Klamath Basin News Update and Stories from Paul Hanson of KFLS 102.5FM & 1450AM, Wynne Broadcasting & The Herald & News
FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2019
KLAMATH BASIN WEATHER
Friday
Rain likely midday thru afternoon, with a high near 49. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Overnight, a slight chance of rain with a low around 34.
Saturday
A slight chance of snow showers before 11am, then a chance of rain and snow showers during the day with a high near 47. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. Overnight low of 29.
Sunday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 53.
Monday
Rain and snow likely, mainly after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46.
Tuesday
A chance of snow showers before 11am, then a chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46.
See Road Camera Views:
Lake of the Woods
Doak Mtn.
Hiwy 97 at Chemult
Hiwy 140 at Bly
Hiwy 97 at GreenSprings Dr.
Hiway 97 at LaPine
TODAY’S KLAMATH FALLS AREA NEWS HEADLINES & STORIES…
Licensing County-run Youth Residential Programs
SALEM — A proposal moving through the Oregon Legislature would give state regulators the authority to license county-run residential programs for children in foster care and the custody of the Oregon Youth Authority.
Currently, only privately operated youth treatment and care institutions are required to meet state licensing standards.
Oregon child welfare officials are increasingly looking to unlicensed county-run institutional programs to house and treat some of the most traumatized and difficult to care for children in the state’s foster system. Douglas, Klamath, Josephine and Multnomah counties already house children in group quarters under contract with the state.
Gov. Kate Brown wants lawmakers to issue $12 million in debt to expand Klamath County’s program to serve more teenage girls.
Same Rules
The disparity in licensing standards has come under criticism. “The question is, why do we have this one set of programs that isn’t subject to the same set of rules as everybody else?” Sen. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, said at a Feb. 19 hearing.
In order to obtain federal reimbursement for payments to the unlicensed county programs, Oregon has been issuing “letters of approval” to the county programs, Department of Human Services Child Care Licensing Manger Tom Vanderveen told lawmakers in February.
New Wolf Pack Discovered
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed gray wolf activity through track sightings and remote camera images in the Umpqua National Forest north of Highway 138. The Indigo wolves are using a large wild area that spans Lane and Douglas Counties and the Willamette and Umpqua watersheds, according to a press release.
The news marks the third confirmed group of wolves to return to the Oregon Cascades since they were exterminated nearly 70 years ago. Last year, the White River Pack was documented south of Mt. Hood, and the Rogue Pack, which consists of OR-7, has been established south of Crater Lake for four years.
“Today’s exciting news further demonstrates that with enough time and human tolerance, gray wolves will continue to re-establish themselves across historic habitats in the region,” says Josh Laughlin, Executive Director of Cascadia Wildlands. “It is critical that strong state and federal protections remain in place during this tenuous recovery process.”
Sky Lakes Remodel To Include New Mammography System
Sky Lakes Medical Center is investing more than $1.2 million to remodel its Outpatient Imaging facility, 2900 Daggett Ave., to consolidate mammography services in one location. The new Sky Lakes Breast Health Services space will feature 3D mammography equipment utilizing the “Smart Curve Comfort System.” The remodeled space will be ready April 8.
The first-floor area in the medical center that was formerly used for another mammography suite is now being used for a new breast biopsy system which complements the 3D imaging system. Many radiologists prefer to perform biopsies on this new system because patients are more comfortable and relaxed during the biopsy, according to the news release.
The new system also gives radiologists the ability to perform biopsies that could not be performed on upright systems.
Modoc War Apology Bill Proposed
A proposed resolution that would express “our regret over the 1873 Modoc War execution of Kintpuash” (Captain Jack) and three other Modocs and for “the expulsion of the Modoc Tribe from their ancestral lands in Oregon” will be discussed by the Oregon Senate Committee on Veterans and Emergency Preparedness next Wednesday.
Oregon State Sen. Fred Girod, R-Stayton, is sponsoring Senate Concurrent Resolution 12. A public hearing and work session is scheduled 8 a.m. Wednesday at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.
Spokesmen for Girod said he has no comment on why he is sponsoring the resolution and will not discuss the proposal until Wednesday’s public hearing. Office staff declined to answer any questions. Some people have wondered why an Oregon state senator from outside the Klamath Basin — Stayton is 12 miles southeast of Salem — is sponsoring the proposal and whether it could open the way for similar resolutions. Girod is listed as a practicing dentist who was appointed to the Oregon Senate in 2008 after serving in the state House of Representatives.
According to a summary of the measures “essential features,” the resolution outlines Captain Jack’s (Kintpuauh or Kientpoos) history and the 1864 treaty between the United States and the Modoc, Klamath and Yahooskin tribes. The summary notes incidents during the Modoc War of 1872-73, including the battle in what is now known as Captain Jack’s Stronghold that was decisively won by the Modocs. It also notes that “during a truce period on April 11, 1873, a group of Modocs led by Kintpuash killed peace commissioner Rev. Eleazer Thomas and Gen. Edward Canby, the highest-ranking U.S. Army office to be killed during the Indians war.”
Wolves Target Rancher’s Animals Again
Gray wolf OR-7’s Rogue Pack is at it again at rancher Ted Birdseye’s property, killing a mastiff pup Friday, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The dead dog is the 11th livestock or pet kill attributed to southwest Oregon’s lone wolf pack since September, but the first since Jan. 21 when Birdseye installed “Air Dancer” inflatable tubes in his livestock fields to deter the predators, according to ODFW.
In this most recent case, Birdseye last saw the dog outside around midnight Thursday when the rancher went to turn on the Air Dancers after being awakened by his dogs barking “incessantly,” as they have done before past wolf attacks, according to ODFW.
Nine hours later, Birdseye found the dead dog in adjacent industrial timberland about 400 yards from his residence in the Boundary Butte area, where OR-7 and his pack have denned regularly in recent years. Wolf tracks were found at the scene, and the injuries to the dog were consistent with wolf attacks, according to ODFW.
Biological opinion slated for increased water certainty
Bureau of Reclamation’s Klamath Basin Area Office officials On Friday will update the public on the progress of a new biological opinion scheduled for completion on April 1 aimed at providing more water certainty for those who depend on it in the Klamath Project.
Reclamation officials also plan to share a transition plan from the previous opinion, as well as an estimated range of water anticipated for the year.
The public meeting is planned from 1 to 3 p.m. at Klamath County Fairgrounds.
“We’re just trying to get information out to particularly the water users, for their planning purposes and so on, but also the tribes and everyone else,” said Jeff Nettleton, manager of the KBAO.
“Anybody that wants to come is welcome,” Nettleton added.
Cascade Potato Complete Lease for Tulelake Facility
A lease with Cascade Potato for a city building owned by the City of Tulelake was approved by Tulelake City Council Tuesday evening, among other business.
Exact terms of the lease were not released. The building, at 2 Ray Oehlerich Way, adds to other facilities also operated regionally by Cascade Potato. Last year Cascade Potato opened a potato dehydration plant in Malin, which processes cull potatoes for animal feed.
Cascade Potato, affiliated with Colorado Gourmet Potato, has offices in Fresno and Bakersfield, Calif. When the Malin facility was opened in 2018 owner Daniel Wiegand told the Herald & News the company had been looking for land in Tulelake and the Klamath Basin since 2016.
…For complete details on these and other stories see todays Herald & News. Wynne Broadcasting and the Herald and News…stronger together to keep you informed.