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.

 

Tuesday, January 7, 2024

Klamath Basin Weather

Air Stagnation Advisory in effect from Tuesday, January 7 until Friday, January 10, 12:00 PM

Today
Patchy freezing fog between 10am and 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 43. Light and variable wind.

 

 

Around the State of Oregon

Oregon’s Congressional delegation was sworn in on Friday in Washington D. C. when the new Congress convened.

Janelle Bynum is the freshman representative after defeating Lori Chavez Deremer. Andrea Salinas and Val Hoyle are entering their second terms in the 4th and 6th Districts. This will be Suzanne Bonamici’s seventh term. She says fighting for a bipartisan Farm Bill that protects specialty crops is one of her priorities.

Oregon’s only GOP Representative Cliff Bentz says he’ll work with his Republican colleagues to deliver solutions that put Americans first.

 

A man who had been missing since December 15 while taking pictures on the coast has been found dead.

Joseph Neill was last seen when he went out to take photographs of the king tides. According to the Coos County Sheriffs Office, Neill’s body was found on the southern beach area of Haynes Inlet in North Bend.

Upon recovery of the body, the chief deputy medical examiner was requested. It was then determined that the body was that of 72 year old Joseph Neill.

 

The Oregon Department of Transportation is proudly supporting January’s Human Trafficking Prevention Month, a presidentially designated observance designed to educate the public about human trafficking and the role they can play in preventing and responding to the crime.

Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery that involves the use of force, fraud, or pressure to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. Victims can be any age, race, gender or nationality.

More than 27 million people annually fall victim to human trafficking worldwide, and according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 132 cases involving 248 victims were identified in Oregon in 2023. 

As part of the monthly observance, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance holds a Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative Jan. 13-17. During that week, our trained motor carrier enforcement officers and safety inspectors from our Commerce and Compliance Division will be working with law enforcement to hand out human trafficking awareness materials in English and Spanish to truck drivers and motor carriers at weigh stations across the state.

We are sharing awareness information on TripCheck, variable message signs around the state, radio spots, billboard ads and social media posts throughout the month. We have also lit up the Woodburn Bridge in shades of blue to shine a light on human trafficking.

If you suspect human trafficking, do not confront a suspected trafficker or alert a victim to any suspicions.

it’s an emergency, call 9-1-1 or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. The hotline is operated 24 hours a day by a nongovernmental organization. You may also text HELP or INFO to 233733 (BEFREE).

We are pleased to partner with Department of Homeland Security, Oregon Trucking Association, TAT (formerly Truckers Against Trafficking), Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, Bowman Trucking and law enforcement to raise awareness about human trafficking and provide people with resources to educate and work toward stopping this dreadful crime.

 

The Oregon Nurses Association is planning to have 5,000 health care workers strike at Providence facilities across the state on Friday, January 12^th, including Providence Medford Medical Center. 

This comes after ONA and Providence have been at odds over a new contract, following the old deal at the Medford facility expiring on March 24. In the most recent development, the two groups bargained for five days until Dec. 20. After a “cool-down” period that ended on Dec. 26, ONA announced the strike last week.”From dangerous practices like understaffing critical care units and emergency rooms that delay care and endanger patients, Providence has ignored its responsibilities to its workers, its patients, and to Oregonians,” ONA said in a news release. “Healthcare workers are asking Providence to invest more in patient safety, stop cuts to healthcare, follow the Safe Staffing law, and offer regionally competitive wages and benefits to be able to recruit and retain more staff.”  In the release, ONA said they were striking due to Providence “[failing] to make necessary investments in patient care and the communities they served,” and said Providence has also failed to address understaffing, give their workers competitive wages and benefits and provide workers with good health care.   “[We’re also striking because of] multiple unfair labor practices filed against Providence: refusal to bargain, bargaining in bad faith, unilateral implementation of mandatory subjects, denial of access to employee representatives, and retaliation against union leaders,” the release said.   The strike includes health care workers in Medford, Portland, Seaside, St. Vincent, Providence Women’s Clinic, Milwaukie, Willamette Falls, Newberg and Hood River, the release said. 

Workers are expected to start their strike at 6 a.m. on Jan. 10. Medford nurses previously participated in a strike in June, and have been bargaining with Providence since January. 

 

An investigation is underway after a body was found Friday on a vacant lot in Salem.

 

The lot is located in a residential area on Lancaster Drive Southeast, across from an industrial pond. The person’s identity and cause of death remain unknown, pending the results of an autopsy by the state medical examiner.

 

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is inviting the public to get involved in the update of Oregon’s State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), a crucial blueprint for conservation efforts across the state.

 

The first community engagement session took place yesterday via Microsoft Teams, launching a six-month process to revise and enhance the Oregon Conservation Strategy. The SWAP is a key component of Oregon’s efforts to protect biodiversity and natural ecosystems.

