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 and News, and BasinLife.com, and powered by Mick Insurance. Call them at 541-882-6476.

 

Friday, Nov. 22, 2024

Klamath Basin Weather

High Wind Warning in effect until Friday at 10PM.

Winter Weather Advisory in effect through Friday at 4PM.

Today
Rain much of the day with the snow level lowering to 6900 feet. High near 50. Breezy south winds to 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80% today. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. Rain continues this evening with rain and snow likely overnight, snow level lowering to 4300 feet, low temp near 33 degrees. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

Around the State of Oregon

This week’s powerful storms wreaked havoc across Southern Oregon, with wind gusts reaching up to 80 miles per hour in some areas. The violent weather left behind significant damage, downing trees, damaging homes, and leaving many residents in shock.

In Phoenix, one family narrowly avoided disaster as part of a massive tree came dangerously close to their home. Early this morning, the tree, which had been swaying in the high winds, crashed down just inches away from the house and its cars. Fortunately, the family was unharmed, though the incident was a close call.

While this family was fortunate, others in Curry county were not as lucky.

One of the most harrowing stories comes from Gold Beach, where Debra Campbell was nearly crushed when a massive tree fell on her home.

The tree, which had been weakened by the high winds, fell just inches from where Campbell had been sitting in her living room.

Although the roof of her home sustained serious damage, she was able to escape unharmed. 

[ Stay on BasinLife.com through the holidays to keep informed of weather and road conditons]

 

 

 

 

 

State House Republicans are bringing back former House GOP leader Christine Drazan to lead their caucus next year.

Drazan represented Canby in the House from 2019 to 2022, including a two-year stint as House minority leader marked by walkouts and frequent clashes with then-Speaker Tina Kotek.

Drazan stepped down to make an unsuccessful bid for governor against Kotek and stayed out of office for two years. She sailed to victory in her district by beating incumbent James Hieb in the primary. Senate Democrats held their elections during a weekend retreat and chose to stick with Lake Oswego Sen. Rob Wagner as president and Eugene Sen. James Manning as president pro tempore.

 

A new legal filing in a $337-million drug diversion lawsuit against Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center shows the Medford hospital is filing a document to shift itself from the sole defendant in the case to a plaintiff, identifying its former nurse Dani Marie Schofield as the defendant.

Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center (Asante and/or RRMC) filed a court document to make itself a plaintiff in a Jackson County Circuit Court case filed by Medford law firm Shlesigner & deVilleneuve for 20 original plaintiffs.

The original filing claims those plaintiffs were Asante patients whose medical conditions worsened because of accused drug diversion at the hospital.

The civil case originally listed only Asante as a defendant, a practice that repeated through a few amended complaint filings to add plaintiff/s and to revise the damage amount, raising it from $303,285,000 to $337,785,000. In its new case document, Asante lists itself as a “third-party plaintiff” against Dani Marie Schofield as a new, third-party defendant in the case.

Medford Police Department arrested former Asante nurse 36-year-old Dani Schofield in June after its criminal investigation into drug diversion case at the Medford hospital.  Medford Police Department (MPD) said its investigation of the case started when Asante officials contacted MPD in December 2023. Asante had become aware of a rising number of intravenous line infection cases in patients while in its care, posting related articles online in Spring 2023.

MPD said in June that Asante provided MPD with information that all of its identified cases were isolated to patients in its Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and occurred during a specific date range.  Among the victims was at least one Klamath Falls resident who died when Schofield allegedly substituted a pain reliever with unsanitary tap water and allegedly used the drugs for her own personal benefit.

Several patients died and many others suffered, according to court filings.

 

The former Oregon juvenile probation officer tied to the killing of a celebrity hairstylist is accused of holding down the victim, covering the man’s eyes and helping an alleged accomplice stab him to death, according to California court records.

Christopher Austin, 38, of Vancouver is being held at the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles on more than $2 million bail in connection with the January 2017 stabbing death of Fabio Sementilli. Austin, who until last month worked at the Oregon Youth Authority, is charged with conspiring with Sementilli’s wife, Monica Sementilli, and her lover and porn actor Robert Louis Baker to kill Sementilli, according to court records filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The high-profile case has drawn intense media attention.

