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, April 22, 2021
Klamath Basin Weather
Today Sunny, with a high near 67. Light west winds at times to 15 mph. Overnight, clear with a low of 31.
Friday Mostly sunny, with a high near 69. Overnight, a 20% chance of rain. Snow level 6600 ft.
Saturday Showers likely. Snow level 5800 feet. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 52.
Sunday Rain and snow showers, becoming all rain after 11am. Some thunder is also possible. Snow level 4400 feet.
Monday A slight chance of snow showers before 11am, then a chance of rain showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 52.
Today’s Headlines
Oregon reports 989 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 6 new deaths
There are 989 new COVID-19 cases in Oregon and six new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 2,466, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reported today.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (6), Benton (24), Clackamas (61), Clatsop (7), Columbia (7), Coos (2), Crook (4), Curry (5), Deschutes (99), Douglas (7), Grant (10), Harney (2), Hood River (5), Jackson (93), Jefferson (3), Josephine (23), Klamath (34), Lake (3), Lane (82), Linn (33), Malheur (3), Marion (114), Morrow (3), Multnomah (167), Polk (20), Tillamook (5), Umatilla (16), Wallowa (1), Wasco (3), Washington (134) and Yamhill (13).
OHA reported 989 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 177,134.
Today, OHA reported that 39,882 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry.
Klamath Basin Tribes, fishermen’s organizations and environmental groups sent a letter to President Joe Biden last Friday requesting more than $250 million in relief funds to cope with this year’s historic drought.
The Klamath, Yurok and Karuk Tribes, along with American Rivers, the California Waterfowl Association, California Trout, the Fly Fishers International Northern California Council, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, Sustainable Northwest and Trout Unlimited, said the relief would serve as a “down payment toward comprehensive long-term solutions.”
The Klamath Basin’s water crisis is already on the federal radar. Several weeks ago, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack released a joint statement saying they’re “committed to an all-hands-on-deck approach that both minimizes the impacts of the drought and develops a long-term plan to facilitate conservation and economic growth.”
So far, roughly $25 million has been allocated to drought relief for farmers and ranchers in the Upper Klamath Basin, which irrigators say isn’t nearly enough to cover the combined cost of crop losses and operations fees for Project farmers.
Tribes have been given $3 million for restoration projects, which they’ve also critiqued.
Despite climbing case rates in southern Oregon’s most populous counties, a recently adopted statewide hospitalization metric continues to keep those counties from being moved from High Risk status up to Extreme Risk.
Governor Kate Brown’s office released the state’s latest county risk levels on Tuesday. For southern Oregon, the changes are few — Curry County will move down to Moderate Risk status from High Risk. Jackson, Josephine and Klamath counties remain at High Risk despite case rates that would otherwise qualify them for Extreme Risk status, while Lake County will continue at Lower Risk.
With vaccination for COVID-19 continuing across the state — and with the majority of Oregon seniors having received a vaccine — the decision to add a statewide hospitalization metric attempts to gauge the severity of outbreaks and the risk of overwhelming health care systems, rather than looking at positive cases alone. For those counties currently kept at High Risk in spite of rising cases, Extreme Risk status will only come if the state hits several metrics — COVID-19 patients occupying 300 hospital beds or more, and a 15 percent increase in the seven-day hospitalization average over the last week.
Meantime, Sky Lakes Medical Center says that its next three upcoming COVID-19 vaccination clinics have openings available for people looking to receive the vaccine.
Call 1-833-606-4370 weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to schedule your COVID-19 vaccination appointment and be assured of a dose and minimum wait times. No walk-in slots or on-site appointments are available. Vaccinations are provided at no charge to patients, and you will not be turned away if you don’t have insurance.
The clinics today and Friday are open to anyone 18 and older. Those clinics are being offered on the fourth floor of the original medical center. People age 16 or 17 can schedule their first-dose shots for Saturday at the Sky Lakes Collaborative Health Center.
This clinic will use the Pfizer vaccine only, which has been approved for younger groups. Oregon opened up eligibility to everyone 16 and older on Monday, so the clinics are no longer limited to people with underlying conditions.
The Oregon Institute of Technology Board of Trustees expressed their support for university President Nagi Naganathan Tuesday morning, less than a week before the college faces an impending faculty strike.
Declining to remove the president after a majority of faculty voted they had “no confidence” in Naganathan’s leadership, the board instead asked Naganathan to hire an outside agency to conduct a climate survey at the university. While the trustees were meeting, representatives for administrators and the faculty union continued to trade offers with just a week left before the faculty’s strike date of April 26.
According to administration, their latest offer presented to the union on Monday included 9.5% raises for faculty spread over the next four years, the possibility of merit-bases raises beginning in 2023, maintaining current health care premium costs and adding new workload guidelines.
Klamath Community College and Rogue Community College kicked off a partnership that will allow Klamath Basin residents to earn a paramedic degree.
The program is designed for students new to the emergency response field, as well as professionals looking to take their careers to the next level. Students who earn an associate of applied science in paramedicine will have an opportunity to sit for the National Registry of Paramedics exam.
