Benton County News - January 2021

January 2021

County activates Emergency Operations Center for COVID-19 vaccine distribution

On January 13, 2021 Benton County activated the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for COVID-19 vaccine distribution in order to ensure swift and equitable distribution as vaccination availability increases in Oregon.

In addition to the EOC, the County activated its Joint Information Center (JIC) to provide the community with timely and accurate information about the status of vaccination efforts within Benton County. With the activation of both the EOC and JIC, the County expanded the hours of the COVID-19 call center from 8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m., Monday - Friday. The phone bank’s number is 541-766-6120.

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Samaritan and Benton County plan COVID-19 mass vaccination at Reser Stadium

A free mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic will be offered on Friday, Feb. 5 by Samaritan Health Services and the Benton County Health Department at Reser Stadium in collaboration with Oregon State University.

Vaccinations will occur from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for individuals from Benton, Lincoln and Linn counties in the state of Oregon’s Phase 1a and 1b groups, as defined by the Oregon Health Authority. Individuals in the 1b group of K-12 educators and staff, early learning and childcare staff are eligible.

The February 5 clinic is now full. Individuals who are interested in future clinics are encouraged to complete a short needs-assessment survey prior to scheduling vaccine appointments. The survey is available online in English and in Spanish.

Samaritan will continue to communicate with patients and the general public when vaccines are more widely available. Up-to-date information may be found at samhealth.org/COVIDVaccine.

In addition, Benton County provides current information about the COVID-19 and eligible vaccine groups at co.benton.or.us/covid-19-vaccine.

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County Board appoints Interim Sheriff

On January 19, 2021, The Benton County Commissioners voted unanimously to appoint Undersheriff Jefri Van Arsdall from Baker County to fill the position of Interim Benton County Sheriff for the remainder of retired Sheriff Scott Jackson’s current term.

Van Arsdall has over twenty years of law enforcement experience. Sheriff Van Arsdall began his career with Washington County, Oregon as a reserve deputy, worked at the Corvallis Police Department from 2004 to 2015, earning the rank of Patrol Lieutenant, and joined Baker County Sheriff’s Office in 2017 and became Undersheriff in 2018.

Sheriff Jackson retired on February 1, 2021 after 25 years with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office. Under the terms of the Benton County Charter, it falls to the Board of Commissioners to appoint someone for the position through the end of the position’s term if the vacancy occurs with less than half of the term remaining. The current term ends in January 2023.

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County services remain available online or over the phone, and in some cases, in-person by appointment.

Board of Commissioner meetings and advisory committee meetings remain open to the public and are available online through GoToMeeting.

Benton County received its latest warning risk metrics from the Oregon Health Authority on Tuesday, and remains in the “Extreme Risk” category.

County facilities will not reopen to the public until the County has remained in the “High Risk” category for two consecutive two-week periods. This will allow the County to reduce the “yo-yo” effect from opening and closing each time the County moves from “High” to “Extreme Risk,” as well as provide the highest degree of safety for the public and County staff. The earliest possible date for reopening County lobbies to the public is March 1, 2021, depending on which risk protection category the County falls in at that time.

Information about the risk framework, and Benton County’s current status, is available at https://www.co.benton.or.us/covid19.

Although there is limited public access to county buildings, the county business operations will continue to serve the public as listed.

CONTACT

Alyssa Rash

Benton County Public Information Officer

541-745-4468 | alyssa.rash@co.benton.or.us