Klamath Basin News, Thursday, Jan. 18 – Five Killed On Highway 97 Crash Near Crescent; Pacific Power Working To Restore Power Across The State

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Thursday, January 18, 2024

Klamath Basin Weather

Today’s Headlines

Road conditions were a “significant” factor in a head on crash on Highway 97 near the town of Crescent in northern Klamath County yesterday that left five people dead.

The accident was reported around 9:40am.  OSP and the KCSO closed the highway for several hours and their investigation continues today.  OSP and eyewitness reports say multiple people were ejected from the passenger vehicle and may have been struck or run over by the semi during the crash.

CPR was administered to at least one of the victims, a toddler, at the scene of the crash.

The accident was the second in less than a year that claimed multiple victims on the same stretch of highway.  A family of four lost their lives late last year in another incident.

OSP will continue to update the story with victim names and more information as the investigation continues.

Last Saturday 2-year-old Grayson McKenzie spent nine hours in an ambulance from Klamath Falls to Portland’s Children’s Hospital in order to receive advanced care for a severe respiratory virus.

While he is currently 100% reliant upon a ventilator to do his breathing for him, he is also on sedation medication to allow his body to begin to recover, and therefore is unconscious,

Even with all of this, his blood pressure still rises when he hears his mommy and daddy’s voices.  The McKenzie’s also have a 4-week-old daughter at home.

It is expected that Grayson will be in the ICU for at least two weeks. The costs of Grayson’s care and the care of their newborn have created a large financial strain on the family, and a GoFundMe site has been set up to help with Grayson’s health care expenses.

To view and/or donate to the GoFundMe, go to the main GoFundMe account and type in Grayson McKenzie in the search menu.

Pacific Power is actively working to make repairs and restore power throughout its Oregon service area. Crews on the ground have been working around the clock, as quickly as they can in challenging and dangerous conditions.

Snow and ice accumulation has caused damage to power equipment and is impacting repair and restoration work. Pacific Power anticipates most customers will have service restored by Tuesday evening, but some customers in Cottage Grove and Sweet Home may see outages into Thursday, and perhaps into the weekend.

Pacific Power is closely monitoring the next storm arriving midday Tuesday into Wednesday, which is expected to bring additional freezing rain and ice. This new round of winter weather could cause additional outages.

Pacific Power encourages customers to report outages by calling 1-877-508-5088 or text OUT to 722797. Text STAT to 722797 to check the status of your outage.  

Klamath County Commissioners Tuesday Meeting Recap

Klamath County Fire District 3, an all-volunteer fire department based out of Sprague River, is the new ambulance service provider for the Bonanza area.

The decision was made by the Board of Klamath County Commissioners in their weekly business meeting Tuesday, as recommended by the Klamath County Ambulance Advisory Committee.

Led by Fire Chief Christina Friend, Fire District 3 will be providing basic life support service across 1,500 square miles for communities in Bonanza, Beatty, Bly and Sprague River.

Also during the meeting, the board approved entering into an agreement with the Office of the (Oregon) State Chief Information Officer so that Klamath County can participate and use the OR-ALERT system for emergency notifications to the public.

In other county business, commissioner Dave Hanslee says  during the storms that dumped snow all over Klamath County last weekend, Klamath County Public Work crews plowed 6,000 miles of county roads during snow removal operations over the weekend.

To put that into perspective, that’s basically clearing snow from Klamath to Orlando, Florida, and back.

The commission also detailed their liaison responsibilities for the year:

Henslee will be in the position of Board Chair for 2024 and will be a liaison for the departments of Emergency Management, Fairgrounds, Finance, Library, Public Works, Tax Collector, Code Enforcement and Property sales.

Henslee will also be the county’s point of contact for the geographical areas of Chemult, Crescent, Gilchrist, Keno, LaPine and Rocky Point. He will also liaison for the County Assessor’s Office, the Sheriff’s Office, and Animal Control.

Kelley Minty will be in the position of vice-chair of the board and will be a liaison for the departments of Community Development (building, on-site, planning, parks and solid waste), Information Technology, Museum, OSU Extension Office and Treasurer.

Derrick DeGroot will be the Liaison for the departments for Community Corrections, Developmental Disabilities, Human Resources, Juvenile, Maintenance and Veterans Affairs.

Klamath Falls city Streets Division crews are busy with snow clean up and will be working the downtown core area and moving out from there. 

