WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2021 | SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Essential, but still facing troubles
Oregon’s farmworkers
disproportionately impacted by
COVID-19, new study shows
Dora Totoian Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
As COVID-19 cases rose in March 2020,
Jennifer Martinez-Medina knew the pan-
demic would exacerbate long-standing in-
equities for farmworkers, who had been la-
beled “essential workers” as most other in-
dustries shuttered or altered their opera-
tions.
Oregon’s estimated 173,000 migrant and
seasonal farmworkers continued working
side-by-side in the fields, often without
masks or easy access to hand-washing fa-
cilities. Language barriers, a lack of work
security and immigration status added bar-
riers to accessing information and services.
Martinez-Medina, a doctoral candidate
from Portland State University, grew up in
California with farmworker parents and
wanted to help document the pandemic’s
impact.
She and dozens of others have spent
more than a year coordinating the Oregon
portion of the COVID-19 Farmworker Study,
a project spanning California, Oregon and
Washington that asked farmworkers about
their working conditions, mental health,
child care and more during the pandemic.
She noted the project fills a gap, as it can
be difficult for state agencies and other or-
ganizations to collect information on farm-
workers and may rely on outdated data.
“Their testimony is really critical be-
cause we get to hear directly from them,
which is an opportunity we don’t often get,”
Martinez-Medina said. “What this study
makes us do is see farmworkers in their full
selves — inside and outside of the work-
place.”
The project recently released its Oregon
phase one final report, which surveyed 300
migrant and seasonal farmworkers, many
of whom reported experiencing dangerous
conditions at work, significant losses of in-
come and increased stress levels.
The issues were even greater for Indige-
See WORKERS, Page 3A
Alejandra Morales Buscio, of Salem,
reaches up to pull the leaf canopy over
pinot noir grapes on July 8 to shade
the fruit from the sun at Willamette
Valley Vineyards in Turner. ANDREW
SELSKY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
As COVID-19 cases
rise, know where to
get vaccinated in
Marion, Polk counties
Virginia Barreda Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Players from Preserve Cannablazers and Blaque during the Hoopla 3-on-3 basketball tournament in Salem
on Aug. 7. New Census data shows Oregon grew more diverse over the last decade. ABIGAIL DOLLINS/STATESMAN
JOURNAL
Portrait of change
Oregon, local communities grow more
ethnically, racially diverse, data shows
Dianne Lugo, Mabinty Quarshie, Yoonserk Pyun
and Mike Stucka | USA TODAY NETWORK
T
he U.S Census Bureau released data
outlining shifts in national and local
population counts over the past dec-
ade. h The data is the largest release
from the 2020 count so far and it comes after
COVID-19 significantly affected the Bureau’s
ability to collect and process the data, a poten-
tial source of undercounting. Activists also
point to former President Donald Trump’s at-
tempt to include a citizenship question in the
Census as a potential driver of decreased re-
sponse rates from communities of color. h
Nonetheless, the snapshot showed a popula-
tion that is more ethnically and racially diverse
than it has ever been, both nationally and lo-
cally.
Nationally, people who identify as non-Hispanic
white shrank by 8.6% since 2010’s census. People
who identify as white in combination with another
race grew by 316%.
Oregon saw similar changes.
Figures below show the U.S. Census Bureau’s
2020 counts, as well as the USA TODAY analysis of
how those counts have changed from the 2010 Cen-
sus in Oregon. Where detailed demographic data ap-
pear, all racial groups are included.
The statewide population grew 10.6%, with
406,182 new Oregonians responding to the census.
Oregonians identifying as white decreased by 1.1%.
The state’s Black, American Indian, Asian and
Hispanic population rose by 19.4%, 18.4%, 37.7% and
30.8% respectively. The state’s Pacific Islander pop-
ulation grew the most, with a 43.3% change.
A total of 443,339 people identified as two or more
races in Oregon, a 206.3% change.
