Klamath Basin News, Monday, Nov. 25 – Spence Mountain Community Forest To Be Managed by Klamath County Soon

The latest Klamath Falls News around the Klamath Basin and the state of Oregon from Wynne Broadcasting’s KFLS News/Talk 1450AM/102.5FM, BasinLife.com and The Herald & News.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Klamath Basin Weather

Monday 
A slight chance of morning hour snow flurries, otherwise cloudy with a high near only 38 degrees.  Winds will be gusty at times to 15 mph.  Overnight, a chance of snow with a low of 25.

Tuesday 
Snow during the dy. High near 31 with gusty winds at times.Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.

Wednesday 
Snow showers likely, mainly before 10am. Cloudy, with a high near 32. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible. Snow flurries possible overnight, with a low around 18 degrees.

Thursday, Thanksgiving Day 
A slight chance of snow showers before 10am. Partly sunny, with a high near 27. Overnight low of 17 degrees.

Friday 
Partly sunny, with a high near 28.  Low around 13 degrees.

Saturday 
A slight chance of snow. Partly sunny, with a high near 34.

Today’s Headlines

The Klamath County Public Health Air Advisory is Green until noon today

Spence Mountain is one step closer to becoming a community forest managed by Klamath County after the Trust for Public Lands received $435,000 from a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Acres for America grant to go toward the purchase of the 7,500-acre property.

The Trust is also looking for a grant award of $2.5 million from the U.S. Forest Service Forest Legacy Program and was one of the three proposals selected by the Oregon Department of Forestry to more forward to national review. The Trust needs about $6 million to purchase the land from the current owner, and the NFWF award was the first major grant the project received, according to Kristin Kovalik the Oregon Director of Land Protection for the TPL.

According to a Trust document Acquisition of this land will permanently protect access to the trail network, and help the community strengthen their recreation economy and commitment to physical health, while also managing the health of the forest.

Following last week’s shooting at Fairview Park on Worden Avenue that left two men dead and another injured, court documents are beginning to describe what investigators believe happened at about 1AM last Wednesday morning.

31-year-old Christopher Gregory and 43-year-old Donald Cheatham Jr. were killed in the shooting while 28-year-old Sean Dalton Brazil-Gates was hospitalized with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

Officers took 22-year-old Gillian Bradley into custody on Wednesday charging her in connection with the fatal shooting. Bradley was arraigned in court on Thursday facing a second degree murder charge among numerous lesser charges. According to a probable cause statement filed by Corporal Foreman with Klamath Falls Police Bradley conspired with Gregory to confront and murder Sean Gates at Fairview Park. The two sides met with Gregory accompanying Bradley and Cheatham accompanying Gates. There was a brief fight followed by a flurry of gunshots.

Foreman said that both Bradley and Gates opened fire with Bradley allegedly killing Cheatham. Gregory was also killed and Gates injured in the exchange. Once the shooting stopped Gillian Bradley concealed both the rifle and handgun under the bark in the play area at the park prior to law enforcement arriving on scene according to Foreman.

The conspiracy, unlawful use of a weapon, and attempted murder charges against Bradley have the modifier “constituting domestic violence,” indicating that prosecutors believe she and Gates were in a relationship of some sort prior to the shooting.  Bradley was denied bail at her arraignment hearing last week.

A third and final suspect in a Klamath Falls drive-by shooting last Friday was arrested and booked into the Klamath County Jail.

Court documents allege that Randall Holmes shot nine rounds from a rifle into a group of people gathered on the 1300 block of Avalon Street at about 1:25AM that mornig., hitting Jack Daniel Greenelsh four times.

Documents allege Holmes and two others Shawn Brockett and Sonny Dey drove to the location on Avalon Street Friday morning so that Holmes could fight a man named Nicco, whose last name is unknown.  Nicco came outside with a group of men, and some started throwing rocks at the car Brockett was driving. According to the document, the men drove away and Holmes fired the shots from the passenger seat.

Greenelsh was treated at Sky Lakes Medical Center and released, according to Sky Lakes Medical Center spokesperson Tom Hottman.

Holmes, Brockett and Dey are facing attempted murder, assault and unlawful use of a weapon charges. Brockett is also facing a hindering prosecution charge. Their next court appearances are scheduled for today, at the Klamath County Courthouse. Holmes is being held at the Klamath County Jail without bail.

Crater Lake Zipline will remain open for winter zipline adventures through the new year. In the past the tree-to-tree zipline adventure staff have put away harnesses, helmets and trolleys by mid-November in anticipation of the coming snow.

This season Crater Lake Zipline will offer winter tours so holiday travelers can continue to play in the trees. Participants will meet and check in at the base of Tomahawk Hill where their guides will drive them one and a half miles to the top where they will begin their zipline adventure.

If you are traveling to central Oregon next week for Thanksgiving be aware The National Weather Service has issued a forecast for next week that includes a chance for snow on the floor of the high desert in Central Oregon.

