The latest news stories across the state of Oregon from the digital home of the Oregon coastal cities, OregonBeachMagazine.com
Thursday, July 7, 2022
Oregon Beach Weather
Coos Bay Man Jailed After Setting Woman On Fire
The Coos County Sheriff’s Office says a man is in jail today after he tried to kill a woman by setting her on fire.
At about 9 a.m. on July 1 CCSO deputies responded to Timber Lane for a report of an assault that had occurred the previous night. Deputies said they found evidence to prove that assault had taken place, and that the suspect was hiding in a trailer near the scene of the crime. They also said their investigation found a woman who had been seriously burned. They add that she was flown to a Portland-area hospital for treatment.
Deputies say a major crimes team was activated due to the serious nature of the case. While that team was on the way and a search warrant for the trailer the suspect was hiding in was being completed, deputies say the suspect, Jesse Wagoner, 31, lit his own hiding place on fire. The CCSO said that officers on the scene leapt into action and entered the trailer, put out the fire, and got Wagoner out.
The sheriff’s office says Wagoner was treated at a nearby hospital and jailed on charges of attempted murder and first-degree assault.
Myrtle Point Man Dies in Chain Reaction Crash on Hwy 38
A Myrtle Point man is deceased, and four people were injured, following a serious chain reaction wreck on Tuesday.
An Oregon State Police report said at about 12:30 p.m. troopers and emergency personnel responded to the crash, which was blocking Highway 38 near milepost 25, about three miles east of Scottsburg.
A preliminary investigation revealed that a sedan, operated by 24-year old Cedric Lossing of Myrtle Point, was traveling east overtaking a motorhome in the passing lanes when it crossed the centerline and crashed head on into a westbound Jeep, operated by 60-year old Cathy Fore of North Bend. A dump truck, driven by 60-year old David Buoy of Clatskanie, was headed westbound following the Jeep and attempted to avoid the collision by steering into the eastbound lane where it crashed through an eastbound bumper-pulled travel trailer, pulled by a pickup which was operated by 70- year old Timothy Prulheire of Grants Pass. The pickup traveled into the westbound lane where it collided with a dump truck, operated by 27-year old Dillan Bloomer of Clark Fork, Idaho, pulling a utility trailer hauling a grader.
Fore and her passenger, 70-year old Patrick Culbertson, of Myrtle Point, were transported to PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend in Springfield. Culbertson was pronounced deceased. Prulheire and his passenger reported minor injuries but declined medical treatment. The other two drivers were not injured.
Highway 38 traffic remained open while OSP Collision Reconstruction Unit members investigated the scene. Several other agencies assisted OSP.
Flags Stolen in Florence
One of the events that makes Florence so special is the flag program that is initiated by the Florence Kiwanis club and sponsored by individuals and businesses in the Florence community. Recently over Rhody days and again on the 4th of July, several of the flags were stolen. Jean Murphey with Florence Kiwanis says over the two holidays there were 11 flags that were taken.
“It takes about 24 volunteers approximately 3 hours a day to do the flag route so it is disappointing when we put forth that effort 11 or 12 times a year to have someone steal the flags.”
Flags cost about $25 dollars each and sponsors are only charged $30 dollars. Murphey says there is not a lot of profit in the flag program but it is more than the money that is represented here. Florence Kiwanis puts out about 500 flags for all of the major holidays. They are also asking for information on the stolen flags. Three flags were taken from in front of Regency on Spruce and 21st and another 2 were taken from in front of the Travel lodge and one is missing from Rhododendron Drive. Florence Police does have an active case number for those calling in with information to Anonymous Tip Line: (541) 997-9604
We want to keep you informed about COVID-19 in Oregon. Data are provisional and change frequently. For more information, including COVID-19 data by county, visit our dashboard: http://ow.ly/3HnZ50JPVNX
Democratic governor nominee Tina Kotek has contracted COVID-19, she announced Tuesday afternoon on Twitter.
She’s one of more than 7,000 Oregonians to test positive for COVID during the past seven days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It has classified 24 of Oregon’s 36 counties as “high” risk for the disease and recommended that Oregonians in those counties resume wearing masks indoors to limit spread.
A spokeswoman did not immediately respond to texted questions about where Kotek might have contracted COVID. She spent the past several days campaigning and traveling in Oregon, according to Twitter photos, including taking in a Portland Pickles baseball game, hiking at Silver Falls State Park near Silverton and marching in the Hillsboro Fourth of July parade.
