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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
A quick note before we get into today’s updates: due to the Oregon Legislature’s campaign rules, elected officials are prohibited from using public resources to communicate with constituents within 60 days of an election. This period is called the “campaign blackout” and it begins tomorrow, and ends November 4th. Legislators have been granted an exemption from this rule for COVID-19 only. This means that after today, my newsletters will only relate to information about COVID-19 and state and local resources and responses to this crisis. I will continue to deliver timely and accurate information about this disease and our response to it for the next two months, and look forward to finding creative ways to engage with you on other topics until November.
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While thinking about how to celebrate the end of this unusual summer, it’s a good idea to get clear with family and friends about what activities you are comfortable doing. Here are some ways to discuss your approach when someone asks you to attend a gathering:
- Share how you feel. What are your thoughts about the current protections? What fears do you wish your loved ones would understand?
- Share information. For example, if you feel pressured to join an activity because your family or friends think you are unlikely to catch the virus, you can explain that you do not want to potentially spread the virus.
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Temperatures are forecasted to be well above average for the next 10 days, bringing fuel conditions to extreme across the state. Winds are expected to increase starting Sunday through the middle of next week causing challenges on existing and new fires. Thankfully there is no lightning in the forecast, so human caused fires will be our greatest risk. The wildfire community is calling for all Oregonians to aid in protecting our clean air, natural and cultural resources, and communities. Public fire restrictions have been tightened up and you can keep up-to-date on statewide public fire restrictions at the ODF interactive map. You can find more resources on how you can help prevent wildfire from Keep Oregon Green.
Click on this image for more fire prevention tips for when you are out and about
Click on this image for more fire prevention tips for when you are at home
- Confirmed Cases: 6,087,403
- Deaths: 185,092
- Cases in the last 7 days: 288,357
- These national numbers come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. You can view their national and state by state data here.
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Oregon Status Report: Oregon now has 27,336 total cases (confirmed and presumptive) of COVID-19.
- Today we have 274 new confirmed and presumptive cases, and 3 new deaths.
- Wednesday: 140 cases, 3 deaths
- A total of 470 Oregonians have died from COVID-19.
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Washington County still has one of the highest case counts at 3877 confirmed cases, including 40 new cases today. You can review on-going updates from OHA by clicking on the table below.
- The Oregon Health Authority recently provided a Public Health Indicators Dashboard to enable communities across Oregon to monitor COVID-19 in the state.The dashboard, which will be updated weekly on Thursdays, provides a transparent report that presents complex epidemiological data in an interactive, easy-to-understand way on a state and county level.
Table showing Oregon case, testing and demographic data, link to more information
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Weekly Report: During the week of Monday, Aug. 24, through Sunday, Aug. 30, OHA recorded 1,558 new cases of COVID-19 infection. This is down 8.6% from last week’s tally of 1,704 and Oregon’s lowest weekly total since the end of June. The percentage of positive tests also dropped to 4.4 percent, the lowest in two months. Thirty-nine Oregonians were reported to have died, up from 32 last week. The 26,713 cases reported in Oregon as of Aug. 30 equates to about to 631 cases per 100,000 persons. Also, as of Aug. 30, 459 Oregonians have died with COVID-19, a mortality rate of 11 deaths per 100,000 Oregonians.
Forest Grove School District:
New learning platform
FGSD has chosen Canvas as their district wide online learning tool.. You can learn more about this tool through the Canvas website and can review staff presentations to the School Board and in parent Q&A sessions, on how the tool will be used on the district website.
Visiting school buildings
To ensure the safety of staff, students and the community, please limit your in-person interactions at the school buildings. If you need to meet with school principals or staff, please contact the school office to schedule a meeting, preferably through Zoom video conferencing or over the phone. If you plan to attend a meeting at a building, please be prepared to wear a mask, sanitize and stay six feet apart.
Childcare
The district has partnered with Champions, a local childcare provider, who is offering full day childcare for FGSD staff and the community. If you are interested in enrolling your child/children, please visit their website to enroll. The FGSD childcare sites will be at Fern Hill and Tom McCall. The approximate cost per child, per week is $238, with a discount for multiple children from a family. There are also subsidy programs for childcare with certain qualifications. If you have any questions please contact Champions Area Manager, Christy Cunningham (ccunningham@discoverchampions.com | 503.568.5130).
Technology/Device Distribution
If your student does not have a device and you would like to check one out from the district, please fill out this form. Individual schools will schedule times for families to pick up requested devices at schools prior to the beginning of the school year, similar to how it was done in the Spring -- drive-thru style.
Hillsboro School District:
Hillsboro Superintendent Mike Scott released several videos about the start of school. You can click on the images below to watch in English or Spanish.
Back to School Message from Superintendent Mike Scott
2021 Return to School Plan
Joint I-5 Bridge Committee: Wednesday September 9th at 1pm
Next week, the Bi-State Bridge Committee will meet and have a public hearing to review high-capacity transit (HCT) alternatives analysis from previous planning efforts and approach to identify new HCT alternatives to be analyzed. We will also have a review of river-crossing alternatives from previous planning efforts and approach to identify new river-crossing alternatives to be analyzed.
Written Testimony
Oral Testimony (Live Remotely)
- Phone: Registration is required. To sign up, either use the online form here OR call 833-588-4500 for assistance. Registration closes 24 hours before the meeting start time.
- Public Access Kiosk: Located at the back entrance (State Street side) of the Capitol Building for the duration of the meeting.
Legislative Days:
Monday September 21st:
Tuesday September 22nd:
Wednesday September 23rd:
Thursday September 24th:
Friday September 25th:
Employers and Employees
Education Links
Local Government
Utilities Assistance
Food and Housing Assistance
View Past Updates, Share and Subscribe:
If there was COVID-related information in a past newsletter that you want to go back to, but find you’ve deleted it, you can always go to my legislative website (http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/mclain), click on “News and Information,” and you’ll find them all there. You can also share this site with your friends and loved ones, so they can view past newsletters, and subscribe to future updates.
Yours truly,
 Representative Susan McLain
House District 29
email: Rep.SusanMcLain@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1429
address: 900 Court St NE, H-376, Salem, OR 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/mclain
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