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, June 7, 2022
Rogue Valley Weather
Mary & Dick Heimann Cancer Center In Medford Is Now Open To Patients
Asante Medical Center has opened a new regional cancer facility that will provide the full range of oncology care under one roof.
Asante celebrated the donors and volunteers who helped make a new regional cancer center a reality, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 5th. After breaking ground in early 2020 this state-of-the-art medical facility is now ready to help the community.
With over 900 private donors partnering with the Hematology Oncology Associates medical group, the Mary & Dick Heimann Cancer Center has officially opened in Medford. The Heimanns donated $5 million to the new center, which totaled $64 million dollars to build.
“It’s going to be a magnet for expertise, resources for cancer care in the valley so I’m looking forward to improving the quality of care,” said Derek Budd, a lung cancer patient.
The new center came from a growing need among patients who said that they had to travel upstate and some even out of state to receive their treatment and care. This was particularly difficult during the pandemic.
“Previously patients had to get infusions in one location, scans in another, their traveling around probably when they’re not feeling well and this allows them to come and get all of their care in one roof,” said Lindsey Hicks, Cancer Champion Committee member.
Cancer Champions are current or former cancer patients or caregivers who raise awareness of cancer care options by sharing their experience and their knowledge to help other patients.
Part of the in-house treatment that patients can receive through this new facility will be:
- PET/CT for diagnostic imaging.
- TrueBeam and Radixact technology for precise tumor radiation.
- 45 infusion chairs and six private rooms with beds.
- On-site laboratory and pharmacy services.
- A research department for clinical trials.
- Support services for patient navigation, social work and dietary needs.
This is all while not being more expensive on the patient but being more of a resource to Southern Oregon and Northern California.
“We founded Hematology Oncology Associates with the express goal of taking care of any patient who had a positive biopsy regardless of their ability to pay and we held onto that through the whole time I was in practice here,” said Charles Dibb, retired oncologist and member of Hematology Oncology Associates.
This new facility is located at 3011 E. Barnett Road near the campus of Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford.
Ashland Summer Camp Hopes To Help Kids Heal Together From Pandemic And Wildfire Trauma
After nearly three years of a global pandemic and wildfires that have devastated the Valley, Susanne Willow says the non-profit she co-founded, The Crest at Willow -Witt Ranch is hoping to provide a safe space for children to collectively heal.
The non-profit is hosting summer day camps for kids ages 6-11. (Courtesy Susanne Willow).
“All of that trauma globally means that the kids have come together carrying this weight,” Willow said. “We all have it so let’s get together, let’s make a group bond, let’s gradually learn to take our time out.”
She said the educational programs provided at the ranch take a trauma-informed approach and allow space for all emotions to be felt while healing together and in nature.
Willow said parent surveys from last year’s summer program noted that it helped their kids integrate back into the community after lockdown.
“Quite a few parents saying “this changed my life this changed my child’s life, I had a child who was hesitant who was reticent,” She said. “One of the quotes was “my child didn’t even want to go to birthday parties they were so shy” and (now) they can’t think of a better place in the world to be.”
The non-profit offers weekly Nature Day camps that run from June 12 to Sept 2 and accepts kids ages six through eleven. Educational programs take place on the 445-acre ranch in the mountains of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument east of Ashland, Oregon.
“They usually have a project that involves a game, we usually start the day with games, social games getting the kids to remember each other and know each other,” Willow said.
Activities include story-telling, hiking with goats, collecting chicken eggs, studying turtles and birds, making crafts, performing garden tasks, service learning and more. Attendees are also given two baskets of vegetables to take home with them each week.
Families may sign up for as many weeks as they wish, first-come, first-served. Camps will run Monday through Friday, 9 am – 3:30 pm. Tuition is $450 per week with scholarships available upon request.
The camp includes an instructor-accompanied bus ride that begins at the Expo Center in Central Point and stops in Talent and Ashland. More information and sign-up is available on the non-profit’s website.
Grants Pass Street Sweeping Schedule – Week of June 6, 2022
If your home is in one of these zones, it will be swept next week between the hours of 7:00 am and 6:00 pm, on the following days:
- Monday, June 6, 2022 – Zones 1 and 6
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022 –Zone 5
- Wednesday, June 8, 2022 – Zone 9
- Thursday, June 9, 2022 – Zone 2
Help us to sweep our street by moving your cars and trashcans off the street from 7:00 am – 6:00 pm on the day your street is scheduled to be swept.
Find your zone and keep up to date:
- Open the Street Sweeping Zones Map to find your zone
- Bookmark the Street Sweeping Schedules page for easy access to the schedule and news
- Sign up to receive Street Sweeping Schedule Newsflash notifications
If you have any questions, contact the City of Grants Pass Public Works office at 541-450-6110. Although we always try our best to follow the schedule, it may change due to increment weather. We will keep you updated of any changes.
DMV in Dire Need to Fill Job Openings in Your Area
The DMV has been experiencing the same shortage of applicants for job openings as other employers statewide and nationwide and is looking for applicants looking for a good and rewarding job.
“The people working at your local DMV live in your community – and could use your help.”
Apply for a job at ODOT today at www.odotjobs.com – select “Department of Transportation” under the Company menu.
