Woman Held For Robbery, Threatening

Klamath County deputies have arrested a woman on charges of robbery and menacing. Forty-eight-year-old Kay Calhoun jailed on those charges as well as three counts of criminal conspiracy related to them. She's being held in the Klamath County Jail today on 235-thousand dollars bail.

Klamath Schools Accept Cool School Aid

Klamath County schools are among those taking advantage of the state's Cool Schools program after an energy audit company took a close look at school districts around Oregon to determine upgrades that are needed, how much energy can be saved, and what it might cost.
Those audits show a potential savings of $3.6 million a year statewide. In Klamath County, school officials have accepted $1.8 million in low-interest loans to fund five projects. Three have already been done: installing energy-efficient lighting in three schools.

Dam Removal Would Create Jobs, Cost Hundreds Of Millions

New details today on jobs that may be created by a project to remove dams and restore teh Klamath River. The Interior Department now saying the removal of the four hydroelectric dams would take at least a year and provide around fourteen-hundred construction jobs while the project is ongoing. The Department also projecting long-term Klamath Basin restoration projects could create some four thousand six hundred jobs. The downside, it says, is the risk of flooding in the Basin -- and the cost, now tagged at as much as 493-million dollars.

More Rain Or Snow Early Next Week

If you're wondering when the next spell of wet or snowy weather will arrive in the Klamath Basin, look no further than early next week. Forecasters are tracking a storm system that is nothing like the back-to-back weather fronts we experienced just days ago but is expected to bring more moisture to the area. Rain or snow showers could move into the Klamath Basin as early as Monday, after which some gray weather will usher in another chance of rain or snow by Wednesday.

Dam Removal Would Provide Economic Benefits

A controversial proposal to remove several dams along the Klamath River has received some support from the Interior Department. A study of likely economic effects of removing the four dams shows that the Klamath Basin and other areas would see a significant long-term economic benefit. And the key phrase is "long-term benefit" because the study maps out a period spanning fifty years. The Interior Department says that even though some industries such as hydro-electric power generation and whitewater rafting would be impacted, the area would still see a long-term benefit of over fourteen billion dollars.

Killer Of Klamath Woman May Be Involved In Washington Case

Authorities in Seattle think a man involved in the murder of a Klamath Falls woman a quarter-century ago may be tied to the disappearance of a King County, Washington, woman the year before. Convicted murderer Jesse Pratt used the nickname "The Candy Man" and reportedly associated with many young women in the Northwest in the mid-1980s. He's already serving life in an Oregon prison for killing 20-year-old Carrie Love in Klamath Falls in 1986. Now, Washington investigators are asking for help from anyone who could link Pratt to the disappearance of Virginia Rambus in King County in 1985.

Roads Can Still Be Snow-Packed

Those big winter storms have passed with just some rain and snow showers in store over the next few days. Still, road crews have work yet to do. Some roads in the Klamath Basin reporting three to six inches of packed snow still covering parts of the roadways making driving hazardous. Higher elevations still with snow-covered roads in spots, too, and icy bridge decks can be dangerous to unprepared motorists. Nothing like what's still going on up in Washington state, where thousands are still without power after being hammered by those storms.

Winter Storm Advisory Above 5,500 Feet

The second of two major winter storms rolling into the Klamath Basin this afternoon and it's bringing yet more snow along with it. Another one to three inches on the ground in Klamath Falls likely by tomorrow but again, it's in the higher elevations that the storm will really have an impact. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Advisory for elevations above fifty-five hundred feet beginning at four o'clock this afternoon. Four to seven inches of new snow at and above that elevation beginning late this afternoon and continuing into tomorrow. Affected areas include Highway 140 west of Klamath Falls as well as the Warner Mountains and Hart Mountain.

