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.
Friday, April 2, 2021
Klamath Basin Weather
Today Mostly sunny, with a high near 71. Overnight, cloudy with a low around 36.
Saturday Mostly sunny, with a high near 69.
Sunday Mostly sunny, with a high near 65. Overnight, possible showers after 11pm. Snow level 7000 feet lowering to 5000 feet after midnight . Partly cloudy, with a low around 31.
Monday A slight chance of snow showers before 2pm, then a slight chance of rain showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 53. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Overnight, a chance of rain showers, mixing with snow after 8pm, then gradually ending. Widespread frost, mainly after 4am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 28.
Tuesday A slight chance of snow showers before 11am, then a slight chance of rain showers. Snow level rising to 5500 feet in the afternoon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 60. Overnight, mostly clear, with a low around 31.
Wednesday Widespread frost. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 61.
Today’s Headlines
The Klamath County Public Health Air Advisory is Green until noon today.
Klamath County Public Health officials have announced a new COVID-19 case in the county. It brings the county case count to 22, with 21 being active and one recovery. There have been 399 tests given in the county.
More testing kits are now in the county. Individuals who are not showing symptoms should not be tested. The kits should be used to determine a diagnosis for a person with symptoms. As more testing happens, more positive cases will be found. It is important to look at the number of people who have been hospitalized, only three, in relation to the overall total of 22.
Evidence is showing that people may contract the virus and have no symptoms. They may infect others without realizing it. This is why it is important to continue the practices of staying home, social or physical distancing of six feet, disinfecting surfaces, and frequent handwashing.
COVID-19 has claimed 4 more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 33. Oregon Health Authority also reported 49 new cases of COVID-19 bringing the state total to 1,181.
The new COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Clackamas (7), Clatsop (1), Deschutes (4), Klamath (1), Lane (1), Linn (1), Marion (6), Multnomah (15), Polk (2), Washington (11).
Oregon’s 4 deaths incoude an 83-year-old female in Marion County, a 98-year-old female in Marion County, a 71-year-old female in Marion County and a 91-year-old female in Washington County. All four victims had underlying medical conditions.
Sky Lakes Medical Center has acquired additional supplies allowing expanded COVID-19 testing capability starting yesterday. Tests will continue to be done at the Drive-Up Screening Site at the Sky Lakes Community Health Education Center, 2200 N. Eldorado Blvd.
Vehicles are to enter from the north driveway, and exit from the south driveway. Sky Lakes staff will gather essential information and collect the necessary samples. Testing is available for anyone who presents at the testing site.
A physician’s order is not required although patients are encouraged to call their provider prior to testing. Testing for COVID-19 is important so people can learn quickly if they are infected with the virus, and so doctors can test people with whom those patients came in contact. These steps will help slow the spread of the virus. The samples collected at the Sky Lakes site are analyzed at commercial labs.
Results are generally available in 3-5 days. A Sky Lakes or Cascades East primary care physician will contact the patient to go over the results.
This week, Klamath County received formal permission from Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s office to start scheduling COVID-19 vaccinations for individuals 16 and older with qualifying underlying health conditions, frontline workers who are face-to-face with the public, and people living in multi-generational households.
All eligible individuals can now schedule their first-dose shot appointments for a Saturday COVID-19 vaccination clinic by calling 1-833-606-4370 weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
COVID-19 vaccinations will be given at Sky Lakes Collaborative Health Center on the medical center campus. No walk-in slots or on-site appointments are available. Underlying health conditions that put people at increased risk include cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD, Down syndrome, heart conditions, obesity (BMI of 30 or greater), pregnancy, Type 2 diabetes, and sickle cell disease.
Also, people who are immunocompromised from organ transplant or HIV are at increased risk. Multi-generational households are those with three generations or more.
As school districts prepare thousands of grab-and-go meals for students learning at home, packaged foods and even plastic snack bags are becoming scarce. Fortunately for Klamath Falls City Schools Food Services, generosity is plentiful in Klamath Falls, whose community members and businesses have come forward to support this week’s distribution of 16,000 meals.
Organizing a week’s worth of breakfasts and lunches for each student presented another challenge. The community responded with Sherms Thunderbird, Holiday Market, Albertsons and Eastside Liquor donating large bags able to hold a full week’s meals in a single, easy-to-handle package.
While the state of Oregon is currently not recommending out-of-state residents visit the state for recreation due to the Governor’s Stay Home Save Lives order all watercraft entering Oregon are still required to be inspected at an aquatic invasive species station when the stations are open.
