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, November 11, 2022
Rogue Valley Weather
Medford Multi-Agency Emergency Response Training
Medford Fire Department and other local agencies participated in an emergency response training at Providence Medford Medical Center on Thursday, Nov. 10th.
The department says training like this gives it a chance to increase emergency response preparedness and build relationships with community partners. MORE INFO: https://www.medfordoregon.gov/Government/Departments/Fire/Emergency-Management
Man Arrested After Threatening People With A Knife in Ashland
On November 9, 2022 at approximately 7:45 p.m. officers from the Ashland Police Department responded to the downtown plaza for a report of a disorderly man threating people with a knife, and throwing items at cars.
As officers were searching the area they encountered the suspect, identified as Vander Bevill, a 23 year old Ashland resident. When Bevill was contacted by officers he was holding a knife to his throat. Officers confronted Bevill with a less lethal weapon (a bean bag shotgun) and ordered him to drop the knife (the less lethal weapon was deployed but not used).
Bevill dropped the knife and fled on foot. Pursuing officers caught Bevill and took him into custody without further incident after additional officers arrived on scene.
Bevill was lodged at the Jackson County Jail on charges of Disorderly Conduct, Menacing, Unlawful Use of a Weapon and Interfering with a Police Officer. Bevill was no longer in custody as of 1 p.m. on November 10, 2022.
I-5 Southbound Reopened Between Rogue River And Grants Pass After Truck Jackknife
Oregon Department of Transportation’s Southwest Oregon advisory tonight is updated, saying the left-hand lane of southbound Interstate 5 is open now.
ODOT says Interstate 5 at mile post 52 southbound, just south of Grants Pass, has its southbound fast lane open to traffic after crews pulled empty trailers off to the side of the road.
It advises drivers to expect delays and watch for emergency crews. More info here from ODOT’s TripCheck.
Shortly after 8pm ODOT advised that Interstate 5 southbound at mile post 52 had all southbound lanes blocked by a jackknifed commercial truck pulling triple trailers. ODOT says two of trailers reportedly were on their sides.
Traffic was being taken off at Exit 55 using a detour on Rogue River Highway, OR 99.
ODOT’s TripCheck: http://tripcheck.com
Dutch Bros. Hosting Downtown Grants Pass Trash Clean-Up
Dutch Bros. announced that its employees will be participating in a downtown Grants Pass trash clean-up Friday, Nov. 11th.
The clean-up is happening from 9:00 a.m. to noon. in the back parking lot of the Dutch Bros. headquarters.
It is also being hosted by Stream Smart: A Rogue Basin Clean Water Project and the Rogue Valley Council of Governments.
Dutch Bros. says volunteers will work to target trash and debris that could enter storm drains, which empty directly into nearby creeks and the Rogue River.
Trash bags, gloves, snacks, and water will be provided to those who attend.
Information on water quality, stormwater management, and other efforts being accomplished within the Rogue Valley will be available at the clean-up.
142nd Wing to conduct Veterans Day flyovers
The 142nd Wing out of the Portland Air National Guard Base, Portland, Oregon will conduct
Veterans Day flyovers for ceremonies and parades at locations throughout the state.
142nd Wing Commander, Colonel Todd Hofford, said the wing is proud to conduct the flyovers.
“We appreciate the opportunity to honor those that have served before us. The demonstration of
air superiority on this day is a great reminder to us all how fortunate we are to be citizens of this
country. These patriotic flyovers are courtesy of your Hometown Air Force.”
The F-15 Eagle fighter jets are scheduled to conduct flyovers at the following community
locations at, or around the designated times on Friday, 11 November:
10:45 a.m. Tillamook Air Museum, Tillamook, Ore.
10:57 a.m. Albany Veterans Day Parade, Albany, Ore.
11:11 a.m. University of Portland, Portland, Ore.
11:32 a.m. The Dalles Area Chamber, The Dalles, Ore.
12:07 p.m. Veterans Memorial Park, Klamath Falls, Ore.
12:22 p.m. Douglas County Veterans Day Parade, Roseburg, Ore.
All passes will be approximately 1,000 feet above ground level and about 400 mph airspeed.
