Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (April 22, 2020)
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020 ❚ SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK Cascade’s Matt Thatcher named principal of the year Natalie Pate Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK Matt Thatcher, principal at Cascade High School in Turner since 2007, has been named the principal of the year by the Oregon Association of Secondary School Administrators and the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators. This distinction puts Thatcher in the running for the National High School Principal of the Year award from the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Thatcher has served Cascade High School for more than 17 years, including as athletic director for six years prior to being named principal, according to a re- cent press release. Two years ago, Cascade High School made it into the top 20 high schools in the state, according to the release. The school holds a 94% four-year gradua- tion rate. Thatcher has focused efforts on mak- ing sure 9th graders are on track to grad- Thatcher uate, with Cascade’s current 9th grade on-track rate at more than 97%. Because of his length of service at Cascade, Thatch- er is the most veteran high school principal in their athletic conference, according to the release, and con- tinues to be the “go to” resource for all the other princi- pals in the league for advice and suggestions for oper- ating a high school effectively. These are just a few among a list of reasons why officials said he was selected. “Thatcher has created a positive culture through clear communication, transparency and honest con- versations, to make Cascade High School a place where students and staff are expected to work hard and play hard,” officials wrote. Thatcher is scheduled to be honored at the annual COSA conference in Seaside, June 24-26. He will also be honored by the national association in Washington, D.C., this fall. For more information, go to www.cosa.k12.or.us or www.cascade.k12.or.us. Contact education reporter Natalie Pate at npate@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6745 or fol- low Natalie on Twitter @Nataliempate or Facebook at www.Facebook.com/nataliepatejournalist. No mass release of Ore. inmates is planned Whitney Woodworth Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK A truck and cereal silos at Bob's Red Mill in Milwaukie. COURTESY OF BOB'S RED MILL Millers slammed by quarantine baking Emily Teel Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK Two months ago, a common attitude was "gluten was a terrible thing," said Clint Carlson, president of the Oregon Wheat Growers League and farmer at 4-C Ranches in Ione, "and now all of a sudden you can’t find flour anywhere." Flour-dusted store shelves, emptied of bags, have become a commonplace sight in the last month de- spite the gluten-free diet trend and grocers placing purchase quantity limits. Bloomberg reported sales of flour were up 155% compared tor the same week in 2019, while yeast sales were up 457%. Quarantine baking is officially a craze, one that has people making sourdough bread as a hands-on hobby and flocking to carbs as a source of comfort in a stressful time. The shortage of flour in stores, however, doesn't re- flect a grain shortage. Oregon's wheat growers, millers and bakers are all experiencing the impact of CO- VID-19 and #quarantinebaking differently. Wheat growers impacted by market volatility Wheat is Oregon's most exported agricultural crop; more than 85 percent of the nearly 3 billion pounds of wheat produced annually in the state is destined for export to Asia. Oregon wheat growers, including Carlson, primari- ly grow soft wheat varieties. Because of their low glu- ten content, soft wheat flours are best for making Packages of flour ready to be shipped at Camas Country Mill in Junction City. Mill owners Tom and Sue Hunton said orders have had online orders increase dramatically. COURTESY OF CAMAS COUNTRY MILL pastries, cakes and Asian-style noodles. Since it's dif- ferent from the primarily hard types of wheat in the bread and all-purpose flours flying off of store shelves, Carlson and other Oregon wheat growers haven't felt an acute spike in demand the way the gro- cery industry has. Instead, they're busy tending to the winter crop still in the fields, battling weeds and preparing for the busy season ahead. See BAKING, Page 3A Nearly 300K Oregonians file for unemployment Claire Withycombe Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK Nearly 300,000 Oregonians have filed claims for unemployment benefits in the past four weeks, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to ripple through the economy, according to new figures released Thursday