The snow forecast means that travelers should be ready for hazardous travel conditions with the possibility of slick snow covered roads during the morning commutes. In Central Oregon, ODOT is already staffed up for winter, and has moved snow removal equipment into strategic locations but motorists should anticipate the potential for hazardous driving conditions during early morning hours.

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden a senior member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today highlighted the importance of providing financial security for rural communities in Oregon like Klamath County by ensuring long-term funding for schools road maintenance law enforcement and other essential services.

At a hearing considering pending legislation on Secure Rural Schools and Payment in Lieu of Taxes programs, Wyden said, “We’ve got to get rural communities off this roller coaster where they just have to wait … until the last minute trying to figure out if they’re going to have the money to fix their roads and the like.”

The committee received testimony on two of Wyden’s bipartisan bills – S. 430, a two-year extension of the SRS program and S. 1643 the Forest Management for Rural Stability Act, which makes the program permanent by creating an endowment fund to provide stable, increasing and reliable funding for county services.

The Oregon Water Resources Department is holding an open house on Tuesday, December 17, 2019, at the Chiloquin Community Center from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.

The purpose of the open house is primarily to exchange information and engage water users in a conversation about the management of groundwater rights in the basin; however, there will also be informational booths on other aspects of water quantity management. More specifically, the open house will be an opportunity to visit with Water Resources Department staff to get general information on water rights and regulation of water use, as well as to share ideas on future water management options.

There will be opportunities to learn about and discuss the Department’s understanding of groundwater and surface water in the basin, and how their connection has resulted in control of wells to protect senior surface water rights. The Department will share information and solicit ideas on future water management and rulemaking for control of wells to meet the needs of senior surface water rights.

Water users will also be able to find out more information about how to access funding for water measurement devices through the water measurement cost share program, as well as funding sources for water projects. O

For decades, Ken Medenbach has been driven by his belief that the federal government cannot own land.

It’s a notion that’s gotten him arrested repeatedly when he built homes on government property. In 2016, it led Medenbach to Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, which he and others occupied for more than a month. But today, with the federal government still controlling vast amounts of property in Oregon, Medenbach has another idea: He’s running for Congress. On Novenber 21st he became the fourth Republican candidate vying to replace U.S. Rep. Greg Walden in the House of Representatives.

A Klamath County resident, Medenbach makes his living carving chainsaw sculptures and building cabins and furniture. But he’s best known for standoffs dating back to the ‘90s over federal property rights.

Klamath Community College and a Rogue Valley trucking academy have teamed up to get more Klamath Basin residents behind the wheel of a big rig.

The company, Aisling Truck Academy, is training commercial truck drivers at the KCC campus in Klamath Falls. Aisling co-owner and instructor Bud Williams has more than 40 years of driving experience. Williams said students enrolled in the five-week commercial driver license course receive a combination of classroom instruction and hands-on driving experience. The program prepares students to earn a Class A commercial driver’s license and optional endorsements. Initial classroom instruction prepares students to pass the tests required to obtain a permit, Williams explained. Once students have a permit, they can get in the driver’s seat and learn how to shift and operate commercial vehicles, maneuver multi-lane roads, and drive over mountain passes. They also practice filling out logbooks, reading maps, and navigating with digital GPS.

Applications for the 2020-21 Grange Co-op and Rogue Co-op Scholarships are now being accepted.

Grange Co-op will award eight $1,500 scholarships to high school seniors. The Rogue Co-ops will award one $2,000 scholarship to a high school senior. Rogue Co-ops is a coalition of Southern Oregon cooperatives including Rogue Credit Union, Medford Food Co-op, Ashland Food Co-op, and Grange Co-op.

To qualify for either scholarship, students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher and have participated, during the academic school year, in at least one of these activities: FFA, 4-H, Horticulture, DECA, FBLA, student body leadership, school sports, or non-related activities such as work experience. In addition, students must reside in Klamath, Lake, Jackson, Josephine, Curry, Coos or Douglas counties in Oregon, or Siskiyou, Del Norte, Modoc, Humboldt, Yuba, Sutter, Colusa or Butte counties in California. The application window closes Jan. 31.

Around the state of Oregon

A Corvallis man has been found guilty of killing his killing his fiancée and pilfering her bank account.

A 12-person jury on Friday found William Hargrove guilty after three hours of deliberation. Anna Repkina, a 27-year-old Russian woman who moved in with Hargrove after an online romance was found killed by a single shotgun blast on a logging road near Alsea in April of 2017.

Hargrove was arrested three days later and charged with murder. He was also charged with identity theft and two counts of theft for using Repkina’s bank card to make withdrawals totaling $800 from her account. Prosecutors argued Hargrove killed Repkina to appease his married lover. Hargrove’s lawyer argued it was that woman who killed Repkina out of jealousy. His lawyer says Hargrove will appeal the verdict.

Klamath Falls News from partnership with the Herald and News, empowering the community.

…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.

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