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, December 6, 2024

Klamath Basin Weather

Air Stagnation Advisory thru December 7, 4:00PM

Today
Sunny Sunny with a high near 47 degrees. Light wind to 5 mph. Overnight, mostly cloudy with a low around 20.

 

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Around the State of Oregon

Governor Tina Kotek unveiling her 2025 through 2027 budget plan titled Building on Progress.

In this new budget Kotek’s top priorities remain the same: homelessness and housing, behavioral health, and education. She says the focus of the budget is continuing to build on the progress from her last budget plan.. It calls for more than $835 million towards children and youth and more than $330 million for the behavioral health workforce. The governor’s top objectives continue to be to provide homelessness resources and building more affordable housing. 

Kotek also touched on climate change, community safety, transportation, and natural disaster readiness.

 

SOUTHERN OREGON EVENTS

Jacksonville OR will host its Victorian Christmas event every night in December except for Dec. 24 and 25 at 185 N Oregon St.

Admission is free except for some activities, such as Trolley tours. Events include trolley tours, a tree lighting ceremony, a holiday parade, bingo, hot cider and holiday music.

The Crater Performing Arts Center will perform The Nutcracker Ballet on Dec. 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22, with prices ranging from $14 to $30.

Gold Hill is bringing back its Winterfest on Dec. 21 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. There will be games, art activities, food and prizes.

Talent, Oregon is hosting its tree lighting ceremony from 5 p.m.to 8 p.m. on Dec. 6 at Old Town Hall. There will also be a local goods market.

In northern California, Alpaca On the Rocks in Weed CA is hosting a Pictures with Santa event on Dec. 15 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A $20 admission will cover up to two children, with a $10 admission added for each additional child. There will be vendors, apple cider and hot chocolate.

 

Mt. Ashland Ski Area has announced it will open early for the 2024-25 season on Friday, Dec. 6, for Season Passholder Appreciation Day, and on Saturday, Dec. 7, for all guests.

Sonnet, Comer and Windsor lifts will be running from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Single-day lift tickets will not be available for purchase until Saturday, Dec. 7. The ski area will feature upgrades such as the widening of Aisle 2 (the entryway to the main mountain), updated LED night lighting for Twilight Skiing beginning Jan. 9, and the opening of the first new chairlift in over 30 years.

The announcement for the grand opening of Lithia Chair will be coming soon with the completion of the chairlift made possible by the largest gift in Mt. Ashland Ski Area history — $2 million from the Sid & Karen Deboer Foundation, with an additional $500,000 from Sid & Karen Deboer.

All services will be available on opening day including lessons, rentals, retail shop, T-bar Lounge and the Gemütlichkeit Grill. Be one of the first 100 guests on Windsor on Dec. 6 and receive a 2024/25 Winter Season neck gaiter.

Mt. Ashland’s opening day festivities are brought to you by People’s Bank. In keeping with Mt. Ashland Ski Area’s effort to be transparent with the community, on Nov. 22, Ariel Chair’s Tower 8, was struck by a fallen tree, which forced the closure of that chairlift for the start of the winter season.

The tree removal itself took a total of 11 hours between trained tree removal professionals and mountain operations teams. The crew is determining next steps based on the assessed damage. Ariel Chair will operate this winter, but with an opening date to be determined based on the extent of repairs required to operate safely.

The Ski Area will notify the public as soon as they have a date set for Ariel Chair opening for the season, With the highest snow levels in November since 1994 and many skiers and riders wanting to take pre-season turns to get ready for opening day, Mt. Ashland is opening up uphill travel access through Sunday, Dec. 1.

The Ski Area strongly encourages uphill travelers to continue to check the Mountain report throughout the weekend and prior to Opening Day at https://www.mtashland.com/mountain-report for updates on uphill travel access and road conditions.

The ski season’s events begin with its Winter Kick-off Party on Dec. 7 from noon to 4 p.m. with live music, food and vendors. Stay up to date with all of Mt. Ashland Ski Area’s events on the events page: https://www.mtashland.com/event-directory/

Mt. Ashland Ski Area is owned and operated by the 501©3 nonprofit Mt. Ashland Association under a special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service. Its mission is to provide and promote healthy alpine recreation.

