Monday, May 6th, 2019
On May 3rd, 2019 at about 3:30 p.m., Medford Police Detectives lodged the suspect in this case, Justin Lee Graham-Yaeger, 33, for one count of Murder, no bail.
Graham-Yaeger was provided medical treatment for the K9 bite that occurred during arrest. After he was released from the hospital, he was interviewed and lodged in Jackson County Jail. Graham-Yaeger’s address is listed as transient. He is also on Post-Prison Supervison for Burglary and Felon in Possession of a Weapon out of Jackson County Community Justice. The motive of the murder remains under investigation. An autopsy will be conducted in the near future. Previous Press Release:
On May 3rd officers had responded to the Tiki Lodge, 509 N. Riverside, room 111, for a possible disturbance. Upon arrival, officers could not get anyone to come to the door and ultimately forced entry. Officers believed that as they made entry, they heard someone escape out of the bathroom window.
Officers found a deceased female in the bathroom as well as evidence of a violent disturbance. Additional officers responded and began checking the area, to include police K9 Kylo. K9 Kylo led officers to a dumpster behind a business in the 500 block of N. Bartlett Street. Officers found a male hiding in the dumpster, and he was arrested after sustaining a bite wound from K9 Kylo. His name is not being released at this time.
A further examination of the scene, as well as the decedent, indicated the victim died as the result of a homicide. She was identified as Sierra Bree Clemens, 23 years old. Clemens is from Grass Valley, California and next of kin have been notified.
The crime scene included the path the suspect would have taken from the motel room to the dumpster where he was found.
Detectives are continuing to investigate the case and we do not believe any other suspects are outstanding.
Oregon State Police (OSP) troopers are continuing the investigation into Sunday afternoon’s double fatal crash that occurred on Highway 138E near Glide.
On Sunday May 5, 2019 at approximately 1:00PM, (OSP) Troopers and Emergency Responders were dispatched to the report of a single vehicle crash on Hwy 138E at milepost 20.
Preliminary investigation revealed that a Chrysler PT Cruiser operated by, Kelley WEEKLY (female), age 42, from Klamath Falls, was traveling westbound on Hwy 138E when for an unknown reason it veered off the roadway and impacted a tree. WEEKLY and passenger Scott CARNES, age 49, from Klamath Falls, were pronounced deceased on scene by medical personnel.
Both WEEKLY and CARNES were wearing safety belts at the time of the crash. Traffic was not impacted by the crash.
Special Military Tribute Event
Oregon National Guard Unit, 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Battalion upcoming Djibouti, Africa deployment Yellow Ribbon Event
Deploying unit members and family are invited to attend the 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Battalion Yellow Ribbon Event on May 5, at 7 am to 6 pm at South Medford High School, 1551 Cunningham Ave., Medford, Oregon 97501.
Who May Attend: Military Members listed on the Deployment Manning Document and Bench are required to attend this event. These Military Members are allowed to bring up to two adult Family Members or designated individuals which includes spouses, parents, grandparents, brothers or sisters, domestic partners, employers, a neighbor, or another member of the armed service. Attendees, please register by May 4, 2019.
The Yellow Ribbon Program works under the Oregon Service Member and Family Support (SMFS) office to ensure that Service Members, their Families, and designated individuals will receive the deployment cycle information about the services available to them including but not limited to: Tricare, VA support, financial planning, Family counseling, employment support, education benefits, etc.
The 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Battalion is headquartered in Ashland, Oregon, and is part of the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team. Approximately 300 Citizen-Soldiers are scheduled to mobilize to Djibouti, Africa beginning this fall.
Shipwreck on Oregon Coast near Bandon
Small shipwreck ashore on south Oregon coast drawing response from state and federal agencies
Bandon OR — A 64-foot wood and fiberglass fishing vessel, the Ann Kathleen out of Westport, Washington, caught fire while at sea Thursday, May 2, off the southern Oregon coast south of Bandon. The crew abandoned the vessel and were eventually rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard. No injuries were reported. The boat came aground in a remote area of beach north of Floras Lake at low tide late Thursday.
