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, April 8, 2022
Klamath Basin Weather
Today Mostly sunny, with a high near 62. Light west northwest wind increasing to 9 to 14 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph. Overnight, mostly clearn with a low around 25.
Saturday Sunny, with a high near 51. North northwest wind 8 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Overnight low near 24.
Sunday Mostly sunny, with a high near 48. West northwest wind 7 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Overnight a slight chance of snow between 11pm and 2am, then a slight chance of snow showers after 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Monday Snow likely, mainly after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 43. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible. Mostly cloudy overnight, with a low around 24.
Tuesday A slight chance of snow after 11am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 47.
Wednesday A chance of rain and snow. Partly sunny, with a high near 50.
Today’s Headlines
America is aging and so is Klamath County. According to Jonathan Vespa, a demographer with the U.S. Census Bureau, “by 2034, there will be 77 million people 65 years and older compared to 76.5 million under the age of 18.”
This trend is already happening in Klamath County. The US Census Bureau estimates from July 1, 2021, show that 21.7% of Klamath County residents were over 65 while 21.5% were under the age of 18.
As people age, life often becomes harder. It’s not as easy to change a light bulb, weed a garden, make a meal, or go about daily life. According to the Administration for Community Living, “someone turning age 65 today has almost a 70% chance of needing some type of long-term care services and supports in their remaining years.”
The new Oregon Department of Human Services Klamath Falls trauma-informed building is opening to serve the public in April.
This new building at 355 Timbermill Drive in TimberMill Shores, near Lake Ewauna, will house the Aging and People with Disabilities, Child Welfare, Self-Sufficiency and Vocational Rehabilitation programs, as well as several community partners such as the Klamath Tribes and Klamath County Developmental Disability Services.
The Self-Sufficiency and Aging and People with Disabilities programs will be open for business Monday, April 11. Child Welfare will open Monday, April 25. Vocational Rehabilitation will open Monday, May 2.
An opening ceremony is planned for Thursday, May 12, 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the new building. Speakers include: a member of the Klamath tribes, local and state elected officials, the Director and the Chief Administrative Officer of the Oregon Department of Human Services.
The building allows for the consolidation of all these programs making it easier for people needing services to get them all in one place. This also means that people needing their eligibility verified for medical, food, cash, long-term care services and supports and child care assistance can be helped all in one place. This can help people access needed benefits quicker and easier.
The location was designed with a trauma informed lens. The entire building, furnishings, colors, local artwork, including art from the Klamath Tribes, creates a trauma-informed design. This means it will be a physical environment that promotes a sense of safety and calm for children and families, visitors and our staff.
The Klamath County Chamber of Commerce will host a forum April 13 for Republican candidates of Oregon governor.
The forum will be held at Oregon Tech. The event starts at 6 p.m. and is free to the public. Doors open at 5 p.m.
The chamber said six GOP gubernatorial candidates have confirmed their attendance so far. There are 19 Republican candidates on the May 17 primary ballot.
Bob Tiernan, Brandon Merrit, Christine Drazen, Jessica Gomez, Marc Theilman and Nick Hess have confirmed so far for the event which is being organized by the local chamber’s government affairs committee.
Joe Spendolini will be the forum’s moderator, which is also sponsored by the Herald and News. This forum is for GOP candidates. The chamber is looking to schedule a forum for Democratic candidates for governor as well as. for Klamath County Commissioner candidates.
Benjamin Lee Buehler of Klamath Falls, 35, who in 2016 was honored as a National Father of the Year by the National Fathers and Families Coalition of America, was one of five men arrested in a months-long undercover operation to identify suspects victimizing children online and for attempting to meet and have sex with juveniles in Jackson County.
The Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team (SOCET) joint inter-agency task force made the arrests Friday and Saturday.
The first arrest came at 4 p.m. Friday, when Buehler traveled to Medford to meet with a juvenile to have sex, according to a news release from the Jackson Co. Sheriff’s Office.
Buehler communicated with the child that he planned to have sex, then drove from Klamath Falls to meet. SOCET contacted Buehler as he was attempting to meet the child.
Buehler is charged with first-degree online sexual corruption of a child, and luring a minor. He was lodged in the Jackson County Jail.