They will be pulling snow from the curbs and placing it in the middle of the road on Main Street and Klamath Avenue.

As a reminder, when snow is being stored in the middle of the road on Main and Klamath, the parking areas where diagonal parking is normally allowed becomes parallel parking (next to curb). An effort is made to post signs on these blocks and the City appreciates your cooperation with this temporary parking change.

If you would like more information, please call City Public Works Department at (541) 883- 5363.

Severe winter weather took its toll on southern Oregon roadways as well, leaving multiple state highways closed for the majority of the weekend. Problems with travel persist in many places across the state today.

Saturday, an emergency alert from the Oregon Department of Transportation announced multiple closures, including a 39-mile stretch of Oregon Highway 66.

Klamath County Emergency Manager Ian Thigpen also sent out releases over the weekend, updating residents on the status of local services and weather conditions.

Rolling blackouts between Rocky Point and Lake of the Woods,” the Saturday update said. “More than 1,000 homes have lost power within the county over the last 24 hours.”

A tragic ending in a search for a man missing since Saturday was announced by family members Monday afternoon.

At 10:00pm on Saturday night, the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a person believed to be missing in the area of the Williamson River Highway and the Forest Service Road 45. This area is approximately 10 miles NE of Chiloquin, OR.

Reportedly missing was Corey Alexander, a 54-year-old man and his 1-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever.

The initial report indicated a friend observed Mr. Alexander a couple of miles from his cabin, before the snowstorm, however he didn’t speak with him and couldn’t remember the exact date or time he actually saw him.

His body was found reportedly near Applegate View Monday afternoon.

Sheriff’s Office deputies spent most of the first night searching the area and snow-covered roadways and they were able to locate Mr. Alexander’s locked pickup with 2-feet of fresh snow on it. There were no tracks in the snow or indication of a possible direction of travel. The area around the cabin where Corey Alexander stayed was also searched and there was no indication that anyone had been at the cabin since the snowstorm.

On Sunday, a Sheriff’s Office deputy and a Search and Rescue volunteer returned to the location and located an area where the subject may have been cutting wood.

Volunteer searchers followed tracks in the snow by snowmobile on Monday until they located the deceased man and his dog still with him.

The family has been notified and the dog was returned to the family.

Persons having information about the incident are requested to contact the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office at (541) 883-5130.

A death investigation is underway and the cause of death will be determined by the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office.

Wynne Broadcasting’s BasinLife.com reminds you to be extra careful on streets and roads in and around town.

Snowy, icy and slushy roads are making getting around the area very difficult.

Drive with caution, allow time for braking behind other vehicles in front of you.

Road Crews continued working around the clock to keep highways open and have reopened some of those closed by ice and downed trees and power lines across Oregon.

With unusually cold temperatures and another round of freezing rain expected Tuesday, travel will continue to be challenging.

Northbound Interstate 5 south of Eugene remains slow and congested due to overnight crashes.

If you must travel, carry chains – even if you have traction tires or four-wheel-drive – plenty of fuel, snacks and blankets in case of delays.

ODOT and Oregon State agencies are warning Oregonians to stay off roads and prepare for additional tree damage and power outages. Ice will make for extremely dangerous travel conditions.

Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is asking drivers to consider delaying any travel until later this week if possible.

If you must travel, be prepared for conditions as difficult as the weekend. Even in areas where snow and ice began to melt in the daytime, overnight lows are expected to refreeze them on Monday and Tuesday nights. If you must travel, carry chains – even if you have traction tires or four-wheel-drive – plenty of fuel, snacks and blankets in case of delays. Some highways have reached the point where chains are required regardless of four-wheel-drive.

Crews are plowing 24/7 and using de-icer by the hundreds of thousands of pounds, as well as sanding packed ice and snow on the roads. However, the amount of ice and extremely low temperatures limit the effectiveness of these tools – especially for vehicles without chains.

If you absolutely must travel, check road conditions by dialing 511 or visiting TripCheck.com. If you decide to travel, plan extra time for your journey and carry emergency supplies including food, water, phone chargers, blankets and warm clothes. Visit ODOT’s winter travel tips page for winter driving car essentials.

Mazama High School is expanding its manufacturing program next year, offering a career pathway track with college-credit courses and renovating and upgrading its metal shop.