 

Heading into the holiday season, Pacific Power is reminding customers to be vigilant about fraudulent communications from scammers posing as utility representatives.

This activity tends to increase during this time of year.Customers can protect themselves from these types of schemes by being aware of the following facts:

Pacific Power will not contact any customer demanding immediate payment to avoid disconnection of service.

Pacific Power does not ask customers to make payments by purchasing a prepaid card. You and other customers can always choose how you would like to make your payments. service the same day.

Pacific Power will not demand immediate payment for damaged or broken electrical equipment or any other service.

Pacific Power customer service employees will always have your correct account number. Scammers increasingly have used text messages as a means of targeting victims will not demand payment via text message.

Pacific Power encourages customers to set up their online billing profile at Pay My Bill (pacificpower.net) where they can pay bills and review statements. Scammers may use a sophisticated deceptive tactic that makes it appear to caller ID systems that the call is coming from Pacific Power when it is not. Hang up and call Customer Service directly.

Remember, if you still have concerns about the legitimacy of a call, you can always call our published customer service number, 1-888-221-7070. Pacific Power is asking customers to report information about any scam calls received, including the phone number the person is calling from and any information that may help to track down the fraudsters.  

 

Oregon’s public universities are warning that Governor Tina Kotek’s proposed budget doesn’t spend enough on higher education.  

They say that without an increase of 275-million-dollars there would need to be tuition increases to maintain current levels of programs.

 

 

The SNAP food benefits program is offering to replace food that was lost due to power outages caused by the bomb cyclone last month.

People in 22 counties qualify for the extended SNAP benefits. The replacement request must be submitted by December 18th either by calling Oregon DHS or filling out a form online or at a DHS office.

 

Wells Fargo on Wednesday told state workforce officials it will lay off 500 workers in Hillsboro and 221 workers in Salem.

 

The bank previously said it will pull out of offices in Hillsboro, Portland and Salem in 2025 as it consolidates operations elsewhere. Wells Fargo ranks No. 4 in deposit market share among banks in Oregon with 12% of the state’s deposits, according to the latest data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

It has 74 offices — including its retail bank branches — in the state. The bank announced 95 layoffs in Hillsboro in July after cutting 316 workers in the Portland suburb in 2023. It’s unclear what operations the bank housed at the impacted Hillsboro location. The Salem office was part of the bank’s global operations business, which is separate from Wells Fargo bank branches, and supports consumer and commercial banking and other corporate functions.

 

Impacted workers at both locations were notified on Tuesday, according to letters the bank sent to state workforce officials. Workers who don’t transfer will get severance that includes a period of health insurance coverage.

 

A Grant County man has been missing nearly a week in Harney County.

A rancher found Michael Griffin’s car parked on a local access road with his dog inside. Deputies use drones, side-by-sides and a search plane, but couldn’t find Griffin. K-9s tracked him for about six miles. His dog is being cared for as the search continues.

 

More Oregonians can apply for Defensible Space Grants. The Oregon State Fire Marshal’s office is adding communities to the program. Property owners can request a 250-dollar grant to help pay for defensible space improvements to reduce fire danger.

They need to get a free assessment first. Those can be scheduled at Oregon Defensible Space dot org. Eligible communities were chosen based on their vulnerability to wildfire.

 

Seven French students will be on the Klamath Community College campus for the winter term in early January.

KCC is partnering with the CESI School of Engineering in France as part of a student exchange program, according to Fred Griffiths, KCC’s director of International Studies. In turn, KCC hopes to send several students and a faculty member to France.

The college also signed a partnership with Rennes School of Business just outside Paris. That program will allow KCC business students who want to earn a bachelor of science degree within three years to finish their business studies in France in the third year.

The French students coming to Klamath Falls will need housing, and Griffiths is asking families in the community to put the students up for 11 weeks. A stipend will be paid to the families to help cover costs. Four of the French students will study in the Computer Engineering Technology program and the others will attend the Manufacturing Engineering Technology program. They will each take an average of four classes for the term.

For more details on CESI, visit cesi.fr/en; and for Rennes, visit rennes-sb.com. To contact Griffiths about hosting students from France, email griffiths@klamathcc.edu. Contact Linda Williamson at williamson@klamathcc.edu.