Winter Storm Warning

The first big winter storm of the year has residents of the Klamath Basin digging out and bracing for more. The rain/snow mix expected to turn back into snow tonight as temperatures cool and forecasters say we could see another inch of new snow on the ground by morning. In the higher elevations, a Winter Storm Warning in effect until ten o[clock tonight above 4,500 feet. No rain up there: that'll be all snow and forecasters say it could pile up to five to ten feet overnight. The Weather Service saying that warning includes higher terrain surrounding and north of the Klamath Basin, including Highway 97 and Crescent, Chemult and Highway 140 west of Klamath Falls.

Snow To Abate Tonight

Snow and gusty wind today as that major winter storm we've been tracking for you for several days rolls into the Klamath Basin. Several inches of snow reported at locations throughout the area with, of course, much more accumulation in the higher ground. A rain/snow mix on the way tonight, which forecasters are saying might end the snowfall for a few hours. More on the way for tomorrow, though, although much less accumulation. Temps moving to above freezing by then. Forecasters say this storm has been building over the Pacific for several days.

Copper Thieves Take Out Mountain Phones

Thefts of copper for sale to scrap dealers continue to rise and now, they're even affecting residents of mountain cabins. CenturyLink says around three hundred customers were without phone service after someone ripped off a section of telecommunications cable. The service has now been restored. Law enforcement in the Klamath Basin urging scrap metal dealers to demand proof of ownership from anyone trying to sell copper.

Major Winter Storm Approaching

A Winter Storm Warning coming up for the Klamath Basin as a storm of possibly historic proportions builds off the coast of the Pacific Northwest. Forecasters here calling for an inch or so of snow in Klamath Falls tonight, then four to six inches tomorrow. And that's just in the Basin. In the high country, a foot to two feet of snow is expected. Snow for the rest of the week, too. Meanwhile, forecasters are watching a whopper of a winter storm thats about to slam the Pacific Northwest from the sea. They're saying snow from this storm will spread well inland, even as far as Montana.

Finally, Snow Is On The Way

The snow that's held off for much of the winter so far is about to fall. In a Special Weather Statement today, the National Weather Service says some rain and light snow will fall in the Klamath Basin this weekend. But heavier snowfall is on the way. By next Wednesday, a weather front that's moving in from the Pacific is forecast to bring up to an inch of snow to Klamath Falls, as much as eight for mountain highways and passes. Klamath County road crews are getting the plows ready now for the winter that's finally going to be here.

PremierWest To Close Branch Banks

A nationwide decline in branch banking operations is about to impact Klamath Falls and other location in Oregon. PremierWest Bank announcing today it's consolidating a number of smaller branch locations into larger area banks. Among the branches set for closure are PremierWest's Running Y branch in Klamath Falls. Also branches on Airport Road in Medford and in Shady Grove, Drain and Glide. Some branch banks in California will be affected, too. PremierWest says those branches account for less than ten percent of the bank's deposits.

Klamath, State, Snowpacks Below Average

In a case of "no good deed goes unpunished", state officials are saying that the much-needed rain that fell over the last two months actually helped deplete the Oregon snowpack. Just a year after record snow fell on the Oregon Cascades and the Klamath Valley, state water experts are saying every basin in the state is now reporting below-average snowpack. Precipation generally is off, too: just 48 percent of normal so far in Klamath County. Experts say, though, that it's still early: the heaviest snowpack generally happens between now and the first of April.

Logging May Warm Streams, Harm Salmon

Is logging on private timberland making some of Oregon's streams warmer? That's a question the Board of Forestry is looking into because if it's true, that warming could harm the state's salmon population. It's s sticky issue because Board members generally say they don't want to restrict the ability of landowners to sell their timber to loggers. They're suggesting that some tightening of the state's logging standards could help protect salmon while maintaining the logging industry.

SkyWest Flights Strong From Klamath Falls

SkyWest Airlines says its three daily flights out of Klamath Falls to Portland and San Francisco are doing fairly well and that business was up in 2011. One apparent reason: the airline's decrease in flights from four to three. That increased the percentage of seats sold on each flight. SkyWest flights out of Klamath Falls were reportedly at a healthy rate of up to sixty-five percent full on average throughout all of 2011. Continuing daily airline service is considered critical to the local economic environment.