The changes will allow students to graduate high school with certifications needed for the workplace and seamlessly transition into degree programs at Klamath Community College or Oregon Tech.

The school last month was awarded a $250,000 Oregon Department of Education Career and Technical Education (CTE) revitalization grant to renovate the metal shop. Grant funds will pay for welding booths, high-pressure exhaust fans, plumbing for gas lines, and other updates necessary to create a safe and effective learning environment for students.

Klamath County School District has allocated funds to hire an additional full-time manufacturing teacher starting in September 2024 as well as money for essential tools and equipment for both the metal and wood shops. The district’s maintenance and project crew will be in charge of the renovation work.

Plans include adding six metals classes in addition to the eight manufacturing classes for high school students and four new exploratory manufacturing courses for eighth-graders at Brixner Junior High School. The eighth-graders would travel to Mazama for the metal and wood shop classes. Manufacturing courses cover a broad range of skills, including construction, welding, metal work, carpentry, and production planning, creation, and processing.

Sergio Cisneros, vice principal at Mazama High School, said he believes the pathway program will fill a need not only for students, but for the local economy. Data indicates there are currently about 135 open manufacturing and production jobs in the region.

Anna Monteil, Mazama’s CTE coordinator, and Cisneros teamed up to write the successful grant.

Michael Edwards, manufacturing teacher at Mazama, said the shop renovation and new equipment will allow students to develop skills in line with industry standards and needs.

The high school has offered manufacturing classes in its metal and wood shops for more than 30 years, but advanced classes had not been dual credit. Mazama’s manufacturing program currently has 223 students enrolled. 

Cascade Health Alliance and Healthy Klamath are hosting Family Fun Days around the county. The events are free and open to the public to increase awareness of community resources.

Event-goers will be treated to free tacos and raffle prizes, and there will be a bouncy house for kids. Denise Martinez of Klamath Community College said the event’s purpose is “to help get the word out in smaller communities that there are resources available to them.”

Currently, there are regular weekly outreach efforts in Merrill, Chiloquin, Sprague River, Klamath Falls and Keno, and are scheduled as follows:

Klamath Falls — Every Tuesday, 2 to 4 p.m., at the Klamath County Courthouse, 316 Main St.

Keno — Every 2nd and 4th Thursday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Keno Tractor, 15555 Highway 66, Keno Merrill — Every 3rd Wednesday, 1 to 3 p.m., Merrill Water Department., 301 E. First St., Merrill

Malin — Every 3rd Thursday, 2 to 4 p.m., Malin Library Conference Hall, 2307 Front Street Malin Chiloquin — Every 2nd and 4th Friday, Farmer’s Market Lot, Chiloquin

Sprague River — Every 2nd and 4th Friday, Sprague River Community Center, 23411 Sprague River Road.

Organizations and vendors can join by contacting jenniferd@cascadecomp.com.  

The Linkville Players announce the opening of their second show of the 2023-24 season, “A Company of Wayward Saints”  playing at the Linkville Playhouse.

Written by George Herman, “Saints” is a tribute to the dedication and heart of actors, as well as the understanding and truth-telling that can come out of acting.

The play follows a comedic acting troupe, with familiar Renaissance-era characters such as Pantalone the greedy old man, and Capitano the swaggering braggart, as they find themselves broke and broke down right here in Klamath Falls.

A wealthy patron offers to pay their way home — if they can impress him with an improv show on the topic of his choosing. The tale that ensues takes us through the history of man from the garden of Eden to the assassination of Julius Caesar, up into modern life.

But, when improv goes awry the troupe is forced to look beyond the slapstick and costumes and face the redeeming powers of humor and understanding.

The show, produced by special arrangement with Concord Theatricals, features an all-local cast including Em Barr, Brian Green, Chris Malloy, Mathew Landsiedel, Jared McCleve, Corrie Judd, Rikkilea McGuffy and newcomers Aidan Coe and Hanna Levesque.

Performances take place Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., with the exception of one Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. on Jan. 21. The play will enjoy a seven-performance run, ending on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024.

Tickets can be purchased for $15-18 in advance at Poppy (522 Main Street) or up to half an hour before curtain at the Playhouse directly.

The Ross Ragland Theater will showcase the Teen Theater program’s annual production, “Ms. Marvel — Mirror of Most Value,” at 6 p.m. on Friday, and again at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Director Heidi Neill is back for her fourth year directing the program. The play brings together a diverse cast of talented, pre-professional Ragland Teen Theater students, ranging in age from 14 to 19, to bring the play to life.