This includes commercial watercraft, which, will account for most of the inspections while the stay-at-home order remains in effect. Located throughout Oregon, stations are open if large orange “Boat Inspection Ahead” signs are posted on highways followed by “Inspection Required for All Watercraft.” Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife inspection stations in Ashland and Ontario are open year-round.
Seasonal stations open May 12th in Brookings, Klamath Falls, Lakeview and Umatilla. Inspections for aquatic invasive species typically take five to 10 minutes. ODFW staff working at the stations are taking necessary precautions to protect themselves and others against the spread of COVID-19 by wearing proper protective equipment and maintaining physical distance from others.
In response to projected water supplies that may be less than half of typical Klamath Project demand local water users have taken steps to incentivize management actions to stretch those available supplies. The Klamath Project Drought Response Agency is expected to open programs for enrollment on April 15.
Klamath Water Users Association has calculated the irrigation water supply available from Upper Klamath Lake – known as the “Project Supply” – likely to be available to the Klamath Project this year. This year’s Project Supply – estimated to be approximately 140,000 acre-feet – was calculated after receipt of the Natural Resources Conservation Service April 1 assessment of Upper Klamath Basin run-off for the irrigation season.
The east side of the Klamath Project, consisting of 30,000 acres in Langell Valley and Horsefly Irrigation Districts, relies exclusively on the Lost River system, including Clear Lake and Gerber Reservoirs. The east side should have a full supply available this year.
Around the state of Oregon
Vaccinations in Oregon
Today, OHA reported that 46,587 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry. Of this total, 29,262 doses were administered on March 31 and 17,325 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry on March 31.
Oregon has now administered a total of 941,850 first and second doses of Pfizer, 867,103 first and second doses of Moderna and 43,075 single doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.
The Bureau of Land Management Oregon/Washington sold a total of 48.8 million board feet of timber at auctions last month. The timber, located on Oregon and California Railroad Revested Lands across western Oregon sold for nearly $13.8 million.
According to BLM Oregon/Washington Acting State Director Jose Linares timber sales continue to support Oregon’s economy and well-paying jobs in local communities. These sales are also an important tool to accomplish our forest management objectives.
For every million board feet of timber harvested on BLM-administered lands in western Oregon an estimated 13 local jobs are created or maintained and $647,000 of non-Federal employment income is invested into local economies. One million board feet of timber is enough to build approximately 63 family homes.
The BLM’s forest management objectives include producing a sustained yield of timber, enhancing fish and wildlife habitat, restoring dry forest ecosystems, reducing wildfire hazard, maintaining road networks, and protecting water quality.
Fatal Traffic Accident in East Medford
On April 1st, 2021 at about 1359 hours, police and medical personnel were dispatched East McAndrews Road and Bonita Avenue for an injury accident. Two off duty nurses arrived on scene prior to any emergency personnel, and began rendering aid to one of the drivers, who had been ejected and suffered severe injuries.
Medford Medical personnel arrived and continued lifesaving efforts with the patent, who was transported to the hospital, where he later died.
The investigation revealed that a 1955 Chevrolet pick-up was traveling westbound on McAndrews Road when, for reasons unknown, crossed into the eastbound lanes. The pick-up clipped a 2020 Nissan Altima and then struck a 2007 Honda CRV head on. Both the Nissan and the Honda were traveling eastbound. The collision ejected the driver of the pick-up.
The 31 year old male driver of the Nissan was not injured. The 79 year old female driver of the Honda sustained non-life threatening injuries and was transported to the hospital.
The Serious Accident Reconstruction Team (STAR), as well as a member of the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office responded to assume the investigation.
The decedent’s identity is not being released at this time, pending notification of next of kin. — Medford Police Dept.
Ashland Receives Grant to Build Urban Campground for Homeless
The City of Ashland is looking ahead to the establishment of an urban campground for the homeless, similar to one currently operating in Medford, after receiving a $300,000 grant from the state of Oregon.
The City said in a statement that it is looking to partner with Rogue Retreat to develop and run an urban campground on the south end of the Rogue Valley. Rogue Retreat has a number of emergency shelter and transitional housing services in Medford and Grants Pass, and currently runs the Medford urban campground.
Ashland’s proposal would include also include Options for Helping Residents of Ashland for a “multi-pronged approach” — offering sheltering opportunities that are considered non-congregate and COVID-safe for both individuals and families. It would include the purchase of ten pre-fabricated pallet shelters, to be placed in a temporary regulated campground.
“The campground will utilize the coordinated entry and HMIS systems to identify and prioritize residents to be welcomed into the camp, as well as referrals from law enforcement and partner organizations, such as Option for Helping Residents of Ashland,” the City said. “Rogue Retreat will oversee the camp and utilize their existing case management model to connect campers to additional community resources and work toward transitioning them to more permanent housing.”
