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 and BasinLife.com, and powered by Mick Insurance, your local health and Medicare agents.
Friday, April 7, 2023
Klamath Basin Easter Weekend Weather
Today A 40 percent chance of showers. Snow level 5800 feet. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 50. West southwest winds to 11 mph. Overnight a 20% chance of rain showers, snow level at 6100 ft, with a low around 32 degrees.
Saturday
Partly sunny, with a high near 57 with very light winds. Overnight, partly cloudy, with a low around 35.
Easter Sunday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 66. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon, and an overnight low of 40.
Monday
A 20 percent chance of rain after 11am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 66. Overnight, rain mixed with snow with the snow level around 4600 feet, a low around 35.
Tuesday
A slight chance of rain and snow showers before 11am, then a slight chance of snow showers between 11am and 2pm, then a slight chance of rain showers after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 51.
Wednesday
A slight chance of snow showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 44.
Thursday
Sunny, with a high near 52.
See Road Camera Views around the Basin:
Lake of the Woods
Doak Mtn.
Hiway 97 at Chemult
Hiway 140 at Bly
Hiway 97 at GreenSprings Dr.
Hiway 97 at LaPine
Today’s Headlines
Some help in the news, this time in favor of the irrigators of the Klamath Basin.
The Klamath Project will receive $8.75 million to study and repair aging water infrastructure as part of a $585 million federal outlay announced Wednesday, April 5. Funding will be provided to 83 projects in 11 states this year to increase drought resilience and improve water delivery systems.
The Klamath Project will receive $5 million from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to study using alternative Cement-Bentonite Slurry Walls on the A Canal. The Klamath Irrigation District would also look at piping the canal for approximately 9 miles using high-density polyethylene pipe.
An additional $3.75 million will be going to the project’s C Canal for a 1-mile slurry cutoff wall using controlled low-strength material — also known as flowable fill. That would include retrofitting and modifying one flume.
Wednesday’s announcement — made during a visit to the Imperial Dam in Yuma, Ariz., by Deputy Secretary of the Interior Tommy Beaudreau, Senior Advisor to the President and White House Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator Mitch Landreau and Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton — was welcome news for Gene Souza, the executive director and district manager of the Klamath Irrigation District.
Souza said there are public-safety concerns with the current open, earthen canals that were built in the early 1900s.
Souza said estimates to pipe the canal would cost more than $500 million. The infrastructure law includes $8.3 billion for Reclamation water projects over the next five years. The C Canal project would be for a slurry cutoff wall behind Henley High School, Souza said. Federal officials lauded the infrastructure law.
Klamath County Commissioner Dave Henslee, a former city police chief and long time law enforcement officer, said at this week’s county commissioner meeting that Fentanyl is literally killing our communities.
Henslee’s comments came while the commissioners were approving a motion for an amended agreement between Klamath County Public Health and the Oregon Health Authority for financing of public health services. The amendment replaces a description for overdose prevention and increases the original grant award for fiscal year 2023 by $5,272 to be used toward a fentanyl awareness and prevention campaign.
The commissioners discussed their sensitivities to the topic with Klamath County Public Health Director Jennifer Little. Little explained that the prevention campaign is directed more at youth and at parents rather than on those who are already using drugs. She said the prevention campaign is entirely media based with social media posts, posters in schools and radio advertisements performed in conjunction with other agencies such as Klamath Tribes, Citizens for Safe Schools, Klamath Project Youth Empowerment, Lutheran Community Services and Friends of the Children of the Klamath Basin. Little said the campaign materials also will be shared with Lake County.
In 2021, fentanyl was identified in 77.4 percent of adolescent overdose deaths across the nation, Little said. In Oregon, a briefing the Oregon Health Authority provided the Governor’s Office reported that between 2019 and 2021 fentanyl overdose deaths in the state increased nearly 600 percent.
At their meeting, the commissioners also approved a zone change for a property located in Fort Klamath. The property in question will go from the residential zone to the commercial zone for a planned reopening of a historical gas station and mini-mart.
The commissioners also voted to allow the County Clerk’s Office to fund a project of scanning and indexing marriage licenses to go paperless and to provide access to the public to retrieve the licenses electronically.
The County Clerk’s Office told the commissioners they had received a quote of $49,900 from Docutopia, which will address the secure transport, preparation, imagining, indexing and uploading of the county’s marriage licenses that date back to 1882.
The plan is for the marriage licenses to be fully digital and available by December.
