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.

 

Thursday, March 6, 2025

Klamath Basin Weather

 

 

Pet of the Week from Klamath Animal Shelter

This week’s pet is a dog named ” Dutton “

 

 

Around the State of Oregon

The search continues for a two-year-old boy who went missing in Siletz on Saturday.

The young boy, Dane Paulsen, was playing in a yard when he disappeared. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office says teams have covered over 300 miles on the ground and in the air looking for the boy.

Dive teams searched the fast moving Siletz River. Investigators continue to follow up on leads in the case.

 

A long-haul trucker from California who killed seven Oregon farmworkers when his 55,000-pound semitruck smashed into a parked van was sentenced to 48 years and three months in prison Tuesday.

A Marion County jury found Lincoln Smith guilty last month of seven counts of second-degree manslaughter for the fatal crash at Milepost 240 on Interstate 5 on May 18, 2023.

Smith, 54, had spent the night before the crash getting high with hitchhikers in Sutherlin and had gotten a late start to the day, but testified he was only tired, not intoxicated, when he decided to pull into the Santiam River rest stop to sleep.  Instead, he fell asleep at the wheel, veering out of the northbound lane and slamming into the van, sending it careening into another tractor-trailer parked on the roadside.

The workers, a closeknit group who lived in the Salem or Woodburn area, had finished picking beets and were heading home when the driver stopped to re-secure a travel trailer.  While investigators found drug paraphernalia in Smith’s cab, traces of methamphetamine and fentanyl in his blood and a “bullet of speed” in his pocket, the jury acquitted Smith of a single count of driving under the influence of intoxicants.

 

A Mexican national residing in Salem, Oregon, was sentenced to federal prison Monday for his role in trafficking fentanyl and other narcotics in Oregon.

Leonel Covarrubias Hernandez, 48, was sentenced to 144 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release. According to court documents, as part of a drug trafficking investigation, investigators identified Covarrubias as a narcotics distributer operating in Oregon.

Between August and December 2022, investigators conducted several controlled buys in which Covarrubias sold counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl.  On December 27, 2022, investigators conducted a traffic stop on Covarrubias and his co-conspirator near their residence.

Investigators searched the vehicle and seized counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, more than $11,000 in cash, and a firearm. On the same day, investigators located and seized more than 29 pounds of methamphetamine, 11 pounds of fentanyl, 12 pounds of cocaine and two pounds of heroin, 24 firearms, a 3D printer, and more than $43,000 in cash from the residence.

On November 18, 2024, Covarrubias pleaded guilty to possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute. This case was investigated by the FBI and Salem Police Department. It was prosecuted by Bryan Chinwuba, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

 

A hijacker’s perilous journey on Portland freeways as a towing company employee hung on to the back of his truck for dear life ended with a nearly seven-year-long prison sentence Monday.

A Multnomah County judge sentenced Eric Strietzel, 38, to six years and 10 months in prison for hopping into the cab of a Retriever Towing truck idling on the east end of the Steel Bridge on July 10, 2023.

Tow truck driver Travis Christ lunged onto the bed of the moving truck, and later testified he made eye contact with the hijacker and slammed his fist onto the glass, but that Strietzel never slowed down enough for him to hop off. 

After a wild ride through Old Town, Strietzel took to the freeway, eventually crashing on Interstate 5 when the shoulder he was driving in abruptly ended. Christ’s head smashed through the window of the cab, inflicting severe but survivable injuries.

The entire ordeal was captured by dashboard cameras. A defense attorney asked the jury at trial to find Strietzel not guilty of the most serious charges, arguing he was too addled by drugs to understand what he was doing.

 

A Mexican national residing in Salem, Oregon, was sentenced to federal prison Monday for his role in trafficking fentanyl and other narcotics in Oregon.

Leonel Covarrubias Hernandez, 48, was sentenced to 144 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, as part of a drug trafficking investigation, investigators identified Covarrubias as a narcotics distributer operating in Oregon. Between August and December 2022, investigators conducted several controlled buys in which Covarrubias sold counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl. 