Audiences of all ages will enjoy seeing a comic-book hero jump from the page onto the stage of the Ross Ragland. Play goers will be able to support the budding acting careers of local teens.

Tickets are $10 for adults or $5 for students, and can be purchased by calling (541) 884-LIVE, or by visiting their website at www.ragland.org. Tickets can also be purchased at the Ragland Box Office, open Monday-Friday, noon to 5 p.m., or two hours prior to showtime.

Around the state of Oregon

Ice and Snow and Freezing Temperatures — ODOT traffic alert. Road conditions remain challenging statewide. Delay your travel if possible.

The Pacific Northwest is expected to see freezing temperatures and maybe even lowland snow all this week as part of the polar vortex blasts southward from the Arctic.

PORTLAND, Ore. — A power line fell on a parked car in northeast Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, killing three people and injuring a baby during an ice storm that turned roads and mountain highways treacherous in the Pacific Northwest.

Shortly before noon, dispatchers started receiving frantic calls about a downed power line and people appearing to be electrocuted, according to a statement from the city’s fire department. A branch had fallen on a power line, causing it to fall onto an SUV, the statement said.

As the chaotic situation unfolded, a resident grabbed the baby from one of the people lying in the street in a bid to save its life, according to the statement. The three killed — two adults and one teenager — were found dead upon firefighters’ arrival, and the baby was taken to a hospital. It is believed the victims were electrocuted after they got out of the vehicle, the statement said.

The power company later de-energized the line, the statement added without specifying which company.

Around Portland, driving and even walking were virtually impossible as slick ice coated roads and sidewalks. Icicles dangled from roofs and cars, and ice encased branches, plants and leaves like thick glass.

A large swath of the region was under warnings Wednesday for as much as 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) of ice, promising only to add to the damage wrought by a deadly, powerful storm that hit over the weekend. The warning area was reduced later in the morning to parts of southwest Washington and northwest Oregon, including Portland, and further limited to the western edge of the Columbia River Gorge in the afternoon.

Freezing rain could return to the region Thursday evening through Friday morning, the National Weather Service said. The areas most likely to be impacted include the eastern Portland metro area and the western Columbia River Gorge.

Portland transportation officials asked the public to stay off the roads through Thursday morning, and numerous school districts, including Oregon’s largest, canceled classes for a third straight day as roads remained slick.

The three deaths Wednesday added to at least seven deaths linked to fallen trees and suspected hypothermia during the previous weekend’s storm.

Spectrum says that widespread outages in the Rogue Valley are the result of vandalism. 

The company says fiber lines were cut earlier as a result of vandalism, impacting services for Spectrum customers in the Medford area Technicians responded right away, and  are currently making the necessary repairs to restore services as soon as possible.

Spectrum customers have been impacted by widespread outages for a couple of days. Yesterday, the areas hardest hit are Medford, Ashland, Central Point, White City, Shady Cove, Grants Pass, Cave Junction, Klamath Falls and Brookings. Other areas of Oregon were affected as well. 

Governor Tina Kotek is directing more state resources to respond to the winter weather hitting the state. Kotek told the Oregon Health Authority, Emergency Management, and Human Services to increase the state’s response to the storm.

Oregon activated its network of health care professionals that volunteer during a crisis. That includes doctors, nurses, and emergency medical technicians. The state is running a shelter at Portland State University and at the fairgrounds in Ontario. ODOT has 400 plows working to clear highways and the Public Utility Commission is monitoring the response to power outages.

Democratic Oregon Congressman Ron Wyden is announcing a bipartisan deal to expand the child tax credit and create a series of tax breaks for businesses.

The deal between Wyden and Missouri Republican Jason Smith ends months of negotiating. It will enhance refundable child tax credits to try to provide relief to struggling families and those with multiple children. It’ll also raise the tax credit’s refundable cap and adjust it for inflation. In a statement, Smith said American families will benefit from this agreement that provides greater tax relief and creates jobs. Wyden said fifteen million kids from low-income families will now be better off because of this deal.

Another set of passengers on the Alaska Airlines flight that made an emergency landing in Portland after a door plug blew a hole in the side of the plane filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking a yet-to-be determined amount against the airline and the plane’s manufacturer, Boeing.

