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, December 7, 2020
Klamath Basin Weather
Today’s Headlines
COVID-19 has claimed six more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 1,033 the Oregon Health Authority reported on Sunday. Oregon Health Authority reported 1,290 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of Sunday bringing the state total to 84,496.
The new cases are in the following counties: Baker (1), Benton (3), Clackamas (187), Clatsop (8), Columbia (12), Coos (10), Crook (6), Curry (4), Deschutes (63), Douglas (20), Harney (1), Hood River (17), Jackson (99), Jefferson (10), Josephine (7), Klamath (33), Lake (1), Lane (83), Lincoln (6), Linn (14), Malheur (12), Marion (218), Morrow (6), Multnomah (187), Polk (19), Tillamook (1), Umatilla (38), Union (3), Wasco (8), Washington (181), Yamhill (32)
As Oregon’s initial two-week “freeze” was extended in Klamath County on Thursday, local business owners are forced to make some decisions — with some deciding to temporarily shutter their doors.
Mia and Pia’s Pizzeria on Summer’s Lane in Klamath Falls is one such business planning to close on Saturday and lay off 20 employees, until it can safely reopen and provide employment for all of the eatery’s staff. Owners Rod and Jodi Kucera said on Thursday that while they made it work with relief funding in the spring, they don’t plan to receive aid that would help them stay open for outdoor dining and takeout meals this time around. The couple is not only planning to close temporarily, but may also consider selling their herd of 18 Angus cross cattle in order to get through the lean times.
However, at least one restaurant and two other businesses have remained open for usual business, including sit down dining. Casey’s Restaurant on S 6th Street has been serving customers indoors during Oregon’s two-week “freeze,” in violation of public health rules meant to stop the spread of COVID-19.
The diner is one of three Klamath Falls businesses, along with Red Zone Sports Bar and AMA Mini Mart, that are under OSHA investigation for public health violations. On Sunday, OSHA issued a “red warning notice” to Casey’s, which orders the employer to cease non-compliant activities. The violation cites on-site dining at Casey’s as a violation of the governor’s executive orders and for “exposing employees to (the) serious health hazard of COVID-19 virus.” OSHA applied a large red tag to the front of the business, which must remain on public display.
Normally Klamath County Public Health inspects businesses and enforces state health and safety laws. However, the Klamath County Board of Commissioners has instructed public health not to enforce COVID mandates beyond educational letters. Commissioner Kelley Minty Morris said the board believes that OSHA should be the agency enforcing COVID restrictions, not the county health department.
Meanwhile, the Klamath Tribes don’t have a legal obligation to follow Governor Kate Brown’s statewide COVID-related business closures.
But the tribes haven’t forgotten their history. Not unlike most tribes in the U.S., they experienced devastating disease outbreaks during colonization. Shortly after the arrival of fur trader Peter Skene Ogden to the Klamath Basin in 1826, a smallpox epidemic hit the Modoc people. Approximately 150 of them died, or as many as half their population according to historical estimates. Traditional medicine had been effective on ailments that naturally existed in their environment for thousands of years, but it was no match for an imported virus.
The Klamath Tribes’ response to the pandemic has differed from Klamath County’s, whose commissioners have advocated for keeping businesses open and, despite saying that residents should follow Centers for Disease Control guidelines like masking and physical distancing..
Health officials from Jackson County are reporting 86 new cases of the Coronavirus. This update brings the total reported COVID-19 cases in Jackson County to 4,288. Jackson County public health says right now there are 717 active cases.
As California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a new framework for county-specific stay-at-home orders, Siskiyou and Modoc Counties continued to see rising COVID-19 cases. The Northern California region of ICU beds, which includes both counties, had the lowest ICU availability as of December 3 (18.6%). In a statement that day, Modoc County Public Health Officer Edward P. Richert said projections show the region reaching 15% ICU availability by Saturday, meaning that a stay-at-home order will likely apply to both counties either this weekend or early next week. Both counties have the highest “purple” risk level, meaning cases are widespread.
As of Friday morning, Modoc County Health Services reported 164 total COVID-19 cases, 52 of which were active. Two people are currently hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported yet. Approximately 69% of cases in the county were located within the region that includes Alturas, with 11% attributed to the region including Newell and the eastern portion of Tulelake.
Unlike in Klamath County, where people ages 20-29 make up the largest share of total cases, 35-44 year-olds hold that title in Modoc County, followed closely by 65-74 year-olds.
