Wednesday, September 16, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
MISINFORMATION:
Rumors can spread
like wildfire
Continued from page 6
jurisdiction,= the agency
wrote Thursday night on
Facebook.
While some arson arrests
have been made, it9s not yet
clear how all the scores of
fires in Washington state and
Oregon started. Officials say
high winds and dry condi-
tions have made them worse
in a region with a cool, wet
climate that9s historically
protected it from intense fire
activity. Both Oregon Gov.
Kate Brown and Washington
Gov. Jay Inslee have called the
wildfires <unprecedented.=
The false claims come as
left- and right-wing groups
have clashed during protests
in the Pacific Northwest, par-
ticularly in Portland where a
caravan of President Donald
Trump9s supporters drove
pickup trucks through the lib-
eral city last month. An antifa
supporter shot and killed
a member of a right-wing
group and was fatally shot by
Washington state authorities a
week later.
The FBI said it worked
with local authorities to inves-
tigate claims that extremists
set wildfires and found them
to be false.
<Conspiracy theories and
misinformation take valuable
resources away from local
fire and police agencies work-
ing around the clock to bring
these fires under control,< an
FBI statement said. <Please
help our entire community by
only sharing validated infor-
mation from official sources.=
Officials in Oregon also
debunked claims last week of
widespread arrests affiliated
with the Proud Boys or antifa.
<Remember when we said
to follow official sources
only,= the Douglas County
Sheriff 9s Office posted
Thursday. <Remember when
we said rumors make this
already difficult incident even
harder? Rumors spread just
like wildfire and now our
9-1-1 dispatchers and profes-
sional staff are being overrun
with requests for information
and inquiries on an untrue
rumor that six antifa members
have been arrested for set-
ting fires in Douglas County,
Oregon.=
Medford police knocked
down a fake graphic spread-
ing online that used the
department9s logo and a photo
from an unrelated 2018 arrest
to falsely claim five Proud
Boys had been arrested for
arson.
A social media post shared
widely on Thursday featured
a picture of a woman along
with claims that she tried to
start a fire near a high school
in Springfield. Springfield
police told The Associated
Press that they spoke to the
woman Wednesday and that
wasn9t true.
Another post claimed a
landowner called police after
arsonists threw Molotov cock-
tails on his land in Clackamas
County and they got into a
shootout. The Clackamas
County Sheriff9s Office told
the AP that no such reports
existed.
Freelance journalist Justin
Yau tweeted Thursday that he
was told to leave Molalla by
an <armed group= that feared
outsiders after seeing rumors
of arson nearby.
Thousands of Twitter and
Facebook users shared posts
trying to link the fires to antifa
activists, including from Paul
Romero, a former Republican
candidate for U.S. Senate in
Oregon.
Reached by phone,
Romero blamed the surge in
fires statewide on a coordi-
nated <army of arsonists= but
It is hot, dry, and
fire spreads quickly in
those conditions.
There is nothing to
show its antifa or
Proud Boys setting fires.
Wait for information.
— Firefighter Matt Lowery
offered no evidence to support
that claim.
The posts also are being
shared by social media
accounts associated with
QAnon, a conspiracy theory
centered on the baseless belief
that Trump is waging a secret
campaign against enemies in
the so-called deep state and a
child-sex-trafficking ring.
Police are investigating a
fire that originated in Ashland
as a potential arson after find-
ing human remains, Jackson
County Sheriff Nathan Sickler
told reporters Wednesday.
However, Ashland Deputy
Police Chief Art LeCours
confirmed to the AP that the
case has <no connection what-
soever to antifa.=
The Jackson County
Sheriff9s Office hasn9t made
any arrests and its investiga-
tion shows no evidence at this
point of a coordinated effort,
spokesman Mike Moran said.
<These investigations
take time,= he said. <They9re
intense. They9re fast moving.
And so people ought to con-
sider: 8Does this even make
sense?9 They should question
anything they see in a social
media setting.=
Seed to Table offers
free fall field trips
Seed to Table Farm will
host free fall field trips in the
afternoons for youth in sec-
ond through fifth grades.
