorded during the height of the delta surge late last summer. The rolling seven-day average of new cases was 2,195, below the peak reached during the delta surge of 2,329 cases on Sept. 2.
Tuesday’s average also was far below the omicron-fueled peak of more than 8,200 average cases per a day recorded on Jan. 21. The precipitous decline was driven by yet another day of decreasing cases: 1,613 new known infections reported on Tuesday. The state also reported 20 new deaths, although some of them occurred last fall.
Public health experts, however, warn that cases are still very high and residents should continue taking precautions, such as wearing masks. The state’s indoor mask mandate is set to end by March 31 or when the number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 drops to 400.
Oregon appears on track to beat the March end date, with the number Tuesday dropping to just above 800 — putting
Oregon roughly two and a half weeks ahead of a forecast by Oregon Health & Science University that initially projected hospitalizations wouldn’t hit 400 until right around the end of March.
Prison Inmate On The Run After Escaping Oregon State Penitentiary
A prison inmate walked away from a laundry sorting building on the grounds of the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem Wednesday morning and remains at large.
The Department of Corrections says 40-year-old Bohanna McQuiston was last seen around 6 a.m. at the laundry sorting building.
McQuiston is 160 pounds, 5-foot-11 with hazel eyes and red hair.
He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a blue shirt and a blue denim jacket.
McQuiston entered prison custody on January 11, 2021, on two counts of burglary out of Clackamas County and one count of burglary out of Washington County. His earliest release date on those charges is February 6, 2024.
McQuiston was housed at Santiam Correctional Institution and was working as a laundry worker for Oregon Corrections Enterprises.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts should contact the Oregon State Police at 1-800-452-7888, the non-emergency number of their local police department, or the DOC Fugitive Apprehension Unit at 503-569-0734.
U.S. Department of Interior has launched the modernization of the states’ firefighter workforce
With wildfires becoming more extreme in Oregon and the Pacific northwest, the U.S. Department of Interior has launched the modernization of the states’ firefighter workforce. Interior says that this initiative will give employees more stability with their job and allow them to grow within their positions, as well as improving the department’s
ability to address more extreme wildfire activity and meet the wants for physical and mental needs.
The reform will begin a hiring process that offers seasonal, temporary, and more full-time positions along with additional improvements to salary. Over the next five years the Interior Department will receive $1.5 billion for wildland fire management including $164 million towards workforce improvements through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This includes a new wildland firefighter classification series, additional training, and mental health support.
Corvallis Man Attacks Woman in Shower Shortly After Being Arrested and Released Twice
An Corvallis man allegedly broke into a home and attacked a woman in her shower just 90 minutes after being arrested and released for a string of other crimes, police said.
Garrett W. Caspino III, 29, is accused of slipping into the home in Corvallis at 12:30 p.m. last Saturday and ripping open the shower door.
Caspino, who had his pants pulled down to his knees, allegedly grabbed the woman by her shoulders, shoved her against the wall and started choking her, according to police.
The woman’s boyfriend ended up chasing Caspino out of the home before calling 911. Caspino was nabbed nearby a short time later, cops said.
Authorities determined that he’d had several other brushes with the law earlier that morning.
His alleged crime streak started just before 11 a.m. when police received a 911 call that he was sitting in the driver’s seat of a stranger’s unlocked vehicle, acting “totally out there.”
Caspino was arrested for criminal trespass but didn’t meet the criteria for being booked into jail — so he was issued a citation at the local police station and released.
About an hour later, Caspino was found trying to hide behind a pillar in a restricted area at the police station. The suspect was cited, again, for criminal trespass.
Following his third arrest for the alleged shower attack, Caspino was booked into the Benton County Jail on charges of first-degree burglary, menacing, strangulation, coercion, harassment, and attempted first-degree sexual abuse.
Nearly 40,000 Oregon households facing pandemic hardship receive over $282 million in rental assistance relief
SALEM, Ore. — Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) announced that as of Feb. 14, the emergency response program has paid out $282.4 million in federal emergency rental assistance (ERA) to 39,797 households, up from $278.3 million and 39,303 applicants last week, through the Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program (OERAP).
OERAP continues to be one of the nation’s top-performing programs and is ranked fourth in the nation, in the percentage of federal ERA funds paid out and obligated, as tracked by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
OHCS is currently accepting new applications following our portal reopening on Jan. 26, 2022. Tenants can apply for OERAP at oregonrentalassistance.org or call 211 if they have questions. New applications will start getting reviewed for payment once the portal closes to new applicants.
OERAP applicant and landlord call center
OERAP has launched an applicant call center available to tenants who have successfully completed an application and received a tenant protection letter with an application number. Applicants with general questions about the program or questions about utility assistance should continue to call 211 to be connected to services.
Tenants inquiring about a specific application submitted prior to Dec. 1, 2021, may contact the call center during regular business hours at 844-378-2931. Please have the application number ready for the customer support staff who have access to interpreters speaking 241 languages. Tenants can also check the status of their application online at oregonrentalassistance.org/.
OERAP also launched a call center specifically for landlords. Please call 844-378-2931 (option 2). This service is available for landlords who have been notified that their tenant successfully completed an OERAP application.
