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, your local health and Medicare agents.
Friday, May 14, 2021
Klamath Basin Weather
Today Possible showers and thunderstorms after 12 noon with a high near 76. Overnight a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52.
Saturday Sunny, with a high near 79.
Sunday Sunny, with a high near 81.
Monday Sunny, with a high near 81.
Today’s Headlines
There are 14 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 2,572, the Oregon Health Authority reported today. Oregon Health Authority reported 733 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of today, bringing the state total to 193,732. Klamath County reported 23 new cases yesterday. The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 351, which is five more than yesterday. There are 88 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is the same as yesterday’s total.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (5), Benton (14), Clackamas (35), Clatsop (6), Columbia (10), Coos (7), Crook (16), Deschutes (80), Douglas (14), Harney (1), Hood River (1), Jackson (40), Jefferson (9), Josephine (11), Klamath (23), Lake (1), Lane (49), Lincoln (6), Linn (35), Malheur (4), Marion (60), Morrow (3), Multnomah (156), Polk (23), Tillamook (2), Umatilla (17), Wallowa (1), Wasco (3), Washington (94) and Yamhill (7).
The lines continue to be drawn in opposite directions regarding water rights in the Klamath Basin. In a press release yesterday, Klamath Water Users Association expressed grave disappointment with the announcement by the Bureau of Reclamation that no water is to be diverted at A Canal for irrigation in 2021. “The first water delivery from the A Canal was in 1907. This is the first year ever it will deliver zero water,” said Paul Simmons, Executive Director and Counsel for KWUA. A Canal, which diverts water from Upper Klamath Lake, normally provides water serving over 150,000 acres of productive farmland in Klamath County, Oregon and Modoc and Siskiyou Counties, California. Although there is enough water in Upper Klamath Lake to supply all irrigation needs, current federal agency management of the Klamath Project is driven by allocation to fish species protected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Klamath Tribes, also in a press release, say they take zero pleasure in Reclamation’s announcement this morning that there will be no water for flushing flows to mitigate disease risk for salmon in the Klamath River. The Klamath Tribes urge the Biden Administration to do all it can to begin laying the groundwork for honoring treaties with tribal nations up and down the Klamath Basin by emphasizing long term, sustainable practices. The release added this from the Tribes: “We also feel for the Klamath Project irrigators. “Our people have far too much experience with being cut-off from our means of subsistence, and we wish that pain on no one.” The Klamath Tribes urge the Biden Administration to do all it can to begin laying the groundwork for honoring treaties with tribal nations up and down the Klamath Basin by emphasizing long term, sustainable practices. KWUA says is working with the Biden Administration and Congressional delegations from both Oregon and California to secure funding to attempt to mitigate the harm. Currently, the Klamath Project Drought Response Agency (DRA) expects to have $15 million available, but that is far short of the need.
While Klamath County’s numbers are on the rise… Oregon’s average number of new COVID-19 cases is down for the second week in a row. The Oregon Health Authority reports the number of new cases is down 12-percent from the previous week. COVID-19 hospitalizations also declined from 272 to 245. The number of positive tests was six-point-one-percent. There were 31 deaths, which nearly doubled the previous week’s total.
The CDC cleared the way for fully vaccinated people to skip wearing masks indoors in uncrowded situations. The leader of Republicans in the Oregon Senate said the state should adjust its rules accordingly. Sen. Fred Girod, R-Lyons, pointed out that Oregon OSHA recently made rules requiring masks at work permanent. The agency plans to review the rule no later than July to determine if it is still necessary. “The Governor should immediately direct OSHA to update their permanent mask mandate to come in line with this guidance,” the GOP leader said in a statement Thursday.
Fires will be prohibited within a half mile from the Klamath River between the Keno Dam and the California/Oregon border starting May 15, except at designated campgrounds. The Bureau of Land Management made the announcement Thursday in conjunction with the start of fire season. The ban includes areas of the Klamath River Canyon within the Klamath Falls Field Office of the Lakeview District, Bureau of Land Management to prevent human caused fire and reduce wildfire potential. Fires are allowed at the designated campgrounds of Topsy, Klamath River and Turtle Camp. But outside of the campgrounds, the fire ban prohibits campfires, including charcoal briquettes. Portable cooking stoves using liquefied or bottled fuels are allowed.
Around the state of Oregon
Joining a growing list of both public and private Oregon colleges, Southern Oregon University announced Thursday that it will require students and staff be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to be on campus for the fall term. “With most of SOU’s courses returning to in-person for fall term, the implementation of a vaccination requirement is the best way to make our work and learning environment as safe as possible,” said SOU President Linda Schott. SOU said that university administrators made the decision following conversations with both student and employee groups. Guidance from Governor Brown’s office and the Oregon Health Authority also weighed into the decision, “as did the growing number of peer universities opting to require vaccinations.” Administrators noted that more than 200 colleges and universities across the U.S. have now announced a similar vaccination requirement. As with Oregon’s other public universities, SOU will be bound by state law to allow for exemptions to the requirement.
Sprint is paying Oregon one-point-six-million dollars for overcharging the Oregon Lifeline program. Lifeline helps low income Oregonians afford phone and internet service. In 2019, the Oregon Public Utility Commission found Sprint’s subsidiary Assurance Wireless was overcharging the Lifeline program for ineligible usage. A nationwide investigation found it was happening across the country, and the FCC recovered 368-million dollars from the company. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum says it sends a strong signal that waste and abuse of critical state subsidies won’t be tolerated.
The Oregon House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that bans the “gay panic” or “trans panic” defense and their ilk in criminal court proceedings, taking aim at a tactic traditionally used to deflect blame from a defendant accused of violent crimes onto the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity. House Democrats cited the Human Rights Campaign, which reported that 2020 was the “most violent year on record” for crimes against transgender and gender non-conforming people since it began tracking these crimes in 2013, with 44 recorded fatalities. A 2018 FBI report found an increase of more than 500 percent in reported in hate crimes against people who identify as transgender since 2013, Democrats said, the largest rate of growth in any category. Unlike an insanity defense, LGBTQ+ “panic” defense is not an accepted plea in U.S. law, but a strategy used by some defense teams in criminal cases to bolster other defenses and erode culpability for the crime.
Strawberries, asparagus, rhubarb, mushrooms, salad greens — along with bedding plants, flowering baskets, and fresh-cut flowers — are just a few favorites of Oregon’s agricultural bounty in late spring. But outside of the local farmers market, where can you buy these things directly from a farm or ranch? Oregon’s Bounty at OregonFB.org/oregonsbounty is a searchable directory of 260 family farms and ranches that sell food and foliage directly to the public. The website allows visitors to do keyword searches for specific agriculture products — such as blueberries, cucumbers, honey, or eggs — and/or search for farms within a specific region of the state. You can also get a free printed copy of the Oregon’s Bounty Farm Stand Guide by emailing a request with your mailing address to annemarie@oregonfb.org.