w Fortiani» (Obstruer December 4, 2013 IN S ID E TheWeek Review page 2 S ports page 4 This page Sponsored by: Page 3 FredMeyer What's on your list today?» Frigid Cold Expected to Last O pinion pages 6-7 E ntertainment G uide page 8 Portland area residents are bracing for som e very cold w eather. Temperatures were expected to dip into the low 20s and high teens over the next few days with a chance of snow starting Thursday night and continuing with a chance of snow through the weekend. A frigid wind chill is also expected over the Port land area for the next few days as the arctic front moved into the Pacific Northwest. In re sp o n se to the cold weather, an emergency shelter for youth, families and single ad u lts w ill be av a ila b le at Portland's Union Gospel Mis sion. L o cated at 15 N .W . 3rd Ave., the shelter will open at 9:30 each night and close at 6 a.m. each morning. O ther seasonal shelters will be open as usual regardless of the tem perature. For the loca tion o f shelters in the Portland a re a , d ia l 211 o r v is it 21 linfo.org. Cover Oregon Switches Executives METRO» page 9 IMUIUSHIM pages 10-13 C lassifieds * page 14 C alendar F o o d page 16 page 15 Insurance exchange enrolls first applicants C over O regon announced Monday that it has enrolled 3,470 Oregonians in health insurance to date and are moving forward quickly to ensure that all com pleted applications received by Dec. 4 will be processed in time for coverage to start by Jan. 1. Also Monday, Cover Oregon Executive Director Rocky King requested permission from the Board of Directors to take a three-month medical leave of absence effective Tuesday, due to issues related to a previously diagnosed medical condition. The Cover Oregon Board will begin conducting a swift search for an in te rim e x e c u tiv e d ire c to r through King’s medical leave of absence. During that search, Dr. Bruce Goldberg will serve as acting Cover Oregon Executive Director. “We are starting to see en rollm ents and are gaining mo- Dr. Bruce Goldberg We are starting to see enrollments and are gaining momentum. I am confident we are on the right track to get people the health coverage they need. - Executive Director Rocky King m entum. I am confident we are on the right track to get people the health coverage they need. W hile our w ork is not done, I had to make the difficult decision to focus on my health now so that I can get better. I know that the Board and Dr. G oldberg will keep things moving forw ard in my absence,” said King. O f the first 3,470 Oregonians enrolled through Cover Oregon,, 219 Oregonians enrolled in a private plan and 3,251 enrolled in Oregon Health Plan. Cover Or egon has received in total more than 54,000applications received so far and staff are working to get those applications processed as quickly as possible. People eligible for private plans will receive an enrollment packet in the mail, with instruc tions on how to select a plan, and they need to return that packet no later than Dec. 15 for cover age effective Jan. 1,2014. Those eligible for the Oregon Health Plan will be automatically en rolled in coverage. There are many ways to get help completing an application or enroll ing in a health insurance plan. Resi dents can go to CoverOregon.com and find a certified community part ner or insurance agent or call 1-855- CoverOR. To date, Cover Oregon has received nearly 890.000 hits on the CoverOregon.com website and more than 50,000 calls to the service center. Backpack Lunch Program Needs Help The Northeast Backpack Lunch Program, which provides weekend meals for more than 150 needy children at Woodlawn, Scott and King schools, seeks turkeys and hams to donate to the families of these children for the holidays. Now in its fifth year, the program puts two lunches in the backpacks of children at risk of hunger every week of the year to ensure they will have som ething to eat on S aturdays and Sundays. During December, the group wants to add to the gift. If you are interested in donating a turkey or ham, or would like to make a cash contribution, please contact Alan Silver at Fremont United Methodist Church, the sponsoring organization. The church's telephone number is 503-284-4647.