Forest Grove News Times

Fire risk, runaway pets and impacted vets are all consequences of fireworks displays. Some are trying to change that.The negative impacts of fireworks are causing some people to rethink the way we celebrate America's birthday. They aren't anti-fireworks, they say. They are for smarter, safer displays that mitigate the impacts to vulnerable people and property. Previous incidents have led officials to urge better behavior from the public. In 2017, a family's Beaverton home was severely damaged by a fire suspected to be caused by illegal aerial fireworks. The Bonnie Hays Animal Shelter in Hillsboro — and other animal...

Nearly 80% of respondents had moderate or great concern about the loss of public forestland.Significant rainfall this spring noticeably greened up the Oregon countryside and appears to have calmed nerves across the state, according to a survey about wildfire danger conducted in June by the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center. The survey, conducted from June 2-11, found that 60% of respondents felt wildfire was a threat to their local communities. In May 2021, that number was 68%. The wildfire perception survey interviewed 1,446 Oregon residents 18 or older. The survey sought to gauge how concerned Oregon residents are heading into...

Eleven U.S. stadiums - 10 of them NFL fields - among 16 venues announced on June 16.Seattle's Lumen Field and Vancouver, British Columbia's B.C. Place were among 16 venues chosen as host sites for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is being jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Eleven of the 16 venues are in the United States, two in Canada and three in Mexico. The only other time the World Cup was held in the United States, in 1994, Stanford Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area was the closest venue to Portland. Schedules for the...

From Lake Oswego to Oak Hills, Hillsboro to Tigard, check out fireworks displays, parades and more, from June 30.Exhibits A THOUSAND WORDS — Like the pages of a book, artists Joy Cartier, Mark Dunst, Jane Kearns, Stacey Stoudenmeyer and Eliza Williams explore the messy, imperfect space between thoughts and words in this exhibition through July 22. Mixed-media artwork includes paper and paint. Glenn & Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center, 527 E. Main St. in Hillsboro. MEMBER SHOW — The Village Gallery of Arts features artist Laura Hopper through July 31, with artwork by Rose West also displayed. Hopper thinks of...

Charles Gallia: Congress should make American Rescue Plan Act subsidies permanent before insurance premiums rise.Through my work as a co-founder of the Oregon Pediatric Improvement Partnership, which ensures children with special health needs receive the care they deserve, I have witnessed the need for greater access to quality, affordable health coverage across Oregon. When this need was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress expanded health insurance subsidies to more Oregonians and Americans than ever through the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), helping thousands of families find plans that fit their budgets. Unfortunately, as those same families are paying higher...

Dan Forester, who previously worked at Multnomah County Elections, will now head the Washington County department.Washington County has a new elections manager for the first time in over three decades. Dan Forester, a former employee of the Multnomah County Elections Division, has been tapped to replace Mickie Kawai, who has retired from managing the Washington County Elections Division after 35 years. Forester worked at Multnomah County Elections for eight years, in many different roles, according to a press release from Washington County. He most recently managed a project to improve that elections division calendar and ensure ballot tabulation...

Bart Brewer: There are many other roadblocks communities face, such as barriers to careWith the state of mental health care in this country being what it is, it's no surprise that we often look at it from the perspective of the majority. Fighting for proper mental health care is already such a battle that often minorities within this realm aren't included in the conversation. With July being National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, now is a perfect time to try and correct for that by addressing how racism and the language used around it can affect mental health. ...

Timothy Rake: 'This Fourth of July, we are still uneasy with the progress we have made towards Jefferson's self-evident truths.'"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Nearly a quarter of a millennium has run its course since those words were enshrined on parchment in the most profound passage of America's founding text. A declaration known to every American school kid. And nearly a half-century has run its course since I found myself...

Emily Jung Miller's exhibit, '1,000 Moons,' will be on display at the Reser until Aug. 13, alongside 'Invisibilia.'The Patricia Reser Center for the Arts in Beaverton unveiled new exhibits on June 22, including one centering on grief and loss from COVID-19. "1,000 Moons" is free to the public at the Reser's gallery, which is open noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. The exhibit, plus another called "Invisibilia," will be available until Aug. 13. Forest Grove-based artist Emily Jung Miller created "1,000 Moons" after her grandparents died from COVID-19 in January and February 2021. Using materials that held her memories...

Richard Kidd has worked with West Tuality Habitat for Humanity for over 35 years.Former Forest Grove Mayor Richard Kidd received a lifetime achievement award from West Tuality Habitat for Humanity earlier this month. Executive director Virginia Ohler said Kidd is the first person to receive the award from the West Tuality chapter of the nonprofit, which helps to build housing for people in need. "Richard has been an absolutely amazing volunteer, and he has worked with the org in just about every facet of our operation," Ohler said. "He has worked on every house we've built for 35 years."...