One Year After Bootleg Fire: Oregon’s Third Worst Wildfire In Modern History
On July 6th 2021 the Bootleg Fire, Oregon third’s largest wildfire in modern history, erupted onto the scene in Klamath & Lake Counties, destroying more than 413,000 acres, after more than a month of burning, and 164 homes with it.
For many, the weeks and months ahead of them would be forever changed, but for some hope is returning, as what was once lost is now returning.
To help those who were impacted during the fire, people from around the surrounding community like Leda Hunter, President of the Bly Community Action Team, Relief Angels, the Baptist Church on Homedale and many more have stepped in to help.
“Relief Angels was out here pretty much for the last here and they’re still here helping people out,” said Ford. “Everybody has been able to put a little bit out to help those other people.”
Even with the help, Ford and many others have had to push through one hurdle after the next because of the Bootleg Fire, even during the winter months.
“We had a very substantial winter,” said Ford. “We had a lot of wind, we had a lot of snow blowing around and trees blowing over that were killed. We were on our own.”
But despite the hardships, Ford and many others like him in the Sycan Estates community continue to press on, in the hope that one day life will truly return to normal.
$6 million in grants helping Oregon fire service staff up this summer
SALEM, Ore. – To boost capacity within the Oregon fire service, the Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM) has awarded $6 million in grants to the structural fire service to hire firefighting staff during the 2022 wildfire season.
The OSFM is excited to announce that 180 local fire districts and departments across Oregon were awarded $6 million in grant funding to support staffing through the 2022 wildfire season. As part of the OSFM’s Response Ready Oregon Initiative, this grant opportunity was available to all 306 local fire districts and departments.
“Our office has heard from multiple fire chiefs across Oregon who say this funding will have a profound, positive impact in communities across the state,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said. “Agencies will be able to have additional paid firefighters at the ready during these critical summer months. This will help to keep fires small and away from communities.”
The grant aims to bolster capacity within the Oregon fire service and the Oregon Fire Mutual Aid System (OFMAS). The OSFM uses OFMAS to mobilize the Oregon fire service to incidents like wildfire and floods to help protect Oregonians, their homes, and critical infrastructure.
Local fire agencies were able to request up to $35,000 to support staffing during this critical time of year. This additional funding will increase on-duty capacity throughout the 2022 fire season at the local level and allow agencies to mobilize quickly to fires at the local, regional, and state (conflagration) levels.
“The community of Chiloquin Fire & Rescue and our mutual aid partners in Klamath County will benefit greatly. The recent 242 and Bootleg fires ravaged our communities, highlighting the need for a robust firefighting force, available anytime,” Chiloquin Fire & Rescue Chief Mike Cook said. “This grant will provide us the capability of using trained students, overtime staff, and volunteers during future events.”
Using this grant, Chiloquin Fire & Rescue plans to staff two Type 6 engines or one Type 3 and a Type I tender throughout the 2022 fire season.
“Saturday, July 2nd was the first day our additional staff was on shift,” Cook said. “We had a smoke report that turned out to be a fire in heavy timber. The engine staffed through this grant was able to get the fire under control and turn it over to the Oregon Department of Forestry. This is proof the program is viable and a great addition to the small rural departments.”
Funding for this up staffing grant opportunity was made possible through the Oregon Legislature and Senate Bill 762.
ABOUT RESPONSE READY OREGON — The OSFM’s Response Ready Oregon initiative was created to help bolster capacity and modernize wildfire response within the Oregon Fire Mutual Aid System (OFMAS). The goal of Response Ready Oregon is to attack fires while they are small and keep them away from communities. To learn more about the OSFM or Response Ready Oregon, visit oregon.gov/osp/programs/sfm.
Oregon State Police Ready for World Athletics Championships
Oregon is excited to welcome the world!
The State of Oregon, along with Travel Oregon and the University of Oregon will host the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 and welcome 2,000 of the world’s best track and field athletes from over 200 countries to #Oregon.
For the first time, the World Athletics Championships will take place on U.S. soil. There is no better place for Team USA to compete than at Hayward Field.
Visit www.Worldchampsoregon22.com to learn more about the events happening July 15-24, 2022, at the newly reimagined Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene.
With so many people coming to visit from all over the world, let us show them how enjoyable Oregon is. That means helping our visitors travel safely around our state.
Be prepared for an increase in motor vehicles on Oregon’s highways- give yourself extra time to get to your destination whether it be to work, the store, or the #WCHOregon22.
Know before you go- use www.tripcheck.com to know about any traffic delays, crashes, or construction projects.
