There is so much going on every day that I simply could never encompass it all in a newsletter. But if you would like to get a quick catch up on what I’ve been up to, you can join me on From the District. You can watch on YouTube or listening in on Soundcloud – see links below.

Events

I had a wonderful time at the Clatsop Working Watershed Cooperative Tour. This event is a great way to experience first hand the working farms, fisheries, and forests of our community.

Pictured at right: My colleagues and I attending the CSG West annual meeting in Portland. In this event we participate in learning labs and forums surrounding a variety of topics we all find very important. Just a few of the agenda items include Housing, Employee Wellness, Student Achievement, Energy Affordability, Managing Western Water, Invasive Species, Kidney Care, Violent Crime, Drug Use, and Legislative Oversight.

I absolutely enjoy attending every parade I can in our district.

Fun fact, the Clover’s Day Parade is the only parade in Oregon that is led by a cow!

Fourth of July in Warrenton Oregon! Not only did I get to hang out with Representative Cyrus Javadi, I was able to spend time with Miss Clatsop County Teen Shaelyn Bangs and our great volunteers with Warrenton Fire Department.

Garibaldi Days with Smokey the Bear!

I was so pleased to be able to attend and assist in the groundbreaking of the Nehalem Bay Health Center and Pharmacy!

There is still much work to do, but this is a very big step to improve health and senior care in rural north coast Oregon.

Specialist Ken “Kenny” Leisten 1984-2004 KIA Taji Iraq

In the short session, I was able to sponsor a resolution to honor Specialist Kenny Leisten and aid in the path forward toward dedicating a section of highway to him. This month that sign was placed at the entrance of Camp Rilea in Warrenton Oregon and celebrated by his family, friends, and fellow Soldiers on the 20th anniversary of his passing.

Please take a moment to read the resolution and remember Kenny with us.

Whereas United States Army Specialist Ken “Kenny” Leisten was born in Santa Rosa, California, on July 5, 1984; and
Whereas Specialist Leisten moved from San Diego, California, to Washington County, Oregon, with his father, Ken Leisten Sr., and stepmother, Lisa LaBlanc, at age seven, and spent the majority of his life in Washington County, Oregon; and
Whereas Specialist Leisten attended Forest Grove High School in Forest Grove, Oregon; and
Whereas Specialist Leisten chose to become a member of the Oregon National Guard in Corvallis, Oregon, during a time of war, serving with the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry; and
Whereas Specialist Leisten worked full time as a clerk in the maintenance department at Camp Rilea in Warrenton, Oregon, ensuring equipment readiness; and
Whereas Specialist Leisten volunteered to attend training to reclass to 11B Infantryman for deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom II; and
Whereas Specialist Leisten was awarded an Army Commendation Medal with Valor for maintaining radio communication with the Tactical Operations Center during an intense ambush involving small arms fire and improvised explosive devices; and
Whereas Specialist Leisten was killed in action on July 28, 2004, when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device while on combat patrol in Taji, Iraq; and
Whereas Specialist Leisten’s loss was felt deeply by his family, his friends and his fellow soldiers; and
Whereas Specialist Leisten was laid to rest at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon, on August 9, 2004; and
Whereas Specialist Leisten was survived by his father, Ken Sr., his stepmother, Lisa, his grandmother, Trudy Griffin, aunts and uncles Linda and Rich Saffiote, Jenny and Bill Audrain, and
Kathy and Allen Leisten and cousins Alex, Angela, Alecia, Adam, Jake and Kelly; and
Whereas Specialist Leisten’s selfless devotion to duty exemplified the spirit and values of the United States Army; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon:
That we, the members of the Eighty-second Legislative Assembly, celebrate the life of United States Army Specialist Ken “Kenny” Leisten

Oregon Fire Response Update:

Oregon’s extremely active and challenging fire season continues. Since our last update, we have passed the million mark for acres burned. On lands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry, we are currently at four times the average acres burned at this point in fire season. But it’s about far more than just loss of private and public lands. Nearly 18,500 Oregonians are currently facing some level of evacuation.

This fire season is putting Oregon’s complete and coordinated protection system to the test, and straining ODF, Office of the State Fire Marshal, local fire departments, federal agencies, and all of our other partners in the system. We have been using every tool at our disposal to its fullest extent, with 21 incident management teams deployed on Oregon fires and hundreds of other resources from other states helping us on the ground. But if we’re being completely honest, we’re all tapped out on capacity. We’ll continue to do everything possible to backfill and augment, but the reality is that there just aren’t enough resources in the system—locally, regionally or nationally—to fill all the needs Oregon currently has.

Initial attack remains our top priority. Aggressive, timely initial attack is how we keep fires small and limit impacts on Oregonians, communities and our natural resources. Luckily, those in our Southern and Northwest Oregon areas have been doing a stellar job keeping up with initial attack this season.

After that, our next highest priority is making progress on the largest fires on the landscape. Getting those fires into a good place will free up critical resources for other existing fires and to respond to new starts. That will become even more important as western Oregon enters into its peak fire season in the coming weeks.

