PORTLAND, Ore.— The owner of a tree removal business was sentenced to prison today for willfully failing to pay over employment taxes to the IRS on behalf of the company she owned and operated.

Joyce Leard, 47, was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release. Leard was also ordered to pay $2,880,346.25 in restitution and $100 special assessment.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from approximately 2017 through 2024, Leard owned and operated Mr. Tree Inc., a Happy Valley, Oregon, company that provided tree removal and landscaping services to customers. The company advertised itself as being in business for thirty years and employed approximately 50 to 75 employees each year.

Leard was responsible for withholding Social Security, Medicare, and federal income taxes from the wages of her employees and paying those funds over to the IRS each quarter, as well as filing quarterly employment tax returns with the IRS.

From the fourth quarter of 2018 through the fourth quarter of 2020, Leard withheld taxes from her employees’ wages but did not pay over those taxes to the IRS or file quarterly employment tax returns. Instead, she used funds in Mr. Tree’s business bank account to pay other expenses and creditors and purchased approximately $3.5 million of real estate. During this period, the company also did not file a corporate tax return, and, from 2018 through 2020, Leard did not file a personal income tax return, as required by law. 

Leard’s conduct caused a total tax loss of over $3.5 million.

On January 14, 2025, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a 12-count indictment charging Leard with willful failure to account for and pay over tax and willful failure to file return.

On June 16, 2025, Leard pleaded guilty to one count of willful failure to account for and pay over tax.

IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Trial Attorneys J. Parker Gochenour and Megan E. Wessel of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section prosecuted the case with substantial support from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

Salem, OR—The Oregon Department of Revenue has begun distributing refunds for the 2025 tax year. Through February 17, the department has processed more than 500,000 electronically filed tax returns.

Most taxpayers can expect to receive their refunds within two weeks of the date their return is filed. Some returns, however, require additional review and can take up to 20 weeks before a refund is issued.

Oregon is returning a $1.41 billion revenue surplus “kicker” to taxpayers in 2026. The kicker credit will either increase a taxpayer's refund or decrease the amount of state taxes they owe.

Only taxpayers who filed a tax year 2024 return and also file a tax year 2025 return can receive a kicker. The credit is a percentage of Oregon personal income tax liability for the 2024 tax year. Taxpayers can determine the amount of their kicker using a “What’s My Kicker? calculator available on Revenue Online.

The department encourages taxpayers to file electronically. On average, taxpayers who e-file their returns and request their refund via direct deposit receive their refund within two weeks. Those who file paper returns will experience a significantly longer wait in 2026 due to processing delays.

In the closing months of 2025, the IRS was late providing necessary tax form information to the Oregon Department of Revenue. As a result, the state’s processing of paper-filed Oregon personal income tax returns will not begin until the end of March. The first refunds for paper-filed returns are not expected to be issued until April.

Taxpayers can check the status of their e-filed refund by using the department’s Where’s My Refund? tool. The Department of Revenue recommends that taxpayers wait one week after they have electronically filed their return to use the Where’s My Refund tool. Paper-filed returns won’t show up in the Where’s My Refund? tool until processing begins in late March. Taxpayers mailing their return should wait two weeks after the department starts processing paper returns in late March or after mailing their return, whichever is later.

The Where’s My Refund? tool has been updated for 2026, providing clear messaging about the status of their return to taxpayers who are signed into their Revenue Online account. Taxpayers who don’t already have a Revenue Online account can create one by following the Revenue Online link on the department’s website. Taxpayers who don’t have a Revenue Online account can still use the Where’s My Refund? tool but won’t be able to see the updated features.

A video outlining the refund process and timelines is also available to help taxpayers understand the process.

Taxpayers should file just once unless they need to make a change to their return. They should choose to either file electronically or by paper. Doing both will delay processing of their return.

In addition to checking the status of their refund, taxpayers can make payments, or get tax forms by visiting the department’s website. Questions can be emailed to questions.dor@dor.oregon.gov.

Taxpayers can also call 800-356-4222 toll-free from an Oregon prefix (English or Spanish) or 503-378-4988 in Salem and outside Oregon. For TTY (hearing or speech impaired), the department accepts all relay calls.
 

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CORVALLIS, Ore. — Benton County recognized the Day of Remembrance for Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II in the Feb. 17 Board of Commissioners meeting.

Dr. Janet Seiko Nishihara, director of the Educational Opportunities Program at Oregon State University, read a proclamation recognizing Feb. 19 as the Day of Remembrance of Japanese Americans Incarcerated During World War II.

The national Day of Remembrance commemorates the signing of Executive Order 9066 in 1942, which led to the forced removal and incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans. Communities across the United States hold events each February to honor those affected and reflect on civil rights and civil liberties.

Benton County Deputy District Attorney Kevin Hashizume joined Nishihara before the Board to share personal connections in his family’s history. A recording of the proclamation reading is available on the Benton County Board of Commissioners meeting video at the 14:30 mark.

Nishihara reflected on both injustice and resilience, emphasizing that sharing personal and family histories remains critical to helping the broader community understand the lasting impacts of incarceration and why the message of “Never Again” must continue. 

“Our stories are two of the thousands from the incarceration and can add greatly to the understanding of the larger community about the ramifications of what happened and why ‘Never Again’ is a theme that we must keep going,” Nishihara said.

She also emphasized that remembrance includes recognizing both the hardships faced and the strength communities demonstrated under confinement.

“Despite the conditions in which they lived, Japanese Americans were resourceful and stood up systems and structures that continued to bring their community together,” Nishihara said. “During this time, they created their own churches, post offices, security departments, fire brigades, schools, and recreational and educational activities for the many children in the camps."

"While all of these activities and internal structures were built by the incarcerated Japanese residents, they were still surrounded by armed guards and barbed wire, which were constant reminders of the denial of their civil rights.”

For Hashizume, this history hits close to home. His father, Naotaka “John” Hashizume, was a young child when his family was incarcerated at the Heart Mountain camp in Wyoming. Growing up, Kevin Hashizume said the experience was rarely discussed directly at home.

“We just called it ‘camp,’” Hashizume said. “As kids we thought it was like a summer camp or something.”

He said it was not until adulthood that he fully understood the emotional weight the experience carried for his father. Looking back, he began to notice patterns — including his father’s reluctance to travel outside California.

“He wanted to stay where he felt safe and comfortable, and he wouldn’t always say why,” Hashizume said. “It wasn’t until I was older that I realized how much it affected him.”

Hashizume said his own visit to Heart Mountain brought a new level of understanding. Seeing the location in person while his children were close to the same age his father had been at the time created a powerful emotional connection.

“I thought about what that must have been like and whether I would have been strong enough,” he said. “They had a comfortable life in Hollywood with a nice house. Everything was taken, and they left with only what they could carry.”

Watching preserved home movies and photographs of his family playing as children while at Heart Mountain added another layer of emotion. Hashizume said he is proud his grandfather intentionally documented and safeguarded that history.

“It’s something we were never taught in school,” he said. “To know my grandfather put real effort into preserving it means a lot to be able to bring that history back into focus.”

The Hashizume family maintains strong ties to the Japanese American National Museum and to the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center in Wyoming, where interviews, photographs and artifacts connected to the family are archived and shared with the public.

Hashizume also noted that some modern migrant detention facilities exist near or on the same sites as former incarceration camps, one reason many families and advocacy groups continue to speak out and work to keep the history visible.

Benton County District Attorney Ryan Joslin said Hashizume’s family connection makes him a valuable resource when discussing the topic. Joslin noted that Hashizume keeps several historic photographs and related items displayed in his office and willingly shares them to help others better understand the history. 

While D.A. Joslin does not have a personal family connection to wartime incarceration, the subject is meaningful to him. He lived in Japan from 1987 to 1989 and later majored in Japanese as an undergraduate, experiences he said gave him a lasting appreciation for the people of Japan, their culture and history.

An interview with Naotaka “John” Hashizume, conducted by the Japanese American National Museum when they brought part of the Eaton Collection to the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center in 2016, is available on Japanese American National Museum YouTube.