 

Oregon’s Governor Tina Kotek (D-Ore.) announced this week that the Oregon Health Authority and Oregon Health and Science University have entered into an updated agreement to ensure the continued availability of the medical abortion drug Mifepristone, according to state officials.

The governor’s office said that Gov. Kotek made the announcement in light of the national general election results as a means of ensuring the state’s emergency supply of the drug will continue into the future. OHA and OHSU partnered in April 2023 to secure a three-year supply of the drug that was approved by the Food and Drug Administration more than 20 years ago for use in miscarriage management and to end a pregnancy, the governor’s office said.

State officials said that the new supply’s expiration date is September 2028, extended its availability beyond the previous expiration date of September 2025. The governor signed the Access to Reproductive Health Care bill, formally known as House Bill 2002, into law in the summer of 2023 in order to protect access to reproductive health care and provide state funding for ensuring Oregonians statewide have broader access to needed reproductive health care, the governor’s office said.

 

St. Helens High School students are returning to class following a three-day school closure due to allegations of sexual abuse by two teachers there.  

The school held a workday yesterday to teach staff members how to properly handle sex abuse allegations.  Forty-six-year-old teacher Eric Stearns and 64-year-old former teacher Mark Collins were charged last week in connection to accusations of inappropriate touching of students.  Parents and students say the district failed to act fast enough.  The chair of the St. Helens School District Board has resigned, and the high school principal was placed on administrative leave following the allegations.

 

The University of Oregon has sent a letter to students saying it received reports of antisemitic incidents at a dorm. The letter says someone drew a swastika and removed items from a display that was supporting Israeli hostages and Jewish students. The University says the incidents are under investigation and they’re asking anyone with information to come forward.

 

Oregon has surpassed 100,000 registered electric vehicles, keeping the state in the top five for EV adoption nationwide.

Generous state rebates and a push to build more charging stations across the state have contributed to the popularity of EVs in Oregon, Oregon environmental officials Monday. The state actually crossed the green milestone in July but obtaining the DMV registration data takes several months, they said.

As of August, Oregon had about 102,400 registered cars, SUVs and light trucks, according to the state Department of Environmental Quality. That number includes both battery electric vehicles and plug-in gas-electric hybrid vehicles. Most of the vehicles were registered in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties. Oregon ranked fifth nationwide last year for the number of registered EVs per capita, following California, Washington State, Hawaii and Colorado, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

 

A plan over 12 years in the making, may soon become a reality as steps move forward on the Coquille Indian Tribe’s plans to build a casino in south Medford.

The Tribe wants to remodel the existing Roxy Ann bowling alley building on South Pacific Highway. Currently, the Tribe operates the Mill Casino in North Bend.

The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has submitted paperwork that indicates the agency’s intent to file a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) with the EPA. This is in connection to the Tribe’s application to transfer over two acres of land from fee to trust for the proposed gaming facility, as well as fee land adjacent to the proposed location to be used for parking.

The FEIS is meant to analyze the potential environmental impacts of the facility. It comes roughly two years after the draft Environmental Impact Statement was published in the Federal Register, which was followed by a public comment period totaling 90 days.

The EPA is expected to publish its Notice of Availability in the Federal Register on Friday, triggering a 30-day public comment period on the FEIS. Following the public comment period, the BIA is expected to issue a Record of Decision for the proposed action.

Oregon’s federal politicians are reacting to the news that a Medford casino could become a reality.

Senator Ron Wyden calling it reckless says, “this appears to set Oregon up on a path where decisionmakers 3000 miles away spawn a gambling arms race, changing our state forever and thoughtlessly tossing out the longstanding agreement come to in Oregon by Oregonians that all Tribes should share an equal opportunity at success rather than an endless effort of one-up-manship.  Senator Jeff Merkley feels the same way as his fellow senator.