On December 27, 2022, investigators conducted a traffic stop on Covarrubias and his co-conspirator near their residence. Investigators searched the vehicle and seized counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, more than $11,000 in cash, and a firearm. On the same day, investigators located and seized more than 29 pounds of methamphetamine, 11 pounds of fentanyl, 12 pounds of cocaine and two pounds of heroin, 24 firearms, a 3D printer, and more than $43,000 in cash from the residence.

On November 18, 2024, Covarrubias pleaded guilty to possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute.

This case was investigated by the FBI and Salem Police Department. It was prosecuted by Bryan Chinwuba, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

 

A major auto parts retailer is closing hundreds of stores across the United States, including Oregon.

Advance Auto Parts said in November it would shut down more than 700 stores by mid-2025. Four distribution centers will also shutter during this time.

The FW adds that Advance Auto Parts also plans on consolidating several distribution centers into “13 large facilities” by 2026 as part of this plan.  Advance confirmed that it plans on opening more stores in the future. The company operates 25 in the state.

 

A bill that would raise billions in federal dollars for Oregon’s Medicaid program and allocate a substantial portion back to hospitals passed in the Oregon House of Representatives last week.

It now advances to the Senate. It passed 40-15, with six Republicans voting to approve the bill along with the Democratic majority.

Fifteen Republicans, including Minority Leader Christine Drazan, voted against it. The bill, HB 2010, extends a pair of taxes through 2032. The taxes are a 2% assessment on health insurance plans and managed care organizations and a 6% assessment on hospitals’ net revenue. 

The taxes provide about a quarter of the total funding for the Oregon Health Plan, the state’s Medicaid program that pays for health care for people living near the poverty line. That’s due to a federal match the state can take advantage of in funding Medicaid, roughly $3 for every state dollar invested in the program.

Every state uses some form of provider tax to finance Medicaid, except Alaska. Without legislative action both will sunset in the next two years, leaving a giant hole in the state’s budget. If that happens, Oregon lawmakers would need to reallocate about $1.13 billion in general fund revenue to continue funding the Medicaid program at its current level in the 2025-2027 biennium, according to the state’s nonpartisan legislative fiscal office.

In that scenario, hospitals would also lose hundreds of millions in extra payments they receive for caring for Medicaid patients, which are linked to the tax and its federal match.

The program is designed so that, collectively, hospitals recoup the full amount they pay into the tax. The tax on health insurance plans is, more or less, what most people think of as a tax. It applies to employer-sponsored insurance coverage, and is passed on to Oregonians and businesses in the form of higher premiums. Some of the money raised from the tax on insurance is invested in a program that helps health insurers pay unusually expensive claims. The rest goes to funding Medicaid.

 

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ore. – Oregon State Police K-9 team seizes 2.4 pounds of fentanyl powder.

On Wednesday, February 26, 2025, an Oregon State Police K-9 team stopped a car on Interstate 5 northbound near milepost 157 in Douglas County for a traffic violation. During the stop, the trooper recognized signs of possible criminal activity. A consent search of the vehicle led to the seizure of .3 grams of methamphetamine, 2.4 pounds of powder fentanyl, and a large amount of U.S. currency.

The driver, Sebastian Melendez Ramirez (51) of Oakland (CA) was lodged at the Douglas County Jail on charges of possession and delivery of a controlled substance (fentanyl) and possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine).

In 2024, OSP K-9 teams seized more than 1.4 million dosage units of fentanyl. A dosage unit is equal to 1 pill or .1 grams of powder.

 

Gary Caperna, a local Medford architect, is facing charges of first-degree manslaughter and other offenses in connection with the 2023 death of a 22-year-old.

The incident occurred on June 6, 2023, when Caperna was allegedly driving a car under the influence of intoxicants and hit and killed Shasta Smith of Eagle Point.

Caperna was indicted by a grand jury almost a year later on May 14, 2024. The pre-trial hearing was set to begin on Monday in Jackson County Circuit Court, but was changed to Friday because of a plea deal agreement that was made last week.

Caperna has pleaded not guilty to all charges, which include failure to perform duties of a driver to injured persons, driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving, and recklessly endangering another person.

