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, October 5, 2020
Klamath Basin Weather
Today Widespread haze. Areas of smoke after 11am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 81, and an overnight low of 42 degrees.
Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 86.
Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 84.
Thursday Partly sunny, with a high near 76.
Friday A slight chance of showers after 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 70.
Today’s Headlines
Oregon reports 260 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 1 new death
The Oregon Health Authority reports today another 260 cases of COVID-19 overnight and it has claimed one more life in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 572.
Oregon Health Authority reported 260 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today bringing the state total to 34,770. The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Benton (1), Clackamas (16), Columbia (3), Coos (3), Deschutes (8), Douglas (4), Jackson (9), Jefferson (4), Josephine (8), Klamath (2), Lane (29), Lincoln (1), Linn (6), Malheur (14), Marion (37), Morrow (2), Multnomah (61), Polk (4), Umatilla (11), Washington (35), and Yamhill (10).
Klamath County residents gathered Thursday night at the Klamath County Fairgrounds to express to elected officials their frustrations about COVID-19 restrictions. Klamath County Commissioners Kelley Minty Morris and Derrick DeGroot attended, along with State Rep. E. Werner Reschke and State Sen. Dennis Linthicum.
In a photo posted on Reschke’s Facebook page, as well as in other photos taken at the event, no face masks were visible. The gathering was held in the event center on the fairgrounds, a large but enclosed space. People in the audience were seated alongside one another, much closer than the 6-foot distance recommended by public health officials. The event was organized by a group called the Klamath County Patriots.
According to a flyer for the event, their mission includes protecting against “radical groups enacting hate and violence and who seek to impose conditions that promote inequality of race, religion, gender and political view.”
The Klamath County Fairgrounds will take on a new role on Monday when parents drop off their kindergartners through sixth graders: daycare. Registration is now open for a new childcare co-op at the grounds and event center, which is now licensed as a second location of the nonprofit Klamath KID Center.
Services are available for youth in kindergarten through sixth grade. The program will cost $130 per week, which is enough to sustain the nonprofit program and pay staff.
After months of planning and applying for approval from the state, Oct. 5 is opening day. The center will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Klamath County Public Health gave organizers the guidelines for operating the facility, but that has been the extent of KCPH’s involvement.
KCC Students and faculty returned to a changed Klamath Community College this week for the new school year.
Well, some of them did. According to Bill Jennings, vice president of Student Affairs, 60% of KCC students have at least one in-person class this semester, while others participate in expanded online and hybrid offerings. Campus got a bit of a redesign this summer as Mike Homfeldt and the rest of the facilities staff went through each building, removing furniture that was too close together and installing plexiglass borders between work stations. Some of the glass partitions installed at reception areas, Homfeldt said, are likely permanent.
Klamath Falls City officials hope five new electric vehicle charging stations will put downtown Klamath Falls on the map for tourists — and encourage more local residents to ditch gas-powered cars.
Todd Andres, Pacific Power’s regional business manager, led a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday at a city-owned parking lot behind Sugarman’s Corner. Representatives from the city, county chamber of commerce and county tourism bureau joined him in commemorating the step toward a low-carbon future. Four of the stations, manufactured by California-based ChargePoint, can fully charge a vehicle in 20 to 40 minutes. A fifth station can complete a charge in a couple of hours. Because the four fast-charging stations are dual chargers (the first of their kind in the area), they can support all makes and models of electric vehicles. A total of six cars can fuel up at once at the cluster of chargers.
The stations, operated by Pacific Power, draw from the electrical grid and charge customers in accordance with power rates. That makes an electric vehicle’s fueling cost lower and more stable than that of a gas-powered one: Andres said the current price of a charge equates to about $1 per gallon of fuel.
The Oregon Senate confirmed two new trustees for the governing board of the Oregon Institute of Technology: Tim Hasty, a current student at Oregon Tech’s Klamath Falls campus; and Michele Vitali, Oregon Tech’s administrative lead at the Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center Research & Development in Scappoose.
Hasty studies mechanical engineering at Oregon Tech’s Klamath Falls campus and is on course to graduate in June 2022. Since joining the U.S. Army in 2007, Hasty graduated from Western Oregon University with a degree in political science and completed a tour in Afghanistan in 2012. Hasty is also a student worker at Oregon Tech in the outdoor program, serving as director.
Prior to joining Oregon Tech’s OMIC R&D facility as part of the original start-up team, Vitali served at the university’s Portland‐Metro campus as executive assistant to the vice president beginning in May 2017. She has served as a public employee of the state since 2002, most of that time staffing STEM programs and public/private partnerships while at the former Chancellor’s Office. Both terms begin immediately and last through the academic year, ending on June 30, 2021.
Klamath Falls native Travis Sandusky and his wife, Alice, have opened Cascade Cremation & Burial, a new cremation and funeral provider in Klamath Falls. The couple owned and operated Redwood Memorial Chapel and Crematory in Brookings for the last ten years before selling it and making their way back to Klamath Falls. The Sanduskys said they provide caring service at an affordable price using modern technology. They recently completed a renewal of their facility at 1229 E. Main Street, a former funeral home that they remodeled and updated.
