Rogue Valley News, Friday 12/1 – Joint Task Force Serves Child Porn Search Warrant at Phoenix Residence & Other Local and Statewide News…

OSP Troopers Rescue Abandoned Dogs from Stolen U-Haul in Klamath Falls

25 dogs turned over to the Klamath County Animal Shelter

OSP troopers rescue abandoned dogs from a U-Haul Truck in Love’s Truck Stop Parking Lot in Klamath Falls.

OPS has turned over 25 dogs to the Klamath County Animal Shelter. On Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23, 2023) Oregon State Police troopers responded to the Love’s Truck Stop in Klamath Falls for the report of a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot. A U-Haul truck had been abandoned in the parking lot for approximately two days.

When the troopers arrived, they could hear barking from the back of the enclosed truck. An investigation revealed the U-Haul had been reported stolen and troopers obtained a search warrant for the vehicle.

Troopers found seven cages with 15 abandoned dogs including several puppies. The dogs had been severely neglected; however, all were found alive.

An investigation revealed the U-Haul had been reported stolen and troopers obtained a search warrant for the vehicle. The dogs had been abandoned in the back of the U-Haul since Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. Troopers contacted two suspects and were able to recover an additional 10 dogs.

Two local residents have been charged. (read more about them here in our daily news: https://www.basinlife.com/…/klamath-basin-news…/ )The dogs were turned over the Klamath County Animal Shelter for evaluation and care. They have been quarantined and the shelter sanitized to help prevent further spread of any disease. Once medically cleared the dogs will be available for adoption.

BasinLife.com and Wynne Broadcasting are proud sponsors of the Klamath Animal Shelter. If you feel you could adopt one of these dogs, we hope you will stop by the shelter located at 4240 Washburn Way, Monday through Friday from 12:00 – 4:00. Walk throughs are available, pet meet and greets are by appointment, you can reach the shelter at 541-884-7387. Thank you.

Umpqua Bank Launches Warm Hearts Winter Drive, Mobilizes Associates across Oregon to Support Neighbors in Need

Local residents can help support nearly 30 Aide Organizations across Oregon this holiday season

― Umpqua Bank announced the launch of its Warm Hearts Winter Drive, an associate-driven campaign to support individuals and families who struggle with access to housing and other basic resources. As part of the drive, associates and local branches in Oregon will help mobilize their respective communities to raise money and collect winter clothing for 28 shelters and aide organizations serving Oregonians experiencing homelessness.

Umpqua’s Warm Hearts Winter drive continues a community-impact commitment of the former Columbia Bank, which merged with Umpqua earlier this year. The campaign was started in 2015 as a way for bank associates to partner with customers and members of their community to raise funds and other resources for local shelters and nonprofits providing support for families without a home. More than $2 million in contributions has been raised since its inception. This year’s drive expands to support more than 100 organizations in communities across the combined bank’s footprint in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Nevada and Utah.

“As a newly combined bank, Umpqua is committed to mobilizing our greater resources and the collective power and passion of our associates to make a difference in our local communities,” said Umpqua Bank Chief Marketing Officer David Moore Devine. “Access to adequate shelter and clothing continues to be a major challenge for many of our neighbors, and our Warm Hearts campaign empowers associates, along with members of our communities, to support local families in need. Simply donating a few dollars, a new coat or other quality clothing items can help ensure that more of our neighbors are cared for in the months ahead.”

How to Support the Warm Hearts Winter Drive — The Warm Hearts Winter Drive accepts cash donations in addition to new winter clothes. Contributions can be made at www.WarmHeartsWinterDrive.com. Financial contributions and new clothing items can also be donated at local Umpqua Bank branches.

Associates and local branches across Umpqua’s footprint are actively engaged in securing financial contributions and warm clothing from customers and community members. One hundred percent of the clothing and funds collected will be donated directly to local shelters and aide organizations.

All designated contributions stay in the community where they were raised and directly support local organizations.

Participating Organizations in Oregon:

Bethlehem Inn	Bend
The Shepherd’s House	Bend
Oregon Coast Community Action	Coos Bay
Community Outreach, Inc.	Corvallis
Eugene Mission	Eugene
St. Vincent De Paul Lane County	Eugene
My Father’s House: A Community Shelter	Gresham
Martha’s House of Hermiston	Hermiston
Community Action Hillsboro Family Shelter	Hillsboro
Gorge Ecumenical Ministries	Hood River
Klamath & Lake Community Action Services	Klamath Falls
Community Connection of Northeast Oregon, Inc.	La Grande
Union County Shelter from the Storm	La Grande
Family Promise of Lincoln County	Lincoln City
Society of St. Vincent De Paul, Rogue Valley	Medford
Northwest Housing Alternatives	Milwaukie
LOVE, Inc. | Newberg/Yamhill County Gospel Mission	Newberg
Grace Wins Haven	Newport
Samaritan House, Inc.	Newport
Community in Action	Ontario
Neighbor to Neighbor Pendelton (N2N)	Pendleton
Portland Rescue Mission	Portland
United Community Action Network Douglas & Josephine Counties	Roseburg
Catholic Community Services of the Mid-Willamette Valley	Salem
Union Gospel Mission of Salem	Salem
Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Center	Seaside
St. Vincent De Paul: Warming Place	The Dalles
Tillamook County Community Action Resource Enterprises, Inc.	Tillamook

For more information on the list of benefiting organizations in each county, or to make a cash or new clothing donation, please visit WarmHeartsWinterDrive.com. Those interested in supporting the Warm Hearts campaign may also email community@umpquabank.com for more information.