Flights could be canceled or times changed due to inclement weather or operational
contingencies. There will also be a funeral flyover at 11:20 a.m. in Mollala, Ore.
Previous in-flight flyover gopro footage can be downloaded at: https://www.dvidshub.net/video/752272/142nd-wing-f-15-flight-gopro-footage
About the 142nd Wing: The Portland Air National Guard Base employs 1,500 Airmen who provide an economic impact of nearly $500 million to the region. The 142nd Wing defends our homeland with F-15 Eagle fighter jets, guarding the Pacific Northwest skies from northern California to the Canadian border through their Aerospace Control Alert mission as part of Air Combat Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Their mission is to provide unequalled, mission-ready units to sustain combat aerospace superiority and peacetime tasking any time, any place in service to our nation, state and community.
For more information, contact 142nd Wing Public Affairs at 142.wg.pa@us.af.mil
Tina Kotek Wins Oregon Governor’s Race
Tina Kotek has been elected Oregon’s next governor, extending longtime Democratic control of the state and dashing Republican hopes for a rare win in a top race on the West Coast of the United States. Just before 6:30 p.m. Thursday, the Associated Press projected Tina Kotek as Oregon’s next governor with 47% of the vote while challenger Christine Drazan had 43% with 85% of votes counted.
“It is an absolute honor,” Kotek said. “I can tell you that being who I am is important to Oregonians across the state. Lots of young people have come up to me and said thank you for running and thank you for being who you are.”
The former longtime speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives had faced a stiff challenge from Republican Christine Drazan, who is also an ex-legislator.
Kotek stood in front of a fountain in Portland Thursday morning a few steps from the Willamette River and told an invitation-only crowd of reporters and supporters displaying her campaign signs that she was ready to get to work.
She said she plans to travel around Oregon starting in January to talk to community leaders about issues facing the state, particularly the shortage of affordable housing and addiction. She said her priorities are addressing homelessness, expanding access to mental health and addiction treatment and working to bridge the divisions in the state.
Kotek told reporters she has spoken with Drazan and Johnson, a former state senator who ran as an unaffiliated candidate and who conceded Tuesday night.
The Drazan campaign had said it hoped as more ballots were counted the results would cut into Kotek’s lead.
Tuesday is the last day for election officials to receive valid postmarked ballots by mail. There could be tens of thousands of uncounted ballots still in the mail in a state with 3 million registered voters. In Oregon, mail-in ballots will still be counted even if they arrive to an elections office up to seven days post-election, as long as the ballot was postmarked by midnight on Election Day
Oregon was the first state to institute vote-by-mail but the 2022 election is different because a 2021 law passed by the Legislature allows ballots to be counted if they were postmarked by 8 p.m. on election day. Previously, votes needed to be received by election day.
Like other GOP lawmakers, Drazan was opposed to the 2021 postmark bill when it went through the Legislature.
“Deadlines are deadlines,” she said in a House committee back then. “I think that it is going to create some challenges, and I think it’s going to create some legal complexity when it comes to some of these elections with close turnout.”
Johnson’s wild-card presence in the race had buoyed GOP hopes they could win an Oregon governor’s race for the first time in 40 years and break Democrats’ dominance of statewide races in Oregon, California and Washington state.
Kotek was the longest serving Oregon House speaker. Drazan is a former leader of the Republican minority in the House. Democrats were so worried that they could lose the governorship that President Joe Biden came to Portland to boost Kotek’s chances.
Secretary of State Shemia Fagan said verifying the results takes time, with every signature on every ballot envelope needing to be is verified.
Oregon Attorney General Files Motion In Albertson’s-Kroger Merger Case
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum’s antitrust unit has filed a motion in support of the state of Washington’s lawsuit to stop the Albertson Companies Inc. from giving their shareholders a $4 billion dividend before a proposed merger with Kroger Co. can be reviewed by state and federal antitrust enforcers.
A release from the Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General said Oregon’s proposed amicus brief states in part: “The proposed acquisition of Albertsons has the potential to harm competition and consumers. And these potential harms are of critical interest to Oregon, which depends on economic dynamism that competition promotes, and for which the Oregon Attorney General is tasked with protecting. The proposed merger of these major retailers presents a substantial matter of public interest”.