Two public hearings were held for liquor license recommendations — one for Garage Taphouse & Food Truck, owned by Stan Langdon, and the other for Tipsy Tater, owned by Makayla Byrd at a recent Klamath Falls city council meeting.
Garage Taphouse will be located on the 600 block of South Sixth Street.
A neighboring resident, Ron Isakson, spoke against the liquor license recommendation, concerned about parking availability and the restaurant’s close proximity to Eagle Ridge School.
City Planning Manager Joe Walsh said the business is to be located outside of the Downtown Parking District, making off-street parking a requirement for the facility. The parking proposal for the location, Landon said, provides spaces angled off the alleyway.
City Council President Mika Blain motioned to approve the liquor license recommendation, seconded by Councilor Kelsey Mueller Wendt.
Councilors unanimously approved recommendations for both businesses during the meeting.
Liquor license recommendations were not the only topic that received some pushback from the community Monday night.
Public comments from Beverly Bauman, Dave Potter and Madeline Blake addressed “new information” regarding the F-15 static jet display that residents had not presented in previous statements.
In 2022, the City Council’s members unanimously approved allocating $300,000 of funding received through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to install a decommissioned F-15 fighter jet in Veterans’ Memorial Park.
The project was presented and approved during the other matters portion of the agenda in the final minutes of a council meeting last May. Local residents have been speaking out against the project since last July.
Chaplains from around the state of Oregon, both Army and Air National Guard, converged at Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, Oregon for annual training, March 23-26.
Col. Jacob Scott, the Oregon National Guard State Chaplain said they wanted to take a specific look at how we as a chaplain corps provide religious support to our people in domestic operations.
He summarized the training at Kingsley Field using two instances where his chaplains would provide care to Soldiers and Airmen. “We are preparing for “Oregon’s most likely ‘bad day’—responding to wildfires and such—or Oregon’s ‘worst day’, the Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake.”
Part of that training included an explanation of Devolution of Command, whereby Kingsley Field would become the command-and-control center for the entire Oregon national Guard response to a major earthquake. In that scenario, experts assume all or most Oregon National Guard resources west of the Cascade Mountain Range would be compromised and that relief efforts would flow to Kingsley Field and then transit the Cascade mountains into affected areas.
He said the training also addressed the period after federal aid, like FEMA, reaches the area in what he calls days 10-42 of the response.
Twenty-three Soldiers and Airmen visited the base for the training coming from areas around the state including, Salem, the Coast, Eastern Oregon, Vancouver as well as Medford.
A new Child Witness Room was dedicated at the Klamath County Courthouse this week.
The dedication of the Child Witness Room on Tuesday, April 4 was part of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, which happens every April. Another planned event for the month is the Klamath County Board of County Commissioners proclaiming April as Child Abuse Prevent Month. The commissioners next meet at 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 11 in the county Government Center.
According to a press release, this month and throughout the year, the Klamath County District Attorney’s Office and the Oregon Department of Justice encourages all individuals and organizations to play a role in making Klamath County a better place for children and families.
According to the press release, research shows that when parents possess protective factors, the risk for neglect and abuse diminish and optimal outcomes for children, youth, and families are promoted. Major protective factors include knowledge of parenting, knowledge of child development, parental resilience, social connections, and concrete supports.
According to the release, multiple organizations in Klamath County collaborate to make and keep children safe including the county’s local child assessment center, Klamath-Lake Cares.
Mark your Calendar! Catalyze Klamath Final Will Award $16,000 on April 20
WHEN: Thursday, April 20, 2023, 4 to 7 p.m. Members of the community and media are invited to attend.
WHERE: Auditorium, College Union, Oregon Tech 3201 Campus Drive, Klamath Falls, Ore. 97601
WHAT: Since it began in 2015, Oregon Tech’s Catalyze Challenge has awarded nearly $100,000 in prize money and services, and the competition continues this year with a prize pool of $16,000.
The Catalyze Challenge fosters project development, design, and communications skills, while boosting public understanding of the talent pipeline available at Oregon Tech.
This year, six Oregon Tech student teams will compete on Thursday, April 20, at 4 p.m. They will be joined by a team of two Klamath Community College (KCC) alumni. Each team has invented a solution for a real-world challenge and has a plan to commercialize their product in Klamath Falls.