by the Oregon Employment Department. About 53,800 people filed initial claims for unem- ployment benefits last week, the agency says, push- ing the number of people who have filed initial claims in the last month up to about 296,800. For context, that’s about 15% of the 1.95 million Oregonians who were employed in non-farm jobs in March. During the week of March 29, Oregonians received $23 million in unemployment benefits. The next week, that jumped to $97 million, agency officials re- ported. But it was not immediately clear how many people have actually received weekly benefit payments. The agency, scrambling to keep up with record demand for benefits, says that it processed about 50,900 claims last week. Nationally, 5.2 million more Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the four- See UNEMPLOYMENT, Page 2A Vol. 139, No. 18 Online at SilvertonAppeal.com News updates: ❚ Breaking news ❚ Get updates from the Silverton area Photos: ❚ Photo galleries Serving the Silverton Area Since 1880 A Unique Edition of the Statesman Journal QEAJAB-07403y ©2020 50 cents Printed on recycled paper After receiving data from the Oregon Department of Corrections, Gov. Kate Brown confirmed Tuesday she is not considering a mass release of inmates due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, she stressed that she is taking a case-by- case approach to the early release of vulnerable in- mates and those nearing the end of their incarcer- ation. On Monday, Brown received a list of 2,836 meeting various criteria outlined by the Department of Cor- rections, including those over 60, medically vulner- able or with less than 12 months left in their sentence. During a press conference Tuesday, Brown responded to an inquiry of whether she would be ordering the re- lease of those inmates. “Do I plan to early release adults in custody as a result of the COVID-19 cri- sis?” she said. “The answer is no.” Brown About 14,400 inmates are housed and 4,500 employees work in Oregon’s 14 prisons. Brown said she reviewed a plan to keep prison staff and inmates safe with corrections Direc- tor Colette Peters. “My top priority is keeping Oregonians safe and healthy —regardless of where they are living — as we focus on stopping the spread of COVID-19,” Brown said in a statement. The first case of COVID-19 announced in the De- partment of Corrections was a staff member at the Oregon State Penitentiary. Since the first case has announced on April 1, the number of confirmed posi- tive coronavirus cases has continued to grow. As of Tuesday, 13 cases involving four staff at the Oregon State Penitentiary and four staff and four in- mates at Santiam Correctional Institution in Salem and an inmate at Shutter Creek Correctional Institu- tion North Bend were confirmed. Brown said she looked forward to reviewing the data and tailoring their approach as the pandemic evolves, saying the review was the “responsible thing to do.” “However, it would be irresponsible to compro- mise public safety for indeterminate benefits to pub- lic health,” she said. “Whether an adult in custody should be released before the end of their sentence or not is a decision that must be weighed based on the individual merits of their situation.” This would mean no mass release of all 2,836 in- mates listed in DOC’s data, “I want to be clear: at this time, I have no specific plans to abandon that case-by-case approach,” Brown said. Victims fear release of abusers Victims have expressed serious concern over their abusers being released early. A victim of childhood sexual abuse, Trinity Lan- dry said her abuser, Jerry Rice, 73, was supposed to serve every of his almost three-year prison sentence. It is the Statesman Journal’s policy not to identify the victims of child sexual abuse. Landry, now 18, wanted her to be named and to speak out for those being re-traumatized by the possibility of their abus- ers being released. Rice was arrested in 2017 on eight Measure 11 counts of first-degree sexual abuse. He pleaded guilty to one count of attempted sexual abuse — a non-Measure 11 offense — and was sentenced to 34 months in prison with no eligibility for early release or alternative programs. He is scheduled to remain in prison in Salem until December 2021. In an open letter to Gov. Kate Brown, Landry said releasing inmates like Rice would be “cruel and un- fair” to victims and their families. “The time this man serves in jail is so important to me because the time your abuser serves in jail means everything to you,” Landry said. “It is the only scrap of justice I have received and now it’s being taken away from me.” It seems unclear whether Rice would be eligible for release. Another woman, a victim of domestic violence said she whole-heartedly opposes the prisons releas- See INMATES, Page 4A