The City said that they have not yet found a location for the future urban campground, but they’ve been working with Rogue Retreat to vet possible locations, with the hope of locking one down in “the next couple of months.” It is expected to open in June.
Ashland received the grant from Oregon Housing and Community Services, sourced from CARES Act funding set aside for funding non-congregate shelter options that would be safer during the pandemic.
Department of Revenue Provides More Details About Tax Deadlines
The Department of Revenue today announced more details about tax filing information and postponements for individual tax filers.
The department today issued a Director’s Order that provides similar relief to the IRS. The following is a list of what is and what is not affected:
- Tax filing and payment due dates for individuals have been postponed from April 15, 2021 to May 17, 2021.
- Tax returns for which filing deadlines have been postponed include:
- Form OR-40, OR-40-N, and OR-40-P (Oregon Personal Income Tax Returns)
- Form OR-STI (Oregon Statewide Transit Individual Tax Return)
- Form OR-LTD and OR-TM (Transit Self-Employment Tax Returns)
- Taxpayers who haven’t filed their 2020 income tax returns, but expect to file by the May 17, 2021 deadline, only need to file and pay any tax due with their return by May 17. There’s no need for taxpayers to file any additional forms or contact DOR for this postponement.
- Taxpayers have until May 17, 2021 to contribute to an Individual Retirement Account, Health Savings Account, Archer Medical Savings Account, 529 College Savings Plan account, Achieving a Better Life Experience account, and/or a Coverdell education savings account for tax year 2020.
- Taxpayers unable to file their 2020 Oregon income tax return by May 17, 2021 can request an automatic extension to file their federal income tax return by May 17, 2021. Oregon will honor the federal automatic extension to October 15, 2021. However, an extension to file is not an extension to pay.
- Taxpayers who have filed their 2020 Oregon tax returns and owe unpaid taxes should pay the tax due by May 17, 2021. Otherwise, penalty and interest will begin to be charged after May 17, 2021 for any amount remaining unpaid.
- Oregon has not postponed the first-quarter income tax estimated tax payment due date for 2021. Estimated tax payments are still due April 15, 2021.
- The Director’s Order does postpone to May 17, 2021 the expiration to file a claim for credit or refund of Oregon personal tax, if the period would have expired on April 15, 2021 (for example, filing a claim for refund for tax year 2017).
- The due date for the first-quarter 2021 Oregon Quarterly Statewide Transit Tax Withholding return, Form OR-STT, and payments is not postponed and is still due April 30, 2021.
Most e-file software providers have indicated to DOR that they have the necessary software updates in place. Taxpayers who have not yet filed should check with their tax preparer or software provider if they have questions about the updates. More information about e-filing can be found on the agency’s website.
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. — Oregon Dept. of Revenue
Funding Reform in Foster Care Helps Shift Focus to Prevention
The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS), Child Welfare Division Family First Prevention Services plan, also referred to Title IV-E, was approved today by the Federal Children’s Bureau and allows the state to provide more supports and services to children and families before foster care becomes necessary.
The Oregon five-year plan outlines how the state will support families in crisis, by offering evidence-based programs for mental health, addiction and recovery, resources for pregnant and parenting teens, and residential treatment requirements.
The plan is aligned with the Child Welfare Division Vision for Transformation, which underscores that families in need of support should be served whole and together, when safely possible.
“We believe our communities are more healthy when families are able to safely stay together.,” said Child Welfare Director Rebecca Jones Gaston. “All children deserve to experience safe, stable, healthy lives and grow up in the care of a loving family and community. This plan offers us a fundamental tool in achieving our vision for transformation of Oregon’s child welfare system.”
The Family First Prevention Services Act was co-sponsored by Senator Ron Wyden and Senator Orrin Hatch and signed into law on February 9, 2018. It is the first major federal modernization of child welfare in 30 years. Oregon’s plan creates the basic operational foundation for the state’s prevention of foster care by allowing cost reimbursement for evidence-based services provided outside of foster care. Oregon is currently increasing its ability to offer these services and intends to amend the state plan as culturally-responsive services are approved by the federal government’s clearinghouse on evidence-based practices.?
“We appreciate the Children’s Bureau’s support of the transformation of Oregon’s Child Welfare System to a child well-being system under Director Jones Gaston’s leadership. We are excited and grateful for this opportunity,” remarked ODHS Director Fariborz Pakseresht.
In 2020, two foundational parts of the Family First Act were implemented in Oregon, the implementation of Oregon’s Kinship Navigator program, which connects relative caregivers for children in foster care with supports, and new regulations for Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTPs), which are residential treatment facilities for children in foster care.
