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.
Thursday, May 27, 2021
Klamath Basin Weather
Today Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. Overnight low of 37 degrees.
Friday Sunny, with a high near 75.
Saturday Mostly sunny, with a high near 80.
Sunday Sunny, with a high near 83.
Monday, Memorial Day Sunny, with a high near 87.
Today’s Headlines
A two-count indictment was unsealed today charging a former Klamath Falls, Oregon police officer for stealing methamphetamine and fentanyl from an evidence room.
Thomas Dwayne Reif, 27, has been charged with two counts of possessing a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception, or subterfuge. According to the indictment, on or about November 27, 2020, Reif is alleged to have entered the Klamath Falls Police Department’s temporary evidence room using an unauthorized key and removed an evidence item containing methamphetamine and fentanyl.
Reif briefly left the evidence room before returning the evidence item to the evidence locker and leaving the facility. Shortly thereafter, Reif overdosed while operating his police car. The car jumped a median, travelled into oncoming traffic, and caused a multiple-vehicle accident. Reif was rushed to the hospital and successfully revived by medical personnel.
Toxicology reports showed that Reif was under the influence of substances including methamphetamine and fentanyl. Investigators searched the personal locker assigned to Reif at the Klamath Falls Police Department. Inside the locker, investigators found that Reif had concealed an evidence bag containing methamphetamine. Reif made his initial appearance in federal court today before a U.S. Magistrate Judge. He was arraigned, pleaded not guilty, and released pending a jury trial scheduled to begin on August 3, 2021.
If convicted, Reif faces a maximum sentence of four years in federal prison, one year of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.
There are 11 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 2,639, the Oregon Health Authority reported today. Oregon Health Authority reported 399 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of today, bringing the state total to 199,784.
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 273, which is one fewer than yesterday. There are 77 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is two more than yesterday. Klamath County reported 9 new cases.
Twenty years after a shut-off of most irrigation water in the parched Klamath Project brought the competing needs of farmers, fishermen and tribes to a head, a new drought — and a fresh federally ordered water shut-off — is triggering a sense of déjà vu.
Now, two Klamath Project irrigators with ties to radical activist Ammon Bundy have purchased private property located next to the headgates of the “A” Canal in Klamath Falls, which would normally deliver water to area farms. And along with local members of the Oregon chapter of People’s Rights, a group founded by Bundy in 2020, they’ve set up an information center and gathering place to talk to the public about the brewing water crisis in the Klamath Basin.
The headgates are essentially like a massive spigot that controls the flow of water stored in Upper Klamath Lake and releases it to farms and ranches via a network of canal ditches throughout the Klamath Reclamation Project.
In 2001, after most irrigation water was cut off to protect endangered fish, thousands of demonstrators formed a symbolic “bucket brigade,” passing buckets of water from Lake Ewauna and emptying them into the “A” Canal that runs through Klamath Falls. Another gathering is planned at the tent today, Thursday, May 27.
In the past 6 months Klamath County Fire District 1 has seen 5 of its long time members retire.
Deputy Chief Hitchcock said, “The District has a daunting uphill climb while we try to recover from the loss of more than 100 combined years of experience, commitment and tribal knowledge. Although their contributions will never be forgotten, their daily presence will be missed.”
Those that retired in clued: Captain Randy Simonson – 26 Years of Service Captain Helge McGee– 25 Years of Service Captain Glen Johnson – 20 Years of Service Firefighter Leon Spiesschaert – 19 Years of Service and Firefighter Frank Nelson – 11 Years of Service.
A bill introduced by two Republican state lawmakers passed and has now been signed into law by Governor Kate Brown, declaring May 22 to be “Crater Lake National Park Day”.
HB 3162 was introduced by Representative E. Werner Reschke of Klamath Falls, along with his colleague Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson of Prineville. The bill aims to give Crater Lake National Park its own official day, 119 years after the territory was set aside by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1902.
Crater Lake is now located in Klamath County, but it was formed by an eruption on Mount Mazama 7,700 years ago. Reschke’s office said that local Native Americans witnessed the collapse of Mount Mazama and kept the event alive in their legends.
Today Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. and ninth deepest in the world. Some 750,000 people from around the world visit Crater Lake National Park every year.
A relay race has been organized for Saturday, June 26 to raise funds for the David R. Kingsley Foundation, according to a Running Y Ranch Resort news release.
The event is intended for single-person, three-member or five-person teams in a friendly competition across a course encompassing much of the Running Y Ranch Resort across trails and hills starting at the Moore Park trailhead and ending at the Running Y Ranch Resort Convention Center, from 8-11 a.m. on June 26.
Registration costs are $35 per person, with a $5 discount per person if signing up as a team. Registrants will also receive a shirt if registered by May 30. Lunch will also be available for purchase on-site.
Race packets will be available June 18-25, and the day of the race at the Running Y sports Center. Participants may sign-up online at www.acgtive.com (search DRK), in-person at the Running Y Sports & Fitness Center, or via email at mindys@runningy.com.
