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.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2020
Klamath Basin Weather
Today Snow this morning and slick roads with below freezing temperatures for the morning commute, then mostly sunny, with a high near 37. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. Overnight, cloudy with a low of 23 degrees.
Friday A 20 percent chance of snow after 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39. Overnight rain mixed with snow, low of 30. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.
Saturday Snow showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 37. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible. Another chance of snow overnight with a low of 26. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
Sunday Snow likely, mainly after 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.
Road Conditions
Traveling? Check our cameras below for the latest road conditions from BasinLife.com.
Lake of the Woods Hiway 140
Greensprings Drive at Hiway 97
Doak Mountain looking east
Chemult, Oregon
LaPine, Oregon
Bly, Oregon
Medford at I-5 -Biddle Road & Crater Lake Parkway
Today’s Headlines
The Klamath County Public Health Air Advisory is Green until noon today.
CHILOQUIN SCHOOLS ON ONE-HOUR SNOW DELAY: Chiloquin Schools will start classes one hour later this morning (Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020) due to inclement weather.
During a one-hour start delay, Chiloquin school buses pick up students one hour later than their normal pick-up time.
ALL OTHER SCHOOLS in the Klamath County School District are on a REGULAR SCHEDULE.
A Klamath Falls man has been missing for three weeks and family members are hoping to get some clues on his whereabouts.
22-year-old Ethan Swiger was last seen on December 16th when a family member dropped him off at the Klamath Falls Gospel Mission, according to Klamath Falls Police.
The agency said that it was out of character for him not to stay in contact with family. Swiger was wearing a dirty-brown sweatshirt, camouflage pants, and a yellow rain slicker when he was last seen. Police and family members described Swiger as being roughly six feet tall, weighing between 145 and 165 pounds. Swiger has a disability and walks with a severe limp on his right side.
Family members say that he does not drive and does not have full use of his hands. According to police Swiger may have mentioned to someone that he intended to travel to Grants Pass but there has been no indication that he ever arrived there.If you have any information about Swiger’s location, please contact the Klamath Falls Police Department.
Earlier this week, Representative Greg Walden announced that he has nominated thirteen Oregon students for acceptance to one of the prestigious United States service academies.
Walden’s Service Academy Nomination Board — retired and active-duty military officers who interviewed potential candidates for the service academies — recommended each student based on their academic performance, extracurricular involvement, and character.
Walden nominated Connor Cherpeski, son of Nathan and Larissa Cherpeski of Klamath Falls who is currently attending Klamath Union High School to the United States Military Academy.
Bonanza High School senior Madelyn Bloom has signed a letter of intent to ride for Fresno State University’s Division 1 equestrian team next year.
The senior received two offers – one from Fresno State and the other from the University of Tennesse-Martin. Fresno State also offered her a scholarship. Bloom has been riding since she was young competing on a national level with the American Quarter Horse Association and in high school as part of the Oregon High School Equestrian Teams.
The Ulta Beauty store in Klamath Falls, is set to open Friday, Feb. 7th according to Ulta Beauty Public Relations Manager Amy Clabots.
Ulta Beauty is a chain of beauty supply stores that carries a wide variety of brands of makeup, skincare, bath and body products and beauty tools, from drugstore brands to high-end products. The store is in the Jefferson Square shopping center.
Dickerhoof properties, a Corvallis-based developer, owns Jefferson Square and has recently renovated spaces for Ulta Beauty, Natural Grocers, Planet Fitness and T.J. Maxx.
The Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training is pleased to announce the graduation of its 394th Basic Police Class.
The Basic Police Class is 16-weeks in length and includes dozens of training areas including survival skills, firearms, emergency vehicle operations, ethics, cultural diversity, problem solving, community policing, elder abuse, drug recognition, and dozens of other subjects.
Locally graduates include Officer Joseph Reed of the Klamath Falls Police Department.
The Klamath County Board of Commissioners launched a program that will provide grant funding for those looking to become contractors in the area to build new housing projects.
