Rogue Valley News, Wednesday 11/8 – Fort Vannoy School Lockdown After Man Threatens to Burn School Down & Other Local and Statewide News…

There is no school again today for tens of thousands of Portland Public Schools students as teachers remain on strike

Negotiations between the teachers union and the district continues, with PPS officials telling KGW that they’re making progress with educators on the topic of planning and preparation time. However, on the issues of cost-of-living wage increase and class size caps, both sides appear to still be far apart.

On Tuesday, district officials announced that they had called on Gov. Tina Kotek to help identify a facilitator to continue bringing both the union and the PPS bargaining team together over the next two days, since the current mediator had another mediation commitment on Wednesday and Thursday. The district said if none could be found, they’d resume on Friday morning.

Kotek released a statement, saying that the state’s chief financial officer, Kate Nass, will work with PPS and PAT during the ongoing mediation sessions. Nass will review financial information “to ensure the district and union are working from the same set of numbers as they keep working to resolve this strike.”

“My office successfully worked to secure a mediator to remain at the table with PAT and PPS,” she said. “My focus continues to be on providing the support needed to deliver a fair contract for PPS educators and return students to the classroom.”

Students, parents and educators also gathered for a rally outside Atkinson Elementary School in Southeast Portland. Although kids said they’re hoping to get back to class soon, they’re in full support of their teachers.

Federal Judge Orders Oregon Counties to Release Criminal Defendants from Jail If They Aren’t Appointed An Attorney Within a Week of Their First Court Appearance

A federal judge ordered Oregon counties to release criminal defendants from jail if they aren’t appointed an attorney within a week of their first court appearance. The ruling will go into effect November 16th.

The state is one of many that have struggled to ensure their public defense systems meet the requirements of the U.S. Constitution’s Sixth Amendment, and Oregon has faced multiple lawsuits over the issue in recent years.

Ruling Thursday in a case filed this year by the Federal Public Defender’s Office, U.S. District Judge Michael McShane said indigent defendants are essentially being locked up and deprived of a voice simply because they are too poor to hire their own lawyer.

“While the reasons underlying the shortage of publicly funded attorneys in Oregon are complex, all parties agree that the state is facing a crisis in its constitutional mandate to provide qualified attorneys to those charged with crimes,” McShane wrote.

Fixing the problem will take systemic change and time, the judge said, “But the luxury of time, unfortunately, is not something that many petitioners have when faced with a criminal prosecution.”

Roughly 135 people were in Oregon jails without access to attorneys at the end of October, the judge said. Many of them had technically been appointed public defenders but no attorney ever actually showed up to represent them. State laws generally require that criminal defendants have their first court appearance within 36 hours of being arrested, though that time frame doesn’t include weekends.

Judges in Multnomah County, which is home to Portland, routinely dismiss cases due to a lack of defense attorneys. More than 300 cases, most of them felonies, were dismissed in 2022.

The county’s top prosecutor, Mike Schmidt, has called the shortage “an urgent threat to public safety” and said 10 cases were dismissed between Oct. 20 and Nov. 2.

Public defenders say uncompetitive pay, high stress and overwhelming caseloads affect staffing levels, and the state has historically relied on a contracting system that made it difficult to track which attorneys are assigned to which cases. Lawmakers passed a public defense reform bill earlier this year, but the reforms will take time to implement.

The U.S. Constitution says people charged with a crime have a right to an attorney, but it’s up to states to decide how to make sure that happens. States have carried out that constitutional mandate with varying degrees of success.

“America’s dirty little secret is that thousands of people go to jail every single day in our country without ever having spoken to an attorney,” said David Carroll, executive director and founder of the Sixth Amendment Center, which advocates for equal access in the criminal justice system.

Earlier this year the Mississippi Supreme Court changed that state’s rules so that poor criminal defendants must be appointed an attorney before they are indicted. The indictment process in Mississippi can sometimes take a year or more, forcing indigent criminal defendants to spend months or longer in jail without anyone to fight for their legal rights, Carroll said.

But Mississippi, like most states, lacks enforcement mechanisms to make sure the criminal defense requirements are actually followed, Carroll said.

The lack of enforcement mechanisms means improvements are sometimes forced by lawsuits rather than legislation.

In August the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine obtained a settlement over the failure of that state’s public defender system with a state agency’s commitment to press for more funding, additional public defender offices and other improvements.

A 2004 ruling in a Missouri state court took action similar to this week’s Oregon ruling, ordering that indigent inmates could not be held in lieu of bail for more than seven days without an attorney. But civil rights advocates said the problems continued, and additional lawsuits were filed in 2017 and 2020. In February of this year, a state judge ordered that poor defendants facing imprisonment must be provided a public defender no later than two weeks after they qualify for representation.