 

Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) releases inaugural State of the State’s Housing Report for Oregon

SALEM, Ore. — Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) unveiled the first State of the State’s Housing Report for Oregon, providing an in-depth analysis of housing availability and affordability across the state. Drawing from comprehensive data on housing markets, economic trends, and demographic shifts, the report highlights the challenges Oregon residents face in affording high-quality housing.

“Being attentive to the things that add meaning to people’s lives requires reliable data,” said OHCS Executive Director Andrea Bell. “Data enables us to identify where our efforts are making an impact and where improvements are needed to make life better in ways that all people can feel and that we can measure. These data will aid in our collective efforts to deliver housing progress that communities deserve and demand.”

Oregon’s population grew by more than 753,000 residents, representing a 21% increase between 2004 and 2023. Housing construction was insufficient to keep pace with a rapidly increasing population. Oregon must add more than 500,000 housing units over the next two decades to begin addressing supply issues.

Home prices have far outpaced wage gains over the past decade in the for-sale market. For every dollar Oregonians earned in wage increases between 2013 and 2022, the median sales price of a home increased by $7.10. Communities of color continue to face significantly lower homeownership rates (49%) compared to their white counterparts (66%).

More than half of all renters in Oregon and a third of homeowners experience a housing cost burden, meaning that they spend more than 30% of their income on housing costs. Approximately 242,000 households fall into the extremely low-income or very low-income categories. Oregon only offers approximately 113,000 housing units that are both affordable and available to them, resulting in a deficit of 128,000 units for these households.

“OHCS cannot solve the deeply entrenched issues facing the people of Oregon on its own,” said Megan Bolton, assistant director of research at OHCS. “There are factors beyond housing that impact the ability of individuals to thrive in today’s economy, and it will take coordination and collaboration with our federal partners, other state agencies, and cities, both large and small, to find ways to ensure housing stability for all Oregonians.” 

OHCS expects to release a State of the State’s Housing Report every two years, with additional localized analyses in the years between each release. Reliable data enables the agency to identify where efforts are making an impact and where improvements are needed.

OHCS is Oregon’s housing finance agency. The state agency provides financial and program support to create and preserve opportunities for quality, affordable housing for Oregonians of low and moderate income. 

 

Portland Trail Blazers fans now have 25 options where they can meet other fans to watch games.

The Portland Trail Blazers are announcing the Rip City Bar Network. It’s a list of 25 bars and restaurants that’ll be showing the games. They’ll also host Trail Blazers-related events, discounts for season ticket holders and be a place where fans can enjoy away games. The locations of the Rip City Bar Network is on the Trail Blazers’ website.

 

Agencies unite to urge people to ‘Rethink the Drink’ during holidays

Four Oregon state agencies are teaming up this holiday season to support the Rethink the Drink winter advertising campaign that encourages people in Oregon to celebrate safely by understanding the health and social harms of excessive alcohol use. 

Officials at the Oregon Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission, Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, Oregon Department of Transportation and Oregon Health Authority hope the tools provided by the campaign help people reduce the pressure to drink alcohol during family gatherings or holiday parties. 

“In these environments, it’s easy to drink more than you normally might,” said Tom Jeanne, M.D., M.P.H., deputy state health officer and deputy state epidemiologist at OHA. “We can all support one another to drink less, and that includes having healthy and honest conversations about our alcohol use.”  

Each year, more than 2,500 people in Oregon die from alcohol-related causes, including cancers, heart disease, liver disease, violence and vehicle crashes. Excessive alcohol use is the third leading cause of preventable death in Oregon.  

“The holiday season is the perfect opportunity to show support for loved ones who are working to avoid excessive alcohol use,” said ADPC Director Annaliese Dolph. “It is a great time to encourage healthy choices. The journey to wellness requires rethinking our relationships with different substances, and it requires the love and support of our communities.” 

Holiday events and binge drinking sometimes go hand in hand. That can contribute to unsafe driving and other dangerous behavior. Binge drinking impairs judgment, slows reaction times and increases the likelihood of making fatal decisions.  