The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court in Washington, appears to be the second stemming from Flight 1282, which landed Jan. 5 just 20 minutes after takeoff. The first suit was filed last Thursday against only Boeing.

The latest suit was filed on behalf of four passengers, ages 20 to 49: Hans Meier, a college student who lives in Washington; Sarah Marrow, a business analyst who lives in Washington; Ernest Talley, a school psychologist; and Gladys Talley, a teacher. The Talleys are a couple and live in California.

The suit seeks compensation for stress, physical pain, post traumatic stress disorder, hearing damage, sleeplessness and other injuries that the suit says the four passengers have suffered.

Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade on Tuesday released the preliminary list of presidential candidates who will appear on the state’s May primary ballots.

They will include GOP frontrunner former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley the former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

President Joe Biden is expected to appear on the Democratic primary ballot alongside two longshot candidates, U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota and self-help guru Marianne Williamson.

The Oregon Supreme Court last Friday declined to hear a challenge from a left-wing voters rights group aiming to bar Trump from Oregon’s primary ballot, saying it would wait until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the issue.

National nonprofit Free Speech for People sought to bar Trump from the ballot, citing his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, after Griffin-Valade said in November that state law does not give her the authority to determine the qualifications of candidates in a presidential primary.

Even more trouble is surfacing about Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center and one of its physicians.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon announced today that Asante Health System, a southern Oregon healthcare corporation, and one of its physicians, have agreed to pay $430,000 to settle allegations that the company and its physician knowingly submitted false claims for payment for certain cardiothoracic surgeries to Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE.

Between January 1, 2015, and January 31, 2021, Asante and Dr. Charles Carmeci, a cardiothoracic surgeon practicing at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center, knowingly submitted claims for payment to Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE for cardiothoracic surgeries including decortications, PleurX catheter placements, pericardiectomies, mediastinal mass resections, patent foramen ovale, atrial septal defect closures, and Bentall procedures, knowing they did not meet the criteria for reimbursement or were otherwise improper.

Medicare and Medicaid are public health insurance programs administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). TRICARE is a civilian health care program administered by the Defense Health Agency (DHA), a joint, integrated combat support agency within the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).

The settlement reached is not an admission of liability by Asante or Dr. Carmeci and both parties deny the government’s allegations.

This case was investigated by the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), FBI, and DHA. Both agencies were represented in this matter by Alexis Lien, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. Lisa M. Re, Assistant Inspector General for Legal Affairs for HHS-OIG, and Salvatore M. Maida, General Counsel for DHA assisted in this litigation.

This is a separate incident from a current investigation in which as many as 9 reported patients may have died due to medication diversion, which authorities say painkillers were switched with bags of tap water at the facility.

A Bend man who allegedly pulled a gun during a violent robbery attempt last week and fled pursuing officers two days later, hitting two vehicles, then left the car at Farewell Bend Park and eluded a major manhunt was located and arrested early Tuesday morning at a northeast Bend hotel.

Customers who want to stall the effects of a price increase on Forever Stamps have this week to act before the cost goes up to 68 cents each.

The cost of the stamps, as well as the cost of many other services offered by the U.S. Postal Service, will increase on Sunday, Jan. 21.

The price of Forever Stamps, now 66 cents each, will climb to 68 cents. That’s the stamp used for letters up to 1 ounce.

The postal service said it will not change the additional-ounce price. It will stay at 24 cents. But other charges — for certified mail, post office box rental fees, money order fees and the cost to purchase insurance when mailing an item — will climb.

• Letters, metered, 1 ounce: Increase from 63 cents to 64 cents
• Domestic postcards: Increase from 51 cents to 53 cents
• International postcards: Increase from $1.50 to $1.55
• International letter, 1 ounce: Increase from $1.50 to $1.55

The rate changes will be the second in six months.

Watches, Warnings or Advisories for Oregon https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/or.php?x=1

The largest dam removal in U.S. history entered a critical phase this week, with the lowering of dammed reservoirs on the Klamath River.

On Thursday, the gate on a 16-foot-wide bypass tunnel at the base of Iron Gate dam, the lowest of those slated to be removed, was opened from a crack to 36 inches.

Amy Cordalis stood in the dawn chill to witness the first big surge as the gate was widened. She’s an attorney and Yurok Tribe member who has played a critical role in advocating for dam removal. As water poured through the tunnel, she could hear boulders rolling and tumbling. The water turned to dark chocolate milk as decades of pent-up sediment surged through.