S t a r t i n g T u e s d a y,
September 22, people
can sign up for free field
trips from 1 to 4 p.m. each
Tuesday and Thursday. Seed
to Table is committed to
ensuring students get their
hands in the dirt and have
opportunities for experiential
learning during these diffi-
cult times.
The fall field trips offer
exploration opportunities
with the safety of the com-
munity as a top priority.
<We are excited to host
small groups (no more than
seven) of students for expe-
riential field trips this fall,
free of charge!= said Seed
To Table Director Audrey
Tehan.
Seed to Table Farm is
a place students can play
and let their imagination
go wild. Exploration and
learning on Seed to Table
farm allows students to con-
nect with nutrition, science,
and art through farm-based
16
WED
OPEN FOR
BREAKFAST
9 a.m.
HAPPY HOUR
3 to 6 p.m.
Monday-Friday
Open 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
175 N. Larch St.
541-549-6114
4
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www.blackbutte
chiropractic.com
541-389-9183
392 E. Main Ave., Sisters
SEPT
17
THUR
Bl m
Studio
SPECIALIZING IN:
Cut • Color Highlights
Hair Extensions
Soccer &
Flag Football
Begins mid-October, sign up today.
INSTRUCTORS STILL NEEDED!
SistersRecreation.com
Casey Gardner • 110 S. Elm St.
541-549-2091 • 1750 W. McKinney Butte Rd., Sisters
Paulina Springs Books Virtual Event Books In Common
Regional Literary Event Series with Jason Diamond
& Andi Zeisler 6:30 p.m. For more information call 541-
549-0866 or go to BooksinCommonNW.com.
Food Cart Garden at Eurosports Friday Car Show 5-6:30
p.m. Bring your cool or vintage car for the free Friday car
show. For more information call Eurosports at 541-549-2471.
SEPT
Fir Street Park Sisters Farmers Market 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Every Sunday: fresh local produce and more. Pre-order and
details at sistersfarmersmarket.com.
20
SUN
24
THUR
OUTLAW
SPORTS
TRAINING
Edward Jones Virtual Event Future Trends & Strategies
Webinar 5:30 p.m. 25-minute free Zoom class to discuss
how to see beyond today’s headlines. Pre-register by calling
Karen Kassy at 541-549-1866.
SEPT
18
FRI
SEPT
NOW OPEN!
activities.
<Seed to Table educators
are here to keep kids safe,
help kids create positive rela-
tions with nutritious foods,
and to foster experiential
education. Our field trips
are filled with nature explo-
ration, creative play, and a
whole lot of fun! Come learn
about our native pollina-
tors, plant life cycles, dig for
worms, munch on a delicious
garden snack, and so much
more,= Tehan said. <A lot of
hard work and brainstorming
has gone into this program,
with the safety of students at
the center of the discussions.
After watching great exam-
ples of other organizations
carrying out successful and
safe field trips in our area, we
know we can help keep kids9
hands in the earth, getting
experiential education while
also keeping social distance.=
Register online: https://
www.seedtotableoregon.org/
field-trip-signup.
If families do not have
access to the internet they
can call to register over the
phone at 541-203-0152.
Entertainment & Events
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Form
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l y Bigfoot
Big
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f t Wellness
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Well
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SEPT
26
SAT
SEPT
27
SUN
Paulina Springs Books Virtual Event Books In Common
Regional Literary Event Series with Ginger Gaffney &
Pam Houston 6:30 p.m. For more information call 541-549-
0866 or go to BooksinCommonNW.com.
Sisters Area Sisters Arts Association Artist Studio
Tour 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free self-guided tour of 26 private
artist studios. Go to www.sistersartsassociation.org/
sistersstudiotour for more information.
Paulina Springs Books Virtual Event Books In Common
Regional Literary Event Series with Craig Johnson
Noon. For more information call 541-549-0866 or go to
BooksinCommonNW.com.
Sisters Area Sisters Arts Association Artist Studio
Tour 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free self-guided tour of 26 private
artist studios. Go to www.sistersartsassociation.org/
sistersstudiotour for more information.
Fir Street Park Sisters Farmers Market 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Every Sunday: fresh local produce and more. Pre-order and
details at sistersfarmersmarket.com.
Events Calendar listings are free to advertisers.
Submit items by 5 p.m. Fridays to lisa@nuggetnews.com