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.
Thursday, August 20, 2020
Klamath Basin Weather
Today Patchy smoke before 2pm. Sunny, with a high near 86. Clear overnight with a low around 55.
Friday Patchy smoke before 11am. Sunny, with a high near 87. Light and variable wind becoming west southwest 8 to 13 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Saturday Sunny, with a high near 91. Light and variable wind.
Sunday Sunny, with a high near 93.
Monday Mostly sunny, with a high near 90.
Today’s Headlines
COVID-19 has claimed 11 more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 408, the Oregon Health Authority reported yesterday. They also reported 203 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 yesterday, bringing the state total to 23,870.
Klamath County Public Health (KCPH) officials report three new cases of COVID-19 in the community on Wednesday and two on Tuesday, making the weekly total nine. Wednesday’s new cases bring the local count to 219.
Public health officials in Jackson County reported a new record daily high for coronavirus cases on Wednesday, in addition to an investigation into cases tied to a workplace outbreak at the Amy’s Kitchen processing facility in White City. Jackson County Public Health reported 24 cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the county’s total since the beginning of the pandemic to 618 confirmed and presumptive cases. Nearly 200 of those cases are considered “active infectious.”
Earlier this week, Klamath County Sheriff Chris Kaber swore in six new reserve deputies who recently completed Reserve Academy training. This nearly doubles the number of reserve deputies in the department. After completing the initial 120 hours of training by KCSO, reserve deputies must serve a minimum of twenty hours per month and attend regular training and qualifications. Reserve deputies often ride with full time deputies providing two-person teams on patrol.
KCSO Operations Lieutenant Randy Swan states: “We are fortunate to have many great volunteers who are the backbone of our department. Reserve deputies in particular act as a force multiplier as they supplement our full-time deputies.”
The new reserve deputies who were sworn in were:
Tyler Caster, Quillan Klus, Kyle Justman, Steven Nelson, Jason Nye and Robert Graham.
Pacific Power will be replacing a power pole today in Klamath Falls. To accommodate this work, the right side, westbound lane of South 6th Street in front of Aspen Dental will be closed from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Please proceed with caution through this work zone. The City of Klamath Falls thanks our citizens for your continued understanding during these projects.
The Crane Fire outside Lakeview remains at approximately 2300 acres in size with little containment so far.
Northwest Incident Management Team 12 took over operations of the Crane Fire Tuesday evening and would like to give special thanks to the fantastic work of the local resources and their efforts to contain the fire. We are here to serve the com- munity and will be working hard to protect resource values in the area. The safety of citizens and firefighters is our number one priority. Northwest Incident Management Team 12 is one of 7 Pacific Northwest Incident Management Teams that is responsible for the management of all-risk incidents that occur in the Northwest but will also respond nationally if needed.
Today’s operations:
Continue fire control line construction and make preparations for full fire suppres- sion actions to protect private and state lands, timber, grazing, recreation, Lake- view watershed, and natural resources at risk. If needed, as part of the teams IA (initial fire attack) responsibilities the team will be coordinating with the rural fire protection districts and ranchers on the west and east sides of the fire and doing structural assessments. Smoke is continuing to impact Lakeview and New Pine Creek and will be visible throughout the area. There is a Red Flag Warning in effect from 2 to 8 p.m. today for strong, gusty winds and low relative humidity.
Closures
The Fremont-Winema National Forest issued an emergency fire closure order, formally referenced as Number 06-02-02-20-01, for the Crane Fire area. The clo- sure is generally between Hwy 140 and the Oregon/California Stateline; and from the Forest Boundary on the west to Forest Roads 3610, 3910, 3910-019 to the Forest Boundary and Road 3915 to the Stateline. Twin Springs, Willow Creek and Deep Creek Campgrounds, Crane Mountain and Rogger Meadow Trailheads and the Crane Mountain Trail are closed as a result. A map is available on Inciweb. The closure will remain in effect as conditions require.