Friday, the Klamath County School District announced to families via the KCSD & Me update – that students will not return to in-person learning until January 4, at the earliest.
Klamath Falls City Schools Superintendent Paul Hillyer also looks to follow suit He shared a letter with families thanking the Klamath County Board of Commissioners for granting KFCS $96,000 to purchase new technology to promote student learning to be used immediately.
A bald eagle hit by a truck on Friday, Dec. 4, is recovering at the Badger Run Wildlife Rehab in Klamath Falls and getting tons of attention from Facebook followers.
The bird, the largest eagle the nonprofit facility has treated in 15 years, has a 6.5-foot wingspan. The 11-pound bird was taken to East Ridge Animal Hospital in Klamath Falls where she was anesthetized in the carrier then given X-rays and examined by Dr. Marcie Keener.
The bird does not have fractures or internal injuries, but she does have low level-lead poisoning, possibly from lead from ammunition or fishing tackle that seeped into the food chain, says Burton.
Around the state of Oregon
Governor Kate Brown and state health officials held a press conference on Friday morning to discuss Oregon’s ongoing coronavirus response, giving a mix of grim and positive news.
According to Oregon Health Authority director Patrick Allen, Oregon saw 2,176 new cases of the virus on Friday — a new daily record that brings the state above 80,000 cases since the pandemic began. The last time Oregon saw less than 1,000 cases was on November 27, and November 17 before that.
Allen also reported 30 more deaths attributed to the virus, again a daily record. The newest fatalities bring Oregon’s death toll past the 1,000 mark. With cases spurred by Thanksgiving gatherings only beginning to appear, Allen warned that the surge continues unabated, and is only expected to get worse.
The coronavirus was likely circulating in Oregon in December 2019, weeks earlier than the first case was publicly identified in the United States and before any countries had officially declared the virus as contagious, according to a federal study.
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed nearly 7,400 blood samples collected across nine states by the American Red Cross between mid-December and mid-January. Of those, 106 showed antibodies for the virus, according to the study. More than 570 donor samples came from Oregon, with 11 containing antibodies to the virus, the study’s authors told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Those samples were collected Dec. 13 to Dec. 16. The first case in the U.S. was not confirmed until Jan. 20 in Washington. Oregon’s first case wasn’t identified until Feb. 28.
The Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division is asking for the public’s assistance with identifying the person(s) responsible for the unlawful taking of a buck deer in the White River Unit.
On Sunday, December 6, 2020 a citizen reported finding a fresh deer that had been dumped near a fence line off of Hwy 30 on United States Forest Service Property approximately 5 miles east of Mosier near Marsh Cut-off Road.
An Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Trooper responded and found a freshly killed buck deer with the antlers removed from the skull along with the hide, legs and a fresh gut pile.
Due to the condition of the head and gut pile left at the dump site it is believed that the buck was recently taken. It is estimated that the deer was killed sometime on December 5, 2020 or December 6, 2020.
Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to contact OSP Senior Trooper Justin Frazier through the Turn in Poachers (TIP) hotline at 1-800-452-7888 or *OSP (mobile).
Salem, OR—Registrations for Oregon’s Corporate Activity Tax have topped more than 19,000 in its first year. Through Thursday, 19,043 businesses had registered for the CAT, which was created by the Oregon Legislature in 2019 to raise funding for education.
The Department of Revenue opened registration through Revenue Online one year ago today, December 4, 2019, four weeks before the tax went into effect January 1, 2020.
The CAT is imposed on businesses for the privilege of doing business in Oregon. It applies to all types of business entities including those located inside and outside of Oregon.
The CAT is measured on a business’s commercial activity, the total amount a business realizes from transactions and activity in Oregon.
Once a business reaches $750,000 in Oregon commercial activity for the calendar year, it has 30 days in which to register for the CAT. Businesses with taxable commercial activity in excess of $1 million will have Corporate Activity Tax to pay. The tax is $250 plus 0.57% of commercial activity greater than $1 million after subtractions.
The CAT is a calendar year tax. Taxpayers expecting to owe $10,000 or more for 2020 must make estimated payments. Estimated payments for the fourth quarter will be due February 1. Returns are due April 15.
Training aids to assist with registration and making payments can be found on the CAT page of the agency’s website.
Taxpayers with general questions about the CAT can email cat.help.dor@oregon.gov or call 503-945-8005.
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 also can 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.