About Umpqua Bank
Umpqua Bank is a subsidiary of Columbia Banking System Inc., (Nasdaq: COLB) and a premier regional bank in the western U.S., with offices in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and Colorado. With over $50 billion of assets, Umpqua combines the resources, sophistication and expertise of a national bank with a commitment to deliver personalized service at scale. The bank consistently ranks as one of America’s Best Banks (ranked by Forbes) and supports consumers and businesses through a full suite of services, including retail and commercial banking; Small Business Administration lending; institutional and corporate banking; equipment leasing; and wealth management. The bank’s corporate headquarters are located in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Learn more at umpquabank.com.

Demand for food aid spikes in past year as many Oregonians struggle with hunger 

After the pandemic ended, the demand for food  continued to increase in Oregon, with the need for  millions more pounds of produce, pasta and other staples at meal sites and food pantries.

The Oregon Food Bank distributed more than 104 million pounds of food in the fiscal year from July 2022 through June 30, an 11% increase from the prior year. High housing and fuel costs coupled with inflation have contributed to the hunger of tens of thousands of Oregonians.

U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas, who represents Oregon’s 6th Congressional District, has noticed the surge in demand. Earlier this month, she introduced a bill that would double the amount of federal funding for the program that keeps Oregon pantries stocked with items.

The Oregon Food Bank, which distributes food to more than 1,400 locations throughout Oregon and southwest Washington, has seen demand grow over the past three years.

Before the pandemic, about 860,000 people annually visited the food bank’s partners in Oregon and southwest Washington, said Morgan Dewey, a spokesperson for the nonprofit food bank. This year, the food bank is on track to serve more than 1 million people, Dewey said.

“We’re just continuing to try to keep up with how much food folks are needing on the ground,” Dewey said.

Get help — The Oregon Food Bank, state agencies and other organizations, including pantries and churches, provide food for hungry Oregonians. For help:

• Go to needfood.oregon.gov
• Find a food pantry at foodfinder.oregonfoodbank.org
• For seniors and those with disabilities, call 855-673-2372 or go to www.adrcoforegon.org

• Dial 211, or text your Zip code to 898-211, www.211info.org
• For local resources, go to www.caporegon.org/find-services/

The needs have increased as extra pandemic-related food benefits from the government have stopped. During the pandemic, most families received 70% more in their monthly allotment of federal food aid, called the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP. The extra aid ended in March, with the average household allotment falling from $450 a month to about $300. The state also paid out the last of the pandemic-related extra food benefits for low-income families with young children in October.

“Those supports – when they ended it – really, really put folks in a dire situation,” Dewey said.

The food bank has five warehouses throughout the state that deliver to 21 regional food banks and more than 1,400 other points, including meal sites, delivery programs and pantries. Those sites are critical for rural and frontier areas in Oregon with food insecurity that are not near a large regional pantry, Dewey said.

The operation puts out fresh produce and dairy products, with an eye toward offering nutritional food that aligns with the cultural and ethnic backgrounds of Oregonians.

“Being able to partner with local fishers and ranchers and farmers and other growers really has been advantageous to supplying fresh produce to our communities,” Dewey said. “You know, this is not a warehouse where you walk in and it’s just all Ramen.”

Efforts in Congress — Oregon’s congressional members are looking for ways to keep produce in pantries. Earlier this month, Salinas announced she has introduced a bill to help food banks and local farmers by allowing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to purchase more food directly from producers, including Oregon farmers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture purchases food products that are sent to the Oregon Food Bank as part of the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Essentially, the bill would cut back on red tape and allow the federal government to consider other factors beyond simply the lowest price when considering bids from food producers. This, in turn, would set the stage for smaller family farms to get more contracts that put their products in Oregon pantries.

Salinas, a Democrat, is sponsoring the bill with U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-California.

“The pandemic caused higher rates of food insecurity in Oregon and across the country, and food banks have struggled to keep up with the increased demand,” Salinas said in a statement. “The Farmers Feeding America Act will address this problem by providing more funding for the Emergency Food Assistance Program, ensuring our local food banks are fully stocked.”

The bill also would double the federal funding for the program, which was about $20 million for Oregon in 2022.

“With increased funding for The Emergency Food Assistance Program and new resources for food distribution and storage, this legislation will help our communities procure fresh produce and dairy products and address food deserts – especially in under-resourced and remote areas,” Oregon Food Bank President Susannah Morgan said in a statement. “No one should be hungry, and this investment will have a resounding impact for millions of people facing food insecurity.”

