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 18, 2021
Klamath Basin Weather
Today Snow possible before 1pm, then rain and snow between 1pm and 4pm, then rain after 4pm. High near 39. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. Overnight, some snow flurries with the snow level 4300 feet. Low around 32. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Friday A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Saturday A 20% chance of snow showers before 10am. Partly sunny, with a high near 41.
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
Sky Lakes Medical Center will host a special COVID-19 vaccination clinic Saturday for Klamath County residents 75 or older. The clinic will run 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the first floor of the Sky Lakes Collaborative Health Center on the medical center campus. Vaccinations are by appointment only and can be scheduled by calling 1-833-606-4370, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.
No walk-in slots or on-site appointments are available. Individuals who are 70 and older become eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations next week. Those 65 and older become eligible on Feb. 28, according to the Oregon Health Authority’s phased distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
There are six new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 2,143. Oregon Health Authority reported 473 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of yesterday, bringing the state total to 151,257.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (5), Benton (7), Clackamas (17), Clatsop (2), Columbia (3), Coos (10), Crook (2), Deschutes (50), Douglas (40), Grant (1), Harney (9), Hood River (6), Jackson (52), Jefferson (10), Josephine (13), Klamath (5), Lake (6), Lane (39), Lincoln (2), Linn (10), Malheur (15), Marion (25), Morrow (2), Multnomah (55), Polk (14), Tillamook (5), Umatilla (11), Union (8), Wallowa (2), Wasco (1), Washington (27) and Yamhill (19).
Six Josephine County individuals have died from complications this week, relating to COVID-19 infections according to the Department of Health there.
A 93-year-old woman tested positive for COVID-19 Dec. 10, 2020, and died Jan. 13 at a long-term care facility. A 92-year-old woman tested positive for COVID-19 Jan. 2 and died Jan. 16 at a long-term care facility. A 74-year-old man tested positive for COVID-19 Jan. 31, 2020, and died Jan. 10 at a long-term care facility. A 98-year-old man tested positive for COVID-19 Dec. 26, 2020, and died Jan. 7 at a long-term care facility. An 84-year-old man tested positive for COVID-19 Jan. 25 and died Feb. 12 at a long-term care facility. He had underlying conditions. A 69-year-old man tested positive for COVID-19 Dec. 28. 2020, and died Jan. 4 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center in Grants Pass. Josephine County now has a total of 50 COVID-19-related deaths. Of those patients, 49 died from complications relating to COVID-19 infections.
OHA reported that 15,790 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry. Oregon has now administered a cumulative total of 707,244 first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccines. To date, 922,300 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon.
Pelican Cinemas to Reopen
It has been months of dormancy for the Klamath Basin’s sole full-time movie theater, but with reduced COVID-19 restrictions film fans can finally rejoice with the reopening of Pelican Cinemas starting on Friday. Coming Attractions Theatres, an Ashland-based regional film company that owns theatres throughout the Pacific Northwest, intends to reopen the Klamath Falls-based Pelican Cinemas on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays to limited audiences in compliance with current COVID protocols. General admission ticket prices are being reduced to $7 for ages 12-and-up, while screenings are just $5 for ages 3-11. Additionally, select films each week will be selected for a special $5 “guest appreciation” rate. Contact tracing is conducted at the entrance and all guests are required to wear face coverings. Social distancing seating will be utilized in each theater with limited capacity.
Healthy Klamath recently received 3,000 reusable face masks in adult and youth sizes, which it has begun to share with individuals and organizations. The navy blue face masks are 3-layer, with an antimicrobial interlayer, and are machine washable. Recently, Klamath Basin Senior Citizens’ Center received 700 face masks from Healthy Klamath to distribute with their Meals on Wheels and food box program. In January, the Senior Center provided over 6,000 meals through their Meals on Wheels program, and provides on average 150 food boxes each month. Older adults — a group that is at an increased risk of having severe health outcomes if they contract COVID-19 — are a particularly vulnerable population. For more information, email to info@healthyklamath.org or visit www.healthyklamath.org. If you or your organization are interested in receiving Healthy Klamath face masks, email goes to BlueZonesProject@healthyklamath.org.
Klamath County Commissioners and Klamath Falls City Council both agreed to terms of an enterprise zone agreement for Wilsonart in which the company would pay $1.2 million in community service fees in exchange for tax abatement over the course of 15 years. Commissioner Derrick DeGroot told the board on Tuesday that Wilsonart had agreed to the same proposal that was before commissioners. That proposal came before both boards in their Tuesday meetings, where both councils expressed support. The proposal will likely come before the board and council again as a formal resolution in early March. Negotiations between the city, county and company began with misunderstandings over the total investment of the project and how much of the company’s taxes would be abated. The city and county’s initial proposal of $175,000 per year for 15 years was met with a letter from Wilsonart stating they were expecting to pay $50,000 per year in fees in lieu of taxes.
Public virtual forums for Klamath Falls City Schools Superintendent finalists have been rescheduled from this week to Thursday, Feb. 25, due to extreme weather and loss of power across the country. The forums have been rescheduled for finalists Keith Brown from 5:30-6:45 p.m., and from 7-8:15 p.m. for Jeff Bullock, both on Feb. 25. Both finalists are slated to tour the district in-person and meet for final interviews with the Klamath Falls City School Board that same week, according to Renee Clark, director of Human Resources for city schools. Brown is a retired superintendent from Texas, serving with the Taylor Independent School District from 2017 until January. He has a collective 16 years experience as a superintendent and also currently serves as president of KB Consulting, a private firm specializing in primary/secondary education, school district operations, and school law and finance, according to a previous story.
