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About Oregon news herald. (Drain OR) 2025-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2025)
Page 6 January 2025 Community Pages Continued from Front Page Pass Creek Park Sale a December meeting of the Douglas County Parks & Recreation (DCPR) committee to determine if the DCPR recommended that the Park be sold. The meeting was convened to discuss the pros and cons as the Committee sees them and make a recommendation. to the Douglas County Board of Commissioners (BOC) on the sale of the property or to continue evaluation. The meeting convened with Parks Director, Mark Wall and Committee members Jerry Chartier, Chairman, and Phil Bigler, Troy Wilder, Kivonna Coccia and Jenna Beam. The public audience was quite large and were, collectively, alert and attentive during the proceedings. The Director and Chairman spoke on the specifics of the problems with the park and made some concessions to some of the residents and friends of the park and their objections. Each member, in turn, had question and made indications of, mostly, in favor of selling. Notably, Kivonna Coccia did state she had some reservations on some level and would consider a recommendation to not sell as affirmation for more time to get additional data and make a decision at a later date. As expected, the public response brought every sort objection to the counties allegation of a neglected money pit, from lack notices to options and possibilities for saving it or even the counties dereliction in not doing something sooner. Impassioned remarks from Avi Zohar, M.A Hansen, Mark Shaw, Diane Larson, Bob White and Joe Ross and others did ignite some emotional responses but the heightened decorum was respectful. There was a speaker, Tony Page, who promoted the sale from a Realtor or Developers point of view. In the end when the voting went around, it was passed to recommend the sale of Pass Creek Park with only one dissenting, Kivonna Coccia. One of the underlying issues that seems to run through this and other actions in north Douglas county, is the feeling of neglect and abandonment residents there feel. The example of Pass Creek Park includes lack of help from the county in addressing blight and disrepair around the Park and the area. Law enforcement in the area is lacking, the dwindling maintenance by the county, are all some of the leading factors in the condition. Then there is the feeling of loss because it is an impotant palce and resource for residents, neighbors and visitors. But the recommendation has been sent to the Board of Commissioners and the ball will be in their court. I’m told that folks around Curtain and North Douglas County have not given up and have more ammo in the chamber. We’ll see... Oregon News Herald Holiday Gas in Oregon Lowest since 2022 Story by Scooter Brown Gas prices have been inching down for several weeks and are now at their lowest point of the year so far. This means holiday travelers may keep a little extra jingle in their pockets when they finish up at the pump. Marie Dodds with AAA Oregon said nearly 1.7 million Oregonians will be traveling 50 miles or more over Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s. Ninety percent of them will be driving. “This is a little bit of a gift for folks as they head out on those holiday road trips,” she said. “We are paying the cheapest prices for gas in four years for the holidays. We have to go back to 2020 to find gas prices that are cheaper than what we’re paying now.” Nationally, the current average for a gallon of regular gas is $3.03. The Oregon average is now $3.47 a gallon. Dodds said if you shop around, it’s easy to find prices that are well below those figures. She went on to say gas prices tend to bottom out for the year sometime between December and February. There are normal seasonal factors that put downward pressure on prices including the reduction in demand. “The summer driving season comes to an end and everyone gets back into their fall and winter routines, which tend to include less travel,” she said. Also impacting gas prices is the type of gas being sold. In the fall and winter months, Oregonians can purchase “winter blend fuel” which is less refined, thus less expensive. Dodds said the winter blend fuel causes more pollution when it evaporates, so it is only available when temperatures are cooler. Summer blend fuel is burned during the hotter months and is more environmentally friendly. It also costs more to make. USDA RD Invests over $4.4 Million to Expand Broadband in Lane County Oregon News Herald Name Change Continued from Front Page our growth and distribution was enabling more readers and news items, as well as advertisers, so we pivoted and seem to have now found our groove. Since we now serve an area of Oregon that extends from south to north from Winston and Roseburg to Albany and east to west from Oak- land and Sutherlin to Reedsport with a total of over 5000 readers. Each month we are adding 1 or 2 communities to our roles, currently you can find the newspaper in over 80 pickup locations, which can be seen on page 2. Not only have we expanded to a larger dis- tribution but also, our coverage is more expan- sive. We still look for the news from the small town angle, but now across a larger region and in fact all Oregon news is a basin to gather from and we are reporting it. As we extend the reach of our reporting, I’m looking to the public for insights, news items and human interest stories to reflect the views and subjects of interest to my fellow Oregonians. The Herald is look- ing for and accepts unsolicited submissions on local news, events, school news, veteran news, municipal announcements, letters to the editor, obituaries and memorials from across the region. As we appeal to more and more readers, the Herald is also looking to solicit advertisers to our cause. Expanding our area of influence also enforces our medium as a conduit for advertisers to display their commercial and enterprising services and products to a growing and attentive audience. So, now, the