Students of the Medford School District will begin the 2020-21 school year with fully remote learning, but Superintendent Dr. Bret Champion says that administrators plan to reassess on a “predictable rhythm” to determine if students can return to class in person. Today Dr. Bret Champion said that the rural metrics that were released this week – after the Oregon Department of Education issued updated guidance for rural schools doesn’t apply to the Medford School District. Two metrics that were announced do apply to the Medford School District. One is limited in-person learning. This has the school district thinking about how that approach…
Author: Tony Cooper
Jackson County Public Health on Tuesday reported two more deaths attributed to coronavirus, bringing the county death toll to 52 since the pandemic began. According to the agency, an 88-year-old woman tested positive on November 9 and died December 3 at Providence Medford Medical Center. The presence of underlying conditions is still being confirmed. An 89-year-old woman tested positive on November 6 and died at her residence on December 9. She had underlying conditions, officials said. Jackson County also reported 86 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, one of the higher daily case counts for the past several days, though cases…
Every Oregon coast county is under the state’s Extreme Risk umbrella, according to the updated risk levels of each county in the state, which was released by Gov. Kate Brown’s office on Tuesday. Under the state’s new framework meant to mitigate COVID-19 infections, counties fall under one of four categories depending on the level of spread: Extreme Risk, High Risk, Moderate Risk and Lower Risk. As of Tuesday, 29 counties now fall under the Extreme Risk umbrella. Six of those counties moved up from lower-risk categories — Benton, Clatsop, Coos, Curry, Lincoln and Tillamook — while two other counties — Lake…
About 327,000 doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine have reportedly arrived in California. According to the Oregon Health Authority, over 35,000 doses are being distributed to hospitals across Oregon. Frontline workers and residents of long-term care facilities in both states are first in line to get the vaccine. Dr. Jim Shames is Jackson County’s medical director. “The plan is that these very cold storage vaccines are going to go to some of our hospitals who have the capacity to receive them and they are going to turn around and vaccinate their staff — the people on the front lines — with…
The Medford Police Department has launched a murder investigation after discovering a man’s body at the Best Western Horizon Inn on Sunday night. Officers responded to the motel on Barnett Road just after 8 p.m. for an assault report. Arriving at unit number 136, Medford Police said that they found the body of a 28-year-old man in the room. “Injuries to the deceased male were consistent with an assault,” Medford Police said in a brief statement. The victim was identified as 28-year-old Jeffrey Blackwood. Officers found a suspect in the assault, identified as 18-year-old Jackson Frischman, at the scene. He…
Help support our environment! Recycling Christmas trees is an annual project to benefit the environment. Recycling this renewable resource provides organic mulch and compost, so Christmas trees keep giving all year long. Real Christmas Tree Recycling The City of Hutchinson will be recycling REAL Christmas trees December 28, 2020 – January 25, 2021 DROP OFF LOCATIONS DRIFTRIDERS PARK………………………………West Shore Drive SW JAYCEES SOUTH PARK…………………………………..Goebel St SW KIMBERLY PARK………………………………………….Hilltop Drive NE LINDEN PARK……………………………..Sunset St SW NORTHWOODS PARK……………Northwoods Ave NE ROBERTS PARK………………………………………..…Roberts Rd SW ROLLING MEADOWS EAST PARK………………………….7th Ave NW SOUTH PARK…………………………………………………..4th Ave SW VFW PARK………………………………………………..Sherwood St SE WOMEN’S CLUB PARK…………………………………Campbell Ln NW
Rogue Community College on Tuesday outlined its tentative plan for fall classes, one that will include some on-campus learning for specific courses. Most fall classes will be offered online, but there will be some in-person lab instruction for science and career technical courses “that require hands-on learning that cannot be duplicated online,” RCC said in a statement. The on-campus courses will be noted in the fall schedule on the school’s website. Even those limited on-campus options will depend on further guidance from state or local public health authorities, RCC said. “If conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic change and make it impossible…
Jackson County Public Health on Thursday reported 60 new coronavirus cases and another fatality attributed to the virus. According to the agency, a 90-year-old woman tested positive on November 30 and died on December 7 at her residence. She had underlying conditions. This latest death brought Jackson County’s total to 45 since the pandemic began. “Flattening the curve remains an important goal during this pandemic,” Jackson County Public Health said. “To drive down the spread of COVID-19 in our communities, we all must act by wearing a mask, watching our distance, washing our hands, and limiting the number and size…
The fenced-in quarter-acre property located off the greenway in Medford provides 50 tent and pop-up shelter sites with water and sanitary facilities. The city is working with the landowner to expand the space and extend the lease into at least the spring. In the meantime, Rogue Retreat’s Matt Vorderstrasse says organizers hope to find a long-term solution. “We know that this is something that we want to see be more permanent in the community, and so the timeline going forward is we would like to find a suitable location for it to be located permanently,” Vorderstrasse says. Before fire tore…
A Medford man accused of shooting and killing another man in 2018 was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Friday in Jackson County Circuit Court. Police arrested Cody Templeton in January of 2018 after he allegedly shot a man who was staying in his apartment on Ellendale Avenue, 39-year-old Thomas Peterson. Peterson was originally taken to the hospital in critical condition, suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. He died a short time later. Upon Peterson’s death, Templeton was charged with murder. He was 23 years old at the time. Following a bench trial in November, Judge Lisa Greif…