Hwy 140 is open. Please be aware of increased fire traffic in the fire area, as well as surrounding communities. Slow down and use caution around fire equipment.
The team is working in concert with Lake Health District to protect the community from the threat of Covid 19.
SIZE: 2,270 acres
CONTAINMENT: 5%
PERSONNEL: 289
CAUSE: Under Investigation
RESOURCES:
Hand Crews 8
Engines 13
Dozers 3
Water Tenders 2
AIRCRAFT:
Helicopters 4
Fixed Wing 1
www.fs.usda.gov/fremont-winema
To celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the ratification, League of Women Voters of Klamath County charted their own path down the Ken Hay Nature Trail on Tuesday, where they celebrated 100 years of voting rights, commemorated the efforts that led to the ratification, and shared about the struggles that remain in the pursuit of voting.
It took the prompting of a mother to her son to help ratify the 19th Amendment on Aug. 18, 1920, clearing the way for voting rights for many women whose efforts to attain it had spanned decades. That day, State Rep. Harry T. Burn’s vote garnered the two-thirds majority needed to make the 19th Amendment official. Many, mostly white women could officially vote eight days later.
The local event is the third piece of what has been a year-long effort to mark 100 years of women earning the right to vote. Other pieces included a dramatic play and the book “Timeless Recipes: The Great Fight to win the Vote for Klamath County.” Klamath Falls Mayor Carol Westfall, dressed in Suffrage purple and gold, marveled at the actions of Burns and his fellow legislators, and all the women who helped pave the way to the vote.
The Ross Ragland Theater welcomes a fall production of “What About Dan?!” Directed by Dan Neubauer with Music Direction by Dan Crenshaw, Choreography by Samantha Burris and Stage Management by Tyler Dahl. Performances will be held on September 10, 11, & 12, 2020 at 7:30pm in the Ross Ragland Theater.
This musical comedy is set during the depression in the mythical town of Kalamity Flats. The Robert Ragsdale Theater is in financial ruin and the richest man in town is looking to buy it on the cheap and make it into a shopping center. Dan Bauer steps up and refuses to allow this to happen.
The staging of the production during rehearsals and performances follow the suggested guidelines for physical distancing and providing a clean and safe environment for the performers and technicians on stage and back of stage.
The Ragland’s staff and volunteers continue to ensure patrons are welcomed back to the theater and into a safe and clean environment according to COVID19 state and federal guidelines. Call the box office and get your tickets!
Around the state of Oregon
Oregonians still waiting for their unemployment benefits can apply for a one-time payment of $500 beginning this week.
The $35 million relief check program, that was approved by lawmakers in mid-July, could help up to 70,000 Oregon residents facing financial hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus, which has infecting thousands of Oregonians and killed nearly 400, has also caused a surge in unemployment. More than 500,000 people have filed unemployment claims since the start of the pandemic, causing major delays in people receiving funds.
The purpose of the new relief program, which would use funds from the CARES Act, is to provide support to Oregonians while the agency continues to work through its backlog. “After months of hearing from increasingly desperate Oregonians who were doing everything right and still not getting the unemployment they were owed, we hope this effort offers a streamlined way for some financial relief,” House Speaker Tina Kotek said Wednesday. “The state is stepping up, and I hope Congress will act soon to provide more support that is desperately needed.”
Citizen-soldiers from the Oregon National Guard continue to return from overseas mobilization in Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Djibouti, and Kosovo — the second largest mobilization of these units since World War II, according to the Oregon Military Department.
Roughly 100 local Guardsmen arrived in Medford on Tuesday after a nine-month deployment in Djibouti, Africa. The week prior, the first group of citizen soldiers arrived in Portland — all members of the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team. The last comparable mobilization of Oregonians happened between 2009 and 2010. U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Forest Grove Mayor Peter B. Truax are scheduled to greet troops based out of Forest Grove and arriving in Portland between 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 pm. on Wednesday.
