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, November 30, 2020
Klamath Basin Weather
Today– Mostly sunny, with a high near 41. South southwest wind 7 to 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 23 mph.
Tuesday– Sunny, with a high near 44. Northeast wind 3 to 6 mph.
Wednesday– Sunny, with a high near 46. East wind around 6 mph.
Thursday– Sunny, with a high near 47.
Friday– Sunny, with a high near 49.
HEADLINES:
Oregon reports 1,599 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 9 new deaths
COVID-19 has claimed nine more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 905, the Oregon Health Authority reported at 12:01 a.m. today.
As we hit this somber milestone of 900 deaths in Oregon, we want to express our deepest sympathies to all the families that have lost a loved one to this virus. We must honor them by redoubling our efforts to protect one another: Wear a mask, limit social gatherings, keep 6 feet between you and other people who don’t live in your home, and wash hands often.
Oregon Health Authority reported 1,599 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 74,120.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (3), Benton (7), Clackamas (136), Clatsop (1), Columbia (18), Coos (4), Crook (9), Curry (2), Deschutes (78), Douglas (9), Hood River (5), Jackson (57), Jefferson (21), Josephine (14), Klamath (28), Lake (8), Lane (59), Lincoln (6), Linn (30), Malheur (20), Marion (126), Morrow (4), Multnomah (648), Polk (35), Tillamook (5), Umatilla (17), Union (3), Wasco (6), Washington (206), Yamhill (34).
The Oregon Health Authority reported Sunday that a “somber milestone” has been hit:
more than 900 people have died from COVID-19 in the state. OHA’s daily report
documented 1,599 new coronavirus cases and nine more deaths, bringing the state’s
respective totals to 74,120 cases and 905 deaths. The nine reported deaths from the
virus were people between the ages of 69 and 88 years old. Four of the nine people
were residents in either Multnomah or Washington counties. New cases in the tri-county
area again totaled more than 100. Multnomah County reported 648 new cases,
Washington County reported 206 new cases, and Clackamas County reported 136.
Marion County also reported 126 new cases. All other Oregon counties documented
less than 100 cases on Sunday, according to the OHA.
In March, as COVID-19 overwhelmed hospitals in cities across the country, Sky Lakes
Medical Center staff knew it would only be a matter of time before the pandemic would
strain their resources, too. They anticipated an influx of COVID-positive patients
needing respiratory support and developed protocols to isolate them from others. But for
most of the spring and summer, COVID-19’s spread in Klamath County — and its
subsequent hospitalizations — crept along without spiking. But as cases have spiked
over the past couple weeks, the storm has picked up. And the forecast isn’t looking
good. On Tuesday, Sky Lakes saw its first ever double-digit admissions for COVID-19,
prompting the hospital to open a second isolation unit for virus patients. And Sky Lakes
Primary Care Clinic closed for most of this week because of positive cases among its
staff. Nurses and physicians have certainly become more familiar with treating COVID-
19, and Niskanen said they went through drills back in March to train for a flood of
patients. But last weekend’s outbreak at the Primary Care Clinic demonstrated that
those preparations mean little when staff members themselves become infected.
Oregon’s new set of COVID-19 restrictions take effect Thursday —
A statewide freeze announced by Gov. Kate Brown expires Wednesday. In its place, state officials will implement new rules that enforce closures and restrictions on a county-by-county basis.
The new framework comes as the state’s coronavirus death toll increases. More than 900 lives are lost as of Sunday, with 9 new deaths and 1,599 new cases reported today.
The new rules offer at least a little relief for restaurants. Cana Flug owns Besaw’s and The Solo Club in Northwest Portland, which closed temporarily last spring due to the COVID-19 shutdown. “We did not have a robust take-out business operating at that time,” explained Flug.
The Solo Club and Besaw’s were shut for about six months, putting 80 staff out of work. The restaurants had reopened for indoor and outdoor dining, only to be shut down again a week and a half ago. “The day before, I dropped $5,000 on an outdoor tent that was vented,” said Flug.
The new COVID-19 framework, released last week by Gov. Kate Brown, allows them to serve diners once again, with restrictions.
It puts counties into risk levels based on numbers of cases. Multnomah County, along with Washington and Clackamas counties, are in the “extreme risk” category. Restaurants like Besaw’s can serve a maximum of 50 people for outdoor dining, plus sell take-out. Here is the table of what’s allowed and what’s not in all risk areas.
