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, December 9, 2022
Rogue Valley Weather
WIND ADVISORY ISSUED: 2:58 AM DEC. 9, 2022 – NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 4 AM PST SATURDAY... * WHAT...Southeast winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph expected. * WHERE...Jackson County, but especially along Interstate 5 from Medford south to Ashland. * WHEN...From 1 PM Friday to 4 AM PST Saturday. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. * View the hazard area in detail at https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/map/?wfo=mfr
Grange Co-op Grand Opening of New Location in White City
The new location is located at 7700 Crater Lake Highway, White City. It features a larger, updated retail store and includes the company’s new business office. The company says this will be the Co-op’s second-largest retail location.
A ribbon cutting for the new location will be held on Dec. 9 at 8:30 a.m. There will also be a three-day grand opening event on Dec. 9-11.
“Grange Co-op would like to invite you to our White City Grand Opening December 9th-11th! Enter to win great prizes, take pictures with Santa, and bring your kids to participate in a fun ornament craft project, and more!”
“Also save on top products from Wrangler, Ariat, Rogue Feed and more! Prices and events are exclusive to our NEW White City store only, located at 7700 Crater Lake Hwy.“
The three-day grand opening event will include free swag bags for the first 100 customers each day, raffle prizes, holiday activities for kids, and fundraising opportunities for local FFA chapters.
The new location will feature a drive-through warehouse that will allow for purchases to be made directly from your vehicle. It also features the company’s first do-it-yourself dog wash station and a Mellelo coffee bar.
“This area is an agriculture hub in southern Oregon. There was a big need for an increase of our farm and ranch, nursery, clothing, garden, and pet product lines, and the larger space will help customers get the products they desire without requiring them to travel to our other locations in Medford or Central Point,” states Jason Wall, Marketing Manager. “We recognize the special relationship our customers have with our stores. We believe the coffee and dog washing stations will enhance the typical shopping experience.”
Wall said Grange officials were excited to offer the new White City location in time for the Christmas holidays and eager to offer their tried-and-true approach to serving community members since the cooperative formed in 1934.
Medford Police Department Asks for Assistance in Locating Robbery Suspect
On December 4th, 2022 the Medford Police Department received a report of two separate robberies at local Medford businesses.
The first robbery occurred at Safeway, located at 1003 Medford Center, at approximately 9:15 a.m. The second robbery occurred at Fred Meyer, located at 1360 Center Dr., at approximately 1:30 p.m.
In both cases, the suspect was a male who pointed or brandished a firearm at store employees while stealing items from the store. The male was not located by responding officers at the time.
Officers investigated the incidents, which included reviewing surveillance footage. It was determined the male suspect was the same male in both incidents. The suspect has been positively identified as 23-year old James Austin Buchanan.
The Medford Police Department is requesting assistance in locating Buchanan. Please do not approach or make contact with Buchanan and call 911 if you see him or know his whereabouts (MPD case 22-20253 and 22-20300).
Jackson County Grand Jury Indicts Parents In Child Abuse Case
A grand jury indicted two suspects in a Medford child abuse case involving a girl flown to Portland for medical treatment. The suspects are her parents, with her mother facing six criminal counts and her father facing five counts.
39-year-old Crystal Thomas and 40-year-old James King II face felony assault and other charges. They are in Jackson County jail on $1,000,000 bail each for charges the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office (JCDA) says stem from child abuse of their four-year-old daughter. JCDA says the child went by LifeFlight to Oregon Health & Science University hospital in Portland Saturday with “brain bleed” and other injuries consistent with child abuse.
JCDA announced today a grand jury has indicted King on charges of Assault in the First Degree, Assault in the Second Degree, three counts of Criminal Mistreatment in the First Degree and Assault in the Third Degree relating to a December 3, 2022, incident. It says the grand jury also indicted Thomas on charges of Assault in the First Degree, three counts of Criminal Mistreatment in the First Degree, Tampering with a Witness, and Assault in the Third Degree for an incident on December 3, 2022.
JCDA says though the next court date for King and Thomas is a hearing on December 12, 2022, because the grand jury indicted them, that court date will be cancelled and replaced with an arraignment date on this indictment soon.