Competing teams are:
- Tarrah Bickford, Environmental Science 2027: Fearless Retreats
- Xavier De La Rosa, Business 2024: TapIn
- Ethan Hartline, Renewable Energy Engineering 2025: Eco Spoke
- Claire Lowry, Business Management 2024: Juniper Joy
- Lauren Sadrin, Mechanical Engineering 2023, and Mauricio Huntoon-DeRoche, Mechanical Engineering 2024: Deep Dive Robotics
- Clairise Tapken, Cybersecurity 2023: Actually Confidential Attachments (ACA)
- KCC team of Shawntel Dill and Jason Leach, Culinary Arts: Homemade To-Go
SPONSORS: The 2023 event is made possible through generous sponsorship and donations from the City of Klamath Falls, Klamath County, Klamath County Economic Development Association (KCEDA), Klamath IDEA Center for Entrepreneurship, VertueLab, Oregon Small Business Development Center, and the Wendt Family Foundation.
DETAILS: For more information, visit www.oit.edu/catalyze.
The Ross Ragland Theater will present Matilda the Musical! for their 2023 summer production.
Three performances will be held July 7-9. The show will be directed by former Klamath Union theater teacher, Richard Hoffman. With musical direction by Katie Garvin and choreography by RRT Executive Director, Samantha Burris.
Auditions will take place at the Ross Ragland Theater on May 1and 2 at 6:00PM. Callbacks are on May 3 and are by invitation only.
Matilda is the story of an extraordinary girl who, armed with a vivid imagination and a sharp mind, dares to take a stand and change her own destiny. Inspired by the twisted genius of Roald Dahl, the Tony Award-winning Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical revels in the anarchy of childhood, the power of imagination and the inspiring story of a girl who dreams of a better life. With book by Dennis Kelly and original songs by Tim Minchin, Matilda has won 47 international awards and continues to thrill sold-out audiences of all ages around the world.
The production will feature a cast of young performers ranging in age. All ages are encouraged to audition.
RRT is seeking: Triple threat young performers. They are looking for experienced performers of all types and backgrounds to play a variety of interesting characters. This is a very challenging show. Strong singers and dancer/movers needed.
Find out more about auditions this May by visiting the Ross Ragland Theater’s website at https://ragland.org/AUDITIONS/
The Ella Redkey Pool is closed this week and next for Spring maintenance. The closure began Monday, April 3 and will last through Sunday, April 16.
The closure will not affect the Aqua Egg Hunt — scheduled for 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 8 — but there will be limited locker room access during the event. For more information, call 541-273-1477.
This years’ Sky Lakes Foundation Golf Tournament will be held on Friday, June 23 at Running Y Ranch Resort. Participants can join by us this year by registering a team or sponsoring the event.
The event includes 18 holes of golf, fun games along the way, trophies for group winners, 50/50 card game, box lunch, heavy appetizers, and so much more. All proceeds from the event and sponsorships will go towards our Family Birthing Center to purchase equipment to help our mothers be more comfortable, safe, and provide an overall better birthing experience.
The tournament starts at 9 a.m. with a shot gun start, four person scramble. The goal for the tournament is to raise $40,000. There are many potential sponsorship opportunities for the 2023 Golf Tournament listed on the event website.
When Santa makes his way through Klamath Falls this coming Christmas, he might be riding in style on a brand-new chopper motorcycle.
Jason and Krystal Perkins are well known in Jackson County for serving low-income communities as the local Santa Claus. When the couple moved to Klamath Falls in 2022, they said they planned to continue the tradition they’d started while living in Medford — going door-to-door as Santa to deliver donated presents to families in need.
This year, however, Santa has something on his Christmas wish list — a custom-made motorcycle.
When Jason’s motorcycle bit the dust, Krystal entered her husband into the 2023 Dream Chopper Competition and got to work on gaining public support.
With enough votes, Jason could win the nationwide competition, earning him the opportunity to custom design his dream chopper motorcycle with the help of Orange County Choppers.
Working alongside the famed OCC founder Paul Teutul Sr., the winner’s dream creation will come to life on air during an episode of the longstanding reality TV show “Orange County Choppers.”
But Jason’s chance to win his dream bike is riding on votes from the public.
Anyone 18 and older can submit one vote per day for their favorite contestant.
Additional votes can be purchased for $1 apiece. All proceeds received from purchased “warrior votes” go to Hope for the Warriors, a charity organization for veterans and veteran families in need.
Jason said Krystal is doing everything she can to ensure her husband wins his dream bike.