‘More multiracial
and more diverse’
The Census Bureau has warned to make compari-
sons between the 2020 and 2010 Census race data
“with caution.” This is because changes made to the
Hispanic origin and race questions and changes in
the way the census codes responses may have
See DIVERSITY, Page 3A
State seeks funds for safety improvements
Bill Poehler Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
At least 12 people died in traffic crashes on roads
going to and from the Aurora Donald Interchange in
the first two years after the nearby Dundee Newberg
Bypass was partially completed in 2018.
The interchange, Interstate 5 exit 278, was built in
the 1960s. Now, about 32,000 vehicles use it each day.
All those cars and trucks enter and exit the freeway by
one-lane ramps. There are no signals to aid drivers
trying to make nearly blind turns.
Crashes on the interchange are frequent.
Traffic on it was bad in 2017 when the Oregon Leg-
islature appropriated about half of what was needed
to make improvements.
It’s getting worse.
The state is seeking the remaining $20 million of
$48 million it needs, and it’s hoping to get it from
President Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure pack-
age.
Congressman Kurt Schrader said the state and
Marion County have put an emphasis on the project.
“I think that helps us sell these types of projects,”
Schrader said. “That makes it more attractive to the
powers that be here in Washington, D.C. to get that
News updates: h Breaking news h Get updates from
the Silverton area
Photos: h Photo galleries
Marion County
Mt. Angel
Mt. Angel Drug, Hi-School Pharmacy: Accepting
walk-ins
h Hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Monday-Friday.
h Location: 105 N. Main St.
h Contact: Call the pharmacy at 503-845-6133.
Keizer
Salem Health Medical Clinic - Keizer: Accepting
walk-ins and appointments for Pfizer
h Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
h Location: 5100 River Road N.
h Contact: Call ahead at 503-393-2533 to check
availability before visiting. Walk-in hours end one
hour before the clinic closes.
Salem
Salem Health Medical Clinic - Boulder Creek: Ac-
cepting appointments and walk-ins for Pfizer
h Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday.
h Location: 2485 12th St. SE.
h Contact Call ahead at 503-363-8047 to check
availability before visiting. Walk-in hours end one
hour before the clinic closes.
Salem Health Medical Clinic - Skyline Village: Ac-
See VACCINATIONS, Page 4A
See INTERCHANGE, Page 4A
Vol. 140, No. 36
Online at SilvertonAppeal.com
Oregon officials are imploring the public to get
vaccinated as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations,
driven by the more contagious delta variant, con-
tinue to surge across the state.
The recent rise in cases and hospitalizations
prompted Gov. Kate Brown to bring back mask-wear-
ing in all indoor spaces. Brown also gave the green
light to deploy up to 1,500 Oregon National Guard
members to 20 hospitals to help overwhelmed health
care workers starting Aug. 20.
The state, along with the rest of the country, has
seen an increase in breakthrough cases, but health
officials are still urging the public to get the vaccine,
contending the majority of hospitalizations and
deaths involve unvaccinated individuals.
Breakthrough cases are instances where a person
tests positive for COVID-19 at least 14 days after com-
pleting a vaccine series.
So far, 2.35 million people in Oregon had complet-
ed a vaccine series.
“The unrelenting delta variant is sweeping
through our communities and there are no immedi-
ate signs that this rising tide will subside any time
soon unless we act immediately to reverse this dan-
gerous trend,” Dean Sidelinger, Oregon’s state health
officer, said.
“If you are unvaccinated, your risk of being sick-
ened by the virus or ending up seriously ill or even
dying from COVID-19 has never been greater,” Side-
linger said.
All Oregonians older than 12 are eligible to get the
vaccine. The vaccine is free. People ages 12 to 17 must
get the Pfizer vaccine and those younger than 14 need
a parent or guardian to sign a parental consent.
Here’s a list of vaccination sites in Marion and
Polk counties, based on county website information:
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Oregon Army National Guard Pfc. Marin Stoller
administers a vaccine at the COVID-19 vaccination
site at the Oregon State Fairground in Salem,
Oregon on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. BRIAN HAYES /
STATESMAN JOURNAL