The case is being prosecuted by Jackson County Deputy District Attorney Lucy Durst and Ruby Herriott.
Jackson County Circuit Court also scheduled a February 2023 hearing for a settlement conference for both suspects.
Doctors Urging Oregonians to Put Masks Back on When Indoors
With cases of RSV and the flu forcing hospitals into crisis mode, local physicians and state officials are encouraging the public to put the mask back on when indoors.
“Anytime you have to go to an indoor crowded area during this surge, if you and your child can wear a mask, that will help protect the [health care] resources,” said Wendy Hasson, the medical director of the pediatric intensive care unit at Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel. “Now is not the time to go to crowded indoor places like indoor birthday parties, play places, restaurants, grocery stores… Anything you can do to keep your child out of a crowded indoor area will help.”
The entire media briefing is available to watch on the OHA YouTube:
Hasson and three other physicians joined state epidemiologist Dean Sidelinger Thursday for Oregon Health Authority’s monthly COVID-19 media briefing, which focused on the strain being put on hospitals due to respiratory illnesses.
Sidelinger called the situation in Oregon hospitals “extremely serious.”
“Today, more hospitals are reaching a point of crisis in their adult bed capacity just as our pediatric hospitals moved to crisis care standards in the past two weeks,” he said. “The combination of surging flu, RSV and COVID-19 cases is pushing hospitals past their current ICU bed capacity, which never happened during the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic in Oregon.”
Sidelinger also strongly encouraged Oregonians to put their masks back on when they are in a crowded indoor space.
“We know what works to keep our families and our neighbors safe. Wear a mask when you’re in crowded indoor places this winter and stay up to date on your vaccinations,” Sidelinger said. “Masks work. During the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Oregonians wore masks at higher rates than people did in most other states. Oregon had one of the lowest COVID-19 death rates in the nation. Our hospitals were never overwhelmed. And we saved more than 5,000 lives.”
Matthias Merkel, a senior associate chief medical officer at OHSU, echoed those same sentiments.
“Definitely wear a mask if you go in public places,” he said. “Definitely get all your vaccines to really minimize the risk that you are the next patient in one of our totally full emergency rooms, waiting for the next ICU bed to be made available for you.”
Portland Store Selling Psychedelic Mushrooms Raided
A store that had been openly and illegally selling psychedelic mushrooms in Portland was raided by police on Thursday, authorities said.
In the past week, the business garnered national media attention and customers flocked to it.
In recent weeks, Shroom House allegedly sold the magic mushrooms, announcing its grand opening via Twitter in late October. The store’s logo — a mushroom straight out of a fairy tale complete with a red-and-white cap and a door and windows — was shown on a Portland billboard and on a sign outside.
Police served a search warrant at the retailer, called the Shroom House, in the Northwest District neighborhood, the Portland Police Bureau said in a news release. Investigators seized about 22 pounds of suspected mushrooms and over $13,000 in cash, police said.
The seized drugs field-tested presumptive positive for psilocybin, police said, and a representative sample will be sent to the Oregon State Police crime lab to be confirmed.
Steven Tachie, Jr., 32, and Jeramiahs Geronimo, 32, were booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on suspicion of 10 counts each of money laundering and 10 counts each of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school. Two other men were cited for alleged felony delivery of psilocybin, police said.
In 2020, Oregon became the first state in the country to legalize the use of psilocybin for people 21 and older in a controlled, therapeutic environment under the supervision of trained facilitators.
But the ballot measure, approved by 56 percent of voters, did not allow for retail sale — and legalization won’t take effect until next month. In November, Colorado became the second state to pass a measure legalizing psychedelic mushrooms. The drugs are still federally illegal.
Update: Human remains found near I-5 in Marion County
Update: There is an active forensic investigation underway and efforts are being made to identify this person. Ancestry has not been determined, nor has the length of time that elapsed prior to the discovery. Analysis and examination is ongoing, including possible genetic testing.
Human remains will never be released to a museum or historical society. Once the investigation is concluded, and based on those conclusions, this individual’s remains will be respectfully returned to the appropriate party (ies).
