WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022 | SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Oregonians could get record tax kicker
But the threat of
recession remains
Connor Radnovich
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Oregon taxpayers are on track to re-
ceive a record $3 billion personal tax
kicker in 2024 powered by “unprece-
dented” income tax returns, state econ-
omists told lawmakers Wednesday dur-
ing release of the state’s quarterly reve-
nue forecast and economic outlook.
“This season, Oregon and all the oth-
er income tax states saw an unprece-
dented flood of revenues at the filing
deadline,” state economist Mark
McMullen said. “What that’s left us with
is unprecedented balances for the cur-
rent biennium.”
Since the last quarterly forecast was
released in February, economists in-
creased the state’s revenue forecast by
more than $2.4 billion.
Oregon lawmakers touted the state’s
economy while saying they needed to be
responsible with how they disbursed
the increased funds.
“Even with revenue growth, it is still
important that we proceed with caution
and plan for the future,” Oregon Gov.
Kate Brown said. “Strong leadership in
Oregon has led the state to a place where
we have ample reserves to help us
weather unprecedented times.”
However, McMullen noted that most
of this revenue spike will be offset by the
time economists consider what the
state will have to work with next bienni-
um because Oregon’s unique kicker law
will send most of the money back to vot-
ers.
The kicker is triggered when actual
revenues exceed start-of-biennium
projected revenues by at least 2%. So far
actual revenues are 14% above predic-
ted; kicker calculations are expected to
See TAX, Page 4A
Salem students
win first place
in national
science
competition
Capi Lynn
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Utah fire crews prepared to fight wildfires near Butte Falls in southern Oregon in September 2020. Firefighters
trying to contain massive wildfires that month in Oregon, California and Washington state were constantly on
the verge of exhaustion as they tried to save suburban houses, including some in their own neighborhoods.
MATTHEW MCFARLAND / ASSOCIATED PRESS
US struggling to hire firefighters
Labor shortage at heart of it despite record funding
Zach Urness
Salem Statesman Journal | USA TODAY NETWORK
The United States government has committed a
record-setting amount of money to fighting wild-
fires this year during what promises to be a busy
season, but it remains unclear whether the number
of firefighters needed will be available amid a na-
tionwide labor crunch.
With a busy start to the fire season in the South-
west and drought fueling high wildfire danger from
the Great Plains to Northern California, federal offi-
cials are scrambling to hire roughly 16,900 fire per-
sonnel that include hotshots, smokejumpers and
helitack crews.
A letter from 28 members of Congress sent
Tuesday called on the two federal agencies that
fight wildfires — the U.S. Forest Service and the De-
partment of Interior — to create a special pay rate
for federal firefighters "to avert critical staffing
shortages in the wildland firefighting workforce."
The lawmakers said staffing could be below 75%
in some regions this season.
The two agencies have a combined budget of $4.7
billion. They have 1,549 fire engines and more than
310 helicopters, air tankers and airplanes that can
drop water or watch the forest for smoke.
However, without adequate staffing, many of
those fire engines could sit idle, stated the letter,
which noted that "last year, fire officials were unable
to fill an unprecedented 1,800 requests for wildland
firefighting crews and more than 1,900 requests for
fire engines."
In one state, the Forest Service had 60 engines
idle because of low staffing in the midst of the larg-
est fire in state history, the letter stated.
Overall, the number of firefighters and resources
should be slightly up from last year, with funding for
See SHORTAGE, Page 4A
Oregon’s official state poet returns
Steven Tonthat
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Oregon governor Kate Brown reappointed Anis
Mojgani as Oregon’s Poet Laureate for a second term.
Mojgani, who originally started serving in the coveted
position in May 2020, will now continue through
2024.
“I applaud Anis for his creative efforts to connect
with Oregonians during the pandemic,” says Governor
Brown. “He now has the opportunity to travel and
make the personal connections that can be so power-
ful. Extending his term allows him to fulfill his vision
as Poet Laureate.”
When Mojgani took over two years ago, he had to
navigate how to perform poetry while keeping audi-
ence members safe and socially distant.
“Some ideas were ones that couldn’t happen within
a pandemic and other ones were ideas that were
birthed because of being in a pandemic, but still
weren’t able to come to fruition,” he says.
Known primarily as a spoken-word poet, Mojgani
began reciting poems from the window of his art stu-
dio in Portland. Eventually, he started to attract fairly
large audiences.
“It’s been a really wonderful experience for me.
And it has seemed to have been a pretty wonderful
experience for the people who’ve gathered to watch.”
As his tenure continued and the state’s restric-
tions on in-person events slowly eased, Mojgani
reached out to communities beyond Portland.
“I was able to make my way to Lincoln City for one
of my only in-person visits, working with some of the
folks there to foster and imagine what ways poetry
News updates: h Breaking news h Get updates from
the Silverton area
Photos: h Photo galleries
See STUDENTS, Page 4A
See POET, Page 3A
Vol. 141, No. 23
Online at SilvertonAppeal.com
A team of third and fourth graders at Queen of
Peace Catholic School have come up with an idea to
reduce microplastic pollution, using technology
that hasn't been invented yet.
Their Fungi Plastivore Purifier, an environmen-
tally friendly hover machine that locates and dis-
solves plastic particles in contaminated soil, won
first place in their age category in the Toshiba/Na-
tional Science Teachers Association ExploraVision
competition.
Jonathan Barra, Esau Segura, Claire Stout and
Audrey Wiegal will each receive a $10,000 U.S. Se-
ries EE Savings Bond and an expense-paid trip June
1-4 to Washington, D.C., for the awards ceremony,
where they'll get to present their winning idea to Bill
Nye the Science Guy.
But first, they took an opportunity Tuesday to run
their presentation by Salem Mayor Chuck Bennett
and a Statesman Journal reporter.
They explained how microcapsules manufac-
tured using a 5D printer with hemp filament can be
released to an area where plastic is detected, expand
with heat and moisture, and grow a web of threads
called mycelium that breaks down the particles and
turns them into organic matter.
Plastic, even tiny particles, can contaminate the
soil where crops are grown and enter the food sup-
ply, they explained.
"This just sounds like an absolute stroke of ge-
nius," Bennett said, with the presentation barely un-
derway.
They used words like Pestalotiopsis microspore,
as hard to pronounce as they are to spell, sounding
more like a group of scientists than third and fourth
graders.
They showed off their prototype and explained
how it would operate using tilt sensors and electri-
cal lift charges. They shared pages and pages of re-
search outlining present and future technology, de-
sign process and consequences. They demonstrated
their Website and played a two-minute video they
had to produce.
Submitting an ExploraVision project takes a seri-
ous commitment. These students have been work-
ing on the project since September, with instruction
and guidance at school from mentor Maureen Foelkl
and support at home from their parents.
ExploraVision doesn't frown on parent support.
It's encouraged.
Mike Barra, Jonathan's dad, did much of the film-
ing for the video. Heidi Wiegal, Audrey's mom,
helped with the animation for the Website.
"You can't do it without parent help," Foelkl said.
Foelkl, a retired Salem-Keizer Public Schools ele-
mentary teacher and 2018 inductee to the National
Teachers Hall of Fame, has been using science to
challenge the minds of countless Salem area stu-
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A team of four students from Queen of Peace
Catholic School won first place in their age division
of the 2022 Toshiba/National Science Teachers
Association ExploraVision competition. From left:
Esau Segura, Audrey Wiegal, Jonathan Barra and
Claire Stout. SPECIAL TO THE STATESMAN JOURNAL