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
Friday, April 15, 2022
Rogue Valley Weather
Winter Weather Advisory in effect from April 15, 11:00 PM PDT until April 16, 02:00 PM PDT
Today– Partly sunny, with a high near 53. Light north northwest wind.
Saturday– Rain, mainly before 11am, then a chance of showers after 2pm. Snow level 2400 feet. High near 52. Calm wind becoming west northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
EASTER Sunday– Mostly cloudy, with a high near 62. Light and variable wind.
Monday– Rain likely, mainly after 11am. Snow level 4400 feet rising to 5800 feet in the afternoon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 63. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Tuesday– A chance of rain. Snow level 3000 feet rising to 4100 feet in the afternoon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 57.
Winter Weather Advisory
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Medford OR 139 AM PDT Fri Apr 15 2022 ORZ023>026-160000- /O.EXB.KMFR.WW.Y.0013.220416T0600Z-220416T2100Z/ Central Douglas County-Eastern Curry County and Josephine County- Eastern Douglas County Foothills-Jackson County- 139 AM PDT Fri Apr 15 2022 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 2 PM PDT SATURDAY ABOVE 2500 FEET... * WHAT...Snow expected above 2500 feet. Total snow accumulations of 2 to 6 inches. * WHERE...Elevations above 2500 feet in central and eastern Douglas County, Eastern Curry County, and Jackson and Josephine County, including portions of highways 138, 140, 62, 66, and 227. * WHEN...From 11 PM this evening to 2 PM PDT Saturday. * IMPACTS...Plan for difficult travel conditions. Roads may become slick and snow covered. * View the hazard area in detail at https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/map/?wfo=mfr PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... * Slow down and allow extra time to reach your destination. * Carry tire chains and be prepared for snow covered roads and limited visibilities. * See https://www.tripcheck.com for latest road conditions. * A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means that periods of snow will cause travel difficulties.
Cleanup Underway Following Medford Fire
The city of Medford announced Thursday, Apr. 14, that the Medford Fire Department has put out all traces of fire at the Pacific Pride Fire site, and all fire equipment and personnel have left the scene. The Medford Police Department has not made any arrests in connection to this incident and the fire’s cause continues to be under investigation.
Cleanup is underway following the fire at Pacific Pride Commercial Fuel Station in Medford, which released 12,000 gallons of various petroleum products said the Department of Environmental Quality in a release Thursday evening, Apr. 14.
South Central Avenue from E 13th St. to E Barnett Rd is still closed while crews undertake the massive clean-up effort. The city said this closure will continue until further notice to avoid more environmental degradation and unsafe conditions.
All lanes are open along North Riverside, but the city warned drivers in the area to watch out for clean-up crews.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and NEXGEN Logistics LLC are coordinating the response to public health and environmental impacts of the fire and oil.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and NEXGEN Logistics, LLC are working on cleaning the petroleum products, mostly lube oil, which made its way into Bear Creek through storm drains in the roads.
The agencies and company said there is no current estimate on the amount of petroleum consumed by the fire or released into the area.
“The aboveground tanks at the site appear to be mostly intact and contractors are in the process of pumping out their contents,” said the DEQ.
Approximately 400 feet of absorbent boom has been in Bear Creek to reduce the amount of petroleum product released to the stream.
On Wednesday, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife observed oiled ducks and geese. Biologists captured and cleaned several waterfowl and are monitoring their condition.
The DEQ warned residents, saying if you see any oiled wildlife, do not approach or pick them up. Please notify International Bird Rescue at 707-689-3944 to ensure trained wildlife rehabilitation experts help the animals.
EPA set up community air monitors to ensure air quality and said the air has been at safe levels.
Seven businesses were lost with the four buildings that burned in the Pacific Pride commercial fueling station fire in Medford on Tuesday, but the environmental damage could have been a lot worse if one of the Naumes cold-storage facilities near the fuel station caught fire because of the chemicals inside the facility.
Local Police Are Warning Residents About Imposters Posing As Law Enforcement Officers
The Josephine County Sheriff’s Office is the latest agency is report local residents receiving calls from purported law enforcement officers. The Oregon law enforcement agency reminds residents that its officers would not be calling asking for payments.
Some of the scam artists in Oregon and other states such as Florida try to pressure residents into paying off potential fines via cash apps or through gift cards.
