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.
FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020
Klamath Basin Weather
Fri 12 – 69°/43°Isolated Thunderstorms 30% SW 14 mph
Sat 13 – 56°/38°Mostly Cloudy 20% W 11 mph
Sun 14 – 67°/43°Partly Cloudy 10% W 12 mph
Mon 15 – 68°/40°Partly Cloudy 0% W 14 mph
Tue 16 – 68°/39°Partly Cloudy 10% NW 13 mph
Wed 17 – 75°/43°Sunny 0% NW 12 mph
Thu 18 – 77°/47°Mostly Sunny 0% NW 12 mph
Fri 19 – 79°/49°Mostly Sunny 0% NW 11 mph
Sat 20 – 82°/50°Mostly Sunny 10% WNW 11 mph
Sun 21 – 83°/52°Partly Cloudy 10% WNW 10 mph
Mon 22 – 84°/52°Mostly Sunny 0% WNW 11 mph
Tue 23 – 84°/52°Mostly Sunny 0% WNW 11 mph
Wed 24 – 85°/51°Mostly Sunny 10% WNW 12 mph
Thu 25 – 85°/52°Sunny 10% WNW 11 mph
TODAY’s HEADLINES
The Oregon Health Authority reported the largest single-day jump in coronavirus cases since the pandemic first began, with 178 new cases announced yesterday.
Thursday’s update broke the previous one-day record of 146 cases. Two more people reportedly died from coronavirus in the state, bringing the statewide death toll to 171. The two deaths reported were an 84-year-old Clackamas County woman who died on June 9 and a 66-year-old man in Yamhill County who died on June 10. They both had underlying medication conditions. Though no new cases were reported in Klamath County, Lake County to the east had two new cases reported.
Construction crews have been at work on the foundation of a new affordable housing project in Klamath Falls, the Sunrise Vista Apartments.
The 58-unit complex will feature 22 one-bedroom units, 18 two-bedroom units and 18 three-bedroom units on Homedale Road past Brixner Junior High School. The project broke ground at the end of April, according to Klamath Housing Authority Director Diana Otero, and KHA hopes people can move on June 1 of next year. The $8 million KHA project is a low-income housing complex for which residents can’t make more than 60% of the area’s median income to live there. Otero said they plan to open the waiting list in February or March, and people can apply online for a unit. Sunrise Vista is under construction next to Sky Meadows, which opened to residents in October of 2018.
On Monday Klamath County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a report of a robbery at a residence in the 4000 blocks of Clinton Ave in Klamath Falls.
Wednesday, deputies investigating the incident arrested Jason Alexander Gaskill of Klamath Falls. Gaskill is lodged at the Klamath County Jail and faces charges including Robbery 1st Degree, Burglary 1st Degree, Unlawful Use of Weapon and Menacing. The incident remains under investigation.
The Klamath County School District will continue its popular meal delivery program through Aug. 31 to ensure youth throughout the county receive needed food during the summer months.
The schedule includes more than 40 delivery sites. Youth ages 1-18 are able to pick up the free meals – three breakfasts and three lunches — on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The district implemented its grab-and-go meal program after schools closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. School bus drivers, paraprofessionals, cooks, and food service workers teamed up to make and deliver breakfasts and lunches to youth at more than 40 bus stops and sites throughout the county. As of June 3, the district had provided more than 114,000 meals.
The school district is working with the Klamath Hungry Child Coalition, Integral Youth Services, and the Klamath-Lake Counties Food Bank to ensure youth throughout the entire community have access to food.
Since March, the local food bank has seen a 70 percent increase in need as a result of layoffs from the economic impact of the pandemic. Integral Youth Services also is providing meals for youth this summer, focusing on their efforts on city neighborhoods.
The Oregon law enforcement citation moratorium for expired driver licenses, permits, ID cards, and vehicle registration has been extended through October 1 st
The grace period is intended to allow Oregon residents to continue driving while they are waiting for an appointment and DMV works through the backlog due to COVID-19 restrictions. Law enforcement can verify the status of a driver or vehicle electronically during a traffic stop. Thirty-eight DMV offices started conducting in-person services on June 3. Services currently offered by appointment include: At this time, drive tests are available only through DMV-authorized class C or CDL skills testing businesses. With a few limited exceptions, all other DMV services such as vehicle titles and registration are available online or by mail.
Oregon’s newly-appointed interim director of the Employment Department delivered a status report Wednesday on the agency’s effort to address thousands of backlogged claims, indicating significant progress in processing those cases.
David Gerstenfeld became acting director of the Oregon Employment Department last week after Governor Kate Brown ousted erstwhile director Kay Erickson. As a result, he inherited some 38,000 backlogged unemployment claims that had yet to be processed. While Erickson was still a director in May, and after public exhortations from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, OED announced an initiative called “Project Focus 100” — a push to process every one of those claims, some of which have been languishing since March. On a video briefing Wednesday, Gerstenfeld described tangible progress on the initiative. According to him, 97 percent of total claims have now been processed, including 85 percent of those backlogged claims. Gerstenfeld said that 5,800 claims remain unprocessed from the backlog. In total, 13,000 claims have not been processed, a number that the most recent claims filed this week.
On Wednesday a Jackson County grand jury indicted a Medford man on multiple charges, including Attempted Murder, for allegedly trying to ambush and shoot responding police officers last week.
According to the original statement from Medford Police, officers responded to the 3000-block of Adams Circle last Friday for reports of a man who had threatened to kill family members and police officers. When the officers arrived at the scene, MPD said that they found 49-year-old Vincent Padgett in the backyard — lying in wait, armed with a loaded AR-15 rifle, and wearing body armor. He happened to be facing away from the direction from which the officers approached. Padgett reportedly dropped the gun when an officer ordered him to do so, but later threw smoke grenades — obscuring the area, and apparently allowing him to grab the rifle again. MPD said that Padgett eventually surrendered following the use of de-escalation tactics. The Jackson County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday that a grand jury indicted Padgett on five counts of Attempted Murder in the first degree, five counts of Attempted Assault in the first degree, one count of Unlawful Use of a Weapon, two counts of Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and one count of Felon in Possession of Body Armor.
There isn’t many folks can do with degrees they don’t finish. But another path to higher education is gaining steam as people out of work from the pandemic look to advance their careers.
“Microcredentials” or “stackable credentials” allow folks to break up their educational goals and move them closer. They gain skills in the form of certificates to put on their resume and even can add them up to a bachelor’s degree. Jon Marcus wrote about this for The Hechinger Report.
Marcus says another advantage to micro-credentials is that they come at a quarter of the cost. But he adds that employers’ reactions to certifications – often achieved online –have been mixed.
Senator Ron Wyden is calling on fellow lawmakers to extend enhanced unemployment benefits amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The Democrat spoke at a Senate hearing, saying the economic crisis will continue longer if those benefits are taken away. Wyden asserted it’s “dead wrong” to say Americans are fine with staying at home and not returning to work. The ranking member of the Finance Committee says people in his state tell him they want to get back on the job.
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