Developed as part of a national initiative coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, each state has its own Wildlife Action Plan designed to address the conservation of fish, wildlife, and their habitats. The Oregon SWAP focuses on proactively protecting species and habitats that are in decline to prevent future federal or state listings. Oregon is facing a biodiversity crisis that affects the health of its ecosystems, economy and communities. 

It is vital for all of us to take action by supporting conservation efforts, restoring natural habitats, and protecting our fish and wildlife. By working together to update the SWAP, we can protect Oregon’s rich biodiversity and ensure a sustainable future for generations to come. 

The SWAP provides an overview of key conservation challenges in Oregon, highlighting species of greatest conservation need (SGCN), priority habitats, and strategies to address ongoing issues. As part of the national effort, each state must update its Wildlife Action Plan every 10 years, and ODFW aims to finalize Oregon’s updated SWAP by Oct. 1, 2025.

 

The Bureau of Land Management will close the East Applegate Ridge Trailhead access from Sterling Creek Road Jan. 13 through Jan. 31 for public safety.

 

The road will reopen on the weekends to provide access to the trailhead. A private landowner is exercising a right-of-way grant to haul timber across BLM Road 38-2-29.1, which is the route that accesses the trailhead. The timber is being removed from private lands in the area. This closure is necessary to ensure the safety of the public and the heavy equipment operators.  They will reopen the road as soon as it is safe to do so. 

 

The western access to the East Applegate Ridge Trail on Highway 238 will remain open. Other trails in the area offer a great alternative, including the Jack-Ash Trail and the Sterling Mine Ditch Trail. January is also a great time to explore some nearby hidden gems, like the Enchanted Forest Trail or the Tallowbox Trail.

 

 

The National Weather Service is warning the public of a moderate risk for sneaker waves in Douglas, Coos and Curry counties this week.

 

Sneaker waves are waves that can run up beaches and outcroppings farther inland than normal waves. These waves can knock people off their feet and roll or carry debris such as tree logs. As sneaker waves recede, they can also carry people out into deeper water. High tides will be on Monday evening from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. through all day Tuesday.

 

 

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is warning families about a scam related to AMBER Alerts.

 

According to the agency, scammers pose as AMBER Alert representatives and offer to ‘register’ your child over the phone. They will ask for confidential information and even request to meet you at your house. CHP says this is not how the AMBER Alert System works and offers the following tips to stay informed and keep your family safe.

CHP is the only agency authorized to activate AMBER Alerts, and no registration is required.

Never provide personal information or answer calls from unknown or potential scam numbers. If you have been contacted by a scammer, report it to local law enforcement immediately.

 

Flooding and a landslide have closed two state parks on the southern Oregon Coast.

Cape Arago and Shore Acres state parks are closed after a landslide undercut a portion of Cape Arago Highway. Sunset Bay State Park was evacuated Friday morning due to flooding. The Sunset Bay day-use area remains open, but could close if the flooding continues.

There’s no estimate for when the Cape Arago Highway will be repaired. Park staff will assess other damage following the storm.

 

The Biden administration, which has basically ignored Oregon in the last four years, awarded its third and final national semiconductor research site to Arizona State University on Monday, rejecting pleas from Oregon and Intel to put the site in Hillsboro.

The decision is no surprise. Oregon officials had felt for many weeks that the state’s chances were evaporating. Gov. Tina Kotek dropped her plan to allocate farmland near Hillsboro for the project late last month.  Still, Monday’s decision to put the prototyping and packaging site in Arizona will sting. The two other sites went to upstate New York and to Silicon Valley.

The three National Semiconductor Technology Centers come with hundreds of millions of dollars in federal investment in anticipation of millions more from the private sector. They were authorized by the 2022 CHIPS Act, which aims to revive domestic semiconductor manufacturing and make the U.S. less reliant on technology from Asia.

 

Two children died of the flu in Oregon over Christmas week, the first such pediatric deaths in the state in two years, according to state health officials.

They’re among 11 deaths of children from the flu nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Every year, the flu kills hundreds of people in Oregon, with the CDC showing 370 deaths in the state 2022, the latest year available. But pediatric deaths are relatively rare, said Dr. Paul Cieslak, head of infectious diseases and vaccinations at the Oregon Health Authority. No children in Oregon died from the flu last year or in the 2021-22 and 2020-21 seasons, but three died during 2022-23 and four died during the 2019-20 season, state data shows.

The last flu season was particularly deadly for children across the country, with 200 dying from the flu, marking a new high from 2019-20 when 199 children died, the CDC said. 

To get a flu shot, go to vaccines.gov, call 211 or go to 211info.org.

