Writing & Editing

News stories, press releases, website content, video scripts, technical writing, blogs, annual reports.

Wildfire smoke brings record poor air quality to Oregon, new data shows (News)

Oregon is experiencing record poor air quality from wildfire smoke across the state, according to analysis by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA). Oregon air reached unhealthy or hazardous levels across the state last week on the Air Quality Index (AQI)—which categorizes how clean the air is and lists associated health risks. Dense smoke is expected to remain throughout most of Oregon until at least Thursday.

Amid destruction, hope for recovery and rebuilding (Human interest)

When the Almeda Fire began ripping through the Bear Creek Valley in Southern Oregon, John Vial called his wife and daughter from his desk at the Jackson County Emergency Operations Center to tell them they needed to evacuate from their home. “My wife asked me what she should take,” said Vial. “I told her I don’t care, leave everything. Just get out and get to a safe place. Do it now.”

Vial’s home survived the fire. Thousands of others in Jackson County did not.

The Power of Kindness (Speech/personal essay)

As another engine roared passed on the dusty road, our thumbs pointed out and friendly smiles on our faces, I thought: Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Maybe Eric and I should have just gone with our friend back to Anchorage rather than hitchhiking to the bay. There were no busses, trains, or rental cars in this remote part of Alaska, so our options were to backtrack or hitchhike. But we didn’t want to backtrack, we wanted to explore.

State and federal agencies aid sunken tugboat in Columbia River (Press release)

State and federal agencies are responding to a sunken 38-foot tugboat on the Oregon side of the Columbia River about 10 miles upriver of McNary Dam near Umatilla. Divers plugged fuel vents this afternoon and the vessel is not actively leaking. The tugboat reportedly has about 750 gallons of diesel on board and is completely submerged.

DEQ offers free well water testing in Klamath Basin (Press Release)

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is offering free well water testing in the Klamath Basin as part of a groundwater quality study. DEQ sampled 60 Klamath area wells in fall 2019 and now seeks another 40 wells to complete the study. DEQ samples domestic, irrigation and livestock wells for contaminants and sends property owners their individual results. Knowing if contaminants exist in well water can help residents make decisions to protect their health and their crops.

From landfill to housing: Cleanup begins at Stevens Ranch in Bend (News)

Meandering through the sagebrush and juniper trails at the Stevens Road Tract in southeast Bend, a hiker might never suspect they are walking over acres of buried trash.

Decades-old tires, building materials containing asbestos and household trash fill in former holes and collapsed lava tubes on about 40 acres of the newly planned 382-acre mixed-use housing and commercial development called Stevens Ranch. And soon, much of that trash will be cleaned up and either recycled or deposited in a modern landfill that’s built to protect people and wildlife from trash and the pollution it can create.