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.
Thursday, February 4, 2021
Klamath Basin Weather
Thursday Sunny, with a high near 41. Partly cloudy overnight with a low around 21.
Friday Sunny, with a high near 46.
Saturday Sunny, with a high near 47.
Sunday Mostly sunny, with a high near 48.
See Road Camera Views:
Lake of the Woods
Doak Mtn.
Hiway 97 at Chemult
Hiway 140 at Bly
Hiway 97 at GreenSprings Dr.
Hiway 97 at LaPine
Today’s Headlines
Klamath County Public Health officials reported eight new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. The local case count is 2,667. This week’s total is 29. The reporting week runs from Sunday through Saturday.
Oregon reports 649 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 10 new deaths
There are 10 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 1,991, the Oregon Health Authority reported today.
Oregon Health Authority reported 649 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 144,605.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (5), Benton (32), Clackamas (40), Clatsop (5), Columbia (1), Coos (16), Crook (7), Curry (1), Deschutes (20), Douglas (19), Harney (4), Hood River (1), Jackson (41), Jefferson (7), Josephine (22), Klamath (8), Lake (2), Lane (91), Lincoln (8), Linn (21), Malheur (5), Marion (66), Morrow (1), Multnomah (57), Polk (26), Umatilla (31), Union (7), Wallowa (3), Wasco (4), Washington (62) and Yamhill (40).
Today, OHA reported that 17,720 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry.
Of this total, 12,173 doses were administered on Feb. 2 and 5,547 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry on Feb. 2. Oregon has now administered a cumulative total of 471,966 first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccines. To date, 706,575 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon.
Sky Lakes Medical Center has received a limited number of COVID-19 vaccine doses this week.
They will be holding a special vaccine clinic for Klamath County residents 80 and older on Saturday, February 6th from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the first floor of the Collaborative Health Center, located at 2821 Daggett Ave. on the Sky Lakes Campus.
Vaccine will be available by appointment only (there will be no walk in slots available). If you are in this age group and wish to schedule an appointment, please call our COVID-19 Vaccine Call Center at 1-833-606-4370.
The Call Center will be open Wednesday, February 3rd, from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. the rest of the week.
They continue to schedule appointments for those in phases 1a and 1b for other dates and times, and will have additional dates available for seniors as vaccine is available.
Klamath Tribal Health and Family Services on Tuesday hosted its first large-scale COVID-19 vaccine clinic for Klamath Tribal members older than 18, their spouses and tribal employees.
Tribal health staff hosted the clinic at the Tribes’ community center in Chiloquin and were able to administer all 200 of the Moderna doses they had acquired for the event. Because Native Americans tend to exhibit the underlying conditions that complicate COVID-19 at higher rates than most other demographics, members of native tribes have been prioritized for vaccinations in most states.
And being sovereign governments, they have discretion over how to distribute their allocated doses.
Numerous accidents clogged Klamath County roads Wednesday morning as winter weather snarled traffic. Highway 97 was closed about eight miles north of Klamath Falls for more than an hour, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation.
As of 12:30 p.m, the highway reopened to travel in both directions. Though 140 West had chain restrictions, as did 97 and 58, with much heavier amounts, just over 2 inches fell near Klamath Falls Wednesday morning.
A man suspected of stealing a vehicle fled from deputies Monday afternoon in Klamath Falls and was arrested hours later in Malin.
Matthew Carlton Drake, Jr., was arrested Monday evening and is currently in the Klamath County Jail on charges of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, attempting to elude and ten outstanding warrants.
According to the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded about 3:30 p.m. to a call of a stolen vehicle spotted on Keller Drive, near Highway 39 in Klamath Falls. Deputies attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver did not pull over. Deputies, along with officers from Malin Police Department, pursued. The pursuit was called off at one point, due to potential danger to the public.
Then at 5:30 p.m., Malin officers again located the vehicle and its driver, Drake Jr., and took him into custody.