Progress and updated numbers
OHCS and its processing partner, Public Partnerships LLC (PPL), have made significant strides in the past several weeks to speed up application processing. Currently, 265 PPL staff are focusing on processing applications and answering thousands of inquiries from tenants and landlords. This is in addition to the applications processed by Local Public Administrators working across the state to finish paying out ERA 1 funds.
To date, OHCS and LPAs:
- Paid $282,492,184 to landlords and tenants to help 39,797 Oregon households.
- Are currently reviewing 3,760 applications for payment that were submitted prior to Dec. 1, 2021.
- Need applicant or landlord response for 4,451 applications that were submitted prior to Dec. 1, 2021.
- Received 8,638 applications since the portal reopened on Jan. 26, 2022. OHCS is focusing on paying out eligible applications that were received before Dec. 1, 2021, and will pay out the new eligible applications after the three-to-five-week for accepting new applications is over.
Visit the OERAP dashboard for more data.
Police Identify Murder Victim Found in Rubble in Hillsboro Arcade Fire
A Hillsboro, Ore., resident is facing a second-degree murder charge after being accused of arson.
Washington County prosecutors filed a new 21-count indictment against 34-year-old Roel Leon on Monday.
The indictment comes after Leon allegedly set the Weil Arcade in downtown Hillsboro on fire Jan. 2, the news outlet added.
In a news release issued Tuesday, police identified the body of the man who died of smoke inhalation inside the arcade as 40-year-old Ronald William Knapp.
The Hillsboro Police Department stated his body was recovered in debris from the fire.
“As a result of the death of Mr. Knapp, these findings were presented to the Washington District Attorney’s Office for review of additional charges,” police said in the news release, adding the suspect is being held in the Washington County Jail.
Records show Knapp’s address was previously listed at a Portland homeless center and he is in no way affiliated with the arcade.
“He did not have any connection to that building,” said Sgt. Clint Chrz, a spokesperson for the HPD, per Oregon Live.
The Hillsboro Fire and Rescue determined the fire was intentionally set at the arcade and believe there are no additional victims in the debris.
Police say the search for the victim was delayed due to safety concerns related to the building.
Leon was arrested on Jan. 5 in connection with the fire. Police added that he was also taken into custody in connection with two vehicle arsons that took place Jan. 2 and a burglary in downtown Hillsboro that happened on Dec. 4.
Northwest Natural is giving customers 40-million dollars in credits
The credits will appear on bills in January, February, and March. The credits are because of efficient pipeline capacity management and effective use of the company’s underground natural gas storage facility. The average residential customer will receive a credit of around 13 dollars a month, and small commercial customers will have around 60-dollars trimmedfrom their bills.
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department Requesting Public Comment On Drone Rules in Parks and Beach Sites
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) is requesting public comment on proposed Oregon Administrative Rules guiding take-off and landing of drones in state parks and along the ocean shore. The deadline for comments is 5 p.m. April 7, 2022.
The proposed rules are intended to provide clarity for drone pilots, hobbyists and the general public to know where drone take-off and landing is allowed and prohibited within a state park and along the ocean shore.
Two virtual public meetings are scheduled to take comments:
6 p.m. March 30: Agenda covers changes to park area rules. Registration is required for anyone wishing to testify at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MamTCi_uRpKJOX_DG9L3HA
6 p.m. March 31: Agenda covers changes to ocean shore rules. Registration is required for anyone wishing to testify at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZX3XNt0eTt-iMaoUQ7HiaA
Both hearings will be streamed live at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkqL6iVPBrfCTO27cNmCTwg
Comments may also be submitted via:
Website: http://oregon.gov/oprd/PRP/Pages/PRP-rulemaking.aspx
Mail: Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, attn: Katie Gauthier, 725 Summer St. NE, Suite C, Salem, OR 97301 Email: OPRD.publiccomment@oprd.oregon.gov
A full copy of the proposed amendments is available on the Proposed OPRD Rules web page: https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/PRP/Pages/PRP-rulemaking.aspx
After reviewing public comments, agency staff will present final amended rules for consideration by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission later this spring.
Klamath County Sheriff’s Office Asks for Public’s Help in Search For Trucker Suspect
The first real clue to come in on all the missing person cases in the area. Help Klamath Falls Oregon Sheriff Office ID this trucker. He was the last to see this woman alive and could be the key to not only solving this woman’s disappearance but a number of the hundred other women missing in PNW. IF you have any information, please call (541) 883-5130
A 17-year-old was reported missing in Salem and detectives say the teen might be the victim of an online catfishing scheme.
Ezra Mayhugh, 17, was last seen on October 15, 2021 after being dropped off in downtown Salem by a friend, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said. He was reported as a runaway the following day when he did not return home.
Investigators say he might be in Washington or California. They hope to reunite Ezra safely with family members.
He’s described as about 5-foot 11-inches tall, weighing 130 pounds, with blonde hair and brown eyes.
If you have had contact with Mayhugh since October 15 or have other helpful information on his whereabouts, the sheriff’s office asks you to contact Detective M.J. Sphoon at 503-588-6808 or to submit a tip by texting TIPMCSO and your tip to 847411.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Have-You-Seen-Me-Southern-Oregons-Missing-People-161249961222839/posts/