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.
THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020
Klamath Basin Weather
Today Sunny, with a high near 91. Mostly clear overnight with a low of 56.
Friday Sunny, with a high near 95.
Saturday Sunny, with a high near 88.
Sunday Sunny, with a high near 67.
Monday A slight chance of showers after noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 72.
Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 80.
Today’s Headlines
Covid-19 has claimed three more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 195.
Three new covid cases have been reported locally here in Klamath County. Southern Oregon totals look like this:
Klamath County cases 104 Recovered 52
Jackson County cases 94 Recovered 68
Josephine County cases 26 Recovered 22
Douglas County cases 34 Recovered 28
Lake County cases 6 Recovered 2
Oregon Health Authority reported 191 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as yesterday afternoon, bringing the state total to 7,274.
Oregon’s 193rd COVID-19 death is a 63-year-old man in Lincoln County who tested positive on June 11 and died on June 23, at Samaritan Pacific Community Hospital. He did not have underlying medical conditions. Oregon’s 194th COVID-19 death is 78-year-old man in Clackamas County who tested positive on June 16 and died on June 22, his place of death is being confirmed. He had underlying medical conditions. Oregon’s 195th COVID-19 death is an 87-year-old woman in Marion County who tested positive on June 17 and died on June 23, at Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center. She had underlying conditions
Warming temperatures and winds are quickly drying out the annual grass crop. The increasing fire danger posed by dead grass and hotter, drier conditions in the region is prompting CAL FIRE to suspend all burn permits for outdoor residential burning within the State Responsibility Area of Lassen, Modoc and Plumas Counties, according to a news release.
This suspension takes effect Wednesday, July 1, and bans all residential outdoor burning of landscape debris such as branches and leaves. Since January 1, CAL FIRE and firefighters across the state have already responded to over 3,136 wildfires. While outdoor burning of landscape debris by homeowners is no longer allowed, CAL FIRE is asking residents to take that extra time to ensure that they are prepared for wildfires by maintaining a minimum of 100 feet of Defensible Space around every home and building on their property and being prepared to evacuate if the time comes.
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Hood River) announced that Philip Smith, a junior homeschooled out of Klamath Falls, has been selected as the overall winner for Oregon’s Second Congressional District in the 2020 Congressional Art Competition, according to a news release.
Philip’s painting, Self Portrait, was selected by a panel of five judges. Philip will travel to Washington, D.C. to see his artwork displayed in the national student art exhibit in the U.S. Capitol and attend a reception in his honor. Judges praised the composition and quality of Philip’s piece and commended his evocative use of oil paint to create a mood, which they said is a difficult medium.
Walden also announced three regional winners from Oregon’s Second District: Abel by Idaly Ferral, McLoughlin High School, grade 12, Oregon Coast by Philip Smith, Homeschooled, grade 11 and A Burning Victory by Emmalynn Erard, Summit High School, grade 11 Walden congratulated all winners and applicants as he finishes up his last term in Congress after 30 years.
The Fourth of July is a day to celebrate the independence of our country here in Klamath County. People celebrate in different ways with picnics, gatherings, parades, fireworks and the list goes on. Fireworks can be a glorious sight, but a very dangerous one.
In Oregon, from 2015 to 2019, there were 1,173 fires, 4.9 million dollars in loss, 37 injuries and 1 fatality caused by fireworks. Klamath County Fire District #1 has some helpful hints to make your celebration a safe one.
Always make sure the area you choose to light fireworks is clear of anything that could burn or catch fire. A blacktop or concrete surface is the preferred choice. An adult should always light the fireworks. Never hold a firework unless the directions say to. Make sure you are at least 10’ or further away from the fireworks. Always stay away from fireworks that did not go off, they could reignite at any time. Wet down your used fireworks and the surrounding area. Place used, cold fireworks in a bucket of water for later disposal. Never place used fireworks in your trash without wetting them down. Remember if you have an incident during your celebration, call 911 and the appropriate help will be on the way.
Multiple students residing in Klamath County earned honor roll status at Montana State University for the spring 2020 semester. Students named to the MSU President’s List (4.0 grade-point average) and Dean’s List (3.5 grade-point average or higher) included Michael Barrett, of Bonanza; Molly Hepper, of Fort Klamath; and Connor Cottingham and Laura Flocchini, of Klamath Falls. To be eligible students must complete a minimum of 12 credit hours during the term.