Henley Elementary School kindergarten students are receiving 30 new bikes as part of the All Kids Bike physical education program thanks to a substantial donation from Country Financial.
The All Kids Bike project is an effort started by the Strider Education Foundation to equip elementary schools nationwide with bicycles along with curriculum to teach young students how to ride them. Both Henley and Shasta elementary schools applied for the program about a month ago, and as a result of a $4,000 donation by Country Financial representatives Cora Christ, Gary Cheyne, and Tom Keller, Henley has now successfully raised the needed $5,700.
Shasta Elementary still needs around $1,200. Country Financial made the donation as part of their Operation Helping Heroes initiative, which provides funding for first responders, nurses, and teachers. In this case, they decided to help the All Kids Bike project at Henley.
A winter star party will be offered by the Klamath County Museum Saturday, Feb. 6 on Lower Lake Road south of Klamath Falls. Telescopes will be set up for viewing from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
“We’re looking forward to getting views of some beautiful constellations that can only be seen in winter,” said museum manager Todd Kepple.
“The weather forecast looks promising for a cool but clear weekend.”
The museum will provide a warming station inside a hay barn at the farm. Telescopes will be provided by amateur astronomers from the Klamath Basin. Popular wintertime objects to be seen the Orion nebula, the Pleiades, and Sirius, the brightest star in earth’s night sky. Participants are encouraged to bring binoculars to learn how to spot interesting objects without a telescope. Anyone who would like to request help with setting up their personal telescope is welcome to come at 5 p.m. to receive assistance.
Ross Ragland Teen Theater Program brings you PUFFS…a big of magic and a lot of fun!
February, 5th at 6:00pm $10 Suggested Donation
The New York Times proclaims PUFFS, “A FAST-PACED ROMP through the ‘Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic.’ For POTTER-heads’ who grew up alongside Potter and are eager to revisit that world, ‘PUFFS’ exudes a jovial, winking fondness for all things Harry!”
This clever and inventive play “never goes more than a minute without a laugh” (Nerdist) giving you a new look at a familiar adventure from the perspective of three potential heroes just trying to make it through a magic school that proves to be very dangerous for children. Alongside them are the Puffs, a group of well-meaning, loyal outsiders with a thing for badgers “who are so lovable and relatable, you’ll leave the theater wishing they were in the stories all along” (Hollywood Life). Their “hilariously heartfelt!” (Metro) and epic journey takes the classic story to new places and reimagines what a boy wizard hero can be.
The cast and crew consist of over a dozen local teens from multiple high schools throughout the basin! The cast is looking forward to their performance and showing off their hard work and dedication to this production.
Directed by: Heidi Neill . Call 541-884-LIVE to reserve tickets.
Around the state of Oregon
A temporary homeless shelter opened this week at the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem.
The Pavilion at the fairgrounds can house 100 people and has been largely unused after the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancelation of events, The Statesman Journal reported.
An undetermined number of people also will be able to use the adjacent parking lot as a safe vehicle camping spot. The temporary shelter is partly being paid for by the City of Salem, which allocated $733,000 in November for homeless shelters, and the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency. The shelter is being run by Church at the Park, a Salem Leadership Foundation program that also provides homeless services at a city park. Church at the Park will have five staff members operating the shelter 24/7, and security will be provided.
Face masks are now required in US national parks when visitors can’t maintain physical distance and in all National Park Service buildings to help protect against the spread of coronavirus.
The National Park Service mask requirement for all employees and visitors was announced by the Department of Interior in a news release Tuesday afternoon. The new policy requires mask wearing in NPS buildings and facilities and on park lands when social distancing can’t be maintained, “including narrow or busy trails, overlooks and historic homes,” the announcement said.