The Contractor Incentive Program will fund up to $5,650 of fees associated with things like licensing and certifications for an applicant. Commissioner Kelley Minty Morris said the idea was born out of brainstorming with a former industry professional she knew about ways to eliminate some barriers to those looking to enter the field. While there is no maximum number of grants the board has set that it will award, Morris said they will evaluate the number of applications they’ve received after about six months to determine the success of the program.
In exchange for the board covering applicants’ fees the board asks that applicants commit to working in the county for a year.
Governor Kate Brown has been meeting with CCO leaders and other health care representatives in Southern Oregon to gather feedback about their progress serving the health needs of their communities during the transition to CCO2.0.
Governor Brown met with representatives from the Umpqua Health Alliance in Roseburg and AllCare in Grants Pass, after meeting yesterday with the Cascade Health Alliance here in Klamath Falls.
Topics discussed at the meetings included local innovation in care coordination, cost growth targets, and community engagement. According to the Governor Oregon’s CCO system is a national model for community-based health solutions and community-driven decision making.
Around the region
In November skeletal human remains were recovered in a wooded area just over the Douglas County border off Highway 227.
The remains were believed to be those of Malina Lynn Nickel, reported missing in November of 2016. This discovery was made during a separate homicide investigation in which Destiny Finch was the victim. The remains were transported to the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office for further evaluation.
The suspect in that case 22 year old Shane Ryan Michael Wayman was indicted on charges of Criminal Mistreatment in the First Degree and Abuse of a Corpse in the Second Degree, based on circumstantial evidence found at the scene which tentatively identified the remains as Malina’s.
Yesterday Jackson County Sheriff’s Office detectives received the lab report back from Oregon State Police on the skeletal remains submitted for DNA analysis which confirmed the remains are those of Malina Nickel.
If you’re driving north be aware firefighters plan to burn more juniper slash piles through the rest of the week on the Crooked River National Grassland, about 13 miles northeast of Sisters.
A smoke column may be visible from nearby homes and communities, but no smoke impacts to residents are expected. Firefighters plan to ignite 329 acres of slash that resulted from the Westside Stewardship project. The juniper slash piles are the result of the Westside Stewardship project, which was a joint endeavor over the last decade by the US Forest Service and the National Wild Turkey Federation to improve forage and habitat conditions for a myriad of wildlife species across nearly 3,000 acres on the Crooked River National Grassland.
Past work on these acres has included juniper removal, hand-piling and machine piling, prescribed burning, as well as treatments to reduce the spread of invasive plants.
The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office announced yesterday that 22 year old Timothy Chase McDonald of Yreka was arrested in the killing of Spencer Richard Hodgson 31 of Yreka nearly eight months after a Yreka man’s corpse was found in the Klamath River area and his death was declared a homicide. McDonald was booked at the Siskiyou County Jail in Yreka Tuesday.
Gas price averages are showing little movement this week but that could change if crude oil prices fluctuate due to geopolitical concerns surrounding events in the Middle East.
For the week, the national average for regular remains at $2.59 a gallon. The Oregon average falls a penny to $3.02.Gas prices are starting 2020 at higher prices than at the start of 2019. The national average is about 35 cents more and the Oregon average about 10 cents more than a year ago.
Two Portland residents have been charged with unlawfully possessing the same stolen handgun.
They are 28 year old Christopher Eugene Miller and 27 year old Kebrin Larry Jones, both charged in a two-count indictment with unlawfully possessing a stolen 45 caliber handgun.
Miller and Jones join 34 year old Desmond Boris Washingtonalso of Portland who was previously charged in a separate criminal case for unlawfully possessing the same handgun. All three defendants are convicted felons and not permitted to possess firearms.Agents recovered the stolen firearm while executing a search warrant on Washington’s Portland residence.
All three defendants memorialized their unlawful possession of firearms in a publicly-available music video posted to YouTube.
…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.