Last week, Oregon also sent Albertsons attorneys a letter informing them that the Oregon Department of Justice will “fully investigate all the conduct of individuals and entities involved in negotiating and determining the ‘special dividend’ in conjunction with a thorough review of the parties’ proposed transaction”.
The amicus brief and the letter to Albertsons are linked:
https://www.doj.state.or.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2022.11.09-Full-Filing-Document-Amicus.pdf✎ EditSign
https://www.doj.state.or.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Signed-Letter.pdf✎ EditSign
Oregon has a total of 176 stores impacted by this merger; 121 Albertsons and Safeway stores, 51 Fred Meyer stores and 4 QFC stores.
Tesla Shrinks its Solar Business and Cancels Projects
Tesla is reportedly winding up its solar business in some major U.S. markets and is also laying off employees in the division.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has recently called off many solar projects across some U.S. markets in a sudden move that left several customers hanging, Electrek reported, citing the electric vehicle (EV) pioneer’s email to customers.
Tesla is supposedly winding up solar operations in certain markets, including the greater Los Angeles area, Northern California, Oregon, and Florida regions. Also, the company is lowering the headcount in its solar scheduling, planning, and design department.
The move comes as a surprise to many as in its recent quarterly report, Tesla stated that it deployed 4.08 GWh of energy storage products and 248 megawatts of solar energy systems this year through September-end.
Further, the company disclosed plans to boost the production of energy storage products, enhance its Solar Roof installation capability and efficiency, and increase the market share of its retrofit and new build solar energy systems.
Oregon health officials reported 24% more new coronavirus infections this week compared to the previous week, with about 445 known infections reported per day.
A wave of infections is expected to arrive this fall, though an Oregon Health & Science University forecast predicts that wave won’t lead to a major surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations.
The case growth health officials reported this week coincided with an 8% increase in all COVID-19 tests reported to the state. It is virtually certain that far more people have been infected than is reflected in the numbers published by the Oregon Health Authority, given at-home tests don’t need to be reported.
In its monthly update of vaccination rates, the health authority reported more than twice as many people getting a dose of the bivalent booster as of Monday compared to a month earlier. At around 550,000 people, fewer than one in five Oregonians eligible to get the booster have done so, according to state data.
The number of households with bank and credit union accounts continues to rise in Oregon
SALEM – The number of unbanked households in Oregon dropped from 3.8 percent in 2019 to just 1.8 percent in 2021, according to a study by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. This is significant for many Oregonians because it means they can avoid paying for expensive alternative financial services such as money orders, check cashing, and pre-paid cards.
Those costs can add up to thousands of dollars over a consumer’s lifetime.
Nationally, over 95 percent of U.S. households had some sort of banking account in 2021. If a household is banked it means at least one member has a savings or checking account at a bank or credit union.
“One of the challenges facing the unbanked is all of the fees you have to pay to access your money,” said TK Keen, administrator of the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation at the Department of Business and Consumer Services. “While the individual cost may seem minor, having to buy several different financial products to pay rent, utilities, and other monthly expenses starts to add up and eats into your monthly budget. I am pleased to see that our financial institutions continue to help us make headway in getting consumers accounts, and in turn, reducing fees that consumers pay in their daily lives.”
Despite this improvement, Black, Indigenous, and Latino communities, as well as people experiencing a disability, are much more likely to be unbanked. Only 2.1 percent of White households are unbanked in the U.S. In contrast, 9.3 percent of Latino households and 11.3 percent of Black households are unbanked. The Bank On movement is working to address this disparity.
“It is important to get as many people as possible banked,” Keen said. “Relationships with our financial institutions come in handy for other financial services people need, such as a loan to buy a car, a mortgage to buy a home, and emergency loans for unexpected expenses that come up.”
The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation is a member of the Bank On Oregon Coalition, a group of financial institutions, community organizations, and government agencies committed to carrying out the Bank On nationwide mission to reduce barriers to banking access by coordinating with financial institutions to make safe, low-cost bank accounts more readily available to consumers. Currently, 15 different institutions, including many state-chartered institutions, offer Bank On certified accounts in Oregon.