Debris from the boat, which is no longer actively burning, is resting on the beach as of Friday morning, May 3. A team from the U.S. Coast Guard, local fire department, and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality will evaluate the site for toxic materials and develop any necessary response plan to protect the beach and nearby shorebird nesting area. The area is designated for recovery of the western snowy plover.
State and federal officials are in contact with the ship owner and insurer. The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department will take lead on managing nontoxic debris on the beach. Questions about the offshore portion of the incident will be addressed by the U.S. Coast Guard (PA3 Trevor Lilburn, 206-391-5864).
While remote, beach hikers are advised to steer clear of the debris area. Pedestrians must stay on the wet sand within the plover nesting area (https://bit.ly/wsplover).
On Friday, May 3, 2019, FBI Director Christopher Wray presented Bags of Love with the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award (DCLA) for its service to children of Oregon. Receiving the award on behalf of Bags of Love was Becky Stenzel, founder of the Eugene-based nonprofit. This organization focuses much of its work on children living in crisis due to neglect, abuse, poverty, or homelessness.
Bags of Love delivered approximately 2,200 bags in 2018 and is on track to surpass that number in 2019. Volunteers donate more than 13,000 hours a year to this amazing effort. Each bag is thoughtfully filled with a handmade quilt; gender and age-appropriate necessities including one or two outfits, a jacket or coat, socks and underwear; and school supplies. Each child also receives a stuffed animal, toiletries and books, and toys or games. Often, the items in these “bags of love” are the only possession these children can call their own.
“We are truly honored to be receiving the Director’s Community Leadership Award from the FBI. This award is such a wonderful acknowledgement of not just the work being done at Bags of Love, but also a recognition of our dedicated staff and volunteers and the community who supports us. We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with the FBI to further assist children and teens who are at risk or in crisis,” said Becky Stenzel, Executive Director of Bags of Love.
Special Agent in Charge of the Portland Field Office, Renn Cannon, states: “It is an honor for the FBI to partner with Bags of Love over the course of many years. On a regular basis, we are passing their donations to human trafficking survivors, kids affected by child sex abuse and child sex tourism cases, victims of international parental kidnapping, and more. These bags allow the donors and volunteers to give a child dignity while giving law enforcement officers a chance to build trust with those most impacted by trauma.”
The FBI established the DCLA in 1990 to publicly acknowledge the achievements of those working to make a difference in their communities through the promotion of education and the prevention of crime and violence. Each year 56 recipients from across the country are chosen to receive this prestigious award.
Oregonians Turn In Thousands of Pounds of Prescription Medications
With enthusiastic participation nationwide, DEA and its law enforcement partners have now collected nearly 12 million pounds of unused or expired prescription medications over the course of 17 successful DEA National Prescription Drug Take Back events. During the 17th semi-annual event on April 27, the Take Back initiative saw new records for the numbers of law enforcement partners, collection sites. Together with these local, state, tribal and federal partners – more than 5,000 total – at nearly 6,400 collection sites, DEA collected and destroyed close to 469 tons of potentially dangerous unwanted drugs.
This brings the total amount of drugs collected by DEA since the fall of 2010 to 11,816,393 pounds, or 5,908 tons.
Residents of Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Alaska turned in 37,926 pounds (19 tons) of prescription medications on April, 27, 2019. This is the second collection to date for the Pacific Northwest and record collections for Idaho and Alaska. The following are the results broken down by state:
·Washington –112 collection sites which resulted in 16,757 pounds (8.4 tons) removed from circulation.
·Oregon – 61 collection sites which resulted in 10,828 pounds (5.4 tons) removed from circulation.
“The ever-increasing public support and continuously growing numbers of partners and collection sites are a true testament to the value of DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back program,” said Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon. “Just as DEA and our law enforcement partners are committed to ending the opioid epidemic, our communities recognize that this is a pervasive and heartbreaking crisis. DEA Take Back Day gives every American a way to help by simply cleaning out their medicine cabinets.”