KCC Emergency Medical Technician lead Kasey Lanning said that students in the program will enroll at KCC for the first year of study, in which they will learn foundational skills such as patient assessment and basic treatment options as they prepare to sit for the exam. In the second year, students will enroll with RCC but be able to learn at KCC by having courses synchronously streamed in real-time. Paramedic program course requirements can also provide a foundation to enter a number of medical fields, including nursing or physician’s assistant.
Graduates who choose to continue their education can do so by attending a school of their choice or by transferring to a four-year institution.
Firefighters continue to make excellent progress on the Ponina Fire burning approximately 5 miles north of Beatty.
The fire is 1,641 acres and 60 percent contained. The cause is under investigation. The fire was reported Sunday around 2:30 p.m. The fire is fully lined and mop-up activities are continuing today. Firefighters were able to start repair work yesterday and will continue that work today.
The fire is burning in timber and brush with creeping and smoldering fire behavior. There is interior smoke.
Liz Parrish, known as “The Iditarod’s Littlest Musher,” died Saturday in a Portland hospital a day before her 63rd birthday.
Parrish, who finished the 2008 Iditarod dog sled race, died from complications from surgery to stabilize her back. She originally underwent two days of surgery, with the second day involving a 12-hour procedure to stabilize her spine. Following those surgeries, kidney problems necessitated a third emergency surgery.
The former owner of the Crystalwood Lodge near Rocky Point, Parrish was known for her vigor and ability to overcome adversity despite her size: 4 feet, 9 inches and less than 100 pounds. Parrish, who was sometimes called a “dog whisperer,” was often seen training with her team on backroads and, during winter, snow-covered trails in the backcountry and woods around the Klamath Basin.
Cattle in Oregon are again showing up dead under strange circumstances. Over the past three months, seven animals have been found mutilated on ranch land in central Oregon’s Crook County, the Northwest News Network reported Tuesday.
In most cases, the dead animal’s sex organs, tongue or eyes are cut away cleanly and there is no blood. The cases call to mind similar discoveries of five mutilated bulls in 2019 in Harney County, where five bulls were found dead in a 2-mile radius with their sex organs and tongues removed. There have also been cases in recent years in Wasco, Umatilla, Wheeler and Lake counties in recent years. There have also been cases reported in Arizona. Similar cases of mutilated livestock and even elk and deer have surfaced periodically across the country and, in the 1970s, a rash of livestock mutilations across the U.S. West and Midwest struck fear in rural areas.
Thousands of cattle and other livestock ranging from Minnesota to New Mexico were found dead with their reproductive organs and sometimes part of their faces removed.
Outdoor burning in the Klamath Falls-area air quality zone will resume for parts of Saturday and Sunday before concluding for the season.
Klamath County Public Health officials said burning may occur between 8 a.m. and noon Saturday and Sunday. Fires must be extinguished by noon. The spring outdoor burn window will close at noon Sunday, unless conditions change.
Weather conditions are forecast to be favorable, but will be monitored to assure outdoor burning remains advisabl Dry conditions, related to the drought, low humidity and wind activity, will make burning dangerous over the next several days. KCPH has jurisdiction within the air quality zone and cannot authorize burning in other areas.
The City of Klamath Falls conducted a nationwide search to fill the pending Chief of Police vacancy. After reviewing resumes and conducting remote interviews, four candidates were selected as finalists and invited to participate in additional interviews with City Staff and community members.
Subsequently, one of the candidates withdrew. The City will conduct the finalist interview process on April 28th and 29th. Candidates will undergo interviews in front of multiple panels to test their knowledge and suitability to serve as our next Chief of Police.
A public open house, using social distancing and face coverings, will be held 7:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. on April 28th at the Ross Ragland Theater (218 N 7th Street, Klamath Falls). The community is invited to attend and provide input on the candidates.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has issued $26.9 million in payments from Fiscal Year 2020 to 18 counties in western Oregon under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (SRS Act).
Most of the funding will go directly to the counties including just over $750,000 to Klamath County, supporting investments in education, infrastructure, public safety, and health services.
The BLM is charged with managing 2.4 million acres of Oregon and California Railroad Revested Lands, known as the O&C Lands, in 18 western Oregon counties for sustainable timber harvest. The revenue from harvests is shared with those 18 counties. The SRS Act payments are made in lieu of timber harvest receipts based on a formula set by Congress.
The O&C lands are some of the most productive timberlands in the world. They also contain a diversity of plant and animal species, recreation areas, mining claims, grazing lands, cultural and historical resources, scenic areas, wild and scenic rivers, and wilderness. Cooperative projects funded by the SRS Act include wildfire hazard reduction, stream and watershed restoration, forest road maintenance, road decommissioning or obliteration, control of noxious weeds, improvement of fish and wildlife habitat, and opportunities for youth training and employment.
Around the state of Oregon
The Oregon House of Representatives will delay further floor sessions after someone present at the Capitol was diagnosed with COVID-19, according to the office of Speaker Tina Kotek.
Kotek’s office said that potential exposure may have occurred on the House floor on April 15. Anyone who was in close contact with the person is being notified. The House adjourned on Tuesday morning, and will halt floor votes until 11 a.m. on Monday, April 26. Remote committee work will continue in the meantime. Capitol facilities staff will be fumigating the House chamber and wings, on top of the already-enhanced cleaning regimen.
