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.

 

Monday, February 24, 2024

Klamath Basin Weather

Today
A 30% chance of rain after 10am. Snow level rising to 6700 feet in the afternoon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 49. East southeast wind 7 to 12 mph, with gusts as high as 38 mph during the afternoon. A chance of rain and snow before 10pm, then a chance of snow overnight with a low near 29. Gusty winds 7- 17 mph Little or no snow accumulation expected.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pet of the Week from Klamath Animal Shelter

 

Around the State of Oregon

Cases of avian influenza continue to rise across the nation with the United States Department of Agriculture reporting over 21 million birds have been impacted in the last 30 days.

In December, Wildlife Images of Grants Pass increased safety protocols to protect its birds. The rehabilitation and education center gave some updates, saying everything that touches a bird has to be disinfected. They also continue to disinfect their feet before going into an area.

Executive director, Dave Siddon gave advice on what to do if you see a dead bird in the wild. “If people see a group of dead birds or whatever out in the wild, it may be effected by avian influenza. Don’t go start picking them up, use gloves, plastic bags — whatever it is — to isolate the birds.”   Be sure to call the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and they can process and test these birds for avian influenza,” said Siddon. That number is 1-866-968-2600.

 

The director of the Oregon Department of Transportation says his agency is willing to sit down with lawmakers and go through its budget, as lawmakers discuss a request from Gov. Tina Kotek to give the agency an additional $1.75 billion to focus on road maintenance and operation.

Kris Strickler said ODOT’s budget issues largely stem from declining gas tax revenues – as people switch to electric vehicles or more fuel-efficient cars – and inflation. The legislature’s Joint Transportation Committee will put together a funding package for ODOT.

Democratic legislative leaders on the committee said nothing is off the table — including hiking gas taxes, increasing vehicle registration fees, or coming up with new taxes and fees altogether. Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis and Sen. Bruce Starr, both Republicans, are co-vice chairs on the committee. They are pushing their colleagues to prioritize a line-by-line budget review of ODOT to see if there are places to trim or reduce ODOT’s responsibilities to allow the agency to focus on road maintenance and operations before debating tax increases. Strickler said his agency would do that for lawmakers and has “nothing to hide.”

 

Oregon lawmakers are considering a bill to reduce microplastics in the state’s waterways.

The proposed bill would mandate that new washing machines sold in the state be equipped with microfiber filtration systems starting in 2030. Researchers at Portland State University and Oregon State University published a study in January that found microplastics in the edible tissue of several Pacific Northwest fish and seafood species, including the iconic Chinook salmon.

Researchers also found microplastics in black rockfish, lingcod, Pacific herring, Pacific lamprey, and pink shrimp.  Under this bill, new washing machines must include a built-in or in-line microfiber filtration system.

The system must have a mesh size of 100 micrometers or less and function across all washing cycles. Machines must have a label instructing users to regularly check the filter and dispose of captured lint with household solid waste.

In 2021, Environment Oregon, a research and policy center, found traces of microplastic in 100 percent of Oregon waterways tested. The bill would apply to new washing machines sold after January 1st, 2030. Sen. Patterson said the delay would give other state legislatures across the country more time to develop policies similar to this.

 

The Oregon Legislature is considering a bill that would give the Public Utility Commission another way to limit price increases by utilities.

Currently, the PUC evaluates a rate increase request based on the merits from the utility. Under the bill, the PUC would also be required to consider the economic impact based on unemployment, cost of living and income level of customers if the increase results in at least a two-and-a-half percent boost in the utility’s revenue.

 

A man is going to prison after being convicted of groping an 18-year-old on an Alaska Airlines flight, federal officials said.

In March 2024, Justin Baker, now 42, was flying from Burbank, California, to Seattle, when he learned the woman next to him “was preparing to go to college and was just 18 years old,” McClatchy News reported.

Baker began “bumping his knee” into the woman’s knee before she moved closer to the window so she wouldn’t be touched, court documents said.  Then, Baker showed the woman texts between him and his wife about engaging in sexual acts, documents said.

Baker touched the woman’s thigh before eventually draping his jacket over both their laps, documents said. She attempted to move away from him, but he reached under the jacket and groped her thigh again despite her saying “no” when he first tried to touch her, according to a Feb. 18 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.  He then groped her genitals over her clothing before reaching into her shirt and groping her breast, prosecutors said. 

