The latest news stories in the Klamath Basin and around the state of Oregon from Wynne Broadcasting’s KFLS News/Talk 1450AM/102.5FM, BasinLife.com and The Herald & News.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020
Klamath Basin Weather
Today Mostly cloudy, with a high near 75. Light winds at times. Cloudy overnight, with a low around 44.
Thursday Mostly sunny, with a high near 66.
Friday Mostly sunny, with a high near 66.
Saturday Mostly sunny, with a high near 65. A chance of rain overnight with a low of 38.
Sunday Showers likely, mainly after 11am. Snow level at around 5700 feet. Partly sunny, with a high near 53.
Today’s Headlines
Oregon health officials on Tuesday reported seven new deaths of COVID-19, the most the state has reported in a single day so far.
The Oregon Health Authority has not released any information about the people who died.
The state also announced 31 new known cases of the coronavirus, bringing Oregon’s total to 2,385 cases. The amount of active infections is unclear.
A total of 52,242 people have been tested with 49,857 tests (95%) coming back negative.
Before Tuesday’s seven reported deaths, the high for a single day in Oregon was six, which happened three times on April 9, April 16 and April 17.
Klamath County Public Health one new confirmed case in the county on Tuesday, bringing the countywide total number of confirmed cases to 37. Importantly, County officials also reported that 24 of those cases have recovered and are no longer active.
The County says that 1,882 total tests have been processed — reportedly giving Klamath the highest testing ratio to population in the State of Oregon, a slot previously held by Jackson County.
Based on the County’s demographic data, 23 of the confirmed cases are women, and 14 are men. Five of the 37 cases have been hospitalized for the virus. Six cases have been between the ages of 20-29, nine in the 30-39 age group, five in 40-49, nine 50-59, six 60-69, one 70-79, and one in the 80 or older group.
The Klamath County School District is providing regular meals for it’s many students all across the Klamath Basin communities on Tuesdays and Fridays at school sites as well as more than 36 bus drop off locations in the Bonanza, Chiloquin, Gilchrist, Lost River, Henley and Keno areas.
In Rocky Point, six families receive meals on Thursdays. Each week, the district delivers around 42,000 meals.
School supplies, including lined paper, pencils, crayons, erasers and sharpeners, also are available at the meal sites as needed. Last week, the district provided 4,300 packets of supplies and has another 1,800 ready for students.
Breakfast items include banana and strawberry pancakes, cereals, and different type muffins. In the last week, Gracik has started to rotate new items into the menu – mini-maple waffles and mini-French toast are two examples.
Lunches include sandwiches and hot meals such as chicken nuggets, hamburgers, bean and beef burritos, and corn dogs. A state grant is providing fresh produce: apples, oranges, bananas, broccolini, carrots, and celery. Other items students will find are Mozzarella sticks, uncrustable sandwiches, animal crackers, Rice Krispies treats, Nutri-Grain Bars and Cheez-Its.
Some Klamath Project water users again yesterday protested on U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s use of water at the Link River Dam, at one point voicing plans to stay near the dam until Reclamation followed Oregon water law.
Irrigators took their personal property and belongings from the area by Monday afternoon, following the ramp down of flows on the Link River Dam by Bureau of Reclamation officials. The protest started Sunday evening with upwards of 30 irrigators gathering near the entrance to the dam, which is owned by Reclamation and used to regulate Upper Klamath Lake levels and Klamath River flows at the direction of Reclamation. At issue was whether Reclamation is following Oregon water law in doing so.
An interim order put in place by Oregon Water Resources Department on April 21 gave the state agency charge over the water distribution and demanded that Reclamation not use water from Upper Klamath Lake, including in a flushing flow down the Link River Dam, unless it follows specific guidelines outlined in the order. The order has not stopped the recent 40,000 acre foot flushing flow meant to promote the health of juvenile coho salmon, but Reclamation had already started to ramp down the flows at the Link River Dam.
Monday, an Oregon State Police Sergeant conducted a traffic stop on a 2019 Dodge Caravan, for several traffic violations, on Hwy 66 milepost 51 near Keno.