official name of the newspaper is the Oregon News Herald or, as we sometimes say, the Herald. Our goals are the same as ever but for a larger audience than originally intended. Organically, the evolution has slowly picked up the pace and allows us to continue to be perti- nent in both our mission and to our readers. The encouragement of our readers has been the driv- ing factor since the very first issue of the North Douglas Herald and now the Oregon News Herald. Our masthead reflects that history and the Herald will continue under both names, at least for the time being. A note about our distribution model, as we expand and look for new outlets, we find display- ing the Herald is our major obstacle to getting it to folks. We are actively looking for new locations to place stacks of newspapers so contact us if you would like to participate. Displaying where peo- ple can see them is also a major challenge. The Oregon News Herald has started a GoFundMe to try and raise money for news racks and boxes to help in that effort. Between that and the wear and tear on our delivery vehicle, we are challenged every month to get the paper distributed in a timely manner. Check out the Go FundMe article and help with your donation or help us spread the word. The national average of newspapers that go under is currently 2.5 per week, up from 2/week in 2022. It is said that printed newspapers is a dying mode on the information highway. That supposed truth is discounted by the enthusiasm the Herald encounters from readers every day. I thank you for your support. Reedsport Accepting Applications Board & Committee Positions The City of Reedsport is seeking applicants to fill vacant positions on our Boards and Committees. Applications and additional information are available online at www.cityofreedsport.org. For further information please contact: Rhonda Bryan, City Recorder at (541) 271-1989 Applications will be accepted until positions are filled and applicants appointed by City Council at their regularly scheduled meeting held on the first Monday of each month. • Budget Committee – 2 vacancies • City Parks and Beautification – 1 vacancy • Dangerous Building Abatement Board of Appeals – 5 vacancies • Traffic Safety Advisory Committee – 1 vacancy • Student Councilor – 1 vacancy Residents of rural Lane County will ring in the new year with better connections and broader horizons. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA RD) State Director for Oregon, Margi Hoffmann, announced, on December 18, 2024, a $4.4 million investment to expand broadband coverage and connect more Oregonian families. “For rural Oregonians, reliable internet is no longer a luxury. It is a lifeline,” said Hoffmann. “With this investment, residents of Lane County will soon have better opportunities for connection, education, business growth, and healthcare access.” The $4.4 million ReConnect loan will go to Pioneer Telephone Company and will benefit homes, businesses, farms, and schools from the Mid-Valley to the coast. Reliable internet connections are also crucial to new telehealth services like mobile mental health units and remote neonatal care. In addition to the $4.4 million invested in Lane County, USDA RD also announced over $309 million in funding to connect rural residents, farmers and business owners in 18 states to reliable high-speed internet through the ReConnect Program. The ReConnect Program is specifically designed to fund the most difficult high-speed internet projects in the nation, which are in the most rural, remote and unserved communities, and many residents and businesses in rural areas would not have high-speed internet service without it. The program is a key part of the Administration’s Internet for All initiative to connect everyone in America to high-speed internet by 2030. Since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration, the Department has invested approximately $4.4 billion for 360 ReConnect awards that will bring high-speed internet access to more than 680,000 people in the most rural and remote areas of America. More than $2.2 billion of this funding, which will benefit an estimated 341,000 people, was made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). A full list of projects from the announcement is available online. USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing, community facilities such as schools, public safety, and health care facilities; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. Oregon ends Year with Highest Whooping Cough Case Count in 74 Years The Oregon Health Authority has counted 1,100 whooping cough cases in 2024 -- the highest amount of cases since 1950. According to the OHA, the record number of whooping cough cases makes vaccination more important than ever. There were 44 outbreaks [in 2024], although the majority of cases were sporadic individual or household-related cases and not associated with outbreaks. The 2024 count represents the highest number of pertussis cases reported in Oregon in a single year since 1950, when 1,420 cases were reported. OHA says 80% of the cases were in people 18 or younger, with 7.2% being in infants less than a year old. The median age was 12, and 50% of those with whooping cough were female. Eight Oregonians have died from the disease since 2003, with five of those deaths being in children under four months old. One adult died in 2023 and another in 2024. Those who are unvaccinated or too young to be vaccinated, such as infants, are at the highest risk from infection, with babies most likely to be hospitalized with pertussis. Multnomah County had the most cases at 235. Clackamas County followed with 135 cases, then Washington County at 119 and Marion County at 75. Vaccination against pertussis is routinely recommended for infants, children, adolescents and adults. Children should receive the DTaP vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis at 2, 4, 6 and 15 to 18 months old, and again at age 4 to kindergarten age. All persons 10 years old and older should receive a single dose of Tdap.
