Page 2
February 2024
February, 2024
Volume 2, Issue #2
The North Douglas Herald Newspaper is
published once a month in Drain Oregon. The
North Douglas Herald is owned and operated
by Oregonians, published and printed in the
State of Oregon. It is our mission to bring the
news and information that our Readers will find
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the following town’s and these fine establishments
Drain
Rays Food Place, 308 N 1st St
Country Cabin Coffee & Laundry, 438 W “B” Ave Hwy38
The Rose Bar, 413 Umpqua Hwy 38
Mildred Whipple Library, 205 W. “A” Ave
Drain Post Office, 228 W. “C” Ave
Yoncalla
Eagle Valley Supply, 2570 Eagle Valley Rd
Food Center & Deli, 2580 Eagle Valley Rd
Elkton
Arlene’s Cafe & General Store 14858 State HWY 38
Elkton Station 14940 State HWY 38
Scottsburg
Riverbanks Speedy Mart 32841 State HWY 38
Reedsport
Jacks Barber Shoppe, 1199 Highway Ave,
TRMF Smokes, 1898 Winchester Ave. US-101
Don’s Main Street Family Restaurant, 2115 US-101
Recreation Station, 1575 Winchester Ave US-101 S
Creative Mercantile, 392 Fir Ave
Lower Umpqua Library, 395 Winchester Ave.
Cottage Grove
Old Mill Farm Store, 327 South River Rd
Kwik Pik Market #2, 925 E Gibbs Ave
Daves Corner Market, 633 N 9th St
Dari Mart, 1200 E Main St
Cottage Market, 603 OR HWY-99
Medication Station, 1041 N Pacific HWY-99
Winchester Bay
Beck’s Winchester Bay Market, 245 8th St
Pelican Market, 75298 Pacific Coast HWY US-101
Oakland
Bart’s Oakland Market, 204 SE 1st St
Sutherlin
Kwik Pik Market & Deli, 551 W Central Ave
Smitty’s Food Mart & Deli, 1367W Central Ave
Center Market, 1230 W Central Ave
Center Market #32, 206 E Central Ave
S-Mart, 333 E Central Ave
Central Food Mart, 1021 E Central Ave
North Douglas Herald
PO Box 581
Drain OR 97435
541 221-3283
www.ndherald.com
New Oregon Laws for 2024
Effective Jan 1st, from the Oregon Legislature
Story by Scooter Brown
Salem OR - 2023 for many Oregonians was
a year of crisis. A worsening addiction crisis, an
ongoing housing shortage, the inability to staff
core services like public defense. To meet that
crisis, lawmakers wanted immediate action.
Many of the most prominent bills passed in
the 2023 legislative session were enacted well
before Jan. 1, the default date for new policies
to take effect. Below find a few of the laws that
took effect on January 1st, 2024.
Speed cameras throughout Oregon:
Autonomous “photo radar” units have, until
now, only been legal in 10 cities in Oregon.
But with speeding and other unsafe driving
increasing since COVID-19, the Legislature is
now letting every city in the state get in on the
action. House Bill 2095 eased limitations on
when and where speed cameras can be installed,
offering them as an option as long as cities foot
the bill to run them.
Changes to DUII law: It’s long been illegal to
drive drunk or under the influence of illicit drugs,
but that didn’t necessarily encompass some
substances that can impact driving ability, such
as kratom, a herbal substance that can produce
opioid- and stimulant-like effects. With House
Bill 2316, lawmakers expanded the definition
of “intoxicant” under state law to account for
that blind spot. The bill also reduced fines and
other penalties for people caught bicycling while
under the influence, reasoning that they pose less
of a danger to others than someone behind the
wheel. Those carve-outs don’t apply if a person
has a blood alcohol content of at least 0.15% or
is riding an e-bike.
Tweaks to Measure 110: These days, much of
the discussion over Oregon’s pioneering drug
decriminalization law centers around whether
the state should reverse course as overdoses soar.
But during this year’s session, Democrats were
focused more on what small changes Measure
110 might need. The result was House Bill 2315,
which made a variety of changes that increased
the Oregon Health Authority’s role in getting
state funding to addiction services around the
state. Expect drug policy to continue to be a
central issue in the 2024 legislative session.
New tax breaks for kids: Beginning this year,
low-income families can pursue a new tax credit
aimed at combating early childhood poverty.
The Oregon Kids Credit, passed via House Bill
3235, grants credits of $1,000 for every child
under 6 years old for families that make $25,000
or less. Reduced credits are available if a family
makes up to $30,000 a year. Since the credits are
refundable, they can be awarded even if a family
pays no or little tax.
Laws targeting “paramilitary activity” and
“domestic terrorism”: With violent clashes on
the streets of Portland in recent years and a spate
of attacks on the Pacific Northwest’s power grid,
lawmakers were concerned about extremism
in 2023. House Bill 2572 allows the attorney
general to investigate organized paramilitary
activity and to petition a judge to block planned
paramilitary activities that aim to intimidate
others or infringe on free speech. It also creates a
right to sue for anyone injured by a paramilitary
group. House Bill 2772 created a new class of
felony crime for “domestic terrorism,” activity
that includes damaging “critical infrastructure”
or dispersing toxic substances.
Cracking down on shoplifting: Changes to
laws against organized retail theft included in
Senate Bill 340 make it easier for prosecutors
to charge repeat shoplifters and to seek higher
penalties. The bill was one of several to emerge
from a sprawling task force that took up the
problem of organized shoplifting, where thieves
work in concert and sell their goods online. Both
Nike and Target shuttered stores in Portland in
2023, citing shoplifting as a central concern.
