Oregon
Oregon’s respiratory virus season predicted to remain mild compared to the past two years
Oregon’s 2023 to 2024 respiratory virus season has yielded less hospitalizations than the past two years and is predicted to remain relatively mild, according to Dr. Peter Graven, director of Oregon Health and Science University’s office of advanced analytics.
Since November, hospitalizations due to COVID-19, RSV and flu have been lower than he anticipated, and Oregon has had less cases and hospitalizations than most other states, Graven said.
Though hospitalizations are down from recent years, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention has said the numbers nationally remain higher than in the 2017 to 2018 season before the spread of COVID-19.
The respiratory illness season, which typically begins in November and runs through March, is marked by increased spread of respiratory viruses and hospitalizations due to illnesses such as COVID-19, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and influenza.
Graven has been putting out regular forecasts since March 2020 detailing past data and predicting respiratory virus cases and hospitalizations for the next month.
By predicting hospitalization rates, he can help medical facilities understand the potential risk for capacity challenges and give Oregonians an idea of what the likelihood of contracting a respiratory illness is.
While the respiratory illness season in Oregon has been mild so far this winter, Graven cautioned people to continue taking necessary steps to protect themselves and others, like staying up to date on vaccines, especially those who are at higher risk of developing serious complications.
“Cautiously, I’d say things look good, but that doesn’t mean it’s over yet,” said Graven.
COVID-19 less widespread in Oregon than in other states
COVID-19 hospitalizations in Oregon started increasing in mid-November 2023 and have continued to slightly increase since then, according to CDC data.
A peak occurred on Dec. 2, with 226 new COVID-19 hospitalizations. The majority of those hospitalized then were infected with the newest COVID-19 strain, JN.1.
JN.1 accounted for about 44% of all cases nationwide as of Dec. 23, according to the CDC. JN.1 appears to be more contagious than other recent strains but is not causing more serious illness.
COVID-19 hospitalizations and test positivity are much lower in Oregon than in most other states, but there is no clear explanation why, said Graven.
RSV hospitalizations in Oregon likely to stay lower than last year
RSV hospitalizations have increased in the past month but are not close to the record levels seen last year, CDC data shows.
In the week of Dec. 23, the rate of RSV hospitalizations in Oregon was 1.2 per 100,000 people, which is lower than the national average of 1.8.
Some states are having equivalent waves like last year, said Graven, but he does not expect RSV rates in Oregon to reach the point they were at last year when they peaked at 4.6 hospitalizations per 100,000 people.
The flu season has been mild so far in Oregon
Flu hospitalizations in Oregon also have increased in the past month, but hospitalization rates are relatively mild, said Graven.
There were less than 100 new flu hospital admissions in Oregon as of Dec. 27, though CDC forecasts predicts these numbers to increase throughout January.
Sydney Wyatt covers healthcare inequities in the Mid-Willamette Valley for the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions, and tips to her at SWyatt@gannett.com, (503) 399-6613, or on Twitter @sydney_elise44
The Statesman Journal’s coverage of healthcare inequities is funded in part by the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, which seeks to strengthen the cultural, social, educational, and spiritual base of the Pacific Northwest through capacity-building investments in the nonprofit sector.
Oregon tight end Jamari Johnson, after an impressive 2025 season with the Ducks, now becomes the leader at his position following the departure of star Kenyon Sadiq to the NFL.
With an Oregon offense set to return several top stars and bring in two talents at the tight end position, Johnson looks to not only improve as a leader but build off his impressive 2025 season, in which he recorded 32 receptions for 510 yards and three touchdowns.
Here’s everything Johnson had to say during his media appearance following Oregon’s scrimmage on Saturday, with the spring game on the horizon.
Everything Tight End Jamari Johnson Said After Spring Scrimmage
What He Learned From Playing With Tight End Kenyon Sadiq:
“So many, but one is training. Everybody in this facility harps on it, and it’s just a standard here. It’s like him from last year, that man strained his guts out almost every play. I just feel like I got to do the exact same thing or even more to uphold the standard.”
Stepping Up At Tight End:
“It just changed because obviously Kenyon leaving somebody has to step up and be a leader in the room, and me being one of the older guys, it just happens to be me. I just accepted that role, and I actually kind of like it, getting these young guys going, getting them in the playbook and getting them used to college football.”
Participating Again In Spring Practice:
“It feels good coming back. Feels like I have something to prove for me personally, I feel like I haven’t really done anything in college football. I feel like this year is that year for me to show everybody what I’m about.”
On Tight Ends Kendre Harrison and Andrew Olesh:
“Both good dudes, they both got that dog in them. Andrew, he came from Penn State. He’s been coming along well, getting in the playbook. Kendre, he’s a big, tall guy, getting in the playbook too. They’ve been getting after it, man. It’s been good taking them under my wing. Hopefully, we just get going this year.”
Goals and Expectations Ahead of Spring Game:
“I’ll say one expectation that we really try to harp on in the room is just going 100 percent. That’s with your effort, that’s with knowing the plays and just giving it your all. A goal is just to get in that endzone. That’s one of the goals for the tight end room right there.”
Why He Returned to Oregon:
“Like I said earlier, to me, I felt like I haven’t really done anything in college football. That was one of the reasons, and another is I wouldn’t say I’m not ready for the NFL, but like that’s pretty much what I’m getting at, is just like I have a lot of stuff to work on that’s within footwork and hand placement, block in the run game, and route details. Getting to the right depth and just touching up everything I can so when I get to the NFL, there’s none of those problems, it’s just the big problems I have to fix.”