Baker was sentenced to two years in prison for abusive sexual contact, officials said. Upon his release from prison, Baker will be on five years of federal supervision and must register as a sex offender, prosecutors said.

 

Salem, OR–The Oregon Department of Revenue has begun distributing refunds for the 2024 tax year. 

Each year the department employs a refund hold period as part of the agency’s fraud prevention efforts. The hold period has been completed and most taxpayers can expect to receive their refunds within two weeks of the date their return is filed. Some returns, however, require additional review and can take up to 20 weeks before a refund is issued.

Taxpayers can check the status of their refund by using the department’s Where’s My Refund? tool. The Department of Revenue recommends that taxpayers wait one week after they have electronically filed their return to use the Where’s My Refund tool.

The Where’s My Refund? tool has been updated for 2025, providing more information about the status of their return to taxpayers who are signed into their Revenue Online account. Taxpayers who don’t already have a Revenue Online account can create one by following the Revenue Online link on the department’s website. Taxpayers who don’t have a Revenue Online account can still use the Where’s My Refund? tool but won’t be able to see the updated features.

A video outlining the refund process and timelines is also available to help taxpayers understand the process.

The department also offered a list of do’s and don’ts for filing to help with efficient processing and avoid unnecessary delays.

Do file electronically and request direct deposit. On average, taxpayers who e-file their returns and request their refund via direct deposit receive their refund two weeks sooner than those who file paper returns and request paper refund checks.

Don’t send a duplicate paper return. Taxpayers should file just once unless they need to make a change to their return. Sending a duplicate return will slow processing and delay your refund.

Do make sure you have all tax records before filing. Having all necessary records is essential to filing a complete and accurate tax return and avoiding errors.

Don’t get in a hurry and fail to report all your income. If income reported on a return doesn’t match the income reported by employers, the return, and any corresponding refund, will be delayed. If taxpayers receive more or corrected tax records after filing a return, they should file an amended return to report any changes.

Do make sure you have a Revenue Online account. Before beginning the filing process, taxpayers should make sure their information is current in Revenue Online, the state’s internet tax portal. Those who don’t have a Revenue Online account can sign up on the agency’s website.To get tax forms, check the status of their refund, or make payments, visit our website or email questions.dor@dor.oregon.gov.

You can also call 800-356-4222 toll-free from an Oregon prefix (English or Spanish) or 503-378-4988 in Salem and outside Oregon. For TTY (hearing or speech impaired), we accept all relay calls.

 

The Oregon Health Authority is launching a six-month pilot program to get people addicted to opioids medication treatment sooner.

Emergency responders in Marion and Multnomah counties will be trained to administer the drugs that help people stop using opioids. They’ll give them the medication in the field, before they’re taken to an emergency department. The Oregon Pubic Health Institute and the Bridge Center will receive 300-thousand dollars to conduct the pilot program.

 

200 employees at the Bonneville Power Administration took the Trump Administration’s buyout offer, 90 new job offers have been rescinded and 400 probationary employees could be laid off.

Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley say cutting 20 percent of the agency’s staff puts the power grid at risk, which is highly unlikely says officials.

 

Transgender Care Toolkit  Offered by Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield

“Oregon will not stand by while the federal government attempts to erase the rights and dignity of transgender individuals.” That’s the message from Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield as he announced the launch of a new gender-affirming care toolkit Thursday.

The new resource is meant to help transgender individuals and their families navigate challenges and uncertainties created by President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders.  The toolkit provides information about gender-affirming healthcare options, resources for legal concerns and discrimination protections, as well as guidance on what transgender individuals can do when facing obstacles while receiving care.

Rayfield says he is committed to giving transgender Oregonians the support and resources they need to thrive. The free toolkit is available on the Oregon Department of Justice website.

 

Environmentalists Suing on behalf of Chinook Salmon

The Center for Biological Diversity and allies sued the National Marine Fisheries Service this week for delaying Endangered Species Act protection decisions for spring-run Chinook salmon in Oregon, Washington and Northern California.

The Center, known as Native Fish Society and Umpqua Watersheds petitioned the Service in August 2022 to protect Oregon Coast Chinook salmon under the Endangered Species Act. In July 2023 the Center and Pacific Rivers petitioned to add Washington coast spring-run Chinook salmon to the list. The Service was required to decide whether to protect the fish within one year after the petitions were filed.