Proceeds from the event will be donated to the David R. Kingsley Foundation, which has been helping members of the Klamath Community who have suffered through hardship due to loss, criminal actions, or disasters since 1999. The foundation has a strong local presence, and the majority of the board members are all full time military personnel at Kingsley Field.
Around the state of Oregon
Republicans in the Oregon House of Representatives have signed onto a letter urging Governor Kate Brown to drop the state’s “vaccine passport” policy, saying that the state should be aligned with mask guidance in Washington and California.
House Republican Leader Christine Drazan, who penned her own letter critical of the policy last week, was first to sign onto the new letter. Southern Oregon Representatives Kim Wallan, Lily Morgan, E. Werner Reschke, and David Brock Smith also signed their names. Though the House Republicans say that Oregon should be aligning itself with Washington and California, officials in those two states have carved two very different paths in response to the CDC guidance for fully vaccinated people.
Meanwhile, Jackson County’s Board of Commissioners resolved in a Tuesday work session to send Governor Kate Brown a letter decrying the latest Oregon Health Authority guidance concerning vaccination status checks at businesses that want to loosen restrictions for fully vaccinated people. Meeting via Zoom on Tuesday, the Board went through a draft version of the letter to discuss the language.
OHA’s guidance, prompted by new recommendations from the CDC, allows businesses to relax mask and physical distancing requirements for people who are fully vaccinated, but only if the businesses check and confirm the person’s vaccination status by looking at a completed card or similar proof.
Businesses unwilling or unable to do the required status checks are free to continue with the existing mask and distancing requirements as before, according to the OHA.
Memorial Day Weekend Comes with Higher Fire Risk
The first holiday getaway of the season is finally here as families and friends look forward to Oregon’s great outdoors. AAA reports that about 485,000 Oregonians plan to travel over the Memorial Day weekend, a big increase from 2020.
Also up will be fire danger. As people head to their favorite camping spot this weekend, fire professionals are spreading a word of caution with temperatures expected to be near 90 degrees.
“It’s time for everyone to put their Smokey hat on,” said Oregon Department of Forestry’s Fire Prevention Coordinator Tom Fields. “The continued drought and unseasonably warm weather we’re facing could lead to unintentional wildfires.”
Fields says that ODF firefighters have already been busy this year with 267 fires burning over 1,900 acres, more than twice the 10-year average for number of fires. Fire crews on patrol have also extinguished about a dozen abandoned campfires.
“The last thing anyone wants is to have their holiday weekend ruined by not putting out their campfire.” Fields reiterated that people should follow well-known fire prevention tips listed below.
- Know before you go: Before going camping, always contact the forest district, agency or landowner first to learn if there are any current campfire restrictions where you plan to recreate.
- Have water and fire tools on site: Bring a shovel and a bucket of water to extinguish any escaped embers. When you are ready to leave, drown all embers with water, stir the coals, and drown again. Repeat these steps until the fire is DEAD out. If it is too hot to touch, it is too hot to leave.
- Select the right spot: Where campfires are allowed, choose a site with an existing ring. Fire pits in established campgrounds are the best spots. If you choose to build a campfire, avoid building it near your tent, structures, vehicles, shrubs or trees, and be aware of low-hanging branches overhead. Clear the site down to bare soil, at least five feet on all sides, and circle it with rocks. Store unused firewood a good distance from the fire.
- Keep your campfire small: A campfire is less likely to escape control if it is kept small. A large fire may cast hot embers long distances. Add firewood in small amounts as existing material is consumed.
- Attend your campfire at all times: A campfire left unattended for even a few minutes can grow into a costly, damaging wildfire. Stay with your campfire from start to finish until it is dead out, as required by law. That ensures any escaped sparks or embers can be extinguished quickly.
- Consider alternatives to a campfire this summer: Portable camp stoves are a safer option to campfires at any time of year. Areas that prohibit campfires outside maintained campgrounds with established fire pits often allow camp stoves.
- Never use gasoline or other accelerants: Don’t use flammable or combustible liquids, such as gasoline, propane or lighter fluid, to start or increase your campfire.
- Burn ONLY local wood: Hauling your firewood to a remote campground can potentially transport invasive species. Instead, buy it where you’ll burn it or gather wood on site where permitted. State regulations prohibit the open burning of any other material that creates dense, toxic smoke or noxious odors.
Escaped campfires can be costly. State and federal law require the proper clearing, building, attending and extinguishing of open fires at any time of year. While citations and fines may apply, the biggest potential cost for an escaped campfire is firefighting costs. These can range from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars or more.
May is Wildfire Awareness Month. Visit www.keeporegongreen.org for more wildfire prevention tips and see Smokey Bear at https://www.smokeybear.com/en. —– Oregon Dept. of Forestry
Mitch Greenlick may achieve in death what he was unable to do during his 17 years in the Oregon House. A vote in the House cleared the way for Oregon voters to decide in November 2022 whether health care should be considered a right in the Oregon Constitution.
