The latest news stories across the state of Oregon from the digital home of the Oregon coastal cities, OregonBeachMagazine.com
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Oregon Beach Weather
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY ISSUED: 3:29 AM MAR. 29, 2023 – NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
...HAZARDOUS SEAS WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 AM PDT EARLY THIS MORNING... ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM PDT THIS EVENING... * WHAT...East to northeast 10 to 15 kt, but seas remain very steep at 9 to 11 ft early this morning then steep at 6 to 9 ft through this evening. * WHERE...All of the area. * WHEN...For the Hazardous Seas Warning, until 5 AM PDT early this morning. For the Small Craft Advisory, until 11 PM PDT this evening. * IMPACTS...Strong winds and very steep seas could capsize or damage vessels. * View the hazard area in detail at https://go.usa.gov/x6hks
12-Year-Old Boy Killed In Hwy 101 Crash In Cannon Beach
According to Oregon State Police, a 12-year-old boy was killed in a crash on Highway 101 in Cannon Beach on Monday when the car he was in was struck by another vehicle. The crash happened just before 7 p.m.
Police said the boy was a passenger in a Toyota Corolla that was traveling south on the highway. While the driver of that car was making a left turn onto Sunset Boulevard, the Toyota was struck on the passenger side by the driver of a Dodge Ram 2500.
The boy was taken to the hospital where he died of his injuries. His name has not been released.
The driver of the Toyota declined to be taken to the hospital. The driver of the Dodge Ram was uninjured. The crash is under investigation.
Arrest Made After Investigation of Several Business Burglaries in Lincoln City
Between March 20, 2023 and March 23, 2023 multiple businesses in Lincoln City were broken into. The involved victim businesses, 88 Grains Asian Fusion Bar, Burger King Restaurant, Mazatlan Restaurant, and AT&T Store, reported the burglaries resulted in the theft of cash and merchandise valued in the thousands of dollars.
Lincoln City Police Officers and Detectives along with assistance from a Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Detective teamed up and began a rigorous investigation into the string of burglaries. During the investigation, surveillance video from the victim businesses along with surveillance video from other nearby business was reviewed. Using the surveillance videos along with other investigative information obtained, a possible suspect was developed. It was further determined that a Salem Police Officer had contacted the possible suspect in the early morning hours of March 24th and arrested him on several outstanding warrants from other jurisdictions. He was lodged in the Polk County Jail on those warrants.
Lincoln City Police Detectives responded to Polk County and Salem where they continued to gather additional information resulting in a search warrant being executed on a vehicle associated with the suspect. During the service of the search warrant, detectives recovered items stolen during the Lincoln City burglaries.
On Tuesday, March 28, 2023, Lincoln City Police obtained arrest warrants for 30 -year-old Joshua Murrell, of Damascus Oregon, charging him with four counts of second degree Burglary, two counts of second degree Theft, and two counts of second degree Criminal Mischief. Due to Muller already being in custody on several other previously issued warrants, he is being held in the Polk County Jail until such time that he can be transferred to the Lincoln County Jail to be arraigned on the local charges.
The Lincoln City Police would like to extend our thanks to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, and the Salem Police Department for their assistance with this investigation. In addition, we would also like to thank all of the local business that provided surveillance video and information used to solve these burglaries. This is another great example of our citizens and businesses working in partnership with police to enable us to quickly respond to, and solve criminal activity in our community.
Human Remains Found Near Glide Positively Identified, Major Crimes Team Investigating
GLIDE, Ore. – The human remains found in the middle of February near Glide have been positively identified.
On Thursday, February 16, 2023, the Sheriff’s Office was notified by a caller that his son, who had been antler shed hunting, located what were believed to be human remains in the Thunder Mountain area of Glide.
Deputies located the area described and confirmed the presence of skeletal human remains. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Division and Medical Examiner were notified and have been investigating the incident since the discovery.
The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office has positively identified the remains of those belonging to Megan Dyanne Wendel of Roseburg. Wendel was previously reported missing to the Roseburg Police Department in July of 2022. She was 36-years-old at the time of her disappearance.
The Douglas County Major Crimes Team is continuing the investigation into her death, which is considered suspicious. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office at (541) 440-4471 referencing Case #23-0618.
The Douglas County Major Crimes Team consists of investigators from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Roseburg Police Department and Oregon State Police working in consultation with the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office.
U.S. Department Of Housing Sending $50 Million To Oregon To Address Homelessness
The federal government is sending nearly $50 million to Oregon nonprofits, counties and other entities to address homelessness.