Tillamook County is a different story. It is the only county on the coast in the lowest risk category, meaning an indoor dining capacity of 50% and up to 300 people for outdoor dining. At Alice’s Country House in Tillamook, they’re cautiously optimistic. “I am afraid that if they re-re-open and then we have another blast of virus they shut us back down again,” said owner Alice Anderson. “It’s kind of a kind of a catch-22 being opened and nobody else is able to.”
Four other counties fall in the lowest risk category: Gilliam, Sherman, Wallowa and Wheeler counties. Of the 36 counties in Oregon, 21 land in the extreme risk category, leaving many businesses uncertain of the future while case numbers surge. “It’s like you can spend hours, days on the concept of how are we going to move forward and then boom, the next day it’s moot,” said Flug.
Madison McCuiston, of Klamath Falls, was crowned United States of America Miss Oregon at the state pageant last month and will travel the state advocating for military
veterans. McCuiston is a 2016 graduate of Triad School and attends Arizona State University where she studies graphic information technology and communications. She
won the title at the Oct. 18 pageant in Salem where she competed against women ages 18-28 in interview, swimsuit, evening gown and onstage question categories. She is a
small business owner, freelance graphic designer and a member of the Klamath County Veterans Council. McCuiston will compete in the USOA national pageant in San Antonio, Texas from Feb. 11 to 15.
Steve Ellis, who lived with his family in Lakeview for seven years when he was the
Bureau of Land Management’s Lakeview District Manager, is being touted as a possible
choice for the BLM’s national director. Ellis, 67, served as the BLM’s deputy director of
operations under the Obama Administration until retiring in 2016. He and his wife,
Linda, live in Beavercreek, six miles south of Oregon City. During his 38 years with the
BLM and Forest Service, he and his wife, who retired last June after 43 years in
medicine, and their three children — Jessica, Amanda and Cameron — lived in Lake
County from 1997 to 2004. All three graduated from Lakeview High School and were
involved in a range of school and community activities. President-elect Joe Biden’s
transition team has said the new administration plans to make major changes at the
Bureau of Land Management when Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20. Among the likely
expected changes is moving the bureau’s senior leadership from BLM’s new
headquarters in Grand Junction, Colo., back to Washington, D.C., a move Ellis has
vocally supported.
The Virtual Ugly Sweater Run opens 11/27 (and “runs” through 12/6). Register TODAY to take advantage of our Thankful Thursday discounted rates:
$15 per person (versus $20) or $40 per team up to 4 (versus $50). Kids 10 and under are free. Every registrant earns a raffle ticket for 1 of 9 prize baskets and teams earn 2 tickets! Extra tickets awarded for these bonus photos uploaded to the Facebook group Klamath Ugly Sweater Run:
(1) a photo with your Peoples’ bank race bib (download it here), #KFallsPeoplesBank
(2) a photo at the Ugly Sweater selfie station at Klamath Spine, Rehab & Sports Centre (2800 Crosby Ave), #KlamathSpine
(3) a photo at the Ugly Sweater selfie station at Klamath Falls Subaru & Klamath Falls Honda (2800 Washburn Ave., north side of the building), #KFallsSubaruHonda
- Use the button below to register.
- Join the Facebook group at Klamath Ugly Sweater Run to post your pics.
- Plot a 3.1-mile route at plotaroute.com.
Special thanks to Title Sponsor Klamath Falls Subaru and Klamath Falls Honda, Selfie Station Sponsor Klamath Spine Rehab and Sports Centre, Bib Sponsor People’s Bank. All proceeds benefit Friends of the Children.
Questions? Email uglysweater@friendsklamath.org.
Kassidy Kightlinger and JT Edmondson, Civil Engineering students at Oregon Tech,
have been selected as recipients of Douglas P. Daniels / Coral Sales Scholarships- scholarships established to help support Transportation engineering students at
universities in the Pacific Northwest, according to a news release. Coral Sales
Company of Portland awards two scholarships each year to outstanding individuals, one
male and one female, pursuing Civil Engineering at Oregon Tech. Students selected
must display outstanding leadership qualities and participation in extracurricular
activities, both civic as well as professional, and have lived in the Northwest (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana or Alaska) for a period of at least six years.