The prosecution alleges that Caperna’s actions led to the death of Smith. Caperna was being represented by defense attorney, Peter Carini. The plea change hearing will be overseen by Judge Christine Herbert.

 

SALEM, Ore.—The Oregon Senate confirmed three members to the Board of Forestry.

Alexi Lovechio starts as a new member, while Heath Curtiss and Ben Deumling were reappointed and will continue their service. Governor Tina Kotek appointed them to four-year terms starting in March 2025. All three will be joining the rest of the seven-member board at its meeting on Wednesday in Salem.

Lovechio, of Ashland, serves as Forests and Ecosystem Services Program Manager with Ecotrust. Prior to her current position, she worked with the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center in forest and climate policy roles and as an organizer for campaigns regarding national forest policy. Before jumping into the policy arena, Lovechio worked for the U.S. Forest Service conducting botany surveys. She earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Keene State College in New Hampshire.

“I am honored to be appointed to the Oregon Board of Forestry and look forward to serving the people of Oregon,” Lovechio said. “I will strongly advocate for collaborative, science-based forest management, and I am committed to ensuring our forests support healthy ecosystems and local economies. I appreciate the opportunity to help shape policies that address the complex challenges facing our forests.”

Curtiss, of Silverton, serves as General Counsel for Hampton Lumber. He grew up in the mountains of northeast Oregon, earned his degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics from Oregon State University, and graduated from Lewis & Clark Law School with a certificate in environmental law. Before working at Hampton, Curtiss was General Counsel for the Oregon Forest Industries Council and an attorney at Stoel Rives, LLP, specializing in natural resources law and policy. He also serves on the Oregon FFA Foundation Board.

“I’m privileged to be reappointed, and I look forward to working with the outstanding staff at ODF,” Curtiss said. “Oregon’s forest resources are vast, diverse, and profoundly important, not only for the environmental benefits they provide, but also for the social and economic opportunities they create for the state and surrounding communities. I hope we can provide the leadership needed to ensure forest management in Oregon is sensible, sustainable, and transparent.

Deumling, of Rickreall, grew up and has worked in the Oregon forest industry his whole life. He manages the family-owned Zena Forest, a 1,300-acre tract of forest in the heart of the Willamette Valley. He also runs Zena Forest Products, which is an onsite sawmill and millwork shop that processes hardwood logs into high quality lumber and flooring. Deumling has been actively engaged in forest policy matters for many years and holds a bachelor’s degree from Whitman College where he studied natural resource policy in the western U.S.

“I am incredibly honored to have the opportunity to serve another term on the Board of Forestry,” Deumling said. “The work before the board is critically important for everyone in this great state of Oregon, and I look forward to continuing to work with such a great group of board members and staff at ODF.”

The Oregon Board of Forestry consists of seven citizens nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the Oregon Senate. Responsibilities include appointing the State Forester, setting management direction for state-owned forests, adopting rules governing timber harvest and other practices on private forestland, and promoting sustainable management of Oregon’s 30-million-acre forestland base.

 

Through the first month of the 2025 tax season, thousands Oregon taxpayers have electronically filed their income tax returns directly with the state using Direct File Oregon.

Many state returns were filed in combination with federal tax returns using IRS Direct File. The option to use the combination of IRS Direct File and Direct File Oregon to file both federal and state income taxes is new this year.  The department has released a helpful video with tips for using the federal and state direct file combination. 

Taxpayers using the combination of IRS Direct File and Direct File Oregon have been completing their Oregon returns in about 16 minutes, she said. Taxpayer response has been positive with survey feedback averaging 4.5 on a five-point scale. 

IRS Direct File does not support all return types. Specifically, taxpayers with dividends reported on Form 1099-DIV and capital gains or losses are not supported. Income from pensions, reported on Form 1099-R, won’t be supported until later in March. To use IRS Direct File taxpayers must have an IRS online account.

Taxpayers who don’t already have IRS online account should sign up with ID.me and create an account before beginning the filing process. Taxpayers who want to import their federal return information into Direct File Oregon must have a Revenue Online account to file their state income tax return. Taxpayers who don’t already have a Revenue Online account can create one by following the Revenue Online link on the department’s website.