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day events have been extremely successful not only in getting unused drugs out of the house, but also in raising awareness of their link to addiction and overdose deaths. The public has embraced the opportunity these events provide to remove medicines languishing in the home that are highly susceptible to misuse, abuse and theft. Public demand for safe and secure drug disposal has also resulted in a significant increase in year-round drug drop boxes at law enforcement facilities, pharmacies, and elsewhere, making drug disposal even more convenient.
Complete results for DEA’s spring Take Back Day are available atwww.DEATakeBack.com. Video of DEA’s Take Back Day collections being weighed and destroyed is available at https://youtu.be/5y_LCuJvWRs.
DEA’s next National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is October 26, 2019.
Walden Wants To Push Pressure on Robocall Companies
WASHINGTON,
D.C. — In just one year, American
consumers received 2.4 billion robocalls per month and nearly half the calls
made to cell phones in the United States in 2019 will be spam. Today,
Representative Greg Walden (R-Hood River) said that he is taking an
all-hands-on-deck approach to end this problem that he said has grown from an
annoyance to a sincere peril.
“I have done 20 town halls in my district so far this year, and I can’t think
of a time that this question didn’t come up about what we are doing to stop
robocalls,” said Walden
during a hearing before the Energy and Commerce Committee today. “This
has escalated to a real problem for consumers and they’ve had it. And they’ve
rightfully had it, and we’ve had it. So you’re seeing an all hands on deck
approach here.”
Last Congress, Walden helped pass into law the RAY BAUM’S Act,
which prohibited spoofing calls or texts originating outside the United States
and provided the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) more authority to
protect consumers from robocalls. The RAY BAUM’S Act also required the FCC to
work with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to educate Americans about their
options to stop these illegal calls.
These robocalls come from bad actors who use autodialing technology to scam
consumers, often by maliciously “spoofing” their caller ID information to mask
the caller’s true identity and instead make the call appear like it is coming
from a local source.
One witness who works in the health care industry testified during today’s
hearing that robocalls also threaten patients and medical providers.
“In recent months, many consumers, including some patients and their families,
have been targeted by robocallers who use ‘spoofed’ numbers identical to the
hospitals in an effort to gain sensitive information,” said Dave Summitt, Chief
Information Security Officer of H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research
Institute. “Even more concerning is that this practice can jeopardize the line
of communication between health providers and patients by casting doubt on the
integrity of calls coming from the hospital or their care provider.”
May is Wildfire Awareness Month
The governors of eleven western states have signed a proclamation recognizing May 2019 as Wildfire Awareness Month.
The chief executives of Oregon, Washington, Nevada, California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota encourage all citizens to “take steps to better prepare their home and communities for wildfires and work toward becoming a fire-adapted community.” These states, in partnership with federal, state and local fire prevention agencies and organizations, are working together to increase awareness of wildfires with programs, public service announcements, and opportunities for people to participate in community fire prevention projects.
At stake: lives, property, forests
When it comes to preventing wildfires, there’s a lot at stake – lives, personal property, and the many values provided by Oregon’s forests and rangelands. During the 2018 wildfire season, Oregonians were responsible for starting 1,330 wildfires that consumed over 329,000 acres.
”It’s incredibly important that all Oregonians work with their neighbors to plan and prepare for fire season now, “ said Kristin Babbs, president of the Keep Oregon Green Association. “Educating yourself about how fires can get started will be key in reducing accidental wildfire ignitions this summer.”
Wildfires can start at home
Wildfires in the wildland-urban interface are often started by human activity, such as debris burning or lawn mowing, and then spread to the forest. Once underway, a fire follows the fuel, whether it is trees or houses.
“Simple and inexpensive prevention strategies can make your home, family and community much safer,” Babbs said. “Spring is the perfect time to remove dead, flammable vegetation and limb up trees around the yard.”
