There’s nothing extraordinary about the structure that houses the Clinical Research Institute of Southern Oregon. The site, a beige building with an arched entryway and glass doors, sits just east of Crater Lake Highway’s wisps of everyday traffic. And yet, the fate of the world might just lie here, on Hollyhock Drive in Medford. Since July, the institute has been one of the staging grounds for a quest to find a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, which causes a disease that has killed more than 700 people in Oregon, more than 230,000 in the US, and 1.2 million worldwide. And inside, Gregg…
Author: Tony Cooper
At the start of 2020, Jackson County Parks and Roads Director John Vial had no idea his life was about to be taken over with responding to a pandemic and one of the most destructive fires in modern American history. The COVID-19 virus spread to the West Coast, and Oregon went into lockdown in March, closing schools and many businesses. The Jackson County Public Health Department, which responds to infectious diseases, was overwhelmed with requests for help. Local health care providers didn’t have enough personal protective equipment such as face masks and gloves to keep themselves and their patients safe. Jackson County Administrator Danny Jordan asked Vial to…
Klamath Basin water battles have again caused Oregon water regulators to exceed their litigation budget, prompting lawmakers to authorize an additional $650,000 for such legal expenses. The Oregon Legislature’s Joint Emergency Board voted on Dec. 11 to increase the litigation budget of the state’s Water Resources Department, which would otherwise be forced to cut services and lay off employees. The agency has already spent more than $1 million on legal battles during the 2019-2021 biennium, surpassing the $950,000 allocated by lawmakers for its litigation costs during those entire two years. Since OWRD is spending an average $67,000 a month fighting…
Three sheriff’s deputies rush in and wrestle a handcuffed man to the ground, face down. All three hold the man: one kneeling on his back, another appearing to kneel on his neck. They attempt to re-cuff the man, hands behind his back. The prisoner eventually loses consciousness. After a few minutes, the deputies leave him, unmoving, on the floor of the jail cell. The handcuffed man regains consciousness and knocks on the jail cell door. The deputies return as he kneels, offering no resistance. They roll the handcuffed man onto his side and chain him, hands behind his back, to…
When the Camp Fire swept through the town of Paradise, California, the greater Medford area came together to help the families who lost their homes and belongings to the flames. Now, the “I C.A.R.E.” campaign is back. This time, helping the people in their own community. Pastor Lee Gregory at the Medford Neighborhood Church told NewsWatch 12 they are restarting the campaign to help the people who have been displaced due to the fires that ravaged Southern Oregon this week. Gregory drove near the Phoenix area on Wednesday morning and saw the destruction caused by the Almeda Drive Fire. “I have…
Southern Oregon University is a public liberal arts institution situated in Ashland, Oregon, where students can select from 37 undergraduate majors. A robust student/faculty ratio supports students, and professors take a personalized approach to the teaching and learning process. Outside of the classroom, students will find plenty of opportunities to engage with the campus community via the university’s many clubs and organizations. In athletics, the Southern Oregon Raiders play in the NAIA Cascade Collegiate Conference for most sports. Enrollment Total Enrollment: 6,114 (5,256 undergraduates) Gender Breakdown: 36 percent male/64 percent female 63 percent full-time Cost of Attendance Information Tuition and…
An Oregon jury convicted a woman of second-degree manslaughter last week for suffocating a 1-year-old boy last year. The child, Asher Carter, died five days after emergency responders found in unresponsive while in Amber Scott’s care. The investigation revealed that the child’s breathing had been restricted. Carter’s parents left the child in Scott’s care on February 19, 2019. Prosecutors said Scott pressed the child’s face against her chest for five minutes to try to get him back to sleep. Scott said in a video shown to the jury that her wrists “hurt for hours” after the incident. The toddler fought…
A woman driving north on I-5 was shot Wednesday night (August 19). Authorities believe it’s connected to previous shootings of vehicles reported along a three-county stretch of the interstate which began in late May. Oregon State Police Troopers and emergency crews responded to the incident, which occurred at 9:45pm near milepost 37 in Jackson County. The woman was struck with a bullet, taken to a hospital, and then released after being treated for her injuries. Until now, the person -or persons- responsible for the shootings only struck vehicles in Jackson, Douglas, and Josephine Counties.
Every year since 2000, the Sherm’s family of stores has donated a truckload of food to ACCESS for the holidays. This year, though the COVID-19 pandemic has changed so much, will be no different. ACCESS says that the Olsrud family will deliver roughly 23,000 pounds of food to the food bank’s warehouse on Friday, now a 20-year tradition. The food bank calls the Olsruds long-time supporters who were instrumental in building the ACCESS Community Kitchen. “We are so grateful for the support the Olsrud family has given to the community and ACCESS over the years. This year’s semi-truck donation of…
Oregon lawmakers have no idea when Gov. Kate Brown could call them back to the capitol, and the state’s emergency board is running short of time and money. On Friday, the Oregon Emergency Board authorized $2.9 million for the Oregon Food Bank—just half of the $5.8 million the nonprofit asked for this month. OFB officials estimate that it will likely see a shortfall of up to 7.6 million pounds of food by June 2021. One in six Oregonians, they reported, may be at risk of going hungry this year. Legislative analysts said the $5.8 million would have supplied the OFB…