The Oregon Ducks ended up leaving the Pac-12, placing the Oregon football program in a different conference than the Oregon State Beavers, but the 2024 Oregon football schedule wouldn’t be complete without having the two teams meet up. So, thankfully, the Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers will meet up in the third game of the 2024 Oregon football season.

Just as the first two games on the Ducks’ 2024 schedule will be in Autzen Stadium, Oregon will face off against the Oregon State Beavers in what will be the Ducks’ first road game of the 2024 Oregon football season.

It’ll also be the first matchup in this rivalry since Oregon made the decision to ditch the Pac-12 and join the Big Ten. Given how Oregon State was impacted, the home crowd at Reser Stadium in Corvallis will be, uh, less than enthusiastic to welcome the Ducks to town.

The Beavers are facing a bit of uncertainty about the future of their program. With the dissolving of the Pac-12 and no clear path to another power conference (the Big Ten has quite a few teams, the SEC isn’t on the West Coast, the ACC already has a few West Coast teams, and the Big 12 is chaos), who knows what’s up ahead for the Oregon State football program.

But, even though there’s some uncertainty in Corvallis, at least we get the preservation of this long standing rivalry matchup.

The Beavers have provided a tough test for the Oregon football team over the past few seasons. That said, this particular in-state rivalry matchup probably won’t be as closely contested as some of the recent editions have been. 

Positioned early in the 2024 Oregon football schedule, this game should serve as yet another solid non-conference test for Dan Lanning and his Ducks. Without Jonathan Smith in Corvallis though, it seems plausible that Oregon State will take a bit of a step back this season. 

And with the roster that Lanning has assembled, even if there is a hostile crowd and an eager Beavers team, this should be a solid victory for the Ducks. 

But all that said, as the Ducks navigate their into a new conference with an intriguing 2024 schedule, which includes games against longstanding Big Ten powerhouses such as the Ohio State Buckeyes, Michigan Wolverines, and the Wisconsin Badgers, it’s kinda nice to face off against a familiar face. The Oregon State game serves as a familiar reminder of Oregon football’s history ahead of this new era for the Ducks.

Oregon regulators are threatening to revoke their approval of a psilocybin mushroom facilitator school that holds retreats in Southern Oregon and claims it should get religious exemptions.

The Oregon Health Authority approved Myco-Method to train future psilocybin guides in March of 2023 as part of its roll-out of Measure 109 which created the county’s first regulatory framework for therapeutic psychedelic mushroom use. The OHA has so far approved over 20 schools to train psilocybin facilitators.

But, as the Willamette Week first reported, the problems began for Myco-Method when the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission became involved. That agency licenses private career schools, which now include psilocybin facilitator training programs. The agency didn’t approve Myco-Method at first because the group didn’t have enough reserve capital, according to the school’s founder Shasta Winn.

“Everything that they’re requiring is something that would involve changing a lot of the structure of how [Myco-method] was designed,” said Winn. She explained that Myco-Method is affiliated with an interfaith religious organization Saba Cooperative that’s not “motivated towards profit.”

Winn said that after clarification by HECC about what capital Myco-Method needed, she faced a different hurdle due to the agency requiring licensing fees of over $5,000 for each of her instructors rather than one fee for the entire school. She said the multiple required fees are required because Myco-Method does not operate one physical school. The in-person portion of her training is hosted at a variety of temporary locations, including Ashland.

Winn petitioned for religious exemption for HECC licensing requirements, which was denied. Now the OHA has told Winn her school could lose approval as soon as this summer.

In the meantime, Winn has filed a legal complaint against HECC. She also has a suit claiming Oregon’s psilocybin regulatory agencies violated antitrust laws and her constitutional rights due to their licensing requirements. She said around 20 students have gone through Myco-Method’s curriculum while her organization has been in regulatory limbo.

Winn said she believes in the power of psilocybin-guided therapy to help people. But she’s pessimistic about the legal framework created in Oregon.

“I do feel like it has the potential to really change people on a personal level, who can then really make the world a better place,” said Winn. “But I don’t see it being possible if it starts off in the same way of corrupt, money-driven… aggression.”

The OHA and HECC didn’t respond to requests for comment. The OHA told Winn she has until early July to request an administrative hearing on the topic. Winn said she plans to do that if her suits against the agencies are still pending.

SALEM, Ore. (KPTV) – More than a dozen firefighters with the Oregon Department of Forestry were sent to New Mexico to help battle wildfires in that state.

ODF says most of the 19 firefighters arrived Friday and the rest will arrive within the next day.

“The two-week rotation with our New Mexico partners will allow our firefighters to brush up on their skills before Oregon’s fire season hits its peak later this summer,” ODF said in a release.

So far in 2024, Oregon has deployed:

• 48 firefighters to Texas
• 14 firefighters to Alaska
• Five firefighters to California
• Two firefighters to Tennessee
• One firefighter to Washington
• One firefighter to Florida
• One firefighter to New Mexico (this deployment is separate from the current one)

SEE ALSO:

ODF says Oregon can and has called on those same states to send firefighters and equipment when wildfires here exceed local capacity.

Two wildfires started Monday near the small town of Ruidoso, New Mexico, and have burned over 23,000 acres. President Joe Biden issued a disaster declaration, freeing up funding and more resources as crews worked to keep the flames from spreading.

Thousands of people have been displaced, and the wildfires have burned about 1,400 structures. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help those affected by the Ruidoso wildfires. You can find that fundraiser here.

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