Governor Kotek Visits Lake, Klamath, Jackson Counties on One Oregon Tour

Governor and First Lady stop in Christmas Valley, Lakeview, Bly, Klamath Falls, White City, Medford, Ashland, Talent, Central Point

Salem, OR — Last week, Governor Tina Kotek and First Lady Aimee Kotek Wilson visited communities in Lake, Klamath and Jackson counties on stops 30, 31, and 32 of the One Oregon Listening Tour.

“Each of the communities we visited has unique strengths and challenges. My job as Governor is to help every community be successful,” Governor Kotek said. “Hearing from people directly, in their home communities, is a key first step to strong partnerships.”

In Lake County, the Governor and First Lady started with a visit to Christmas Valley to discuss economic development and renewable energy with local leaders. They were then on to Lakeview, where they met with local leaders and participated in a roundtable discussion about behavioral health care hosted by Lake Health District. They also enjoyed viewing the night sky in the Dark Sky sanctuary being proposed for parts of Lake, Harney, and Malheur counties.

In Klamath County, they had lunch at The Bread Wagon in Bly and discussed natural resource issues with Becky Hatfield-Hyde, the co-founder of the Upper Klamath Basin Agriculture Collective, and Paul Simmons with the Klamath Water Users Association. Hatfield-Hyde also serves on the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission.

The Governor and First Lady then drove to Klamath Falls, where they were briefed on the Swan Lake Energy Storage Project, met with early childhood leaders at Klamath Family Head Start, and toured the local Oregon Department of Human Services office to meet the staff and thank them for their work. The day wrapped up with a dinner with local elected leaders. The next day started off with a breakfast with leaders of the Klamath Tribes.

In Jackson County, the Governor and First Lady began with a visit to Rogue Community College’s workforce training campus in White City, focusing on their programs for EMTs, nurses, and dental assistants. After lunch with local government leaders, they attended a behavioral health roundtable with community partners in Medford where they discussed successes and challenges to serving youth and families experiencing addiction or mental health crises. They then drove to Ashland for some First Friday shopping, a tour of a state-of-the-art memory care facility, and dinner.

Before heading back to Salem, they stopped in Talent for a 2020 Labor Day wildfire recovery discussion with Latino residents and community organizations. The visit wrapped up with a cheesemaking tour at Rogue Creamery in Central Point.