 

Oregonians lost $136 million from holiday shopping scams last year, according to a new study from Social Catfish.

The study says that Oregon ranked #22 in the nation for victims per capita, with 991 per 100,000 residents losing money in a holiday scam.  Scammers are salivating because Americans will spend a record $240 billion buying gifts online this holiday season, giving them unprecedented opportunities to steal gift-givers’ hard-earned money.

Residents can avoid holiday scams by doing the following:  Be wary of look-a-like stores that have AI chatbots to make it look legit. Carefully check the store’s URL to make sure it’s the official store website — for example, if you’re shopping at Macy’s, the website should be Macys.com instead of Maceys.com.

Look out for deepfake videos that falsely make it look like trusted public figures are promoting Black Friday deals. The video is a deepfake if the audio isn’t matching up, there are extra body parts, or the person is only speaking in one tone of voice or showing one facial expression.

Be careful when marketplaces sell you “discounted” gift cards that have a zero balance. Reverse search the seller to verify their identity.

A popular scam involves the scammer sending an alert to a consumer saying there is suspicious activity. When the consumer goes to verify their account, the scammer has AI customer service representatives steal their information. If you get a suspicious activity alert, avoid this scam by contacting the company “only by using the main number on their website. You are asked to report any scam you’ve discovered to local authorities and the website administrator if possible.

SALEM, Ore. — Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) is excited to launch a new online community platform, Balance of State Community Hub, a communication and resource sharing portal for rural Oregon.

Like LinkedIn meets Reddit, the Balance of State Community Hub connects providers and staff from agencies and organizations in the Balance of State (BoS) communities working to end homelessness in rural Oregon.

“Our mission is to create lasting, sustainable solutions to end homelessness across rural Oregon, and collaboration is a key part of that success,” said OHCS Executive Director Andrea Bell. “The community platform will allow us to break down barriers and support our partners more effectively, ensuring that resources and information are always within reach for our dedicated community organizations.”

Over the past six months, Civic Roundtable and OHCS have been working one-on-one collaboratively with almost 30 BoS service providers to create community spaces that meet the following needs of those doing this critical work.

• Connect Grantees: Connect housing and homeless service providers across rural Oregon. The online platform supports up to 1,000 providers.
• System Integration: Connect and search databases, websites, and existing resources.
• Access Information: Learn about upcoming and current local, state, and federal resources including funding opportunities, grant applications, and requirements.
• Share Resources: Uploading resources, templates, and other useful information to the hub’s resource library
• BoS Calendar: Sharing events and learning about events in BoS communities
• Reclaim Time: This platform’s purpose is to preserve the most valuable resource of this work—time.

“Access to this new tool is a much-needed addition to communication efficiency in the 26 counties that make up the Balance of State,” said Balance of State Continuum of Care Program Manager Brooke Matthews. “It allows us to share vital resources and updates quickly and efficiently, ensuring that direct service agencies are able to collaborate effectively when delivering housing and support services. This initiative strengthens our ability to work together with other organizations and truly make a difference in resolving homelessness in some of the most underrepresented communities in Oregon.”

Civic Roundtable’s communication and resource-sharing platform emerged from Harvard Innovation Labs with grant funding provided by Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. By strengthening ties and fostering collaboration, the platform will support BoS’ strategic goals and enhance its ability to serve Oregon’s most vulnerable populations.

About the Balance of State Continuum of Care

The Balance of State Continuum of Care encourages members communities to develop comprehensive systems to address the range of needs of homeless (and at-risk of homelessness) populations by providing a framework for organizing and delivering housing and services. The overall approach is predicated on the understanding that homelessness is not caused merely by a lack of shelter but involves a variety of underlying and unmet needs— physical, economic, and social.

Currently, the Balance of State Continuum of Care includes members from the 26 counties that are not covered by any other Continuum of Care: Baker, Benton, Clatsop, Columbia, Coos, Curry, Douglas, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Hood River, Josephine, Klamath, Lake, Lincoln, Linn, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Tillamook, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Wasco, Wheeler, and Yamhill. For more information, please visit: https://oregonbos.org/.