Amateur footage from the Hashizume family collection, including scenes from Heart Mountain, is available through Discover Nikkei.

Proclamations read before and adopted by the Benton County Board of Commissioners are a tool to formally acknowledge history and promote public understanding. The Hashizume family’s history serves as an important local example of the relevance of continuing to honor and learn from the past.

WASHINGTON — The Bureau of Land Management is inviting public input for proposed updates to resources management across 2.5 million acres of highly productive timberlands in western Oregon, an effort that underscores the Trump administration’s commitment to expanding domestic timber production and reducing reliance on foreign imports.

“Bringing timber production back to historic levels is essential for reviving local economies and reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires,” said Acting BLM Director Bill Groffy. “President Trump has made it clear — enhanced domestic timber production is vital for our national security, economic prosperity, and effective wildfire management.”

A notice will publish in tomorrow’s Federal Register to open the comment period, which closes on March 23. Additional information is available at the BLM National NEPA Register, where comments may be submitted through the “Participate Now” option. Written comments may also be emailed to LM_OR_Revision_Scoping@blm.gov" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 94, 162);">BLM_OR_Revision_Scoping@blm.gov or delivered to: Attention BLM OR930, 1220 SW 3rd Ave, Portland, OR 97204.

The BLM remains committed to supplying a secure, resilient domestic timber supply. In western Oregon, this commitment is rooted in the Oregon and California Revested Lands Sustained Yield Management Act of 1937, which ensures sustainable forestry practices that support communities and livelihoods.

Revenue from timber harvested on these lands is shared between the U.S. Treasury and 18 western Oregon counties—funding essential local services such as schools, libraries, public safety, and infrastructure projects. Each year, BLM timber sales support approximately 2,000 local jobs and generate more than $1 billion for local economies.

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The BLM manages about 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.

Hepatitis B infant vaccinations, birth parent screenings decline 

OHA’s new interactive dashboard tracks virus data back to 2020 

What you should know:

SALEM, Ore. — The state announces the launch of the Tribal Housing Grant Fund (THGF), which is a first-of-its-kind program to provide state funds to help address the housing needs of the Nine Federally Recognized Tribes of Oregon. 

“The Tribal Housing Grant Fund creates a new framework for how the state works with the Nine Federally Recognized Tribes of Oregon,” said Gov. Tina Kotek. “It represents a meaningful step forward in honoring our government-to-government relationship and ensuring Tribes have the resources and flexibility they need to address their critical housing needs.”

Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) and representatives from Tribal Nations, including housing directors, health and human services directors, and council members, worked for more than a year to develop the program.

“The Tribal Housing Grant Fund is a landmark program that elevates Tribal self-determination in a state-funded program,” said Sami Jo Difuntorum, executive director of Siletz Tribal Housing Department and Housing Stability Council member. “The THGF will provide Oregon’s Nine Federally Recognized Tribes with critical housing resources, providing flexibility in program design.”

“The values, culture, and housing needs of communities are best understood locally,” said OHCS Executive Director Andrea Bell. "In consultation with Oregon’s Nine Federally Recognized Tribes, the Tribal Housing Grant Fund emphasizes self-determination and flexibility in how Tribes use state resources to address local needs. Honoring Tribal sovereignty, in its richest form, calls on us to operationalize this shared value."

In the 2025 Legislative Session, lawmakers allocated $10 million to OHCS to establish the program. Program funds can be used for affordable rental housing and homeownership initiatives, as well as to maintain By and For Initiative-Native American Tribes of Oregon (BAFI-NATO) investments. 

Tribal Nations will receive funds based on a formula that was previously used by the BAFI-NATO program, where each grantee receives a base amount along with Tribal enrollment numbers.

To obtain the funds, grantees must submit a housing plan every biennium outlining how they will use the money.

Eligible THGF program activities include:

• Homelessness response and prevention ​
• Affordable rental housing
• Homeownership support such as down payment and mortgage assistance
• Land acquisition, infrastructure, development, and rehabilitation ​
• Financial assistance and support services for households that qualify
• Capacity building​

Visit the THGF webpage for more program details.  

About Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS)

OHCS is Oregon's housing finance agency. The state agency provides financial and program support to create and preserve opportunities for quality, affordable housing for Oregonians of low and moderate income. OHCS administers programs that provide housing stabilization. OHCS delivers these programs primarily through grants, contracts, and loan agreements with local partners and community-based providers. For more information, please visit: oregon.gov/ohcs.

OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education recognizes inspiring educators and schools with financial support, including paying four mortgages or rents for a full year

PORTLAND, Ore. — OnPoint Community Credit Union is asking the public to nominate exceptional educators for its 17^th annual Prize for Excellence in Education. The program will award $193,000 to eight outstanding educators and five schools across Oregon and southwest Washington.

“OnPoint was founded by teachers more than 90 years ago, and we honor our roots by celebrating educators in our community who inspire future generations,” said Rob Stuart, president and chief executive officer of OnPoint Community Credit Union. “Every day, educators help students build confidence, curiosity and opportunity. We invite the community to once again help us recognize these educators by nominating them for the OnPoint Prize.”

Four winning educators will have their mortgage or rent paid by OnPoint for one year. Four runners-up will each receive a $5,000 cash prize. The OnPoint Prize also includes the Community Builder Award for innovative school projects. Four schools will receive $2,000, and a fifth school selected by community votes will receive $5,000.

About the Nomination Process

Anyone can nominate an outstanding educator or apply for a Community Builder award at onpointprize.com. Educators may also nominate themselves. Applicants must be full-time or job-share classroom teachers, counselors, school administrators or librarians for grades Pre-K-12. They must work in an accredited public, private or charter school located within any county that OnPoint serves. OnPoint also accepts applications for the Community Builder awards within those same counties. The nomination period closes at 11:59 p.m. PST on Tuesday, April 7. Educator of the Year finalists and Community Builder winners will be announced on May 6.

Since 2010, the OnPoint Prize has awarded more than $1 million in prizes to 347 local educators and schools.

This year’s awards include:

• Educators of the Year: Four educators will have their mortgage or rent paid for one year and receive a $2,500 donation to their schools for resources and supplies. One educator from each category below will be chosen:
  • Grades K-5
  • Grades 6-8
  • Grades 9-12
  • Gold Star: This category recognizes one educator who is a pre-kindergarten teacher, school counselor, substitute teacher, librarian or school administrator.

Runners-up: Four educators, one from each of the above categories, will receive a $5,000 cash award and a $1,500 donation to each of their schools for resources and supplies.

• Community Builder Awards: One school, selected by community votes, will receive $5,000 for a project that will meaningfully improve that school or community. Four additional schools will each receive $2,000 for special projects.

About last year’s winners

The winners of the 2025 Educators of the Year who had their mortgage or rent paid over the last year were:

• Ricardo Barber, 3^rd grade teacher at Faubion Elementary, Portland, Ore.
• Rhiannon Young, 6^th-8^th grade teacher at Corbett Middle School, Corbett, Ore.
• Sophia Aguirre, 9^th-12^th grade English Language Development at Aloha High School, Beaverton, Ore.
• Hang Jones, Social Worker at Marysville Elementary School, Portland, Ore.

OnPoint awarded five Community Builder grants in 2025 to fund innovative school projects that inspire students, foster community, demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and reach a broad segment of the school community.

The $5,000 Community Builder Award, selected by community votes, went to Morningside Elementary School in Salem, Ore. The award funded new portable risers for the school’s choir program, giving every student a safe, visible place during performances and community events. Four schools received the $2,000 award:

• Abiqua School: Nature Trail – A Path to Outdoor Learning (Salem-Keizer School District, Salem, Ore.)
• Innovation Academy: Community Garden (Medford School District, Medford, Ore.)
• Sherwood Charter School: H.E.A.R.T Care Closet (Sherwood School District, Sherwood, Ore.)

Skyridge Middle School: Flood Recovery for Books (Camas School District, Camas, Wash.)

For information about the OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education, additional qualifications and contest rules, please visit onpointprize.com. 