The Seattle-based company says Recycle+ violates state law. Pride Disposal has jumped to the county's defense.Days before Washington County's new Recycle+ program is set to launch, Seattle-based recycler Ridwell has filed another lawsuit against the county. Ridwell asserts that Recycle+ violates Oregon law. It's the second lawsuit the company has filed since county officials ordered it to cease operating in Washington County by early this year. At the crux of the dispute is whether a private company can provide recycling services in what is considered the territory of haulers that already have franchise agreements to operate in Washington County. When...

Abortion likely to be big issue in the election after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.On the left, Terrebonne attorney Jamie McLeod-Skinner, the progressive Democrat who vanquished seven-term U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Canby, in the May primary. On the right, former Happy Valley Mayor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the conservative Republican with hopes of flipping the seat to the GOP. Polarized politics isn't the only rift in the 5th Congressional District. There's the looming mass of the Cascade Mountains that cleaves the district into western and eastern portions. It's tied together by a thin ribbon of blacktop on U.S....

In the absence of a designated officer, over 20 different officers responded to campuses last yearA police officer is returning to campus in the Forest Grove School District. The Forest Grove School District's board of directors voted 4-1 on Monday, June 27, to approve a new memorandum of understanding with the Forest Grove Police Department. The agreement will reinstate an armed police officer on campuses next school year, albeit only on a part-time basis. The summer before the 2021-22 school year, the school board voted not to renew its contract with the Forest Grove Police Department for a school resource...

The Forest Grove Police Department reports calls for service from June 10-16, 2022.Editor's note: Police logs are a partial accounting of law enforcement calls, based on activity reports and descriptions generated by participating police departments. All persons accused of a crime are legally considered to be innocent until proven guilty. Friday, June 10 A caller reported a subject wearing a red hood was possibly buying or selling drugs near a local hotel. Officers were unable to locate anyone in the area. A caller reported an argument with their spouse was getting out of hand and requested police assistance. Officers found...

Lou Gehrig famously said he was 'the luckiest man on the face of the Earth,' but I think we're all pretty lucky.Happy Fourth of July! You know, the day built around the birth of our country thanks to the idea of freedom and a bunch of people willing to fight for it. But while spawning from what John Adams called "the most memorable epoch in the history of America," and one that he believed would be celebrated as the "great anniversary festival," it has become one more about hot dogs, parades, carnivals, of course fireworks, and, you guessed it —...

Wages will increase to $14.75 for much of the Portland area, $13.50 for outlying areas.Starting July 1, Oregon workers earning minimum wage will take home a little more pay each week. State legislators passed a bill in 2016 creating a three-tiered minimum wage, with different minimums for workers depending on location. The state is divided into three zones: The highest minimum wage occurs in the Portland area's Urban Growth Boundary which stretches through Washington, Multnomah and Clackamas counties. The move placed Oregon among the highest minimum wage states in the nation. This Friday, workers in much of Multnomah, Washington...

West Linn native and Stanford alum Tim Tawa was promoted to Double-A Amarillo June 23.Movin' on. That's the theme of this past week's Hops action as the minor-league team finished-up the first half of the 2022 season, while one of its best and most prominent players was promoted to Double-A Amarillo. After dropping four-of-six games to Vancouver, Hillsboro ended the first half with a 29-35 record and in last place in the High-A West standings. But with the slate wiped clean, the team and its manager are excited to start anew with heightened goals for the second-half's 66 games. "That's...

Residents of state are more polarized on issue than nationally based on political party affiliation.A majority of Oregonians support stricter gun laws, according to a new poll by the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center. The nonpartisan independent research group on Thursday released data reporting 59% of survey respondents say they believe the state's firearms laws should be stricter, which is in line with an April 2021 Pew Research poll finding 60% of Americans want stricter gun laws. The beliefs center surveyed 1,446 Oregon adults between June 2 and 11 about gun regulations. Last month, an 18-year-old man in...

Rebecca Johnson: 'Many well-intentioned men ... are opting to step back and let women fight this battle.'I moved to Wyoming a few years ago for its outdoor recreation, but I also liked the state's history of championing equal rights for women. As early as 1869, it codified women's voting rights, 50 years before the 19th Amendment did the same thing. Western women in the 19th century quickly proved their mettle, helping to build communities in rugged and isolated landscapes. But now, sadly, Wyoming has agreed to subjugate women. In March, Wyoming's governor signed a "trigger bill" that...

The Hops infielder and former prep basketball standout chose pro baseball over a college career at Louisville.The NBA may be "fantastic," but baseball has always been king for Hillsboro Hops infielder A.J. Vukovich. The third-year professional and second-year player — minor league baseball didn't play in 2020 due to COVID-19 — from Wisconsin made his mark on the state's high school basketball history books, finishing his career at East Troy High School as Wisconsin's 25th all-time leading scorer with 2,155 points. But despite his success on the hardwood, the 20-year-old slugger made one thing very clear. "Yeah, I miss basketball,...