The latest news stories across the state of Oregon from the digital home of the Oregon coastal cities, OregonBeachMagazine.com
Tuesday, June 1, 2021
Oregon Beach Weather
Today– Mostly sunny, with a high near 71. Breezy, with a north northwest wind 6 to 11 mph increasing to 12 to 17 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph.
Wednesday– Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 64. Light northwest wind increasing to 5 to 9 mph in the morning.
Thursday– Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 65. Light north wind becoming north northwest 6 to 11 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Friday– Mostly sunny, with a high near 63.
Saturday– A slight chance of showers before 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 60.
Oregon reports 220 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 3 new deaths
There are three new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 2,671. The Oregon Health Authority reported 220 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 bringing the state total to 201,475.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Clackamas (35), Clatsop (1), Columbia (3), Coos (1), Curry (1), Deschutes (17), Douglas (15), Jackson (17), Josephine (6), Klamath (6), Lane (21), Lincoln (3), Linn (9), Marion (31), Morrow (2), Multnomah (39), Polk (5), Tillamook (1), Union (1), Wasco (4), Yamhill (2).
Oregon’s 2,670th COVID-19 death is a 93-year-old man from Jackson County who tested positive on May 13 and died on May 29 at Providence Medford Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.
Vaccinations in Oregon
Today, OHA reported that 10,198 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry. Of this total, 3,943 doses were administered on May 30 and 6,255 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry on May 30.
The seven-day running average is now 24,730 doses per day.
Oregon has now administered a total of 2,210,833 first and second doses of Pfizer, 1,601,554 first and second doses of Moderna and 143,157 single doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.
As of today, 1,850,566 people have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series. There are 2,240,922 people who have had at least one dose.
Cumulative daily totals can take several days to finalize because providers have 72 hours to report doses administered and technical challenges have caused many providers to lag in their reporting. OHA has been providing technical support to vaccination sites to improve the timeliness of their data entry into the state’s ALERT Immunization Information System (IIS).
These data are preliminary and subject to change. OHA’s dashboards provide regularly updated vaccination data, and Oregon’s dashboard has been updated today.
COVID-19 hospitalizations
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 249, which is one fewer than yesterday. There are 61 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is one more than yesterday.
The total number of COVID-19 positive patient bed-days in the most recent seven days is 1,819, which is an 8.8% decrease from the previous seven days. The peak daily number of beds occupied by COVID-19 positive patients in the most recent seven days is 274.
The total number of patients in hospital beds may fluctuate between report times. The numbers do not reflect admissions per day, nor the length of hospital stay. Staffing limitations are not captured in this data and may further limit bed capacity. More information about hospital capacity can be found here.
The state of Oregon is nearing four million doses administered for Covid-19 vaccines, according to data collected by the Oregon Health Authority. On Sunday OHA reported that 2,203,469 doses of Pfizer, 1,599,347 first and second doses of Moderna and 142,531 single doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines have been administered across the state. That totals up to a grand total of 3,945,347 doses administered across the state since vaccinations began. However, new daily vaccination rates continue to decrease across the state.
According to OHA on Sunday, 17,982 doses of new Covid-19 vaccine doses were added to the state’s immunization
registry. Of this total, only a little more than 8,100 doses were administered on Saturday while the rest were from previous days. The seven-day running average also fell to 19,942 doses, that’s according to the Covid-19 vaccine tracker on the Oregon Health Authority’s website.
LOCAL HEADLINES:
OHA/DEQ Issues 2021 Oregon Beach Monitoring List
The Oregon Beach Monitoring Program (OBMP) has finalized a list of beaches to be monitored for bacteria during the 2021 season.
The finalized list the OBMP, based at the Oregon Health Authority Public Health Division, is publishing includes some of the most frequently visited beaches in Oregon. It also includes beaches where the program has found bacteria present, or beaches for which local partners and the public have requested monitoring due to potential pollution concerns.
The beaches that will be monitored during 2021 include:
• SEASIDE BEACH – Seaside, Oregon – Clatsop County
• CANNON BEACH – Cannon Beach, Oregon – Clatsop County
• TOLOVANA SP BEACH – Cannon Beach, Oregon – Clatsop County
• SHORT SAND SP BEACH – Arch Cape, Oregon – Tillamook County
• ROCKAWAY BEACH – Rockaway, Oregon – Tillamook County
• TWINS ROCKS BEACH – Twin Rocks, Oregon – Tillamook County
• NESKOWIN SP BEACH – Neskowin, Oregon – Tillamook County
• D RIVER SP BEACH – Lincoln City, Oregon – Lincoln County
• BEVERLY BEACH – Newport, Oregon – Lincoln County
• AGATE SP BEACH – Newport, Oregon – Lincoln County
• NYE BEACH – Newport, Oregon – Lincoln County
• SEAL ROCK SP BEACH – Seal Rock, Oregon – Lincoln County
• HECETA BEACH – Florence, Oregon – Lane County
• BASTENDORFF BEACH – Coos Bay, Oregon – Coos County
• SUNSET BAY SP BEACH – Coos Bay, Oregon – Coos County
• HUBBARD CREEK BEACH – Port Orford, Oregon – Curry County
• HARRIS BEACH SP – Brookings, Oregon – Curry County
• MILL BEACH – Brookings, Oregon – Curry County
Added to this season’s list:
• OCEANSIDE – Oceanside, Oregon – Tillamook County
• CAPE KIWANDA – Pacific City, – Tillamook County
The beach monitoring season is from mid-May to mid-September. Beach advisories are only issued for beaches that are actively being monitored within this sampling window. Other beaches will be investigated for inclusion in the upcoming and or next beach monitoring season.