On Monday, November 21, 2022 at approximately 9:18 AM, Oregon State Police Troopers responded to a suspicious object found by Oregon Department of Corrections cleanup crew on northbound Interstate 5 near milepost 260.
OSP Troopers with the Salem Area Command took possession of a small backpack that contained a human skull.
The skull was transported to the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office who will continue to investigate the identity of the skull. The skull had no identifiable features, but was most likely that of a female in her late 30’s to 40’s. No further information is available at this time.
Paid Leave Oregon Contributions Start January 1st
Starting January 1, 2023, Oregonians will notice a new small amount of money coming out of their paychecks.
It’s the contribution employees are required to make to support the new Paid Leave Oregon program, which begins in 2023. The program was passed by lawmakers in 2019 and is about to go into effect.
Although contributions to the program begin January 1, employees will not be able to take advantage of the paid leave benefits until September 2023. This will allow the plan to accumulate funds that can be paid out when an employee needs to take leave.
Ahead of the contribution period starting, Paid Leave Oregon is asking employers to alert their staff to the coming changes and the benefits that will soon be available to them.
Paid Leave Oregon will allow employees in the state to take up to 12 weeks off from work in a year. In some pregnancy-related situations, an employee may be able to take up to an additional four weeks off, for a total of 14 weeks.
Employees can take weeks at a time or a single day if they need it. The leave can be used for family events – things like the birth of a child, adoption, or caring for a family member will a serious injury or illness; medical leave – to care for yourself when you have a serious illness or injury; or safe leave – for survivors of sexual assaults, domestic violence, harassment or stalking.
What’s different about Paid Leave Oregon from other leave programs is that employees will continue to get paid.
“This is actually paid leave and so, for many of us when we’ve taken FMLA or some sort of other leave along the way, like during the birth of a child, sometimes that’s unpaid, but we get our job protected. But in the case of paid leave, it’s actually paid,” explained Paid Leave Oregon Director Karen Humelbaugh.
The program’s safe leave is another unique aspect. Humelbaugh believes Oregon is the first state to offer a paid leave program for survivors of sexual assaults and domestic violence.
Minimum wage workers will receive 100% of their average wage while on leave. People who make more than minimum wage will receive benefits based on a sliding scale. Hummelbaugh said some people will not receive the full amount of their job’s wage.
Paid Leave Oregon plans to have a benefits calculator posted on its website in the next few months.
Most employees in Oregon will be covered, with the exception of federal government employees.
Tribal governments, self-employed business owners and independent contractors will not automatically be included in the program, but can opt-in by notifying the Paid Leave program.
Anyone who is eligible cannot opt-out to stop the contributions from coming out of their paychecks.
The contribution system works slightly differently for small employers and large employers. Large employers who have 25 or more employees will be required to make a total contribution of 1% of gross payroll. Employees will pay 60% and large employers will pay 40% of the 1% contribution rate.
For example, if an employee makes $5,000, the employee will pay $30 and the employer will pay $20.
A small employer, one with fewer than 25 employees, is not required to pick up 40% of the 1% contribution rate. However, their employees are still required to pay 60% of the 1% contribution rate.
The benefits an employee is eligible for are the same whether they work for a small or large employer.
“For the individual worker, if you are eligible for benefits, you’d still receive the full amount that any would be receiving. You don’t receive a lesser amount. You would still get the full amount,” Humelbaugh said.
Paid Leave Oregon has a tool kit and fact sheets posted on its website now to inform employers on how the contribution system will work. Humelbaugh suggests employers begin informing their employees of the changes now, before the start of the year.
The program also has more information online about how Paid Leave Oregon compares to other programs like the Oregon Family Leave Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, and Oregon Sick Leave.
Paid Leave Oregon was enacted by the passage of House Bill 2005 . As it’s written, the bill requires the state to re-evaluate its contribution rate every year. If that contribution amount results in a surplus in the trust fund that’s used to pay out benefits, state officials could decide to lower the rate in future years.