Streamlining housing conversions: As Gov.
Tina Kotek sets lofty goals for ratcheting up
housing production and development in Oregon,
lawmakers have been looking for ways to help.
House Bill 2984 is one idea. It requires local
governments to greenlight the conversion of
commercial buildings into housing without
throwing up the normal bureaucratic hurdles.
The law applies only to cities of at least 10,000
people and such developments can’t cut into
land zoned for heavy industry.
Insurance immunity for wildfire maps: The
state saw intense backlash in 2022 when it
released a map showing areas that were most
prone to wildfire risk. A concern among many
critics: that the map could be used to ramp up
premiums on their homeowners insurance, or
even to end their policies. Senate Bill 82 is an
attempt to address this. It prohibits insurance
companies from using wildfire risk maps to
make such policy decisions.
Senate Republicans can not run for office again after walkout
Story by Milo Banks
Salem OR - Oregon Senate Republicans
who participated in a historic 2023
walkout will not be allowed to run for
office again, the Oregon Supreme Court
announced Thursday morning.
In 2023, nine Oregon Senate
Republicans walked off the job for 42
days in protest of a bill that protected
abortion rights and gender-affirming
health care. Oregon Supreme Court
announced Thursday morning that those
senators who walked out will, not be
allowed to run for office again.
Following the walkout, the Oregon
Secretary of State ruled participating
senators would be unable to run for
office immediately after the current term
due to Measure 113. Voter-approved
Measure 113 mandates that “any state
legislator who accrues 10 or more
unexcused absences during a legislative
session shall be disqualified from
holding legislative office” immediately
following the current term.
The nine Senators petitioned against
the Secretary of State’s upholding of
the measure following the walkout.
-Oregon Supreme Court
The Republicans argued that Measure
113’s wording was ambiguous when
voted upon by voters, and they didn’t
support the Secretary’s interpretation
and enforcement of the rule after the
walkout.
The Supreme Court states that it is
upholding the Secretary’s interpretation
and that the Republicans who participated
in the walkout will be unable to run
for office again. The Court says “that
the ballot measure history uniformly
supported the Secretary’s interpretation,”
and that “the ballot title and the voters’
pamphlet expressly and repeatedly
informed voters that the disqualification
would occur immediately following the
legislator’s current term.”
The Court concluded that
voters would have understood the
disqualification to apply to the term
of office immediately following the
term in which a legislator accrued 10
or more unexcused absences. A total of
nine Republicans and one Independent
senator who staged the record-long six-
week legislative walkout in 2023 cannot
file for re-election in 2024 or 2026.
North Douglas Herald
Government
Know your local Representatives!
Drain
Mayor: Erin Sparhawk
Council Position #1: Grant Vaughan
Council Position #2: Kevin VanPelt
Council Position #3: Katie Decker
Council Position #4: Aaron Lymath
City Administrator: Jeni Stevens
City Council Meeting:02/12/24 6pm
Yoncalla
Mayor: Kathleen Wertz
Councilors: Dan Wagoner
Gene Vroman
Harold Gilpin
Bryce Wertz
City Administrator: Jennifer Bragg
Council Meeting: 02/13/24, 6pm
Elkton
Mayor: Daniel Burke
Council President: Joan Smith
Council Members:
Kim Moore
Dan Shepherd
Sandra Galli
Public Works Supervisor: Gary Trout
Council Meeting:02/08,/24, 8:30am
Oakland
Mayor:
Bette Keehley
Counselor: Jan Wier
Counselor: Kent Rochester
Counselor: Sky Ironplow
Counselor: Betty Tamm
Council Meeting: 02/13/24 7pm
Sutherlin
Mayor :
Michelle Sumner
Council President Debbie Hamilton
Councilor
Lisa Woods
Councilor
Joe Groussman
Councilor
Larry Whitaker
Councilor
Shawn Smalley
Councilor
Gary Dagel
City Manager
Jerry Gillham
Council Meeting: 02/12/24 7:15pm
Reedsport
Mayor :
Linda McCollum
Council Position #1: Rob Wright
Council Position #2: DeeDee Murphy
Council Position #3: Chuck Miller
Council Position #4: Allen Teitzel
Council Position #5: Rich Patten
Council Position #6: Debby Turner
Council Meeting: 02/12/24 7:15pm
Cottage Grove
Mayor: Candace Solesbee
Councilor Ward 1: Chalice Savage
Councilor Ward 2: Jon Stinnett
Councilor Ward 3: Dana Merryday
Councilor Ward 4: Greg Ervin
Councilor:
Mike Fleck
Councilor:
Alex Dreher
Council Meeting;: 02/12/24 - 7:00pm
02/26/24 - 7:00pm
County State & Federal
Douglas County Commisioners:
Tom Kress(Chair) Tim Freeman
Chris Boice
Jennifer Miller
Lane County Commissioners:
Dist 1: Ray Ceniga Dist 2: David Lovall
Dist 3: Laurie Trieger Dist 4: Pat Farr
Dist 5: Heather Buch
Oregon House Representative:
District 02:
Virgle Osborne
Oregon State Senator:
District 1:
David Brock Smith
U.S. Senate Oregon:
Jeff Merkley
Ron Wyden
U.S House of Representatives:
District 4: Val Hoyle
Secretary of State:
LaVonne Griffin-Valade
Attorney General: Ellen Rosenblum
Governor: Tina Kotek
Vice-President: Kamala Harris
President:
Joe Biden
It is important to know your representation
in your State, Districts and Municipalities. RE-
MEMBER it is vital to your freedoms to vote.If
you would like to have your own towns municipal
officers listed please send title & names only to
citydesk@ndherald.com