Key updates:

There are currently 43 large fires (100+ acres in timber or 300+ acres in grass/brush) burning in Oregon.
- Statewide, there have been 1,261 fires and over 1.2 million acres burned. Of those, 484 fires and more than 192,000 acres burned are on ODF-protected lands.
- There are currently four “megafires” burning in Oregon. Megafires are those that exceed 100,000 acres. Those fires are Lone Rock, Durkee, Cow Valley and Falls—all in eastern Oregon. For context, during the 2020 Labor Day event, there were five mega fires on the landscape. A bit of good news: There’s been a lot of progress on Lone Rock in the past week or so, and this megafire is now 77% contained.
All of ODF’s incident management teams are currently deployed. All of OSFM’s teams recently demobilized.
- ODF Teams 1 & 3 are in unified command of the Battle Mountain Complex near Ukiah (ODF’s Northeast Oregon District). This complex now includes the Boneyard fire, which burned into the Monkey Creek fire last week. The fires in this complex started July 17 and are estimated at more than 178,000 acres total with 10% containment. OSFM is coordinating structural response and providing resources on this fire.
- ODF Team 1 is also in command of the Courtrock fire near Monument (ODF’s Northeast Oregon District). This fire started July 21 is estimated at just over 17,000 acres with 31% containment. OSFM is coordinating structural response and providing resources on this fire.
- ODF Team 2 was just deployed to the Winding Waters Complex near Ukiah (ODF’s Northeast Oregon District). This group of fire started July 17 and are estimated at over 700 acres with 0% containment.
- OSFM’s Red Team demobilized from the Lone Rock fire on July 27.
- OSFM’s Blue Team demobilized from the Falls fire on July 28.
- OSFM’s Green Team demobilized from the Durkee fire on July 28.
- An additional team from OSFM mobilized to the Microwave fire near Mosier on July 22. They were then reassigned to portions of the Battle Mountain Complex over the course of the week. Those resources are currently assigned to the Battle Mountain Complex and Courtrock fire.
Fire risk will be moderated by mild weather conditions for the next few days, during which we’re hoping to continue progress in increasing containment around the fires currently on the landscape. Unfortunately, the warm, dry weather returns later this week and will last through the weekend. There’s also the potential for thunderstorms developing Saturday and Sunday.
ODF’s estimated gross large fire costs are $55.8 million, which is an $11 million increase from our last update 10 days ago. OSFM’s estimated gross mobilization costs are $21.5 million, which is a $9.4 million increase from our last update.

You can keep up to date with incident information through each incident’s Facebook page, ODF’s wildfire blog, OSFM’s incident information blog, and the federal Inciweb site.

As fire season progresses, I would like to share resources that OSU Extension Service is coordinating with local response efforts across the state to help farmers, ranchers and communities deal with the consequences of the wildfires currently affecting Oregon. We encourage you to share these resources with your constituents. Extension maintains on-the-ground expertise in counties across Oregon and connections with agency, industry and community partners. In addition to working locally in affected communities, a Wildfire resources for agriculture and livestock producers website has been created. Below are examples of information on the website.

N95 mask distribution

OSU Extension is working with the Oregon State Office of Resilience and Emergency Management at the state level to distribute N95 masks to communities affected by wildfires.

Hay/feed needs and donations

OSU Extension is partnering with state and local efforts to coordinate hay, livestock feed, and monetary donations. We will also help coordinate the transportation of donations to the affected areas in partnership with Oregon Cattlemen’s Association.

Access to information and resources

Post-fire resources for eastern Oregon – compiled by Extension’s rangeland fire specialist with the Extension fire program, Katie Wollstein, who is based in eastern Oregon at the Ag Experiment Station in Burns.

Ag disaster relief resource computers – Located at OSU Extension Service offices around the state, these resource computers are available to producers for greater access to federal/state relief programs. Find your local extension office.

Reminder about the AgriStress Helpline – 24/7, call or text: (833) 897-2474, answered by specialists who are familiar with Oregon’s farming, ranching, fisheries and forestry communities and relevant resources.

Clatsop County Economic Opportunities Analysis

Clatsop County is asking for input on their Economic Opportunities Analysis. I know that most people who are busy working don’t want to take what little time they have left at the end of the day to fill out a survey. However, this is important and worthwhile.

As part of an economic opportunities planning process. Clatsop County Community Development Department invites community members and local business owners to complete a short survey on future economic development issues facing Clatsop County and northwest Oregon.

“We want and need to hear from residents and business owners. This is your opportunity to provide input on how you would like to see Clatsop County grow economically,” said Clatsop County Planning Manager Jay Blake.

With the likelihood that the recently approved Habitat Conservation Plan will limit revenue from logging and possibly cause a reduction in living wage jobs, Clatsop County is at a critical juncture.

The online survey is available through August 5, 2024, in English and Spanish.

Oregon Employment Department Update

Job Numbers for Oregon

The Employment Department released the updated jobs numbers and unemployment rate, linked here June Job Numbers. Oregon employers added 600 jobs to non-farm payrolls and Oregon’s unemployment rate was 4.1% in June, which was the same as the U.S.

