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.
Wednesday, October 7, 2020
Klamath Basin Weather
Today Smokey skies and sunshine peaking through with a high of 83.
Thursday Partly sunny, with a high near 75.
Friday A slight chance of showers after 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 73.
Today’s Headlines
Smokey skies will cover Klamath Falls today as the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has issued an air quality advisory for southwest and south-central Oregon through Friday.
The smoke is coming from wildfires in northern California and the Slater Fire, which continues to burn along the Oregon-California border south of Cave Junction.
The advisory covers Klamath, Lake, Jackson, Josephine and eastern Douglas Counties. The release said smoke will most likely be thickest at night and in the mornings throughout the week, with some afternoon and evening clearing.
Prolonged smoke exposure can cause eye and lung irritation, especially in children, those over 65, pregnant people and people with pre-existing respiratory and heart conditions. During periods of thick smoke, avoid outdoor activity and keep windows and doors closed.
Most face masks do not filter out smoke particles and are therefore not a protection during air quality advisories, save for properly-fitted N95 masks. For real-time air quality measurements, visit the EPA’s AirNow.gov or download the OregonAIR smartphone app.
COVID-19 has claimed nine more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 581. Oregon Health Authority reported 301 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of yesterday, bringing the state total to 35,340.
Meanwhile, As COVID-19 cases continue to climb in Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown announced Tuesday that the state’s testing capacity is expanding from 60,000 to 80,000 tests per week.
Health officials said that with Oregon’s jump in testing capacity, they recommend people who have symptoms of COVID-19 not only be tested but also people who have been in close contact with an infected person, regardless of whether they show symptoms. The rapid antigen tests, which are being provided by the federal government each week through the end of 2020, can diagnose COVID-19 in 15 minutes.
Pat Allen, the director of the Oregon Health Authority, said that testing will first be distributed to counties with long-term care facilities and areas affected by the recent wildfires.
While testing will help in the fight against COVID-19, people must remain vigilant, officials said. Confirmed coronavirus cases in Oregon have been going up during the past few weeks. Tuesday, the total number of cases in Oregon since the pandemic began reached 35,340. The death toll is 581.
There are currently no wildfires or evacuation orders affecting the Gearhart Wilderness and surrounding recreation sites on the Bly Ranger District of the Fremont-Winema National Forest.
District firefighting resources responded this morning to a camp trailer on fire on private lands near Box Spring. The fire did not spread onto National Forest System lands.
Hunters and those recreating in the area are still safe but are reminded that the fire condition is still extreme and that the Forest is still under Public Use Restrictions which allow campfire only in sites designated in Exhibit A of Order Number 06-02-20-02.
The public is asked to strongly consider whether they need a campfire and, if so, ensure that it is dead out and cold to the touch before leaving. There should be caution used with anything that can throw a spark and start a wildfire
Voter pamphlets and ballots will be arriving to registered Oregon voters in Klamath County soon, according to the Klamath County Clerk’s Office.
Voters’ pamphlets are expected to be delivered to every household between Oct. 5-9, while ballots will be mailed on Wednesday, Oct. 14. The last day to register to vote in the Nov. 3 general election is Tuesday, Oct. 13. Online registration is available at oregonvotes.gov or at the County Clerk’s office at 305 Main St.
Completed ballots must be received in the Elections Office or any official drop site no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day. All ballots will now include a pre-paid postage return envelope; it is recommended that voters mail in their ballot no later than Wednesday, Oct. 28. All ballots come from local county offices; no ballots will be sent from Washington D.C. or Salem. A list of approved official drop-sites is listed on the back of the ballots as well as at www.klamathcounty.org/685/Drop-Sites.
If a ballot is not received by Tuesday, Oct. 20 contact the Klamath County Clerk Office at 541-883-5134 or at elections@klamathcounty.org or visit the Clerk Office.
Friends of the Children are offering a week-long scavenger hunt intended to provide a fun and engaging activity for individuals, couples and families while raising funds for child mentoring will take place Oct. 23-30.
The socially distancing-friendly event tasks participants with posting selfies from a variety of historic, cultural and natural sites around Klamath. Each photo submitted earns a raffle ticket for a chance at seven daily prizes and three grand prizes. Additional raffle tickets will be awarded for wearing Halloween costumes and completion of bonus challenges.
Grand prizes include $400 in gift cards to local restaurants, a two-night cabin stay and pontoon rental at Lake of the Woods Resort, and a two-night stay and four rounds of golf at Running Y Ranch Resort. Teams of up to five people may register for $25 per team.
The Board of Directors of EagleRidge High School, an Oregon Nonprofit Corporation, will hold a Board Meeting on Wednesday, October 14, 2020, at 4:00 pm at EagleRidge High School, 677 South Seventh Street, Klamath Falls, Oregon.
The meeting may also be attended virtually via the Zoom link. The meeting agenda includes discussion of CACFP Administrative Review, PPP Loan Forgiveness update, submission of goals and action plan by Executive Director and update on the school year activities and funding. The Board may also consider other business brought before the board. EagleRidge High School was established to create and implement an autonomous, high achieving and equitable small high school in collaboration with the Klamath Falls City School District pursuant to the Oregon Charter School law. The meeting will be conducted in accordance with the Oregon Public Meetings law.
Around the state of Oregon
The University of Oregon is reporting that dozens of students have tested positive for COVID-19. The university’s website showed on Monday that 57 coronavirus cases had been confirmed in the previous four days alone.