The National Park System manages 423 parks covering more than 85 million acres, including national battlefields, memorials and monuments as well as the 63 headliner National Parks that include Grand Canyon National Park and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Parks throughout the system have had closures and adjustments because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The NPS urges visitors to check park websites for operational changes before visiting. Yosemite National Park, for example, will begin requiring reservations to drive into the California park starting on February 8. That means visitors hoping to spot the late February sunset phenomenon at Horsetail Fall known as Firefall will have to book early.
On January 29, 2021, officers with the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety (GPDPS) received a report of a sex offense involving the 60-year-old suspect, Jay Reese, and a 17-year-old female victim.
The juvenile reported she met Reese at Wal-Mart on January 28, 2021. From there, Reese took the victim to lunch and then to his residence. The juvenile stayed with Reese overnight and, during that time, Reese is alleged to have subjected the victim to sexual contact without her consent.
Tuesday, GPDPS detectives arrested Reese and lodged him at the Josephine County Jail on the listed charges. This case is still under investigation and additional charges may be pending.
Due to the nature of this case, there is concern there may be other victims. Over the past several years, Reese has been associated with various school district sports programs in Oregon and Northern California. If anyone has any information about this or a similar case, please contact Det Heather Yerrick at 541-450-6260, case #21-4447.
Oregon OSHA has fined a Springfield restaurant more than $9,000 for two violations of restrictions designed to protect people from the coronavirus disease.
In one of the violations, Along Came Trudy Restaurant willfully continued to potentially expose workers to the virus despite a public health order limiting the capacity for indoor dining to zero in an “extreme risk” county.
The total fine of $9,215 is the result of an inspection launched in response to multiple complaints about Along Came Trudy. The inspection was completed and the citation was issued despite attempts to thwart the process, including armed people standing outside the business who threatened regulatory agencies and their staff members.
Oregon OSHA cited two violations of the division’s temporary rule to address COVID-19 risks in the workplace.
Oregon’s Project Turnkey Reaches Milestone: $4.2 Million Grant Aids First Motel Purchase to Shelter Community Members Displaced and Impacted by Wildfires
Options for Helping Residents of Ashland (OHRA) Leverages State Funds to Transform Ashland Motel into New OHRA Center
Ashland, Ore. – February 4, 2021 – Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) today announced that Options for Helping Residents of Ashland (OHRA) has been selected to receive the first Project Turnkey grant of $4.2 million in state funds to purchase and transform an Ashland motel into the new OHRA Center – a resource center and facility to safely shelter community members negatively impacted by wildfires and COVID-19 pandemic.
In November 2020, the Oregon Legislature’s Emergency Board allocated $65 million in state funding to purchase financially distressed motels across the state to deliver safe shelter in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and wildfires. These properties may ultimately be converted into long-term housing. OCF is administering the funds and convening a statewide community advisory committee to select qualified applicants to ‘Project Turnkey.’
“Last year’s wildfires were devastating. Many survivors lost everything,” Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney said. “The Emergency Board stepped in with funding. That was just the first step. Now this project will give them a place to stay. I am happy to see Project Turnkey hard at work.”
The new OHRA Center will provide stable shelter to Ashland area community members who have been negatively impacted by wildfires. Those in greatest need, including people with disabilities, veterans and people who are currently unhoused and unemployed, will be given priority assistance by OHRA.
“The opportunity to acquire a Project Turnkey facility is a game changer for our work with homeless individuals and families, including those displaced by the September 2020 wildfire,” said Oregon State Representative Pam Marsh, District 5 – Southern Jackson County. “For far too long our shelter providers have had to scramble to find a place for people to come in from the cold. Now we have a permanent location in the community that will serve as a base to help individuals regain their footing. I am thrilled — and deeply grateful.”
The number of people seeking services through OHRA ballooned from 20-25 to 60-90 people per day over the last year. “There is a huge need for the new OHRA Center, given the triple impact of wildfires, economic impact from Covid-19 and the shortage of affordable housing in the great Ashland area,” said Michelle Arellano, executive director of OHRA. “We’re ecstatic to be able to meet this demand and make a difference in our broader community.”