Oregon Housing and Community Services awards over $56 million to smaller developments and Veteran housing

SALEM, OR – The Oregon Housing Stability Council approved $56.7 million in Small Projects and Veterans funding to 11 affordable housing developments across the state. These investments from Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) will provide 261 homes in smaller developments for veterans, seniors, agricultural workers, people experiencing homelessness, and wildfire survivors.

OHCS defines smaller developments as those having 40 homes or fewer in one complex. Five developments selected for funding awards are in rural areas (42% of total homes) and six are in urban areas (58% of total homes).

“Providing housing is not just a matter of shelter,” says OHCS Director, Andrea Bell. “It’s a statement of our commitment to the well-being of our veterans who’ve sacrificed for our nation, our seniors who’ve contributed to our society, and our agricultural workers who feed our communities. It’s a testament to our values and our gratitude for those who are integral to our beloved communities.”

Brookings CORE Response, a non-profit that serves veterans experiencing homelessness, was awarded funding for the creation of the Veterans Housing Project which will provide 18 much needed homes in Gold Beach.

“The City of Gold Beach has worked hard in recent years to find housing solutions of all kinds,” said Tamie Kaufman, the mayor of the City of Gold Beach. “I am excited that Brookings CORE Response has taken the initiative to use a property for veterans housing. We have a large number of veterans in our community, many of whom need both housing and support, which this project provides. Additionally, the project’s support for culturally specific veterans is amazing.”

Eleven projects were approved for funding at the November Housing Stability Council meeting:

This was a competitive application process. OHCS received a total of 17 applications, amounting to over $94 million in funding requests. OHCS is grateful to the internal and external scoring committees for their diligent evaluation of the applications.

For more detailed information about each recommended project, please refer to the November Housing Stability Council packet.

OHA urges mpox vaccinations after 17 cases reported since July 20

Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is reminding people about the availability of a safe and effective vaccine against mpox following an increase in cases of the virus in recent months.

Seventeen mpox cases were reported to OHA and local public health authorities between July 20 and Oct. 31. This prompted state health officials to distribute a statewide advisory to health care providers this week, recommending they consider mpox when evaluating patients with mpox symptoms regardless of the patient’s  reported risk, vaccination status or level of community transmission. The advisory also states that testing patients with rashes, lesions or symptoms compatible with mpox should be considered part of comprehensive sexual health care.

Tim Menza, M.D., Ph.D., senior health adviser for OHA’s mpox response, said Oregon saw one to three mpox cases per month before mid-summer. While the recent increase in cases since July 20 is still lower than the 10 to 15 cases reported each week at the height of the 2022 outbreak, these cases show that mpox is still spreading in Oregon.

“We never declared the 2022 outbreak over because we were concerned about increases like the one we are seeing now,” Menza said. “And it gives us an opportunity to remind folks in the community that vaccination against mpox remains a valuable tool for reducing the risk of mpox infection.”

The JYNNEOS mpox vaccine is free and readily available to anyone in Oregon who wants to be vaccinated, regardless of insurance status. It is also highly effective: According to a study published in May in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the vaccine was found to be 75% effective for those receiving one dose and 86% effective for those who had two doses.

Mpox spreads primarily through close, skin-to-skin contact. Most often, it has spread through intimate or sexual contact, and during contact with the lesions of an individual with mpox through a caregiving relationship, such as a parent caring for a child or an adult caretaker of another person.

Mpox symptoms can start between a few days to three weeks after contact. The most common are flu-like symptoms of fever, chills, sweats, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes and feeling tired. Most people will develop a rash within a few days of the flu-like symptoms; some people only develop a rash, which may start on or near the penis, testicles, labia, vagina or anus. It may also be on other areas like the hands, feet, chest, face or mouth.

People who suspect they have mpox should contact their health care provider to let them know before going in to be seen. The provider may recommend testing for mpox. Those who don’t have a health care provider can call 2-1-1 for help finding a clinic or health care provider.

For more information about mpox in Oregon, visit OHA’s mpox website or the CDC’s mpox page, https://mpoxvaxmap.org/. Vaccination clinics can also be searched by ZIP code with the mpox vaccine locator tool at https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/Monkeypox/Pages/vaccine.aspx.

Oregon County Clerks Struggling with Staffing, Retention, and Recruitment in the Midst of a Toxic Political Environment

Oregon’s 36 county clerks play a critical role on the front lines of administering Oregon’s elections and are essential in promoting our democracy.