The Service found that federal protections “may be warranted” for the three salmon populations in 2023 but has made no further decisions.  Chinook salmon, also known as “king salmon,” are the largest of all Pacific salmon. Once abundant throughout the river basins of the Pacific Northwest, Chinook salmon populations have declined to a fraction of their historical size.

Spring-run fish are a variant of Chinook salmon, who return to rivers much earlier than the more abundant fall-run salmon. They return in the spring from the ocean to coastal freshwater rivers, staying for months in deep pools until they spawn in the fall. Spring-run Chinook have unique habitat requirements for migration, spawning and juvenile rearing. Their suitable spawning habitat is in mainstem rivers and tributaries, and these early returning fish have a special need for streams high in watersheds that stay cool enough during the summer so they can survive.

Currently, both spring-run and fall-run Chinook salmon are managed by the Service and state wildlife agencies as if they were the same population. But recent scientific studies show that spring-run fish are genetically distinct from the more abundant fall-run Chinook. The evolution of early-returning fish occurred in both salmon and steelhead trout millions of years ago. This difference in spawning-run timing is highly unlikely to occur again if these distinct populations are lost.

 

Egg prices have many families scrambling nationwide to find reasonable egg prices.  Rent The Chicken comes to the rescue.

One company is thinking outside the box with their Rent The Chicken company. The company offers several different packages in both the Vancouver and Portland area that give families, chickens, and everything they need to care for them, so they can produce the eggs themselves. They also work with one local affiliate partner in the Portland/Vancouver area.

According to the company’s website, the standard package provides families with 8-14 eggs per week.  According to Homestead Jenn, the company will provide everything you need to raise the chickens, including organic and non-GMO feed that will last the entire rental period.

Rentals are for up to six months. But if you chicken out, workers will come pick up the chickens and take them back to the farm. According to Homestead Jenn, with the price of eggs and the Avian bird flu, many people are flocking to Rent The Chicken to raise their own. 

In addition to the standard package, Rent The Chicken also offers a Standard Upgrade package for $675 and a Deluxe rental package that includes four chickens for $775.

 

PORTLAND, Or.– Varun Gupta, 44, who previously lived and worked in Oregon, pleaded guilty Thursday to possessing trade secrets taken from his previous employer.

 

According to court documents, from July 2010 to January 2020, Gupta was employed as a product marketing engineer for an American technology company headquartered in California, with its largest concentration of facilities and employees located in Oregon. The company is one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers, supplying semiconductor products to companies globally.

 

As part of his employment, Gupta signed an agreement prohibiting him from disclosing, retaining or making unauthorized copies of proprietary information or trade secrets without authorization from the company. Throughout his employment, Gupta had access to valuable and protected information including pricing structures and strategies and product development and manufacturing capabilities. To secure this information, the company used multiple layers of protection.

 

In early January 2020, Gupta announced his intent to resign and take a job with a domestic technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington.  While still employed at the company in Oregon, Gupta downloaded approximately 4,000 files, many of which contained trade secrets and proprietary materials, from his company-issued computer to personal portable hard drives.

 

Between February and July 2020, while employed by the company in Washington, Gupta possessed and accessed his previous employer’s trade secrets and proprietary information without authorization. Gupta accessed information related to customized product design and pricing for significant purchases of computer processors, which Gupta used, as a representative of the Washington company, during head-to-head negotiations with his previous employer.

 

On December 26, 2024, Gupta was charged by criminal information with possessing stolen trade secrets.

 

Gupta faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. He will be sentenced on August 12, 2025, by a U.S. District Judge.

 

This case was investigated by the FBI. It is being prosecuted by William M. Narus, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, Geoffrey A. Barrow, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, and Anand B. Patel, Senior Counsel for the Criminal Division.

 

 

Oregon Dept of Forestry Planting 2.3 Mil. Seedlings

Tillamook State Forest, Ore.–More than 6,100 acres of harvested timber areas in Oregon’s state forests are getting nearly 2.3 million seedlings planted this year.  Planting is underway or soon to be started in the Tillamook, Clatsop, and Santiam, while planting on the Sun Pass and Gilchrist State Forests will start in May.