How Reps Helped Him Improve:
“It really helped me. Last year, we ran a lot of twelve personnel at the end of the season because we had a couple of injuries, but that really helped me. This year, I feel like I’m coming in rolling off the ground. It’s just so much more fluent, and those reps really helped me with the playbook. Playbook is way easier now, and I’m getting a good feel for it.”
His Leadership Traits:
“I like to get the guys going. I have a real voice on the field, and if y’all hear me on the field, I get the guys going. I wouldn’t say I’m a vocal leader, but I lead by example. Vocal leader, probably something I need to work on.”
On New Offensive Coordinator Drew Mehringer:
“It’s been different. They’re two different people, coach (Will) Stein and coach Drew. My guy’s getting us going. I’m excited for this season.”
Supporting Dakorien Moore At Track Meet:
“Yesterday, that touched my heart, man. Just all of us going out there, and it wasn’t even just for Dakorien. It was really for Oregon. It was just more for Dakorien because we see him every day. That really touched my heart, and the connection is just unbelievable. I don’t think many people are doing that for their teammates.”
Quarterback Dante Moore’s Growth:
“That guy has his head on his shoulders at all times. He’s been growing consistently, but it’s a couple of different things. I probably can’t name them right now, but he’s been having his head on his shoulders. He’s just been on the climb.”
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Oregon
Oregon man mounted a jet engine on a 60-year-old fishing boat to blast around a lake and thinks he may have set a world record
A man from Oregon has unveiled something truly crazy after he added a jet engine to the back of a 60-year-old fishing boat – and he suspects he might have broken a world record.
YouTuber Robert Maddox from CrazyRocketman mounted a pulsejet engine and its 230lbs of thrust to the back of a 1965 12-foot Sears fishing boat.
A wild juxtaposition by any standard, and the video he posted on YouTube confirms that as the diminutive boat roars away.
But did the YouTuber actually actually get the record?
How does this 1965 Sears fishing boat get its power?
The video shows the Oregon man hurling the boat around a lake, with the engine glowing behind him.
Strapped to the back of the boat is a pulsejet engine that produces 230lbs of thrust.
Pulsejet engines are smaller, lighter jet engines with combustion occurring in pulses.
Such is their simplicity that they can be made with few or even no moving parts at all.
Engines like these were used on the German V-1 Flying Bomb from World War II.
These were the Argus As 014 engines, the very first pulsejet ever to be mass-produced.
It is a smaller and even simpler version of these that Maddox has put on the back of his boat.
The funny noise they make comes from the way in which the jet makes its power.
This old boat could be a record holder
In his video, Maddox had clearly enjoyed his outing on the boat.
“Man, this boat really is super controllable,” he said, highlighting the ease with which it handles.
The video suggested there are a few niggles still to sort out on the boat.
“It was making all kinds of fuel noises, I’ve probably got a fuel pump out or something,” he added.
Yet this isn’t the end of the road for this particular project.
“I’m going to do a lot with this boat, and put a twin engine on it,” Maddox said in the video.
Given the speed of the vessel, with two pulsejet engines, this should rocket through the water.
That means another world record could be up for grabs for the Oregon YouTuber.
If there was any doubt over a world record with one engine, two engines should end the debate in an instant.
Jet engine timeline
150 AD – Hero of Alexandria invents the aeolipile, a steam-powered device demonstrating the basic jet principle
1930 – Frank Whittle successfully patents the first design for a working gas turbine jet engine
1937 – Hans von Ohain tests his first centrifugal turbojet engine prototype in Germany
1939 – The Heinkel He 178 makes the first successful flight powered entirely by a jet engine
1941 – The Gloster E.28/39 completes the first British jet flight using Whittle’s engine design
1944 – The Messerschmitt Me 262 enters combat service as the world’s first operational jet fighter
1949 – The de Havilland Comet makes its maiden flight to become the first commercial jet airliner
1958 – The Boeing 707 enters commercial service and officially kicks off the global Jet Age
1969 – Concorde takes off for the first time to pioneer supersonic passenger jet travel
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CASCADE LOCKS, Ore. — DNA analysis has identified the remains found in a car in the Columbia River as those of an Oregon family that went missing in 1958 while on a trip to find Christmas greenery, authorities said Thursday.
The state medical examiner’s office has identified parents Kenneth and Barbara Martin and their daughter Barbie from remains located in the river within the wreckage of the car, the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office said. The sheriff’s office said it concluded its investigation and found no evidence of a crime.
The Ford station wagon thought to belong to the family was found in 2024 by a diver who had been looking for it for several years. Authorities pulled part of the car from the river the following year.
The family vanished in December of 1958. The bodies of two of the family’s children were found months after the disappearance, but the other members never turned up.
The search for the Martin family was a national news story at the time and led some to speculate about the possibility of foul play, with a $1,000 reward offered for information.
“Where do you search if you’ve already searched every place logic and fragmentary clues would suggest?” an Associated Press article asked in 1959, months after the disappearance.
Only the frame and some attached components were retrieved from the water because of the “extent to which the vehicle had been encased in sediment,” the sheriff’s office said. Analysis of those items allowed investigators to conclude that it was indeed the Martin family’s car.
Later in 2025, the diver located human remains that were ultimately turned over to the state medical examiner’s office.
Scientists developed DNA extracts from the remains and generated a profile that was compared with relatives of the Martin family, allowing for the identifications, authorities said.
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