Josephine County
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Weekday Wrap: Josephine County’s Republican Party opposes proposed sales tax; another La Niña for Pacific Northwest; and Vancouver sued for homeless housing location
In other news, a prescribed burn gone awry led to 20-40 acres of private land being burned and the arrest of a U.S. Forest Service firefighter; and recent rain, snow and low temps have brought the beginning of studded-tire season for better traction.

Weekday Wrap: Josephine County sales tax; Umatilla talks benefits of Amazon deal; and Clackamas County air quality relief centers
In other news: In Newberg, nearly 77,000 pounds of marijuana, worth $76.5 million was seized by the Yamhill County Sherriff's Office. Those incarcerated at Larch Corrections Center have found temporary housing after the Nakia Creek Fire forced them to evacuate.

Wildfire continues to grow in Oregon’s Josephine County
A wildfire in remote southwest Oregon gained thousands of acres this weekend, forcing evacuations and prompting the governor to invoke an emergency act.
Josephine County sends seasonal sales tax proposal to voters
The Josephine County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to send an ordinance to voters for a seasonal sales tax to fund law enforcement services.
Josephine County officials seek new funding sources for sheriff’s office
With ever-dwindling revenue from federal timber sales, Oregon's Josephine County is seeking a new, publicly supported funding source to pay for its sheriff’s department.
Southern Oregon investigators suspect human trafficking, forced labor at cannabis farm
An allegation of human trafficking followed multiple 911 hang-up calls that came from a property suspected of hosting an illegal cannabis farm, as well as a from an unnamed source. Josephine County Sheriff Dave Daniel noted cartel-like characteristics at the farm.

Health workers stuck in snow give other drivers vaccine
Oregon health workers who got stuck in a snowstorm on their way back from a COVID-19 vaccination event went car to car injecting stranded drivers before the doses they carried expired.

Josephine County Suffers Setback In Its Cannabis Crackdown
Josephine County officials have suffered a setback in an ongoing effort to crack down on cannabis grows in the county — but a far weightier fight is still in play.

Board Members Resign From Oregon Shelter That Declined Gay Men's Chorus Donation
Three board members have resigned from a Josephine County youth shelter that became involved in a controversy over a charitable donation earlier this month.
Who Is Oregon's Annie Doe?
In 1971, a man found a woman's body in the woods in southern Oregon. A deputy and an anthropologist are still trying to figure out who she was.