Budget Committee Recommends Countywide Cuts

Klamath County needs to slash nearly two million dollars from its budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal year. To get there, a county budget committee is recommending across-the-board budget cuts for all county departments beginning this year. The committee suggesting the county require eight percent cuts in the budgets of all county departments this year, nine percent next year. That would spread out the cost over two years and help alleviate a projected one-point-eight million dollar budget shortfall caused by falling tax revenue and rising costs.

Klamath Well Below Precipitation Average

By any measure, this has been a dry winter so far. That's great for certain outdoor activities, bad for others and it's becoming a concern for climatologists who consider its long-range implications. Klamath County has received only about 26 percent of its usual precipitation through December. Among other things, the relatively dry weather makes it easy for small wild fires to become big ones. Forestry officials are eyeing a blaze in Klamath National Forest a few days ago as possibly being a smoldering stump that reignited due to the dry conditions. No significant rain or snow are predicted for the Klamath Valley through at least the middle of January.

Warm Weather Aids Roads Budget

Funds that cover road repair and maintenance in parts of Klamath Falls are going a little farther this winter due to the lack of severe weather. The Oregon Department of Transportation says it's getting more bang for its highway dollars right now thanks to weather that has rarely required crews to perform heavy maintenance or roadway de-icing. The regional road fund covers parts of Klamath and Douglas Counties as well as Jackson and Josephine Counties. Despite the apparent lack of major road issues so far, the D-O-T reminds drivers that early-morning cold and fog can quickly create hazardous conditions.

Little Snow At Crater Lake

It's only sixty or so miles away but Crater Lake can seem like the back side of the moon sometimes. Its rugged beauty may be fine to see but the lake sure isn't hidden under a blanket of snow this winter. In fact, the usually snowy Crater Lake National Park has received only about seventeen inches of snow this winter. That's more than fifty inches less snow than average. This could be a record low-snowfall year there. The December snowfall total at the park was only 7.3 inches. That's the lowest December since record keeping began in 1931 and the sixth lowest total precipitation with 4.8 inches.

Stolen Safe Found Near Phoenix

A three-foot-tall safe that was stolen from an Elks Lodge in Ashville on New Year's Day has been found abandoned near Phoenix. The safe was discovered by a passer-by off Griffin Creek Road between Phoenix and Jacksonville. No indication how it got there and authorities are continuing to review surveillance video and other evidence to try to determine who took it. The safe reportedly empty when it was found. Officers say it looked as though someone had tried to bash it open with a hammer.

KF Bond Ratings Strong

The City of Klamath Falls heads into the new year with a solid bond credit rating. Standard and Poore's is assigning an A-Plus Rating and a Stable Outlook for the city's General Obligation Bonds. S-and-P says the Stable Outlook reflects its view of the city's proactive changes to its operations and its track record of maintaining a very strong available general fund position. The A-Plus Rating gives Klamath Falls access to money at lower interest costs, benefiting taxpayers if bonds need to be issued for future Capital projects.”

Fewer Companies Offer Year-End Bonuses

Did you receive a holiday bonus this year? If not, you're not alone. Of course, many people are happy just to have a job but those who do are less likely than ever to have received something extra with their year-end paychecks. A new study says over forty percent of businesses no longer offer holiday bonuses. That's partly due to the economy, which is causing many firms to rein in their spending. But it's also because companies are looking at new employee compensation models, like year-round performance-based bonuses instead of end-of-year payments.

Hunters Have Wildlife Fund Contribution Option

Hunters in the Klamath Valley are now being asked whether they want to donate to predator-control programs when they buy their hunting licenses and tags. It's part of a program to raise more money for specific wildlife programs run by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The program is typically used to kill animals such as bears and cougars when they cause livestock damage or are considered risks to human safety. Under the new program, each time a hunter buys a license or permit, they will be asked to donate anywhere from $2 to $100 to the Wildlife Conservation Fund.