 

In a state known for liberal protests, the recent demonstrations around Oregon continue like the always do.

People at the University of Oregon last week marched against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Others gathered along the streets of Hermiston in Eastern Oregon on Presidents Day, saying the nation’s poor are at risk. They crossed a bridge in downtown Portland, surrounded a local Tesla dealership, and filled the sidewalks near the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.

President Trump’s actions during his first month in office have sparked an uproar throughout the Pacific Northwest. People are protesting the administration almost every week, and the political frustrations seem to be growing.  No single cause unites the protesters, not war, police brutality or the chase for climate change. Instead, people of all ages are rising up against a wide range of the Trump administration’s policies, and what they call an unconstitutional power grab by the president and his billionaire ally, Elon Musk.

Protestors seem all in on the status quo for decades of government spending waste, fraud and abuse, while Musk and his team have found billions of dollars in fraud and waste of all kinds, saving taxpayers hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

Oregon’s congressional delegation faces mounting pressure to act. Thousands of people have recently packed their town halls — from La Grande to Hillsboro. At least twice, the gatherings grew so large that people were turned away, according to local news reports.  Lawmakers say their offices are being flooded with complaints from

Oregonians alarmed by the mass firings of federal employees and funding cuts to public agencies. Those include workers who fight fires for the Forest Service, and they could include people who forecast the weather for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. The cuts come amid Trump and Musk’s efforts to dramatically downsize the federal government work force.

 

Oregon Has Over 23,000 Homeless.  62% Lack Shelter at night.

After years of increased state funding to address homelessness and ever-growing numbers of homeless Oregonians, lawmakers and Gov. Tina Kotek are pushing for more state oversight and coordination for homeless shelters. 

Gov. Kotek’s office and Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Ashland, have spent months working on plans for a statewide homeless shelter program. The result, House Bill 3644, would require regional coordination and a focus on getting homeless Oregonians into their own homes, formalizing the regional approach shelter providers and local governments scrambled to put into place after Kotek declared a homelessness state of emergency in 2023. 

The proposal — which accounts for almost $220 million of the $700 million Kotek wants lawmakers to spend to help shelter homeless Oregonians and prevent people living on the brink from falling into homelessness — comes as the state continues to grapple with a growing crisis. 

Nearly 23,000 of Oregon’s roughly 4.2 million residents were homeless in January 2024, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. About 62% of those individuals lacked shelter. 

More Oregonians were homeless in 2024 than when Kotek took office in 2023, despite the state’s record spending on shelter programs, eviction prevention and other homelessness prevention efforts. But Kotek and legislative allies say things are better than they would have been without her actions: By July, they estimate that 3,330 families will have moved off the streets and into permanent homes, 24,000 families will have received state aid to keep them from becoming homelessness and 4,800 new shelter beds will exist across the state as a direct result of her emergency order and state funding. 

Kotek told lawmakers on the House Housing and Homelessness Committee that the framework created by the bill would help make sure that when someone experiences homelessness anywhere in the state they’ll know where to go for help finding shelter and get the services they need to move back into housing. 

 

The long-delayed deadline for REAL ID is now just three months away. There’s a chance that full enforcement may get gradually rolled out, but May 7, 2025, is the changeover deadline.

Starting then, state-level ID cards, such as driver’s licenses, won’t be accepted for federal purposes, namely getting through airport security, unless it’s REAL ID-compliant. If you plan to catch a domestic flight on or after May 7, you will be required to use a REAL ID. A little gold or black star in the upper right-hand corner is one of the easiest ways to know you’re holding a REAL ID.

In Oregon, it’s a black star. A REAL ID is an identification card that serves all of the same purposes of a standard drivers’ license or state-issued identification card. A federally-mandated switch to REAL ID for federal purposes, such as flying domestically, was originally signed into law by Congress in 2005.

The purpose is to establish “minimum security standards for license issuance and production,” according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security website. The law, established four years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, came in response to federal calls for higher security standards in the U.S. Originally, the law mandated the switch to REAL ID by 2008, but it has been pushed back for various reasons due to logistical hurdles and later the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is highlighting Problem Gambling Awareness Month this March to raise awareness of valuable resources for anyone struggling with problem gambling, including a free digital tool that can aid in curbing gambling. 