Prescribed burns are planned for various locations on the Modoc National Forest as
conditions allow within the safest possible burn windows and in coordination with other
Northern California Forests. Modoc National Forest Fire and Fuels personnel plan to
conduct prescribed fire activities, according to a news release. Prescribed fire, including
vegetation cutting, removal and burning of piles and low-intensity understory burning, is
an important tool for the Forest Service’s mission to reduce build-up of hazardous fuels,
restore forest ecosystems and improve safety of local communities. Fire managers
follow a risk-management approach when conducting these projects and mitigate to the
greatest extent possible the impacts to local communities, residences and
infrastructure. All prescribed fire plans describe the specific conditions under which
prescribed fires will be conducted including the weather, number of personnel and opportunities to minimize smoke impacts.
KLAMATH COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT —
The Klamath County Public Works Department announces
CONTINUED ROAD CLOSURES on the following:
Campbell Road (South Fork Sprague River Bridge) located
1.7 miles north of HWY 140
West Langell Valley Road (at the West Canal) located 7.4 miles east
of Harpold Road
Bridge closures remain in effect through Friday, December 4th
.
Emergency repairs are necessary to replace bridge structural
members.
For Campbell Road, motorist should use alternative routes including
but not limited to Forest Road 34 and/or Ivory Pine Road.
For West Langell Valley Road, motorist should use alternative routes
including Teare Lane and Cheese Factory Road/Gale Road
For additional questions or concerns, please contact Jeremy Morris,
Klamath County Public Works Director at 541-883-4696.
AROUND THE STATE of OREGON
A Talent man pleaded not guilty Friday to a murder charge stemming from the
shooting death of a Black teenager Nov. 23 in the parking lot of an Ashland hotel, the
Jackson County District Attorney’s office said. Robert Keegan, 47, pleaded not guilty
to four criminal counts at his arraignment, including second-degree murder, first-
degree manslaughter, reckless endangering and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Keegan is being held in custody without bail until his next court date Feb. 22, 2021, officials said.
Keegan is accused of shooting 19-year-old Aidan Ellison in the chest
and killing him in the parking lot of the hotel where they were both staying as guests.
Ashland and Phoenix police responded to reports of a shooting in the parking lot of
Stratford Inn at around 4:20 a.m. When officers arrived, they found Ellison dead with
a single gunshot wound to his chest. Keegan, who was still at the scene, was arrested and taken to Jackson County Jail, officials said.
The Coast Guard suspended its search Saturday for a man who presumably drowned
while crabbing in a bay on the northern Oregon Coast. Around 2:20 p.m. on Friday, the
Oregon State Police, Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office, Netarts Fire and Rescue, and
the U.S. Coast Guard responded to a small inflatable boat that had capsized at the
mouth of Netarts Bay. Preliminary investigation revealed that two people, Srun Hong,
53, and Lyda Hong, 41, had been crabbing when the boat capsized in the heavy surf.
Lyda Hong was recovered in the surf by a Coast Guard helicopter crew. She was
wearing a life jacket and was taken to a hospital where she was treated and released,
Oregon State Police said. Srun Hong, who was not wearing a life jacket, has not been
located and is presumed drowned.
Oregon hospital suspends nurse over ‘cavalier disregard’ for pandemic in TikTok video —
A hospital in Salem, Ore., announced over the weekend that it has suspended an oncology nurse after she posted a TikTok video that “displayed cavalier disregard for the seriousness of this pandemic and her indifference towards physical distancing and masking outside of work.”
Salem Health said that it had placed the nurse on administrative leave pending an investigation. A spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that the nurse’s name was Ashley Grames and that she worked in the oncology department.
“This video has prompted an outcry from concerned community members. We want to thank those of you who brought this to our attention and assure you that we are taking this very seriously,” Salem Health said in a statement, adding that “one careless statement” does not reflect the position of the hospital or the “hardworking and dedicated caregivers who work here.”
The Oregon Zoo Foundation Wine Club — A delicious new way to support the zoo while helping yourself to great Oregon wines. New wine club raises money for the Oregon Zoo when it needs it the most — Oregon wine labels sure feature a lot of animals and birds. So it is only fitting that Oregon wines return the favor in the Oregon Zoo’s new wine club.
The Oregon Zoo Foundation Wine Club ships red and white Oregon wines four times a year to its subscribers. 25% of the wine club sales go directly to the Oregon Zoo Foundation’s education, conservation and animal welfare programs. The wine club is managed by Bob Wolfe, owner of Specialty Wines NW and a veteran of the Oregon wine scene. Check the website out here: https://ozfwineclub.com