Buehler, a veteran of the U.S. Army who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, attended the 2016 National Fathers and Families Conference in Los Angeles, where he was honored. According to a story in the Herald and News, Buehler was a single father of five children and was presented his award by retired Major General (Hawk) Hawkings and James Rodriguez, the president of the NFFCA. Two of Buehler’s children were in the Klamath Family Head Start program.
Also arrested in the undercover operation were: Justin Eldridge, 39, of Montague, Calif.; Jack Owrey, 59, of Crooked River Ranch; William Henry Trapnell, 72, of Warren; and Leonard Allen Weedman, 63, of Gold Hill.
Klamath Health Partnership will be opening a new health center in downtown Klamath Falls in late spring or early summer.
The Pine Street Clinic will help KHP meet community needs for primary care, behavioral health, patient resources, x-ray, and new to KHP — physical therapy.
The center will be located at the corner of 4th and Pine streets, in the old Klamath Valley Hospital building Subsequent phases will add dental services, other specialty services, and a pharmacy for KHP patients.
Klamath Falls has found itself in a pharmacy desert in recent months and the addition of this pharmacy will hopefully provide needed relief.
KHP provides services to more than 11,000 patients living in the communities of Malin, Merrill, Bonanza, Bly, Beatty, Tulelake, Dorris, Chiloquin, Klamath Falls and everywhere in between. KHP is the only Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in the basin.
Kit Carson Park in Klamath Falls will be named Eulalona Park after the former indigenous village in the Klamath Basin.
The Klamath Falls City Council approved the name change at its April 4 meeting. The council voted 4-0 to pick Eulalona over three other finalists — Sunshine Park, Discovery Park and Yadenite Park. The latter is a unique strain and sometimes glossy type of rocks and stones found in the Klamath basin.
A local trailhead is also named Eulalona. The council voted in January to rename Kit Carson Park.
Carson was a 19th century frontiersman, fur trapper and U.S. Army officer who led battles against Native American tribes and expeditions through Oregon and other Western states.
One of the driest of the dry. Even though heavy snow fell Monday, near record snowfall and snow pack are being recorded at Crater Lake National Park this season, but not in the way drought-stricken people in Southern Oregon want to see.
As of Monday morning, 42 inches of snow was measured at park headquarters in Munson Valley, well below the average 116 inches and only 36 percent of the historical average. Likewise, the snow year total measured from October 1 was 290 inches, again well below the average of 420 inches.
Park records also indicate the average yearly snowfall has continued to decline.
Twenty years ago the average winter snowfall, as measured from October 1 through June, was 534 inches. In recent years, the average has dropped to 507 inches a season. Precipitation, which measures rain and melted snow, for the season is 37 inches, again well below the 52-inch average. During one 30-day stretch, no precipitation was measured.
The 2021-22 winter season has produced other surprises. Heavy snowfall in December had the snowpack at 150 percent of average, giving hope for a long, snowy season.
Along with benefiting winter recreationalists, a strong snowpack and spring melting snow charge water levels for rivers and streams that feed Upper Klamath Lake, the Klamath River and other tributaries.
A benefit run for the David R. Kingsley Foundation will be held at the Running Y Ranch on June 4. The benefit, which started as a triathlon 23 years ago at the YMCA, moved up to Lake of the Woods where it grew to a huge event.
Choosing to move it closer to the Klamath Basin, it was brought back to the Running Y Ranch. The DRK is a foundation based at the Kingsley Airbase which supports families in the basin in need due to unforeseen financial crisis. The event starts at 8 a.m.
Event details: 5K– and 6-mile runs, can be run as a single or up to 3-person relay. No age limit, entire route is on Running Y property, safe for the whole family. All paved path, some hills.
Keno Elementary School fourth-grader Abbi Brown is the regional and statewide winner of the 2022 Character Counts essay and drawing contest.
The Character Counts essay contest, an annual event hosted by the National Association for Family and Community Education (NAFCE), is designed to help students learn about six pillars of character — citizenship, trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, and caring. Each year, NAFCE chooses (via a rotation) one pillar to showcase for the nationwide contest.
This year the selected pillar is fairness. Students create a drawing and then write an essay that explains their drawing and why the selected pillar is important. Several students in Shelley Rosser’s Keno Elementary fourth-grade class participated this year.