The money – from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – adds to a $200 million investment approved by the state Legislature this month to help hundreds of Oregonians find housing. At least 18,000 Oregonians are homeless, according to the U.S. housing department and many more live precariously, struggling to make rent or mortgage payments on unaffordable homes. Addressing the crisis is one of Gov. Tina Kotek’s top priorities.
The federal funding program supports efforts by nonprofits and state and local governments to get homeless individuals and families quickly into homes. The program also aims to help homeless individuals and families gain access to support programs in an effort to get them stabilized.
Oregon’s two Democratic senators – Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden – announced the funding in a release.
“This funding will provide critical support for communities and individuals across the state struggling to find affordable housing,” Merkley said.
Wyden added: “Quality of life for Oregonians or anybody else in America requires people to have a roof over their heads and a floor under their feet.”
Earlier this month, Wyden reintroduced a bill that died in a previous congressional session to get people on the streets into housing and make homes more affordable by increasing the supply and making the purchase of a new home easier through a tax credit. The bill has been referred to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, which Wyden chairs.
In Oregon, Home Forward, a Portland-based nongovernmental housing authority that relies on the federal government for funding, will get the biggest grant from the federal government, more than $7 million, followed by $4.6 million to the Washington County Department of Housing Services. The housing department awarded Central City Concern, a Portland-based nonprofit, $4 million.
Nine other entities got at least $1 million:
- Housing Solutions, Inc.: $3.5 million
- Multnomah County: $3.2 million
- Lane County: $2.5 million
- Transitions Projects, Inc.: $2.4 million
- Self Enhancement, Inc.: $2.3 million
- Cascadia Health: $1.5 million
- Clackamas Department of Health, Housing & Human Services: $1.4 million
- Urban League of Portland: $1.2 million
- Clackamas Women’s Services, Inc.: $1.1 million
The department awarded another 42 grants to nonprofits and governments, including $245,666 for the city of Portland. The smallest grant – $14,696 – is going to Oregon Housing and Community Services, the state housing agency. (SOURCE)
Scientists Pursue Project In Eastern Oregon To Stem Climate Change
Scientists and energy executives are pursuing capturing carbon emissions produced in Oregon and storing them underground, a novel process that could someday reduce the effects of climate change.
The Hermiston-based project would involve capturing carbon dioxide emitted by the town’s natural gas facility and storing it in rock thousands of feet below the Earth’s surface. Putting carbon dioxide below-ground instead of releasing it into the air would help bring Oregon and Washington closer to their carbon reduction goals to fight climate change, project leaders said.
The university is leading the project in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the oil company Oxy Low, and the natural gas company Calpine, which runs the Hermiston facility. The facility burns natural gas to create energy, which is sold to power companies in Oregon, Washington and California. The Department of Energy has awarded researchers $10.5 million to determine how feasible it would be to store the facility’s carbon emissions underground.
The Hermiston area is rich in basalt, a type of rock that can store carbon. When carbon dioxide is injected into basalt, it solidifies and turns into a rock, a process that takes about two years. Officials would insert carbon emissions from the Hermiston natural gas facility through wells drilled deep into the basalt layer.
If greenlit by the Department of Energy, the Hermiston project would be the first location in the country to offer carbon-emitting industries the option to store carbon dioxide in basalt on a commercial scale, project leaders said.
Storing carbon in basalt would keep the emissions from entering the atmosphere, a primary cause of climate change. Project leaders are still estimating the amount of carbon dioxide that could be stored at the site.
The project has been lauded by energy executives as a way for Oregon to reach its carbon reduction goals.
The Hermiston project is currently in the second of a four-phase implementation process. A 24-month long study will begin this summer to determine its feasibility.
Researchers will drill a well into the basalt to understand what would happen if millions of tons of carbon dioxide were injected into the rock. Researchers will also determine whether the project could affect the area’s groundwater or overlap with earthquake fault lines.
Once the study is completed, Department of Energy officials will decide whether next steps should be taken. If the project moves forward, the social and economic impacts of carbon storage in Hermiston would be studied, and meetings and webinars would inform the public of the project’s purpose, its impacts and why it’s needed, according to the project’s leaders.
Upon approval and funding from the Department of Energy, the fourth and final phase would establish the project’s infrastructure and require obtaining a permit for injecting carbon dioxide into deep rock formations. In the U.S., this type of permit has never been issued to a project using basalt to store carbon.