“Depending on weather, soil conditions, and planting crew availability each state forest typically gets their planting done in six-to-eight weeks,” said John Walter, Oregon Department of Forestry’s (ODF) State Forests Silviculturist.

A long planning timeframe

Although the planting window is short, the planning and coordination to get those trees in the ground by ODF’s experts is much longer.

“We are looking at our seedling needs about two to three years out,” said Walter.  “We come up with the number of seedlings needed and then contract with several nurseries to get them grown at the time we need them.”

It sounds simple enough; however, the way the timber sale contracts are set up makes coming up with an accurate number tricky.  

“Winning bidders have two to three years to harvest that sale,” said Walter.  “That means we may need to replant in that area after year one, two, or three.  So how do we come up with the number of seedlings each year?  We get with each ODF district folks and make a best guess based on past performance of the winning bidder, operator availability, and market conditions.”

One time rule changes challenging

Another issue in 2023, especially for ODF’s Tillamook District, was the implementation of the Private Forest Accord and the resulting changes to the Forest Practices Act (FPA).   Some of the small forestland owners who infrequently harvest decided they wanted to harvest under the old rules. This created an increase in the demand for the limited number of timber operators in the district.

“Nearly all the operators were working on private forestland in 2023,” said Nick Stumpf, Unit Manager for ODF’s Tillamook District.  “In a normal year we would have 10-12 harvest operations, but that year we had one.”

Private timber operators are the ones who run the harvest equipment and are typically contracted by the winning bidders of a state forest timber sale. 

“For state forests our contracts already met or exceeded the requirements of the FPA changes in many areas so there was no rush to harvest on state sales,” said Stumpf.  “The operators were focused on getting timber out of private lands before the rule changes. This one-time shift changed the prediction of how many seedlings we would need to plant in our district.”

Costs increase, revenue sharing static

Not only are they taking an educated guess at the number of seedlings needed, but they are also having to project the costs of the seedling itself but the labor and contract costs to plant them.

“Those combined costs used to be fairly consistent,” said Walter.  “However, over the past five years or so those combine costs have climbed from around 50 cents a tree to more than $1 a tree.”

These cost increases are hard for ODF to manage since revenue from state forest timber sales is split, with the host counties getting approximately two-thirds while one-third is kept by ODF to manage the forests.  However, ODF pays for all costs associated with managing state forestlands, including timber sales, post-harvest replanting, trail and campground maintenance and improvements, and improving wildlife habitat. So, when costs increase, like doubling planting costs, it takes funding away from other important work on state forestlands, as ODF must absorb those increases without being able to access more of the sales revenue.

Unique greatest permanent value management

Another cost and planning challenge when replanting is state forests are managed for a concept called greatest permanent value (GPV).  GPV means that the approximately 745,000 acres of forestlands ODF manages across the state needs to provide for economic, environmental, and social benefits to Oregonians. 

Zach Rabe, Tillamook District Operations Coordinator, explained that, although Doug-fir is typically the most valuable species in western Oregon, state forestlands are planted with a mixture of species after harvest to support GPV goals. 

 “We plant about 70 percent Doug-fir and 30 percent other species,” said Rabe. “Our goal is to promote diverse and thus resilient forests to provide environmental benefits.  We mimic what was likely the natural conifer mix of the forests to provide those environmental benefits like wildlife habitat.  This mix also improves social benefits like clean water and seeing more than one species when you are on a state forest trail or road.”

The mix of tree types means ordering seedlings from nurseries is more complex than a one species order.

“We have to consolidate all the needs for each district and then come up with a list of the species and numbers of seedlings we need,” said Walter.  “So again, we are trying to predict our seedling needs nearly three years out, so it is a best guess; however, we want to make sure we have enough seedlings, so we typically have leftover trees.”

Extra seedlings shared

Last year ODF had a lot of seedlings leftover after planting all ODF lands.

“We sold 580,000 seedlings to private and industrial landowners.  We donated 20,000 to non-profits, mostly watershed groups, and gave about 60,000 seedlings to tribal governments,” said Walter.  “We don’t want to come up short because that impacts future activities; however, we do not want these seedlings to go to waste so we try to make sure they all get used.”

Organizations that buy or receive free seedlings still must pay for the planting costs.

“We are still doing final calculations on how many trees we will plant this year, but like last year we will offer up the extras we do not use,” said Walter.

For more information on Oregon’s State Forests see Oregon State Forests. 