The telephone police scams also come locally along with a local incident involving alleged potential police impersonators pulling over a woman in Siskiyou County and shooting at her vehicle when she tried to escape. The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said it responded to a call March 26 at 1:25 a.m. east of Grenada.
SCSO said motorists can call 911 if they are pulled over by a police vehicle and are concerned about their safety. They should also pull over in well-light and more public areas if possible and look for official vehicles, uniforms and identification, police said.
Peter Defazio Introduces Legislation To Expand and Protect Rogue Wilderness
On Thursday, Congressman Peter DeFazio introduced the Wild Rogue Conservation and Recreation Enhancement Act.
A release said the legislation would expand the Rogue Wilderness Area and create the Rogue Canyon Recreation Area.
DeFazio said “I’ve long been committed to the conservation and protection of Oregon’s most iconic areas”. DeFazio said he is proud to champion legislation “…that would protect Oregon’s most unique and magnificent lands for the enjoyment of current and future generations”.
The release said the bill would expand the existing Wild Rogue Wilderness Area by approximately 60,000 acres. The land included within the wilderness expansion proposal has already been set aside by federal land managers as land that should be protected and conserved. It would also establish a 98,000 acres recreation area on the banks of the Rogue river in southwest Oregon, adjacent to the existing Rogue Wilderness Area.
The release said the legislation requires federal land managers create a wildfire mitigation plan to reduce wildfire risk to communities and enhance fish and wildlife habitat. INFO on Wild Rogue Wilderness: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/rogue-siskiyou/recarea/?recid=77587
Has this week’s wet and wild wintry weather made an impact on the water year and the drought for the state of Oregon?
In the Willamette Valley and Northwestern Oregon, yes. The rest of the state, not so much. Oregon climatologist Larry O’Neill says that coming into this storm, we were having a very rapid meltdown of the snowpack across
the state.
And what this storm did is — it’s cold, and it looks like it will remain cold for at least the next week, So it will preserve what snow we do have,” and he adds, “just a couple of days ago we’re looking at possibly an historic early melt-out, one of the earliest melt-outs, four to six weeks early; now, we’re looking more along the lines of one to three weeks early.
The last storm even managed to head farther south than most had been going, bringing some highway-closing snow to the Siskiyou Summit Willamette Pass, and Lake of the Woods highways. O’Neill says. In terms of our water supply, that was very good news, because it meant a little more water in a region that was staring down an historically bad water season.
What that might help with is maybe a little more irrigation water, a little less pressure on the municipal water supplies, and possibly a little bit more water for stream flow and fish habitat.
Just in the past week, snowpack in the Willamette Basin went up from 73% to 102%. In the Hood/Sandy/Lower Deschutes it went from 100% to 127%. In the Rogue/Umpqua Basin it went up from 34% to 63%.
For the rest of the region, the numbers aren’t so positive. Unlike California, which can and does move water from the wetter northern part of the state to the drier areas in the south, Oregon does not have that kind of infrastructure set
up to do that.
We want to keep you informed about COVID-19 in Oregon. Data are provisional and change frequently. For more information, including COVID-19 data by county, visit our dashboard: http://ow.ly/lpqU50IK5St
The federal mask mandate for airports, airplanes and other transit systems will remain in effect until May 3, the CDC announced this week.This extension is due to rising COVID-19 cases across the country, specifically from BA.2—the more contagious subvariant of Omicron. Currently, BA.2 accounts for about 86% of new COVID-19 cases in the United States.Originally scheduled to expire April 18, the two-week extension will allow the CDC “to assess the potential impact the rise of cases has on severe disease, including hospitalizations and deaths, and health care system capacity,” according to the agency.
I-84 Eastbound Lanes Open Now
The Interstate 84 eastbound freeway is now open in eastern Oregon, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).
OR 204 (Tollgate Highway) and OR 245 are also now open. Motorists may need to slow down and drive with extra caution around crash site near milepost 340.
Severe winter weather conditions throughout the week caused numerous accidents, many involving unchained trucks. Several vehicles also caught on fire. Both the westbound and eastbound lanes of I-84 were closed between Pendleton and La Grande for several hours Monday night and Tuesday morning, and again later in the week.
Conditions can change at any time. Ccontinue to check TripCheck.com or call 511 / 800-977-6368 for updates. Outside Oregon call 503-588-2941.
