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 & News, and BasinLife.com, and powered by Mick Insurance.
Thursday, November 12, 2020
Klamath Basin Weather
Today Partly sunny, with a high near 47. Overnight, a 30% chance of snow, low around 33. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Friday Snow likely before 10am, then rain and snow between 10am and 1pm, then rain after 1pm. High near 39. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. Overnight chance of snow flurries, low around 29.
Saturday A slight chance of snow before 10am, then a chance of snow after 4pm. Snow level at 4500 ft. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 40. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible
Sunday A 30% chance of rain, mainly before 10am. Partly sunny, with a high near 46.
Today’s Headlines
COVID-19 has claimed five more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 742, the Oregon Health Authority reported on Wednesday, Nov. 11th. Oregon Health Authority reported 876 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total to 52,770.
Klamath County reported two new cases yesterday, Jackson County with 50 new cases and Josephine with 3 new cases.
The new cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (8), Benton (11), Clackamas (67), Clatsop (2), Columbia (7), Coos (10), Crook (1), Curry (3), Deschutes (19), Douglas (32), Grant (5), Harney (1), Hood River (2), Jackson (50), Jefferson (14), Josephine (3), Klamath (2), Lake (5), Lane (51), Linn (10), Malheur (8), Marion (83), Morrow (2), Multnomah (298), Polk (11), Tillamook (2), Umatilla (32), Union (1), Wallowa (2), Wasco (1), Washington (102), Yamhill (31).
Coronavirus cases have only been rising since Governor Kate Brown announced a two week pause for Jackson County, which is on now.
As a result of increasing COVID-19 cases, hospital bed availabilty across the state is decreasing. Brown says Oregon is heading in the wrong direction, but it’s not too late to turn it around if people follow her guidelines for the state as we near the holidays.
The governor was joined by doctor Dana Harganani from the OHA. The health official reported 3 new deaths statewide today alone. Now, 285 Oregonians sick from the coronavirus occupy hospital beds in the state. Currently, 146 beds are open for people needing intensive care. Another 130 beds are open for pediatric intensive care. According to the Lund report, hospitals can now follow coronavirus cases as they happen.
Klamath Falls celebrated Veterans Day a little differently this year—not just because of COVID-19. This year’s ceremony at Veteran’s Park also included the unveiling of a new program from Basin Transit Service and Klamath County, called “Veterans on the go,” which allows county veterans to ride BTS for free.
The morning kicked off with a drive-thru–style parade of cars and trucks flying American flags and honking for community members gathered along Main Street. After the convoy, people gathered at Veteran’s Park to honor the sacrifices veterans make.
A major storm carrying high winds, drenching rain and heavy snow is headed for the Pacific Northwest, according to weather experts.
The storm due to arrive at the end of the week will be the strongest seen in months, meteorologists with AccuWeather said Wednesday. Snow falling in the mountains in Washington state caused spin outs on highways and forced the closure of Snoqualmie Pass on Tuesday night for the first time this season.
The pass was open by Wednesday morning with compact snow and ice in places. Rain will fall along the coast and in Seattle and Portland late Thursday morning or early Thursday afternoon, the weather service said. Some snow may fall in the Cascades, they said.
A local volunteer group helping families following wildfires in southern Oregon made a remarkable discovery last week while sifting through ashes.
Kathy Dunn lost nearly everything in the Almeda Fire – her home, her belongings and countless family heirlooms passed on from generation to generation. Dunn says she got some small but very important pieces back – her father’s World War II medals. Her home in Talent was one of many destroyed by the Almeda Fire.
Dunn says she had moments notice to grab what she could before getting to safety.
Monica Breedlove, associate professor of Medical Imaging at Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech) recently received appointment to vice chair of the Oregon Board of Medical Imaging, with her official term beginning January 2021, according to a news release.
Professor Breedlove was first appointed to the Board in June, representing radiology. She joins fellow Oregon Tech Medical Imaging Technology faculty members, Robyn Cole and Vanessa Bennett. The mission of the Oregon Board of Medical Imaging is to promote, preserve and protect the public health, safety and welfare of Oregonians who are undergoing medical imaging studies performed by agency licensees for the purpose of medical diagnosis and therapy Her role on the Board will include a tw- year commitment to work with other members to address issues that affect policies, procedures and requirements for technologists throughout the state.
