WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2020 | SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Audit suggests Oregon do this to protect residents
Claire Withycombe
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
The state should create a privacy office to better
protect Oregonians’ personal information, state audi-
tors say.
State agencies often require residents to provide
sensitive information like a social security number or
birth date to access services, such as getting a driver’s
license.
“Agencies use technology to collect, maintain, use,
disseminate, and dispose of sensitive information for
virtually all Oregonians,” auditors wrote in a report re-
leased Wednesday.
But the state hasn’t developed a system to “ensure
that privacy risks are identified and managed through-
out” state government, including processes to make
sure that security incidents where personal informa-
tion is at stake are “appropriately handled,” auditors
said.
While many individual agencies have processes to
comply with federal privacy requirements, “this frag-
mented approach...falls short of ensuring” sensitive
information is properly managed, auditors said.
Oregon instances of data breaches
The threat is not abstract.
In 2014, a data breach at the Oregon Employment
Department potentially compromised the personal in-
formation of more than 851,000 people.
In 2019, the state Department of Human Services
said nine employees opened phishing emails, compro-
mising the personal information of 645,000 people.
Another breach that year compromised the protected
health information of patients at the Oregon State
Hospital.
“Such incidents can lead to identity theft or fraudu-
lent activity that may result in inconvenience, embar-
rassment, financial loss or other harm for the individ-
ual,” auditors wrote.
And if state agencies fail to manage data privacy,
they could face financial penalties associated with vi-
olating federal regulations, lawsuits or a decline in
public trust.
When Oregonians use online forms or agency com-
puter systems to seek services, they might not grasp
the potential risks.
See AUDIT, Page 2A
Forward This
Capi Lynn
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
At 97, this
Salem celebrity
is downsizing
Gerry Frank has given
away memorabilia
Young kids enjoy the snow while looking for a good Christmas tree to cut from Oregon's Willamette
National Forest. ZACH URNESS / STATESMAN JOURNAL
Christmas tree
permits go on sale
Snow and wildfire
closures add new wrinkle
Zach Urness
Salem Statesman Journal
and bring it home.
But there are also big differences, including wild-
fire closures, where to purchase a permit and where to
park given this year's early mountain snow.
Here's a guide to making it happen, including tips
on where to find the sought-after Christmas trees
such as noble, pacific silver or grand firs.
USA TODAY NETWORK
Where to get a permit
The tradition of heading into the Oregon moun-
tains to cut that perfect Christmas tree will be more
complicated this season.
Wildfire closures, COVID-19 limits on businesses
and offices, and early-season snow have all conspired
to make this annual adventure something that will re-
quire more homework in 2020.
Christmas tree permits went on sale for $5 per tree
last week for the Willamette National Forest, the most
popular spot to harvest a tree outside Salem and Eu-
gene. They went on sale Saturday forMount Hood Na-
tional Forest, the best spot outside Portland.
In some ways the process is the same as past years:
you get your permit, head into the forest and, after
searching legal areas, cut down your tree with a saw
In a normal year, you could visit a Forest Service
ranger station to purchase a permit, or one of many
local businesses.
This year, all Forest Service ranger stations are
closed. Some local businesses will sell the permits,
but the Forest Service hasn't released a list of vendors
yet.
The easiest way to get a permit is to purchase one
from Recreation.gov.
Of course, that means an extra $2.50 "transaction
fee," so the actual price of the permit jumps to $7.50
for one tree, or $12.50 for two.
See TREES, Page 4A
State’s economic recovery
depends on vaccine, federal aid
Connor Radnovich
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Oregon’s economy remains on track to recover to
pre-recession levels by late 2023, provided a CO-
VID-19 vaccine becomes widely available by the mid-
dle of next year, state economists told lawmakers
Wednesday.
The economic and revenue forecast presented to
lawmakers also assumes the federal government will
pass another coronavirus relief package early next
year, giving a boost to Oregon’s economy.
State economist Mark McMullen said analysts are
split on how much impact the lack of a new package
would have, with some seeing the possibility of a dou-
ble-dip recession and others believing it would harm
individuals and businesses already hurting but
wouldn’t have widespread impact.
McMullen said the absence of a relief package
could depress the forecast by $200 to $300 million.
“If the aid does not materialize ... I can see saying
that the first half of 2021 is going to be soft with very
little employment gains,” McMullen said.
McMullen said this economic forecast tracks
closely with the forecast from three months ago,
meaning the state’s economy has stabilized, at least
in the short term.
In response to the forecast, Gov. Kate Brown called
on Congress to pass another relief package before the
end of the year. She said Oregonians cannot wait until
federal lawmakers reconvene in January.
Oregon has received about $1.37 billion in federal
coronavirus aid money this year and is on track to
News updates: h Breaking news h Get updates from
the Silverton area
Photos: h Photo galleries
See FRANK, Page 2A
See ECONOMY, Page 3A
Vol. 139, No. 49
Online at SilvertonAppeal.com
The fifth-floor penthouse at Spinnaker Place in
southeast Salem has been part boardroom, part mu-
seum for the past 20 years.
Movers and shakers have met there to launch
fundraising efforts for community projects. Others
have come just to ogle the eclectic décor.
The allure of Gerry Frank’s, filled with a lifetime of
keepsakes from his worldwide travels and connec-
tions to statesmen, celebrities and royalty, is en-
trenched in local lore.
At the end of October, the well-known business-
man and philanthropist moved out of one of the most
coveted office spaces in the city, with its panoramic
view of Stone Quarry Lake and downtown Salem.
The location had been perfect for someone on the
go as much as he was, close to Salem airport and In-
terstate 5.
Frank had been thinking of closing his office for a
while. At 97, he doesn’t do nearly as much traveling or
day-to-day business as he used to. And during the
pandemic, he’s realized just how much he can get
done from home.
He spent months planning what to do with his
massive collection, ranging from autographed presi-
dential portraits to an assortment of miniature lead
figurines and buildings from Hong Kong.
Instead of donating it all to one place, he went to
painstaking lengths to give some to many. Recipients
included businesses, restaurants and organizations
in Salem, where he’s lived since 1955, and across his
home state from the coast to Portland.
“It has not been easy,” Frank said in late October,
sitting at his desk in a nearly bare office. “I tried to
spread them to places in our community that have
been a part of my life. It has been very emotional.”
He had one request for recipients: that the items
be shared publicly.
“I was adamant I didn’t want things locked up in
some vault,” Frank said.
When it seemed like his request couldn’t be hon-
ored, he rethought some of his original choices. But
the majority were eager to display whatever he of-
fered.
“Gerry put a lot of thought into who, what and
where,” his assistant Olga Binam said.
Just outside the community room at the new Sa-
lem Police Station, which Frank campaigned for, is a
collage of 10 frames, including letters from Mother
Theresa and autographed photographs of Frank with
Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Rea-
gan, and George Bush Sr. There’s also a 2002 group
photo of six Oregonian governors — Mark Hatfield,
Vic Atiyeh, Neil Goldschmidt, Barbara Roberts, John
Kitzhaber and Ted Kulongoski— signed by each.
At the Konditorei, the gourmet cake shop Frank
sold a few years back that still bears his name, own-
ers are planning to display autographed celebrity
portraits from Frank’s collection. Sammy Davis Jr.,
Serving the Silverton
Area Since 1880
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Gerry Frank in his office in 2014. Frank is
downsizing and moving out of the fifth-floor
penthouse at Spinnaker Place. STATESMAN JOURNAL FILE