The Family First workgroups have been intentional about including diverse voices since the passage of the act in 2018. The Implementation Team and workgroups, tasked with providing input and feedback on a variety of focal points (e.g., continuous quality improvement, policy and practice, and service array), reflect and include young people formerly in care, families touched by the system, providers, juvenile court, resource (foster) parents, Tribal Nations, and community members, along with cross-agency collaboration with ODHS and Oregon Health Authority staff.
“In order to serve Oregonians in a holistic way, we want all voices and perspectives at the table where we are making programmatic and policy decisions. This makes our plan responsive and an honest reflection of our community needs and wants as we build a stronger system,” expressed Director Jones Gaston.
This is a crucial first step toward Oregon’s goal of transforming to a prevention-oriented system. The initial phase of implementation that this plan describes includes modifications to the current system of service delivery and inclusion of new evidence-based prevention services as part of standard practice. Future steps toward transformation including structural changes to the service delivery system and additional improvement toward a comprehensive prevention service array. As Oregon begins its journey of transformation, the implementation of Family First will be an integral landmark on the road to ending racial disproportionality, utilizing values-based practice and intentional engagement, strengthening communities, serving children and families together in their homes, and utilizing data to improve best practice.
About the ODHS Child Welfare Division: The Oregon Department of Human Services, Child Welfare Division is committed to transforming itself to better support the individual needs of families and to best serve Oregon’s children and young people. Read the Child Welfare Division Vision for Transformation to learn more. — Oregon Department of Human Services
DHS Asks for Help Locating 2 Missing Albany Teens Who Are Believed To Be In Danger
The Oregon Department of Human Services is asking for the public’s help locating two missing teenage boys who are believed to be in danger.
Corban Cory, 14, and Jaxon Palm, 13, who are both in foster care, went missing from the Albany area on Tuesday.
DHS says Cory is suspected to be traveling to Grants Pass, while Palm may be traveling the areas of Toledo and Newport. DHS also says they may be traveling together.
Cory is 5 feet 8 inches tall, 160 pounds, with dark green/hazel eyes, and dark blonde, short hair. He has a bald spot on his head, and often wears beanies and hats.
Palm is 5 feet 5 inches tall, 155 pounds, with bright blue eyes, and red hair. He has freckles on his face and arms.
Anyone with information about Cory or Palm’s whereabouts is asked to call 911 or local law enforcement.
“A small number of children in foster care may be in significant danger when they run away or have gone missing. As ODHS works to do everything it can to find these missing children and ensure their safety, media alerts will be issued in some circumstances when it is determined necessary. Sometimes, in these situations, a child may go missing repeatedly, resulting in more than one media alert for the same child,” according to Oregon DHS.
Oregon DMV Officials Are Urging Anyone Looking To Travel By Air Later This Year To Apply For An Oregon Real ID.
The federally mandated travel document requirement was supposed to go into effect last October, but was delayed a year due to the pandemic.
We’ve got the details on how to get yours, as well as other options that will allow you to get on a plane this fall without hassle.
A year ago, Oregon DMV officials were scrambling to get a new computer system up to handle the influx of applicants for the Oregon Real ID.
Then the pandemic hit, and the October 2020 deadline was extended to Oct. 1, 2021.
“We did successfully implement our new computer system in July of 2020,” said DMV spokesman, David House. “And that new computer included the Real ID option in Oregon.”
House said a regular driver’s license will not get you on a plane through an airport TSA checkpoint after the fall deadline.
But there are other options.
A regular passport book or passport card will work just as well as the Oregon Real ID.
House recommends anyone who needs to have their regular driver’s license renewed before Oct. 1, apply for the Real ID instead.
“Go to Oregon. gov/real ID and find out what you’ll need to bring and then set an appointment at DMV,” he said. “And when you renew, make it a Real ID and use that to fly domestically.”
If your driver’s license is still good for another three or four years, House said look at the passport book and/or the passport card option to fulfill the Real ID requirement.
Be aware that a passport card is only good for domestic flights, not international travel.
House himself used that latter option because his license is good for another six years.
“I felt, well, I’d be better off renewing my passport and then also getting the passport card option with that,” he said. “And I carry that in my wallet — that’s really handy because it’s good for domestic flights and crossing the border into Canada or Mexico.”
Other options other than the Real ID include a military ID card, or a family military ID card, as well as other numerous federal ID options listed on this website.
Forty percent of Oregonians already have passports.
“But for the others, the biggest concern is for people who rarely travel and don’t plan to travel and then one day they get invited to a wedding across the country or, unfortunately, a funeral across the country,” House said.