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About OnPoint Community Credit Union

OnPoint Community Credit Union is the largest credit union headquartered in Oregon, with assets of over $9.5 billion and serving more than 633,000 members throughout Oregon and southwest Washington. Founded in 1932, OnPoint Community Credit Union’s membership is available to anyone who lives or works in one of 28 Oregon counties (Benton, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Coos, Crook, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Gilliam, Hood River, Jackson, Jefferson, Josephine, Klamath, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Morrow, Multnomah, Polk, Sherman, Tillamook, Wasco, Washington, Wheeler and Yamhill) and who lives, works, worships, or attends school in one of four Washington counties (Clark, Cowlitz, Lewis, and Skamania), and their immediate family members. OnPoint Community Credit Union is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). More information is available at onpointcu.com.

Salem, Ore. – For the third time in a row, the Oregon Lottery has received the World Lottery Association’s (WLA) highest level of certification for its Responsible Gambling/Safer Play program. The certification of Oregon Lottery’s program is a “best in class” designation for a three-year period. 

WLA Level Four Certification for Responsible Gambling is the highest level of responsible gambling certification recognized internationally. The Oregon Lottery was one of the first lotteries in the U.S. to reach this level, first being certified in 2018. Receiving WLA Level Four Certification represents the highest standard of commitment to player protection, demonstrating that an organization has fully embedded responsible gambling principles into its governance, operations, and culture.  

“Maintaining our WLA Level Four certification for more than eight years demonstrates our commitment to continuous improvement in Safer Play,” said Mike Wells, director of the Oregon Lottery. “To keep pace with a fast-evolving gambling market, we have responded with innovation and will continue to focus on trust with our players.”

The WLA is recognized as the global authority on the lottery business. It serves the interests of 167 state-authorized lotteries world-wide and gaming organizations from more than 89 countries on six continents. The WLA’s Responsible Gaming Principles and Framework is a certification program that outlines lotteries’ level of commitment to corporate social responsibility and responsible gaming. It allows for cultural and regional differences and is designed to complement and improve the safeguards that individual lottery operators have in place. Oregon Lottery’s program has several unique and impactful focus areas, including the following: 

• Investment in research to identify opportunities to support those just beginning to experience gambling harms and those affected by someone else's gambling. 
• Lottery staff and retailer training that includes self-care strategies for those charged with the important work of promoting Safer Play. 
• "Always On" Safer Play specific advertising to engage players with tools and connect them to help.  

Since the Oregon Lottery began selling tickets on April 25, 1985, it has earned $17.8 billion for economic development, public education, outdoor school, state parks, veteran services, and watershed enhancements. For more information on the Oregon Lottery or to read the Responsible Gaming Impacts Report, visit www.oregonlottery.org. 

SALEM, Oregon— Oregon State Parks is hiring seasonal Park Rangers and Park Ranger Assistants for positions across the state for the 2026 season.

Hiring starts as soon as this month and runs through June with new positions listed on a rolling basis on the website. The positions last anywhere from four to nine months. Most seasonal staff work April through September, but some start as early as this month or work as late as December.

Seasonal staff help visitors access world-class experiences and ensure clean and safe park areas for everyone to enjoy. Duties include janitorial work, landscape maintenance, visitor education and visitor services.

Salaries start at $20.28 per hour for seasonal assistants and $23.79 for seasonal rangers. Both positions include comprehensive medical, vision and dental plans for employees and qualified family members. The positions also include paid sick leave, vacation, personal leave and 11 paid holidays per year. Student workers, ages 16 and older, who are enrolled in high school start at $20.27 or more per hour, depending on experience.

Several of Oregon State Parks' top leaders started their careers as seasonal employees, including all three Region Directors.

“We are focused on developing an engaged workforce by partnering with staff on career development, investing in skill building and fostering a culture of belonging. Whether you’re here for a season or your entire career, you make a difference in protecting and promoting Oregon’s special places,” said interim Director Stefanie Coons.

Seasonal staff gain valuable skills working with experienced Park Rangers at parks around the state. Positions are available in Oregon’s coastal areas, scenic valleys, and mountain regions, offering opportunities to work in some of the most beautiful places in the Pacific Northwest.

For more information about current openings, visit https://bit.ly/oregonparkjobs. If you have any questions or need additional assistance in accessibility or alternative formats, please email Oregon Parks and Recreation Department Recruiting D.Recruiting@oprd.oregon.gov">OPRD.Recruiting@oprd.oregon.gov.

Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, committed to diversity and pay equity.

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The ISOR-PH Regular board meeting has been scheduled for February 19th, 2026 @11:30.

Insight School of Oregon Painted Hills Board Members are hereby notified that a Meeting of the Board is scheduled for February 19th, 2026 @11:30am. 

The meeting will take place on February 19th, 2026 @11:30am.

Insight School of Oregon Painted Hills Board Members are hereby notified that the Meeting of the Board will be held at:

1.Via Teleconference - using any of the following US phone numbers

+1 253 215 8782

+1 346 248 7799

+1 669 900 9128

+1 301 715 8592

+1 312 626 6799

+1 646 558 8656

Meeting ID is: 915 0788 7277

And

2. Via Zoom Meeting Link:

https://onlineoregon-org.zoom.us/j/91507887277

The Public has been invited to the Board Meeting with notices posted at the following locations:

A. FlashNet Newswire

http://flashalertbend.net/press-releases.html

B. Insight School of Oregon Painted Hills Office

603 NW 3rd Street

Prineville, OR 97754

PORTLAND, Ore.—U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford announced today that the District of Oregon collected more than $20.2 million in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2025. Of this amount, nearly $15 million was collected in criminal actions and over $5.2 million was collected in civil actions. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.

“The District of Oregon’s Asset Recovery and Money Laundering Unit provides critical support to victims of crime by holding those who profit from criminal conduct accountable and pursuing civil recoveries,” said U.S. Attorney Bradford. “We take seriously our obligation to make victims as financially whole as possible. Our annual collections reflect the dedication, persistence, and resolve of our team in the pursuit of justice.”

For example, to date, the government has recovered over $4.5 million in restitution from Sergey and Galina Lebedenko, who used their ill-gotten gains to purchase fourteen homes and properties, seven vehicles, an ownership interest in a private jet, and countless luxury items. After pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and wire fraud, the Lebedenkos were ordered to pay over $33 million in restitution. The government sought to remit and restore forfeited assets on behalf of the victim, including real properties and nineteen financial accounts.

In another example, the government secured the full restitution payment totaling $1.346 million from Michael James Defrees, who was convicted of wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. Defrees agreed to satisfy this obligation prior to sentencing, but failed to do so. The United States secured payment through seizing three vehicles, multiple winter sports equipment, a racing boat, and a trailer, and helped facilitate the sale of two parcels of real property to pay his restitution judgment in full and satisfy his forfeiture money judgment.

The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims Fund, which distributes the funds collected to federal and state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

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UPDATE: Earlier today, Desiree Danielle Johnson, 35, was arrested by the Florida Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force (FCRFTF) in Pinellas Park, Florida, on a nationwide felony warrant out of Klamath County related to a fatal crash on Highway 97 near milepost 174 on February 29, 2024.
 

Oregon State Police requested the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service in apprehending Johnson, who failed to appear for court. Charges stemming from the 2024 crash include criminally negligent homicide, second-degree assault, and reckless driving.

Johnson is being held at the Pinellas County Jail awaiting extradition to Oregon.

Klamath County, Ore. 29 Feb. 24- On Thursday, February 29, 2024, at 10:02 a.m., Oregon State Police responded to a two-vehicle crash on Hwy-97, near milepost 174, in Klamath County.

The preliminary investigation indicated a southbound Peterbilt CMV and trailer, operated by Desiree Danielle Johnson (34) of St. Petersburg (FL), when it lost control and jackknifed in the roadway. The Peterbilt spun and crossed into the path of a northbound Honda Pilot, operated by Elise Adair Farrens (37) of La Pine, where the Honda struck the CMV trailer.