The House saw similar delays in March after a pair of cases connected to the Capitol.
Former Oregon Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse has died. Officials say Furse died at her home Sunday night at the age of 84. Furse served Oregon’s first Congressional district for three terms in the 1990s. She was an advocate for Native American rights and helped five Oregon tribes regain federal recognition. She also established the Institute for Tribal Government within the Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University.
A group that failed to get a redistricting initiative before Oregon voters last year is laying the groundwork to get a similar petition on the ballot in 2022.
Next year’s election will come after the state’s new legislative and congressional districts are drawn up, but that isn’t stopping “People Not Politicians” from trying to depoliticize the redrawing of political maps.
The petition would create a 12-member independent redistricting commission, similar to those used in Washington and California. The members would be selected from a pool of applicants that has been reviewed by a panel of administrative law judges. Currently, Oregon lawmakers are given the primary right to redraw the boundaries of legislative and congressional districts, which are typically recalculated to balance districts’ populations following the once-a-decade U.S. census. While that process has been delayed this year due to late-arriving census data, a recent state court decision means the Legislature will still get first crack at drawing the maps.
Alumni, faculty and legal observers are expressing outrage over Oregon Health & Science University’s selection of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder at the astonishing hourly rate of more than $2,000 an hour to examine the medical school’s handling of sexual misconduct and discrimination complaints.
They’ve raised questions as to whether OHSU adhered to public contracting laws, whether the university used a competitive selection process with a request for proposals and if not, why not. The agreement apparently doesn’t include a cap on the overall amount, a common standard for public contract offers.
OHSU says none of those contracting laws apply to them.
Those affected by last year’s wildfires were heard and their voices prompted the Jackson County Emergency Operations Center to give updates today in a press conference on how far Southern Oregon has gotten with wildfire clean-up and housing efforts.
The EOC says though many are still in need of permanent housing, 91 people at the Southern Oregon RV Park have been housed.
97 households still have a housing need and to meet those needs, FEMA is working on locating those families. Right now, 747 survivors are staying in 20 different hotels and being fed by the Department of Human Services in Oregon. In total, EOC estimates that the cleanup process is well over 50 percent complete. Some people who opted out of the state funded clean-up process still have time to change their minds. If you want to be included in the state wildfire clean-up you can contact the state at wildfire.oregon.gov.
All of the work will be free of charge to property owners.
The Roseburg Police Department is seeking any information regarding the whereabouts of John Daniel Riley.
The last known contact with Riley was by his family members on April 16, 2021, although police say there was an unconfirmed sighting of him in the Roseburg area, also on April 16. It is believed Riley may have been traveling between job sites in the Tyee or Glide area near the time of his disappearance. Please be on the lookout and notify Law Enforcement with any information.
A Republican state lawmaker says she was subjected to sexual harassment and pressured to take part in a “quid-pro-quo” arrangement by longtime Rep. Brad Witt, D-Clatskanie.
State Rep. Vikki Breese Iverson, of Prineville, outlined her allegations Monday in a letter to House Speaker Tina Kotek, a Democrat, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. Breese Iverson has asked that Kotek remove Witt from the three legislative committees she and he both serve on.
Kotek’s office said Tuesday she was setting up a meeting with the legislative equity officer, who fields harassment complaints, about options for responding. While the contents of the text or texts remain unclear, the letter adds new details to allegations that emerged against Witt last week.
In a hearing of the House Conduct Committee on Friday, legislators learned that a lawmaker had filed a formal complaint against Witt under the Legislature’s “safe, respectful and inclusive workplace” rule.
Work on the south Medford I-5 interchange may be the source of traffic delays from the end of April through mid-May, but the Oregon Department of Transportation says that the purpose of the project is to reduce the chance of backups down the road.
Beginning the night of April 25, crews will be working to widen the southbound Exit 27 off-ramp. As a result, off-ramp traffic widths will be restricted through May 14 while the widening project is underway. From April 25 through May 14, drivers may see peak morning and afternoon ramp delays, which could also back up traffic on I-5.
Night construction will be done behind a concrete barrier, which will be in place for about half of the project. Design and construction of the project are being completed by Knife River Materials and financed by Pacific Retirement Services, the parent company for Rogue Valley Manor. ODOT said that the project is meant to offset future Manor development in southeast Medford.
The Portland Police Bureau says officers arrested at least two people Tuesday night during demonstrations in response to yesterday’s conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd last spring.
Police say one person was arrested after allegedly punching an officer. The Oregonian reports video of the incident shows multiple police officers respond to the punch by piling on the suspect, with one officer throwing repeated punches. Police say demonstrators also broke multiple windows. Police declared an unlawful assembly around 10 p.m.
Meanwhile, Governor Kate Brown says the conviction of Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd is one step toward the goal of racial justice and police reform.
In a statement released after the verdict announcement, Brown says there’s still much work to be done to dismantle the structures of racism and inequality. She says the nation grieves for the loss of George Floyd and honor his memory by continuing the hard work to increase police accountability.