We want to keep you informed about COVID-19 in Oregon. Data are provisional and change frequently. This report covers the three-day period from June 3 to June 5, 2022. Visit our dashboard, linked below, and hover over the new cases graph to view new presumptive and confirmed case numbers reported to OHA by date.For more information, including COVID-19 data by county, visit our dashboard: http://ow.ly/CAuc50JqTy0
A recent study by Oregon State University’s College of Public Health and Human Sciences found that COVID patients had a 25% increased risk of developing a psychiatric disorder in the four months following their infection.
The study compared people with a COVID diagnosis with patients with other respiratory tract infections.
According to the university, researchers limited the study to patients with no previous mental illness and looked at two time periods following COVID diagnosis: from 21 to 120 days and from 120 to 365 days.
The researchers looked specifically at anxiety and mood disorders. Researchers say the results show that patients and health care providers need to be more proactive addressing mental health concerns following a COVID infection.
The study’s lead author, Ben Coleman from the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, is already working on a follow-up paper which seeks to assess the association between symptoms of long COVID and new-onset mental illness.
Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office Is Renewing Its Search For Kyron Who Disappeared More Than A Decade Ago
The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office is renewing its search for Kyron Horman who disappeared more than a decade ago. The sheriff’s office has released a new age-progressed photo of what Kyron Horman might look like today.
The office released the photo over the weekend on the 12th anniversary of Horman’s disappearance from Skyline School in 2010. Horman was dropped off at school by his step-mother, Terri Moulton, before he went missing.
Detectives have not identified a suspect in the case. Horman’s mother, Desiree Young urged people to continue searching for her son. A 50-thousand-dollar reward remains for anyone with information that leads to his location.
Kyron Richard Horman (born September 9, 2002) is an American boy who disappeared from Skyline Elementary School in Portland, Oregon, on June 4, 2010, after attending a science fair.[1] Local and state police, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), conducted an exhaustive search and launched a criminal investigation, but have not uncovered any significant information regarding the child’s whereabouts. Horman’s disappearance sparked the largest criminal investigation in Oregon history.
Thousands Left Without Power in Klamath Falls
Tens of thousands of residents were left without power Monday morning after a widespread outage in the Klamath Basin. Pacific Power indicated the problem was due to a probable animal getting into the main power line causing the massive disruption.
Both the city and suburban areas were without power, as were areas like Keno, Dairy, and Bonanza. As of Monday noon, most power had been restored after being rerouted.
Klamath County Schools started two hours late today with the exception of some in the outlying areas, and city schools were able to try to maintain a normal schedule.
Further information is expected to be released regarding the specific cause and the amount of damage caused at a later date by PP and L. PP and L estimates that about 31,000 people were affected by the outage in the area Monday.
Oregon’s Rental Assistance Program Expects To Run Out Of Money By End Of June
More than 55,000 Oregon households have avoided eviction thanks to the state’s rent assistance program and they say the money is quickly running out.
The $406 million program, funded by the federal and state governments, will be mostly out of money by June 30, representatives from Oregon Housing and Community Services told legislative committees last week.
“While we were able to get a lot of money out, we know that the need is still great,” said Andrea Bell, the agency’s executive director. “We’re going to have to be relentless in building and creating more access to affordable housing.”
Since the program launched in May 2021, more than 55,000 households have received a combined more than $363 million to cover unpaid rent and stave off evictions. The average payment was about $6,400.
It typically costs three to four times more to help a family out of homelessness than it does to help a family stay housed, according to Jill Smith, the agency’s interim director of housing stabilization.
The majority – 85% – of the Oregonians who received assistance made less than half the median income in their area. That means a family of four in the Portland area was making less than $53,250, while a family of four that received aid in rural counties in eastern Oregon likely earned less than $35,900 a year.
Agency leaders are still seeking additional funding from the federal government, which has been reallocating money from states that didn’t use it. Oregon so far has received an extra $17 million of such unused funds.
Separately, the Legislature allocated $130 million over the past several months for eviction prevention programs. The agency is using that for direct rent assistance, as well as legal services, mediation and case management.
The agency struggled for months to get rent payments to tenants or their landlords, prompting the Legislature to convene in a special session in December to extend a “safe harbor” period to protect tenants whose applications for help were pending. The Audits Division of the Secretary of State’s Office is investigating the program this year.
Oregon State University is expected to announce its next president this week.
OSU Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting tomorrow to consider the appointment and the employment agreement. The candidate will succeed OSU Interim President Becky Johnson. She replaced Ed Ray in 2020 who retired after serving as president since 2003.
Portland Rose Festival In Full Swing
It’s the return of Rose Festival’s big outdoor events like the Grand Floral Parade, Starlight Parade, Junior Parade, CityFair and Fleet Week, and a continuation of the Rose Festival Court and Queen’s Coronation.
Portlanders and visitors alike celebrate our floral heritage and community spirit.
The Rose Festival Fleet arrives along Portland’s seawall this week. Three ships arrive Wednesday afternoon with the rest of the fleet arriving Thursday afternoon. Drivers should expect extended bridge lifts of the Broadway, Steel, and Morrison bridges while the ships move upriver. MORE INFO: https://www.rosefestival.org
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