The operator of the Honda (Farrens) was declared deceased at the scene. A passenger in the Honda, Daviana Marie Trussell (23) of La Pine, was transported to the hospital with critical injuries.  Trussell, who was pregnant, tragically suffered the loss of her child due to injuries sustained during the crash.

The operator of the Peterbilt (Johnson) reportedly suffered minor injuries.

The highway was impacted for approximately 3.5 hours during the on-scene investigation. The investigation is ongoing at this time.

OSP was assisted by the Deschutes County Sheriff's Department, Crescent Fire, and ODOT.

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About the Oregon State Police
Oregon State Police (OSP) is a multi-disciplined organization that is charged with protecting the people, wildlife, and natural resources in Oregon. OSP enforces traffic laws on the state’s roadways, investigates and solves crime, conducts postmortem examinations and forensic analysis, and provides background checks, and law enforcement data. The agency regulates gaming and enforces fish, wildlife, and natural resource laws. OSP is comprised of more than 1,400 staff members – including troopers, investigators, and professional staff – who provide a full range of policing and public safety services to Oregon and other law enforcement agencies throughout Oregon.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Allison Mora, Communications Manager | Oregon Coalition of Local Health Officials | 971-480-0752 | allison@oregonclho.org

SB 1573 Will Not Advance After Federal Court Ruling Establishes ADA Protections for Harm Reduction Services

A landmark ruling in Washington state that restrictions on syringe programs violate the ADA proves decisive for the Oregon bill

PORTLAND, Ore. – February 12, 2026 – Senate Bill 1573, which would have prohibited syringe service programs (SSPs) from operating within 2,000 feet of schools and licensed childcare facilities, will not advance during the 2026 legislative session.

The Oregon Coalition of Local Health Officials (CLHO), representing Oregon’s 33 local public health authorities, engaged extensively in the legislative process around SB 1573–testifying at the February 6th public hearing and working collaboratively with stakeholders and legislators to develop a proposed amendment that would have addressed community concerns while preserving the ability of local health authorities to maintain evidence-based harm reduction programs.

“As written, SB 1573 would’ve resulted in drastically decreasing access to harm reduction and other clean syringe services like mobile diabetes care,” said Sarah Lochner, CLHO Executive Director. "We would then see increases in disease transmission, emergency department visits, and costs to the healthcare system – the opposite of what the legislature is trying to accomplish this session.” 

Federal Court Ruling on ADA Protections Proves Decisive

A key factor in the bill's failure to advance was a significant federal legal development. On February 10, 2026, a landmark settlement was reached in Lewis County, Washington, in which a federal court determined that restrictions on syringe exchange programs violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The case, brought by the ACLU on behalf of Gather Church, challenged a county ordinance that restricted the church’s mobile syringe exchange and barred the distribution of fentanyl and xylazine test strips. 

U.S. District Court Chief Judge David Estudillo ruled that syringe exchange programs constitute “health services or services in connection with drug rehabilitation" under the ADA, meaning that restricting access to these programs could amount to discrimination against individuals with substance use disorders. As part of the settlement, Lewis County repealed the ordinance and agreed to pay $500,000 in attorney's fees.

This ruling had direct implications for SB 1573. Had the bill advanced, it could have faced similar legal challenges under the ADA, potentially exposing the state of Oregon to costly litigation.

The Proposed Amendment: A Balanced Approach  

CLHO and public health partners developed a proposed amendment to SB 1573 that took a more measured approach than the original bill. The amendment would have:

• Reduced the buffer zone from 2,000 feet to 1,000 feet for mobile or temporary SSP locations near schools

• Established a statewide SSP registration system administered by OHA, including requirements for safe needle disposal plans

• Exempted SSPs operated by or contracted through state, local, or tribal governments

• Provided a waiver process for local public health authorities during declared public health emergencies

The amendment also represented a good-faith effort to balance community concerns about syringe litter near schools with the evidence-based public health need for accessible harm reduction services.

Why Syringe Service Programs Matter

Syringe service programs (SSPs) are a critical component of Oregon's public health infrastructure and are recognized by the CDC, the U.S. Surgeon General, and the World Health Organization as an evidence-based strategy for preventing the spread of HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C. SSPs also serve as a vital point of entry for individuals to access substance use treatment, naloxone for overdose prevention, wound care, and connections to social services.

Oregon's local public health authorities operate or support SSPs in 22 counties, often serving rural and underserved communities where access to healthcare is already limited. Research consistently demonstrates that SSPs reduce syringe sharing by up to 50%, contributing significantly to reductions in HIV and Hepatitis C transmission.

Looking Ahead

While SB 1573 will not advance during the 2026 short session, CLHO remains committed to working collaboratively with legislators, community members, and public health partners to address the legitimate concerns that prompted this legislation—particularly around syringe litter and child safety—while preserving the lifesaving harm reduction services on which Oregon's communities depend.

About CLHO

The Coalition of Local Health Officials (CLHO) is a statewide coalition representing Oregon's local health departments and health officials. CLHO advocates for policies and resources that strengthen Oregon's public health system, promote health equity, and support the health of communities served by local health departments across the state. 

For more information about CLHO's legislative priorities, visit oregonclho.org/advocacy.

Sources

• SB 1573 (Oregon Legislature)

• Sarah Lochner’s Testimony on behalf of CLHO (Oregon Legislature)

• Proposed Amendments to SB 1573 (Oregon Legislature)

• Overdose-Related Services & Projects Summary by Oregon County: Syringe Service Programs (SSPs) Breakdown by County (Pages 6-7, Updated April 2025 | OHA)

• STAT News: Landmark settlement could create new protections for harm reduction under disability law (Feb. 10, 2026)

• KATU: Public Safety vs. Public Health — Oregon needle exchange bill sparks heated debate (Feb. 6, 2026)

• FOX 12: Oregon lawmakers hear testimony on bill to ban needle exchanges near schools (Feb. 5, 2026)

For Immediate Release: Feb. 13, 2026

Media Contact:  Communications@employ.oregon.gov; obin.Maxey@dor.oregon.gov">Robin.Maxey@dor.oregon.gov

WorkSource Oregon, Department of Revenue team up to provide free tax help events 

SALEM, Ore. — Oregon taxpayers can get free help filing their federal and state personal income tax returns electronically at six different WorkSource Oregon locations across the state in February and March.

WorkSource Oregon and the Oregon Department of Revenue are teaming up to provide the assistance. Volunteers from Revenue will be stationed at local WorkSource Oregon centers to help guide taxpayers through the filing process using the free public-access computers and Wi-Fi internet service.

The first event is planned for Wednesday, February 18, at the WorkSource center at 120 E Lincoln, Suite 115b, in Woodburn. Other events are planned in Hillsboro, Eugene, southeast Portland, Lebanon, and Bend.

“WorkSource Oregon centers are trusted community spaces where Oregonians come to find jobs, build skills, and get connected to services,” said Andrew R. Stolfi, director of the Oregon Employment Department, which is a partner of WorkSource Oregon. “Partnering with the Department of Revenue to offer free tax filing assistance is a natural extension of our customer-service mission. We are thrilled to help Oregonians get support in filing their taxes, claiming the credits they’ve earned, and keeping more money in their pockets.”

“We know that filing your taxes can be a scary and confusing process. We are excited to partner with WorkSource Oregon to provide in person help to make it easier for Oregonians to file their taxes for free, check if they are eligible for refundable tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit or Oregon Kids Credit, and claim their share of the kicker,” said David Gerstenfeld, Department of Revenue director.

WorkSource Oregon is a statewide partnership with the Oregon Employment Department and state, local, and nonprofit agencies. WorkSource provides a variety of employment and training services to job seekers and employers in Oregon, helping people find jobs and businesses find talent. 

Taxpayers are encouraged to set up a Revenue Online account through the Department of Revenue’s website before coming to an event if they plan to use Direct File Oregon. They should bring tax information with them, including:
 

• Social security number or ITIN for everyone on their tax return
• Forms W-2 (wages from a job)
• Forms 1099-G, 1099-R, 1099-INT (other income) if applicable
• Form SSA-1099 (Social Security Benefits)
• Bank routing and account numbers for direct deposit (can be found on their checks)
• Last year’s tax return

The full schedule includes events at the following locations.