OBMP works with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to determine beaches that need monitoring based on several established criteria. These criteria include pollution hazards present, previous beach monitoring data that identify water quality concerns, type and amount of beach use, and public input.
As part of an adaptive sampling plan, beaches and sampling locations are routinely re-evaluated to ensure available resources best protect public health. A copy of DEQ’s beach evaluation is available upon request. For more information and current beach monitoring conditions please visit: www.healthoregon.org/beach, or contact OBMP at Beach.Health@state.or.us or 971-673-0400.
Search For Teenager Swept Out To Sea Near Long Beach
The U.S. Coast Guard says its crews are searching for a 14-year-old boy who was reportedly swept offshore near Long Beach, Washington along the coast.
The boy’s friend reported him missing Monday. Crews arrived around 2:30 p.m. and are searching by helicopter and boat.
Members of the United States Coast Guard are searching for a 14-year-old boy who was reportedly swept offshore near Long Beach on Monday afternoon. He was last seen wearing a red cap, grey shirt, and black trunks.
#BREAKING: #USCG and partner agencies are searching for a 14yo male reportedly swept offshore near Long Beach, WA. He was last seen wearing a red cap, grey shirt, and black trunks. Follow for updates.— USCGPacificNorthwest (@USCGPacificNW) May 31, 2021
At 9:05 p.m., the Coast Guard tweeted that the search was still taking place with help from other agencies.
AROUND the STATE of OREGON
Staffing Shortages at the Oregon State Hospital
Significant staffing shortages at the Oregon State Hospital prompted health officials to call for the National Guard’s assistance at the psychiatric facility this week. The state’s health authority, which oversees the hospital, requested 30 nurses from the National Guard.
The governor’s office has not reached a decision on whether to fill that request. Officials say the hospital, which employs 1,800 people and has more than 600 patients, is full and temporarily stopped new admissions.
The hospital treats some of the state’s most vulnerable: those found guilty except for insanity, civil commitment patients, and those ordered to the hospital by a judge on aid and assist orders.
The staffing crisis at the hospital has persisted on and off throughout the pandemic. But the number of staff out on coronavirus-related leave has increased dramatically since February.
Man Dies After Falling 500 Feet Off Mount Hood
Sadly a climber hiking Mount Hood fell to his death Sunday, according to Oregon officials.
The man, identified only as a 63-year-old, was climbing with his adult son when he fell approximately 500 feet from the Old Chute route, at approximately 10,500-foot elevation, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Portland Mountain Rescue, the Hood River Crag Rats and American Medical Response’s Reach and Treat Team all began searching for the victim, but struggled to navigate a difficult terrain and hazards from hydrogen sulfide and other toxic gases.
Rescuers found the victim dead on Mount Hood Sunday afternoon. (Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office/)
Around 10:30 a.m. Sunday, rescuers made visual contact with the victim, who was already dead when they reached him. Around 4:30 p.m., they were able to load the victim into a ”skiable rescue litter basket” and carry him down the mountain.
“Warm weather at this time of year can create very unstable conditions on this area of Mt. Hood, including falling ice,” the sheriff’s office warned in a statement. “The addition of many climbers of varying skill levels can add additional hazards.”
Recent Report Shows Water Infrastructure Across Oregon Is Becoming Too Expensive For Local Governments To Afford
The League of Oregon Cities partnered with Portland State University to survey water supply and quality throughout the state.
They found decades of backlogged water infrastructure needs, and cities across Oregon are struggling to pay the price. The survey shows water infrastructures across Oregon need billions of dollars of improvement.
Tracy Rutten is with the League of Oregon Cities. She says state and federal governments should step in and offer funding help. “There are a lot of communities that are already having citizens that are feeling the financial stress of those increased water and sewer rates,” said Hall. “So I think they’re really finding themselves in a tough position of, do you continue to increase those rates to try and finance this really important and necessary infrastructure locally?”
Rutten said smaller and lower-income communities are hit especially hard by rising utility costs. She thinks federal and state governments should help bridge the gap between what local utilities can afford and what low-income residents can pay.