The sergeant observed signs of criminal activity and a search of the vehicle was conducted. During the search, $236,090 in vacuum-sealed bags was discovered.
The driver, Drew Miller (27) of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was arrested and lodged in the Klamath County Jail on charges of Laundering a Monetary Instrument, Engaging in Financial Transaction in Property Derived from Unlawful Activity, Possession of a Schedule II Controlled SubstanceI (Amphetamines), and Tampering with Evidence and Conspiracy.
The Oregon State Police was assisted by the United States Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations.
Longtime Malin resident Maradean Lyon is celebrating her 100th birthday on Thursday, April 30.
“We are wishing our dear mother and grandmother much joy and love on her 100th birthday! What an incredible milestone for Maradean, it is almost as incredible as she is!” her family said.
The public is invited to help celebrate Maradean’s birthday. Her family shared, “We certainly wish we could throw grandma the party she deserves, but in lieu of a party we’re asking anyone who is interested in wishing Maradean a happy birthday to join us on Thursday, April 30th for a birthday parade.
People should meet at the Malin Elementary School at 5:30 p.m. and drive by with good wishes from the safety of our vehicles. Please respect current safety guidelines regarding gathering and social distancing.
Maradean recalled moving to Malin in 1940. She said, “It’s a wonderful place to live and raise a family. This little town really had so much to offer with a movie theatre, pharmacy with a soda fountain, post office, hardware and grocery. Eventually of course the park and pool were constructed which Louie was very involved in.”
Around the state of Oregon
Oregon Uniting for Liberty has organized a rally at the state capitol on May 2nd to demand the re-opening of the state.
Over 500 people have committed to attending on a Facebook event that was created for the rally and Adam Ellifritt, a spokesperson for Oregon Uniting for Liberty says they’ve had interest from a few thousand people.
Ellifritt says the movement is pushing for an opening process that begins immediately.
Oregon Uniting for Liberty says keeping the state closed does more harm than good. Currently, hospitals across the nation are reporting billions of dollars in losses.
Providence Medford Medical Center says gross revenue is down 40%.
Earlier this week Tyson Foods warned that the food supply chain “is breaking” with not enough workers on the job at meat processing plants.
Local businesses are struggling to survive, many of them struggling to get the financial aid they need.
“I want everybody to be protected,” said Jennifer Thomason, the owner and only employee at Mama Bear’s Beauty Boutique in Klamath Falls, “but we also need to make a living.”
After weeks of struggling under an overwhelming number of unemployment claims, the Oregon Employment Department (OED) says that it’s ready to extend unemployment benefits to the self-employed and gig workers that are not usually covered by state insurance, a provision of the federal CARES Act.
The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program was designed to extend benefits to many who wouldn’t ordinarily qualify for benefits — the self-employed, independent contractors, agricultural workers, the under-employed, and gig workers.
The state agency says that it has recruited and trained staff to process these new types of claims. Much of the delay has hinged on programming changes to the state’s antiquated computer system.
Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced Tuesday that Oregon hospitals and health care providers will get more funding distributed from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Over $103 million will be distributed among 141 health care providers across the state.
This is the second portion of the CARES act to be distributed. The first allocation was distributed the week of April 10.
The funds can be used toward building or retrofitting new intensive care units, increasing staffing or training, providing personal protective equipment, building temporary structures, and more.
Health care providers can also use the funds to cover revenue losses from cancelled procedures.
Executives at Portland State University are having their pay cut as the school deals with a budget shortfall caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Interim President Stephen Percy’s salary has been cut 15-percent for the next six months. Other senior executives, including vice presidents, general counsel, deans, vice provosts, and the athletics director, will take reductions of either 10% or 7.7% depending on individual salaries. Percy hopes the cuts show the resolve the school has toward long-term planning and effects on the budget.
Oregon Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle has announced that managers in the agency will have to take one unpaid furlough day a month through June of 2021 as the agency braces for budget cuts. Hoyle says the May economic forecast will give a better indication of what the state faces and how much revenue needs to be cut. She says services will be prioritized to protect Oregon workers from discrimination, harassment and workplace rule violations.
…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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