The latest Klamath Falls News around the Klamath Basin from Wynne Broadcasting’s KFLS News/Talk 1450AM/102.5FM, BasinLife.com and The Herald & News.
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Klamath Basin Weather
Today
Sunny, with a high near 48. Overnight, clear with a low of just 23 and gusty winds.
Thursday
Sunny, with a high near 54. Low of only 28 degrees
Friday
Sunny, with a high near 64.
Saturday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 66.
Sunday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 62.
Today’s Headlines…
The Air Quality Advisory until noon today is GREEN.
Yesterday fire crews in Crescent responded to reports of one building of the Forest Service bunkhouse near Highway 97 on fire. Daniel Rife, Forest Service district ranger, said the building was a total loss, although no one was injured as no one was in the building at the time.
He said an employee arrived at the warehouse near the bunkhouse and smelled smoke, prompting him to call 911. Rife said Deputy State Fire Marshal Scott Rice’s investigation concluded that a faulty toaster started the smoke inside the building that housed the kitchen and common areas for the Forest Service employees. The fire was contained to inside the building and nothing else was damaged.
Crescent fire chief Dylan Webb said it took crews about an hour and a half to extinguish the fire.
The 173rd Fighter Wing will host the 17th Sentry Eagle air-to-air combat exercise July 15 to 19, 2020.
Additionally, the public is invited to enjoy a wide variety of fighter aircraft, military operations, and static displays during the Open House on Saturday, 18 July and admission is free.
Sentry Eagle, one of the Air National Guard’s largest air-to-air exercises, provides military pilots of the National Guard, Active Duty and Reserve components a forum in which to test their flying skills including basic fighter maneuvers and air combat tactics against different types of aircraft, close-air support and large-force employment training. Lt. Col. Adam Gaudinski expects over 50 aircraft to be in the skies over Oregon, honing and forging their skills, but noted the amount of effort that takes place to make this happen.
“Over eight months of planning will go into this event,” said Gaudinski. “Hundreds of Kingsley personnel will work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure safe planning, coordination, and execution. There is a reason why we call ourselves Team Kingsley; no single person can achieve what we do together.”
On Saturday, July 18th, Kingsley Field will open its doors to the public during an Open House. Visitors will be able to see aerial demonstrations, view aircraft on display, take part in activities, and watch aircraft head out on their missions.
During Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October, the American Red Cross urges eligible donors to give blood or platelets to provide hope and healing to patients fighting cancer.
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women, and more than 268,000 women are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.Donors of all blood types, especially platelet donors and those with type O blood, are needed to ensure a stable supply for cancer patients and others this fall.
Appointments can be made by downloading the free Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device.
As a thank-you, those who come to give blood or platelets during the month of October will automatically be entered for a chance to win one of five $500 gift cards redeemable at hundreds of merchants, courtesy of Tango Card.
Locally in Klamath Falls the Blood drive will be at OIT October 22nd and 23rd and the Cerulean Hotel on October 25th.
Twice each year there are open burn windows that allow Klamath County residents the opportunity to burn yard waste.
The 2019 fall open burning window begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, and ends at 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27th.
The air quality advisory must be green. The daily advisory is available at 541-882-BURN (2876).
The open burn window may be cancelled at any time due to air quality or fire hazard conditions. KCPH reminds people that the smoke from burning yard debris is equally as harmful to lungs as cigarette smoke. During the open burn window, residents should check with their local Fire District or the City of Klamath Falls (inside the city limits) for additional restrictions.
Around the state Health officials say one more Oregonian has a vaping-related severe lung illness, raising Oregon’s toll to nine victims, two of whom have died.
Governor Kate Brown on Oct. 4 ordered a six-month ban on sales of all flavored vaping products with nicotine or THC. It’s unclear when the ban will start.
The governor told state agencies to “immediately” pass emergency rules to ban the products. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says at least 1,080 people across the country have been struck with lung illnesses connected to vaping and at least 18 have died. Officials do not know what is causing the illness.
Medical tests have pointed to oils lodged in victims’ lungs, while others have pointed to lung reactions typical of exposure to toxic chemicals. Of Oregon’s nine victims, at least five used products they bought at legal marijuana retail stores.
All About Mountain Biking!
Shasta Elementary School club completes 7.5 mile course at Shoalwater Bay
Shasta Elementary School sixth-grader Emilee Mitchell had just climbed a 1-1/2-mile hill on a mountain bike, but she was grinning as she braked for a water stop.
“It was awesome,” she exclaimed. “Hard, but awesome.”
Her next two miles would be downhill, and she was ready to go. Mitchell joined 16 other members of the Shasta Elementary School Mountain Bike Club Saturday for a final event – a 7.5-mile trail race at Shoalwater Bay west of Klamath Falls.
“They all did so well,” said Theresa Ross, a P.E. teacher at Shasta who started the club last spring as a way to offer more after-school opportunities for elementary school students.
The 17 who participated in Saturday’s event were among 28 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders who joined the club. Ross said many of the students had never ridden a bike with gears before and some when they started were nervous riding down the small hills behind Shasta school. But many of those same students completed Saturday’s course, nailing the uphill portion and relishing the downhill, she said.
Henley High School student Jake Preston, who is helping with the club as a senior project, led the students on the course. Ross said she couldn’t have offered mountain biking without the help of volunteers, and she thanked Preston as well as teachers Nick Weaver and Stacy Johnson, retired teacher Sally Taylor, parent Matt Dodson, and Henley sophomore Gabe Preston, and her husband, Dennis Ross, who transported the mountain bikes and cooked lunch for the club on Saturday. Saturday also was National Take A Kid Mountain Biking Day.
Students earned Shasta MTB Club patches for finishing the course, and the group celebrated with hot dogs and snacks before boarding a school bus to return to Klamath Falls.
Krissy Dodson, whose fourth-grade son Drew participated in Saturday’s event, said even though her son has biked before with family she was happy he’s able to participate in the activity with his peer group.
“I think getting kids involved in something our town has to offer is pretty special,” she said, referring to the numerous outdoor opportunities and new biking trails in the Klamath Falls area.
The Klamath Trail Alliance has developed trails throughout the area, including Spence Mountain, Shoalwater Bay, Moore Park, Brown Mountain, High Lakes and portions of the Pacific Crest Trail.
Club members were able to ride mountain bikes provided by the school’s fleet of 110 bicycles. The fleet, purchased through grants, includes 75 cross and 35 mountain bikes. Students at first practiced on school grounds, working on bike control and hill climbing.
From there, they experimented on the trails at Moore Park before taking the final trip to Shoalwater Bay to ride on the Spence Mountain trail system.
Ross, who has been offering a triathlon club at the school for the last eight years, started the mountain biking club last spring as a way to offer more after-school opportunities for elementary school students.
Other plans include offering after-school archery in the winter as well as the established triathlon and track clubs in the spring.
Henley and Ferguson offer triathlon clubs, and other elementary schools plan to offer archery this winter as well. Ross and other teachers who support the after-school activities do so on their own time. Other elementary schools in the Klamath County School District also offer after-school clubs, including coding and robotics.
See more KCSD stories and news on our full Klamath County School District page, CLICK HERE.
…For complete details on these and other stories see today’s Herald & News. Wynne Broadcasting and the Herald and News…stronger together to keep you informed.