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
Monday, February 21, 2022
Rogue Valley Weather
Winter Weather Advisory until February 22, 10:00 AM PST
Washington’s Birthday– Rain and snow showers, mainly after 10am. Snow level rising to 2100 feet in the afternoon. High near 43. Light and variable wind becoming west northwest 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Tuesday– A chance of snow showers before 1pm, then a slight chance of rain and snow showers. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 43. Calm wind becoming north northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Wednesday– Sunny, with a high near 42. Light and variable wind.
Thursday– Mostly sunny, with a high near 46.
Friday– Mostly sunny, with a high near 51.
Animal Crossings Being Considered for Southern Oregon’s I-5 Corridor
The Southern Oregon Wildlife Crossing Coalition is hoping to conduct a feasibility study to determine the best locations to build bridges or tunnels for wildlife crossings.
“Depending on the types of species that you’re trying to get across the road, these can be as complex as a large, naturally planted bridge, or as simple as a small steel or concrete culvert going under the road,” says Rachel Wheat with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. She says while drivers kill animals regularly, roadways like I-5 disrupt the ecosystem in bigger ways.
“These transportation corridors fragment wildlife habitat and makes them difficult to access the places that they need to fulfill their basic life history” Wheat says. “To access food and shelter and opportunities to reproduce and raise young.”
There are many places in Southern Oregon between Ashland and the California border where there are increased animal-vehicle collisions.
“We are looking at seven sites,” says Amy Amrhein, the volunteer coordinator with the Southern Oregon Wildlife Crossing Coalition. “They don’t all have to be big. Some of them can be small. Neil Creek is a fish passage. So again, there are all kinds of different animals that we are looking at and want to help cross.”
The creation of wildlife crossings is dependent on the passage of HB 4130 by the Oregon legislature. The bill would allocate $7 million to wildlife-friendly infrastructure projects.
Multiple Crews Respond To Grants Pass Structure Fire
A fire early Sunday morning on Jerome Prairie Rd quickly consumed a 2-story shop.
Rural Metro Fire in Josephine County reports, the occupants were alerted to the fire after it had involved the upper floor, and was fully involved on the arrival of fire crews.
There were no injuries, and the main house was not damaged. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Area residents will be able to see smoke linger in the valley until the cold morning inversion lifts.
Rural Metro Fire was assisted on the scene by an engine crew from Grants Pass Fire Rescue, and the Illinois Valley Fire District moved a unit into Wilderville to handle additional calls.
Medford Man Died in Snowmobile Crash at Diamond Lake
A Douglas County Sheriff’s Office report said at about 7:45 a.m. 65-year old Donald Webster was riding a rented snowmobile leading other members of his party. Webster’s snowmobile went off the trail into a group of trees on a sharp corner at high speeds.
The victim was declared deceased at the scene by first responders. Webster was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash and was the only occupant of the snowmobile.
Fatal Crash on Hwy 66-Jackson County
On Thursday, February 17, 2022 at approximately 11:45 AM, Oregon State Police Troopers and emergency personnel responded to a vehicle versus motorcycle crash on Highway 66 near milepost 2.
Preliminary investigation revealed an eastbound Chevy Equinox, operated by Taylor Emily Cranfield (25) of Seattle, WA, was turning left into a driveway, located near the crest of a hill. A Yamaha FSZ motorcycle, operated by Madrik Pergin Heatherstone (36) of Ashland, was traveling westbound and collided with the right front of the Chevy. Speed is being investigated as a contributing factor.
Madrik Pergin Heatherstone sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased. Cranfield was not injured.
Hwy 66 as closed for approximately 2 hours. OSP was assisted by Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and ODOT.
Josephine County Sherriff’s Office — URGENT- MISSING AS OF 2/3/2022
After leaving Patty’s l Restaurant in Gold Hill, 80 year old Donald Stockwell was supposed to return to his home in Grants Pass, but he never arrived at his destination. Family members suspect that Donald may have been exhibiting confusion and memory loss recently, which often go hand in hand with things like dementia.
Donald was last seen driving a white four-door GMC crew cab, Oregon license plate # 851LVC. He is 6’0″ tall, weighs approximately 240 pounds, and has grey hair and a full beard. If you have seen Donald or his vehicle since February 3rd, please call the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office at 541-474-5123
Oregon Racing Commission voted to deny The Flying Lark’s applications for gaming machines
The Oregon Racing Commission voted to deny The Flying Lark’s applications for gaming machines on Thursday afternoon, despite commissioners unanimously noting that they disagreed with a recent Department of Justice opinion that the gambling venture violated Oregon’s constitution.
Meeting in executive session, the ORC said that they felt bound to abide by the DOJ opinion despite their individual disagreements. The DOJ’s opinion was backed by a letter from Governor Kate Brown on Wednesday — addressed to each of the commissioners and letting them know, in no uncertain terms, that they should follow state’s legal counsel or get out of the way.