Cieslak declined to provide any details about the Oregon kids who died, saying during a Friday news conference only that they were younger than 18 and died the week of Dec. 22 to 28. Their deaths were cited in the latest edition of the health authority’s weekly flu update that tracks hospitalizations in the Portland area.

The newsletter said currently 146 people are hospitalized in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties with the flu. Cieslak said more than 470 have been hospitalized this season in the Portland area. The flu season started at the beginning of October, and Cieslak said it’s been an average year, noting that every year takes a toll.

 

According to a post from Grants Pass Police Department, suspects have been accused of shooting at multiple apartments and then fleeing the scene in a vehicle. 

Four suspects are in custody. They are 32-year-old William Michael of Grants Pass, 20-year-old Joseph Treetop of Josephine County, 18-year-old Easton Foley of Josephine County and 18-year-old Austin Shaw-Rideout of Josephine County. Each of the men is being charged with six counts of attempted murder and six counts of unlawful use of a weapon. 

Police officers checked every apartment for victims and fortunately learned no one had been struck by the numerous gunshots.  The initial investigation did conclude that six people in two different apartments could have been struck by gunfire if the trajectories had been slightly different. For that reason, the case became an attempted murder investigation. 

There were several hundred hours of manpower used to conduct interviews, collect evidence, and search for the suspects. 

 

St. Helens High School choir teacher Eric Stearns is back in custody facing a new indictment with additional sex abuse charges after six additional alleged victims were identified, according to a Columbia County prosecutor.

Stearns, 46, turned himself in Saturday afternoon to the Columbia County Jail after police showed up to his home earlier in the day when he wasn’t home.

The new 18-count indictment, filed in court Friday afternoon, alleges sexual abuse of 12 different people, starting as far back as January 2015 and in some cases continuing through early this school year. He was placed on leave from his job in mid-November. 

He’s accused of touching students’ lips, necks, buttocks and chests, according to the indictment.

The 18-count indictment now charges Stearns with 13 counts of second-degree abuse, four counts of third-degree sexual abuse and one count of first-degree sexual abuse.

 

Fluorescent lamps are now an item of the past as the rest of Oregon House Bill 2531 took effect January 1, 2025.

The bill originally began with a prohibition of distribution and sales in the state of new screw- or bayonet-base type compact fluorescent lamps on January 1, 2024.

HB 2531 says that fluorescent bulbs contain mercury which can be released into the environment as a liquid or vapor when a bulb breaks.  Mercury exposure can cause negative health effects that can include harming internal organs and the nervous system in humans, as well as in fish and wildlife.

The rest of HB 2531 that began at the start of this year prohibits the sale or distribution in Oregon of new pin-base type compact fluorescent lamps and linear fluorescent lamps — those are the long ones you often see in offices.

All fluorescent lamps will no longer be found on store shelves as many local businesses pulled products down before the new year began. According to the Staff Measure Summary, a civil penalty may be enacted for anyone who violates the house bill.  

 

Flooding remains an ongoing concern in parts of Siskiyou County, particularly in areas like Scott Valley and Fort Jones.

While conditions have improved slightly, the risk of further flooding persists as additional storm systems approach. Bryan Schenone, Director of Emergency Services for Siskiyou County, explained that recent heavy rainfall has led to swollen rivers, including the Scott River, which has merged with Kidder Creek, significantly increasing water levels.   The ground is very saturated, and the water has nowhere to go but into the watershed.  The Scott River continues to swell and push water into the Klamath River, which is already at flood stage.

So far, there have been no reports of major infrastructure damage, though some roadways have been flooded. Schenone emphasized that residents should avoid driving through flooded roads.  Although conditions have slightly improved in some areas, the ground remains saturated, and further rain is expected. Schenone also reminded residents that the situation could change rapidly, and staying updated on weather alerts is important.

You’ll need a Real ID to fly domestically, starting in May of 2025, that’s unless you have a passport or enhanced driver’s license issued by several states.

The deadline is May 7, 2025, but you probably don’t want to wait until the last minute to get your Real ID. You can apply for your Real ID driver’s license or ID card through your local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

Real IDs are marked with a star on the top of the card. Real IDs will also be needed to access certain federal facilities. Congress mandated the real IDs in 2005 on the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission.

 

Food vendors and restaurants in Oregon are now required to stop using plastic foam takeout containers due to a law passed by the Oregon legislature in 2023.

The new law bans the usage, sale, and distribution of the plastic foam containers, commonly known by the brand name Styrofoam, effective Jan. 1. It also prohibits businesses from using and selling foam packing peanuts and single-use plastic foam containers contain poly-fluorinated substances which have been linked to reproductive issues, cancer, high cholesterol, and immune system suppression, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.e foam coolers.

