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.
Tuesday – 08/25/20
Klamath Basin Weather
Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Sunny, with a high near 87. Calm wind becoming west around 6 mph in the afternoon.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 87. Light northwest wind.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 93
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 91.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 84.
Today’s Headlines
Klamath County Public Health (KCPH) officials reported four new cases of COVID-19 in the community on Monday, bringing the local count to 225.
Two of the cases were assigned to last week, bringing that weekly count to 13. This week’s count is two. COVID-19 has claimed three more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 420. Oregon Health Authority reported 220 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of yesterday, bringing the state total to 25,155. Jackson County Public Health continues to report a rise in coronavirus cases into this week, with 23 new cases on Monday. The county was placed on Oregon’s COVID-19 “watch list” last week due to an apparent rise in cases from community spread. The latest cases brought Jackson County’s total since the beginning of the pandemic to 710, with at least 222 of those cases considered “active infectious.”
Klamath County Public Health officials reported yesterday that the air quality index was in the hazardous range.
The infiltration of wildfire smoke from the California fires is creating a health risk for the community. The Department of Environmental Quality officials said the infiltration will continue through Wednesday. DEQ is issuing a air quality advisory for Klamath and other counties through Wednesday evening. Smoke from wildfires is a mixture of gases and fine particles from burning trees and other plant materials. Smoke can hurt your eyes, irritate your respiratory system, and worsen chronic heart and lung diseases. Currently, masks and respirators known to protect against wildfire smoke particles, the N95, are in short supply and are being reserved as personal protective equipment for health professionals. The best way to reduce smoke exposure is to stay indoors.
Parents who need in-person assistance and technology help are encouraged to attend help sessions offered by Klamath Falls City Schools.
The help sessions are located at Conger, Mills, Pelican and Roosevelt elementary schools on Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Parents who need technical help or do not have access to a personal computer, laptop or Chromebook should plan to attend. New families of students in kindergarten through fifth grade must be pre-enrolled before they are able to complete online registration. Please call the office or complete the registration form located on the Klamath Falls City School website. Registration must be completed in order to check out Chromebooks. The meetings will meet social distancing guidelines. Masks are required.
Local ballots for the upcoming general election will be mailed on Wednesday, October. 14th. If you do not receive a ballot by Tuesday October 20th, contact Klamath County Clerk at 541-883-5134; elections@klamathcounty.org; or go to the County Clerk’s office to fill out a ballot replacement form and they will hand it to you at the counter.
Klamath Community College plans to resume some in-person instruction for its fall term, which starts Sept. 28.
According to the plan, KCC will deliver a combination of online and in-person courses during the term. The college’s plan provides guidance for students, staff, and faculty conducting on-campus activities, such as classroom learning and conducting official campus business. The campus is currently open to students, prospective students, and employees, but is closed for public events and gatherings. Admissions and financial aid offices are currently open. Students and prospective students who would like to meet in-person with these staff on campus, must adhere to physical distancing guidelines and wear a face covering.
Wolf attacks on cattle in the Fort Klamath area by the Rogue Pack are continuing at unprecedented levels, with the confirmed number of yearling steers and heifers killed since May now numbering 12.
A separate Fort Klamath yearling steer kill was reported and confirmed Saturday. Adding to the frustration is that some of the recent kills have occurred in daylight hours, not at night. And the attacks are happening even though ODFW and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff are working as deterrents to try to scare wolves away. During at least five of the kills, hazers have been driving around and staying overnight on the Wood River Valley pasture lands, trying to keep wolves away from cattle. But the human presence hasn’t deterred them.
Around the State of Oregon
On August 23, 2020, at approximately 07:30 am Troopers from Oregon State Police Florence and Springfield Area Command responded to an injured male on SR 126 W near milepost 26.5. The male victim was located on the highway with extensive injuries to his head, face and body and was transported to Peace Harbor in Florence for treatment of his injuries.
It was reported that Michael Light and two additional unknown males had assaulted the male victim for an extended period of time in his campsite before Michael Light left with a female victim against her will. At some point in the early morning hours the male victim escaped into a heavily forested area and hid until daylight hours before he was eventually found on the highway. An area search located Michael Light and the female victim in a vehicle in the area. Michael Light was taken into custody without further incident. The female was treated at the scene for minor injuries.
