State discloses virus outbreak at Oregon Coast care home
The Oregon Health Authority has disclosed a coronavirus outbreak of 13 residents in November at Clatsop Care Health & Rehabilitation in Astoria. Clarissa Barrick, the administrator of the facility, said that as of Monday, two weeks had gone by without virus cases and all of the residents have recovered. While the source of the outbreak is unknown, the first person who tested positive at the facility had recently been discharged from a local hospital. “It’s very deja vu that we’re still going through this,” she said. “And it’s still scary because we have very, very fragile people here.” (Nicole Bales/The Astorian)
Illegal wolf killing in Southwest Oregon prompts reward offer
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of whoever illegally killed a gray wolf in Southwest Oregon. The investigation involves a radio-collared male, OR 103, which was found dead on Oct. 6 near Upper Klamath Lake. Anyone wishing to make a report can call the Fish and Wildlife Service at (503) 682-6131 or the Oregon State Police Tip line at (800) 452-7888. Callers may remain anonymous. (OPB Staff)
Portland police officer accused of assaulting woman at sports bar
A Portland police sergeant is on administrative leave after allegedly groping a woman in a sports bar on Oct. 28. According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy responded to Toby’s Sports Pub in Metzger on Oct. 29 after a woman said a man at the bar had touched her inappropriately and pulled her hair the night before. The sheriff’s office said surveillance video showed a man touching the woman in the groin and then pulling her hair unprovoked. The sheriff’s office cited and released Portland police Sgt. Darke Hall, 46, on Thursday for the incident. He faces a charge of third-degree assault and harassment. In a statement, Portland Police Bureau Chief Chuck Lovell said Hall is on leave during the course of the investigation. “As law enforcement officers, we are held to a higher standard,” Lovell said. “In order to preserve the public trust, we are informing the community of this incident,” PPB said it has also opened an internal affairs investigation into Hall, which is separate from the criminal charges. Hall has worked for PPB for 23 years and is currently assigned to the Traffic Division. (OPB Staff)
Adaptive skier program coming to Mount Ashland
Adaptive skier lessons will be offered on an ongoing basis at Mt. Ashland Ski Area this winter for the first time, and the fledgling program is looking for volunteers to help. “We are going to try to accommodate every disability,” said Ashland resident Joe Jackson, who will head up the program for Bend-based Oregon Adaptive Sports. Lessons will be individually tailored to fit the needs and goals of each athlete, he added. OAS decided to establish the pilot adaptive program at Mt. Ashland this year after operating a successful one at Hoodoo Ski Area, where the program began in 1996. (Tony Boom/Mail Tribune)
Behavioral incidents spiked in Salem-Keizer schools as discipline measures changed
Students returned full-time to attend class in person at Salem-Keizer Public Schools and across the nation last year for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has not been an easy return. Throughout the 2021-22 school year, major disciplinary incidents — including physical threats, fights, computer misuse, sexual harassment and other aggressive behaviors — increased in Salem-Keizer by nearly 55% compared to 2018-19, the last year students were in person full time. At the same time, the district implemented programs focused more on “restorative justice,” which led to fewer expulsions and suspensions. Iton Udosenata, Salem-Keizer’s co-assistant superintendent, said he believes the change in policy represented a shift in the district to be more mindful overall of how it disciplines students. Data so far this year shows things are improving in some areas, such as fewer fights and other acts of physical aggression. (Natalie Pate/Salem Statesman Journal)
Officials say new intermodal rail terminal will take trucks off I-5
A new intermodal rail terminal near Albany is expected to open in January, taking hundreds of trucks off I-5 each day. State and local dignitaries hailed the 64-acre facility during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday. Once open, it will allow the transfer of shipping containers from truck to train, and vice versa. The idea behind the $35 million facility is to make it easier for Willamette Valley farms and businesses to ship products and get raw materials without having to send trucks to major ports in Seattle or Tacoma. That’s a huge selling point for Karla Chambers, co-owner of Stahlbush Island Farms in Corvallis. “Our truck driver can make one trip up to Tacoma in one day, tying up an entire truck for a round trip,” she said, “and they spend a huge part of that day sitting in downtown Portland.” (Chris M Lehman/KLCC)
Pesticides from illegal cannabis are contaminating Northern California waterways, survey says
A newly published study confirms for the first time that heavy pesticide use on illegal cannabis grows in Northern California is contaminating local waterways. Researchers with the Humboldt County-based conservation group Integral Ecology Research Center have previously published studies showing that sensitive species such as the Pacific fisher and northern spotted owl are at risk of poisoning from chemicals used at these grow sites. The IERC’s six-year study confirms what some already suspected: that pesticides from cannabis grows, particularly illegal operations, were leaching into downstream waterways. The pesticides — including the highly-toxic chemicals Diazinon and Carbofuran, the latter banned in the U.S. — leach into the ground during the growing season, and then wash away once the rain comes. (Roman Battaglia/JPR)