“A lot of our cities have established their own water rate or sewer rate assistance programs,” said Rutten. “But for a community that is lower income or has a really small population, you’re kind of taking out of the existing water rates only to put back as assistance for low income. So it doesn’t always make sense to do it locally.”
The League of Oregon Cities report assumes that the need for affordable drinking water will increase in coming years, particularly in areas prone to earthquakes. The survey identified approximately $23 billion in statewide water infrastructure costs over the next 20 years — which would be a nearly impossible bill for local governments to cover alone.
Crater Lake National Park Opens the North Entrance Road and West Rim Drive
Warm temperatures and a low snowpack allowed Crater Lake National Park to open the North Entrance Road and West Rim Drive for the Memorial Day Weekend.
Opening the roads means easier access to the park for people traveling north towards Bend or the Rogue Valley or south towards Klamath Falls and typically results in much higher visitation.
The road openings took effect Friday Superintendent Craig Ackerman said visitors can now access “spectacular views of the lake from West Rim Drive.”
Some snow still remains throughout the park, including many locations around and along Rim Drive. All trails are still covered with snow and debris. The Cleetwood, Watchman and upper half of Garfield Peak trails are all officially closed because of hazardous conditions. Also closed is the path to the Sinnott Memorial Overlook.
Medford Homicide Investigation
On May 29th, 2021, at about 1957 hours, Medford Police Officers were dispatched to a report of a person down in the parking lot of Weldon’s Cleaners, 644 Crater Lake Avenue. An officer arrived on scene and found a male suffering from a gunshot wound to the body. He was transported by ambulance to hospital where he died shortly thereafter. Victim: Houze, Robert Douglas 45 years old.
Detectives assumed the investigation, and determined the victim had been inside the business when he got into a verbal dispute with another male. The other male left and came back minutes later in a black SUV. The victim approached the SUV in the parking lot, and victim was shot from the male seated in the vehicle. The vehicle then fled the scene.
Officers later located the vehicle in the 500 block of Mary Street, unoccupied. The vehicle was then linked to a nearby residence, which officers surrounded. The suspect was identified as Lorenzo Fisher, 45 years old. Detectives obtained a search warrant for the residence, and for officer safety reasons, called his cell phone prior to making entry.
The suspect indicated he was not home, and agreed to turn himself in to police in Josephine County. At 2:26 a.m., Fisher was taken into custody by law enforcement in Josephine County and turned over to Medford Police Detectives. He was interviewed and lodged in jail. He was lodged for Murder, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and Unlawful Use of a Weapon.
A search of the suspect’s residence yielded a handgun, believed to be used in the homicide. The investigation revealed the suspect and victim did not know each other prior to the dispute. — Medford Police Dept
Teen Pinned Beneath Vehicle Succumbs to Injuries
At approximately 3:30 a.m. this morning, May 31, 2021, officers responded to the call of a person pinned beneath a vehicle in the south parking lot of Riverfront Park. On arrival, officers found a 15-year-old young man trapped underneath a car.
Four teenage friends were in the vehicle driving through the parking lot. When the 16-year-old female driver stopped the vehicle, the young man exited and climbed onto the hood. The driver proceeded forward when the young man slid off the hood, ultimately becoming pinned under the vehicle.
Another young woman in the group called 9-1-1 immediately, while the fourth juvenile attempted to get assistance.
Salem Fire Department personnel arrived to extricate the injured teen after which paramedics immediately transported him to Salem Health where he died from his injuries.
Due to the age of victim and those involved in the tragic incident, names are not being released. The Salem Police Traffic Team is handling the investigation and no further information will be released at this time. — Salem Police Dept
Record Heat Wave in Western USA
A heatwave is pounding the West where scorching temperatures will reach Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona on Tuesday.
Sacramento smashed a record high on Memorial Day, reaching 104 degrees.
Redding, also in Northern California, reached a sweltering 109 degrees on Monday, breaking the record for the entire month of May.
On Tuesday temperatures are expected to climb to 107 degrees in Bakersfield, California; 105 degrees in Las Vegas; 104 degrees in Medford, Oregon; and 104 degrees in Phoenix.
The heatwave comes as fire danger is especially high in southern Oregon, where a red flag warning has been issued. West anticipating dangerous fire season due to severe drought conditions.
California’s snow has been melting ahead of schedule, which means vegetation will be unusually dry as the Golden State approaches wildfire season later this summer and early fall.
Meanwhile, four states from Texas to Missouri are under flood alerts Tuesday morning. More flooding is forecast Tuesday as this storm system slowly moves through the area.
By Wednesday, the severe weather and heavy rain will move into the Ohio River Valley and Tennessee River Valley with damaging winds and flash flooding possible.
By Thursday, the storm will reach the Northeast with severe weather and damaging winds expected from Virginia to New Jersey.