A Medford man was killed when his pickup truck overturned along Highway 199 near Selma in the early hours of Tuesday morning, according to Oregon State Police.
State troopers and emergency personnel responded shortly before 4 a.m. to reports of a single-vehicle crash on Redwood Highway near milepost 21, just south of Selma. OSP said that an investigation of the scene found that 48-year-old Robert Skor of Medford had been driving southbound in a Nissan pickup when he left the roadway and overturned. Skor sustained fatal injuries in the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene. Troopers were assisted in the response by the Illinois Valley Fire Department and Oregon Department of Transportation.
Effective immediately, Deschutes and Willamette National Forest officials have placed an area closure for the Lily Lake Fire burning northeast of Lily Lake within the Charlton Roadless Area west of the Cascade Lakes Highway.
The Lily Lake Fire, which started August 17 and is now estimated at 30 acres, is burning within the 1996 Charlton Fire Scar and adjacent heavy timber. The heel of the fire is located within 100 feet of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). The fire is 10% contained and continues to grow to the north and east prompting area and trail closures.
When Congress resumes in September, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) will introduce two bills aimed at protecting property owners and states from land seizures by private corporations.
Landowners facing eminent domain claims by Jordan Cove LNG for the Pacific Connector pipeline inspired the legislation.
Pembina, a Canadian energy corporation, has the ability to forcibly take easements on private land in order to build the 229-mile natural gas pipeline from a compression station in Malin to an export terminal in Coos Bay.
While the company has to clear multiple state regulatory hurdles before they can begin construction, approval of the project in March by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted Jordan Cove a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. That certificate allows them to claim eminent domain when seizing private land along the pipeline route.
Oregon’s total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 20,500 jobs in July, following a gain of 57,000 jobs in June. Over the past three months, employers added back 38 percent of the jobs that were cut in March and April.
Over-the-month job gains in July were largest in leisure and hospitality (+7,300 jobs); government (+5,700); retail trade (+3,600); health care and social assistance (+3,100); and professional and business services (+1,900). Meanwhile, three of the major industries cut a substantial number of jobs in July: construction (-1,900 jobs); manufacturing (-1,500); and information (-1,200).
Over the past five months the major industries were impacted differently by the pandemic. Leisure and hospitality suffered by far the largest job loss during March and April, shedding 118,700 jobs during the outset of the pandemic-induced drop in business. Then, between April and July, the industry regained half of the loss, as it rebounded by 58,900 jobs over the past three months. Three industries regained more than half of their lost jobs. Health care and social assistance regained two-thirds of its lost jobs, with a rebound of 18,700 jobs over the past three months. During that time, two industries regained nearly two-thirds of their lost jobs: other services (+9,300 jobs, or a 63% rebound) and retail trade (+13,900 jobs, or 62%).
The Portland Police Bureau has identified the chief suspect in an assault in the downtown area on Sunday that left the driver of a crashed pickup truck unconscious, according to an update from the agency.
Officers from PPB responded shortly before 10:30 p.m. on Sunday night to the area of SW Taylor Street and Broadway in downtown Portland after someone reported that “protesters” chased the driver of a white Ford 4×4, then dragged him out of the vehicle after he crashed into a tree on the sidewalk. One witness reported that a group of people was “beating the guy.”
At the scene, the officers found a man lying injured and unconscious. He was taken to the hospital for treatment and was later released.
PPB said that the release of further information in the case “may not be as timely” as the public would like. Despite the spread of videos on social media, the agency said that investigators need to make other connections that aren’t seen in the videos — in addition to protecting the integrity of evidence in the case.
Governor Kate Brown is urging Oregonians to do their part to prevent wildfires. Speaking with reporters in The Dalles, Governor Brown expressed the need for extreme caution during dry, hot weather. Brown warned that residents should not operate heavy machinery when it’s hot and dry. Oregon Department of Forestry Chief of Fire Protection Doug Graf said the last 48-hours of lightning conditions across the state have ignited well over 100 fires.
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