### About Oregon DFR: The Division of Financial Regulation is part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, Oregon’s largest business regulatory and consumer protection agency. Visit www.dcbs.oregon.gov and dfr.oregon.gov.
All Forest Lands Open to Free Day Use November 11th
The USDA Forest Service will recognize the service of America’s veterans by waiving standard amenity fees for all visitors to national forest and grassland day-use areas on Veterans Day, Nov. 11.
“Many veterans spend time with their families and connect with nature while hiking, hunting, boating, and exploring the range of outdoor recreation opportunities national forests and grasslands have to offer,” said Tracy Calizon, regional assistant director of recreation for the U.S. Forest Service in the Pacific Northwest.
Making Veterans Day a fee-free day gives everyone an opportunity to reflect on the service of the nation’s veterans while spending time on America’s public lands, she said.
The Forest Service offers fee-free access a few times each year to encourage everyone to explore educational and recreation opportunities available on national forests and grasslands.
On fee-free days, standard amenity fees normally charged for day use sites, such as picnic areas, developed trailheads, and destination visitor centers, are waived. The waiver does not apply to special recreation permits, cabin rentals, or campground reservations, nor does it include expanded amenity fees charged for certain highly-developed sites, service charges, or fees assessed by independent concessionaires operating on National Forest land.
Approximately 98 percent of national forest land can be enjoyed fee-free, year-round. Where fees are assessed, more than 80 percent of these funds are reinvested at the site where they’re collected, where they provide for necessary maintenance and services or are saved to pay for future improvements.
Fee-free public lands access, including access to National Forests and Grasslands, is available year-round to U.S. military service members and their families, veterans, and Gold Star family members.
The Interagency Military Pass is available at no cost to all active-duty military personnel and their families. This pass is honored nationwide at all Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and US Fish & Wildlife Service sites charging standard amenity or entrance fees.
Veterans may present an approved ID at any Forest Service location selling interagency annual passes to receive an an interagency military pass. Beginning Nov. 11, 2022, Veterans will receive the new Lifetime Military pass, which will not need to be renewed annually. Forms of accepted ID include a valid Department of Defense Identification Card (CAC Card), Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC), Veterans Affairs ID Card, or a Veteran designation on a state-issued U.S. driver’s license or identification card. (Veterans presenting proof of disability may also be eligible for a no-cost Interagency Access Pass, which has no expiration date.)
Veterans Day: Nov. 11 — The fee waiver applies to most Forest Service day-use recreation sites in Oregon and Washington, including many picnic areas, boat launches, trailheads, and visitor centers.
Fees for camping, cabin rentals, or other permits still apply. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r6/passes-permits/recreation/?cid=stelprdb5350931
Fees are waived at Forest Service-managed day use sites on the following days:
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – January 17, 2022
- President’s Day – February 21, 2022
- National Get Outdoors Day – June 11, 2022
- National Public Lands Day – September 24, 2022
- Veterans Day – November 11, 2022
Gold Star family members who meet the criteria identified in sections 3.2 and 3.3 of Department of Defense Instruction 1348.36 may self-certify their eligibility by printing a voucher at this link <https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/veterans-and-gold-star-families-free-access.htm>. The voucher is valid for waiver of entrance fees or standard amenity fees when presented it in person or displayed on their vehicle dashboard when visiting sites where entrance or day-use fees are normally charged. Beginning Nov. 11, Gold Star families may choose to exchange their signed voucher for a Lifetime Military Pass at all Forest Service Locations where interagency passes are sold; paper-based vouchers will also be honored interchangeably with the new Lifetime Military Pass.
For more information about interagency passes valid on National Forests and Grasslands, visit: Passes and Permits | US Forest Service (usda.gov) <https://www.fs.usda.gov/visit/passes-permits>.
For information about the Northwest Forest Pass, accepted at all Forest Service -managed locations in Oregon and Washington, and about specific local passes honored at some Forest Service locations, visit Region 6 – Recreation Passes & Permits (usda.gov) <https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/r6/passes-permits/recreation>.
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