A western water conference that draws national speakers each year — and normally draws Basin irrigators to Reno for the weekend — is being held virtually today and Friday due to COVID precautions. The Family Farm Alliance conference, organized in part by Klamath Falls-based executive director Dan Keppen, is themed “A Bridge over Troubled Water” this year. The alliance advocates for irrigated agriculture in 17 western states, including in Oregon. This year’s speaker lineup includes, U.S. Senators John Barasso, a Wyoming Republican, and Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat, as well as U.S. Representatives Jim Costa (D-California) and Dan Newhouse (R-Washington). Tanya Trujillo, President Biden’s nominee for assistant secretary of water and science for the Department of Interior, will also speak at the conference. Trujillo, pending confirmation, will oversee the Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Geological Survey.
KFalls Essentials Lavender Farm won’t be blooming for the public this summer after owners Cliff and Diana Warrick experienced an onslaught of public comments protesting their application for a new zoning permit with Klamath County. Six households on Sunset Beach Road, the subdivision the Warricks’ property belonged to, submitted letters urging the Klamath County Planning Commission to deny the proposed permit, mainly citing concerns that the farm would bring too many visitors to the private residential neighborhood. Diana Warrick said the environment with her neighbors got so nasty that she and her husband sold their property and are moving to Arkansas to be with family. The lavender farm, from which the couple produces lavender products sold at various local businesses, was seeking a home occupation permit to be able to open to a small number of visitors for 12 days each summer when the plants are in bloom. They had received an economic development grant from the county to expand parking and set up a small shed to serve as a shop for their products and house small lavender product-making classes.
Around the state of Oregon
Nearly 150,000 customers remained without power Wednesday in and around Portland, Oregon, nearly a week after a massive snow and ice storm swept into the Pacific Northwest, taking out hundreds of miles of power lines as ice-laden trees toppled across the region. The damage wrought by the storm to the power system was the worst in 40 years, and more than 2,000 power lines — about 208 miles in total — were still down, said Maria Pope, CEO of Portland General Electric. At the peak of the storm, more than 350,000 customers in the greater Portland were without power, and 5,000 power lines and three substations were down. The storm came in three staggered waves starting Friday night, and customers were losing power faster than crews could restore it through the weekend, Pope said. More than 7,000 crews members from as far away as Montana and Nevada were helping to restore a power grid that could be down for at least several more days, authorities said. The Oregon Department of Human Services is reminding SNAP recipients they can request food replacement for food that had to be tossed due to power outages caused by the weekend’s winter storm. The department says it can replace food that’s unsafe to eat due to a power outage, home damage or other disaster. SNAP recipients must ask for replacement benefits within ten days of the loss.
Police in Clackamas County say four people died from carbon monoxide poisoning during the weekend’s winter storms. The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the deaths yesterday. Police aren’t releasing details yet on where the deaths occurred. The Oregon Poison Center says it received 19 calls for carbon monoxide exposure over the holiday weekend. Authorities are reminding residents you should never use kerosene or gas space heaters, a natural gas range or a camp stove to heat your home and should never run a generator indoors.
Severe weather is delaying COVID-19 vaccine shipments across the country. These weather-related issues may cause changes to daily number trends reported by OHA in its updates on the cumulative number of doses administered, the daily number of administered doses and the number of doses delivered to Oregon. OHA remains in regular contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to ensure Oregon doses are safe. The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 190, which is five fewer than yesterday. There are 44 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is seven fewer than yesterday.
On February 2, around 9:00 am, the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety (GPDPS) received a report of an unarmed robbery which occurred in the parking lot of Umpqua Bank, 117 NE F Street in Grants Pass. The suspect pushed the 73-year-old victim and stole money from his hand. Fortunately, the victim was not injured during this incident. Numerous officers responded to the scene but were unable to locate the suspect at that time. Later that morning, GPDPS received numerous reports of thefts from motor vehicles and burglaries which occurred on Scoville Rd and NE Scenic Dr. Several officers responded to investigate the crimes that occurred at five properties in the area. During the course of the investigation, it was determined the suspect unlawfully entered two residences, one outbuilding, and at least five vehicles, committing thefts at most locations. The suspect also stole a vehilce from one property, but abandoned it after getting it stuck. After reviewing surveillance videos and other evidence recovered from the crime scenes, officers discovered the suspect in the robbery was also responsible for the thefts and burglaries. The suspect was identifed as 39-year-old Michael Gemar-Rickards of Washington. On February 15, 2021, Gemar-Rickards was arrested by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) on unrelated charges. JCSO coordinated with the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety and when Gemar-Rickards was released from their custody on February 17, 2021, he was arrested by GPDPS and transported to the Josephine County Jail. Gemar-Rickards was lodged on multiple charges.
After a 2020 season curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival has adapted. The 2021 line-up, announced on Wednesday, reflects the sort of contingencies that come from successive years of wildfire smoke impacts and the ongoing impact of COVID-19 closures. This year, OSF has a range of options on offer — including the traditional live performances, new pieces tailored for digital viewing, and on-demand recordings of some classic shows. OSF’s live season has been shifted to Fall and will extend into January, though the organization cautioned that these performances will be subject to public health guidelines and restrictions that may linger.
ODOT: PDX, Mt. Hood: I-5 is closed overnight between Brooks and Aurora, milepost 263 to 282. The closure will be between 11 p.m. Thursday and 3 a.m. Friday while crews repair transmission lines and help restore power to Oregonians who lost power during the recent storm. All traffic will be detoured via OR 99E. Follow the detour signs, watch for crews at road closures, use caution in the area and expect delays.