The Oregon Employment Department (OED) provides economic stability to Oregon communities by providing vital services to both businesses and workers. OED supports businesses with finding qualified job candidates, labor market information, tax incentives and support, and retaining talent through economic downturns. OED promotes employment through wage replacement benefits during unemployment and significant life events, job placement, training, and useful career information. Learn more at employment.oregon.gov.  

OED’s Workforce Operations division is a partner in WorkSource Oregon, a consortium of state agencies and local workforce boards, and operates 37 WorkSource Oregon centers across the state. WorkSource Oregon offers a wide range of free services, including personalized career coaching, resume writing, interview practice, and job search strategies. For employers and businesses, WorkSource Oregon provides support for job postings and finding qualified candidates, hiring incentives, and access to labor-market data – all at no cost. Visit worksourceoregon.org for more information. 

To get tax forms, check the status of their refund, or make tax payments, taxpayers can visit the Department of Revenue website or email questions.dor@oregon.gov. Taxpayers can also call 800-356-4222 toll-free from an Oregon prefix (English or Spanish) or 503-378-4988 in Salem and outside Oregon. For TTY (hearing- or speech-impaired), the Department of Revenue accepts all relay calls.

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Salem, Ore. – With more than $1.3 million in revenue generated for Oregon in sports betting, this year’s Super Bowl is the biggest single sports event of the year. Oregonians placed $8.4 million in wagers for the Super Bowl, up from $8.2 million last year, through Oregon Lottery’s DraftKings Sportsbook. There were more than 450,000 bets placed with an average wager of $18.30.

“The Super Bowl is a significant revenue-driving event for Oregon,” said Kerry Hemphill, Oregon Lottery sports betting products manager. “This year, revenue trended down from last year because of the strong in-state support for the Seahawks, who were favored and won.”

Players had more than 1,000 “prop bets” to choose from, such as which team would score first, and which player would be named MVP. Below are the results of some of the prop bets:

• On the coin toss, 9,159 bets were placed and 3,932 won the wager for the Patriots to win the toss.
• Of 9,679 bets, 1,488 correctly picked the Gatorade color as yellow. 

The player with the biggest win of the day was a customer from Portland who placed a $1,000 bet in August 2025 on the Seahawks winning the game. That wager resulted in a $60,000 win.

Oregon saw a 9% increase in the number of unique, active players who placed a wager on the gaming platform from 2025. Last year, Oregon players placed 456,000 bets. Oregon Lottery debuted online sports betting in October 2019.

To play Oregon Lottery’s DraftKings Sportsbook or for more about the game, go to https://www.oregonlottery.org/sports/.

Since the Oregon Lottery began selling tickets on April 25, 1985, it has earned nearly $17.8 billion for economic development, public education, outdoor school, state parks, veteran services, and watershed enhancements. For more information on the Oregon Lottery visit www.oregonlottery.org.

SALEM, Oregon—The Oregon State Parks and Recreation Commission will convene February 23 and 24 for a virtual meeting.

On February 23, commissioners will hold a work session from 1-3 p.m. on natural resource policy updates and conflict of interest training.

On February 24, commissioners will convene an executive session at 8:30 a.m. virtually to discuss acquisition priorities and opportunities, and potential litigation. The Executive Session will be held pursuant to ORS 192.660(2)(e) and (h) and is closed to the public.

A business meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m. virtually and will be open to the public. All public commission meetings are streamed live to YouTube at https://bit.ly/oprdlive.

Anyone may attend or listen to the business meeting; instructions on how to listen will be posted on the commission web page prior to the meeting. The business meeting includes time for informal public comment not related to items on the agenda.

Registration is required to speak during the informal public comment portion. Register online at https://bit.ly/registerfeb2026commission. The deadline to register to speak at the meeting virtually is 5 p.m., Feb. 20. Time per speaker is limited to three minutes. Please submit written public comments by 5 p.m. Feb. 20 to Cpubliccomment@oprd.oregon.gov">OPRCpubliccomment@oprd.oregon.gov.

The full agenda and supporting documents are posted on the commission web page. Notable requests:

• Acknowledgement of a donation from Fastap Screw Company.
• Request to approve grant recommendations for the following:
  • County Opportunity
  • All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)
• Request to approve construction contracts for Lake Owyhee and Cape Lookout.
• Request to approve adoption of proposed amendment to rules regarding operations of unmanned aircraft systems in state parks and along the ocean shore.
• Request to approve adoption of proposed changes to update Division 15 Rates and Reservation Policy, which includes possible changes to the rules around cancellations, refunds, special access passes and rate ranges starting in 2026. The proposed changes are designed to improve the long-term financial sustainability of the state park system and maximize the availability of campsites for visitors by encouraging early cancellation.

Anyone needing special accommodations to attend the meeting should contact Denise Warburton, commission assistant, at least three days in advance at burton@oprd.oregon.gov">denise.warburton@oprd.oregon.gov or 503-779-9729.

The Oregon State Parks and Recreation Commission promotes outdoor recreation and heritage by establishing policies, adopting rules and setting the budget for the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. The seven members are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Oregon Senate. They serve four-year terms and meet several times a year at locations across the state.

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The Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation (OLSHF) is very pleased to announce a continuing partnership with the Wildhorse Foundation, representing Northeast Oregon and the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla people. The Wildhorse Foundation recently awarded a substantial grant to OLSHF to continue the vaunted OLSHF School Vision Screening Program in Umatilla County and the surrounding region.

The Wildhorse Foundation has supported the OLSHF School Vision Screening Program since 2008, helping to provide students with the highest quality vision screening available. Annually, the Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation provides these screenings to almost 200,000 Oregon students, including almost 9,500 in the Wildhorse Foundation service area. These vision screenings are efficient, objective, accurate and equitable and a whole class of students can be screened in less than 5 minutes. Screenings are led by a regional Lion staff member of OLSHF and are conducted by volunteers, including members of the numerous Lions Clubs in the Wildhorse Foundation Service area. The results are secured and returned to the school in less than a week, accompanied by resources for low-cost/no-cost vision exams and eyeglasses for underserved students.

As a school nurse friend of OLSHF says: “If Johnny can’t see, Johnny can’t read. If Johnny can’t read, Johnny can’t learn”. The Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation is proud to partner with the Wildhorse Foundation and other tribal entities around Oregon to promote greater success by Oregon students, including a notable increase in the Oregon high school graduation rate.

Each year, the Wildhorse Foundation makes grants to eligible nonprofit, government, and Tribal organizations within the homeland area of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla people. Also eligible for funding are Tribal government agencies or Native American charitable organizations with their base of operations within Oregon, as well as national or regional Indian organizations.

The Wildhorse Foundation has awarded a total of over $19 million in grant funding since its establishment in 2001. Grants are awarded on a quarterly basis with the deadlines being January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1. For more information, visit the Foundation’s website at www.thewildhorsefoundation.com.

To learn more about the Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation School Vision Screening Program and other vision and hearing programs, please visit www.olshf.org.

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PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR SUB-COMMITTEE

MEETING SCHEDULED

Notice of Regular Meeting

The Private Investigator Sub-Committee of the Private Security/Investigators Policy Committee for the Board on Public Safety Standards and Training will hold a regular meeting on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at 11:00 a.m., in the Governor Victor G. Atiyeh Boardroom at the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST or Department) located at 4190 Aumsville Hwy SE, Salem, Oregon. For further information, please contact Juan Lopez at (503) 551-3167.

The meeting will be live streamed on the DPSST YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/@DPSST?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery. Click or tap if you trust this link.">https://www.youtube.com/@DPSST.

Amended Agenda Items:

1. Introductions

2. Approve November 18, 2025, Meeting Minutes

3. David J. Huckins, PIID No. 080024

   Private Investigator Renewal Application Review

   Presented by Michelle Morrison

4. Agency Update

5. Round Table

6. Next Scheduled Meeting - TBD

Administrative Announcement

This is a public meeting, subject to the public meeting law and it will be recorded. Deliberation of issues will only be conducted by Private Security/Private Investigations Policy Committee members unless permitted by the Chair. Individuals who engage in disruptive behavior that impedes official business will be asked to stop being disruptive or leave the meeting. Additional measures may be taken to have disruptive individuals removed if their continued presence poses a safety risk to the other persons in the room or makes it impossible to continue the meeting.