Dutch Bros co-founder Travis Boersma, the backer behind The Flying Lark, said during public comments on the session that the DOJ opinion was “deeply flawed.” Boersma indicated that he would lay off 200 employees at the end of this month due to the decision. Regardless, he said that he’ll personally fund horse racing at Grants Pass Downs for the next three seasons.
Oregon reports 1,635 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 12 new deaths
PORTLAND, Ore. — There are 12 new COVID-19-related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll at 6,456, Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reported Friday.
OHA reported 1,635 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 bringing the state total to 685,953.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (12), Benton (47), Clackamas (103), Clatsop (10), Columbia (21), Coos (29), Crook (12), Curry (8), Deschutes (90), Douglas (64), Harney (9), Hood River (15), Jackson (137), Jefferson (4), Josephine (32), Klamath (49), Lake (4), Lane (191), Lincoln (26), Linn (72), Malheur (10), Marion (137), Morrow (3), Multnomah (251), Polk (43), Sherman (1), Tillamook (16), Umatilla (31), Union (8), Wallowa (2), Wasco (10), Washington (163) and Yamhill (25)
Public Health officials are urging local parents and guardians to have their children vaccinated for COVID-19 as cases of the disease are prevalent among area youth. Between Jan. 28 and Feb. 5, health officials are reporting that at least 58 Josephine County residents under age 11 tested positive for COVID-19, including two children less than a year old.
For residents age 19 and younger, COVID-19 cases reached a high of 254 for the week of Jan. 16-22, up from 21 during the week of Nov. 21-27, 2021.
All people in Oregon age 5 and older are eligible for a free COVID-19 vaccine. Those 12 and older are eligible for boosters five months after an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) or two months after the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. COVID-19 ranks as one of the top 10 causes of death for children ages 5-11, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Oregon And Washington Doctors Cautiously Optimistic As COVID Hospitalizations Drop
Hospitalizations from COVID-19 in Oregon and Washington are declining, in some cases faster than expected, according to experts.
“I’m really encouraged by what I’m seeing,” said Dr. Peter Graven, director of the Oregon Health and Science University Office of Advanced Analytics, who produces a weekly COVID forecast for the state. “We saw a dramatic decline in the last week.”
As of Friday, Oregon Health Authority data showed fewer than 800 patients were in the hospital because of COVID, down from the January peak of 1,130.
“This is great because it relieves a lot of pressure on that critical resource,” Graven said.
State officials want Oregon to reach fewer than 400 COVID-related hospitalizations before relaxing the indoor mask mandate. Previous projections showed that would happen by March 31, which is why officials picked that day as the target to end the mandate.
“It looks like we may get there a couple weeks earlier than that,” Graven said.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced this week his state’s indoor mask mandate will end sooner, on March 21, as long as COVID numbers continue to trend downward.
“We have a responsibility now over the next few weeks,” said Dr. Alan Melnick with Clark County Public Health.
Melnick said maintaining COVID prevention will reduce the risk of another new variant like delta or omicron emerging and triggering a renewed surge in COVID cases.
“Wherever the virus is circulating in the world, it has the opportunity to mutate and form a new variant,” Melnick said.
Oregon has not said if it will match Washington’s earlier date to make masks optional indoors. For the moment, the official word is still that the state will remove the mandate no later than March 31.
Graven does not make those rules, but he said Oregonians are on the right path toward achieving the goal and making COVID more similar to the seasonal flu. He emphasized ongoing prevention efforts will be essential to keeping masks optional:
- Distancing when sick
- Getting vaccinated/boosted against COVID
- Wearing masks in high-risk settings
- Washing hands
“If we can hang tight a little bit longer with some of those key behavior metrics into March, I think we’ll be in good shape,” he said. “Hopefully we won’t have to worry about COVID at all.”
Oregon Lawmakers Have Two Weeks Left – GOP continues to push back on legislation mandating overtime pay for agricultural workers
The clock is ticking for Oregon lawmakers to get bills past the finish line with just over two weeks left in the 35-day short session. This week, many bills cleared their first chamber vote, with legislation related to voting rights, housing, worker compensation, and wildfires moving forward.
The legislature also saw familiar tactics between Republicans and Democrats as the GOP continued to push back on legislation mandating overtime pay for agricultural workers. The House bill to give farmworkers overtime pay is this session’s most controversial bill.
Lawmakers voted along party lines Monday to move the bill out of committee. It will soon go to the House floor for a vote, after a brief pit stop in the House Revenue Committee. Republicans continue to push back against the bill, saying giving employees overtime pay could further burden farm owners.
And, in protest this week, Republicans brought back a tactic they’ve used in previous sessions — a quirk in the Oregon constitution that requires all bills be read in their entirety before any floor votes.
Oregon and Washington Lawmakers Discuss Replacing Interstate Bridge
There’s been talk of replacing the Interstate Bridge for years, but previous attempts between Oregon and Washington failed. The Interstate 5 crossing over the Columbia River turned 105 years old last week.