Oregon Hospitals Finish 2021 in Weakened Financial Position As Omicron Wave Hit
Continued workforce shortages, higher expenses and flat revenue threaten recovery
Oregon’s hospitals finished 2021 in a declining financial position compared to 2020 just as the Omicron variant was about to push the system to the breaking point for the second time in a year, according to a yearly data report from Apprise Health Insights.
Read the Apprise CY 2021 report here.
Persistent staffing shortages with rising labor costs, longer patient stays, general inflation, and other factors combined to push expenses higher while revenue remained stagnant last year. The result was lower margins in 2021 compared to the previous year: 25 hospitals (42 percent) finished the year with a negative operating margin. The median operating margin in 2021 was 3.1 percent, down 30% since 2019.
The margins would have been even lower if not for one-time federal CARES Act dollars included in the 2021 balance sheets and are thought be unsustainable given continued rising costs and inflation. The aggregate margin last year was 2.0 percent with CARES Act funds included and 0.4 percent with those dollars excluded.
“The data show the significant financial impact on hospitals in 2021 from COVID, including rising expenses and flat revenue,” said Andy Van Pelt, CEO of Apprise. “While many are ready to move on from COVID, Oregon hospitals are facing several challenges that have no easy fix.”
For the fifth quarter in a row Net Patient Revenue (NPR) fell short of Total Operating Expenses (TOE). Labor costs, which make up over half of a hospital’s expenses, have risen 26 percent since early 2019. Much of that total is a direct result of the staffing shortage which has forced hospitals to hire and pay travel nurses at rates many multiples of what staff nurses are paid. The total for other expenses such as housekeeping, IT, utilities, and insurance have risen 18 percent since 2019. The current general inflation rate of 8.5 percent is not reflected in these numbers.
The staffing shortage has also broken the continuum of care as the inability to discharge patients to a more appropriate level of care has led to longer lengths of stay, while patients waiting for a staffed bed are boarded in the ED. The longer lengths of stay are also driven by higher acuity patients, many of them very sick with COVID, which leads to lower revenues.
Another shift from 2021 was the weaker financial performance of larger urban hospitals compared to their rural counterparts, which benefited greatly from the infusion of CARES Act funds. With major challenges continuing into 2022, especially the workforce crisis, Apprise analysts say they don’t expect an environment favorable to recovery this year.
About Apprise: Apprise Health Insights is the most reliable and complete source of hospital data in Oregon. As the data subsidiary of the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (OAHHS), Apprise staff have gathered and analyzed data about Oregon hospitals and health systems since 1985. We strive to provide data, tools, and expertise to help hospitals understand the healthcare landscape in the Pacific Northwest.
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell is calling for action to replace the I-5 bridge connecting Oregon and Washington state over the Columbia River.
The Washington state Democrat spoke yesterday while taking a tour of the aging bridge, encouraging the state to take advantage of what she calls a “once-in-a-generation investment in infrastructure.”
President Biden has signed new legislation into law creating two large pools of federal funding to improve infrastructure across the U.S. The funding includes 12-point-five-billion dollars for bridge investments. The Washington state legislature approved legislation during this year’s session committing one-billion dollars to cover
the state’s anticipated share of the construction costs. https://www.interstatebridge.org/
State health officials in Washington and Oregon are recommending the public limit their consumption of sturgeon caught from the lower Columbia River.
A health advisory comes from the Washington Department of Health as fish tissue data shows contaminant levels of polychlorinated biphenyls — or PCBs — at levels above Washington state’s screening values, The Seattle Times reported.
In Washington, the advisory applies to any fish caught in the Columbia River between the Bonneville Dam and the mouth of the Columbia.
Officials recommend that most adults should not eat more than eight meals of sturgeon a month, and no more than seven for pregnant women, nursing mothers and children. The Oregon Health Authority also issued an advisory for the lower Columbia River and the lower Willamette River.
Grants Pass Missing Person
The Grants Pass Police Department is seeking assistance from the public in locating 30 year old Noah Baker. Baker was despondent after an argument and left his residence in Grants Pass driving a silver Ford Fiesta with Oregon Plate 671MUR.
Baker is described as a white male adult, 5’09”, 170 lbs, brown hair and blue eyes and was last seen wearing black sweats, black shirt, black shoes and a black hat.
If anyone knows of his whereabouts or sees Baker, please call your local law enforcement agency or the Grants Pass Police at 541-450-6260. Reference case #2022-14203 Grants Pass Police Department
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
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Have-You-Seen-Me-Southern-Oregons-Missing-People-161249961222839/posts/