APPLICANT REVIEW COMMITTEE

MEETING SCHEDULED

The Applicant Review Committee of the Board on Public Safety Standards and Training will hold a regular meeting at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training located at 4190 Aumsville Hwy SE, Salem, Oregon. For further information, please contact Juan Lopez (503) 551-3167.

To view the Applicant Review Committee's live-stream and other recorded videos, please visit DPSST’s official YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/@DPSST.

Agenda Items:

1. Introductions

2. Approve December 17, 2025, Meeting Minutes

3. Micah Edwards, DPSST No. 67044; Columbia County Sheriff's Office

    Presented by Cindy Park

4. Joseph Flores, DPSST No. 67043; Multnomah County Sheriff's Office

    Presented by Cindy Park

5. Inquiry Closure Memos – Information Only

    Presented by Cindy Park

6. Next Applicant Review Committee Meeting – March 25, 2026, at 11:00 a.m.

Administrative Announcement

This is a public meeting, subject to the public meeting law and it will be recorded. Deliberation of issues will only be conducted by Applicant Review Committee members unless permitted by the Chair. Individuals who engage in disruptive behavior that impedes official business will be asked to stop being disruptive or leave the meeting. Additional measures may be taken to have disruptive individuals removed if their continued presence poses a safety risk to the other persons in the room or makes it impossible to continue the meeting.

SALEM, Oregon – Brenda Mallory leads a group of 10 Oregon visual artists awarded 2026 Individual Artist Fellowships and receives the Oregon Arts Commission’s honorary Joan Shipley Award. The other Fellows are Nancy Floyd, Sam Hamilton, Nancy Helmsworth, Horatio Hung-Yan Law, Michelle Muldrow, Jennifer Rabin, Rick Silva, Taravat Talepas and John Whitten. Each Fellow will receive a $5,000 award.

The Joan Shipley Award, named for Oregon arts leader Joan Shipley, honors her legacy as a collector, philanthropist, and champion of the arts. Shipley, who passed away in 2011, supported numerous arts and humanities organizations and, with her husband John, received an Oregon Governor’s Arts Award in 2005. She was widely regarded as a mentor and friend within the arts community.

The Arts Commission’s Fellowship program is open to more than 20,000 Oregon-based artists. Applicants are reviewed by a panel of Oregon arts professionals who evaluate outstanding talent, demonstrated ability, and commitment to creating new work. The Commission then acts on the panel’s recommendations. For 2026, the program received 208 applications. Visual and performing artists are honored in alternating years.

The 2026 review panel was chaired by David Harrelson, Arts Commissioner, and included arts professionals Abby McGehee, Professor and Art Historian; artists Kim Fink and Michael Boonstra (a 2024 Arts Commission Artist Fellow); Michael Lazarus, Assistant Professor, PNCA Willamette University; Nanette Thrush, Teaching Assistant Professor of Art History at Western University; and William Cravis, Artist and Sole Proprietor of Sisters Slipworks.

“This program is more competitive than ever owing to the exceptional talent of Oregon’s artists and the increasing number of applications,” said Harrelson. “I am inspired to see such thoughtful work grounded in conveying understanding of place and practice. It’s a reminder of how reflective of place our arts community truly is.”

Fellowship recipient biographies follow. Artists’ photos are attached.

Brenda Mallory lives in Portland, Oregon. She grew up in Oklahoma and is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. She received a B.A. in Linguistics & English from UCLA and a B.F.A. from Pacific Northwest College of Art. Mallory has received grants from the Oregon Arts Commission, the Ford Family Foundation and the Regional Arts & Culture Council. Awards include the Joan Mitchell Fellowship, the Hallie Ford Fellowship, the Bonnie Bronson Fellowship, the Eiteljorg Contemporary Native Art Fellowship, the Native Arts and Culture Foundation Visual Arts Fellowship and the Ucross Native Fellowship. Residencies include Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts, Bullseye Glass and International Studio & Curatorial Projects. Her work is in the collections of the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Portland Art Museum, the Heard Museum and the Hallie Ford Museum of Art.

Nancy Floyd uses photography, video and mixed-media to address the ways in which lens-based media can connect deeply with experience and memory. Much of her work addresses the passage of time, representations of women and the aging female body. More recently she’s begun a series on trees in Oregon. Floyd is the 2024 recipient of the Victoria & Albert Parasol Foundation Prize for Women in Photography and a 2022 Guggenheim Fellow. Her 39-year self-portrait series, “Weathering Time,” was published in 2021 by the International Center of Photography and GOST books. The work was featured in the New Yorker Photobooth (2021) and the New York Times “T Magazine” (2025). Her artwork is in the collections of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem, the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, and various private collections.

Sam Hamilton (also known as Sam Tam Ham) is a working-class, interdisciplinary artist from Aotearoa, New Zealand, of Pākehā (English settler colonial) descent, who has been living and working in Portland, Oregon, since immigrating to the United States in 2014. After 20 years of full-time practice across multiple fields and global regions, Hamilton’s practice today functions more like an ecology than a discipline. A garden with rich subterranean continuities, fertile hybridization and verdant seasonal displays. A year-long song. That which happens between an entrance and an exit. What emerges can, and has taken various forms, including: opera, painting, sound installation, photography, artist cinema, ceramics, writing, civic works and social practice projects. Recent projects include a major solo exhibition and live opera project “Te Moana Meridian” that has been presented in various forms at Oregon Contemporary as part of Converge 45 Triennial (2023), the Portland Art Museum with PICA and Boom Arts (2024), Artspace Aotearoa (2020), the Simon Fraser University Gibson Art Museum (2025), and Transmediale, Berlin (2021); as well as other recent exhibitions and projects presented at Fumi Store (2026), Theatre for the New City NYC (2025), Critical Signals, Aotearoa (2025) and Public Nature (2025).

Nancy Helmsworth is a Portland, Oregon-based artist who for years, has been drawn to the rugged beauty of the Pacific Northwest. She works primarily with painting on panels and mixed media within installations. Most recently, she has directed her work to Forest Park in Portland, as a lush, representative forest which is readily accessible as a visual lab and subject source. Finding her focus shifting to kulla kulla Creek (means bird in chinuk-wawa, the first language of Oregon), which flows through the Bird Alliance and along Lower Macleay Trail within the park, has led her on a journey of discovery and connection with this feature. She continues to chronicle its infinite variations by the season and by running on foot. Simultaneously, she has dug deep into its “settler” history to respond to the jarring intersection of the colonial mapping/gridding of the area with the wild nature and its persistent energy. This man-made overlay is a metaphor for much of the imbalance between Western culture and the Land, one we can experience and know in our own neighborhoods when we pause to notice.

Horatio Hung-Yan Law is a public and installation artist, curator and photographer based in Portland, Oregon. His work explores memory and belonging through the lens of his queer Asian-American and immigrant identity. He engages diverse communities in collaborative projects that investigate the space between individualistic and collective cultures and foster opportunities for civic dialog. Born in British colonial Hong Kong, Law immigrated to the United States with his parents and settled in New York City when he was a teenager. After moving to Portland, he discovered many hidden histories of Chinese communities all over Oregon, and he was inspired by the resilience and creativity of these oppressed and marginalized communities. Since then, he has produced numerous exhibitions and installations that explored Oregon Chinese history and his immigrant experience. He has also created multiple public art projects in the Pacific Northwest. As Lead Artist and Master Art Planner for the AIDS Memorial Pathway in Seattle, he created Ribbon of Light, his suite of public art sculptures at Cal Anderson Park. Law has been an artistic advisor for Portland Chinatown Museum (PCM) since 2018 and received a Creative Heights Grant in 2022 from Oregon Community Foundation to develop a residency program at PCM.