Doing Our Part to Flatten the Curve
HealthyKlamath.org and BlueZonesProject remind you that our community is the core of the Blue Zones Project® Power 9® Principles.
In recent weeks, our community has seen a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases. Whether you are a parent, a student, a spouse, caring for an aging parent, have an underlying health condition, or are a committed and concerned community member, it is important to continue to do our best to follow best practices surrounding disease prevention:
- Stay home when you don’t feel well
- Wash your hands often
- Wear a face covering in public
- Maintain a distance of 6 feet when around people you don’t live with
Did you know? Many diseases, including COVID-19, are contagious before people even show symptoms. Remember, my face mask protects you, and your face mask protects me. On a larger scale, you might not feel an immediate risk to your own health, but people you come in contact with may have concerns beyond that moment of interaction. They could have a loved one with health risks, or a spouse whose job is essential to providing care to others. Please, don’t be the cause of school or workplace closures or major impacts to someone else’s well-being.
Suffering from COVID fatigue? Along with our partners in the Healthy Klamath Coalition, we’ve put together a resource hub to help connect the community to timely information. Resources range from balancing working from home to healthcare information. Visit www.healthyklamath.org/covid-19 for local resources.
Crater Lake National Park’s North Entrance Road and Rim Drive have been closed for the winter season. All visitors to Crater Lake National Park must use Highway 62 to access the park from the south or west during these closures.
The North Entrance Road and Rim Drive, with elevations from 5,850 to 7,960 feet above sea level, receive an average of more than 40 feet of snow each year and are not plowed from fall to late spring because of deep drifts, avalanche risk, and other dangerous conditions.
The North Entrance Road and Rim Drive will reopen in the late spring or early summer of 2021. Exact dates for road openings depend on snow depths each year. Effective Nov. 1, Crater Lake National Park has been charging winter entrance fees of $20 per car, $15 per motorcycle, and $15 per person on foot or bike. This fee is good for seven days and is collected at the Annie Creek Entrance Station.
It is also possible to purchase an annual pass for Crater Lake National Park for $55, which is honored at both Crater Lake and Lava Beds National Monument. Annual passes for Lava Beds are also accepted at Crater Lake.
Around the state of Oregon
Oregon residents and businesses continue to struggle with the Covid-19 issues, and the Oregon Legislative Emergency Board announced today it has approved more than $128 million to help Oregonians impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
This includes funding for childcare providers, Oregonians in need of shelter, small businesses, long-term care providers and victims of domestic and sexual violence. The Emergency Board approved $35 million from the state’s Emergency Fund to support the Project Turnkey Statewide Pandemic and Homelessness Response.
The Oregon Community Foundation will use funding to support the acquisition, retrofitting and potential operation of hotel and motel properties to be used as emergency shelter.
This funding is in addition to $30 million the Emergency Board approved on October 23 to begin Project Turnkey in wildfire-affected areas.
Oregon’s elections director was abruptly fired in a text message by the secretary of state after he pointed out serious issues with the state’s aging and vulnerable technology for running elections.
Elections Director Stephen Trout learned in a text message Thursday night, as his department and county elections officials were still counting votes from the Nov. 3 election, that he was out. On Friday, Secretary of State Bev Clarno, a Republican appointed to the position by Democratic Gov. Kate Brown, announced to elections officials in Oregon’s 36 counties that “today is also Steve Trout’s last day with the Agency.”
Clarno’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Oregon Secretary of State-elect Shemia Fagan, a Democrat, said she will examine the “critical warnings” that the state’s former elections director voiced before he was fired last week by the incumbent secretary of state.
In a blunt memo to Fagan and her Republican challenger on the eve of the 2020 election, Oregon Elections Director Stephen Trout said some of the state’s election systems are running on an operating system that Microsoft stopped supporting last January, pointed out an absence of multifactor authentication to access those election systems and raised other issues.
Restrictions on restaurants, bars, and lodging are now in effect in Siskiyou County CA, as COVID-19 case levels rise, and the first death attributed to the disease was reported by the county Tuesday.
The death is being linked to a “community acquired infection,” according to a Siskiyou County Public Health news release, which means there is no specific place where the origin of spread can be identified. The county also moved to California’s tier three, otherwise known as level orange, on Tuesday. Under tier 3 requirements, some businesses will have to reduce the number of indoor customers. Angelica Cook, public information officer and educator for Siskiyou County Public Health, said bars would most likely be impacted the most by the tier change. Restrictions will also impact other establishments.