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.
Tuesday, June 15, 2021
Klamath Basin Weather
Today Sunny, with a high near 71. Overnight mostly clear, with a low around 44.
Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 87.
Thursday Sunny, with a high near 91.
Friday Sunny, with a high near 94.
Saturday Sunny, with a high near 95.
Today’s Headlines
There are no new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, the state’s death toll remains at 2,730 the Oregon Health Authority reported today. Oregon Health Authority reported 127 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of today bringing the state total to 205,154.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (1), Benton (1), Clackamas (25), Clatsop (5), Columbia (2), Crook (2), Deschutes (9), Douglas (12), Grant (1), Harney (9), Josephine (3), Lane (5), Linn (13), Morrow (2), Multnomah (30), Union (1), Washington (3), Yamhill (3).
Oregon has now administered 2,382,590 first and second doses of Pfizer,1,674,408 first and second doses of Moderna and 156,692 single doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.
As of today, 2,323,460 people have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 2,038,610 have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series. The number of adult Oregonians needing vaccinations to reach the 70% threshold is 71,522. A daily countdown can be found on the OHA vaccinations page.
To date, 2,881,575 doses of Pfizer, 2,195,420 doses of Moderna and 299,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines have been delivered to sites across Oregon.
As Oregon counts down the days until Gov. Kate Brown lifts coronavirus restrictions, one of the state’s top health officials said Friday it’s highly unlikely mask requirements would return even in the event of outbreaks in counties with low vaccination rates.
Brown has pledged to lift mask requirements in all but a few situations when 70% of Oregonians 18 and older are at least partially vaccinated, which is projected to happen later this month.
Dr. Dean Sidelinger, Oregon’s epidemiologist and health officer, said he doubts the Oregon Health Authority would recommend reinstituting mask requirements and other COVID-19 safety precautions down the road. Some counties with a history of significant coronavirus spread now have vaccination rates as low as 35% among those 16 and older. Sidelinger acknowledged that even if the governor continued to mandate masks for unvaccinated people, it might not do any good.
The issue of masks has often been divisive throughout the pandemic and, while shown to be effective at reducing transmission, has remained a flashpoint for some.
Crater Lake National Park officials are bracing for possibly record-breaking visitation this summer.
Last year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, record numbers of visitors were recorded in July, August and December. That could spell problems for visitors and result in delays in entering the park and, once in, finding parking near Rim Village. In addition, several park facilities, including visitor centers in Munson Valley and Rim Village, will remain closed this season.
At present, only limited ranger programs, such as Junior Ranger activities, campfire programs and ranger guided walks, are scheduled. Definitely cancelled, however, are lake boat tours and Crater Lake Trolley tours.
The Steel Visitor Center at park headquarters will be closed for a two-year renovation project, with visitor services moved to a temporary facility in Mazama Village near the park’s south entrance.
The Klamath County School District shuttered both Bonanza school buildings on Monday after an apparent act of vandalism over the weekend, officials confirm.
Bonanza Junior & Senior High School administrators posted on Facebook about the school closure Sunday night, saying that the facilities would remain closed “due to unforeseen circumstances” until further notice.
KCSD officials confirmed Monday that several youth entered Bonanza Elementary School and the High School around 6 p.m. on Sunday, discharging fire extinguishers inside. The resulting damage and mess caused officials to close the schools.
Summer school classes were scheduled to begin Monday, but KCSD said that they were canceled so that staff can work on clean-up. According to KCSD, the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the vandalism. It was not immediately clear whether the youth responsible have yet been identified.
The Earl and Jane Ferguson Scholarship Fund of Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) announced today that it has awarded $5,000 in scholarships to five Klamath County students to support their academic and career goals.
The recipients are Karla Hernandez-Maya, graduating from Lost River Jr./Sr. High School; Elli Smith, graduating from Henley High School; Kayden Kappas, graduating from Mazama High School ; Nora Schaeffer, graduating from Eagle Ridge High and Yatnary Villaneuva, graduating from Henley High School.
Oregon Community Foundation puts donated money to work in Oregon — more than $100 million in grants and scholarships annually. Since 1973, OCF grantmaking, research, advocacy and community-advised solutions have helped individuals, families, businesses, and organizations create charitable funds to improve lives for all Oregonians.
Around the state of Oregon
Oregon lawmakers will consider a proposal to pay essential workers who stayed on the job through the pandemic up to $2,000 in new stimulus payments and a separate $1,200 payment to unemployed Oregonians who return to work in frontline jobs by fall.
