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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 2020)
STATE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020 THE OBSERVER — 7A Lawmakers set aside $20 million for schools aff ected by wildfi res By Peter Wong Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — Oregon law- makers have set aside $20 million to help schools damaged in the Labor Day wildfi res. The action Monday, Oct. 12, by the legislative Emer- gency Board will enable the Department of Education to aid up to 33 school districts, three education service dis- tricts and a public charter school. The districts will have to furnish estimates to the agency, which then will report back to lawmakers about how much needs to be drawn from the state emergency fund. The districts likely to be hardest hit are Santiam Canyon, McKenzie and Phoenix-Talent. All of them have set up relief funds to help families affected by the Beachie Creek, Holiday Farm and Almeda wildfi res. Todd Miller, the Santiam Canyon superintendent, said the wildfi res resulted in smoke damage he estimates at $2.5 million. “I have teams ready to start cleaning,” Miller told U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley on their Sept. 26 visit to Gates and Mill City. “I do not have an answer to who pays for it.” Most of the buildings Emergency Management Agency. But reimbursement could take months, even years, and FEMA requires a 25% local match. State money also could be spent on reopening schools that have been closed because of the coro- navirus pandemic. Schools “When these schools are cleaned of smoke and safety hazards, the schools and their educators provide more than education; they are safe spaces for students who experienced trauma during the fi res.” — Senate Republican Leader Fred Girod, who lost his home in Lyons to the fi res at the former Gates Ele- mentary School, which the district sold in 2014 after moving the school to Mill City, were destroyed in the fi re. But the historic 1927 building survived. State money could be loaned to districts for cleanup costs until they get reimbursed by the Federal can serve as a gathering place for students without homes or without the broad- band communications they need for distance learning. Senate Republican Leader Fred Girod, whose house in Lyons was destroyed in the fi res, was among the lawmakers who voted for the set-aside. Oregonians to receive $5M from unclaimed property program By Phil Hawkins Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — If you receive a letter in October stating you will receive a check from the state of Oregon in November, don’t throw it out — it’s not a scam. Beginning this week, qualifying current and former Oregonians will begin receiving notifi ca- tions from the state that they will be mailed checks in November ranging from between $50 and $2,500. The funds are part of a historic distribution of unclaimed funds through the unclaimed property program, which is dis- bursing approximately $5 million this fall. The checks are funds — referred to as unclaimed property — that have been “When these schools are cleaned of smoke and safety hazards, the schools and their educators provide more than education; they are safe spaces for students who experienced trauma during the fi res,” Girod said in a statement after the vote. “These school dis- reported to the state by companies and organiza- tions that do business with Oregonians and have been unable to return the money to the correct owner. Common examples of unclaimed property include uncashed checks, forgotten bank accounts, security deposits, tax refunds, credit balances, investment accounts, pay- roll checks, refunds and more. Typically, people need to fi le a claim with the unclaimed property pro- gram to receive the funds they are owed. However, given the unprecedented fi nancial uncertainties and diffi - culties many are facing, the state has determined, for the fi rst time ever, the funds will be directly mailed to the correct owner. The unclaimed property program holds more than $700 million in unclaimed funds for 3 million owners. To recover funds not distributed this fall, prop- erty owners can fi le a claim at unclaimed.oregon. gov. The unclaimed property program advises people who receive letters about the forthcoming checks to wait for the checks to arrive, as fi ling a claim may delay processing by 6 to 7 months. Questions about unclaimed funds can be directed to the Oregon Unclaimed Property Pro- gram by email (claims@ dsl.state.or.us) or phone at 503-986–5251 or 503-986-5200. tricts lacked insurance cov- erage to tackle wildfi re and smoke damage, and the $20 million available for fi nan- cial assistance will help reopen their doors.” The Legislative Fiscal Offi ce, which does budget analyses for lawmakers, recommended that the agency assess the cost of wildfi re damages before the board approves the $20 million outright. Its report concludes: “This sends the message to districts that the Legis- lature, through the Emer- gency Board, supports and anticipates addressing the issue, but will wait a short period until suffi cient infor- mation still outstanding is collected and assessed to determine the proper mix of fi nance alternatives.” In a separate action, law- makers heard a report on how $1.6 million in federal funds were spent on extra pandemic-related expenses of county elections offi cials. Twenty-eight of Oregon’s 36 counties, including the three Portland area coun- ties, received money for expenses related to the May 19 primary and Nov. 3 gen- eral election. All but $100,000 of the money came from the coun- ties’ share of $1.4 billion Oregon received in state aid from the federal CARES Act. The other $100,000 went to the state Elections Division, and that amount was not charged to the counties. Multnomah County got a total of $524,979 for a new extraction desk that auto- matically opens the ballot envelopes returned by voters, an image scanner, changes in election facilities and voter education. Clackamas County got $124,082 for personal pro- tective equipment and upgraded hardware and Washington County got $19,324 for personal protec- tive equipment and laptop computers. The Emergency Board plans to hear a report, pos- sibly on Oct. 19, on how Oregon has spent the $1.4 billion in federal aid from the CARES Act that was signed by President Donald Trump on March 27. The state must spend the money by Dec. 31. Court rules press, others still exempt from dispersal orders Associated Press PORTLAND — Jour- nalists and legal observers will be exempt from fed- eral offi cers’ orders to disperse during Portland protests as federal agen- cies appeal a lower court’s preliminary injunction, a federal appeals court panel ruled Friday, Oct. 9. The panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a split 2 to 1 ruling, declined the emer- gency motion by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Mar- shals Service, The Orego- nian/OregonLive reported. The motion sought to put on hold the injunction that U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon granted on Aug. 20. “Having considered the parties’ complete briefi ng, and after hearing oral argument, we conclude that the Federal Defen- dants have not shown a strong likelihood of suc- cess on the merits,” the ruling said. “The Federal Defendants also failed to demonstrate they are likely to suffer irreparable injury if the preliminary injunc- tion is not stayed pending appeal.” The ruling comes as the city marks over four months of protests against police violence and sys- temic racism that have drawn people to Portland, often ending with confron- tations between police and some protesters who have set fi res, thrown fi reworks and other objects at offi - cers and vandalized gov- ernment buildings. Simon granted the injunction after the ACLU submitted 34 separate statements from journal- ists, photojournalists and legal observers who said they suffered shots to the back, neck and legs from impact munitions fi red by federal offi cers outside the Mark O. 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