Some Oregonians may soon find a check in the mail from the state
Oregon is about to send out another $3.5 million to state residents, many of whom don’t know to expect it. As part of a program to distribute unclaimed funds to people, the Oregon State Treasury said earlier this year that it was planning an aggressive program to return $10 million in unclaimed funds the state collected. Reasons for money becoming unclaimed property include bank accounts that are forgotten, tax refunds, credit balances, payroll checks, refunds and uncashed checks. The effort will send unclaimed funds reported in 2019 to approximately 9,000 people. Most checks will be between $50 and $10,000. (Bill Poehler/Statesman Journal)
Medford police record 22 overdose deaths so far this year
The Medford Police Department has so far recorded 22 deaths in 2023 from suspected drug overdoses, a figure the department called “staggering.” Earlier this month, a sudden surge in fentanyl-related overdoses — including five suspected fatalities — led to a countywide spike in 911 calls and hospital admissions. The Jackson County Health & Human Services issued an overdose alert. Drugs are even turning up in the Jackson County Jail, where eight inmates have recently overdosed and had to be treated with Narcan, the nasal spray used to reverse opioid overdoses. (Erick Bengel/Rogue Valley Times)
Talks continue between US, Canada to update Columbia River Treaty
The U.S. and Canada have been meeting regularly to negotiate a modernized version of the treaty governing the Columbia River. The lead U.S. negotiator says the two sides could finish by June but several meetings lie ahead. Some thorny issues will be on the agenda, including an update the U.S. wants to avoid losing access to preplanned flood risk management space in Canadian reservoirs. U.S. priorities also include rebalancing the hydropower shared with Canada, and improved coordination on ecosystem issues. Another concern, expressed by a grain terminal representative, is ensuring predictable river flows for safe navigation as more than 51 million tons of product are transported on the river each year. (Matthew Weaver/Capital Press)
Salem High Class of 1944 recognized by Guinness World Records
Salem High School’s class of 1944 has fewer than 30 members left, all in their mid-90s, but some of them still meet for their reunion. Last fall, that reunion landed them in the Guinness Book of World Records. The class holds the world record for “longest-running class reunion,” something they earned after one member’s daughter applied for consideration. Like most high school graduating classes, they met every five years in the beginning, then gradually went to every other year and, most recently, every year. “We were a very close class, not only with studies and sports, but we had a human tie with (World War II) and the shortages,” organizer Trudie Meier Gavette told the Statesman Journal at the 77th reunion in 2021. (Capi Lynn/Statesman Journal)
Food assistance program for undocumented immigrants advances
Oregon lawmakers are considering a proposal to create a state-funded food assistance program aimed at undocumented immigrants. Senate Bill 610 would create a program mirroring SNAP benefits, which an estimated 62,000 undocumented immigrants are currently excluded from. The bill includes people covered by the Compact of Free Association Treaty, who can live, work and travel to the U.S. without a visa but are excluded from federal benefits. The bill recently gained approval from the state Senate’s Human Services Committee and joins more than a hundred other spending proposals in front of budget writers in the Joint Ways and Means Committee. (Jasmine Lewin/KLCC)