 

 

An Oregon State University study underscores the need for state regulation to avert an economic and ecological crisis in the Harney Basin region.

The Harney Basin region in southeast Oregon sits in a semi-arid high desert. Yet, it’s dotted with green circles of water-hungry alfalfa grown for cattle feed. For years, scientists have closely studied the basin to get a more clear picture of just how much groundwater is pumped to water those crops. Scientists already knew there was a problem, but a new report gives them a more concrete idea. It finds sustainable rates of groundwater pumping were surpassed 20 years before residents and state regulators started ringing the alarm bells.

The study, co-authored by Oregon State University and the U.S. Geological Survey, models over a dozen solutions state regulators and community groups could consider to stabilize groundwater levels in the area. And it then simulates the outcome of each solution over the course of 30 years and their impact on groundwater levels and the profitability of farms that rely on that water to irrigate crops — which contribute millions of dollars to the local economy.

For the last three decades, groundwater pumping for agricultural irrigation — which accounts for around 97% of the region’s groundwater use — has increased to unsustainable levels, and now outflow from the Harney Basin is more than can naturally be replenished by rain and snowmelt from the mountains. That’s partly because, for years, the state over-allocated groundwater rights in the area.

 

Recreational crabbing is now open coast-wide in all Oregon bays and the Pacific Ocean.

 

However, the state says commercial crabbing remains closed across Oregon.According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), two consecutive tests of crab samples indicate levels of domoic acid are below the safety threshold from Cape Blanco to the California border.

The state says people should always call the Shellfish Safety Hotline at 1-800-448-2474 before heading out to harvest any shellfish.

 

More information can be found on the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Recreational Shellfish Biotoxin Closures webpage..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Oregon newspapers that recently sold to an out-of-state buyer, along with the rest of the EO Media Group chain, are preparing to sell their respective longtime headquarters.

 

The Astorian newspaper is marketing its Clatsop County headquarters building for $1.5 million. And the Blue Mountain Eagle, which serves Grant County, has similarly listed its building for sale for $425,000.

 

The newspapers said in stories they published about the plans to sell property that they would continue to report the news and offer advertising services.

 

Mississippi-based Carpenter Media Group bought EO Media and its dozen newspapers last month. It acquired Pamplin Media Group, the publisher of two dozen Oregon newspapers, just a few months earlier. News and advertising at the Astorian will either move to new offices or lease back space from new owners after the Exchange Street building and production facility sells, the Astorian said in a story published last week.

 

The paper has been at its half-block property at 949 Exchange St. in Astoria for 54 years, and in the community since 1873.

Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services has let people take the non-commercial driver’s license knowledge test online in English and Spanish since October 2023. The test is now available in six additional languages: Arabic, Chinese (simplified Mandarin), Japanese, Korean, Russian and Vietnamese.

The online test is offered in the same eight languages available at on-site testing screens in DMV offices. In its first year, 22,642 customers passed the knowledge test online. During that same period, 66,195 customers passed the test at DMV offices.

Choosing the online test lets you take the test at your convenience. The online testing experience closely mirrors testing at a DMV office, and there is no difference in fees. Online knowledge testing requires a desktop or laptop computer with a mouse, keyboard and functioning webcam. You cannot complete the test using a touchscreen device like a phone or tablet. Teens under 18 need an adult 21 years or older to supervise their test as they take it.

Testing online lets you know if you have passed the exam before coming into the DMV office. This can save multiple trips into the office if you don’t pass the first time. After you pass your test online, you will need to come into an office with your identity documents and pass a vision screening. You will then be issued a permit or be eligible to schedule a drive test, depending on your age.

Learn more on the DMV online test webpage. Online knowledge testing is one of more than 20 transactions that can be done online at DMV2U. 

 

Oregon State Parks has added Brookings to the cities where overnight beach camping is banned.

Residents near Mill Beach voiced concerns about public health, risks to public safety, and impacts on the marine ecosystem. Over 90 percent of comments expressed support for the ban. Brookings joins Seaside, Cannon Beach, Manzanita, Rockaway Beach, Lincoln City, Newport, Bandon and Gold Beach where camping is also banned.

 

Thanks for reading the the news on BasinLife.com from Wynne Broadcasting.

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