Rosser marketed it to students as an extra credit assignment. Brown won the statewide contest after submitting her work to local and state judges.
With her first place victory, Brown will receive two $100 Visa gift cards, one for her first-place finish in the local contest, and one for her first-place finish in the state contest. Her work also will be entered in NAFCE’s national competition. The winner of the national contest wins a $250 Visa gift card.
April is Earth Month, a celebration of sustainability and learning how citizens can make the world a better place.
In preparation for Earth Day on April 22, there is a unique opportunity happening in downtown Klamath Falls to celebrate regional environmental efforts.
Klamath Film, a 501c3 nonprofit that seeks to inspire and support film through programming, education, and outreach, will host a night of environmental documentaries screened at the Favell Museum, on Thursday, April 21, from 7-9 p.m.
The program will include three short films covering tribal and water issues, along with a feature-length film by an Oregon water and conservation production group. The first film will be an award-winning short by Shane Anderson on the impacts on the Klamath River dams on local tribes, “Guardians of the River.” The film was prominently featured at the 2021 Klamath Independent Film Festival, where it won the Best Southern Short Film award.
The next film, “Bring the Salmon Home,” is a sibling project to the first film, highlighting tribal activism and the importance of salmon to indigenous people and their historical significance. Additionally, filmmaker Michelle Alvarado, also a veteran of the Klamath Independent Film Festival, will be screening her film, “Heal the Land, Heal the People.” This short film explores the perspective from the Klamath Tribes on the environmental balance in the Klamath Basin, and what is needed to protect and restore it.
KBBH is seeking volunteers of all ages to help lend a hand. The volunteer days will be the first 3 Saturdays in May.
Volunteer for one, two or all days. Volunteers will be assigned to a team and will help with various tasks like planting flowers, repairing steps/ramp issues, installing shower grab bars, testing/replacing smoke/carbon monoxide alarms and much more.
The city of Klamath Falls found an inventive path to buying a new dump truck for its water services division.
The Klamath Falls City Council approved a $109,000 allocation at its April to buy a slightly used truck instead of more expensive and less in supply new vehicle.
Robbie West, the city’s water distribution manager, said he was doing some research on trucks to purchase when he spoke to locally based Bogatay Construction.
West told the council the construction firm told it had a 2022 Kenworth dump truck it had just purchased but was not happy with in terms of its operational needs. West said truck has approximately 1,800 miles on it has been used on a few jobs. He said the $109,000 for the used truck compares favorably with dealership quotes of approximately $130,000 and $139,000. The used purchase saves the city $20,000 to $30,000, West said.
While many improvements have been made to the Ross Ragland Theater over the 33 years since it’s renovation in 1989, this is the first opportunity staff has had to replace the theater’s grand curtain.
Like the original curtain from 1989, the new grand curtain was made by Stagecraft industries Inc. based out of Portland. Without their team’s help the crew at the Ragland wouldn’t have been able to finish the install in the timeframe that was made available, and without a grand curtain the theater’s many scheduled shows would have been postponed.
Weighing in at over 300 pounds each, the curtain took several days and the help of many crew members to install. With the new grand curtain, crew members also installed new electric curtain tracks, a motorized pulley system, and a grand valance. And while it was hard to say goodbye to the Ragland’s original grand curtain that was put up when the theater was revived in 1989, after 33 years of use it was a much-needed improvement.
The old curtain operated with a hand-pulled pulley system and the new state of the art motorized system is one that many crew members here at the theater are excited to see put in place.
Electric scooters are coming to Klamath Falls after the city council approved a deal with Santa Monica, California-based Bird Rides Inc.
The city council approved an agreement with Bird at its April 4 meeting to allow for electric scooters within the downtown, campus and the Washburn area north of South 6th Street. Bird will start out with 50 scooters, said Scott Souders, development services director for the city.
The scooters will be geofenced to only operate in the designated area, Souders said. That means the scooters will stop operating outside their approved zones. They will be allowed to operate from 4 a.m to 10 p.m.
Bird will pay the city $500 for a fleet of 50 vehicles under the annual agreement, according to city documents. The California company will pay the city $1,000 annually if it grows its Klamath Falls fleet to 51 to 100 scooters. They would pay the city another $10 per scooter if the local fleet grows to more than 100.