Many businesses have already replaced their foam containers with paper or reusable plastic containers, or have avoided them prior to the ban due to environmental concerns.   In addition to the law banning plastic foam containers, in 2023 Gov. Tina Kotek also signed Senate Bill 543, which directs the Oregon Health Authority to create rules and regulations for vendors regarding personal reusable food containers for takeout and leftover meals and now the public can legally use their own reusable takeout containers.

In addition to the law banning plastic foam containers, Gov. Kotek also signed Senate Bill 543, which directs the Oregon Health Authority to create rules and regulations for vendors regarding personal reusable food containers for takeout and leftover meals and now the public can legally use their own reusable takeout containers.

These fraudulent documents are either altered versions of genuine certificates or entirely fabricated ones downloaded from the internet.  Often, a fake certificate will list the manufacturer’s name and an out-of-state dealer or distributor as the initial buyer. If you aren’t sure your VIN is legitimate, officials say you can check it through the NHTSA recall site.

 

Two Oregon men were found dead in a Washington state forest after they failed to return from a trip to look for Sasquatch, authorities said Saturday.

The 59-year-old and 37-year-old appear to have died from exposure, the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office said via Facebook. The weather and the men’s lack of preparedness led the office to draw that conclusion, it said. Sasquatch is a folkloric beast thought by some to roam the forests, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.

The two men were found in a heavily wooded area of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, which is about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Portland. A family member reported them missing at around 1 a.m. on Christmas Day after they failed to return from a Christmas Eve outing. Sixty volunteer search-and-rescue personnel helped in the three-day search, including canine, drone and ground teams. The Coast Guard used infrared technology to search from the air.

Authorities used camera recordings to locate the vehicle used by the pair off Oklahoma Road near Willard, which is on the southern border of the national forest.

 

Bird Flu Worries Grow in Oregon

The death of an Oregon house cat and a pet food recall are raising questions about the ongoing outbreak of bird flu and how people can protect their pets.

Bird flu has been spreading for years in wild birds, chickens, turkeys and many other animals. It was first confirmed in U.S. dairy cattle in March. The virus has been causing sporadic, mostly mild illnesses in people in the U.S., and nearly all of those infected worked on dairy or poultry farms. When the virus is found, every bird on a farm is killed to limit the spread of the disease.

Oregon health officials traced the cat’s illness to frozen cat food that contained raw turkey. Virus recovered from the recalled pet food and the infected cat matched. Some pet owners feed their animals raw meat, but that can be dangerous, even fatal for the animals, said Dr. Michael Q. Bailey, president-elect of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Cooking meat or pasteurizing raw milk destroys the bird flu virus and other disease-causing germs.

 

Schools in 30 of Oregon’s 36 counties — and schools in other Western states — will receive less federal funding in 2025 after the U.S. House of Representatives failed to reauthorize a 24-year-old bill that typically pays up to $80 million a year for schools and roads in Oregon along with wildfire prevention and conservation work.

The bipartisan Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act — first passed in 2000 — was reauthorized by the Senate in November. But by last Friday, in the run-up to passage of a stop-gap spending bill to keep the government open until March, House Republicans could not reach agreement about how the rural schools bill should be funded and so it died without a vote, said Hank Stern, a spokesman for Oregon’s senior senator, Democrat Ron Wyden, who co-authored the original bill in 2000. Wyden said the failure to approve the money will create needless pain for rural communities.

“This sad state of affairs due to congressional Republican failings is pointless and regrettable,” he said in an email. “Oregonians living and working in counties that have long relied on millions in federal Secure Rural Schools funds will needlessly and unfortunately enter 2025 with an uncertain fate for those resources when it comes to local schools. roads, law enforcement and more.”

Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, a Republican who worked with Wyden to get the bill passed in the Senate, said in an email he shared Wyden’s frustration. The Republicans decided not to vote on the bill amid a dispute about health care funding that would have killed the stop-gap bill, Stern said. The Secure Rural Schools bill for years has sent hundreds of millions of dollars to counties in 41 states and Puerto Rico that have federal land within their borders. Because those counties provide crucial services to people and industries using those lands for activities that generate revenue for the federal government — such as animal grazing and timber production — the federal government sends money back to those counties to help them pay for services and to weather other changes.

In the West, the money has largely helped keep county and school budgets whole following reduced logging and a reduction in timber revenue from federal forests in the 1990s to save imperiled species. The payments have equaled the average amount counties received from timber harvests from the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management in the top three timber-producing years of the 1980s. Oregon has received $4 billion in funding from the bill in the past 24 years.

 

The Red Cross is in need of blood donations. During the holidays, regular donors are on vacation and the supply of blood declines.

Winter weather can also increase demand from people injured in traffic crashes. They need donors with all types, but they especially need people with type O negative. Platelet donations are also important. Donors giving blood through January 3rd will also get an exclusive Red Cross long-sleeved T-shirt.

 

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