Follow up investigation conducted by Oregon State Police Major Crimes Section and the Lane County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division identified Michael Lokey-Wilson and Jonathan Dakota Appelt as the other two suspects involved in the Assault and kidnapping. Michael Lokey-Wilson is described as a white male standing 5’11” tall and weighing approximately 145 pounds with short blonde hair and blue eyes. Jonathan Dakota Appelt is described as a white male standing 6’tall and weighing approximately 185 pounds with short blonde hair and blue eyes. Appelt has a prominent tattoo on his neck.
The Oregon State Police is asking anyone who has seen Michael Lokey-Wilson or Jonathan Dakota Appelt since 08/23/2020 or knows where they are located to call the OSP Dispatch Center at 1-800-442-0776 or the Springfield Area Command at 541-726-2536. Community members are asked to not attempt to contact or apprehend either of the men and they should be considered armed and dangerous.
An additional 100 firefighters were on their way Sunday to battle the Green Ridge Fire, which has been burning north of Sisters near Camp Sherman for a week, authorities said.
The reinforcements will bring the total number of firefighters to about 400 people. Engines, dozers and aircraft are being used to battle the fire, which was started August 16 by lightning, the Oregon Department of Forestry said. Mild weather Saturday allowed firefighters to make significant progress, said Lisa Clark, a Bureau of Land Management spokesperson and fire information officer for the Green Ridge Fire.
As wildfires continue to rage in California, the Red Cross Cascades Region (serving Oregon and Southwest Washington) is deploying 10 volunteers to the state to assist in the mass18ive response effort.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes or are under the threat of evacuations and the Red Cross is working to provide shelter, food and comfort for those who have been impacted. Overnight, the Red Cross and our partners provided more than 2,300 people in California with refuge from the wildfires with emergency lodgings, including shelters and, in some circumstances, hotels. Nearly 470 trained Red Cross disaster workers have been mobilized to support relief efforts in California or virtually. Ten Red Cross disaster responders from Beaverton, Bend, Brookings, Dexter, Gold Beach, Portland, Salem and Springfield, are making their way to California. In coordination with government and community partners, Red Crossers are preparing strategic shelter and warehouse locations and stocking food, cots, blankets and other relief supplies to help people affected by the wildfires.
In order to be ready to assist in the relief efforts related to these disasters, the local Red Cross Cascades Region is always looking for volunteer disaster responders. If you are an RN, LPN, LVN, APRN, NP, EMT, paramedic, MD/DO or PA with an active, current and unencumbered license, the Red Cross needs your support. Volunteers are needed in shelters to help assess people’s health. Daily observation and health screening for COVID-19-like illness among shelter residents may also be required. RNs supervise all clinical tasks. Anyone interested in volunteering for the Red Cross as a disaster responder are encouraged to visit redcross.org/volunteer for more information.
The north Oregon coast crowds have been overwhelming the state park sites this summer with highway traffic jams, illegal parking and overflowing trash bins amid the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, Oregon Department of Transportation and other local agencies on the Oregon coast are teaming up to tackle the issues, the parks department announced Friday. Key among their efforts will be increased enforcement of illegal parking, the agencies said, including ticketing “unsafely parked cars” and towing vehicles when needed, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. Drivers may receive tickets of $115 to $250 for illegal parking, the parks department said, and would need to pay for the cost of towing. Cars are usually towed to the nearest town with tow service.
One person is dead and three others are injured following a series of shootings across Portland over the weekend. The Portland Police Bureau says the first shooting happened early Saturday morning in the Hazelwood neighborhood. One man was killed in that shooting. The second shooting happened later that afternoon in University Park, where two men were shot and injured. The third shooting happened yesterday morning in the Glenfair neighborhood and left one man hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. Police are still searching for suspects in all three shootings.
Police are seeking help in their search for a missing Corvallis teen.
Police say 16-year-old Ava Carey disappeared last Thursday after leaving her home to go to a nearby park. She was last seen around 6:00 that night with her skateboard in the seven-hundred-block of Northeast Conifer Boulevard. She’s described as five-foot-six and 107 pounds with short auburn hair that’s shaved on one side.
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