Author: Tony Cooper

Today, Jackson County Public Health reports 65 new COVID-19 cases and three new deaths. Due to the holiday, this total is reflective of November 25th and November 26th. This update brings the total reported COVID-19 cases in Jackson County to 3,645 and the total number of deaths to 29. Jackson County’s 27th COVID-19 death is a 90-year-old male who tested positive on November 3 and died on November 17 at his residence. He has underlying conditions. Jackson County’s 28th COVID-19 death is an 82-year-old female who tested positive on November 11 and died on November 24 at Ashland Community Hospital, in…

Read More

A 27-year-old Mashpee resident last seen in Portland, Oregon, has been reported missing. Mykilee Driver was last seen at 12:40 a.m. Nov. 12 in the parking lot of Gateway Park apartments in Portland. Driver’s mother, Zarahra Overton, said her daughter was visiting her when she got into a Lyft and did not return. Overton said Driver was having a mental health episode before she disappeared. She called the police, but Driver declined treatment. She then called for a Lyft and left. Driver was diagnosed last year with psychosis, Overton said, and has had mental breakdowns in the past. Since her…

Read More

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…

Read More

This coming Friday marks the return of “Coffee for a Cure,” an annual breast cancer fundraiser at all Human Bean locations. All proceeds from October 23 goes toward local organizations that help care for and support breast cancer patients. “Coffee for a Cure has become a hugely successful and effective event, and we are delighted to help make a difference in the fight against breast cancer,” the Human Bean said in a statement. Friday’s fundraiser marks the 15th anniversary of Coffee for a Cure, and Human Bean says that it has raised more than $1.8 million to date. “In Oregon…

Read More

The suspect in a double murder northeast of Wimer has been taken into custody, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office revealed on Friday. The agency said that it received a call from someone living in the 15000-block of East Evans Creek Road after 11 p.m. on Thursday, reporting that suspect 35-year-old Joshua Robert Miller had appeared at their house. The residents left, and deputies responded to the area — setting up a perimeter around the property alongside troopers from Oregon State Police. JCSO said that Miller was taken into custody without incident shortly after 3 a.m. on Friday morning. The Jackson County…

Read More

The good news, perhaps, for nervous Duck fans is Mario Cristobal says it does not compare to the situation three years ago. That’s when Cristobal was elevated to replace head coach Willie Taggart — who left Oregon after one season for a lucrative contract at Florida State — before attempting to prepare the team for the Las Vegas Bowl while also trying to salvage a promising recruiting class. This year Cristobal is preparing for Friday’s Pac-12 championship game against No. 13 USC after having the regular-season finale against Washington canceled and throwing the original game plan to play Colorado on…

Read More

The Southern Oregon Spartans announced that they will be cancelling the rest of the 2020 hockey season, on Wednesday. According to the team on a Facebook post, the reason for the cancellation was due to the new state-wide two-week freeze that Governor Kate Brown enacted today. “With this new mandate that just happened from the governor’s office we just don’t see when we can open up with fans in Medford,” said Dylan Martin, who is a co-owner for the team. “It just wasn’t looking good for us so we figured now is a good time to cancel the rest of…

Read More

Jackson County United Way and the Teresa McCormick Center hosted a relief event for the Almeda and Obenchain Fire victims on Tuesday. Hundreds of people received free shoes, clothes and socks at the Harry and David south parking lot. The items were donated by Skechers, Hanes and Bombas. FEMA, the American Red Cross and several other agencies were on site to provide services. Eagle Point resident Kat Wolff tells NewsWatch 12 events like this help her stay positive during this difficult time. “What this has done for my heart, this community and the giving that I see everywhere, the love that…

Read More

The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS), Child Welfare Division, asks the public to help find Kyla Blackmore, age 14. Blackmore is a foster child who went missing from Medford, Ore. on Nov. 11, 2020. She is believed to be in danger. Kyla Blackmore knows the Klamath Falls area and is suspected to be traveling with Lydia Jazmin, age 16, a foster child who also went missing from Medford, Ore. on Nov. 11, 2020. Name: Kyla Blackmore Pronouns: She/Her Date of birth: April 21, 2006 Height: 5’2 Weight: 185 pounds Eye color: Brown Hair: Brownish blonde Other identifying information: Kyla…

Read More

Amid the worldwide pandemic, Licensed Professional Counselor Lisa Jamison said depression and anxiety were already high but following the South Obenchain and Almeda fires on Sept. 8, suicidal ideation and self-harm have grown even higher. “Depression and anxiety are through the roof,” Jamison said. “The anxiety around everything that is going on has just increased. It’s just such a hard time.” Rates of depression in the U.S. have tripled since the onset of Covid-19, according to a fall Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network study – and this trend isn’t expected to subside anytime soon. Locally the combination of the…

Read More