Arellano cited a few of the key benefits of the new OHRA Center:
- Capacity for more staff to help more people move from crisis to stability.
- A host of services, including a Job Match program, which includes mentorship and coaching unemployed persons.
- Healthier, safer accommodation of 20-30 additional people versus the current OHRA shelter, which can only accommodate a maximum of 44 people in a common room. The new building will offer greater safety to guests as they will have individual rooms, where communicative diseases are less likely to spread.
Located at 2350 Ashland Street in Ashland, Oregon, the new OHRA Center anticipates limited use beginning in March 2021, when it plans to open up a block of rooms to the most vulnerable community members. OHRA has work to do to remodel parts of the building, including installing an ADA accessible elevator and converting some rooms to offices.
OCF has been studying Oregon’s dual crises of homelessness and affordable housing for two years, beginning with research commissioned from ECONorthwest, “Homelessness in Oregon” which provided statewide analysis of the disproportionately large homeless population in Oregon. When funds became available from the state for this project, OCF convened a diverse statewide advisory committee to create an equitable review process of applicants. Working with urgency, and with counsel from real estate development experts, the selection committee has condensed a complicated real estate transaction into a 6-8-week process.
“Each property under consideration is unique to the community and requires a level of due diligence, such as: zoning regulations, support from the community, how many shelter beds already exist in the area, connections to referral services, to name a few,” said Megan Loeb, OCF Program Officer. “The Project Turnkey Advisory Committee enthusiastically supported the funding of OHRA, as the first of many applicants to successfully conclude the due diligence process and be a place that the community can champion and support for years to come.”
Today the Oregon Employment Department and the Oregon Law Center announced they have submitted a proposed settlement in a class action lawsuit. The suit, filed by fourteen Oregonians who waited weeks or months for unemployment benefits, sought to resolve issues related to timeliness challenges and language barriers faced by Oregonians filing for unemployment benefits through the Employment Department.
Both parties wish to avoid unnecessary litigation and instead work together to improve the Employment Department’s timeliness in serving unemployed Oregonians.
“I am pleased that we are one step closer to finalizing this settlement,” said Oregon Employment Department Acting Director David Gerstenfeld. “Our priority has always been to serve Oregonians in need, and to pay everyone the benefits they are eligible for as quickly as we can. We have made significant headway since the onset of the pandemic, improving our communication with claimants, offering more services and resources in languages other than English, processing claims more quickly, and closing in on our backlog. We are committed to doing right by the Oregonians relying on us, reaching the goals set forth in the proposed settlement, and being transparent about our progress along the way.”
Lisa Exterovich, a single mother who lost work because of the pandemic, is one of the named petitioners. “After I lost my job, I applied for unemployment. I waited months for benefits to begin without knowing what was happening — I couldn’t pay rent, and I really worried about how it would affect my daughter and I. I decided to join the lawsuit to be an advocate for myself and other people with similar stories.” Ms. Exterovich supports the settlement because “the Employment Department is committing to paying people benefits more quickly, working to improve communications with those seeking benefits, and providing assistance to people who don’t speak English.”
As part of the settlement, the Employment Department has committed to meeting certain timeliness targets and providing services to Oregonians with limited English proficiency (LEP). In addition to increasing staffing and training so as to process UI, PUA, and other claims more quickly, and expanding service options for LEP individuals, the Employment Department has agreed to:
- Meet federal timeliness targets for paying benefits, by March 1, 2021, and for adjudicating claims, by April 1, 2021;
- Completely work through all claims in adjudication as of mid-January, by March 1, 2021;
- Address long wait times for people who have had to restart their claims;
- Improve phone access and access to benefit applications for LEP individuals, and;
- Allow eligible LEP individual who were unable to apply for unemployment benefits due to language barriers to backdate their claims to the extent the law allows and create an action plan to address this issue.
On Wednesday, February 3, 2021 at approximately 8:30 A.M., Oregon State Police Troopers and emergency personnel responded to a two vehicle collision on Hwy 6 near milepost 37.