“This is historic and life-changing,” Cordalis said. “And it means that the Yurok people have a future. It means the river has a future; the salmon have a future.”

One hundred seventy-three feet high, with a 740-foot crest, Iron Gate is an earth embankment dam with a skinny, many-fingered reservoir behind it. The lowering — or drawdown — of Iron Gate and two other reservoirs on the Klamath River will make way for the removal of three remaining hydroelectric dams that are part of the Lower Klamath Project in Northern California and southern Oregon.

For decades, these barriers have blocked salmon, steelhead and Pacific lamprey from accessing habitat above them and contributed to poor water quality below. The Klamath River was once the third-largest salmon producer on the West Coast, but in the time since the dams were constructed, the Klamath’s coho and Chinook runs have dwindled to a fraction of their historic abundance.

When tribal activists first started calling for the removal of four Klamath River dams in the late 1990s, people thought they were “crazy,” said Leaf Hillman, an elder of the Karuk Tribe who helped launch the campaign. “We’ve never really considered any other alternative to removing dams. And so it was a fight that we were committed to, and that we knew that we had to win. And it’s been an intergenerational struggle.”

A massive die-off of Chinook salmon in 2002 catalyzed increased activism around getting the dams removed. An estimated 34,000 to 78,000 fish died. The loss of these fish didn’t just mean the loss of a fun summer fishing activity, said Brook Thompson, a Yurok Tribe member who was 7 years old at the time and is now in her late 20s. “Those salmon to me are the connections I have with my relatives,” she explained. “In a day, that was all gone.”

For the next week, water will flow through the bypass tunnel at an average rate of 2,200 cubic feet per second, draining down Iron Gate reservoir between two and four feet per day. Later this month, J.C. Boyle, the uppermost of the three dams, will be breached, followed by Copco 1. By June, the Klamath River should be flowing more or less within its historic channel, and the work of dismantling the structures can begin.

Advocates are quick to point out that dam removal alone will not save the Klamath River’s salmon runs. However, removing the barriers will open up 76 miles of coho habitat and over 400 miles of Chinook habitat, says Shari Witmore, a fish biologist at NOAA Fisheries.

If modeling is correct, as many as 80% more Chinook salmon could return to the basin within about 30 years after the dams are removed. Ocean harvest could increase by as much as 46%. But this will depend in part on restoring important tributaries, including the cold spring-fed rivers in the upper Klamath Basin, which have been compromised with diking and draining of wetlands.

“Once we restore that, we put this basin back together,” Witmore says. “That creates a lot of resilience over time with climate change, and it buffers against multi-year droughts.”

Cordalis, the Yurok Tribe member, agrees that more work lies ahead. But she’s also looking forward to fulfilling a simple personal goal. “Fishing,” she said. “I want to go fishing.”

The American Red Cross is experiencing an emergency blood shortage as the nation faces the lowest number of people giving blood in 20 years. 

The Red Cross blood supply has fallen to critically low levels across the country, and blood and platelet donors are urged to make a donation appointment to help alleviate the shortage and help ensure lifesaving medical procedures are not put on hold.

Over the last 20 years, the number of people donating blood to the Red Cross has fallen by about 40%. When fewer people donate blood, even small disruptions to blood donations – such as the nearly 7,000-unit shortfall in blood donations the Red Cross experienced between Christmas and New Year’s Day alone – can have a huge impact on the availability of blood products and dramatic consequences for those in need of emergency blood transfusion. 

Blood products are currently going to hospitals faster than blood donations are coming in, and in recent weeks, the Red Cross has had to limit distributions of type O blood products – among the most transfused blood types – to hospitals.

Don’t wait – to make an appointment, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

Following up on a feature film shot on the Southern Oregon coast, which has two limited screenings.

BAD FISH was shot almost entirely on the Southern Oregon coast.

A lot of the talent in front of and behind the cameras are Southern Oregon locals.

Without giving too much away, the thriller film follows an investigation into mermaids, terrorizing a town.

Bad Fish will have one screening in Brookings, which is sold out, Tuesday .

But Wednesday (1/17/2024, you can watch with the film with the director and cast members at the Varsity Theater in Ashland.

The film is directed by Brad Douglas, a southern Oregon native with ties to Wynne Broadcasting as a voice talent.

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