Broadcasting’s KFLS News/Talk 1450AM/102.5FM, BasinLife.com and The Herald & News.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2020
Klamath Basin Weather
Today (Valentine’s Day) Mostly sunny, with a high near 48. Light winds. Overnight, cloudy with a low around 27.
Saturday A 30% of rain after 4pm. Snow level rising to 5100 feet. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 49. Overnight, rain mixed with snow flurries. Snow level 4800 feet lowering to 4200 feet after midnight . Low around 33. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Sunday Snow likely before 10am, then a slight chance of rain and snow. Snow level 4300 feet. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46.New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Road Conditions
Traveling? Click and check these cameras below for the latest road conditions.
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.
KCSO has received multiple reports from people receiving phone calls indicating they have an outstanding warrant for failing to show for jury duty and they need to immediately pay a specified fine to avoid arrest.
This is a scam and people are urged to not make any payment arrangements or provide personal information to people calling making such claims. In this instance scammers are using the names of known local law enforcement officials and demanding immediate payment.
The Klamath County Chamber of Commerce announces the appointment of new board members as well as the full slate of officers and board members for 2020.
Joining the Chamber’s Board of Directors are Wendy Rohrbacker of Pacific Crest Federal Credit Union, Michelle Spendolini of Elwood Staffing, Johanna Scholer of Friends of the Children, Al Pranghofer of Rocky Mountain Construction, Paul Simmons from the Klamath Water Users Association and Dan Morrison of Cal-Ore Communications.
This years Chamber of Commerce president is Rich Schuster from the 173d Fighter Wing.
Two programs celebrating different aspects of history will be offered at the Klamath County Museum on Saturday, Feb. 15th. 1800s Days will feature living history presentations, while the museum’s Heritage Gun Show will display antique firearms. Both programs will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the museum, 1451 Main St. Admission is free and open to anyone interested.
“We’ve offered these events on different dates in years past, but this year our staff and volunteers decided to try staging them on the same day to attract more interest,” said Klamath County Museum Manager Todd Kepple.
The era of pioneer settlement in the West is the focus of 1800s days, with presentations that include Army life and wool spinning. Most participants in the event include members of the Cascade Civil War Society and the Klamath Spinners and Weavers Guild.
The Civil War Society will display antique and replica firearms, and will conduct a shooting demonstration at various times throughout the day.
Numerous firearms from the museum collection, as well as several from private collectors, will be displayed during the Heritage Gun Show.
The exhibit will include guns that date back to the Modoc Indian War of 1872-73. Among the unusual guns in the museum collection is a Colt Model 1855 revolver rifle that was found in the Malin area.
For more information contact the museum at 541-882-1000.
Oregon Department of Transportation in association with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration awarded the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office grant funds intended for traffic safety totaling $21,500 for the year.
Areas of focus include distracted driving, driving under the influence of intoxicants, occupant protection, pedestrian safety, and speed enforcement during specified events. The grant funds will provide high-visibility DUII enforcement from Aug. 16 – Sept. 3 through Labor Day weekend.
Additional high-visibility campaigns focusing on safety belt use for vehicle occupants are taking place through this weekend and May 18-31, and Aug. 24-Sept. 6.
Brixner Junior High School students are doing yard work, picking up trash, and helping at the local food bank and other organizations.
Every hour they contribute to their community, they raise money to help 8-year-old Caiden Zimmerman. The school started its first Sparrow Club last month and students have adopted Caiden Zimmermann of Klamath Falls as their “sparrow.” The goal is to provide emotional and financial support to Caiden and his family through community service and fundraisers. A Sparrow Club sponsor donates money to the family for the community service hours Brixner students log in Caiden’s name.
Zimmermann, a second-grader at Conger Elementary School, has a form of muscular dystrophy that causes his muscles to break down and weaken over time. He wears braces on his legs and feet, and often uses a scooter to get around – but that doesn’t stop from being involved in sports, building Legos, and playing video games.
Brixner students earlier this month organized a week-long coin drive that raised $862 to help the Zimmermann family with medical expenses. Zimmermann accepted an enlarged check and a handmade sign declaring “Do it for Caiden!” at an all-school assembly last week. He was joined by his parents, Cinthia and Keith Zimmermann, and his three younger siblings.
Add fishing to your President’s Day weekend plans—it’s free to fish, crab or clam anywhere in Oregon this Saturday and Sunday.
That means no fishing licenses or tags (including a Combined Angling Tag or Columbia River Basin Endorsement or Two-Rod Validation) are required to fish, crab or clam—for both residents and non-residents. Although no licenses or tags are required, all other fishing regulations apply including closures, bag limits and size restrictions.
See the Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations to find out more.
Pacific Powers says Hold On To Your Balloons.
Balloons capture the imagination with their aspirational upward drift. But their lighter-than-air quality can get out of hand, literally, and have unintended consequences for the power grid.
“Balloons may seem like small things,” said Joe Cissna, Pacific Power’s director of safety and training. “But when escaped balloons touch power lines or substations, even the smallest amount of metal content material can conduct electricity. This can interfere with lines, causing power fluctuations and outages.”