Michelle Muldrow is an American painter based in Portland, Oregon. Born on a military base in Oklahoma, Muldrow spent her formative years living on Air Force bases throughout America. This nomadic experience laid the foundation for a fascination with the American landscape. Muldrow’s work focuses on the experience of landscape using the medium of painting to explore history, aesthetic philosophy, the environment and the concepts of home. As a landscape painter, Muldrow paints the relationships between the present and the past, capturing the landscape as it is suspended in time even as it is of its time.

Jennifer Rabin is a mixed-media sculptor who works with objects that have been discarded and forgotten, having outlived their intended purpose. She finds them in junkyards, along train tracks, piled high in dumping sites, scattered across remote trails. Deteriorating, imperfect, cast aside—they embody the artist’s experience with chronic illness, disability and familial estrangement. Using natural fibers, Rabin transforms these unwanted objects into shelter, imagining them as places of safety and refuge. This reclamation is an act of hope and defiance—a testament to rebuilding and resiliency. Rabin has been an artist in residence at Jentel, Caldera, Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts & Agriculture and the Oregon Historical Society. She has received grant support from the Regional Arts and Culture Council, the Oregon Community Foundation and the Oregon Arts Commission. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Rick Silva is an artist who explores landscape via technology and time. His work has been exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Centre Pompidou, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. He has been featured in Artforum, Wired, and Rhizome’s Net Art Anthology. Silva was born in Brazil, received his M.F.A. from the University of Colorado Boulder, and lives in Eugene, Oregon, where he is a professor at the University of Oregon.

Taravat Talepasand is an artist, activist and educator whose labor-intensive interdisciplinary painting practice questions normative cultural behaviors within contemporary power imbalances. As an Iranian-American woman, Talepasand explores the parallels of cultural taboos that reflect on gender apartheid and political authority to reflect the cross-pollination, or lack thereof, in her approach to subversive joy. Talepasand has exhibited nationally and internationally and is in the permanent collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the de Young Museum, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA), Tufts University Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Orange County Museum of Art and the Portland Art Museum. Exhibitions included “In the Fields of Empty Days: The Intersection of Past and Present in Iranian Art” at LACMA, “ طراوت | TARAVAT” at YBCA and Macalester College in Minnesota, the 2018 Bay Area Now 8 exhibition at YBCA, the 2026 Oregon Biennial and the 2010 California Biennial. She is the recipient of the 2024 Creative Heights Grant and the 2010 Richard Diebenkorn Teaching Fellowship at Santa Fe Art Institute (SFAI). Talepasand was the Department Chair of Painting at SFAI and currently lives in Oregon and is the Assistant Professor of Art Practice at Portland State University Schnitzer School of Art + Art History + Design. She received her B.F.A. from Rhode Island School of Design in 2001 and M.F.A. at SFAI in 2006.

John Whitten is a multimedia artist exploring the resonance between digital technologies, physical materials and lived experience. He is based in Portland, Oregon. Through drawing, video and photography, he constructs images that emphasize how perception is shaped by process, material and time. His work often begins with fragments of the everyday: a grain of salt collected from a desert, the surface of a healing scar or the shifting texture of a single element isolated from a landscape. These subjects, whether deeply personal or broadly environmental, serve as portals into questions of presence, care and observation. Whitten’s work has been exhibited in museums, universities and galleries across the United States. Recent awards include Project Grants and a Professional Development Grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council, a Career Opportunity Grant from the Oregon Arts Commission, a Faculty Research Grant from Oregon State University, and residencies with Caldera and Signal Fire. In 2021, he co-founded Well Well Projects, where he currently serves as a co-director. In 2018, he co-founded Carnation Contemporary and co-created the nomadic artist residency and exhibition project, the Thunderstruck Collective.

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The Oregon Arts Commission provides leadership, funding and arts programs through its grants, special initiatives and services. Nine commissioners, appointed by the Governor, determine arts needs and establish policies for public support of the arts. The Arts Commission became part of Business Oregon (formerly Oregon Economic and Community Development Department) in 1993, in recognition of the expanding role the arts play in the broader social, economic and educational arenas of Oregon communities. In 2003, the Oregon legislature moved the operations of the Oregon Cultural Trust to the Arts Commission, streamlining operations and making use of the Commission’s expertise in grantmaking, arts and cultural information and community cultural development. 

The Arts Commission is supported with general funds appropriated by the Oregon legislature and with federal funds from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as funds from the Oregon Cultural Trust. More information about the Oregon Arts Commission is available online at artscommission.oregon.gov.

Bend, Ore. - The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office recently concluded its participation in the national Click It or Ticket campaign, which ran from January 26 through February 8. This initiative focused on encouraging drivers and passengers to buckle up when hitting the road and on sharing important tips for properly securing child car seats.

During the campaign, deputies conducted 51 traffic stops as part of the enforcement:

• 51 Traffic Stops
• 7 seatbelt violations cited
• 12 additional citations issued
• 30 warnings given
• 3 arrests made

While most drivers were following the law, these numbers serve as an important reminder that seat belts save lives. Sheriff Ty Rupert says the goal of these campaigns is not just to write tickets. It’s about educating drivers and reminding them of the importance of seat belts for their safety.

“Wearing a seatbelt and properly securing children in car seats are two of the easiest things you can do to prevent tragedy. We appreciate everyone who makes safety a priority every time they get behind the wheel,” said Deschutes County Sheriff Ty Rupert.

Buckling up is the simplest and most effective way to protect yourself and your loved ones in a crash. For more information on how to properly secure child car seats in your vehicle, check out the resources on the Sheriff's Office website, including a downloadable PDF: Car Seats - Deschutes County Sheriff Office Oregon

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Salem, Oregon - The Electronic Government Portal Advisory Board (EPAB) will meet at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. The meeting will take place remotely via the internet on Microsoft Teams and is open to the public. The agenda and handouts will be posted on the advisory board’s website.

• What: Meeting of the Electronic Government Portal Advisory Board 
• When: Thursday, February 19, 2026, 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
• Where: Microsoft Teams Meeting
  • Meeting ID: 267 726 423 520 7
  • Passcode: jP7xb2Ko
  • Phone: +1 503-446-4951
  • Phone conference ID: 336 777 99#
• Who: Electronic Government Portal Advisory Board 

The Electronic Government Portal Advisory Board is established by ORS 276A.270-276. The board’s primary function is to advise the State Chief Information Officer concerning the delivery of online services to the public.

The board is also charged with studying the digital information and service needs of Oregon residents, evaluating agencies’ effectiveness in using online portals, and considering further improvements in online portals.

Meetings of the Electronic Government Portal Advisory Board are open to the public.

To submit a written or register to provide verbal public comment, please complete our online form. Written comment can also be submitted by mail to the EPAB Support Office, 550 Airport Rd SE Suite C, Salem, OR 97301. Written comments must be received at least 48 hours before the meeting; verbal comments are limited to three (3) minutes per person or group.

Accommodations can be arranged for persons with disabilities, and alternate formats of printed material are available upon request. Please contact Enterprise Information Services at 503-378-3175 at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting to request accommodations. Closed captioning is included on the Microsoft Teams meeting.

Salem – The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) is warning the public about a scam targeting Spanish-speaking injured workers in other states, including in nearby Idaho and Montana.

In these scams, workers are contacted by phone, email, social media apps such as Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp, or video calls. The scammers try to convince the worker to appear at an online workers’ compensation hearing, and at times, this results in an official appearing order in their favor. Thereafter, they are told must pay money to receive the workers’ compensation benefits or the settlement for their claim. These communications may appear official and the hearings may include a fake judge, attorney, or government representative. The Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division (WCD), part of DCBS, and the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) will never ask anyone to pay to receive benefits.

Here’s what you should know:

• WCD, WCB, and insurance companies do not ask for payment to release workers’ compensation benefits. Never pay money up front for benefits or settlements.
• WCD and WCB will never ask for payment via gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency. Be skeptical of any requests for payment.
• Official communications from WCD and WCB will not pressure you to act or pay immediately.
• WCB, which conducts workers’ compensation hearings, does not charge or collect fees for hearings or mediation.
• WCB does not use social media or applications such as Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp to communicate with parties about hearings or mediations.