The House passed Senate Joint Resolution 12 on a 34-23 vote along party lines on Wednesday. The resolution does not require the governor’s signature. Greenlick, a Democrat from Portland, was in his ninth and final term when he died a year ago at age 85. Oregon’s uninsured adults are estimated at 6% of the population. Most children are now covered. House Republican Leader Christine Drazan of Canby said passage of the constitutional amendment could compel legislators to put health care spending ahead of other programs.
The University of Oregon has revealed award-winning actor and former Duck Ty Burrell to be its 2021 keynote speaker at the June 12 commencement ceremony. Burrell is most famous for his 11-season run as Phil Dunphy on ABC’s hit show, “Modern Family”. The Grants Pass native grew up rooting for the Ducks with his family before attending the university in the late 1980s, studying theater. In an alumni newsletter in 2015, he credited the university for being the place he discovered he wanted to be an actor.
Burrell and his wife continue to support the UO through the Ty and Holly Burrell Scholarship in the Department of Theatre Arts. He has also been spotted many times attending football games at Autzen Stadium.
Oregon, the first state to conduct all elections by mail, would join the ranks of states accepting ballots postmarked by election day under a bill that has cleared the Oregon House.
House Bill 3291 was approved on a 39-21 vote Monday, May 24, and goes to the Senate. The bill would align Oregon with 17 states — including Washington, California and Nevada — that allow ballots to count if they are postmarked by election day. Four other states count ballots if they are postmarked the day before the election.
Oregon is among the states that have required ballots to be in the hands of county elections offices by the close of election day. Under the bill, ballots would have to arrive in county elections offices no later than seven days after the election if they are to count. States that allow election-day postmarks range widely from three to 20 days.
Both chambers of the Oregon legislature have now approved a bill that will ban the online sale of nicotine e-cigarettes and vaping products, sending it to Governor Kate Brown for her signature.
House Bill 2261 bans all online sales of tobacco or nicotine-related vaping products. It does not apply to marijuana vape devices. Representatives in the House passed the bill with broad bipartisan support in April. Supporters of the bill say that it will cut down on the availability of e-cigarettes for Oregon’s youth, “closing loopholes” that made it easier for underage Oregonians to buy the products.
Oregon banned the online sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in 2017, and the new bill adds vaping products to the list.
Property Owners Have Until June 7 To Submit The Necessary Form For State Debris Clean-Up Following The Almeda Fire
State managed clean-up crews are in the final stretch of debris removal after the Almeda Fire, and Jackson County officials are putting out one last call for property owners to turn in the required form so that crews can work on their property before the effort ends.
Oregon’s Debris Management Task Force can provide no-cost debris removal for all homes and properties in the eight counties impacted by the September 2020 wildfires, but property owners must sign a Right of Entry (ROE) form to allow crews onto their property. The deadline to submit an ROE form is June 7 for the Almeda Fire.
Crews will remove ash and structural debris, hazard trees, concrete foundations, and burned vehicles at no charge to the homeowner. When the clean-up is finished, the property will be cleared for rebuilding.
“We had initially identified a 6-18-month timeline for completion of cleanup in the Almeda Fire area but through our partnerships between the state, Jackson County, and the cities of Talent and Phoenix, we have made significant strides in approaching completion closer to the 6-month mark,” said John Vial, director of the Jackson County Emergency Operations Center. “Now we want to make sure that any property owner who wants to participate in the no cost program does not miss their chance.”
So far, crews with the Task Force have finished clean-up of more than 1,400 home sites in the Almeda Fire area, representing roughly 80 percent of all properties currently enrolled.
To submit your Right of Entry form and for more information:
- Visit wildfire.oregon.gov/cleanup or
- Call the wildfire debris cleanup hotline: 503-934-1700.
Selma Man Sentenced To More Than 6 Years In Prison For Deadly DUII Crash
A Selma man has been sentenced to more than six years in prison on Tuesday after pleading guilty to charges arising from a deadly crash on Redwood Highway in August of 2019.
David Leon Ramsh pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the Second Degree, Assault in the Third Degree – DUII, and Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants.
Ramsh was sentenced to 75 months concurrently by judge Brandon Thueson at the Josephine County Circuit Court.
Ramsh was driving on U.S. 199 in Josephine County on August 4, 2019, when he crossed the lane divider into oncoming traffic, killing 54-year-old Guy Fetty of Gold Hill, and injuring Fetty’s wife Anna. According to court records, Ramsh was under the influence of methamphetamine when he was driving.
Ramsh was airlifted to the hospital. Two passengers in his car, 31-year-old Amber Gaylord of Glendale, and 29-year-old Kali Ramsh of Grants Pass, were taken by ground ambulance.
“Your actions took away our rock. You took away Guy’s chance to watch his family grow. You took away the best part of our lives, our time, and you almost killed me as well. I saw it . . . it’s a miracle I survived,” said Anna Fetty during the sentencing hearing. Guy Fetty left behind his wife, 13 children and 10 grandchildren.