Two Rivers Art Gallery & Gift Shop will host an open house this weekend for the second annual Chiloquin High School Art Show today. The art show continues through April
Student art will be on display during the open house, scheduled for 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on this Good Friday, April 7 at Two Rivers in Chiloquin.
This opportunity to meet the young artists and view their works will include appetizers. The student art will be on display through the month of April. Gallery attendees are encouraged to purchase the student art and to also vote for their favorite artist.
The art show will end with a Gallery Gala Party from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, April 28 at Two Rivers, 140 S. 1st Ave. in Chiloquin.
Around the state of Oregon
The deadline to file state and federal personal income tax returns—April 18—is just two weeks away, with more than 1 million Oregon taxpayers still expected to file.
More than 1.1 million Oregonians have already filed their state personal income tax returns. The department is expecting over 2.2 million total returns this year. Of those 1.1 million taxpayers, more than 820,000 have received refunds, with other refunds still pending. A Where’s My Refund? tool is available on Revenue’s website for personal income tax filers now.
The department offers the following information for taxpayers who still need to file their state return.
E-filing is the fastest way for taxpayers to get their tax refund. On average, taxpayers who e-file their returns and request their refund via direct deposit receive their refund sooner than those who file paper returns and request paper refund checks. Taxpayers should file just once. Sending a paper return through the mail after e-filing will a delay a refund.
Oregon personal income tax return filers with an adjusted gross income of $73,000 or less may qualify to file both their state and federal taxes electronically for free. There are four approved tax preparation software products that partner with Oregon to offer free electronic filing.
Each vendor has different free filing criteria, so filers should do their research and choose the best vendor to fit their needs. Read about the free options listed to see if you are eligible.
Taxpayers that don’t meet the income requirements for guided preparation can file for free using Oregon Free Fillable Forms. Free Fillable Forms performs basic calculations and are ideal for taxpayers who don’t need help preparing their returns and want the convenience of filing electronically. A detailed series of steps for using free fillable forms are available on the agency’s electronic filing page. The IRS offers a similar option for filing federal taxes electronically.
The Oregon Department of Revenue reports that about half of Oregonians have filed their state income taxes. They expect around two-point-two million people to file returns this year. Of the one-point-one million people who have filed so far, over 820-thousand have received refunds. The Oregon Department of Revenue website has a “Where’s My Refund” tool. Both federal and state income tax returns need to be filed by April 18th, because in Washington D.C. April 17th is the Emancipation Day holiday.
Homelessness is out of control in Oregon. The state is experienced one of the nation’s largest increases in homelessness between 2020 and 2022, federal data indicates.
The number of people experiencing homelessness in Oregon grew nearly 23% during the two-year span, increasing by 3,304 people to about 18,000, according to a federally mandated physical count of homeless individuals.
That rate was well above the national average of less than 1% growth in people experiencing homeless and also far outstripped that of the other West Coast states, with Washington experiencing a 10% hike and California a 6% increase, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress. John Tapogna, senior policy adviser at ECONorthwest, an economics and development consulting firm, said the simple explanation for Oregon’s homelessness crisis is rooted in housing costs. He said West Coast states and the East Coast corridor that stretches from Boston to Washington, D.C., all have high priced housing markets with too little housing supply and low vacancy rates.
Gas prices look to be going up for the Summer ahead. Prices are up after the crude oil production cut announced by OPEC-plus. Triple-A reports the national average increased seven cents to three-51 a gallon and Oregon’s average increased four cents to three-93.
The OPEC-plus announcement caused the price of crude oil to top the 80 dollar per barrel mark. Prices are also up, because refineries are switching to more expensive summer blends of fuel, along with higher demand and tighter supplies.
70th Annual Pear Blossom Parade – Saturday April 8th, in Medford, Oregon
Since 1954, tens of thousands of southern Oregon locals have cherished the Pear Blossom Festival and its many events! The Pear Blossom Parade has grown from 20 wagons and youngsters in the first event to today’s 150 entries with 4000 participants and 25-30,000 enthusiasts lining the parade route.
2023 Parade Information: April 8th, 2023 at 11 am in Downtown Medford
Contact pearblossom@pearblossomparade.org or 541-840-8007 for more information.
Parade starts at Beatty & Central, proceeds down Central Avenue, turns right onto West Main Street and begins dispersing at Mistletoe.
Parking to view parade will be the side streets surrounding the parade route.
PARADE TELEVISED LIVE COVERAGE:
Live April 8 10:45am
RVTV Ch 180 Prime Jackson Co.