In the last few years, there’s been a renewed effort to move forward on a replacement for the bridge that provides a critical connection between our two states.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed 28 bills into law Wednesday morning, including a measure that would revive plans to replace the aging Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River.
The new law calls for an inventory by the Washington State Department of Transportation of all previous work toward a bridge replacement. That inventory will be due back to the state Legislature in December.
“We see that inventory as really informing our work going forward,” said state Sen. Annette Cleveland, D-Vancouver, who sponsored Senate Bill 5806.
It also sends a message that Washington is ready to restart the process, which in the past has turned divisive.
“We recognize that there are other needs and challenges that must also be discussed and met,” said Cleveland. “But I think it’s monumental that we were able to agree that we need to find a solution first and foremost for replacing that I-5 bridge.”
Disputes over public transportation across the bridge soured the failed Columbia River Crossing project between Oregon and Washington four years ago.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” said Cleveland. “We intend to spend the summer reaching out and looking at where there is agreement.”
And while Washingtonians celebrated the new measure, Oregon lawmakers sent a more muted response.
The I-5 bridge was not included as a potential project in the $8.2 billion transportation package proposal unveiled this week in Salem.
In Washington, a $16 billion infrastructure package for the whole state is now slated to include $1 billion for the Interstate Bridge.
Excessive Electricity Use Triggered Transformer Explosions That Tipped Off Oregon Police to Cannabis Ring
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Oregon announced Friday the indictment of Fayao “Paul” Rong, a 51-year-old Houston man, on two counts of conspiracy to manufacture and possess cannabis with intent to distribute.
The enormous amount of electricity used by Rong’s indoor cannabis grows tipped off Oregon State Police.
“The Rong organization takedown followed a 14-month investigation by [Oregon State Police] initiated after the agency learned of excessive electricity use at the various properties, which, in several instances, resulted in transformer explosions,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “Investigators believe that, in a 12-month period beginning August 2020, Rong trafficked more than $13.2 million in black market marijuana.”
Federal prosecutors allege Rong purchased “numerous” houses in Oregon, which he converted into indoor cannabis grow operations, and led an organization that grew, harvested and transported cannabis to states where its possession is not legal. (Prosecutors did not specify which states, or how many, they believe Rong shipped the cannabis to.)
During a raid in September led by Oregon State Police’s Northwest Region Marijuana Team and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, law enforcement executed search warrants on 25 Oregon residences, as well as Rong’s home in Houston. During the investigation, prosecutors allege, they seized more than 33,000 plants, 1,800 pounds of packaged cannabis and nearly $600,000 in cash.
Federal prosecutors in Oregon have asked the court to seize 16 properties worth approximately $6.5 million where they believe drug ring grew cannabis.
Law enforcement arrested Rong in Houston. Following his Feb. 18 appearance in Texas federal court, the judge ordered Rong released from custody pending his appearance in Oregon District Court. He faces life in prison if convicted.
More than a dozen law enforcement agencies—local, state and federal—assisted: the Portland Police Bureau, the Oregon Department of Justice, the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team, sheriff’s offices in Multnomah, Linn, Polk, Marion, Clatsop and Yamhill counties, as well as the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations unit.
Lawmakers Considering Plan To Give $600 Stimulus Checks To Oregon Families
Oregon Democrats reintroduced a bill that would provide a one-time payment of $600 to low-income workers across the state. The bill which is yet to be passed will focus on 260,000 persons who applied for earned income tax credits on their 2020 tax returns.
The proposed bill would take the place of a different plan introduced earlier this session that would have provided workers with payouts of up to $1,000. Now the one-time payments have been brought down to $600 that’s now estimated to cost the state $180 million.
Rep. Andrea Valderrama, who introduced the new plan said that the original bill was dropped because forcing workers to apply for the money may cause payments to be delayed until 2023 or 2024.
We know that working and low-wage families need this funding now. We know the cost of living is sky-high, the revenue forecast (last week) told us that. Workers need to be able to afford the rising cost of groceries, prescriptions, childcare, and all of those things. Residents who file taxes with an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), and without a Social Security number, would also qualify for a payment.
Under the new proposal, as long as they applied for the earned income tax credit on their 2020 state filing, taxpayers would receive a check.
Oregon Seafood Processors To Receive Federal Funds To Help With Pandemic Expenses
Seafood processors in Oregon will soon receive more than $1.5 million in federal funding. The money will go to pay for expenses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The money is an important step in reimbursing the many costs associated with the pandemic, according to Lori Steele with the West Coast Seafood Processors Association.
“Expenses like equipment, PPE, COVID-19 testing, quarantining, retrofitting the processing facilities,” Steele says. “So the expenses were on the order of millions of dollars.”
The money was secured by U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden. It’s part of a larger investment by the US Department of Agriculture.
Approximately $50 million is going to 24 different states to support the seafood industry. In Oregon, the money will be distributed by the state’s agriculture department.
In Southern Oregon, processors are located in Brookings, Coos Bay and Charleston. California and Washington also received funding from the USDA.
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/