Preliminary investigation revealed a Ford F150, operated by Jerry Jefferies (73) of Tillamook, was westbound when it lost control on icy roads, crossed into the eastbound lane, and collided with a Peterbuilt log truck operated by Jacob Douglas (61) of Tillamook.
Jefferies sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased.
Douglas was not injured.
Salem, Ore. – The next NFL champion will be crowned when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs square off Sunday, Feb. 7 and the Oregon Lottery’s sports betting game, Scoreboard, offers players a chance to have some fun during the Big Game.
For Sunday’s game, Scoreboard players have hundreds of bets options to choose from to help them get into the game! Whether it’s who wins the coin toss or if an offensive lineman will score a touchdown, Scoreboard’s “prop bets” add a little fun to the game. Here are just some of the Scoreboard prop bets for the Big Game:
– What color will the liquid be that is dumped on the winning coach?
– Was the result of the coin toss heads or tails?
– Which quarterback throws for more most passing yards?
– Who will be the game’s MVP?
– Will defenses hold up for a scoreless quarter?
– Will the winning team end the game by taking a knee (Victory formation)?
Oregon Lottery Scoreboard debuted in Oct. 2019 and since that time, nearly $300 million has been wagered. According to the Lottery’s Sports Betting Products Manager Kerry Hemphill, since Scoreboard launched, over 10 million bets have been placed with 78,000 registered players.
“We are thrilled that Oregon sports fans have embraced the game,” said Hemphill. “January 2021 was Scoreboard’s best month ever with over 1 million bets totaling nearly $35 million in wagers. With a year under our belt, Scoreboard is better than ever, and more capable of handling the high volume of wagers during major events.”
To play Oregon Lottery Scoreboard or for more about the game, go to https://sports.oregonlottery.org/sports/
Another top Oregon leader is calling for the resignation of Democratic State Representative Diego Hernandez amid allegations he engaged in sexual harassment on the job. State Treasurer Tobias Reed issued a statement yesterday saying an investigation into the allegations has uncovered behavior that is unacceptable. Reed added it’s time for Hernandez to resign. Hernandez submitted written testimony in a hearing before the House Committee on Conduct saying he takes responsibility for his actions. However, he also claimed the investigation process was flawed and that the report was misleading.
Portland, OR — The Oregon Historical Society (OHS) is excited to announce that Boston College professor Heather Cox Richardson will join its popular “Historians and the News” series on Monday, February 15. This virtual program series, which has previously hosted historians Erika Lee, Joanne Freeman, and Kevin Kruse, provides a space for some of the nation’s most renowned historians to discuss their insights about current events, informed by years of scholarly analysis of the past.
This virtual program will take place at 5pm PT via Zoom; attendees can register in advance at https://orhs.ejoinme.org/HCR. For those who are unable to attend the event in real time, OHS will email registrants a link to access the recording, which will be available for 30 days following the live program.
Each featured historian is joined by Oregon State University professor and Oregon Historical Society trustee Christopher McKnight Nichols, who worked with OHS staff members to develop this program as a way to support the Society throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. As historians who rely on archival institutions like OHS to do their research, all series participants have graciously donated their time to develop this program to sustain the Oregon Historical Society’s important work. While there is no cost to register, attendees are invited to make a donation in support of the OHS Pandemic Survival Fund to help replace revenue the Society has lost throughout the pandemic.
“We are thrilled by how this series has taken off, which further underscores the powerful importance of understanding the historical dimensions of our greatest challenges today,” said Christopher Nichols. “I am especially delighted,” he remarked, “that after the momentous events of the 2020 election, the storming of the U.S. Capitol, in the midst of the pandemic and now confronted with impeachment, we have Professor Heather Cox Richardson joining us. She is one of the most renowned and accomplished historians of U.S. political history, and her insights will help us all better understand the extraordinary events of the recent past and maybe even assist us in charting a better path forward into the future.”