Labor leaders and some Democratic lawmakers have been pushing to use money from the latest federal stimulus bill to reward essential workers for their work during COVID-19. The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that Congress approved in March authorizes states to spend some of their stimulus money to reward essential workers and get others back on the job. Oregon received $2.6 billion in all.
A proposal being circulated Friday by SEIU Local 503, the largest union representing Oregon state employees, would use $450 million of the state’s share of that stimulus money for the essential worker bonus and the back-to-work incentive.
A Josephine County individual has died from complications relating to a COVID-19 infection.
A 63-year-old man tested positive for COVID-19 May 23 and died June 10 at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford. He had underlying conditions. Josephine County now has a total of 76 COVID-19-related deaths. Of those patients, 75 died from complications relating to COVID-19 infections.
Jackson County (SAR) personnel are assisting the San Antonio (Texas) Police Department in attempting to locate a man reported missing out of Texas.
Kirk E. Jones, 35, has black hair with a widow’s peak, and a scar over his right eyebrow and chin. He has a slim build, standing 6’3″ and weighing approx. 210 lbs.
He was last seen wearing a red t-shirt, black motorcycle jacket and jeans. Kirk was riding a black 2017 Yamaha motorcycle and has a custom helmet with a green octopus design. he was last seen in Texas on June 3rd. His motorcycle was found in the Sky Lakes Wilderness Boundary East of Prospect, Ore. If you have contact with this missing person in Southern Oregon or have any information, please call Sergeant Shawn Richards at 541-591-1843 or through Dispatch at 541-776-7206.
The Britt Music & Arts Festival on Monday revealed the first few artists of the 2021 summer concert series.
Organizers announced early this month that concerts would return after a year upended by the coronavirus pandemic.
In the first of two scheduled announcements, Britt said that the concert series will feature classic blues-rockers ZZ Top, Britt fan favorites Pink Martini featuring China Forbes, and the “Empress of Soul,” Gladys Knight. Other artists announced in the line-up include modern bluegrass-inspired Trampled By Turtles, bluesman Keb’ Mo’ and Band, alternative pop band Fitz & the Tantrums, a night of reggae with the Good Vibes Summer Tour 2021: Rebelution + Special Guests, and classic rockers Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo.
The remainder of the 2021 line-up is expected July 14, preceded by a Britt Festival Orchestra announcement on June 25. A special series of six free Britt Festival Orchestra concerts has already been announced: Brush: Music in the Woodlands, a commissioned piece by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, Caroline Shaw, that will be performed along the Jacksonville Woodlands Trail system above the Britt Pavilion.
Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. on Monday, June 28. Britt members can purchase presale tickets this week.
The Oregon Department of Justice says it is looking for input from communities impacted by inequity in an effort to improve services and access to justice for crime victims and survivors.
This third annual “Community Conversations” series consists of 21 online listening sessions focusing on the experiences of different communities in Oregon. Survivors and advocates have said that there are a lack of providers that can offer culturally responsive services to diverse communities.
In 2020, Oregon began offering “Victims of Crime Act” grants to community-based organizations. At present, those grants amount to more than $5 million between 12 different recipient organizations. The 2020 Community Conversations series drew more than 1,000 participants, Rosenblum’s office said. That input was summarized in a report, “Opening Pathways to Justice and Improving Support for Communities Impacted by Inequity,” and state officials pledged to follow up on a number of action items identified by survivors and advocates.
In response to that feedback, Survivor Services has started a training program for leadership of all victim services programs funded by the state DOJ. The wider department has also removed Social Security Number questions from forms used to process services claims, created a new diversity and equity subcommittee, and is still exploring other improvements to its programs for victims and survivors. The Community Conversations series will also include updates on Oregon’s recently-overhauled hate crime statutes.
According to the latest update from the US Drought Monitor, there is no corner in Oregon that is not being touched by drought of some level.
The US Drought Monitor’s report was released on Thursday, though it is dated June 8. Where previous weeks showed some areas of northeastern Oregon to be dry, but not in drought — “abnormally dry,” by the Drought Monitor’s terminology — those areas are now gone. According to the National Drought Mitigation Center, the drought in Oregon is shaping up to be the most severe since 2015. The conditions bring increased concern as Oregon enters wildfire season.
Conditions are worst in central and south-central Oregon, where multiple counties are either under extreme or exceptional drought. Klamath and Lake counties bear the brunt of these dry conditions, sharing most of the state’s exceptional drought status. Jackson County is evenly split between severe and extreme drought.