The app, called Evive, is available for anyone in Oregon seeking to learn safer gambling habits, reduce their gambling or stop gambling all together. The evidence-based mobile tool offers flexible treatment options, access to trained professionals, community support, and ways to reduce time and money spent on betting. 

To learn more, go to https://www.getevive.com/. 

In Oregon, an estimated 2.6% of the adult population experiences moderate or serious problems with gambling, and another 5.4% of adults are at risk of developing a problem with gambling. An estimated 3.1% of adolescents in Oregon are at risk of or are currently experiencing a gambling disorder.

OHA contracted with Evive in spring of 2024 making it available free to those enrolled in OHA treatment programs. In July of 2024, the Oregon State Lottery contracted with the entity for free access to everyone living in Oregon. 

Help and counseling services are available free to anyone living in Oregon who has problems related to gambling and those directly impacted including family and friends. Some common signs of a person struggling with gambling harms include: 

• Being preoccupied with gambling
• Feeling the need to gamble more despite losses
• Gambling alone and/or more often 
• Gambling to forget worries, calm nerves or reduce depression
• Losing interest in other things, such as school, work, home life
• Withdrawal from family and friends 
• Financial problems from gambling
• Borrowing money to gamble

In Oregon, gambling addiction counseling and support services are confidential and free. Visit the Oregon Problem Gambling Resource, OPGR.org, to learn more or call the Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-877-695-4648 (MY LIMIT).

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.

 

Feeling a little down lately? Maybe it’s time for a new license plate that shouts fearlessness, tenacity and resilience. The “Vibrant Ocean” specialty plate features three shark species commonly found in Oregon.

Proceeds from sales of the plates will benefit Oregon State University’s Big Fish Lab, which focuses on shark research. The lab, established in 2019, is based at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport.  Proceeds will be used to better understand the role sharks play in Oregon’s coastal marine ecosystem, to conduct outreach and education efforts and hold trainings for students and staff.

Oregon State hopes anyone interested will sink their teeth into the $40 pre-sale vouchers for the plate. They’re available from the university, with $35 going directly to the research lab. The lab must sell 3,000 vouchers before the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles starts making the plates.  Sharks aren’t the mindless killers of Hollywood, said Taylor Chapple, an assistant professor and founder of the Big Fish Lab.

They’re apex predators responsible for regulating the abundance, distribution and diversity of other species, he said. Sharks also are threatened due to overfishing, habitat loss, climate change and pollution.

 

Salem, Ore. – Oregon Lottery’s annual Raffle is close to selling out. The popular game features a one in 250,000 chance to win the $1 million top prize. As of this morning, only about 23,000 tickets remain.

Last year, all tickets were sold out by March 8, 2024, and it has routinely sold out since the game was added to the Oregon Lottery portfolio in 2009. In fact, the only year the game did not sell out was due to extended ice and power outages across Oregon in 2019.

The winning Raffle numbers will be announced on Friday, March 14. There are 300 prizes of $500, 1,500 of $100, and a variety of others. To check the winning Raffle numbers for all 1,801 prizes, players can use the Lottery’s mobile app, visit oregonlottery.org/raffle, or visit a participating Oregon Lottery retail location.

The $500 and $100 prize winners can claim their prizes at any Oregon Lottery retail location. In addition, players can claim their prize by mail – visit oregonlottery.org/about/claim-prizes for instructions. The $1 million Raffle prize winner will need to make an appointment with the Oregon Lottery office in Salem or Wilsonville. Please call 1-800-766-6789 for assistance.

The Oregon Lottery reminds players to always sign the back of their Lottery tickets, regardless of the game. In the event of winning a jackpot, they should consult with a trusted financial advisor or similar professional to develop a plan for their winnings.

Since the Oregon Lottery began selling tickets on April 25, 1985, it has earned more than $16.5 billion for economic development, public education, outdoor school, state parks, veteran services, and watershed enhancements. For more information on the Oregon Lottery visit www.oregonlottery.org.

 

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