If you are unsure whether a communication is legitimate, do not send money or personal information. Verify before you act by contacting the Ombuds Office for Oregon Workers by phone at 800-927-1271 (toll-free) or email at oow.questions@dcbs.oregon.gov. The office serves as an independent advocate for workers by helping them understand their rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities within the workers’ compensation system and workplace safety and health laws and rules.

If you believe a scammer has contacted you:

• Report the incident to local law enforcement
• Report any scams, fraud, or suspicious business activity to the Oregon Department of Justice’s fraud hotline at 1-877-877-9392 (toll-free)
• Report the scam to the Oregon Department of Justice and the Ombuds Office for Oregon Workers
• Early reporting helps others from becoming victims

If someone representing an insurance company is calling and threatening you, contact the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation, also part of DCBS, at 1-888-877-4894 (toll-free).

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About Oregon DCBS: The Department of Consumer and Business Services is Oregon’s largest consumer protection and business regulatory agency. The department administers state laws and rules to protect consumers and workers in the areas of workers’ compensation, occupational safety and health, financial services, insurance, and building codes. Visit dcbs.oregon.gov.

February 12, 2026

Media contact: Timothy Heider, PHD.Communications@oha.oregon.gov  

Get school, child care vaccinations updated by Feb. 25

New report shows access to vaccines among challenges parents, caregivers face ahead of school vaccination deadline

PORTLAND, Ore. –  With the annual deadline fast approaching for updating children’s vaccinations, Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reminds parents and caregivers that their children may miss school or child care, if they are missing vaccinations.

By the fourth Wednesday in February, under state law, all children in public and private schools, preschools, Head Start and certified child care facilities must submit documentation showing they are up-to-date on required vaccinations or have an exemption.

This year, the annual Exclusion Day falls on Feb. 25. If a child’s records do not show up-to-date vaccinations by that day, the child’s school or child care facility will send them home.

“Vaccine-preventable diseases can be highly contagious,” said Stacy de Assis Matthews, school immunization coordinator at OHA’s Public Health Division. “Last year, for example, Oregon reported 1,552 cases of pertussis, the highest number we’ve seen in 75 years. Vaccination remains our best defense against these diseases, keeping kids and school communities healthy and safe.”

A new OHA report shows parents and guardians seek nonmedical exemptions (NME) for their children’s required school vaccinations for two primary reasons: Concerns over vaccine safety and the inability to get vaccination appointments.

The study was launched in 2023, after Oregon’s kindergarten NME rate reached what was then an all-time high of 8.1%. That continued a steady rise in such exemptions over the past decade, interrupted only by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

For the 2024-2025 school year, the rate reached a new record high of 9.7%.

Record highs for NMEs were recorded for the past three years.

These findings can be found in the report Understanding Nonmedical Vaccine Exemptions in Oregon.

“We want to make sure that all families are able to get their questions about vaccines answered by a trusted medical provider, and to get into a clinic where their children can get needed vaccines,” said de Assis Matthews.

For children who are still missing vaccinations for the current school year, county health departments mailed letters to parents and caregivers (on or before Feb. 4) informing them of the upcoming deadline to submit their children’s up-to-date vaccination records.

Last school year (2024-2025), county health departments in Oregon mailed 22,702 letters, which led to 4,504 children being sent home and not able to attend school until their families provided the necessary vaccination records.

School vaccination and exemption rates for the 2024-2025 school year are available at Oregon’s School Immunization Data dashboard. Data for the current school year will be available this spring.

With the upcoming school vaccination deadline, and with difficulty getting vaccines being a factor in increasing exemption rates, OHA wants people to know where to get vaccines for their children.

Parents and caregivers can contact their health care provider or local health department. No one can be turned away from a local health department because of their inability to pay for required vaccines.

Many pharmacists can also immunize children aged 7 and older. Families can also call 211 go to 211info.org to find a local vaccine clinic.  

People in Oregon shared their personal stories with OHA on why they decided to vaccinate their children:

• Hear how Sarah’s powerful conversations changed her mom’s long-held views on vaccinations: https://youtu.be/dPB2sfySwJQ 
• Reverend Dr. Currie encourages people from all religious walks of life to get their vaccinations: https://youtu.be/D6XnPm1N4iQ 
• As a parent herself, Dr. Choo talks about why she vaccinates her children: https://youtu.be/aDy7sseKs24 

OHA invites people to join the conversation and share why they vaccinate by using #ORVaccinates on social media.

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Salem, OR—With anticipated delays in paper return processing in 2026, the Oregon Department of Revenue reminds taxpayers planning to file a paper return that they can use public computer kiosks in the department’s regional offices to file their Oregon personal income tax returns for free and get their kicker and their refund sooner.

“The computer kiosks offer a way to file electronically for those without a computer or those who fill out paper forms and want to transfer their data into Direct File Oregon to receive their refund—and their kicker—sooner,” said Megan Denison, administrator of the department’s Personal Tax and Compliance Division.

The computers are set up in the public spaces of the DOR regional offices in Bend, Eugene, Gresham, Medford, and Portland. They are available during business hours to file state tax returns using Direct File Oregon.

On average, taxpayers who e-file their returns and request their refund via direct deposit receive their refunds two weeks sooner than those who mail in paper returns and request a check.

The additional wait will be even longer this year. The IRS was late providing necessary tax forms and information to the Oregon Department of Revenue late last year. As a result, the state’s processing of paper-filed Oregon personal income tax returns won’t begin until the end of March.

The department will begin issuing refunds for e-filed returns February 17. For paper filed returns, refunds will not start being issued until early April.

Offices are located in:

Bend, 951 SW Simpson Ave, Suite 100

Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (closed 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.)

Eugene, 1600 Valley River Drive, Suite 310

Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (closed 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.)

Gresham, 1550 NW Eastman Parkway, Suite 220

Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (closed 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.)

Medford, 3613 Aviation Way, Suite 102

Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (closed 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.)

Portland, 800 NE Oregon St, Suite 505

Monday – Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (closed 12 – 12:30 p.m.)

Now in its third year, Direct File Oregon is an interview-based program similar to commercial software and allows taxpayers the convenience and security of filing directly with the state of Oregon through Revenue Online.

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Salem, OR—With anticipated delays in paper return processing in 2026, the Oregon Department of Revenue reminds taxpayers planning to file a paper return that they can use public computer kiosks in the department’s regional offices to file their Oregon personal income tax returns for free and get their kicker and their refund sooner.

“The computer kiosks offer a way to file electronically for those without a computer or those who fill out paper forms and want to transfer their data into Direct File Oregon to receive their refund—and their kicker—sooner,” said Megan Denison, administrator of the department’s Personal Tax and Compliance Division.

The computers are set up in the public spaces of the DOR regional offices in Bend, Eugene, Gresham, Medford, and Portland. They are available during business hours to file state tax returns using Direct File Oregon.

On average, taxpayers who e-file their returns and request their refund via direct deposit receive their refunds two weeks sooner than those who mail in paper returns and request a check.

The additional wait will be even longer this year. The IRS was late providing necessary tax forms and information to the Oregon Department of Revenue late last year. As a result, the state’s processing of paper-filed Oregon personal income tax returns won’t begin until the end of March.

The department will begin issuing refunds for e-filed returns February 17. For paper filed returns, refunds will not start being issued until early April.

Offices are located in:

Bend, 951 SW Simpson Ave, Suite 100

Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (closed 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.)

Eugene, 1600 Valley River Drive, Suite 310

Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (closed 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.)

Gresham, 1550 NW Eastman Parkway, Suite 220

Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (closed 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.)

Medford, 3613 Aviation Way, Suite 102

Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (closed 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.)

Portland, 800 NE Oregon St, Suite 505

Monday – Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (closed 12 – 12:30 p.m.)

Now in its third year, Direct File Oregon is an interview-based program similar to commercial software and allows taxpayers the convenience and security of filing directly with the state of Oregon through Revenue Online.