Overall, Gail Krumenauer, State Employment Economist with our Workforce and Economic Research Division reports that Oregon is having slow job growth, with relatively high number of job openings with some difficulty for employers to find enough workers to fill all the jobs, and unemployment remaining relatively low and stable in recent months. Find more about your particular neck of the woods here Press Release – QualityInfo

The Employment Department also published a report in July with details on what an aging workforce, increasing retirements, and slower population and labor force growth mean for the workforce. Fascinating! Oregon Labor Force Report

Customer Service Improvements

Key staff gave an update on our progress in improving customer service. The Oregon Employment Department (OED) continues to reduce customer service delays and has seen marked improvements in addressing our workload across the board.

Here are some of the key points about how the Paid Leave Oregon and Unemployment Insurance programs are doing as of July 16:

Unemployment Insurance:

Taking extra time to resolve claim issues is working! Overall UI claim volume has increased since the start of the new fiscal year as anticipated, but we have still made progress on resolving claim issues that prevent payment.
The percentage of issues that are 6-weeks old and older that are preventing payments are decreasing, showing that we are getting more efficient. And the percentages of claim issues that are less than 3-weeks old are increasing, showing we are getting faster. For example, 75% of claim issues preventing payments are 3-weeks old or less.
How much money? About $14m of UI benefits are reaching your communities every week; $404m since Jan. 1^st; with about 30,000 submitted weekly claims each week.

Paid Leave Oregon

Since going live with the program in 2023, we have provided over half a billion dollars ($500m) in Paid Leave Oregon benefits to customers. While the number of people filing claims has increased, we have still been able to improve service for our customers:

Since May 31, we had reduced the total number of open claims by nearly 29%. In the month since then, we’ve reduced our total by an additional 6%. We’ve also reduced the number of claims that are older than six weeks by 46 percent.
Average wait times in early May were over an hour, and they are now less than 40 minutes.

The hiring and training of new employees in both programs continues. We’re already seeing results based on the additional staff hired since May. As more staff skill up, we anticipate proportionate increases in our efficiencies to address outstanding work and to reduce customer service delays.

We believe that we can maintain these positive trends in overall performance as we get closer to our September updates to the Legislature and have no reason to think that we won’t continue to see ongoing improvements at the same or similar rate.

Frances Improvements

Updates to UI Claim Status in Frances Online for Constituents

On Thursday, July 25, the Oregon Employment Department (OED) updated the statuses of Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims in Frances Online. The goal is to make it easier for claimants to understand what’s going on with their UI claims.

Specifically, OED updated the statuses to better describe what is happening with a claim and make it clear in the description if claimants need to do anything.

For example, if a weekly claim is “In Review,” the description now includes to “check your Frances Online messages or U.S. mail for information daily” because that is where claimants will find the specific details they need, including if they need to provide more information to OED.

For a full breakdown of UI claim statuses and descriptions, please visit unemployment.oregon.gov/frances-status.

Task forces and Workgroups

August will be just as busy with task forces, workgroups, and events. It seems many of my upcoming meetings this month revolve around transportation. I’m working hard to gain traction on our safety concerns and maintenance needs.

Oregon Hunger Task Force

You can find more information about this task force here: Oregon Hunger Task Force

Chronic Absenteeism Work Group

Some information and tools on how to help families keep kids in school can be found here: Chronic Absenteeism

Substitute Teacher Task Force

You can view our most recent meeting here: Joint Task Force On Substitute Teachers

Early Literacy Educator Preparation Council

You can watch our most recent meeting here on YouTube: Early Literacy Educator Preparation Council

I also participate in the bipartisan and bicameral Water Caucus and Coastal Caucus. Together we tackle tough issues in regards to water concerns throughout the state and issues that are unique to our coastal communities.

Upcoming Events and Activities

Girls Build camp in Tillamook, sponsored by Hampton Lumber is in it’s fifth year, Girls 8 – 15 years old can learn to build through this one-week summer camp. I see that they are sold out, but there is a waiting list if you want to get your girls name on it. Cost is $300, with plenty of scholarships available, and a wide variety of ways to qualify. Camp includes warm breakfast and lunch, and runs from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday, August 12th – 16th.

The Tillamook County Fair is an event I have participated in for many years. I am part of a group of volunteers that prepare and feed the staff that work to keep the fair going in the background. We make sure they get lunch, dinner, and snacks in between meals starting on Monday prior to the fair all the way through clean up. I truly enjoy participating in our fair and hope everyone has an opportunity to enjoy their county fair this year.

There will be rides, concerts, races and more! For more information follow this link: Tillamook County Fair August 7-10, 2024

Clatsop County is celebrating it’s 180th birthday! On June 22nd 1844 the county was created by Oregon’s provisional government.

To mark the occasion, the Fort George Lovell Showroom in Astoria is hosting an event on August 7th from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM that will feature birthday cake and stories about the counties history. Attendees are invited to share their own stories and listen to those of other residents.

I am also excited to attend this years She Leads event to honor remarkable women and organizations who have generously used their time, talent, and resources to create a positive impact in our state. She leads 2024

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1716 District Phone: 503-300-4493
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-405, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Sen.SuzanneWeber@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/weber/