The electric scooters are restricted from sidewalks and are for adult use for short-term rentals. The scooters cost $1 to unlock and then 10 cents to 35 cents per minute to rent. Bird also offers day and weekly passes for frequent users. Those range between $25 and $70.
Around the state of Oregon
Federal agents have arrested 12 people and seized luxury cars and real estate throughout Oregon as well as Las Vegas as part of the bust up of an alleged multimillion-dollar fentanyl, meth and heroin drug dealing ring.
U.S. Attorney for Oregon Scott Erik Asphaug announced the arrests and charges against the Oregon-based drug and money laundering group on Wednesday, April 6.
The ring is accused of conspiring to distribute fake oxycodone pills containing fentanyl and potentially heroin. Federal agents said they seized 115 counterfeit oxycodone pills, 57 pounds of heroin and 41 pounds of methamphetamine.
Fentanyl is a highly potent and highly dangerous opioid linked to many of the deadly drug overdose in Oregon and across the U.S.
Prosecutors say the Oregon drug ring was led by Luis Antonio Beltran Arrendondo, 32, and Jacqueline Paola Rodriguez Barrientos, 41.
Arrendondo is alleged to have imported the fake pain pills containing fentanyl and heroin from Mexico into California for distribution in Oregon and Washington.
Barrientos faces money laundering charges, according to prosecutors.
Police say they tracked couriers bringing drugs into Oregon from California, raided locations throughout the state as well as Las Vegas, Fresno and Los Angeles.
Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) deputies received a call for an ordinance violation at Hoover Ponds County Park in White City Wednesday night.
Upon arrival, JCSO deputies witnessed a passenger vehicle leaving the scene towing another vehicle. The driver had an active warrant for failure to appear.
JCSO deputies attempted to stop the car leaving Hoover Ponds and the driver eluded southbound on Crater Lake Highway 62 at slow speeds. A JCSO deputy deployed a spike strip at the 5700 block of Crater Lake Highway and the secondary vehicle came off the tow hitch and came to rest in a ditch.
The suspect then eluded northbound on Crater Lake Highway. A JCSO deputy deployed another spike strip at the 6700 block of Crater Lake Highway and the eluding vehicle was successfully disabled.
The suspect, Richard Wallace Carlyle II, 41, of Medford was taken into custody and lodged in the Jackson County Jail.
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon is among a group of senators calling for an investigation into the high gas prices on the West Coast.
The Democrat joined California Senator Dianne Feinstein and Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington state in sending a letter to the Federal Trade Commission urging the agency to investigate what the senators called elevated and volatile prices for gas, diesel and jet fuel.
Specifically, the senators want the FTC to focus on trading practices which may have affected fuel prices in Western states. The lawmakers say they’re concerned about the disparity between the high prices at the pump and the now declining price of crude oil.
The Oregon Housing and Community Services Department said that as of Wednesday, it has made $319.3 million in emergency rental assistance payments to landlords on behalf of 48,313 Oregon households since the U.S. Treasury made the first federal funds available in May 2021.
But it has received a total of 105,082 applications. (Because of duplicate applications, the actual number of households applying is closer to 100,000, state officials say. A household can get assistance only once.)
State law shields tenants from eviction proceedings while their applications for assistance are pending, if they show proof to their landlords. The shield ends when the application is approved or denied. The law also set Feb. 28 as the deadline for payment of past-due rent, going back to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic on April 1, 2020.
March 21 was the deadline, and it resulted in a final statewide surge of 13,592 applications for the month. The program paused applications on Dec. 1, reopened on Jan. 26, and was scheduled to close March 14. But Oregon got a last-minute allocation of $16 million in federal funds that went unspent in other states and communities. State officials still hope for a greater share of the additional $198 million they requested from the Treasury.
Search and rescue teams are looking for a missing snowboarder on Mt. Hood. Authorities say Ryan Mather did not return from Mt. Hood Meadows Tuesday night and was reported overdue by his girlfriend. Teams are focused on areas around the Shooting Star Express chair lift.
The FDA is warning that tainted raw oysters being sold in Oregon could be linked to a norovirus outbreak. The oysters are from British Columbia and were sold to restaurants and retailers in at least thirteen states.
