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.
Monday, November 4, 2019
Klamath Basin Weather
Today
Sunny, with a high near 68. Overnight, clear with a low around 35.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 67.
Wednesday
Sunny, with a high near 66.
Thursday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 62.
Friday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 62.
Today’s Headlines…
The Klamath County Public Health Air Advisory is YELLOW until noon today.
A Seattle man died last week at Sky Lakes Medical Center following a vaping-related incident. The man, 23-year-old Hadynn Outcalt-Arends, was on a belated honeymoon with his wife, Courtney when he became ill.
The couple had been married just 19 days. Outcalt-Arends had been using nicotine vape products for less than a year, and only used nicotine vape. He purchased vape juice locally, although the family has not yet agreed to release which store Outcalt-Arends bought the juice from. According to reports his wide went into the kitchen to prepare a late-night meal and she heard him gasping in the bedroom. She rushed to him and he was unconscious and foaming at the mouth. Outcalt-Arends was rushed to the hospital via ambulance.
The Klamath County Sheriff’s Office and the Oregon Poison Center are investigating the death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 1,888 people have been sickened from the vaping diseases, and 37 have died as of Oct. 31 in the United States.
The Sky Lakes Collaborative Health Center is set to open its doors on January 6th. The center is a $50 million, 100,000-square-foot building. It is a partnership between Sky Lakes and Oregon Health & Science University.
The grand opening event will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. December 12th and is open to everyone. It will include tours of the new facility. There will be a VIP event that is invite-only on the same day at 1 p.m. The top two floors of the building, which is located on Campus Drive near the main Sky Lakes Medical Center, will be the new home of five Sky Lakes primary care clinics.
Doctors and their patients from Sky Lakes primary care clinics scattered around Klamath Falls will all consolidate in the new building. Communication between the Sky Lakes building and the Collaborative Health Center will also be extremely fast, as there are pneumatic tubes between the two that can send things in less than a minute. The primary care facility is expected to have 50 to 60 doctors with room for expansion.
Community members in Klamath Falls and surrounding areas are invited to attend an open house to learn how to become a licensed teacher without leaving Klamath Falls, according to a news release.
Klamath Community College and Southern Oregon University are jointly hosting the open house. The event is 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, in the Work Skills Technology Center, room 819.
Representatives from KCC and Southern Oregon University will be at the event to talk about their partnership, which allows students registered at SOU to complete a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education at KCC.
This KCC-SOU collaboration provides a clear pathway for students in the Klamath Falls area to earn a bachelor’s degree and provides options for earning a teaching license and/or a minor in early childhood development.
The United Way of the Klamath Basin will hold its 74th annual campaign volunteer appreciation luncheon and progress report from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday at MCs on Main Street.
According to Dennis Winn, campaign chairman “The public is invited to attend, especially those individuals who are coordinating the United Way employee campaigns at their workplace. The latest campaign results will be announced, and the 2019 United Way loaned executives will be recognized as their nine-week volunteer assignment will have been completed. Several spirit awards will also be presented to workplace campaigns achieving a 5% increase or better.
United Way officials recently announced that 30% of its $507,000 community campaign goal has been raised. The Henley High School choir will perform a few tunes to help bring in the upcoming holidays. A gift to our United Way will help support 32 year-round program services provided by United Way’s 17 supported agencies, and 99 cents of every dollar donated stays local.
While state funding is still pending approval in the next legislative session, Lake County has secured funding alternatives for railroad line upgrades to commence in anticipation of Red Rock Biofuels beginning operations next spring.
Earlier this year the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Authority approved $5.6 million in grant funds for freight rail system upgrades in Lake County through the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements program – called “The Build America Grant.” The CRISI grant requires a $5 million match, $1.4 million of which is dedicated from construction of a new rail spur connecting to the main line at the currently under construction Red Rock Biofuels facility on the south end of Lakeview. An additional $3.12 million was expected in matching funds from the Oregon State Legislature, but those expected funds have been pushed until the next legislative session.
The State of Oregon has already invested heavily in the Red Rock Biofuels project, approving $245 million in bonds last year for its construction.
Around the state…
Oregonians who do not get health insurance through their jobs, and who do not qualify for the Oregon Health Plan, have six weeks to sign up for 2020 coverage.
Between Nov. 1 and Dec. 15 you can go to OregonHealthCare.gov to: Estimate if you will qualify for help paying for coverage, Skim the different plans available in your area, See what the plans cover, and how much they cost and find a local expert who can help you apply for a subsidy and enroll in a plan OregonHealthCare.gov is the online home of the Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace, a part of state government. It is the state-level partner of HealthCare.gov, the national website where people enroll in Marketplace plans and access subsidies.
Last year, more than 148,000 people in Oregon got coverage through the Marketplace. Oregonians can apply for subsidies and enroll online on their own, or they can get free, local help with the application. Insurance agents and community-based advocates providing that assistance are listed at OregonHealthCare.gov/gethelp, or call 855-269-3767 (toll-free). Open enrollment lasts until Dec. 15. for 2020 coverage.
Once the deadline passes, people can buy insurance only when they have a major life change, such as having a baby, adopting a child, or losing other health insurance.
Police are searching for two masked men who forced their way into a 75-year-old Medford woman’s home, bound her with zip ties and assaulted her, then stole jewelry including the wedding band from her hand.
The woman heard a knock at the door at 8:40 a.m. and opened it to see two masked men, according to Medford police. Police say at least one was armed with a handgun. Police say the men barged into her home, zip-tied her hands and shoved her to the ground, which injured her face, arm and shoulder. They then stole the jewelry and fled. The woman managed to free one of her hands and then ran to a neighbor’s house. The woman was treated at the scene. Police believe the attack was targeted and said the suspects stole more than $10,000 worth of property.
Federal wildlife officials have entered into agreements with timber companies and the state of Oregon to protect the rare Pacific fisher on nearly 2 million acres of forestland in Oregon. Five companies — Green Diamond, Weyerhaeuser, Roseburg, Lone Rock and Hancock — have signed conservation agreements with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the past few months.
The fisher is a carnivorous mammal related to weasels and mink and once was widely found in the Pacific Northwest. But their numbers crashed because of trapping, the use of rodenticides and destruction of their habitat through logging and other development that removed forestlands. Currently, small native populations of fishers remain only in Southern Oregon and Northern California, although efforts are underway to reintroduce fishers from Canada in Washington.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is currently considering whether to protect the fisher and its habitat under the federal Endangered Species Act. The voluntary conservation agreements could influence that decision.
Authorities are investigating the death of a man whose body was found in an Oregon creek. Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to Cedar Mill Creek in the Beaverton area where the body was found Saturday afternoon.
The Sheriff’s Office says the deceased man was found about 100 feet downstream of a waterfall. The body was recovered from the creek. Official say it’s unclear foul play was involved in the man’s death. The medical examiner’s office is working to determine the cause and manner of death, as well as identify the body.
…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.