7pm – A white mini-van has crashed into a light pole. The crash, in front of Subway at 247 So. 101, is reported to be serious. The driver is said to be seizing. Smoke is coming from under the crushed hood.
7:04pm – Police and Fire Rescue are on scene.
Sen. Jeff Merkley
D-Oregon
President Franklin Roosevelt once said, “Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy, forget in time that men and women have died to win them.”
But this Memorial Day, as we once again join together in spirit, we refuse to forget all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure our freedom. In this 75th anniversary year of World War II, we especially think of all those of our Greatest Generation who answered their nation’s call to save the world from totalitarianism.
Today, as we commemorate all of the soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and coast guardsmen who have given their lives for this country, may we resolve to carry their memories and their spirit with us always. And let us resolve to follow their example, to stand up for the well-being of our nation even when it requires sacrifice, and to always keep America a beacon of hope, equality, and freedom.
In this challenging year, I wish for you and your families a thoughtful and safe Memorial Day.
All my best,
Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon
Get the food to where it belongs….Sen. Merkley
From Sen. Jeff Merkley to U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
We write with deep concerns about the slow response from the department regarding supplemental funding provided to address the coronavirus pandemic. Congress has appropriated $36 billion to the Department of Agriculture for many important programs that the American people rely on. From nutrition assistance to direct support to agricultural producers, this funding is vital to supporting vulnerable citizens and rural America. However, as of May 8th, only $7 billion, less than 20 percent, of the money provided has been obligated. This is unacceptable. Particularly troubling is the delay in getting nutrition assistance out the door to address growing food insecurity across the country.
Of the $850 million we appropriated for The Emergency Food Assistance Program to provide critical resources to our nation’s foodbanks, only $117 million has been spent. Yet lines at food banks are growing and unemployment is surging. This money should be getting out to the people who need it, not stuck in Washington caught up in red tape. The Committee has also provided $100 million for the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations and that money is still unspent. Child Nutrition Programs provide much needed nutrition for children, especially now when most schools are closed. Yet $1 billion is still stuck at the department. Puerto Rico and the other U.S. territories are still waiting for the bulk of the funding we appropriated.
The Department requested some of the funding provided in these emergency spending bills because of the urgent needs you identified. And this Committee supported those requests. For example, you requested $4 million for the Foreign Agricultural Service to help bring staff back to the United States from overseas posts. None of those funds have been spent. You requested $3 million for the Farm Service Agency to assist the agency with increased farm loan demands. None of those funds have been spent. While these amounts are small, the fact that you asked for the funding, we provided it, and it still has not been obligated raises questions about the Department’s ability to carry out its duties.
While we understand some programs are not set up to respond quickly to an emergency and they take time to process, these are extraordinary times and we need to do better than the status quo.
We stand ready to assist the department in any way we can to respond to this pandemic.
Sincerely,
Sen. Jeff Merkley
11:15pm Report of a traffic crash on North Three Rocks Road just north of Otis. North Lincoln Fire-Rescue is enroute to the scene. Vehicle is about 100 feet off the road. Extent of injuries to the driver undetermined.
11:40pm Rescuers say they’ve found the car down an embankment and are proceeding to rescue the lady driver.
Western Pond Turtle
GIVE ‘EM SPACE….
ODFW photo
Let turtles cross the road; nesting habitat is key to their survival
SALEM, Ore. – ODFW biologists advise Oregonians to be on the lookout for turtles on roadways, bike paths or trails. During the months of May through July, female turtles begin searching for suitable nesting grounds to lay their eggs.
“It’s not uncommon to see female turtles on land at this time of year as they leave the water to lay their eggs,” said Susan Barnes, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation Biologist for northwest Oregon. “If you see a turtle on land, the best thing to do is let it continue on its path. Don’t try to return it to water.”
It’s fine to move it off a road or trail (if it is safe to do so,) but put it on the other side, pointed in the same direction it was headed.
Barnes, a co-chair of the Oregon Native Turtle Working Group, works to conserve Oregon’s turtles year-round. “Our native turtles are in decline, so anything we can do to help makes a difference,” added Barnes.
She suggests the public can help by reporting turtle sightings on the Native Turtles of Oregon website or through iNaturalist or HerpMapper, mobile applications that can be downloaded on your smartphone or other mobile device.
“This helps us identify the locations of our native turtles as well as invasive turtles that we may try and remove,” said Barnes. Turtle sightings also help ODFW and their native turtle conservative partners decide where to conduct visual surveys for turtles, to collect more information about turtle at a particular location.
Oregon has only two species of native turtles: the western painted and the western pond. Both are both protected by state law; it is illegal to take them from the wild and to keep them as pets.
Non-native turtles include red-eared sliders and snapping turtles. It is illegal in the state to buy, sell, possess or release non-native turtles. Red-eared sliders are relatively easy to identify. Most have red “ears” (markings) on the side of their heads.
If you are in possession of a non-native turtle, contact your local ODFW office for guidance.
Both the western painted and western pond turtle are included on the State Sensitive Species List (ODFW 2016) as “Sensitive-Critical” and highlighted in the Oregon Conservation Strategy as a priority species in need of help. Population declines are due to habitat loss, degradation of nesting areas by invasive plants, illegal collecting, disease and competition from non-native turtles.