In 2019, Pacific Power recorded 22 instances where balloons caused outages somewhere in the three states the company serves. Each year since 2015, balloons caused between 20 and 30 outages, roughly the same number of outages as those caused by lightning.
“While this may not seem like very many events,” Cissna said, “unlike lightning-caused outages, these are preventable. If we can keep customers from being inconvenienced by asking people to be more careful about how they handle balloons, we’ll do it.”
There are steps you can take to help minimize the potential dangers:
- Keep the balloons indoors where they can’t rise into overhead power lines or drift into contact with transformers or substations.
- Make sure the string for each balloon is securely attached and short enough to control its direction.
- Attach a weight to the balloon’s string so it cannot float away, and never intentionally release metallic balloons.
- Deflate balloons after the holiday and keep as a memento or dispose of properly. Birds and squirrels have been known to carry balloon remnants onto lines.
- Never chase a loose balloon across streets or attempt to retrieve a balloon from a power line or substation.
If you notice a balloon near a power line, do not try to retrieve it. Report it to Pacific Power by calling 1-888-222-7070 anytime.
Around the region
An Uber driver in Medford has been charged with locking a passenger inside his car and raping her.
51 year old Antonio Gonzalez-Salinas was arraigned yesterday in Jackson County Circuit Court on charges of first-degree rape, kidnapping and sexual abuse, as well as public indecency, records show.
Police said Gonzalez-Salinas picked the woman up early Sunday in downtown Medford after she had been out drinking with friends. The driver was supposed to take the 21 year old woman to the house of an acquaintance, according to Medford police. Friends and a relative searched for her using the phone’s location data and they found the woman crying inside Gonzalez-Salinas’ car a few blocks from her acquaintance’s house.
Earlier this week on Tuesday, police and fire units from the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety, along with AMR Ambulance, were dispatched to a reported injury motor vehicle crash at the intersection of Grants Pass Parkway and SE M Streets.
Callers reported a 3-vehicle head on collision in the intersection. Units arrived to find 3 vehicles in the middle of SE M Street just east of the Parkway. All 3 of the vehicles were significantly damaged and had to be towed from the scene. Two drivers were transported to Three Rivers Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
Upon concluding the investigation, it was determined the driver of the Nissan Murano, Kimberly Dawn Day, age 51, was believed to be driving under the influence of an inhalant and possibly lost consciousness. Day crashed into the Tahoe causing injury to the other driver and herself. The driver of the Toyota declined treatment at the scene. Day was transported to Three Rivers Hospital for evaluation.
After being treated and released, Day was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the charges of DUII, Assault 3, Reckless Driving, 3 counts of Reckless Endangering Another, and 2 counts of Criminal Mischief 2.
Anyone with further information related to this crash is asked to please call the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety at 541-450-6260. Reference case #20-6758
Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Troopers are asking for the public’s assistance in locating and apprehending the person(s) responsible for shooting a bighorn sheep ram in Wallowa County near the town of Troy sometime during the week of January 27.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the ram was shot on the Wenaha Wildlife Area along the road leading to the feed sight. The ram was fitted with a telemetry collar and an ear tag. The collar and severed ear were the only items left at the scene.
Anyone who may have information that will help identify the suspect(s), is asked to call the Turn In Poachers (TIP) line at (800) 452-7888, *OSP(677) or Sergeant Chris Hawkins (541) 963-7575 ext. 4670.
** Report Wildlife and Habitat Law Violators**
** Report Wildlife and Habitat Law Violators**
The TIP program offers preference point rewards for information leading to an arrest or issuance of a citation for the unlawful take/possession or waste of big game mammals.
Preference Point Rewards:
* 5 Points-Bighorn Sheep
* 5 Points-Rocky Mountain goat
* 5 Points-Moose
* 5 Points-Wolf
* 4 Points-Elk
* 4 Points-Deer
* 4 Points-Antelope
* 4 Points-Bear
* 4 Points-Cougar
Or the TIP program also offers cash rewards for information leading to an arrest or issuance of a citation for the unlawful take/possession or waste of Bighorn Sheep, Rocky Mountain Goat, Moose, Elk, Deer, Antelope, Bear, Cougar, Wolf, Upland Birds, Waterfowl, and Furbearers. Cash rewards can also be awarded for the unlawful take of Game Fish and Shellfish and for Habitat Destruction.
CASH
REWARDS:
* $1,000 Bighorn Sheep, Rocky Mountain Goat and Moose
* $500 Elk, Deer and Antelope
* $300 Bear, Cougar and Wolf
* $300 Habitat Destruction
* $100 Upland Birds and Waterfowl
* $100 Furbearers
*
$100 Game Fish and Shellfish
How to Report a Wildlife and/or Habitat Law Violation or Suspicious
Activity:
TIP Hotline: 1-800-452-7888 or *OSP(677)
TIP E-Mail: TIP@state.or.us (Monitored M-F 8:00AM – 5:00PM)
…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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