RVTV Ch 183 Grants Pass Josephine Co.
Replays Saturday at 6pm and Sunday 12 and 6pm.
LIVE STREAMING: http://rvtv.sou.edu
MORE INFO: http://pearblossomparade.org/
Wyden And Merkley Announce University Of Oregon Receives $800,000 To Launch New Wildfire Research Center
A new research center launched on Thursday at the University of Oregon (UO) will focus on the impacts of wildfire smoke, according to state officials.
Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said that the UO received $800,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on April 6 to officially launch the new Center for Wildfire Smoke Research and Practice.
“Nearly every Oregonian has in some way experienced the growing threat that wildfires pose to our lives, livelihoods, and health,” said Sen. Merkley, Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee chair. “This critical funding for the University of Oregon’s Center for Wildfire Smoke Research and Practice will help to expand our understanding and improve our abilities to mitigate and reduce the harmful effects wildfire smoke has on Oregonians across the state.”
Goals of the center will focus on the effects and management of wildfire smoke as a health hazard, state officials said. State officials said those with respiratory diseases, asthma and the homeless are particularly prone to the effects wildfire smoke.
The center will serve as a communications hub for the development of better wildfire smoke event management practices, state officials said.
“At the University of Oregon, we are so excited to launch the Center for Wildfire Smoke Research and Practice with the goal of supporting Oregon communities to become more resilient in the face of increasing wildfire smoke,” said Cassandra Moseley, Research Professor and Vice Provost of Academic Operations and Strategy at the University of Oregon. “We will conduct research driven by community needs and support the growing collaborative networks of practitioners and researchers working to improve conditions for vulnerable community members.”
Moseley will lead the new Wildfire Smoke Research and Practice Center, state officials said.
Wildfire smoke from not only Oregon’s fires but also those from surrounding states and even Canada are becoming a particular hazard during the wildfire season each summer, officials said.
Senators Merkley and Wyden said the new center’s research will focus on community planning and preparation during wildfire events, communication and evaluation of past response to smoke events for better future management practices.
Sen. Merkley led the drafting of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies portion of the Consolidated Appropriations Act in 2022 that provided for the EPA funding, state officials said.
Salmon Fishing Season Canceled For Most Of West Coast
A federal regulatory group voted Thursday to officially close king salmon fishing season along much of the West Coast after near-record low numbers of the fish, also known as chinook, returned to California’s rivers last year.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council approved the closure of the 2023 season for all commercial and most recreational chinook fishing along the coast from Cape Falcon in northern Oregon to the California-Mexico border. Limited recreational salmon fishing will be allowed off Southern Oregon in the fall.
“The forecasts for Chinook returning to California rivers this year are near record lows,” Council Chair Marc Gorelnik said after the vote in a news release. “The poor conditions in the freshwater environment that contributed to these low forecasted returns are unfortunately not something that the Council can, or has authority to, control.”
California had already last month issued a salmon fishing ban for the remainder of the season. According to CBS Bay Area, it marked only the second time in state history that California had canceled its salmon fishing season, with the last ban taking place between 2008 and 2009, also due to drought conditions.
Biologists say the chinook salmon population has declined dramatically after years of drought. Many in the fishing industry say Trump-era rules that allowed more water to be diverted from the Sacramento River Basin to agriculture caused even more harm.A Chinook salmon leaps from the water in a holding pond at Coleman National Fish Hatchery on Jan. 19, 2022, in Anderson, California. Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The closure applies to adult fall-run chinook and deals a blow to the Pacific Northwest’s salmon fishing industry.
Much of the salmon caught off Oregon originate in California’s Klamath and Sacramento rivers. After hatching in freshwater, they spend three years on average maturing in the Pacific, where many are snagged by commercial fishermen, before migrating back to their spawning grounds, where conditions are more ideal to give birth. After laying eggs, they die.
The council is an advisory group to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, which makes the final decision, but historically has followed the council’s rulings. The secretary’s decision will be posted in the Federal Register within days.
Experts fear native California salmon are in a spiral toward extinction. Already California’s spring-run chinook are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, while winter-run chinook are endangered along with the Central California Coast coho salmon, which has been off-limits to California commercial fishers since the 1990s.
Recreational fishing is expected to be allowed in Oregon only for coho salmon during the summer and for chinook after Sept. 1. Salmon season is expected to open as usual north of Cape Falcon, including in the Columbia River and off Washington’s coast.
