The latest and most comprehensive coverage of local News, Sports, Business, and Community News stories in the Klamath Basin, Southern Oregon and around the state of Oregon from Wynne Broadcasting’s KFLS News/Talk 1450AM / 102.5FM, The Herald & News, and BasinLife.com, and powered by Mick Insurance.
MONDAY 08/10/20
Klamath Basin Weather
Today: Sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming northwest 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 90. Light northwest wind becoming west 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 87. Light west southwest wind becoming west 6 to 11 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 18 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 89.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 93.
Today”s Headlines
Klamath County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested a man Saturday after he opened fire
at the Traux Towne Pump gas station on S 6th Street. An off-duty Klamath County Sheriff’s Office corrections deputy witnessed an altercation between Khalid Mostafa, 58,
of Klamath Falls, and two others. He saw Mostafa fire a weapon in the direction of
people. The officer disarmed Mostafa and no one was injured, according to the KCSO.
Mostafa is being held in the Klamath County Jail on two counts of unlawful use of a
weapon, carrying a concealed weapon, two counts of menacing and two counts of
pointing a firearm at an individual. Anyone who was in the area with further information
is urged to call the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 541-850-5380.
COVID-19 has claimed one more life in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 356..
Oregon Health Authority reported 263 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-
19 as of yesterday, bringing the state total to 21,272. Klamath County reported no new cases yesterday.
A home on Michigan Street was destroyed by a fire and posed a threat to other nearby structures early Sunday morning. Klamath County Fire District one responded to the scene with several trucks. There was no report of injuries but damage was said to be extensive. No other information as to the cause of the blaze was made available.
Also yesterday, ODOT, city crews and tow providers were dispatched to Veterans Park when a semi-trailer heavily damaged his trailer by miscalculating the clearance from the Highway 97 bridge. As of mid-afternoon, the truck was still firmly wedged against the underbelly of the bridge. ODOT officials plan to make a complete assessment of the
structure, which didn’t seem to have any physical damage to the façade. The truck is owned by B and B Transport out of Fresno, California. The clearance to the bridge is 11 feet, 4 inches.
Portland Police said a peaceful demonstration turned into a riot on Saturday night after
a group of people broke into a Portland Police Association office and tried to start a fire.
Police said the protests, which have taken place nightly in the Oregon city for more than
two months, were peaceful until about 10:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. ET) when a group made its
way to the Police Association. “People within the crowd committed crimes when they
erected a fence, pushed dumpsters into the street to block traffic, set a dumpster on fire,
vandalized the PPA office with spray paint, and destroyed security cameras,” Portland
Police said in a statement.
Shortly after, protesters broke into the window of the office and started a fire, police said. Security video from inside the office shows unidentified people tossing flaming debris into the office to grow the flames. Police said the people responsible committed “crimes of criminal mischief, burglary, and attempted arson.” Police then declared a riot and ordered everyone to leave the area, including members of the press and legal observers. When officers arrived to disperse the crowd, protesters threw “glass bottles and paint balloons at them,” and pointed lasers into the eyes of police, police said. Three officers were injured, including two that were transported to the hospital and later released, police said. Portland Fire and Rescue then put out the fire in the office.
The executive orders President Donald Trump issued Saturday included a provision
to extend bonus unemployment payments for several more weeks, at a sharply reduced level. Amid legal and logistical questions about the order, though, it’s uncertain when, how or if Oregon will make those new payments. The department said it would say more on its response to Trump’s executive order “in the coming days.” Jobless workers had been receiving a $600 weekly bonus since March, when Congress funded the expanded payments to provide financial support to the unemployed during the coronavirus pandemic. That’s in addition to regular, weekly unemployment checks unemployment checks.
Oregon will require face coverings for people working in office settings, but when that
will take place is yet to be determined. Gov. Kate Brown said on Friday the new order
and details about it will come in a week or more. Currently, office settings fall under
state orders that require masks in indoor spaces when 6 feet of social distance cannot
be maintained between people The largest employers of office workers in Salem are
state agencies. Some of those have struggled with the spread of COVID-19, including
the Oregon Employment Department where at least 16 workers have contracted the disease.
Crater Lake, one of the world’s cleanest and clearest large water bodies, is facing a new
threat of contamination this summer as hordes of park visitors bring prohibited items
into the lake and defecate along its shores.
The threat to Crater Lake’s water quality tops the list of concerns created by unique stressors currently in place at the park: unexpectedly large numbers of visitors, severe cutbacks in seasonal park staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic, widespread disregard for social distancing and a number of people hiking illegally into the caldera. Crater Lake Superintendent Craig Ackerman is concerned that visitors are bringing prohibited gear such as wet suits, inflatable kayaks, innertubes, snorkeling and scuba gear and other banned items into the lake itself. That equipment could result in invasive species and non-native organisms being introduced into the pristine environment.
Park rangers are attempting to turn back people with illegal items but, Ackerman said, “we can’t have someone there 24 hours a day.” The bathroom at the Cleetwood Cove parking lot is open, but the bathroom at the bottom of the trail along the lake shore is closed because the park lacks the staff to clean and operate it. Ackerman said some visitors have defecated along the trail and lake
Klamath County School District classrooms are likely to remain closed this fall, unless
otherwise directed by the Oregon Department of Education and Governor Kate Brown.
KCSD has currently set August 17 as a deadline for finalizing what reopening will look
like on August 31, the tentative first day of school. Currently, parents and guardians will
have the following options for fall instruction:
– Students can learn 100% online through KCSD instruction, via a Chromebook.
– Students can attend Great Basin Home School online and parents or guardians will be given the resources to teach and grade students.
A third option, not yet on the table, is an in-school/virtual learning hybrid. In it, KCSD students would attend school in person two days each week and learn online for
three. That plan could be implemented if metrics put in place by Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown are met locally and statewide. To implement that plan, Klamath County and the
state of Oregon would have to have a positive COVID-19 test rate of less than 5% for
three weeks in a row, said Beth Clark, principal of Stearns Elementary. The county also
needs to have less than seven cases per week for three weeks in a row. When and if
elementary students are allowed to come to school for two days a week, it will look
significantly different than normal.
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