Around the State of Oregon
At a work session on Tuesday, the Jackson County Board of Commissioners discussed a new request to change the names of several local landmarks that include the “Dead Indian” moniker, a perennial controversy in the area. Most previous discussions on the topic have revolved around a name change for Dead Indian Memorial Road, which runs from Ashland to Highway 140 near Lake of the Woods. Up until 1993, the name was “Dead Indian Road” — but a push to change the name ended with the addition of “Memorial.” According to a preface from county administrator Danny Jordan at Tuesday’s meeting, the new request does not directly concern the road, but instead identifies three nearby geographic locations — Dead Indian Creek, Dead Indian Soda Springs, and Dead Indian Mountain. The proposal suggests renaming those landmarks to “Latgawa,” the name for a Native American people who populated areas of southwest Oregon before European settlers ultimately killed, captured, or relocated them during a series of conflicts in the 1850s, along with the neighboring Takelma people.
Grants Pass Fire Rescue along with American Medical Response responded to a reported person not breathing at 231 NE Terry Lane (WinCo).
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel found bystanders and WinCo employees administering CPR with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). CPR was performed for approximately 4 minutes, enough time for the brain to start dying had this action not taken place. 1 shock was administered by the AED before the arrival of EMS. Once on scene, EMS took over and successfully resuscitated the person within minutes. Paramedics and firefighters maintained spontaneous breathing and circulation during transport to the hospital.
This incident is of note because it is the ideal example of the desired combination of bystander CPR with AED, fast municipal firefighter and paramedic response, and definitive hospital intervention. Grants Pass Fire Rescue thanks the heroic efforts of the bystanders who helped this person. We would like to remind everyone to learn CPR, AED use, and the cardiac chain of survival. More information can be obtained at https://cpr.heart.org/en/resources/cpr-facts-and-stats/out-of-hospital-chain-of-survival
Language in Oregon’s police reform bill on arbitration before state lawmakers this week has become a sticking point between the bill’s sponsors and police union leaders. As proposed, Senate Bill 1604 would bar arbitrators from overturning discipline if it’s in line with a police agency’s discipline guide and the arbitrator agrees that misconduct occurred as the officer’s employer found. The ongoing dispute over the language of the bill centers on whether a police agency’s discipline guide would have to be adopted as part of the police union contract. State Sen. Lew Frederick, D-Portland, who has been the leading sponsor of police arbitration legislation the last two years, said he believes the language of the proposal is clear and does mean that any police discipline guide, often referred to as a matrix, would have to be a subject of collective bargaining, essentially meaning made part of a contract with the union.
A middle school track coach in Woodburn is facing child sex abuse charges. Police arrested 29-year-old Jubentino Guzman of Salem yesterday on charges of third-degree sex abuse, first-degree encouraging child sex abuse, possession of child pornography and official misconduct. The arrest came after police received a tip about a video posted to social media showing Guzman engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a 16-year-old. Guzman allegedly told police the relationship went on for several months.
A judge Wednesday sentenced double murderer Jeremy Christian to spend the rest of his life in prison — with no chance of ever getting out — for the murders of two fellow passengers on a MAX train in Portland in May 2017.
Multnomah County Circuit Judge Cheryl Albrecht announced her sentence after listening to more than a dozen of Christian’s victims and victims’ relatives make statements Tuesday and Wednesday. That included statements from the families of Taliesin Namkai-Meche, 23, and Ricky Best, 53, who died from knife wounds to the neck, and Micah Fletcher, who survived after Christian also stabbed him in the neck.
Albrecht sentenced Christian to two consecutive life terms — one for each first-degree murder. Christian described his trial as “a farce” and the jury’s verdict as “laughable.” He said he unfairly has been labeled a racist. Christian was not allowed in the courtroom because on Tuesday, he’d threatened the first victim to make a statement by screaming that he wished he’d killed her.
The Oregon Farm Bureau Memorial Scholarship Program, administered through the Oregon Agricultural Education Foundation, is pleased to announce the scholarship recipients for the 2020-2021 academic year.
Thanks to generous program supporters, 17 scholarships were awarded this year for a total of $24,000 given to students.
“We appreciate the contributions of our donors and friends who make it possible for these young people to pursue a career in the agriculture industry. Your gifts help to keep Oregon agriculture viable,” said Holly Michaels, OFBF Memorial Scholarship Coordinator.
The following students have been identified to receive a $2,000 scholarship (6):
Katie Sherer
Tillamook County
Biological/Biosystems Engineering
Oregon State University
Sponsor: Norman Stauffer Memorial Endowment
Elizabeth Brentano
Marion County
Horticulture
Oregon State University
Sponsor: John Rossner Memorial Endowment
John Stables Jr.