All of those cases involve students, but only one of the students lives in on-campus housing. The rest live off campus. The surge in cases comes at the beginning of the school year, KEZI-TV reported.
Cases have been climbing since about Sept. 22, when the university reported 15 cases. Every day since then, at least six additional cases have been reported. Officials said students who live on campus and test positive for the disease are “in isolation” while they recover.
University of Oregon has reported a total of more than 200 cases since June 1.
Major testing increase will bolster Oregon’s strategy to contain COVID-19
The Oregon Health Authority announced a major expansion of testing for COVID-19 in Oregon that will strengthen the state’s strategy to suppress the virus. Starting this week, Oregon will receive between 60,000 and 80,000 Abbott BinaxNOW rapid point-of-care antigen tests per week through the end of December. Oregon will receive the new tests as a result of a time-limited supply of testing capacity federal officials have allocated to states.
The new additional rapid antigen tests will nearly double Oregon’s testing capacity, which will help physicians and health officials identify more people who are infected with COVID-19 and – over time – reduce transmission, prevent new cases (and hospitalizations) and sustain the state’s reopening.
OHA also broadened its testing guidelines to supplement the added testing capacity. The new guidelines recommend testing for anyone who has symptoms of COVID-19 regardless of the severity of those symptoms, along with testing of all close contacts of those individuals, regardless of whether they shown symptoms.
The tests yield quick results, in as little as 15 minutes. But there are limitations. The rapid antigen tests must be administered by a trained professional or at a location that meets certain federal standards for laboratory testing. As in other forms of COVID-19 testing, positive results are considered reliable. However, false negative tests are common, even among asymptomatic individuals.
The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) and Oregon Health Authority (OHA) have completed initial baseline COVID-19 testing of staff and consenting residents in 683 long-term care facilities statewide, achieving the first of two objectives set by Governor Kate Brown’s testing plan.
Baseline testing found that the overall rate of COVID-19 infections in nursing, assisted living and residential care facilities is 2.2 percent based on preliminary results. Facilities were required to complete administration of tests by September 30 and follow up by submitting results. With baseline testing complete, the plan calls for facilities to test all staff at least once a month on an on-going basis.
“We took quick action in the first days of this pandemic to protect the residents and staff of long-term care facilities by enacting some of the strictest visitation policies in the country, but with that protection has come great sacrifice. One of the most heart-wrenching aspects of this crisis is the reality that, to keep our vulnerable long-term care residents safe, so many Oregonians have not been able to visit their loved ones, to sit with them, to hold their hands,” said Governor Brown. “With this first phase of long-term care testing complete, we are one step closer to finding a way to strike the balance between keeping our long-term care facilities free of COVID-19, and making sure residents are able to have the family time that is so critical to their wellbeing and health.”
In addition to providing information about COVID-19 cases, the baseline testing requirement provided facilities with the opportunity to develop the capacity to quickly and regularly test residents and staff.
Facilities are required to report any positive test result immediately to their local public health authority and ODHS. ODHS conducts at least weekly onsite visits to facilities with COVID-19 cases and collaborates with OHA and the facility’s local public health authority to monitor how the outbreak is being managed.
To ensure individuals’ privacy, the only publicly released information from the testing will be aggregate data. Positive test results are included in OHA’s Weekly COVID-19 Report, if the facility has three or more cases or one or more deaths. In addition, facilities with cases are included in ODHS lists published twice weekly.
Portland liberal mayoral challenger Sarah Iannarone is leading incumbent Mayor Ted Wheeler in a new poll of Portland voters. Iannarone backs the nightly protests that have plagued the downtown area yet the poll from DHM Research shows Iannarone leading by 11 percentage points. The poll was funded by the Portland Business Alliance. It has a margin of error of four points.
A Portland stand-up comedian is pleading not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of assaulting a federal officer during demonstrations downtown.
The Oregonian reports 24-year-old Christian Burke, who performs under the stage name Creme Brulee, appeared in court yesterday. He’s accused of throwing a rock toward a federal police officer during protests on August 22nd. Burke has agreed not to participate in any counterprotests as part of the conditions for his release pending trial. U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman was hesitant to impose the condition, saying it was arguable a violation of Burke’s First Amendment rights. However, she accepted Burke’s waiver of the right as part of negotiations between his defense lawyer and the prosecution.
The Oregon Department of Administrative Services last week published the annual maximum rent increase allowed by statute for calendar year 2021. The DAS Office of Economic Analysis has calculated the maximum percentage as 9.2%.
Following the passage of SB 608 in the 2019 legislative session, Oregon law requires DAS to calculate and post to its website, by September 30 of each year, the maximum annual rent increase percentage allowed by statute for the following calendar year. Per statute, OEA calculates this amount as 7% plus the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, West Region (All Items), as most recently published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The allowable rent increase percentage for the 2021 calendar year is 9.2%. DAS will calculate and post the percentage for the 2022 calendar year by Sept. 30, 2021.
Information about the maximum annual rent increase percentage, as well as the provisions of ORS 90.323 and 90.600 (statutes governing rent increases), can be found on the OEA website.
For information on the new law, please see the full text of SB 608 at the link below. DAS does not provide legal advice regarding other provisions of SB 608.
| Links: |
| OEA website: https://www.oregon.gov/das/OEA/Pages/Rent-stabilization.aspx |