Always obey the rules of the road- everyone deserves to get to their destination safely.
Like your momma always said, “Let’s be on our best behavior while we have guests in our home.”
#HighwaySafety #RulesoftheRoad #YourOregonStatePolice
3 Ballot Measures Certified for Vote In 2022
As of July 6, 2022, 3 statewide ballot measures were certified for the ballot in Oregon in 2022.
On the ballot:
Measure 1: Right to Healthcare Amendment
Description: Amends the Oregon Constitution to add that the state “ensure that every resident of Oregon has access to cost-effective, clinically appropriate and affordable health care as a fundamental right”
Measure 2: Remove Slavery as Punishment for Crime from Constitution Amendment
Description: Repeals language allowing slavery or involuntary servitude as criminal punishments and authorizes an Oregon court or a probation or parole agency to order alternatives to incarceration for a convicted individual
Measure 3: Exclusion from Re-election for Legislative Absenteeism Initiative
Description: Excludes state legislators from re-election for unexcused legislative absenteeism
Click here for more details.
Oregon Historical Society Celebrates Hatfield Centennial July 12 with Free Admission, Special Guests, and Root Beer Floats
Plus, Senator Hatfield’s oral history interview to be released to the public for the first time through OHS Digital Collections
On Tuesday, July 12 — what would have been Senator Mark O. Hatfield’s 100th birthday — the Oregon Historical Society (OHS) will commemorate the Hatfield Centennial at a special event in downtown Portland. A brief program will begin at 11am in the Oregon Historical Society’s pavilion (1200 SW Park Avenue, Portland) where former Oregon governors Barbara Roberts and Ted Kulongoski, and OHS Boyle Family Executive Director Kerry Tymchuk, will share their memories of working with Senator Hatfield. The program will also include remarks from Oregon Health & Science University president Dr. Danny Jacobs, who will speak on the senator’s impact on OHSU, and Willamette University board secretary Sean O’Hollaren, who will officially announce the opening of the Hatfield Archives at Willamette University. Following the program, attendees can enjoy root beer floats — Senator Hatfield’s favorite — featuring ice cream donated by Salt & Straw. Admission to the Oregon Historical Society’s museum will be free all day.
The traveling exhibit, The Call of Public Service: The Life and Legacy of Mark O. Hatfield, which premiered at OHS one year ago on July 12, 2021, before traveling to museums and heritage organizations around the state, will also be back on view at OHS. The exhibit, which focuses on the lasting impression the senator had on Oregon and the nation, features three pop-up kiosks that highlight the issues Hatfield championed: healthcare, education, equal rights, the environment, and world peace. The exhibit is available to rent at no cost through the end of 2022, thanks to a generous sponsorship from the Samuel S. Johnson Foundation.
The centennial celebration also coincides with the release of the senator’s official oral history, which was restricted from public release until Hatfield’s 100th birthday. The Hatfield interviews are part of a decades-long OHS initiative, the Oregon Legislature Oral History Project, which was conducted between the late 1980s and early 2000s and documents the stories of state officials who served between about 1960 and 1998. The senator’s interviews will go live on the OHS Digital Collections website (digitalcollections.ohs.org) on Tuesday, July 12, alongside twenty-four oral history interviews with Hatfield’s congressional aides, staff, and advisors that are currently available on OHS Digital Collections.
In a remarkable forty-six-year career in elected office, Mark O. Hatfield earned a reputation as the most respected and influential politician in Oregon’s history. First elected as an Oregon State Representative in 1950 at the age of twenty-eight, Hatfield never lost an election and would go on to serve Oregon as a state senator, secretary of state, governor, and a United States senator.
“I am one of hundreds of Oregonians who served as a college intern in Senator Hatfield’s office and am incredibly fortunate to have called him a mentor and a friend,” said OHS Boyle Family Executive Director Kerry Tymchuk. “In these often-polarizing times, let us all remember these words of Senator Hatfield: ‘All of us need each other, all of us must lift and pull others as we rise, all of us must rise together — powerful, free, one self-determined people.’”
About the Oregon Historical Society
For more than a century, the Oregon Historical Society has served as the state’s collective memory, preserving a vast collection of artifacts, photographs, maps, manuscript materials, books, films, and oral histories. Our research library, museum, digital platforms & website (www.ohs.org), educational programming, and historical journal make Oregon’s history open and accessible to all.We exist because history is powerful, and because a history as deep and rich as Oregon’s cannot be contained within a single story or point of view.
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