Those states are New York, New Jersey, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and Washington. Norovirus is highly contagious and often causes stomach flu, producing symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.
From: Britt Music & Arts Festival [mailto:marketing.brittfest@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2022 7:00 PM
To: Mike Gantenbein
Subject: Many more Britt Presents concerts announced for 60th Anniversary Season
Many moreBritt Presents concerts announced for 60th Anniversary Season
MEDFORD, OR — Britt Music & Arts Festival is excited to announce several more concerts for the 60th Anniversary Britt Presents season, adding more music and comedy performances to the previously announced lineup.
This is the final announcement for the 2022 Britt Presents season, bringing the total number of concerts to 28.
The announcement introduces a wide range of styles, from popular blues guitarist and singer Bonnie Raitt to the hilarious Jim Gaffigan. Other highlights include Britt fan favorite, Chicago, pop sensation Jason Mraz, Canadian singer-songwriter, Sarah McLachlan, and country stars LeAnn Rimes andJordan Davis. Bluegrass and folk fans will enjoy CAAMP, along with the American Acoustic tour, featuring Punch Brothers, Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange), and Sarah Jarosz.
Popular comedian Nate Bargatze also joins the fun, plus there will be two more tribute artists featuring the music of the Grateful Dead and Billy Joel. Rounding out the mix are Psychedelic Furs and X, KALEO, Iration, Gipsy Kings, Lindsey Stirling, and She & Him with Zooey Deschanel. Britt is looking forward to a big return to a full season of live concerts in southern Oregon.
“We think this is one of the best Britt Presents lineups ever,” says President & CEO, Donna Briggs. “The full Britt Experience is back for our 60th Anniversary celebration, allowing everyone to share the joy of music with friends and community on the Britt hill once again!”
Concerts announced in Britt Presents Announcement #2:
Sunday, June 12: Sarah McLachlan
Monday, June 20: She & Him
Thursday, July 7: Jason Mraz & Raining Jane Lalalalivesongs
Wednesday, July 13: CAAMP
Sunday, July 17: Nate Bargatze
Saturday, July 23: LeAnn Rimes: the story… so far tour
Sunday, July 31: Dark Star Orchestra
Monday, August 1: KALEO
Wednesday, August 3: American Acoustic: Punch Brothers and Watchhouse featuring Sarah Jarosz
Thursday, August 4: Lindsey Stirling
Wednesday, August 10: Psychedelic Furs: Made of Rain 2022 Tour with Special Guests X
Thursday, August 11: Jim Gaffigan: The Fun Tour
Tuesday, August 16: Jordan Davis
Friday, August 19: Iration
Thursday, August 25: Gipsy Kings
Saturday, August 27: Bonnie Raitt
Sunday, September 4: Chicago
Sunday, September 11: Celebrating Billy Joel *A World Class Tribute to America’s Piano Man
This is Britt’s final announcement for the 2022 season. Britt Festival Orchestra and other Britt Presents concerts have been previously announced.
There will be a Member presale with all of the concerts in 2022 Britt Presents Announcement #2 before tickets go on sale to the general public at 10:00 AM. Friday, April 29, 2022. Dates for the presale are:
April 8 – April 20: Clef Club ($600) Members and above may submit orders
April 8- April 20: Orders processed according to membership level
April 25 & 27: Donor ($250) and Patron ($100) Members order online at Brittfest.org
April 29: General public sales begin at 10 AM
Tickets and more information can be found at Brittfest.org, you can call or email the Box Office at 541-773-6077 or boxoffice@brittfest.org, or you can drop by the Medford Box Office between 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday at 216 W. Main St, Medford, Oregon.
Britt Presents concerts already on sale:
Sunday, June 5: ZZ Top
Wednesday, June 22: Norah Jones
Tuesday, July 12: Happy Together Tour 2022
Saturday, July 16: Old Crow Medicine Show
Friday, July 22: One Night of Queen starring Gary Mullen and the Works
Sunday, July 24: Michael Franti & Spearhead
Monday, August 8: Mt. Joy
Wednesday, August 17: Collective Soul / SWITCHFOOT
Sunday, August 28: Rebelution: Good Vibes Summer Tour 2022
Thursday, September 8: Blues Traveler