Yamhill County
Range Science & Management
Oregon State University
Sponsor: John Rossner Memorial Endowment
Elizabeth Kenagy
Douglas County
Agricultural Business & Management
Oregon State University
Sponsor: John Rossner Memorial Endowment
Kaitlyn Schumacher
Linn County
Accounting & Finance
Oregon State University
Sponsor: John Rossner Memorial Endowment
Macy Roselle
Umatilla County
Agricultural Business & Management
Oklahoma State University
Sponsors: Oregon Mint Commission
Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians
Tillamook County Farm Bureau (In Honor of Dale & Jackie Buck)
The following students have been identified to receive a $1,500 scholarship (2):
Moriah Michaels
Douglas County
Agricultural Business & Management
University of Idaho
Sponsor: Multnomah County Farm Bureau (In Memory of Marie Garre)
Matthew Orem
Morrow County
Farm & Ranch Management
Blue Mountain Community College
Sponsor: Multnomah County Farm Bureau
The following students have been identified to receive a $1,000 scholarship (8):
Eric Rencken
Umatilla County
Agricultural Business & Management
University of Idaho
Sponsor: Wilco
Sarah Michaels
Douglas County
Nutrition & Dietetics
University of Idaho
Sponsor: Douglas County Farm Bureau
Gracelyn Krahn
Linn County
Animal Science
Linn-Benton Community College
Sponsor: Norman Stauffer Memorial Endowment
Charles Harris
Washington County
Electrical & Agricultural Engineering
Linn-Benton Community College
Sponsor: Yamhill County Farm Bureau (In Memory of John Rossner)
Alexis Thomas
Linn County
Agronomy & Crop Science
Brigham Young University
Sponsor: Tillamook Creamery
Megan Hufford
Union County
Agricultural Production Operations
University of Idaho
Sponsor: Anonymous Donor
Amanda Fox
Lane County
Animal Science
Oregon State University
Sponsor: Norman Stauffer Memorial Endowment
The following student has been identified to receive the OFB Associate Member Scholarship, which was funded by COUNTRY Financial ($1,000):
Justin Thomas
Washington County
Engineering
Oregon State University
Thank you to the 2020-2021 Oregon Farm Bureau Memorial Scholarship Sponsors:
Norman Stauffer Memorial Endowment, John Rossner Memorial Endowment, Tillamook County Farm Bureau, Tillamook Creamery, Oregon Mint Commission, Douglas County Farm Bureau, Yamhill County Farm Bureau, Multnomah County Farm Bureau, Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, Wilco, Anonymous Donor, and COUNTRY Financial.
MISSING: Zion Gallaher, age 16, is a foster child who went missing from Portland, Oregon on June 7, 2020. He is believed to be in danger.
The Oregon Department of Human Services, Child Welfare Program, asks the public to help in the effort to find him and to contact 911 or local law enforcement if they believe they see him. He knows the downtown Portland and Sandy, Oregon areas well.
Name: Zion Gallaher
Date of birth: Jan. 8, 2004
Height: 5’10
Weight: 180 pounds
Portland Police Case #20-185646
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children #1392960
Anyone who suspects they have information about Zion Gallaher’s location should call 911 or local law enforcement.
A small number of children in foster care may be in significant danger when they run away or have gone missing. As DHS works to do everything it can to find these missing children and ensure their safety, media alerts will be issued in some circumstances when it is determined necessary. Sometimes, in these situations, a child may go missing repeatedly, resulting in more than one media alert for the same child.
Report child abuse to the Oregon Child Abuse Hotline by calling 1-855-503-SAFE (7233). This toll-free number allows you to report abuse of any child or adult to the Oregon Department of Human Services, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year.
For the second year running, Portland sophomores Kyler Wang and Alan Zhou won gold at the annual National History Day® contest in the Senior Group Documentary category for their film, Breaking the Curfew: The Story of Minoru Yasui. Wang and Zhou won first place in the same category in the 2019 contest for their documentary, Echo of Falling Water: The Inundation of Celilo Falls— the first time Oregon students have ever medaled at the national contest, which this year drew over 3,000 students from across the country.
Even amidst a pandemic, 141 students from across the state came together virtually to participate in Oregon History Day, the statewide qualifying competition for the annual National History Day® contest. Working from home, middle and high school students developed their research projects, in the forms of papers, documentaries, websites, performances, and exhibits, persevering through hurdles that the new virtual format presented. Fifty volunteer judges evaluated over 70 projects online, and 56 students advanced to the National History Day® contest, which took place online from June 14–20.