Secretary Deb Haaland Announces Four Tribal Water Projects During Visit To Klamath River
The Department of the Interior announced yesterday that four tribal water projects in Oregon and California’s Klamath River Basin will receive $5.8 million through the Bureau of Reclamation to restore aquatic ecosystems, improve the resilience of habitats, and mitigate the effects of the ongoing drought crisis. The funding is made available through Reclamation’s Native American Affairs Technical Assistance to Tribes Program.
Secretary Deb Haaland made the announcement while touring the Iron Gate Fish Hatchery with Governors Gavin Newsom and Kate Brown, Congressman Jared Huffman, representatives from the Klamath Basin Tribes and other officials and stakeholders to celebrate the imminent surrender and decommissioning of the Lower Klamath Project, a four-dam hydropower project on the Klamath River.
On November 17, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued an order approving the surrender and decommissioning of the Project, the culmination of nearly two decades of effort to find a path to remove the dams, open up hundreds of miles of historic salmon habitat, improve water quality, and restore the River and the fishery the Basin Tribes have relied upon since time immemorial. Dam removal activities will begin next spring, with full removal completed in 2024.
“Clean water, healthy forests and fertile land made the Klamath Basin and its surrounding watershed home to tribal communities, productive agriculture, and abundant populations of migratory birds, suckers, salmon and other fish. But over the past 20 years, the Basin has been met with unprecedented challenges due to ongoing drought conditions and limited water supply,” said Secretary Haaland . “The projects we are funding today — combined with millions of dollars in water and habitat resilience investments from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — will help restore this once abundant ecosystem for the benefit of all its inhabitants.”
“Reclamation is committed to working with tribes in the Klamath River Basin on important water resource issues,” said Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton . “This funding will help facilitate collaboration with tribes as they address the severe and continuing drought impacting their lands.”
Reclamation’s Native American Affairs Technical Assistance Program provides technical assistance to tribes to develop, manage and protect their water and related resources. The funding announced today is provided to tribes as a grant or cooperative agreement. The projects are:
Hoopa Valley Tribe, Karuk Tribe and Yurok Tribe, in collaboration with U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Juvenile Salmonid Survival and Migration Rate Study : The project will receive $3.9 million to study juvenile salmon. The Yurok Tribe will estimate specific survival through time of wild and hatchery Chinook Salmon as they migrate through the Klamath Basin under various environmental conditions. The Hoopa Valley and Karuk Tribes will use acoustic tags to monitor juvenile salmonid survival and migration rates from the Scott, Salmon and Trinity rivers and locations on the middle Klamath to Klamath River estuary. The USGS will provide support to the tribes for this research study.
Hoopa Valley Tribe, Ecological Flow Assessment on the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation : The Hoopa Valley Tribe will receive $554,325 to complete an ecological flow assessment on the Trinity River. The project includes site selection, field data collection, stream gaging and water temperature monitoring.
Klamath Tribes, Upper Williamson River Restoration : The Klamath Tribes will receive $500,000 to assess and plan river system restoration activities on the Upper Williamson River in southern Oregon. The tribe will assess the existing condition of approximately five miles of the river, develop plans for restoration activities, and install restoration infrastructures. This project advances goals and objectives established in both the Klamath Basin Integrated Fisheries Restoration and Monitoring Plan and the Upper Klamath Basin Watershed Action Plan.
Yurok Tribe, Oregon Gulch Project, Mainstem Trinity River : The Yurok Tribe will receive $864,533 to remove tailing piles, increase floodplain inundation, promote fluvial processes, and reduce the wood storage deficit. The project will also double rearing habitat, improve the aquatic ecosystem, create seasonal surface water connections, increase vegetation biomass and increase the number of trees along the riverbanks.
This funding supplements nearly $26 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated this year for Klamath Basin restoration projects, including nearly $16 million for ecosystem restoration projects in the Basin and $10 million to expand the Klamath Falls National Fish Hatchery.
As part of the Interior Department’s ongoing commitment to partnership and collaboration, senior Department leaders have held several in-person and virtual engagement sessions with tribes, state and county officials, interagency partners, and water users to discuss near- and long-term solutions related to drought impacts in the Basin.
