6A — THE OBSERVER
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2020
STATE
Robots deliver food to Oregon State students
‘Contactless’ delivery system called a
valuable option in pandemic year
By Douglas Perry
The Oregonian/OregonLive via AP
StoryShare
CORVALLIS — The
obsolescence of humans is
upon us.
The latest evidence
can be found in Corvallis,
where as of Wednesday,
Oct. 21, robots began
delivering food to Oregon
State students, professors
and staff. The university
put out a statement her-
alding that it is “the fi rst
campus in the state to
have autonomous delivery
robots.”
The robots were cre-
ated by a San Francisco
company called Starship
Technologies.
Kerry Paterson, who
heads up Oregon State’s
residential-dining services,
said the “contactless”
delivery system is a partic-
ularly valuable option for
this pandemic year.
“This service is yet
another way we can facili-
tate COVID protocols reg-
ulating restaurants,” he
said.
The robots can keep
food hot or cold, and
they’re cleaned between
deliveries.
Better still: the ‘bots are
cute.
Offers the university
press statement: “Paterson
said most people fi nd the
robots pretty adorable,
Blake Brown/Oregon State University
A robot at Oregon State University, Corvallis, delivers
food in this Wednesday Oct. 21, 2020, photo. Oregon
State announced it is the fi rst campus in the state to use
have autonomous delivery robots.
Woman
guilty of
homicide
in fatal
DUII crash
with their rounded bodies
and steady pace as they
hurry around campus.”
The person who ordered
the food is texted a code
that unlocks the robot’s
pouch.
The autonomous-de-
livery technology also
could prove to be a
boon for restaurants that
aren’t in college towns.
In Michigan, the Ann
Arbor-based company
Refraction AI launched
a self-driving robot that
delivers food for 15% of
the cost of the meal, about
half the charge for human
delivery.
Early reviews from
restaurateurs and cus-
tomers are positive, sug-
gesting robot delivery ser-
vice is going to live long
and prosper.
Associated Press
CORVALLIS — A Cor-
vallis woman pleaded
guilty to criminally negli-
gent homicide on Thursday,
Oct. 22, in Polk County
Circuit Court for a 2019
car crash that killed her
teenage daughter.
Kayla Carter also
pleaded guilty for third-de-
gree assault and no contest
to driving under the infl u-
ence of intoxicants, The
Gazette-Times reported.
Carter, with her
13-year-old daughter in
the passenger seat of her
car, ran a stop sign at an
intersection on March
16, 2019, documents said.
Her vehicle collided with
car heading north on the
highway.
Brianna Carter died at
the scene. Jessica Cornett
of Bend, the driver of the
other car, was injured.
According to court doc-
uments, Carter’s blood
alcohol content was approx-
imately 0.059%. As part of
the deal, charges of man-
slaughter and criminal
mischief were dismissed.
Sentencing was set for
December.
Virtual town halls coming on Paid Family Medical Leave Act
The Observer
SALEM — The
Oregon Employment
Department has launched
a series of Paid Family
and Medical Leave Insur-
ance virtual town halls.
“While they may not
have all the answers to
your questions, your input
will help their staff to
develop and create draft
administrative rules for
the Paid Family Med-
LEARN MORE
More information,
including registration,
is available here:
https://www.oregon.gov/
employ/PFMLI/Pages/
Town-Halls.aspx.
ical Leave program,”
according to the depart-
ment’s press release. “The
PFMLI team invites you
to join the upcoming vir-
tual town halls to share
your questions, ideas, or
suggestions.”
The team will use the
input to implement a pro-
gram that works for all
Oregonians, the press
release stated.
The fi rst town hall was
Oct. 13 on employer and
employee contribution
rates, employer reporting
requirements, and more.
The rest of the town hall
are as follows:
• Equivalent plans,
Oct 27, 2-3 p.m. This ses-
sion will focus on submis-
sion and review of equiv-
alent plans employers
offer.
• Benefi ts, Nov. 9,
6:30-7:30 p.m. This ses-
sion will focus on pro-
gram eligibility, applica-
tion for benefi ts and more.
• Small employers,
Nov. 17, 2-3 p.m. This
session will focus on
small employers; assis-
tance grants to help with
the cost of hiring
temporary replacement
workers and more.
• Self-employed/inde-
pendent contractors,
Dec. 8, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
This session will focus on
self-employed individuals
and independent contrac-
tors who elect to partici-
pate in the program.
OHA sees 70% increase in Oregon opioid deaths during April, May
The Observer
PORTLAND —Oregon
Health Authority reported
the state experienced an
spike in opioid overdose
deaths this past spring
compared to last year,
and public health experts
believe use of illicit fentanyl
and methamphetamine is
driving the increase.
Analysts in the Injury
and Violence Prevention
Section at the OHA Public
Health Division found
Oregon had a nearly 70%
increase in the number of
overdose deaths during
April and May 2020 com-
pared to the same time
in 2019. There also was a
nearly 8% increase in the
number of overdose deaths
during the fi rst quarter of
2020 compared to the same
period in 2019.
What’s unclear is what
effect the COVID-19 pan-
demic may have had on
opioid misuse in Oregon.
“Until more data become
available, it is premature to
say how much of the spike
in overdose deaths is attrib-
utable to the COVID-19
pandemic,” said Dr. Tom
Jeanne, deputy state health
offi cer and deputy state epi-
demiologist at the Public
Health Division. “However,
the realization that we will
be dealing with COVID-19
for some time, and other
stressors related to jobs,
school and social isolation,
may increase feelings of
anxiety and depression, and
that can lead to a harmful
level of alcohol or other
drug use.”
The preliminary data
come from the State Unin-
tentional Drug Overdose
Reporting System, which
includes combined and
abstracted data from med-
ical examiners and death
certifi cates.
The analysis also found
between April and May
2020 there was a 28%
increase in overdose deaths
and a more than 15%
increase in overdose deaths
between March and April.
And opioid-involved deaths
accounted for almost 73%
of total overdose deaths in
May 2020.
Of opioid-involved
deaths, the data show, fen-
tanyl and heroin continue
to be the drugs most fre-
quently involved, and fen-
tanyl-involved deaths
accounted for almost 40%
of total overdose deaths in
May 2020.
The analysis also found
methamphetamine/amphet-
amine-involved deaths
accounted for more than
40% of all overdose deaths
in May 2020.
What will you
put under the
tree for
that person
who has
everything??
Frank Szumski, DO, Family Medicine—Regional Medical Clinic
How about a
handmade
soup set
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