To get an early start on Wildfire Awareness Month, join your neighbors in reducing your community’s wildfire risk by taking part in National Wildfire Community Preparedness Day on Saturday, May 4. The National Fire Protection Association has teamed up with State Farm Insurance to encourage residents to commit a couple of hours, or the entire day, to raising wildfire awareness and working on projects that can protect homes and entire communities from the threat of fire.
Spring brings out the orange. Orange cones, barrels, and signs reminding us all that road construction season has arrived. Most everyone plans their travel routes, slows down for work zones, expects some delays and knows that better roads are coming.
But there’s always someone who doesn’t. Doesn’t plan. Doesn’t slow down. Doesn’t expect delays. Road workers and travelers are at high risk of injuries in work zone crashes. Often because someone is distracted, impaired, or driving too fast for the conditions. People are injured. Killed. Not going home.
In Oregon we averaged 555 work zone crashes a year between 2013 and 2017. That’s one every 16 hours.
We work with our partners continuously to enhance the safety of the traveling public, property owners, employees, and the workers who build, operate, and maintain our transportation system. May is Transportation Safety Awareness Month. Join us in getting everyone to be aware in work zones, so everyone can get home.
This month and through our summer construction season we and our partners, including Oregon State Police, Oregon Trucking Association, Associated General Contractors and AAA Oregon/Idaho, will be sharing social media messages, videos, and advertising to help people remember – when you see orange, respect the zone.
OR 126 Walton Passing Zone project video – Establishing a safe work zone
STATE SEEKING COMMENTS ON PROPOSED RULES TO HELP RETURN LOST MILITARY MEDALS, U.S. SAVINGS BONDS
Claiming lost military medals and U.S. savings bonds
would become easier for military members, bond owners, and their descendants
under new rules proposed by the state.
The Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL) is seeking comment on proposed
administrative rules that would:
- Ensure
military medals held by the state’s Unclaimed Property Program are kept safe
and returned to the service member, their descendants, or appropriate
custodians such as veterans’ organizations. Military medals and other military
articles may come to the state as unclaimed property, for example when a safe
deposit box is abandoned. The proposed rules create a website to make it easy
for service members or descendants to identify and recover medals and other
military articles, and establish the processes and criteria needed to ensure
return of items.
- Ensure U.S. savings bonds and bond proceeds are held safely for rightful owners and easy to claim. The proposed rules create a website for the public to search and claim U.S. savings bonds, identify strategies to locate owners and conduct public outreach, and establish related processes.
The proposed rules are available for review on the DSL rulemaking website.
A meeting to hear public comment on the proposed rules will be held:
Tuesday, May 21
5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Oregon Department of State Lands, Land Board Room
775 Summer St. NE
Salem, Ore. 97301
Written comments will be accepted until 5 p.m. on May 31, 2019. Comments must
be received by this time and date to be considered. Written comments may be
submitted online,
by email to rules@dsl.state.or.us or
by mail to DSL Rules Coordinator, 775 Summer Street NE, Suite 100, Salem,
Oregon 97301.
| Secretary of State Releases Report Following Up on Recommendations Made to Department of Environmental Quality |
| SALEM, OR —Today, Secretary of State Bev Clarno released a report showing the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has made progress towards implementing the recommendations made in an audit report released last year, “Department of Environmental Quality Should Improve the Air Quality Permitting Process to Reduce Its Backlog and Better Safeguard Oregon’s Air”. “Additional work is still needed to fully implement the remaining recommendations,” said Secretary of State Bev Clarno. “This includes developing additional permit writer and applicant guidance for all types of permits, creating a permanent data system that consolidates the tracking of inspections across all regions, and taking additional steps to begin succession planning across the agency.” |
The Committee for Family Forestlands will meet Thursday, May 16 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Salem. The meeting will be in the Santiam Room of Building D on the campus of the Oregon Department of Forestry, 2600 State Street. Among updates the committee will receive information about are:
- Current legislative session
- Farm and Forest Report
- Forest Legacy
- Review of draft rules for wildlife food plots
The meeting is open to the public