“Preventing impaired driving is a shared responsibility, and each of us can do our part to make sure our celebrations don’t put others at risk,” said Ryan Stone, Impaired Driving Program manager for ODOT’s Transportation Safety Office. “By planning ahead—whether that’s designating a sober driver, arranging a rideshare, using public transportation, or supporting friends who choose to drink to get home safely—we can help keep our roads safe. Let’s make this season one of joy and safety for all.” 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s definition of excessive drinking includes both heavy drinking and binge drinking:  

• Binge drinking is when a man has five or more standard drinks in one setting or occasion. For a woman, it’s four or more drinks.
• Heavy drinking, the kind that can harm your health in the long term, is 15 drinks or more a week for a man. For a woman, it’s eight or more drinks.   

Binge drinking is the most common and costly form of excessive drinking, and it’s not just an issue for young people: people in their 30s and 40s binge drink at close to the same rates as younger people. But there are many things people can do this time of year to support friends and family to drink less.

“Not everyone drinks alcohol and not all drinkers want to drink only alcohol, so it’s good to have alternatives,” said Craig Prins, OLCC’s executive director. “If you’re hosting an event this holiday season, offer non-alcoholic beverage options and be sure to have food available for guests.”

In addition to offering non-alcoholic options during holiday events and encouraging people to arrange for a designated driver, rideshare or taxi, there are other ways people can keep themselves and others from drinking too much this holiday season:  

• Avoid asking people why they aren’t drinking or pressuring them to drink more.
• Drink plenty of water and eat food while drinking alcohol.
• Consider swapping every other drink with water or a non-alcoholic beverage, or watering down a drink with ice or a low-sugar mixer.
• If you’re planning to drink, set a limit for that event.
• Count drinks when at an event or out with friends. Use an app to track drink consumption.

If you or someone you care about is suffering from alcohol dependence or an alcohol use disorder, free confidential resources and support are available online or by calling or 1-800-923-435. 

 

Oregon school districts are projected to pay $670 million more to the state’s public employee pension program over the next two years, potentially wiping out all increases to school funding proposed by Gov. Tina Kotek.

The increased tab, more than 10% for some districts, follows lagging returns in investments of the Public Employees Retirement system and could affect teaching and learning in some schools. The impact will vary, with most of Oregon’s 197 school districts and 17 community colleges facing an average 1.5% increase in their payroll going to PERS during the 2025-27 budget cycle, according to a PERS presentation last month. But 22 districts are facing average increases of 10% or more in part because investment returns have been lower than expected but mainly because side investment accounts meant to help buffer PERS increases are expiring.

For 72 school districts that don’t have one of these accounts, the average contribution rate for PERS will soon amount to about 27% of payroll. Overall, school districts and colleges will pay $565 million more in the next two years compared with the 2023-25 biennium, while about 77,000 vested employees, who also pay into PERS, will pay $105 million more.

The increased costs to districts will more than erase the $515 million boost proposed by Kotek for school funding for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years. She announced in July that she’d ask the state Legislature early next year to send more than half a billion dollars to the State School Fund for the next biennium to boost student outcomes, literacy rates and more. The fund is responsible for the bulk of district funding, and payroll makes up about 85% of school budgets.

 

A Springfield elementary school teacher is on administrative leave after showing a 1st-Grade class a sexual education video.

The video, titled “Help kids learn why it’s important to keep private parts private” was shown to first grade students at Mount Vernon Elementary. While the video is animated in a more child centric way, the video ends with discussing touching ones privates, and the act of which feeling good.

Springfield Public Schools confirmed that the teacher who showed the video is now on leave. According to the district teachers are expected to utilize District-approved, age-appropriate instructional materials/curriculum when providing instruction to students and that teachers may use special aids with the express approval of the principal. Springfield Public Schools has confirmed that they are investigating this incident.

       

A new memorial park opening at the state Capitol this month will honor the 790 Oregonians who died, and the more than 180,000 Oregonians who fought, during the 20 years of the Vietnam War.