But an increasingly toxic political environment, inadequate funding model, and rapidly growing and changing workload are threatening the clerks’ ability to recruit, hire, and retain county elections staff, according to a new study published by Reed College…

The study was commissioned by the Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division to better understand the changing landscape county clerks face in advance of the 2024 Presidential election year. Researchers at Reed College’s Elections and Voting Information Ce… (EVIC) spent months interviewing nearly all Oregon county clerks and have compiled the sobering findings in a study to be presented before the Legislature today.

“This report is a grim but realistic look at what our county clerks face,” said Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade. “But it’s also a testament to their professionalism and ingenuity.”

The researchers found:

• Staffing recruitment and retention is hampered by out-of-date job classifications, compensations, and perceptions of the work. Staffing today is at or below staffing levels from a decade ago.
• Public records requests are becoming increasingly burdensome, as false information is spread and distrust in elections systems continues to fuel more frequent and complicated requests for information.
• Local elections offices are experiencing retirements, resignations, and loss of expertise. Since 2020, 34% of county clerks have retired or resigned.
• Oregon’s funding model for county elections, dependent largely on fluctuations in interest rates and the real estate market, is inadequate for election needs. Counties are already laying off workers because of this outdated funding model.
• Elections officials and staff are subject to unacceptable levels of abuse, threats, and harassment, driving many of them to quit despite expressing their pride and passion for the work.

“We have active shooter training that we’ve done,” said one individual to the researchers. “We kind of know how to recognize some of the signs that somebody might be escalating versus deescalating.”

“I saw in [previous Clerk] this love and passion that I didn’t know was there,” said another. “It pushed me into really caring and loving and making sure that people really know what they had, and how important elections are, and the rights they have. And if you are not involved, it’s really hard to see change.”

Elections Division staff commissioned the study at the request of the Oregon Association of County Clerks, after hearing concerns from elections officials about the changing electoral landscape. Prior to the study, officials lacked data to fully capture the needs of elections administration in Oregon. This study is a critical first step to understanding the discrepancies in staffing challenges across the state and provides information for Oregon clerks to use when advocating for increased investment.
“For the last few years, we have heard hundreds of anecdotes about underfunding and understaffing at county elections offices, both here in Oregon and around the country,” said Secretary Griffin-Valade. “Now, we have some real data to back up those anecdotes. We call on legislators and county governments to read this report and consider its recommendations.”

Researchers include several recommendations in the study, directed at both the Secretary of State’s Office and the Oregon Legislature, on ways to provide coordinated and statewide support to county elections officials.
________________________________________

The Secretary will be joining two Oregon County Clerks and the Reed College researchers to share the study’s findings during November Legislative Days at the Capitol.

What: A presentation on the findings of the clerk staffing study before the House Rules Committee.

Who: Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade;

Paul Gronke PhD, Director of Elections and Voting Information Center and Professor of Political Science, Reed College;

Paul Manson PhD, Research Director of Elections and Voting Information Center and Research Assistant Professor, Portland State University;

Harney County Clerk Derrin “Dag” Robinson; and

Baker County Clerk Stefanie Kirby.

When: 11:30 a.m. on November 7, 2023

Where: Hearing Room A at the Capitol. You can also watch a live stream of the meeting on OLIS: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023I1/Comm… (SOURCE)

Enrollment In Individual Health Insurance Now Open Through Mid-January

The tens of thousands of Oregonians who buy their own health insurance can now start shopping for the best plan for next year.

Open enrollment on the federal online marketplace, which Oregon will continue to use for the next few years, runs this year from Nov. 1 through Jan. 16. Those who enroll by Dec. 15 will be covered starting Jan. 1, and those who sign up after that will be covered starting Feb. 1.

Premiums will increase 6% next year on average but individuals can obtain subsidies through the marketplace to reduce costs. The subsidies come in the form of tax credits that can be used throughout the year or at tax time. In the past, around 70% of those who applied obtained financial help. That jumped to 80% last year, according to Amy Coven at the Oregon Health Authority, which oversees health insurance enrollment.Sign up for coverage

For general information about the three levels of plans, go here. For information about coverage and to sign up, go here.

But before buying a plan, state officials recommend that people use the window-shopping tool to compare plans, which vary among different areas.

Oregon also offers free help through experts in health insurance. Find someone for the marketplace, or healthcare.gov, by clicking here.

“Premiums can start as low as a dollar, sometimes even less with the financial help, and they go up from there,” Coven said.

The average tax credit last year was around $500 per person a month, Coven said. That translated to an out-of-pocket premium cost per person of about $225.

Subsidies are based on the marketplace’s silver, or mid-range plans, and there’s no upper income limit to qualify for financial help. Individuals can also sign up for a bronze plan, which has the least expensive premium but costs more out-of-pocket for services, or gold plans, which have the highest premiums but lowest out-of-pocket costs.