“We might be one of the first that ever gets to do that,” Schaef said. “I would love to be one of the first that does it right, and sets that precedent for ‘here’s the bar you have to meet.’” Officials said the project would likely span 30 years. (SOURCE)
Oregon Lawmakers Discuss New Gun Control Bill As Measure 114 Remains In Legal Limbo
Senate Bill 348 would enact a gun permitting system and raise the minimum age to purchase a gun as Measure 114 faces multiple legal challenges.
Oregon lawmakers are discussing a new bill that both mirrors and expands upon Measure 114, the stalled gun control measure which faces multiple legal challenges after voters passed it in November.
Senate Bill 348 would raise the minimum age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21, with some exceptions for hunting rifles and shotguns.
It reflects parts of Measure 114 including banning high-capacity magazines and establishing a permit-to-purchase system for guns, but it would also postpone this permitting process until July 2024.
Under SB 348, gun permits would be more expensive, up from $65 to $150 for new permits and $110 for renewals – an increase that supporters said would give law enforcement more resources to run background checks and regulate sales.
The bill would also establish waiting periods for gun transfers and require gun safety courses.
Measure 114, Oregon’s landmark gun control legislation that narrowly passed with voter approval in November 2022, currently faces multiple legal challenges at the state and federal levels.
Oregon Rep. Kim Thatcher, a Republican from Keizer, said SB 348 feels like a way to sidestep the ongoing lawsuits.
“The constitutionality of the provisions of [Measure 114] have been challenged and are being challenged and yet this bill will short-circuit that process, as it’s in the courts right now,” Thatcher said. “[SB348] will cost the state a lot of money to implement for no real return.”
At a public hearing for SB 348 on Monday night, a majority of speakers shared their opposition to the gun regulation bill.
“This amendment goes beyond ballot measure 114’s already unconstitutional requirements, like the increase in fees, time, delays, age restriction increases and retroactive magazine bans,”said Aoibheann Cline, NRA State Director.
Some supporters of the bill at the hearing — including representatives for Everytown for Gun Safety, Mom Demand Action, and the Oregon Alliance for Gun Safety — said the bill needs adjustments but it would create a safer system for gun permits and background checks with the structure to make it work.
“Senate Bill 348 makes some important changes to aid in the implementation of the new permit system and ensures law enforcement has the tools and resources they need to implement the measure,” an Oregon Alliance for Gun Safety spokesperson testified.
Most of the speakers at the Monday’s public hearing opposed the bill, saying this bill could also face legal challenges if passed.
“These measures are disenfranchising Oregonians and making them feel as if they have no voice in their government, I pray you will let Senate Bill 348 die,” said John McDonnell of Salem.
And hundreds of people have submitted written testimony via OLIS – mostly in opposition.
“I had a customer come into my store and she was scared, she had a threatening neighbor,” said Jeremiah Kaufman of Tualatin. “Police couldn’t do anything because he hadn’t harmed anybody yet. With this bill going through, she’d have to wait days and she didn’t have days.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee is accepting written testimony on SB 348 through Wednesday night at 5 p.m. It will then hold a work session on Thursday. (SOURCE)
Southbound I-5 Closed At Oregon-California State Line, Northbound Lanes Closed In Redding
It happened again yesterday, the California Department of Transportation closed Interstate 5 from Redding to Weed because of heavy snow and blizzard conditions.
CalTrans also requested the Oregon Department of Transportation to close Southbound lanes of Interstate 5 from Ashland to Weed because of blizzard conditions.
CalTrans has closed Interstate 5 multiple times this winter between Redding and Weed always citing winter hazardous driving conditions. It is unclear why CalTrans snow plows and sanding equipment cannot keep Interstate 5 open.
Closing Interstate 5 has traditionally been a very rare occurrence but this year it has been the norm with any adverse winter weather. Interstate 5 was reopened to traffic between Ashland and Redding late yesterday afternoon.
83-year-old Clarence Edward Pitts walked away from his home in Bandon on Tuesday, January 31 at around 1:00 p.m. Pitts is described as:
- 6′ 00″
- 150 lbs
- Gray hair
- Brown eyes
- Last seen wearing an orange beanie, plaid jacket, tan pants and white shoes
- May have a walking cane
- Has dementia and PTSD
Pitts may be in a vehicle that was also found to be missing from the home:
- 1999 Toyota Van
- White
- Oregon license plate: WYN 788
If you see Clarence or have any information pertaining to where he may be, please call the Coos County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center at 541-396-2106 or the Bandon Police Department at 541-347-3189.