Though the closure will affect tens of thousands of jobs, few are opposed to it. Many fishers say they want to take action now to guarantee healthy stocks in the future.
They hope the unusually wet winter in California that has mostly freed the state of drought will bring relief. An unprecedented series of powerful storms has replenished most of California’s reservoirs, dumping record amounts of rain and snow and busting a severe three-year drought. But too much water running through the rivers could kills eggs and young hatchlings.
Oregon House of Representatives Passes Oregon CHIPS (Senate Bill 4) to Boost Oregon Semiconductor Industry on Bipartisan Vote
SALEM, Ore. – The Oregon House passed Oregon CHIPS (Senate Bill 4) with bipartisan support today. Oregon CHIPS strategically invests $210 million to bolster Oregon’s semiconductor industry. Having already passed the Senate, Senate Bill 4 now heads to the Governor’s desk for signature. (SOURCE)
Oregonians Save $1 Million for Higher Education through Recycled Bottles and Cans
BottleDrop and the Oregon College Savings Plan announced that the program has reached a milestone $1 million saved for higher education through the convenient redemption of bottles and cans. This accomplishment comes little more than three years after launching its collaboration in November 2019, and just in time to celebrate Earth Month.
This innovative program allows individuals and families from across the state to leverage their Oregon Bottle Bill container redemptions to save for future education expenses. Participants can set up automatic fund transfers from their BottleDrop account to one or more Oregon College Savings Plan (OCSP) accounts. To date, 10 million beverage containers have been redeemed and recycled through the partnership, with the funds being transferred to OCSP accounts, to the benefit of more than 5,000 Oregonians saving for higher education expenses.
“We are excited to see bottle and can redemptions continuing to turn into big returns for Oregon College Savings Plan participants,” said Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read. “Saving a combined $1 million toward education and training after high school is a significant accomplishment, and one that comes with an important bonus conservation benefit. While this is still the beginning of our collaboration and it is gratifying to see Oregonians’ early enthusiasm for this creative savings opportunity with our partner, BottleDrop—Let’s keep saving!”
“This is the only place in the world where people can so directly connect recycling and environmental stewardship with education savings,” said Jules Bailey, President and Chief Executive Officer for the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative, which operates the BottleDrop network. “The power of Oregon’s Bottle Bill, coupled with the creativity of the State Treasurer’s Office, made way for a truly unique partnership that is helping families across Oregon save for education.”
BottleDrop account holders can save for themselves, for their kids, for their grandkids, or as a gift to anyone with an OCSP account. Setting up a new OCSP account takes about 15 minutes. Participants can access a link to the sign-up page through their BottleDrop account and then immediately begin saving. A
single BottleDrop account can contribute to multiple OCSP accounts, further streamlining the contribution process.
Among the thousands of account holders that have saved for education since the program launched, one example is the Branams in Portland; by partnering with their neighbors, friends, and family members to collect containers, Ceci (11) and Eli (7) have saved more than $3,500 for college in just two years!
“We saw this as an opportunity to help Ceci and Eli learn more about being good stewards of the environment, building community with our neighbors, and contributing to their college savings accounts,” says their dad, John Branam. “Learning how to take a difficult challenge like paying for college, and addressing it through incremental progress is a powerful, and important, life lesson for kids.”
In addition to saving for education, Oregonians also have the option to contribute to a tax-friendly Oregon ABLE Savings Plan account to help people with disabilities and their families save money. As with OCSP, anyone who makes contributions to an Oregon ABLE account can earn the state’s refundable tax credit worth up to $300.
Oregonians can accrue funds for their OCSP and Oregon ABLE accounts by returning their empty beverage containers in Green Bags at any of BottleDrop’s 97 convenient bag drop locations across the state. Account holders with a minimum balance of $5 in their BottleDrop account can do a one-time manual transfer or set up a monthly, recurring transfer to eligible OCSP or Oregon ABLE accounts.
“We’re proud to have built this innovative partnership with BottleDrop, an effort focused on breaking down barriers to saving for families across the state,” said Michael Parker, Executive Director for the Oregon Treasury Savings Network. “The $1 million dollars we’re celebrating are real dollars saved by real people. Every dollar in an Oregon College Savings Plan account adds up for families saving for their kid’s future and is given the opportunity to grow.”
And from BasinLife.com, see our wonderful EASTER HAM & DESSERT RECIPE for 2023 here.
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