All plans include 10 essential benefits, which include emergency care and hospitalization, prescriptions, mental health and addiction services, lab services and maternity and pediatric care. The plans also include free preventive care, which is mandated by the Affordable Care Act. All Oregon plans also offer coverage for abortions, acupuncture and chiropractic care and the first three primary care or mental health care visits cost $5 even before the deductible kicks in.

“The coverage is very robust,” Coven said.

The state has offered catastrophic coverage, which is designed to cover unexpected medical costs. And its website says it still does, but Coven said Thursday in a follow-up call that they will not be available for 2024.

Enrollment on the marketplace increased in recent year, hitting nearly 147,000 in 2022 and nearly 142,000 last year. Coven expects 2024 enrollment figures to increase over this year’s as a result of the thousands of people who are being bumped off Medicaid because they no longer qualify. Since April, state officials have been auditing the nearly 1.5 million Oregonians on Medicaid to see whether they still meet the income and other qualifications as part of the end of extra Medicaid benefits during the pandemic.

Although a majority of people on Medicaid have retained coverage, the health authority’s dashboard shows that more than 62,000 have lost the free medical and dental coverage.

“We’re doing everything we can to make sure that folks understand what other coverage options are available and provide direct assistance for enrollment,” Coven said.

She said officials have sent out 50,000 letters to those who’ve lost Medicaid coverage. It’s not yet clear how many will remain insured by buying health insurance. The state increased the percentage of those who have health insurance during the pandemic thanks to federal and state programs. The state’s insured rate stands at 96%, though that could fall if a lot of people who lose Medicaid do not buy coverage. (SOURCE)

Adult in Custody apprehended after fleeing Oregon Department of Corrections Central Distribution Center in Salem

An adult in custody (AIC) left an offsite work crew Tuesday, November 7, 2023, from the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) Central Distribution Center (CDC) located in Salem. Juan Antonio Castillo fled on a golf cart at approximately 9:50 a.m. He was apprehended by Marion County Sheriff’s Office nearby on Lancaster Drive at 10:13 a.m. Oregon State Police are investigating.

Juan Castillo entered DOC custody on July 12, 2023, on one count of eluding a police officer, and one count of robbery in the second degree out of Marion County. His earliest release date was April 17, 2027.

Castillo was housed at the Santiam Correctional Institution in Salem. SCI a minimum-security prison in Salem that houses approximately 440 adults in custody who are within four years of release. The facility concentrates on work opportunities, most of which are in the form of work crews contracting with state agencies, local organizations, and private industries within a 60-mile radius of Salem. SCI provides a range of other correctional programs and services including education, transition programs, and religious services. The building that is now SCI was constructed in 1946 and was originally used as an annex to the Oregon State Hospital for mental health patients. Over the years it was used for a variety of correctional purposes until, in 1990, it opened as SCI.

Oregon Parks and Recreation To Discuss Drone Rules And Maps

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) will livestream a virtual meeting Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. to present draft drone take-off and landing classification criteria to be used in future park drone use maps. The agency will then invite the public to share their views on the criteria from Oct. 23 through 5 p.m. on Dec. 29.

The meeting will be livestreamed on YouTube for the public here.

Attendees who want to ask questions during the Q&A portion of the meeting must register beforehand here.

Although the formal rulemaking process for drone take-off and landing began in 2021, the agency temporarily stopped in April 2022 to form a work group and explore the matter in more detail.

The work group included various partners including conservation groups, drone users, state and federal agencies and met from June 2022 through the summer of 2023.

OPRD’s region resource and Geographic Information Services (GIS) staff, alongside park managers reviewed the draft criteria and applied them to three sample areas, one from each region of state parks.

Feedback will be reviewed by agency staff and the work group as part of a final report to the OPRD Director Lisa Sumption, who will then decide whether to direct staff to resume public administrative rulemaking or do more work on the proposals.

Individuals who require special accommodations to view the meetings should contact Jo Niehaus at least three days in advance of the meeting at 503-580-9210 or jo.niehaus@oprd.oregon.gov .

Oregon is Searching for its Next Poet Laureate

Oregon is searching for its next Poet Laureate. Over the two-year-term, the Poet Laureate promotes the art of poetry, encourages literacy and learning, addresses issues relating to the humanities and reflects on public life in Oregon.

Information about the Poet Laureate program, how to nominate the next Poet Laureate, Anis, and how to request an appearance can be found on this website. Please also check out our Facebook page.

Nominations are accepted through January 8th, and poets are welcome to nominate themselves. The next Poet Laureate term begins in May. MORE INFO: https://culturaltrust.org/oregon-poet-laureate/?fbclid=IwAR0O-Gx81HjAKwXHwyrEVtxpgyXma9XRb5xwacG_o57ga3_lKUwIbPRMXks