To get the Oregon Real ID, you’ll need to present proof of citizenship, two proofs of your address in Oregon and you must apply in person, not online.
“We need to take a new photo — that’s part of the requirement — and we need an image that we keep for 10 years; again, that’s part of the federal requirement to qualify for REAL ID,” he said.
House said if you haven’t been to a DMV office in a while, prepare to wear a mask, socially distance and probably wait a bit longer.
Appointments to get the Real ID can be made online.
“People have had — they’ve got cabin fever,” House said. “They want to travel, they want to take that vacation they put off, and we’re all looking forward to the end of the pandemic.”
In addition to domestic travel, the Real ID can also be used to enter secure federal facilities.
Children under 18 do not need to have a Real ID or other documents for domestic flights, but are required to have a passport for international flights.
Another Gun Regulation Bill Is Headed For Legislative Debate And Vote
House Bill 2510, approved Tuesday by the House Health Care Committee, would require the storage of firearms with trigger or cable locks, in a locked container or in a gun room.
An offense is a Class C violation, which carries a maximum fine of $500, unless someone under age 18 obtains access, in which case it is a Class A violation with a maximum fine of $2,000. No jail time is imposed for violations.
The committee vote was 6-4. All Democrats voted for it, and all Republicans against it.
On March 25, the Oregon Senate voted 16-7 to approve a bill making state buildings — including the Capitol — off-limits to firearms carried by concealed-handgun licensees. Senate Bill 554, which went to the House, leaves it up to local governments to decide that question for their own buildings.
Oregon is among the states with no laws regulating gun storage, according to the pro-regulation Giffords Law Center. Laws in California and Washington apply to some aspects of storage.
When the House Health Care Committee heard the gun storage bill March 11, almost 400 pieces of testimony were submitted for and against House Bill 2510. Some people submitted more than one.
“We cannot gun-proof children,” Dr. Benjamin Hoffman, pediatrician at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital at Oregon Health & Science University, testified. “We must child-proof guns.”
Between 1999 and 2019, he said, Oregon averaged 3.5 deaths by firearms per 100,000 people, compared with the national average of 2.3 per 100,000. For youths under 19 during the period, he said Oregon averaged 6.3 deaths per 100,000, compared with the national average of 5 per 100,000.
“Gun violence is one of the leading causes of death for people my age,” Hope Williams, a volunteer with Students Demand Action in Oregon, said in a statement after the vote. “We want to feel safe at home and in our communities and that starts with securely storing firearms to prevent gun violence.”
Students Demand Action, together with Moms Demand Action, constitute Everytown for Gun Safety.
“Even in a pandemic, our communities are continuing to endure gun violence everyday,” Elizabeth Klein, a gun violence survivor and volunteer for the Oregon chapter of Moms Demand Action, said. “And, unintentional shootings and gun suicides have continued to rise over the past year. Secure storage is an effective and easy way to help prevent these tragedies.
But Oregon’s gun-rights advocates staunchly opposed the bill.
“This bill will subject hundreds of thousands of law-abiding citizens with potential criminal and civil liability overnight for actions that are perfectly legal today,” Paul Donheffner, legislative committee chairman for the Oregon Hunters Association, said in testimony to the committee.
Kevin Starrett is director of the Oregon Firearms Federation, which bills itself as a no-compromise group on gun rights. It even disparaged Republican lawmakers working on regulation of firearms sales at gun shows in 1999, a year after the group’s founding. The bill did not pass, but voters approved a related initiative measure in 2000 by a 62% majority.
Starrett had harsher words for lawmakers during his committee testimony.
“Gun owners in Oregon have been remarkably well-behaved,” he said. “But if you keep rewarding criminals and punishing the law-abiding, don’t expect them to stay that way.”
All Watercraft Entering Oregon are Still Required to be Inspected
While the state of Oregon is currently not recommending out-of-state residents visit the state for recreation due to the Governor’s Stay Home Save Lives order all watercraft entering Oregon are still required to be inspected at an aquatic invasive species station when the stations are open.
This includes commercial watercraft, which, will account for most of the inspections while the stay-at-home order remains in effect.
Located throughout Oregon, stations are open if large orange “Boat Inspection Ahead” signs are posted on highways followed by “Inspection Required for All Watercraft.”
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife inspection stations in Ashland and Ontario are open year-round. Seasonal stations open May 12th in Brookings, Klamath Falls, Lakeview and Umatilla. Inspections for aquatic invasive species typically take five to 10 minutes.
ODFW staff working at the stations are taking necessary precautions to protect themselves and others against the spread of COVID-19 by wearing proper protective equipment and maintaining physical distance from others.
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