As veteran Oregon and National History Day® participants, the switch to a virtual format provided new hurdles for the documentarians, according to Zhou:
Competing virtually was definitely a change for us, as we had gotten used to flying to Maryland for the national competition the past two years. Fortunately, we were able to complete most of our research and personal interviews before the COVID-19 quarantine began. We did conduct a few interviews over the internet. Although this affected the visual quality, we still learned a lot from them. Our work process was also altered —we were unable to meet in-person to write our script and revise the project. Despite these challenges, the overall experience of participating in NHD and conducting historical research remained fulfilling. We are extremely grateful that Oregon History Day continued, as we would not have the chance to tell our story and view projects created by other students.
While the students clearly persevered, Wang noted that he, “definitely missed some of the yearly traditions at Nationals, like exchanging state-themed buttons and the parade before the award ceremony.”
Breaking the Curfew profiles Hood River, Oregon, born Minoru Yasui, who intentionally violated the military curfew imposed on Japanese Americans during World War II. In 2015, President Barack Obama awarded a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor, to Yasui for challenging the incarceration of Japanese Americans in concentration camps during World War II and for his leadership in civil and human rights. He is the first Oregonian to receive that Medal.
“Through our documentaries, we’ve always tried to give a voice to powerful stories that have been mostly untold or forgotten,” remarked Wang. “Even as Oregonians, Alan and I had never heard of Minoru Yasui, nor Celilo Falls.”
Zhou further shared:
We first came across Minoru Yasui during our visit to the Oregon Historical Society museum’s Experience Oregon exhibition in September 2019. We were instantly captivated and inspired by his powerful story. Here was an Oregonian, born and raised just 60 miles east of our high schools, who dared to stand up against the full force of the United States government in his fight against the discriminatory military orders imposed on his community during World War II. After doing some more research, we knew that Minoru Yasui fit the theme of this year’s National History Day competition (Breaking Barriers in History) perfectly. Mr. Yasui not only broke barriers by intentionally violating the curfew during WWII, but by serving as a champion of justice throughout his lifetime. He stands as an example of what it means to be an Oregonian —and an American.
Other Oregon students recognized at National History Day® include Anja Jolin, now a student at St. Mary’s Academy in Portland, Oregon. Jolin first participated in the Oregon History Day program three years ago when she was a student at Laurelhurst K–8. Still mentored by her middle school teacher, Lindsay Gebbie, Jolin has won the Outstanding Oregon Entry for her projects three years running, this year recognized in the senior category for her paper, Chipping Away at the Bulletproof Glass Ceiling: Portland Women Breaking Barriers in Policing. When asked why she continues to participate in the program, Jolin says:
Oregon History Day has given me the chance to delve into topics that interest me and explore the intricate details and mysteries of historical events. I enjoy connecting local history to broader issues with national significance, such as immigration and systemic gender barriers. Oregon History Day has given me a chance to take my learning outside the classroom and learn about events and people in history and the impact that they have made to society as a whole.
Evelyn Chen, Flora Huan, and Rachel Wang from Beaverton, Oregon’s, Stoller Middle School won the Outstanding Oregon Junior Entry award for their Junior Group Documentary, Fighting for Change: The Integration of Women in the Armed Forces.
Other notable projects that represented Oregon at the National History Day® contest included:
- Breaking the Child Labor Barrier: Looking through Lewis Hine’s Lens at Lost Childhood, a senior paper by Alexa Rose from Echo School
- Women Entering a Male Dominated Field, a senior exhibit by Kaylan Ma from South Salem High School
- Soaring Above Segregation: The Story of Bessie Coleman, a junior website by Jaiden Smith from Seven Peaks School in Bend
For the first time, students can already begin working on their 2021 National History Day® projects, following the new annual theme, Communication in History: The Key to Understanding. National History Day® provides an excellent project-based learning opportunity for all middle and high school students; educators interested in bringing this program to the classroom should contact Oregon History Day Coordinator Kristen Pilgrim at kristen.pilgrim@ohs.org.
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About Oregon History Day:
Oregon History Day, part of National History Day®, is a renowned, evidence-based middle and high school program where students across the state develop historical research projects based on an annual theme. Facilitated by the Oregon Historical Society, Oregon History Day encourages students to nurture their curiosities by researching topics from any time period or place, and by analyzing a historical event that connects to the annual theme. Students present their work in one of five categories — paper, website, exhibit, documentary, or performance —that can be developed independently or in groups of up to five students for each category (except paper).
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