For the long-term, it’s important to look for ways to address the economic circumstances driving hunger, Dewey said. Those can include unaffordable housing and a lack of access to health care.

“We can serve everyone who is standing in line for a meal or standing in line to get a grocery bag full of food,” Dewey said. “We can serve all those people today, but hunger still won’t go away tomorrow.” (SOURCE)

Governor Kotek Establishes Oregon State Government AI Advisory Council

Council will develop recommendations to leverage the benefits of artificial intelligence while honoring transparency, privacy, and equitySalem, OR—In response to the growing role that generative artificial intelligence is playing in society, Governor Tina Kotek today announced the formation of the Oregon State Government AI Advisory Council to develop recommendations for its utilization across state government.

“Artificial intelligence is an important new frontier, bringing the potential for substantial benefits to our society, as well as risks we must prepare for,” Governor Kotek said. “This rapidly developing technological landscape leads to questions that we must take head on, including concerns regarding ethics, privacy, equity, security, and social change. It has never been more essential to ensure the safe and beneficial use of artificial intelligence – and I look forward to seeing the work this council produces. We want to continue to foster an environment for innovation while also protecting individual and civil rights.”

The Council will provide a recommended action plan framework to the Governor’s Office no later than six months from the date of its first convening and a final recommended action plan no later than 12 months from its first convening.

The action plan will aim to maximize potential benefits of ethical and effective artificial intelligence implementation and adoption, along with thoughtful governance and standards to mitigate risk and address privacy, ethics, and equity. The goal will be to ensure Oregon has clear usage policies that outline the acceptable use of AI tools, providing transparency, uplifting diversity, equity, and inclusion, and protecting personally identifiable information and other sensitive information.

Full membership and meeting times will be announced at a later date.

The Council will consist of no more than 15 members, all of whom must have a commitment to data ethics and data equity. Council members will include the Oregon State Chief Information Officer (who will chair the council), the Oregon State Chief Data Officer, a representative from the Governor’s Racial Justice Council, the Department of Administrative Services Cultural Change Officer, and an additional agency representative to be appointed by the Governor.

Governor Kotek will also appoint up to eight additional members, which may include community organizations with demonstrated expertise in data justice, artificial intelligence experts from Oregon universities, and representatives from local governments.

Additionally, the President of the Senate shall appoint one member of the Oregon State Senate and the Speaker of the House shall appoint one member of the Oregon House of Representatives.

Last year, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy published the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights. The document centered on the need for ethical and equitable principles, practices, and guidelines that protect individuals from harm as governments adopt artificial intelligence.

The council was created through the signing of Executive Order 23-26, which can be found here.

Judge To Decide Whether Oregon’s Process For Taking Back Unemployment Benefits Is Unconstitutional

An Oregon judge will hear arguments Thursday that the state has been acting unconstitutionally when trying to claw back unemployment benefits from more than 60,000 people since 2020.

A lawsuit filed last year argues that the Oregon Employment Department has a convoluted and chaotic process for notifying people when the agency believes it has paid them too much. Many faced claims that they owed the state thousands of dollars. In some cases, the state sought $10,000 or more from people who reported losing their jobs during the pandemic. (SOURCE)

OHA updates plan for climate benefits while awaiting federal approval

After federal rules posed added restrictions to the state’s plan, OHA and state partners pursued new avenues to get devices to OHP members

Portland, Ore. – Today Oregon Health Authority (OHA) announced the state will update its plan for how climate-related devices are distributed to eligible Oregon Health Plan (OHP) members prior to a forecasted weather-related emergency. The benefits are projected to begin in March 2024, pending federal government approval.

OHA initially proposed introducing climate benefits for OHP members in January 2024 as part of Oregon’s 1115 Medicaid waiver, which uses federal dollars to provide climate devices like air conditioners, air filtration devices, and portable power supplies to eligible Medicaid members; however, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) informed the state that distributing climate devices prior to an emergency declaration would not be possible.

“The limitation would have severely restricted distribution of climate devices, so we sought feedback from state partners and a more flexible approach,” said Dave Baden, interim director of OHA. “We look forward to continuing to work with CMS and moving toward final approval.”

“Our first priority always is our community,” said Sean Jessup, Chief Executive Officer, Eastern Oregon Coordinated Care Organization (EOCCO). “We’re laser-focused on getting the right resources to our OHP members, particularly in times of greater need. We’re encouraged that this plan will even better serve people.”

Before the new benefits launch, CCO-enrolled OHP members can contact their CCO to see if climate supports are available through “flexible services” (also called health related services). If a member has OHP but is not sure which CCO they are in, they can call the Client Services Unit at 1-800-273-0557 or email: Ask.OHP@odhsoha.oregon.gov.

Additional details will be provided in the coming weeks. Information about Oregon’s 1115 Medicaid waiver is currently available on OHA’s web site, via the waiver newsletter, and through webinars in English and Spanish.