About the U.S. Department of the Interior — The Department of the Interior (DOI) conserves and manages the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage for the benefit and enjoyment of the American people, provides scientific and other information about natural resources and natural hazards to address societal challenges and create opportunities for the American people, and honors the Nation’s trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated island communities to help them prosper.
Team Effort to bring a family of 5 to safety after becoming stranded in the snow, while searching for their Christmas Tree
On Sunday, December 4, 2022, Sheriff’s deputies were called to assist a family of 5 who became stranded, the day before, in several feet of snow while searching for a Christmas tree.
Search and rescue deputies, an off-duty Linn County search and rescue volunteer responded to Forest Road 46, in Marion County, and helped to recover the family safely and bring them down off the mountain.
We would like to encourage everyone they should always “know before you go,” weather conditions, is the area open, do you have appropriate supplies to survive a few days, and does someone know where you are going and when you will be back.
These events are always a team effort to help resolve successfully. Thank you to the members of the Santiam snowmobile association members for their help in this rescue.
Tips from ODOT: Finding Your Way in Winter
Winter officially begins on December 21st, but the time to start driving with extra caution is now. Our partners at the Oregon Department of Transportation have some excellent tips regarding use of your GPS during our rough and unpredictable weather and we thought it would be good to share them here as well:
When roads are closed and your GPS navigation system directs you onto a detour route, keep in mind that the device you count on for guidance could instead guide you into trouble. Most navigation tools don’t take current road or weather conditions into consideration. They may direct you onto remote roads that are neither maintained nor passible in all weather conditions.
Navigation systems and similar smartphone apps are great tools, but travelers may need to verify the identified detour route is appropriate given current conditions and the vehicle they are driving. Here are a few tips to consider:
What you can do
• Be aware that the app on your phone or in your GPS device might not have the latest information – don’t follow it blindly!
• Use TripCheck.com (available on your computer and on your phone) to get the latest on state road conditions, or call 511.
• Remember, in winter conditions (or in summer’s fire season), roads can be impassable, so USE COMMON SENSE.
• If you are not familiar with an area and current road conditions, stay on state roads and don’t attempt detours onto roads you don’t know.
• Alter your travel plans. If you are not sure of the route and road conditions your GPS device directs you to, ask local folks for information and consult a map. It is better to stay the night in town rather than be stuck on a remote road in the middle of nowhere.
What ODOT will do
• ODOT crews work continually to keep state highways safe, but during certain conditions, such as blowing snow and freezing temperatures, you may want to avoid travel altogether.
• ODOT will issue media flash alerts if roads are closed. These will be updated continually on http://TripCheck.com.
Free ranger-guided walks will be offered again this winter at Crater Lake National Park beginning Saturday, Dec. 10th
In an average winter, Crater Lake National Park receives 42 feet of snow! Ranger-guided snowshoe walks are a fun way to explore this winter wonderland while learning how plants, animals, and people survive the harsh conditions.
This winter (2022-2023), walks will be offered on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays from December 10 through April 30, and every day from December 17 to January 2 and March 25 to April 1. The walks start at 1:00 pm, last two hours, and cover 1 to 2 miles of moderate-to-strenuous terrain. They don’t follow a trail—the hike is an off-trail exploration through the forests and meadows along the rim of Crater Lake. If the road to Rim Village is closed, the walks explore the forests and meadows in the vicinity of Park Headquarters.
No previous snowshoeing experience is necessary. Snowshoes are provided free of charge, and there is no cost for the tour (apart from the winter entrance fee of $20 per vehicle). Participants should be at least 8 years old, be in good physical health, and come prepared with warm clothing and water-resistant footwear. The walks take place rain or shine (or snow). Pets are not allowed on the hike.
Space on each tour is limited, and advance reservations are required. For more information and to sign up, call the park’s visitor center at 541-594-3100. Organized groups (such as scout troops, hiking clubs, and church groups) may be able to arrange for a separate tour, staff permitting. Call to check on available dates. https://www.nps.gov/crla/planyourvisit/ranger-guided-snowshoe-walks.htm
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