 

The Jackson County Expo has announced the 2025 summer concert lineup to take the stage during the Jackson County Fair this July.

According to the Expo, musical acts including Outlaw Mariachi, Jo Dee Messina, and a Taylor Swift tribute will take the stage in Central Point this summer. The Jackson County Fair runs from July 15 through July 20.

Fair tickets start at $12 and include lawn seats at the Bi-Mart Amphitheater. Meanwhile, concert ticket prices start at $25 and go on sale to the public on Tuesday. Fair admission is included with the purchase of a reserved seat.

For more information or to purchase a ticket, visit the Jackson County Expo’s website.

 

Britt Music & Arts Festival is excited to announce the first installment of concerts for the 2025 summer season.

The first of three official season announcements, this extensive group of shows features a wide array of musical artists, including first-time-to-Britt indie alt-rock band Rainbow Kitten Surprise, singer-songwriter Regina Spektor,  country artists Brothers Osborne, and folk/indie it-band Waxahatchee.

Britt will also be welcoming back legendary artists like Chicago, Earth, Wind & Fire, Gregory Alan Isakov, Buena Vista Orchestra, The California Honeydrops, Andy Grammer and many more.

The Australian Pink Floyd Show will also be returning to the Britt main stage in 2025 to deliver an unforgettable tribute to Pink Floyd, combining mind-blowing visuals and stunning soundscapes for a mesmerizing live performance.

President & CEO Abby McKee commented, “It’s always thrilling to share the news of the upcoming season with our community, and this year’s season feels especially exciting. We have an incredible mix of genres coming through town! With superstar legacy acts, longtime fan favorites, and extraordinary newcomers, I think our patrons have some amazing shows to choose from, and I suspect we’ll be seeing folks out on the hill several times this summer! And don’t forget, two more announcements are still to come.”

With this announcement, there will be a Member pre-sale before tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, February 28. 

 

You’ll need a Real ID to fly domestically, starting in May of this year, 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.

 

New Edition of the Oregon Blue Book Highlights John Day Fossil Beds and the Great Comet of 2024

Every odd-numbered year since 1911, the Oregon Secretary of State’s office has published the Oregon Blue Book, our state’s official almanac and fact book. Each edition of the book features beautiful, new cover images of Oregon captured by the winners of the Oregon Blue Book Cover Photo Contest.

The 2025-2026 Oregon Blue Book front cover features a stunning capture from the Painted Cove in the Painted Hills Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, near Mitchell. Photographer Matt Straite of Keizer made the image which he titled, “The Many Sides of Oregon.” The back cover includes an amazing astrophotography shot titled “Comet/C2023 A” by Nathan Rohde of Shady Cove.

“The Oregon Blue Book is an invitation to learn more about Oregon, engage with your neighbors, our government and our state’s history. It helps us understand what it means to be an Oregonian. The artists who’ve created these cover images captured some of that spirit, and I’m thrilled they’re a part of my first Oregon Blue Book as Secretary of State,” said Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read.

“So many people look right past the desert areas of the state, but there is so much beauty there,” said Straite. “I have always been drawn to images that show the work of mankind in nature, particularly when that work has been added to help others see the nature, like the work of the Civilian Conservation Corp. The way this trail bends at the end is such a strong draw to want to explore more.” Straite also said that he shot this image from the boardwalk, which is there to take people through the sensitive clay hills without harming them.

Nathan Rohde’s image of Comet/C2023 A3, also known as the “Great Comet of 2024” was made near his home. He said he’s always been fascinated by astrophotography and loved trying to capture the Milky Way and the Aurora, but after seeing posts online of other peoples’ images of the comet, he thought he could capture it too: “Living in Southern Oregon affords access to some relatively dark areas. On a tall clearing not far from Lost Creek Lake, I got set up about an hour before sunset and began scanning the sky with my lens fully extended. About 45 minutes after sunset, conditions were perfect and the pictures started coming through!” Rohde said the rolling hills in the foreground were an excellent way to provide scale and accentuate the sky.

The 2025-2026 Oregon Blue Book is available for presale purchase now at bluebook.oregon.gov/shop. These limited-edition books are $30 for the hardcover and $18 for the paperback, plus shipping and handling. A downloadable copy of the full cover for use by the media can be found in Oregon Blue Book Assets and Information here.

 

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