In lieu of the 69th Annual Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair, the Fair Board and Staff, the Tulelake Rotary Club and dedicated community members came together to host a successful Youth Livestock Evaluation and Auction Sept. 12-13. This year’s evaluation and auction allowed 4-H, FFA and independent market exhibitors to show and sell their livestock projects in-person while allowing community members the opportunity to participate in this important, time-honored tradition. The evaluation and auction was approved by county and state health officials. A total of 74 livestock projects were each sold to the highest bidder. A multitude of purchasing and price support options, including a live-stream auction provided by DV Auctions, allowed buyers and spectators to participate in-person and from afar. In spite of challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, an unstable water year and a difficult economic environment, the contributions made by our communities exceeded the 2019 auction total by over $30,000.
Flashlight tours of the Baldwin Hotel Museum are being offered this month. Dates available include Oct. 10, 16 and 17, according to a news release. Cost for the nighttime tours is $10 per person.
Participation is limited to eight people per tour, and payment must be made in advance. The flashlight tours will last approximately one hour, and will involve climbing stairs. The four-story historic structure is not accessible for people with impaired mobility. Temperatures inside the building will be relatively cool. The tour is not recommended for small children.
The Baldwin Hotel, built in 1905 at 31 Main St., originally housed a hardware store on the ground floor with offices on the upper three floors. By 1911 the building had been converted to a hotel. The building is named for George T. Baldwin, a hardware dealer, politician and civic leader who died in 1920. After his death the hotel was managed for a few years by his daughter, Maud Baldwin.
U-Pick pumpkin patches and COVID-19
One of the joys of living in Oregon is getting to visit local farms and pumpkin patches for Halloween activities. You may be wondering if these activities are safe this year. Here are some tips for staying safe at the pumpkin patch this autumn.
- Stay home if you’re sick or come into contact with someone who’s sick.
- Wear a mask if you can’t stay physically distant.
- Avoid crowded activities.
- Look for activities that you can do without being too close to others. Some farms may offer hayrides for one household at a time or a corn maze with large aisles that has clearly marked one-way traffic.
Around the state of Oregon
On Sunday, October 4, 2020 at approximately 1:45 P.M., Oregon State Police Troopers and emergency personnel responded to a vehicle crash on Interstate 5 near milepost 16.
Preliminary investigation revealed that a Peterbilt semi-truck, operated by Trevor Logan (28) of Grants Pass, was southbound when it struck a pedestrian.
Logan was not injured and is cooperating with the investigation. The pedestrian sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased. Her name will be released when it is appropriate.
Pro-Trump protesters and counter-protesters clashed Saturday in Bend at a rally and street cruise that was held in support of the president. Fights broke out between the two sides when someone took a Trump flag from a supporter of President Donald Trump, OPB reported. People on both sides started trading punches and someone fired mace into the crowd. The pro-Trump event, called the Trump Cruise rally, was to feature a potluck, guest speakers and a cruise through Bend, organizers told local media reporters.
Oregon’s rural areas have historically had it worst during the state’s economic downturns, with less access to investment, education and other resources that help regions ride out the bad times and build the foundation for a recovery. The coronavirus recession is unique, though, and it’s playing out quite differently from past downturns – at least in the early stages. Job losses in southern and eastern Oregon over the past year are roughly half what they have been in the Portland area. In August, the lowest unemployment rate in Oregon wasn’t in one of the state’s prosperous urban centers but rather in tiny Wheeler County in Central Oregon, at just 4.4%. Oregon’s job losses have been steepest on the coast and in the Portland area, where restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues that serve tourists and large crowds have shut down – or severely reduced operations – to contain the coronavirus.
The Oregon Department of Revenue (DOR) will host a pair of live training sessions on the Zoom video conferencing platform in October to provide information to business taxpayers and tax professionals about the administrative rules for Oregon’s new Corporate Activity Tax (CAT).
The first meeting is planned for noon to 2 p.m. PDT October 19.
• Meeting link: https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1608045185.
• Passcode: 920761
The second meeting is planned for 9 to 11 a.m. PDT October 20.
• Meeting link: https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1619858903.
• Passcode: 013983
In addition to a basic overview of the CAT, definitions of key elements of the law, and an update on the ongoing rules process, the training sessions will specifically address:
• The 35% subtraction.
• Unitary groups.
• Sourcing of commercial activity and apportionment.
• Quarterly underpayment penalty.
• COVID-19 pandemic-related relief options.
• Sales certificates.
• Motor vehicle dealer trades.
• Grocery exclusion.
• Cost inputs for farmers.
The training will also provide a review of the resources available on the CAT page of the Revenue website for business taxpayers and tax professionals.
Department representatives used input collected from stakeholders during a 12-stop tour in fall 2019 in prioritizing and writing the initial rules. A second tour provided training for business taxpayers and tax professionals in March before it was cut short by restrictions on public gatherings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Use of the online Zoom meeting platform will allow the CAT policy team to present live in October. Participants will be able to follow along with a PowerPoint presentation. They will be able to submit questions via email to cat.help.dor@oregon.gov. The policy team will seek to answer the questions at the end of each section of the training presentation.
Stakeholders can direct questions or comments about the CAT anytime via email to cat.help.dor@oregon.gov or by calling 503-945-8005. Interested persons can also sign up for email updates on the CAT and other Revenue programs on the agency website.
To get tax forms, check the status of your refund, or make tax payments, visit www.oregon.gov/dor/ or email questions.dor@oregon.gov. You can also call 800-356-4222 toll free from an Oregon prefix (English or Spanish) or 503-378-4988 in Salem and outside Oregon. For TTY (hearing- or speech-impaired), we accept all relay calls.
…For complete details on these and other stories see today’s Herald & News. Wynne Broadcasting and the Herald and News…stronger together to keep you informed.
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