Friends,

Last week, we held September Legislative Days in Salem, three days centered around committee meetings and informational hearings to discuss issues which need to be addressed during the interim, one of which I mention below that is particularly important to our District.

While Salem is always busy, the real activity is and has been happening at home in House District 60.There is a lot of information in today's newsletter including highlights regarding regional teachers of the year and students who won scholarships, to the Oregon School Boards Association Roadshow and a town hall with me and Senator Findley, to a survey on Oregon forests, as well as news from around the region.

As always, please reach out to us with any questions or comments, ideas for legislation you'd like us to look into, events in the community you'd like us to highlight or anything else.

Thanks for all you do. Be safe.

Grasshopper Crisis

During legislative days, we held an informational hearing on the Agricultural Impacts of the Grasshopper Crisis, a situation many of us who work in agriculture and/or live in rural parts of the state are far too familiar with. We are working on many levels and with many agencies and organizations to address grasshopper control, and our next step will by to champion a cost share program for grasshopper control prior to next spring. I want to take a moment to especially thank Nick Schott from Burns for making the seven-hour drive to testify in person, Mike McKoen, a farmer from southern Oregon in Merrill, for providing testimony by video, and Diane Fillmore, a cattle Ranch Owner in Malheur County, for providing the committee with photos of the problem on her land (like the one above). Thank you for your testimony--your personal experiences are integral to understanding the seriousness of this issue. I highly recommend you watch the committee hearing here, Slides and pictures  from the hearing can be found here.

Two teachers in House District 60 selected as Regional Teachers of the Year

The Oregon Teacher of the Year Program recognizes and honors teacher excellence, with the Teacher of the Year serving as the face and voice of exemplary educators across the state. Candidates for Oregon Teacher of the Year are exceptionally dedicated, knowledgeable, and skilled licensed public school educators in grades preK-12.Thanks to the Oregon Department of Education’s partnership with the Oregon Lottery, the Oregon Teacher of the Year receives a gift of $10,000 as well as a special fund to cover all travel costs for the year.

Congratulations to Roxane Bailey and Robyn Miller from House District 60 on your selection as two of Oregon's Regional Teachers of the year, and thank you for your dedication and commitment to educating our kids and being leaders in our schools.

Roxane Bailey Harney County School: Burns High School Teaches: Science Grade Level: 9-12th

Robyn Miller Grant County School: Humbolt Elementary School Teaches: 3rd Grade

Congratulations to all the Regional Teachers of the Year around Oregon and thank you for your exceptional work. Read more about each of them here.

Argus Observer Amazing Teacher Contest

Speaking of amazing teachers, the Argus Observer is holding an Amazing Teacher Contest where they will be recognizing two teachers per month during the 2023-2024 school year.

NewSun Energy Scholarship Winners

Earlier this year, NewSun Energy held their first annual climate + ag scholarship essay contest. They awarded $2,500 scholarships to the four students with the highest number of points. In addition, they chose to recognize three students with $500 scholarships as honorable mentions.

Congratulations to the following students who were awarded scholarships:

OSBA Road Show comes to District 60

The OSBA legislative team and OSBA leaders will be hitting the road again from September through Nov. 1 to hear from our members and share insights from the Capitol.

In addition to securing $10.2 billion for the State School Fund, our team has much to share about legislative happenings and the road ahead. Please come prepared to share your thoughts about a statewide collective bargaining/salary schedule to help inform the work of our Legislative Policy Committee on this issue.

In addition, attending a Legislative Roadshow in your area will provide the opportunity to:

• Ask questions and share how OSBA can better serve you;
• Share best practices and concerns with other board members;
• Meet your region’s Board and Legislative Policy Committee representatives.

OSBA will be coming to Malheur, Lake, Deschutes, and Baker County in mid-October. Visit their website to learn specific dates, where the meetings will take place and how to RSVP.

Jordan Valley Town Hall

Join me and Senator Lynn Findley for a town hall in Jordan Valley on Monday, October 23.

We always appreciate the opportunity to connect with you about issues happening in the community, listen to your ideas for legislative concepts for the next session, and to answer any questions you may have.

Monday, October 25
6:30 PM Mountain Time
5:30 PM Pacific Time

Lions Community Center
902 Bassett St.,
in Jordan Valley

Mark your calendars, bring your friends and neighbors, and your questions and comments. All are welcome to attend and we look forward to seeing you there.

Oregon Citizens' Utility Board wants to hear from you regarding CenturyLink service

The Oregon Citizens' Utility Board wants to hear from CenturyLink customers who may be experiencing reliability issues.There is a link on their website asking customers to share service quality issues that are not being resolved in a timely manner.

There is an online form to submit comments with your experience and issues with landline phone service, including any issues with Lumen/CenturyLink/Quest's customer service such as quality of service, delays in customer service responses, etc.

Make sure to include details on if you have had issues with:

• outages or service issues for more than 48 hours
• reoccurring or frequent outages
• not hearing from the company after a complaint is filed 

Submit your comments securely using this online form provided by CUB.

Oregon Board of Forestry Survey

The Oregon Department of Forestry and the Board of Forestry are in charge of managing Oregon forests. Now they are updating their plan for the forests. They want to hear from you to make sure that the plan covers what matters most to people about forests. Your input will also help the state make other decisions about Oregon forests.

The Oregon Department of Forestry and the Board of Forestry are working with Oregon’s Kitchen Table. We are a program of Portland State University.

Please fill out this survey if you live in Oregon. You can fill it out through October 9, 2023. Take the survey here.

In the News

• KTVZ: This year lawmakers approved $142 million dollars for drought resilience and water security

• Elkhorn Media: Rep. Owens Explores Denmark’s Approach to Renewable Energy and Community Engagement

• Capital Press: Suicide prevention hotline for farmers, ranchers introduced in Oregon

• Blue Mountain Eagle: Rep. Owens elected as Oregon House Republican deputy leader

• Baker City Herald: Sen. Findley and Rep. Owens meet with local residents at Baker City town hall

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1460
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-475, Salem, OR 97301
Capitol Email: Rep.MarkOwens@oregonlegislature.gov
Capitol Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/owens