The memorial is designed to be a reflective outdoor space in Salem’s Willson Park, located in the southwest corner of the Capitol grounds, adjacent to the World War II Memorial. Architect Mike Abbaté designed the memorial to include 46 granite columns engraved with the names of Oregonians who died in the Vietnam War, from 1955 to 1975.

It’s meant to contrast with the solid granite wall of the neighboring World War II memorial. The Department of Defense lists 710 Oregon residents who died in the Vietnam War, but that figure is based only on the state in which a soldier entered the service.

 

Make fishing part of your Thanksgiving weekend plans with friends and family. Everyone can fish, clam and crab for free in Oregon on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 29-30, 2024.

No fishing/shellfish licenses or tags (including a Combined Angling Tag, Columbia River Basin Endorsement or Two-Rod Validation) are required those two days. Both Oregon residents and nonresidents can fish for free. All other fishing regulations apply including closures, bag limits and size restrictions.

See the Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations for rules and remember to check for any in-season regulation updates too, especially for salmon and steelhead fishing. Click on the zone where you want to fish to see regulation updates.

The Recreation Report is updated weekly and features the best bests for fishing for the upcoming week. Depending on water levels and conditions, fishing could be good for Chinook or coho salmon; again be sure to check regulations first because not all rivers are open.

Trout will also be stocked the week before Thanksgiving at several popular lakes in the Willamette Valley. Prefer to crab or clam instead? MyODFW.com has all the information you need to get started clamming or crabbing.

Remember to check ocean conditions and take safety precautions—always clam with a friend and never turn your back on the ocean. Call the ODA Shellfish safety hotline at 1-800-448-2474 or check their Shellfish Closures page before you go clamming or crabbing. The Oregon Department of Agriculture regularly tests shellfish and closes areas when naturally occurring biotoxins get to levels that make crabs and clams unsafe to eat. Currently, crabbing is open in bays, beaches, estuaries, tide pools, piers and jetties along the entire Oregon coast. Crabbing is closed in the ocean due to the annual closure from Oct. 16-Nov. 30 each year.

As of mid-November, razor clamming is closed from Cascade Head to the California border due to high levels of the marine biotoxin domoic acid, but closures may change by Thanksgiving Weekend so check before you go.

 

SAFETY TIPS FOR YOUR HOME 

Winter has arrived in the Northwest. It is the reminder to check your yard and tend to maintenance issues around your home.

“This is the time to check the condition of your trees and a good opportunity to prune them before they become an issue once storms start,” said Jeremy Gee, Pacific Power’s vice president of health and safety. “Winter storms that bring down branches are a common source of power outages. Check around your property to see if any trees or branches could harm power lines if they fell. Some preventative work now could save you additional trouble and inconvenience related to power outages later.”

Use caution when pruning trees. Don’t use pruning tools or ladders near power lines. Always keep yourself and anything you’re handling at least 10 feet away from overhead power lines. Never try to remove a branch that is tangled or lying across a power line. Instead, call Pacific Power at 

1-888-221-7070. We’ll be happy to remove it for you.

Some additional tips for fall safety:

• Treat all electric lines with caution.
• Use only wooden and fiberglass ladders. Metal ladders conduct electricity.
• Be aware and steer clear of overhead electrical wires when installing, removing, cleaning or repairing gutters.
• Never use electrical equipment or tools near a pool or other wet areas such as puddles. Additionally, make sure outlets are equipped with a ground fault circuit interrupter, designed to automatically disconnect if the tool comes into contact with water.
• Plant trees and shrubs away from meters, switching cabinets and boxed transformers. Vegetation that blocks electrical equipment makes repairs and maintenance challenging and sometimes dangerous for utility workers.
• Have help when installing or adjusting a satellite dish or antenna. Make sure you’re working at least 10 feet away from overhead power lines.
• Underground power lines are just as dangerous as overhead ones. If your project involves digging, make sure the locations of underground power lines are marked. Call 811 to have underground utilities located and marked for free.

For more safety tips or to order free Pacific Power safety materials, call toll free at 800-375-7085 or visit PacificPower.net/Safety.

 

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